Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the judgment of the Nations by the Son of man. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. We read it on Mat 25.41. For when the Son of man comes in his glory, with all the angels, he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be assembled before him. He will separate one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and he will put the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those who are on his right hand, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
It is a precious blessing, a favor which bestows the enjoyment of the kingdom of the Son of man; and they will find perfect happiness there on this earth, where justice and peace will reign after so much suffering. For these privileges bring out the superiority of those already possessed by faith, the faithful of today; they are part of the Church which will participate in this beautiful reign as the King’s wife, and not as subject of this kingdom.
In fact, the current faithful are not only blessed by the Father, but are children of God. The Lord Jesus identified them with him in the position he now occupies as a risen and glorified man, as he announced to the disciples on the day of his resurrection in John 20.17. For now our blessings are spiritual and heavenly in Christ, prepared before the foundation of the world (Ep 1.3-4), while the kingdom which will be the part of the blessed people on earth is prepared from the foundation of the world, and it will end. after the completion of the thousand years (Rev 20: 6-7). However, all of the faithful who will participate in Christ’s reign on earth will also be found on the new earth that we all await, and that for all eternity, when the present earth and heavens have passed away (2 Pet 3.13; Rev 21.1).
Therefore the king chose those who are on his right hand and reminded him what they have done for him: For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; I was naked, and you clothed me; I was ill, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me. The righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see You hungry and give You something to eat? or thirsty, and have we given you a drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in? or naked, and did we clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you? And the king will answer them, Truly I say to you, whenever you have done these things to one of these least of my brethren, you have done them to me.
For from the height of his glorious abode, the Lord will watch over them and appreciate all that will be done for each of those whom he calls “his brothers”; in his day the consequences of each person’s conduct will be manifested: in particular, the righteous will enter into the blessing that was announced to them.
Yet these righteous people do not believe they have rendered such services to the King. For they had not done it for the sake of recompense, nor had they considered the significance of their acts towards the King’s brothers. But the Lord, in his goodness, takes into account all that is done for him, often without splendor before the world in anonymity, but appreciated by God who discerns the motives which make act and are the fruit of love for him , and that without the one who acts realizing it.
Because on the day when everything will be manifested, he will show what was valuable to his heart. Thus, our services which will have had the most for Christ will undoubtedly be those whose value will have least preoccupied us, but which will have been the natural fruit of the attachment to Christ, realized in all our lives, in the smallest details. , as also by the care lavished on the children of God in the difficult circumstances which all have to pass through here below, in a word: all that will have been done for his name.
Then he will say to those who are on his left, Depart from me, you cursed; go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and for his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not take me in; I was naked, and you did not clothe me; I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. They will also answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did we not help you? And he will answer them: Truly I say to you, whenever you have not done these things to one of these lesser ones, you have not done them to me. And these will go to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
They, too, don’t know when they had the opportunity to do all these things to the King. For they have lost this opportunity forever, since, despising the King’s envoys, they despised him himself.
Today, as in the days of Christ, there is nothing appealing to the natural heart in the presentation of the gospel, because the world and its present advantages set aside the good news of salvation and those who announce it. But the day of the Lord is approaching when all will be manifested in the light, and then many will be those who would like to have acted otherwise, for in that day, what will worldly pleasures and advantages give? What will be the value of the reasoning of the human mind which has appeared wiser than the word of God? It will therefore be too late to go back; time will have passed; it may well no longer be incredulous, to see that all his wisdom was foolishness: for repentance is useless on the day of judgment, and those who had despised the testimony and the witnesses, had thereby despised the King who had sent them; they will then go away in eternal torment.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and put together for your understanding.
- Proof of good service: Luke 10:37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Shepherds to feed the flock: Jer 3.15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding; Jer 23.4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD; Ez 34:23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd; Jn 21.17 The third time he said to him,“Simon son of John, do you love me?”Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?”He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep; Ac 20.28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood; 1 P 5.2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;
Examples of good works: Mt 25.35-36 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’; Mt 26.7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table; Mt 26.10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me; Ac 9.36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor; 1 Th 1.3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ; Rev 2.2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.
Examples of humility: Jacob: Gen 32.10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps; King Saul: 1 Sam 9.21 Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?”; King David: 2 Sam 7.18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?; King Solomon: 1 Kings 3.7 “Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties; John the Baptist: Mt 3.14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” the centurion: Mt 8.8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed; the Canaanite woman: Mt 15.27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”; Paul: 1 Tim 1.15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
The promises to the righteous: Ps 34.15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; Ps 37.25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread; Ps 92.13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God; Isa 3.10 Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds; Mt 13.43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear;
Indignity felt by: John the Baptist: Mt 3.11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire; the centurion: Mt 8.8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed; the righteous: Mt 25.37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?; Peter: Luke 5.8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”; Paul: 1 Cor 15.9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God;
Social duties: visiting the sick: 2 Kings 8.29 so King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth in his battle with Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because he had been wounded; Mt 25.36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’; John 5.14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
- Evidence of poor service
Eternal fire: Isa 33.14 The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?” Isa 66.24 “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” Mt 3.12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Mt 13.42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; Mt 25.41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; Rev 14.10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
Punishment for sin: separation from God: Ex 33.3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”; Jos 7.11-12 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction; Ps 66.18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; Isa 59.2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear; Isa 64.6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away; Hos 5.6 When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.
The different forms of selfishness Mt 27.4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
# keep food: Pr 11.26 People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell;
# greed for real estate: Isa 5.8 Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land;
# total disregard for the property of others: Ez 34.18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?;
# neglect of those who are in need or who suffer: Mt 25.43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’;
# cruel indifference towards sinners: Mt 27.3-4 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” 1 John 3.17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
Lack of hospitality: Nb 20.18 But Edom answered: “You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.”; Jg 19.15 There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them in for the night; Luke 9.53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.
Future of the wicked described as a banishment from the presence of God: Mt 7.23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’; Mt 8.12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Mt 22.13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Mt 25.46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Sins of omission: Mt 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former; Mt 25.45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Luke 11:42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone; Jas 4.17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
From all of the above, we note the lack of attraction to the heart in the gospel both in the Saviour’s day and today, because of what the world and its present benefits cause to be put aside the good news of the Lord, him and those who announce it. Yet the day of the Lord is approaching and those who despised the testimony and the witnesses, had thereby despised the King who sent them. These unrighteous will then go away in eternal torment, while whenever the righteous have done good deeds to one of the least of his brethren, they have done them to Christ. And the Lord will watch over them that they may enter into the blessing that was announced to them. Our prayers support you all in your efforts to become like those whose heavenly blessings were prepared before the foundation of the world.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me as follows:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my Lord and personal Savior. I acknowledge that you died on the cross of Calvary and that you rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me each day to eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal to me and strengthen my heart and my faith so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me in your divine family so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To you all worship, power, and glory, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be glad to respond to your queries and comments if necessary, before sharing with you next week on Gethsemane: “I will be for you, tonight, an occasion of downfall; for it is written: I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered: ”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you profusely.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.