Sheep and Goats

Matthew 25:31-46

Everything Jesus has taught His disciples in the Olivette Discourse has been about two kinds of people: those who rule themselves, and those who choose to allow themselves to be ruled by God.

It has always been that way, and all the end-times events will be designed to bring that separation into sharp relief.

Those who allow themselves to be ruled by God will survive, even if they must endure great difficulty.

Those who refuse to allow themselves to be ruled by God will perish, even if they appear to have everything going for them in this life.

The first divide Jesus spoke of was between five wise virgins and five foolish virgins. The wise ones were those who allowed God to fill them with His Holy Spirit. These would be taken up in the pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church. The unwise virgins would be left behind to go through the tribulation events.

The next divide Jesus described was the condition of those waiting for the Rapture to take place, even though its delay was apparent to all. Some invested in the cause of Jesus Christ and some refused.

Finally, Jesus describes the divide among those who actually endure all the events of the tribulation – all the way to the end of the seven years of God’s wrath poured out upon the earth.

When Jesus returns to the earth to rule and reign for a thousand years, He will be seated upon His throne of glory at Jerusalem, and a great judgment will take place of those who have survived all the events. On His right hand will be placed the sheep; those who refused the mark of the beast and aided the Jewish people. On His left hand will be the goats; those who took the mark of the beast and only thought of themselves as they entered survival mode during the reign of the anti-christ. The final judgment will divide the self-less from the selfish.

-Pastor Bill