We now listen to the words of the Lord Jesus, as He sits and describes the judgment of the quick. “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.”
It is important to remember we have all been greatly mistaken in supposing that our Lord was describing, by this parable, a general resurrection. There is not one word about the resurrection here. It is strange how the judgment of the living nations, called the judgment of the quick, has been forgotten. It is the very solemn ground on which God commandeth all men everywhere to repent. “Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:3131Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31).) With all the certainty, then, of His resurrection, let us approach this subject. As surely as He has ascended into heaven, so surely He shall come again. (Acts 1:1111Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11).) “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”
Now mark, His coming in judgment will be immediately after the tribulation of Israel: the time of the end. This connects His coming, in a striking manner, with the purposes of God as to Israel. For that tribulation, such as never was, is ushered in by the setting up of the abomination of desolation in the holy place: marking unmistakably the last three years and a half of Daniel’s prophetic period. (Dan. 9:2727And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:27); Matt. 24:1515When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) (Matthew 24:15).) Then, immediately after this short period of dreadful sufferings for re-gathered Israel—Then “shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matt. 24:3030And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30).) “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left from Assyria,” &c. “And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isa. 11:11, 1211And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isaiah 11:11‑12).)
The Lord will not forget His elect people. “ He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Thus we see how this judgment is connected with Israel. “When the Son of man shall come in his glory.” In order to rightly understand this illustration of the sheep and the goats, we must look at an eastern picture.
A modern traveler thus describes a morning scene he witnessed amid the hills of Bashan. “The shepherds led their flocks forth from the gates of the city. Thousands of sheep and goats were there, grouped in dense confused masses; each shepherd took a different path, and uttering as he advanced a shrill peculiar call. The sheep heard them. At first the masses swayed and moved as if shaken by some internal convulsion; then points struck out in the direction taken by the shepherds; these became longer and longer until the confused masses were resolved into long, living streams, flowing after their leaders.”
What a picture then does our Lord give by this illustration of the coming judgment. See the swaying of the masses of the gathered nations. “ Before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.” Then shall come the fulfillment of those words, “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” This mark, is not for conversion, but for judgment. “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron.” (See Psalm 2:88Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. (Psalm 2:8).) The prophets also most distinctly foretell this judgment of the living nations, as that which precedes the kingdom of God on earth.
That glorious kingdom is thus introduced; “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” Then follows the kingdom of God. (Zeph. 3:8-208Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. 9For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent. 10From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. 11In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain. 12I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. 13The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 14Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. 16In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. 17The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. 18I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. 19Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. 20At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:8‑20).)
Joel shows the time when this will take place, “That time when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.” Thus the chapter describes the gathered multitudes. And “there” the Lord says, “will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.” (Joel 3) This judgment of the assembled nations is entirely for the Lord’s people Israel. Is it not exactly so in our chapter, Matt. 25?
During those three years and a half of tribulation the deep hatred of the nations is shown against God and the Lamb by the cruel persecution of His ancient people, and this led on by Satan, as the dragon. Those terrible days are described in Rev. 13:55And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. (Revelation 13:5). But there are, that help the woman who brought forth the man-child. That is this same Israel, from which nation the Lord was born.
Is it not blessed to learn a little more of Jehovah Jesus in this judgment scene? See the vast multitudes of the nations gathered before him. Not one act of kindness shown to his brethren, the tribes of Israel, will be forgotten. As in Joel, the nations are judged here, entirely in reference to their conduct towards His brethren, the Jews. What a surprise to those who hear the blessed words of the King: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!” And surely, not less terrible will be those words: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Judgment is committed to the Son of God, Son of man. Men may mock now, and deny Him now, but then the judgment is final, and everlasting. There is no appeal; no superior courts. “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.” The serpent may whisper, “Yea, hath God said everlasting? He does not mean it. Sin is nothing; its punishment will not be everlasting; believe me, do not believe God, trust me; God is too kind to punish you everlastingly.” Beloved reader, will you thus as Eve, in the garden, believe Satan, rather than God, speaking in the Son? The moment she began to reason with Satan, the poison of sin had entered. The moment we begin to reason the question whether we may believe God. or trust the devil’s lie, that moment we are infidels at heart. Thousands are thus ensnared by Satan. Could the Lord have possibly used plainer words? He uses the same word? “everlasting fire,” “everlasting punishment,” “everlasting life,” or as the translators have put it “life eternal.” Now, is it wiser to reason with Satan, like Eve, or say with Jesus when tempted by the devil, “It is written?” Yes, this is the question: the lie of Satan, or the truth of God.
Yes, ponder this solemn fact, that whether it be here the judgment of the quick; or the judgment of the dead in Rev. 20, the sentence is final, and the punishment everlasting.
But it may be asked, If this parable, or illustration of the sheep and the goats, brings before us the gathered nations on earth, in the presence of the restored Israel, the brethren of the king, where then, in this scene, is the church of God? And if a Christian, where will the reader be? We can only answer these questions very briefly now: but we beg the reader to search, and see if these things are so. We will go to that supreme moment, the appearing of Christ. That moment when the affrighted tribes of the earth first see Him coming in great glory.
First fact: “When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” (Col. 3:44When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4).) What a fact: what a sight: the church of God with Him! Is this your hope?
Third fact: “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment.” (See Jude 1414And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, (Jude 14).) When He comes to judgment, we come with Him.
In the prophets, and in Matthew, we see the Lord sitting on the throne of His glory. In Revelation we see the redeemed sitting on thrones in judgment also. Surely this is very wonderful. In that great judgment, we shall be with Him, like Him, shall come with Him, shall sit on judgment-thrones in judgment. It may be asked, How is it that we shall be with Him, and come with Him when He appears?
Fifth fact: “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thess. 4:1616For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (1 Thessalonians 4:16).) This fifth fact comes thus first in order; and explains all the rest. Yes, this revelation to Paul explains how it is that “at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ” He comes “with all his saints.” He first comes to fetch them, as He promised, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14) We must not confound this with His appearing in glory; and sitting on the throne of His glory, to judge the nations. These are totally different events in scripture: so distinct, that in one, He comes to receive us; in the other, we come with Him to judge the world. And all this so near! Are you, beloved reader, ready to meet Him? We beg you, leave not this an unsettled question. Wondrous as is the grace that gives us such a place in this world’s judgment, yet we have something far better. At this we may look at a future time.