April, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
153
MAY 27, 1934 THE LAST JUDGMENT M atthew 25:31-46
shall be gathered all nations." “ Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather _ yourselves together. . . . Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley o f Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations” (Joel 3:11, 12, R .V .). The Judge will be “the Son,” into whose hands has been committed all judgment for this earth and its peoples (John 5:22). The Son o f man has full knowledge of men, both what they are and what they have done. In the day o f judgment, all men’s motives and purposes, their designs and desires, will be naked and open before Him, and nothing will be hidden from His sight. Hence, His judgment will be abso lutely just and equitable. And as His authority will be from the Father, His judgment will be final. II. T he S eparation B etween the N ations (32, 33). The separation between the nations is determined by their character, whether “sheep,” or “goats.” The lesson makes plain that the “ sheep” nations are those for whom good things are reserved, while the “goat” nations are those upon whom punishment will fall. The separation is accomplished, not by the nations themselves, but by the Son of man, who has complete and perfect knowl edge o f all the nations. He knows their ambitions; He is acquainted with all their history. Thus, following His righteous de cision, the “sheep” nations are placed on His right and the “goat” nations on His left. In Scripture, the right side always indicates blessing, while the left side repre sents the place o f God’s condemnation for
Golden T ex t : “ For we must all appear before the judgment seat o f Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10). Outline and Exposition I t is to be regretted that the title, “The Last Judgment,” and 2 Corinthians 5 :10 as the Golden Text, should have been chosen for this lesson. It would have been far better to have called this lesson “ The Judgment o f Nations”—a title which is not only scripture language but also sug- gestive o f the teaching in the passage. N o where in the Bible is there the teaching re garding a general judgment, when the end o f the world shall come, and when all hu manity shall be brought before a bar of justice, that decision may be made concern ing the destiny o f each individual. The eternal destiny o f each individual is set tled in accordance with his or her accept ance or rejection o f Jesus Christ as Sav iour. T o accept Christ by faith means that one receives the righteousness o f G od; to reject Him means that the sinner chooses to rely upon the righteousness o f human nature (cf. v. 46). There is no hint anywhere in the Word that the judgment referred to in the verses of this lesson is the “last” one that will occur. The judgment mentioned in Mat thew 25 is that of Gentile nations —not a judgment of Jews, or o f the church, or o f individuals. Judgments for the Jew, the church, and for individuals will surely be held, but they are not referred to here. This judgment scene is sometimes con fused with that described in Revelation
20:11-15. A very casual comparison of the two will show that the one pictured in Matthew 25 is a judgment o f living na tions, the other o f dead individuals; one is held on earth, the other in heaven; one has three classes in view, the other one class in view. These and other distinctions reveal the difference between the judg ments described in the two passages. We should study this lesson for what it is—a discussion o f the judgment of the na tions. I. T he T ime , the P lace , and the J udge (31, 32). The time is Christ’s return in power, when the Son of man “shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him.” To this agree the words of prophets, evan gelists, and apostles (2 Thess. 1:7-10; Matt. 13:40, 41; etc.). The place will be the valley o f Jehosha- phat, located just outside the city o f Jeru salem and near the Mount o f Olives. “ Be fore him [the Lord, returned to earth]
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