Key Text: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat, I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink, I was a stranger, and ye took me in (Matthew 25:34-35).
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats begin with the “Son of Man” who will come in glory to usher in God’s new age. He will be accompanied by “all the angels” and will sit on a heavenly throne as a symbol of his power. The scene precedes to a setting of judgment described as the routine sorting of sheep and goats by a shepherd (God or Jesus). Christ describes a time when all the nations on earth will be gathered before Him. God will give the heavenly kingdom to those whom the world would not expect, such as the poor in spirit or the disciples themselves. Their acceptance seems to be their treatment of “the least of these my brethren”, the saved of the tribulation. That is, the acts of kindness were done by these sheep nations unto the persecuted Jewish believers and their converts during the reign of the Antichrist and now brings the blessing of God’s salvation upon these nations. God has intended this gift for them since the beginning of time.
The good deeds asked of the sheep include feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and clothing the naked as true acts of worship desired by God. These are outward tokens of their faith since faith without works is not real faith. Christ sees the heart, and He knows whether we are trusting in Christ. Jewish brothers will suffer in the Tribulation as some will reach out to them, while others ignore them. We are reminded that sometimes the recipients of our hospitality may, in fact, be angels. Proverbs 19 maintains that whoever is financially kind to the poor actually gives to God, and “will be repaid in full.” Hebrews 16 also confirms this theology and records that God will remember and take notice of our care of others.
The parable describes the punishment to the goats–those who did not engage in acts of kindness when they could have. This refers to a “resurrection of life” for the good and a “resurrection of condemnation” for the evil (John 5). When the King sets the sheep and the goats before Him, He says to those on His right hand, who are the sheep: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom…” v 34.. The sheep are ushered into the millennial kingdom, and the goats are cast into everlasting fire. In the time of awful tribulation, there will be a strong spirit of deceit on the part of Satan. People will be deluded and they will believe a lie inspired by Satan himself. AMEN
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