Dear Gracious Heavenly Father, as we come to the Gospel of Matthew once again tonight and really come to the climax of his argument where he's basically set forth the credentials of the king and the path that the kingdom program has taken at the presentation of the king, we pray, Lord, you'd give us insight by the Holy Spirit to understand this last portion of the discourse relative to the sheep, the goats, and the brethren, to be able to understand these things in light of the great prophetic discourse that the Lord Jesus Christ has given us in these pages, and to divide them rightly, of course, that we may do honor to you, and we may have a proper understanding of things to come. And thank you for everyone here, and pray for our families and our loved ones, and this time of year that they may, if they're unbelievers, be confronted with the importance of the Incarnation and what this has to do with salvation and the kingdom to come and it really it is a very important element in the overall picture of your program for history so help us to have an appreciation for it and As that we'd encourage one another on until the day that Christ comes for his church and be with those who are sick and able unable to come and join us and pray that people are studying the word and investing time and thought and energy in the text of the Bible, and going to you in prayer for all things, making petition, and taking all of our requests to you on a day-by-day basis. And we ask all these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen. All right, we are coming to the conclusion tonight of the fifth discourse in the Gospel of Matthew. It's popularly known as the Olivet Discourse. based on the location the Discourse was given, the Mount of Olives, but I prefer to refer to it as the Discourse on Kingdom Coming, based on the content of the Discourse, which is the events immediately preceding the establishment of the Kingdom of the Heavens, the Kingdom of Heaven, or Kingdom of God on Earth. And the Discourse grows out, and I'm going to review here, so the Discourse grows out of Jesus' final statement in Matthew 23 38, that your house is being left to you desolate. That is the temple that was under construction by Herod the Great. He had planned it. He wasn't around anymore, but it was still under construction from his plans. In chapter 24, verse 1, they're walking toward the Mount of Olives and pointing out the beautiful temple buildings. And they wondered if Jesus really meant what he said about the destruction of this temple. In verse 2, Jesus confirmed that the entire temple proper would be cast down. And in verse 3, they ask him two basic questions. When are these things going to be? When is the temple going to be destroyed? That's answered by Luke. It's not answered by Matthew. It is answered in Luke. And what will be the sign of your coming in the end of the age, which is really one One question, that is, what's the sign that the age preceding Messiah's coming is coming to a close and the Messiah's kingdom is dawning? What is that sign? So his reply in verse 4 through 31 is essentially that there are a variety of events, sequence of events, so forth, that will happen and lead up to the sign of his coming. In verses 4 to 8, We have the events of the first half of the tribulation. In verses 9 to 14, we have the events of the second half of the tribulation, when Israel is facing great distress. In verse 15, he sketches the event that's going to set off that distress. That's the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. In verses 16 to 28, he sketches how Jews should respond to that abomination of desolation. They ought to flee. in order to avoid being killed by the Antichrist. He mentions that the land is going to be filled with false signs of deception that will try to lure Jews who've escaped out of the wilderness so that they can be captured. But they need to remember that he told them all of these things in advance. And he told them that when he does come, it's not going to be a private affair, but rather a very public one. like lightning flashes from the east to the west, so will it be in the coming of the Son of Man. In verse 29, we have the backdrop for the coming of the Son of Man. It's a thick darkness. And in verse 30, the sign will appear in the sky. It's bright light, and then the Son of Man will come in great power and glory, and the tribes of Israel will be mourning for Him. We saw that in Zechariah, right? As a mother and father mourn for a loss of an only son. In verse 31, he'll send forth his angels to gather the surviving members of the elect nation of Israel and take them to judgment. In that light, at this point, in verse 32, Jesus takes an aside. He wants to explain here how the Jewish people should live during the tribulation time. And he uses a parable from the fig tree. And just as a fig tree puts off shoots whenever summer is near, so the events of the tribulation, when they see these things, that means his coming is near. However, since no one's going to know the exact moment of his coming, they need to be prepared with salvation in that time, and they also need to be serving others. So if they are prepared with salvation, of course, when he comes in his kingdom, they will enter the kingdom. If they're serving others, they will have a rich entrance into that kingdom. However, if they're not prepared with salvation, they will be excluded from the kingdom altogether. In chapter 24, verse 45, Jesus now resumes where he left off back in verse 31. The angels had gathered the surviving remnant of Jews from around the earth, and he's going to take them to judgment. And the first to be judged are going to be who? Well, those who have the highest positions, those in leadership. And that's described in verses 45 to 51. And so a Jewish leader who is prepared with salvation and serving others He's going to enjoy a rich entrance into the kingdom. And the other Jewish leader, he's not prepared with salvation. He's not serving others, but himself. And he's going to be excluded from the kingdom altogether. Second, we have the judgment of the nation of Israel in general. And this is described in two parables back to back. Matthew 25, 1 to 13, the parable of the 10 virgins. And Matthew 25, 14 to 30, the parable of the talents. The first one, the parable of the ten virgins, emphasizes the necessity of Jews in general to be prepared with salvation so that they can enter the kingdom when he arrives without notice. It'll be unknown exactly when he's coming, so be prepared. And then the parable of the talents emphasizes the need for Jews in general to be in service to others in order to enjoy a rich entrance into that kingdom. And so basically three facts become clear And we can sketch from everything up to this point. And that is, first of all, it's important for Jews living in the tribulation to recognize the extraordinary nature of the time they will be living in as a time that is heralding the nearness of Christ's coming. And the proper response is to prepare by believing in Christ alone. Secondly, it's important for these believing Jews to be engaged in serving others so that when Christ does return, they'll be rewarded at the judgment. And that way, they can enter the kingdom richly, have a rich entrance. And third, of course, if Jews do not recognize the extraordinary nature of the tribulation time, and they don't prepare by believing in him alone, then, of course, they're going to be swept away in judgment, excluded from the kingdom altogether. Just as Jesus said, it happened in the days of Noah when those unprepared were swept away. So it really is at this time in history, it's an all or nothing issue. You either enter into the kingdom, and basically just to enter the kingdom is to be greater than John, right? Because Jesus said, even he who's least in the kingdom is greater than John. But he said, those born of women in this world, there's none greater than John. Therefore, even to be in the kingdom is to have the greatest situation of anybody in the history of the world. But, on top of that, One who's been serving in that time can have even more. And so it is a wonderful thing to be a part of the kingdom, and to have rewards, as many of these Jews will, is greater even than that. But to be excluded from the kingdom is the worst possible scenario anyone could ever imagine. Now in verse 30, he has now concluded the judgment on living Israel. at the Second Coming. So we come to Matthew 25, 31 to 46, and this is about the judgment on living Gentiles at the time of the Second Coming. And this is the parable of the sheep, the goats, and the brethren. Three groups, not two groups, not the parable of sheep and goats. Parable of sheep, goats, and the brethren. Now observe that the judgments at the Second Coming that we have seen all involve only two groups, Jews and Gentiles. And that all of these judgments occur where? On planet Earth. All of them. None of these involve the Church. What did Paul say in 1 Corinthians 10.32? Don't offend Jews, Greeks, or the Church of God. These are three distinct groups in the plan of God. And the only two that are involved in Matthew 24 and 25 are Jews and Gentiles. There's nothing about the Church. The Church is not judged At this time, the church is not judged on the earth, as these groups are. The church will have been raptured from the earth seven years before this, at least, and will have been judged at the judgment seat of Christ in heaven, or somewhere between earth and heaven, but definitely not on earth. And so any attempt to try to find Christians or the church in Matthew 24 and 25 is just confusing God's dealings. So the scene is set here for the judgment on Gentiles in verse 31. But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. The Son of Man, this is the title that Jesus used most commonly for himself 83 times in the Gospels and the Book of Acts. It originates in Daniel chapter 7, verses 13 to 14, where Daniel in the night vision said, I kept looking, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming. And He came up to the Ancient of Days, and He was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." So the title, Son of Man, relates, as you can see from this original source, very heavily to the kingdom. So when you see it in the Gospels, so many times used by Himself, of Himself, it is with reference to the fact that the Kingdom was being offered to Israel. That was rejected, but at this time He's going to come in His Kingdom, which is stated here in verse 31, to be coming in His glory. Now, of course, the ultimate purpose of God in history is His glory. It's what we call the doxological purpose of God. And yet the kingdom cannot be separated from the fulfillment of this doxological purpose because the kingdom is the period when the world will see the fullest manifestation of the glory of God and the manifestation of his son, Jesus Christ, in total glory and absolute power. So history without a kingdom, what I'm saying here is history without an earthly kingdom within it is a history that does not have the full manifestation of God's glory. And it is therefore a history that is incomplete. And that is why premillennialism is the most developed and persuasive theology based on the Bible, because it pictures God in His greatest glory as reigning and fulfilling what was never done in history. So He has to come in history and reign over His creation. And we see here that when He comes, all the angels are going to come with Him. That again, that's a mark of the second coming. It distinguishes the second coming from the rapture, right? We keep these distinct. At the rapture, he does not come with angels. At the second coming, he does come with angels. That's a very clear and straightforward difference that's consistent through scripture. So for example, if you just back up to chapter 24, verse 30, in 24, 30, you have a clear description of the second coming, right? And then what do you have a clear description of in verse 31? The angels, the angels who came with him who are now being sent to gather Israel. So the second coming and the rapture are distinct. Now when he comes in his kingdom, verse 32, 31, in all his glory and all the angels with him, then we're told he will sit where? Sit on his glorious throne. Well, what's his glorious throne? Well, obviously it's a throne of possession. It's one that belongs to him. It's his throne. And what is his throne? What throne belongs to him by covenant? The throne of David. The throne covenanted to David through Solomon, that one of his descendants would sit on the throne forever. Now Jesus is not right now sitting on the throne of David in heaven. At the ascension, in Acts chapter 1, as the angels are standing there, two angels and the disciples are looking on as he's lifted up and he's taken up into heaven and he vanishes out of their sight. He went up to the right hand of the Father, and this is Psalm 110 verse 1, right? What the Lord said to my Lord, this is David, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, see? So the Lord Jesus Christ, when he ascended, he went to sit down at the right hand of the Father, on the Father's throne. He did not go to heaven to sit on David's throne, because David's throne is not in heaven, it's on earth, okay? Now what the progressive dispensationalists have done in the last 27 to 30 years is they have tried to equate the Father's throne in heaven with David's throne. Say they're one and the same. And they try to do this out of 2 Chronicles. And this is how they try to say that Jesus is right now partially fulfilling the Davidic covenant in heaven on David's throne. But you see the Davidic covenant is an earthly covenant as we see here. See, when He comes in His glory, then He will sit on His glorious throne, and not before. Hatan, when? You can't back this up to when Jesus Christ ascended in Acts chapter 1 and somehow make this fit. It doesn't fit. So, the Davidic covenant has yet to be fulfilled, but at this time you see it will be fulfilled. It will be fulfilled. Verse 32, and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left." Now, years ago, we saw in our study of Joel 3.2 the location of the nation's judgment, when all the nations will be gathered. And it says there that they'll be gathered and brought down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. And he says, then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of my people, which is Israel. and my inheritance Israel, whom they have scattered, that is, the nations have scattered among the nations, and they have divided up my land. They have also cast lots for my people." And it goes on to describe the selling of Jewish slaves, of how the nations have treated the people Israel. And that is a reference to the same judgment we are studying here tonight in Matthew 25, 31 to 46, the sheep and goats. And we saw also in our study of Zechariah 14.4 just a week ago that at the end of the campaign of Armageddon, which happens to be the seventh bowl in the book of Revelation, there's going to be a great earthquake such as never been seen by anybody in the history of the entire world, nor ever will again. And it's going to cause the Mount of Olives to split in half. And it says, in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives in front of Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley. Half of the mountain will move north, the other half toward the south. And it's that valley that will be created on that day. That'll be the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And in Matthew 25, 32, it says, in that valley, all the nations of the earth are gonna be gathered before him. Okay, now there is argument and debate about what nations are in view here. So I guess we have to talk about that. But the Greek word nations is ethne, from which we get ethnic. And it can have an inclusive or an exclusive use. So basically when it's an inclusive use, it's just referring to every nation on the earth, including Israel. Okay, so every nation without distinction. The other use is the exclusive use. And this is when the word is used of every nation on earth, except Israel. Israel being excluded. For example, take a look at chapter 24 verse nine. Chapter 24 verse nine. chapter 24 verse 9 we see the exclusive use this is used nations is being used of Gentile nations only and not the nation Israel because he says then they that is the nations will deliver you the Jews to tribulation and will kill you and you'll be hated by all nations because of my name exclusive use of nations right just Gentile nations will hate Israel Finally, we also know that in Zechariah chapter 14 verse 16, which you'll see here in a few weeks, I guess, in the kingdom, we read that when the kingdom comes, there will be Gentiles left from all the nations that came against Israel at the campaign of Armageddon. There will be some people who did not go up in that conflict from all the nations who remained home and didn't go to the valley of Armageddon and didn't attack Jerusalem. And they, if they're believers, of course, they'll be in the kingdom. And here they are. Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem, they will go up from year to year to worship the king, the lord of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of booze. So we see clearly Gentiles from the tribulation period will go into the millennial kingdom. And so it seems only natural that when we read here in verse 32, all the nations will be gathered before him, that it's describing all Gentiles. And so this should be translated, not nations, because that could be confusing. People could think that includes Israel too. But no, it's all the Gentiles will be gathered. A final argument for this would be the fact that who's already been judged in the previous parables? Israel. So you're not going to argue that there's going to have to be another judgment after all that, are you? No, they've already been judged. And that sets the stage for understanding who the brethren are later. And so when they are all gathered before him in the newly created valley of Jehoshaphat, we read that he will separate them from one another as a shepherd separates a sheep from the goats. And it will be individuals that are separated out, individual Gentiles that will be judged. It's not gonna be nations, you know, Egypt goes over here You know, some other nation, Angola goes over there. No, it's going to be individuals from all the nations because it's a judgment of individuals. And some individuals are said to be sheep and some are said to be goats. I'm not sure which one I really prefer myself. In the Middle East, sheep and goats are not as dissimilar as they are in many places. And it's not always easy to tell the difference, but a shepherd would know. And he would separate them, perhaps, for a variety of reasons. And here it is the king who separates them from one another. So, just for topographical or geographical orientation, the king, at this time, will have come. He's sitting on his glorious throne, which will be in the temple, because he has all three offices in himself. He's prophet, priest, and king. They've always been divided in the past, except Melchizedek. He was a king and a priest. But in the person of Messiah, all three offices prophet, priest, and king come together. And therefore, the throne of the king will be in the temple itself. This is something, of course, that's never been seen. But he has conjoined all of these offices. And so you will have him in the Millennial Temple, which will be built on the very site where Jerusalem is today. And he will be looking east, which is the direction that the temple will exit and look out through the main entryway. And he will be looking down this newly created valley, and on his right there will be the sheep, and on his left there will be the goats. Okay? Because he will have separated them. And the right, of course, is always the favored position, so now we know that we all want to be a sheep. Okay? You want to be in the favored position. You don't want to be a goat. Verse 34. Then the king will say to those on his right, these are the sheep, come you who are blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Now this is one of the most important verses in the whole Bible. I've said that before, but I really mean it this time. It tells us the purpose of history and where this is all going, what God is trying to accomplish. And this, as hopefully you'll see this Sunday, gets into the Incarnation pretty heavily. What, in the world, is God doing with history? Well, man is to rule a kingdom. You see, this is the purpose of history, he says here, from the foundation of the world. Meaning, from the very start, this is the purpose. And this has never gone away. This has never gone away. Toussaint says, it shows that the establishment of God's kingdom on earth has been God's purpose since the creation of the world. To Adam, he said, let them rule over the fish, And this is me, but he said to Adam, to let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth. Rule and be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and every living thing that moves, where? On the earth. Okay? Premillennialism is from page one of the Bible. You don't have to wait till you get to the covenants. This is what God wanted from the start. Adam ruled God's kingdom on earth. But Adam failed to rule God's kingdom when he fell into sin. What happened to that kingdom at that moment? It was usurped by Satan. The question of history is, is this ever going to get fixed? And that's where we have the dispensations come in. Is this ever going to get fixed? Every dispensation is showing that man is sinful and incapable of overcoming temptation and defeating Satan. So as to recapture the rule of God's kingdom on earth. We can't do that. That's what all the dispensations are saying. And so what is the incarnation all about? Well, it's about God becoming man, a man who would overcome temptation and defeat Satan so as to qualify to reign in God's kingdom or rule God's kingdom on the earth. That's what it's all about. That's what this whole Bible is about. In history, why is this one who became man in the incarnation, why is he not ruling now? Why is it obvious that he's not ruling now, despite all the people who say that he is ruling his kingdom now? Kingdom now, theology, which is all over the board. Why is it obvious that he's not ruling his kingdom now? Well, because Satan is still loose. This is so obvious. It's chaos in the world out there. And all this chaos that's stirred up by Satan, this all has to be judged before the kingdom can come. All of it. So this is still to come. The fulfillment of the purpose here of history in verse 34. The original purpose of God, again, is for man to rule a kingdom, and this is going to be fulfilled by the Son of Man. And people will be a part of this kingdom or they won't. And here are the sheep, they're the living Gentiles, they believe in him. And notice they're invited to come, verse 34 says, and inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Now it's very interesting what people do with this inherit the kingdom. You know, Dillow preferred, I read his book, his Final Destiny, and he says this should be translated inherit the kingship. prepared from the foundation of the world. Meaning that these Gentiles, these sheep here, who overcome, he says, are going to be kings and they're going to reign in the kingdom. Here's a question. What's the problem with that? What's the problem with these Gentiles reigning in the kingdom? What? Well, they're just living Gentiles. They're in mortal bodies. They still have a sinful disposition. Did you see any resurrection? There's no resurrection in here. These are Gentiles who survived the tribulation. They're in mortal bodies. Still have a sinful disposition. How could they reign with Christ? Well, they can't. They're not qualified to reign as kings in the kingdom because you have to be resurrected to reign with Christ in the kingdom. But they are believers, you see, and they do qualify to inherit the kingdom in the sense of share in the joys of the kingdom. And they will. They'll enter in in their mortal bodies and be able to marry and be given in marriage and have children and all of that. Now the reason they qualify is stated in verse 35, and this is where people really struggle. Here's why they qualify to enter in the kingdom and have joy. 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 naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me." And people say, well, doesn't it, I think, I think that it's saying that salvation is by, by what? By works. I mean, Jesus, doesn't he say that if you do good works, you know, you feed the hungry and so forth, show hospitality, visit prisoners and so forth, where you're going to get in the kingdom. So what's going on here? Well, let's see if we can unravel it. In verse 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? When did we see you a stranger invite you to come in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? And what's their point? Well, it's simple. We had no direct contact with you in the tribulation time, so how could we have done these things for you? And in verse 40, the king will answer and say to them, truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me. So here we're introduced to the key of the entire thing. You've got the sheep and you've got the goats and everybody knows about them. But even if you've been a Christian five minutes, you probably know that. But here's a third group. These brothers of mine, or we'll just call them the brethren. So who are the brethren? Well, they descended from Don Nelson Darby and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. No, I'm just kidding. Who are these brothers of mine? Well, 2 Saints says it's important to note that three groups of people are spoken of in this passage. The sheep, the goats, and the group designated by Christ as brothers of mine, verse 40. The key to identification of all three is the interpretation of brothers of mine. Now some people, of course, say, well, these are the Christians, you know. But if these are the Christians, who are the sheep? You see, I mean, because the sheep are clearly believers too, so how can the sheep and the Christians, how can this be a different group? How can the brethren and the sheep be a different group? It's strange, but if we think about the whole context that we've been studying, who's already been judged in the previous parables? The Jews. These brothers of mine, then, are the Jewish remnant. They are the Jewish remnant, and they're here at this judgment as well. and to the side, and all the sheep and goats are there, and he says, and points to the Jewish remnant, these brothers of mine. As you did it to them, so you did it to me. So what's the principle? Well, if they did good to the Jewish remnant during the tribulation time when they were in distress, they did it to the king. So they didn't have to have direct contact with the king in order to bless the king. They only had to bless the Jewish remnant of the king in order to through that be doing good to him as well. So wow, that's important. But how then still do we keep from saying that salvation and kingdom entrance here is by good works? Well, it's easy. When we put ourselves in the historical situation and the extraordinary nature of the tribulation, we come to understand what is at stake in this future period of time. We know, of course, that the Bible teaches clearly that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, apart from any works, right? Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, and we could quote another 158 verses to add on to that. There's something like 160 verses that say it's by grace alone, through faith alone. So, that's the easy part. That's the easy part. That's not hard. But, aren't there some things about the Tribulation that make it a unique period of history? Yeah, it's so violent, it's so chaotic. There are judgments that are cataclysmic on a global scale, something nothing in the world has ever seen. If it's not a unique period of time, then this discourse is just nonsense. Because it describes a period of history that is unlike any other in the history of the world, and where anti-semitism is even unparalleled by any other period of anti-semitism in the world. So let's back up. Let's just look. Back up to chapter 24, verse 14. Let me ask you a question. What is the gospel that is going to be preached in this time? I mean, what does it say? Now, what do you think? What does it say is going to be preached in chapter 24 verse 14? The gospel of the kingdom. Well, what is that? Well, it's the message. Catch this. It's not excluding what Jesus Christ did on the cross. It's inclusive of that, you see? It's what Christ did on the cross Believing in that is the only way into the kingdom. The way I drew it when I'm sitting in my office, you know, working with these verses, I drew a cross, right? And then I drew an arrow coming from the left side of the cross, passing through it into the kingdom. The way to the kingdom is through the cross. And there is no other way into the kingdom, okay? So if you believe that gospel, The finished work of Christ. Okay, what happens at the moment you believe? Well, you're justified, right? You're credited as righteous. And what are the sheep called in chapter 25 verse 37? What are they called? The righteous. Now, someone might try to come along and say, well, they're called the righteous because they did these good works. But, you know, one may equally claim, no, they're called the righteous because they believe the gospel of the kingdom in the context. And it's true, justification is always by faith in the Old and the New Testament, right? Abraham believed it was credited to him as righteousness. That's before the law, says Paul in Romans 4. Then David, he believed after the law, but still he's just justified by faith and not by the law. And then all the way in the New Testament, how are we justified? By faith in the same way as Abraham. There's never been any other way to be justified. no one has certainly ever been justified by works Galatians 2 21 right if if justifications by works of the law then Christ died needlessly if there's a single person on the planet who could ever have been justified by works there's no reason for him to come and die no reason just do it yourself so it's best to say that they are righteous in verse 37 because they believe the gospel the kingdom And verse 46 confirms this because it says the righteous go into what? Well, they go into eternal life, which in this context is the joys of the kingdom. The joys of the kingdom. The first use of eternal life, actually, in the book of Daniel refers to the kingdom. But there's more. So let's think about this period of time. The tribulation, again, is an extraordinary period of time. The gospel of the kingdom is going to be preached to the whole world as a testimony. You've got the 144,000, but you've got more than that. You've got an angel who flies around in mid-heaven in Revelation chapter 14, 6, preaches the gospel to the whole world. And chapter 29, verse 14, or 25, 14, told us that this gospel of the kingdom will be preached to all the world as a testimony to the nations. So, actually, every person on the planet, every person down to every single individual, will hear the gospel of the kingdom preached to them in this period of time. And that will involve the preaching of the cross work of Christ. So if a Gentile believes the gospel of the kingdom, do you think he believes in the Jewish Messiah? Well, yeah. Does he believe the Jewish people have a special place in the plan of God related to a kingdom? Absolutely. You could not escape it. It's the gospel of the kingdom that's so Jewish it reeks. So what do you think he's going to think about Jewish people at that time if he's a believer? Well, the Jewish people are going to be facing the greatest difficulty they've ever faced in their entire history. Most of them are going to be killed. So is it hard to imagine that a Gentile in that time who has believed in the Jewish Messiah and believed the kingdom that was coming is the re-establishment of the ancient Jewish kingdom Is it hard to believe that they're going to help Jewish believers? No. Putting these facts together, I think we can conclude this, that because the Tribulation is a totally unique period of history where the Jews are persecuted greatly, then a Gentile helping a Jewish believer is the mark of a believer in that time. Now some are going to say, well, that's lordship salvation. You're saying if you have faith, you've got to have works of helping Jewish believers. I'm not saying that at all. That's thinking theologically, not exegetically. If you put all this together, this is a unique period of history. And there is just two sides and everybody is lining up on one side or the other. You either take the mark of the beast or you say, hell no to the beast, I believe in Jesus Christ and the Jewish people and the kingdom is coming. And that is it. And there is a line in the sand. Every person on the planet is going to get on one side of that line or the other. Period. It is very clear what the issues are. Now here's what Pentecost said. Something similar. He said, Jewish believers will be under a death sentence by the beast. They will refuse to carry the beast's mark, and so they will not be able to buy and sell. I mean, they can't get food. And what are these people supplying in this passage? Food, shelter, drink. They will have to depend on those to whom they minister for hospitality, food, and support. Only those who receive the message, that is the gospel of the kingdom, will jeopardize their lives by extending hospitality. I mean, can you imagine? If you got caught by the SS in 1943 helping Jews escape, what do you think is going to happen to you? Shot on sight, taken to the camps, but it ain't going to be nice. What do you think is going to happen then when it's 20 times worse? And you're helping Jewish believers out. What do you think the Antichrist is going to have done to you? Guillotine. You know, it's right there in the book of Revelation. It's not that hard. It's a unique period of time. Only a believer would help. See? Only a believer would put their life at stake. Wolvard said something similar. Those described here are people who have lived through the Great Tribulation, a time of unparalleled anti-Semitism, when the majority of Jews in the land would be killed. Under these circumstances, if a Gentile befriends a Jew to the extent of feeding and clothing and visiting him, it can only mean that he is a believer in Jesus Christ. and he recognizes the Jews as the chosen people. But that all said, as well as Pentecost and Walworth said it, I think you have to bring the concept of the gospel of the kingdom into the picture. Because the gospel of the kingdom involves the Jewish kingdom, a very Jewish element. And Jesus mentioned it in chapter 24, verse 14. So it's very definitely on the minds of the apostles who heard this. And Kelly mentioned it when he, in his writing on Matthew, said this, The king's messengers, immediately before he appears in glory, will go forth preaching the gospel of the kingdom everywhere. And when the king takes his throne, those that receive the gospel of the kingdom among the nations are recognized as sheep, and the despisers perish as goats." Okay, so the point is that In this period of time in the future, every Gentile that believes in Christ also believes that Christ is a Jew. They also believe that this Jew is returning very soon to establish a very Jewish kingdom. And in that light, no Gentile unbeliever would risk his life to help Jews, but every Gentile believer would. So who are the sheep? Well, in conclusion, the sheep are living Gentiles. They're righteous by faith, help the Jewish remnant, blessed by the Father, the joys of the kingdom. Now for the goats, verse 41. Then he will also say to those on his left, depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. And so far from entering the kingdom, the goats are cast into eternal fire. Now this is, of course, nothing less than some form of eternal punishment. Verse 46 agrees. It says, these will go away into eternal punishment. And so you can see then, from the sheep and the goats, there really only are two ultimate destinies here. One is separation from God forever and the lake of fire. And the other destiny is the kingdom, which once established, will continue forever, even though you've got a brief break for the great white throne between the millennium and the eternal state. It's still eternal once established. Now it's important to take note of the fact that Jesus said the eternal fire was prepared for who? Well, for those predestined from before the foundation of the world to be cast into it, right? Before the foundation of the world, God decided, He predestined certain people to never go to heaven, but to definitely spend eternity in hell, right? No, wrong. See, it's not created for men. It's not prepared for men. It's prepared for the devil and his angels. Wiersbe said, rightly, the kingdom was prepared for these saved individuals. But Matthew 25, 41 does not state that the everlasting fire was prepared for the goats. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. God never prepared hell for people. There is no evidence from scripture that God predestines people to go to hell. So why do people go to hell? Well, because they sinned in Adam and so they have a sinful nature and they stand condemned. That's the fundamental reason. That's the fundamental reason. We sin in Adam. Romans 5.12. Watershed of all theology. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, so does spread to all men. Why? Because all sinned. You say, I didn't sin. I'm not Adam. You don't understand Adam. Adam is both a man and he is mankind at the same time because there's nobody else. When he sinned, we sinned in him as a part of mankind. Now, of course, we don't come into existence until we're conceived in our mother. I understand that. That's when the sin nature is transmitted to us by our parents. Okay? Chiefly the father, of course. The father. Through the father. Okay, but that gets into... Now I'm in Romans 5. So, that's the chief reason people go to hell. It's because they have a sinful disposition toward God. and they therefore stand condemned. Now, the fact that they then see God through creation, everything that He's made, and they continue to deny Him, and they give alternate explanations of the data and how the world could be the way it is in such an organized and complex fashion. That reinterpretation of all that data is just adding personal sin on top of their already condemned nature due to their sinful propensity. And it only manifests, what? That they are following their leader And who is their leader? The devil and his angels. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 to 3. The sons of disobedience walk according to the prince of the power of the air. They are walking according to him. He is their leader. Jesus said in John 8, verse 44, there's only two types of people. Children of the devil and children of God. That's it. There's nobody else. Nobody's in between. And since the devil and his angels are going to end up in the lake of fire, those who follow them are going to end up in exactly the same place, even though it wasn't constructed for them. So we should never think that God decided before the creation of the world, well, I'm going to send John Doe here. I predestine him to the lake of fire. No, that's not true, and that's a false view of God. When we think about the sovereignty of God, what we're supposed to think about is the asymmetry to it. It's not symmetrical. He's not sovereign over good and evil in the same way. He's sovereign over both, but not in the same way. He's sovereign over good in such a way that he is given all the credit for the salvation of the saved. Right? He gets all the credit for the salvation of the saved. But he's sovereign over evil in such a way that he is not credited with damning the damned. but that falls on their own shoulders. So there's an asymmetry to his sovereignty, even though he's, of course, sovereign over both, but in a different way. In verse 42, we now come to Jesus's explanation why the goats end up in the eternal lake of fire. And it's basically the opposite of what he said to the sheep. It says, for I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, you did not invite me in. Naked, you did not clothe me. Sick and in prison, you did not visit me. Okay, and they response, They respond basically saying, well, we never had the opportunity to. I mean, we didn't see you, verse 44. Then they'll say to him, they themselves also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of you? They're just saying, we never had an opportunity to. So we're excused. This is our excuse. But in verse 45, the king will answer them, Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, who are these? Who's he referring to? These brethren of mine, the Jewish brethren. To the extent you did not do it to one of the least of these Jewish brethren of mine, you did not do it to me. You see, Jesus is directly connected to this Jewish remnant. And to not help the Jewish remnant is to not be favorable to him. So this will be a mark of all unbelieving Gentiles. Again, see, in that time, the lines are drawn like they've never been drawn before. I mean, it's clear. Everybody in the world and the planet knows. And you're either on one side or the other side. You're in the Antichrist side or you're on Christ's side. And so these, the goats here, when they see the Antichrist rise to power and he requires the world to take his mark, well, they're going to take the mark. When they hear the gospel of the kingdom, they're going to say, no, we don't believe that, we reject that. One more thing. When the Antichrist sets out to destroy the Jewish people, they're not going to say, no, and stand in the way. They're going to say, yeah, yeah, let's kill the Jews, get rid of them. And by making that, by not helping them, they make manifest that they're not for him, but they are. against them, okay? And this is a unique time in history. The line's drawn. You either have to take a side. Either you're for Christ, or you're against Christ. If you're for Christ, you're for the Jewish people. If you're against Christ, you're against the Jewish people. You're sheep or a goat. That's it. Okay, yeah, you... Right. The question is, these, like the brethren, right? Verse 45. Are they Jews in general, or are they Jewish believers? Well, by this time, the Jewish judgments have already taken place. We saw them in chapter 24, verse 45 to 51. We saw in chapter 25, verses 1 to 30. All the Jews have already been judged, right? So there's no Jewish unbelievers left. I mean, they're gone. The only ones left are the Jewish believers, the Jewish remnant, these brethren of mine. As such now, of course, since there's only two sides, there's only two destinies. In verse 46, very clearly, these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. The goats go to eternal punishment. That's the same as verse 41, the eternal fire. Same thing. It was prepared for the devil and his angels, not for them. But they all end up there with them in the lake of fire. But the sheep, the sheep are the righteous here again in verse 46, and they'll go into eternal life. And eternal life is the same as verse 34, it's the kingdom. To go into eternal life here is to go into the kingdom. I know eternal life means other things elsewhere. When we believe in Jesus, we have eternal life. I know that. But eternal life has more dimensions than just, you know, maybe the one we're thinking of right now. And this one, this dimension is the kingdom. So only the righteous can enter the kingdom and enjoy its blessings, and that's really what Matthew's all about. You need the righteousness of God in order to be in the kingdom of God. And without that, you can't. So in conclusion then, Matthew 24 and 25 is Jesus's most extensive teaching on prophecy. It's known popularly as Olivet Discourse. I think it's better to call it the Discourse on Kingdom Coming. Way back in verse 38, again, Jesus announced what? The temple will be left to you desolate. In verse 3, three questions. Really, or two, really two. But when is this judgment going to come, and what's the sign of the end of the age? And you're coming. Verses 4 to 8, events of the first half of the Tribulation. Verses 9 to 14, events of the second half of the Tribulation. Verses 15 to 26, the abomination of desolation is a sign that indicates the second half of the Tribulation has begun, and Jews need to escape Judea in order to survive. Of course, they're going to go to Petra. You know that. The ones who believe that, the believers by the midpoint, will go. We're studying in Zechariah people who didn't believe by the midpoint. They stuck around Jerusalem because they weren't believers. They don't become believers until during the campaign of Armageddon, at the very end. They stick around. It's trouble, it's difficult. But some survive, of course, we're learning. In 24-27 of 31, the sign of the Second Coming, which will occur like lightning, and then the angels will gather all of Israel, dispersed around the world, bring them into one place for judgment. Verses 32-51, parenthetical exhortations to Jews that live in the tribulation. You know, be watchful, be prepared, because the exact moment of my coming is not going to be known. In 2445 to 2530, he resumes the description of events by teaching that when Israel is regathered by the angels, he's going to judge them starting with the leadership. An entrance will be granted to all who are prepared with salvation. And a rich entrance will be granted to those who have additional acts of faithful service during the tribulation. In chapter 25, verse 31 to 46, which we studied tonight, he concludes with a description of his judgment on the surviving Gentiles. And those who bless Israel will serve as the sign of their righteous standing before God. Those who curse Israel in that time will serve as a sign of their unrighteousness before God. And the righteous will then be ushered into the kingdom. They will be in their natural bodies. They will enjoy its blessings. They will repopulate their peoples, whether Jew or Gentile, and the unrighteous are cast into eternal punishment. So this passage really just talks about the judgments of those who survive the tribulation and actually go in in the same types of bodies you and I have. So it does not include Other truths that will happen at this time, such as the resurrection of Old Testament saints, will happen at this time. The resurrection of Tribulation saints who are killed, they'll also be raised at the Second Coming, but they won't be in normal bodies like us, they'll be in resurrection bodies. And then of course the return of Church Age saints with Christ at the Second Coming, depicted in Revelation 19, we will be coming with him in resurrection bodies. So these facts are not included in this passage, but we would want to build them into our overall prophetic picture, right? A few more things. The exegesis, as we went through this, I didn't deal with like post-millennialism and amillennialism and all that stuff, but the results of the exegesis show both of these views to be faulty eschatologies. For example, Post-millennialism views the age we are presently living in as progressing and eventually becoming Christianized to the point that we hand over a Christianized kingdom to Jesus as he comes back. However, the picture here is what? The world is plunged in darkness, it's ruled by the Antichrist leading a campaign of extermination of the Jewish people, and all this has to be judged before the kingdom can come. Very, very different picture than post-millennialism. Amillennialism as well. It is not consistent with the exegesis of this passage. Amillennialism views the end of the age we are now living, ending in a general resurrection and judgment of all the living and all the dead of history, from Adam to the present, at the Great White Throne. They just view everybody at the Great White Throne. No judgment seat of Christ. Forget about all that. There's just one general judgment and resurrection for everybody at the end of history. But the picture here does not involve resurrection of anyone. And it's a judgment not of the dead and the living, but only the living. So amillennialism does not fit. The only view that's consistent with the exegesis of the passage is premillennialism. I mean, that's it. Lastly, when we think about the timing of the rapture, The exegesis does not deal with post-tribulationism, but the results of the exegesis show this to be a faulty view. Post-tribulationism says that the rapture is going to occur as Christ is coming back at the second coming. The believers on earth are going to be captured up to him. But if that were the case, there's no believers left on the earth to separate from unbelievers when he gets here. They've already been raised, resurrected, right? But in our picture that we've studied here, when he returns to earth, he has to enter into judgment and separate the believers, the sheep, from the unbelievers, the goats. So you see, post-tribulationism is not consistent with this passage. It doesn't even make sense, and that's pretty much why they avoid this passage. But pre-tribulationism is consistent with this. So we see that the pre-tribulational rapture and pre-millennialism are consistent with the details of Jesus's discourse, but they're not consistent with these other views. So we come to Matthew 26.1, and we read, when Jesus had finished all these words, And these are the oft-repeated words that signal, in Matthew, every time, the end of a narrative followed by discourse section. So next year, 2017, we're going to begin to look at the events that lead to the crucifixion, which is an event that is the positive results Right? Bring salvation. Bring salvation. But they are positive results that grow out of a negative response of Israel to their Messiah. It grows out of their rejection. So that salvation will go to the Gentiles, in Paul says in Romans 11, that God will be all in all. That he would show mercy to all. So Matthew has, at this point, come to the climax of his argument. Here's what he's done in three or four sentences. He has presented Jesus is having all the credentials of the king. And he has presented the course of the kingdom program as having taken a very tortuous path as it was resisted by the Jewish people. So they rejected him as king. And as a result, what's going to happen to the kingdom program? The kingdom offer is going to be withdrawn from that generation. It's going to be given again to a future repentant Israel. And when that nation comes along, the Son of Man will return in all his glory and power, he will judge Israel and the nations, he will establish his kingdom over the face of the whole earth, and he will sit and reign on David's throne." May it be. Let's close with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, you have a great and grand plan and purpose for history to establish a human to rule your kingdom on the earth and yourself. take into yourself humanity in the Incarnation. And to be able to study these things and think about them in the context of the time of year in which we celebrate the birth of the King is certainly a marvelous endeavor. Help us to think more scripturally and biblically about what the Incarnation is all about and what you have in store for Him when He returns and those of us who are returning with Him to reign with him as kings and fulfill that mandate that was given in Genesis to rule and to be a king under the king who rules over all and to enjoy that most wonderful time of history and to know that even even if things in this world are frustration for us and our circumstances and our world crumble around us yet the world that is to come will never crumble, and it's ours. And to give you thanks for all of that, because it's sheerly and purely all of your grace and mercy. And we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen.