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The UK Bible Students Website Christian Biblical Studies |
SHEEP OR GOAT?
‘Whatever you did for one of the
least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’
― Matthew
25: 40 ―
Scripture
references are to the NIV-UK
MANY OF
THE PARABLES of Jesus
provide a symbolic view of conditions in the future Kingdom of God, and
stimulate us to strive to look for it and pray for it, that we may be ready for
it. The parable of the Sheep and the Goats, related in Matthew
25: 31-46, also pertains to
the Kingdom, but from a unique standpoint: the time when Christ will have
returned in His Second Advent in power and begun His reign over
earth.
It is
necessary in the study of the Scriptures to observe order and to recognise the
Divine Plan as a whole, locating each parable in its own place and
time.
The Setting
We know that the parable of the Sheep and the
Goats belongs, not to the Gospel Age, but to the Millennium, because the
introduction declares this (vs. 31, 32): ‘When the Son of Man comes in his
glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one
from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.’ These ‘sheep’
and ‘goats’ do not include the Church.
The World’s Judgement Day
For centuries the Jews had been
(rightly) accustomed to thinking of themselves as God’s nation, His select
people. All others they styled heathen, Gentiles (goyim), and in
prophecy God treated the matter from this standpoint. So when spiritual
Israel was received into Divine favour as the Royal Priesthood, the new people
belonging to God, the remainder of mankind continued to be referred to by them
as ‘the nations’ – the heathen. The judged people of this parable are the world
of mankind, gathered as individuals before the figurative judicial throne of
Christ.
The judgement and salvation of the Church (the elect, the Gospel-Age sheep) comes during the period between the death of Christ and the Millennial Age. That of the world in general (the non-elect) takes place during the Millennial Age. The parable portrays the final judgement and salvation, showing that every member of Adam’s race will have an individual trial for life during Messiah’s thousand-year reign. Then by obedience or disobedience to the prevailing
enlightenment
and knowledge each will determine his or her own everlasting future — either as
a ‘sheep’ or as a ‘goat.’
We can break down
the judgement process into four parts:
1.
Instruction
2.
Testing
3. Chastisement
4.
Verdict
At the
close of the Millennium each one will be accounted worthy or unworthy of
everlasting life on earth, as the case may be, dependent on whether or not he or
she has truly consecrated to Christ as Saviour and Lord. The parable emphasises
that each one’s conduct toward others will be taken as an indicator of unselfish
love, or lack of it. The terms and conditions which will ultimately determine
who will be sheep and who will be goats, obedient or disobedient, will be
meekness, mercy, kindness, and a love like that of
Christ’s.
The sheep of the parable are those
who display a Christlike character and are willing to serve others. The various
needs, whatever they may be then, are represented in the hungry, the homeless,
the prisoner, and so on. Those demonstrating the spirit of service will make
progress toward human perfection. These are the sheep. Those classed as goats –
the selfish, the rebellious, the sinful – will squander their opportunities.
Both classes express surprise at what the King declares to be the basis of His
judgement. He highlights the important relationship between Himself and His
sheep. It is as though every service or disservice rendered to them is rendered
to Him personally (v 40; comp. v. 45). ‘I tell you the truth, whatever
you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for
me.’
All those of the goat character of selfishness
and insubmissiveness will be accounted unworthy of any further blessing after
their trial for life is ended. Their punishment will be destruction in
figurative ‘fire’, utter annihilation. The Greek word here translated
‘punishment’ is kolasin, which signifies cutting off – in this
case a final and permanent separation from life. Verse 46: ‘Then they will go
away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’ The contrast
is perfect. The sheep get life to all eternity, the
goats get death to all eternity.
Copyright May 2009 ukbiblestudents.co.uk