It’s
significant that, in verses 34 and 41, the righteous among the nations (the
“sheep”) are referred to as “blessed,” while the unrighteous among the nations
(the “goats” or “kids”) are referred to as “cursed”:
34 "Then shall
the King be declaring to those at His right, 'Hither, blessed of My Father! Enjoy the allotment of the kingdom made ready
for you from the disruption of the world.
41 "Then shall
He be declaring to those also at His left, 'Go from Me, you cursed, into the fire eonian, made ready for the Adversary and
his messengers.
This
terminology is probably not a coincidence. For the Jewish readers of Matthew’s Gospel
account, it would’ve likely brought to mind the covenant that God made with
Abraham, as recorded in Genesis 12:1-3: “Yahweh said
to Abram: Go by yourself from your land, from your kindred and from your
father’s house to the land that I shall show you. I shall make you into a great nation, and I
shall bless you; I shall indeed make your name great, and you will indeed be a
blessing; I shall indeed BLESS those
blessing you, and I shall CURSE the one maledicting you.” See also
Gen. 27:29 and Numbers 24:9.
It
would appear that the nations who will be present at the judgment described in
Matthew 25 are being blessed and cursed in accord with this covenant. Those
among the nations who, during the time of Israel’s great affliction, bless the
Jewish descendents of Abraham will be blessed, while those who “maledict” them will
be cursed. It should be noted that the Hebrew word translated “maledicting” in
Gen. 12:3 means to speak or think of someone with contempt, as if they were of
little or no significance or account. In some places, the Concordant Literal Old Testament translates the same word as, “to
be lightly esteemed” (see, for example, Isaiah 65:20). Although the actions of
the “goats” that will bring a “curse” upon them seem to be passive in nature
(vv. 42-44), their failure to help Christ’s brethren during the time of their
affliction will, evidently, manifest an inward attitude of contempt or
indifference toward them.
Those
among the nations who bless Christ’s brethren, on the other hand (by providing
then with food, drink and shelter, and visiting them while they were sick or in
prison), are said to be “righteous” or “just,” and are rewarded for their kind
actions. Notice, again, that there is no indication that the righteousness of
the “sheep” is based on anything other than how they treated Christ’s brethren
(it certainly isn’t said to be based on their faith in Christ, or on what
Christ accomplished through his death and resurrection). At this future time, a
gentile’s compassionate treatment of God’s covenant people (who, as noted
earlier, will become the targets of severe persecution under the regime of the “wild
beast”) will merit great reward after Christ returns. In his commentary on this
passage, A.E. Knoch remarks as follows, “When God is judging the earth no
greater act of righteousness can be done than to feed and shelter His oppressed
people. Each faithful Israelite stands in the place of Christ toward the
nations. Those who help them do so at the greatest risk, for they may be called
to account by the powers that oppose them” (Concordant
Commentary on the New Testament, page 49).
Geopolitical
communities or individual gentiles?
Some
have argued that each nation (i.e., geopolitical community/country) of the
world will be represented by a single “sheep” or “goat.” According to this
view, one “sheep” or “goat” will represent China, another Honduras, another
Romania, another Botswana (etc.). Some proponents of this view have suggested
that the individuals who will actually be present at this judgment will be the
leaders/designated representatives of the nations to which they belong. This
view also holds that the judgment will determine how close or distant a nation
will be in proximity to Israel (with the “sheep” nations being closer to
Israel, and the “goat” nations being more distant).
Although
I am sympathetic toward this position, I’m not convinced that it’s true, and
don’t see it as being required by what’s said in the text. Rather than
understanding each “sheep” or “goat” as representing a single nation, I believe
it is individual gentiles – i.e., the individual
members of all the nations at this future time - who are being represented
as “sheep” and “goats,” and that the judgment will determine the eonian destiny
of individuals and families during the millennium (I added “families” only
because a “sheep” or “goat” could, in many cases, be the head of a household,
and thus have the potential to affect the eonian destiny of some or all of the
other members of the household). There are a few considerations which have led
me to accept this view over the alternative.
First,
it’s simply not the case that Christ’s use of the expression “all the nations”
means that the individuals who will comprise
all the nations at this future time aren’t in view. The next time that the
expression “all the nations” is found in scripture is in Matt. 28:19-20, where
Christ instructed his twelve apostles to “disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to be keeping all, whatever I
direct you.” Is it the case that “all the nations” will be
discipled, baptized and taught as nations (i.e., as collective,
geopolitical entities)? Was Christ expecting his apostles to disciple, baptize
and teach Egypt,
Spain and China as nations? Or, was
Christ instead expecting his apostles to disciple, baptize and teach the individuals
of which these and other nations are comprised? Clearly, it is the latter. It
is the individuals of which nations
are comprised – and not the nations as
such – which can be discipled, baptized and taught. In this verse, then, the
expression “all the nations” must be understood as referring to the people who comprise all of the nations of the world.
The same expression is found in
Rev. 20:7-9 as well: ”And whenever the
thousand years should be finished, Satan will be loosed out of his jail. And he
will be coming out to deceive all the
nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to be
mobilizing them for battle, their number being as the sand of the sea.
And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and surround the citadel of the
saints and the beloved city. And fire descended from God out of heaven and
devoured them.” Here we’re told that the number of
“all the nations” which will be mobilized by Satan after the thousand years are
finished will be “as the sand of the sea.” Is this referring to the number of
separate, geopolitical communities that will exist at this future time, or to
the number of people who will comprise
these geopolitical communities? Clearly, it’s the latter. And if the expression
“all the nations” can be understood as a reference to the people who comprise
all the nations in Matt. 28:19 and Rev. 20:8, it can (and, I believe, should) be understood in the same way in
Matt. 25:32. [1]
Second,
the criteria by which the “sheep” and “goats” will be judged seems to point to
the judgment’s being based on the actions of individuals rather than the
“public policy” of entire countries. Consider verses 35-40 (where we read of Christ
explaining why the “sheep” will be blessed):
For I hunger and
you give Me to eat; I thirst and you give Me drink; a stranger was I and you
took Me in; naked and you clothed Me; infirm am I and you visit Me; in jail was
I and you come to Me.' Then the just will be answering Him, saying, 'Lord, when
did we perceive Thee hungering and nourish Thee, or thirsting and we give Thee
drink? Now when did we perceive Thee a stranger and took Thee in, or naked and
we clothed Thee? Now when did we perceive Thee infirm, or in jail, and we came
to Thee?' And, answering, the King shall be declaring to them, 'Verily, I am
saying to you, In as much as you do it to one of these, the least of My
brethren, you do it to Me.'
Based
on this above, I find it unlikely that entire countries (such as China,
Honduras or Romania) will be commended by Christ for visiting sick and
imprisoned Israelites, or providing them with sustenance and shelter during the
time of great affliction. It seems far more plausible to me that the actions
described in this passage will be the actions of individual gentiles who will belong to these and other nations.
This scenario seems all the more likely when we consider that the sort of
actions described above will most likely be illegal,
and against the sanction of the governments of the countries to which people
will belong during the time of Israel’s “great affliction.” The reason for this
is that, during the final 3½ years of this eon, the entire world will be under
the authority of the “wild beast” (Rev. 13:7-8). We also read that “all
nations” and the “kings of the earth” will be deceived by, and under the influence
of, the saint-persecuting city of Babylon (Rev. 14:8; 17:2, 18; 18:3, 9, 23). If
any of God’s covenant people are to be aided during this time of worldwide
deception, it will have to be by individuals, and not by the deceived and
hostile countries of the world.
Moreover,
in Matthew 24:9 we’re told that the saints will be “hated by all nations.” If
this refers to the saints being hated by entire countries – and if the same
“all nations” are in view in Matthew 25 – then there would be no “sheep” to be
rewarded! All would be “goats,” since we’re told that all nations will hate the
saints. Since it’s not true that every individual member of every nation will
hate the saints (otherwise there would be no “sheep” to be rewarded), these
words most likely express the fact that individuals from every nation will hate
the saints (perhaps under the influence and pressure of the governments). In
any case, there will be at least some
individuals from among “all nations” who don’t
hate the saints, and who will risk their lives or freedom to help the saints
during their time of persecution. It is these individual gentiles who I believe
will be blessed after Christ returns.
Given
these and other considerations (see the next installment for more), I think
it’s reasonable to understand the judgment described in Matthew 25 as one in
which the eonian allotment of the people comprising every nation of the world
will be determined.
Part five: http://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-judgment-of-sheep-and-goats-study_67.html
Part five: http://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-judgment-of-sheep-and-goats-study_67.html
[1] Although the
words translated “nation” and “nations” in scripture (ethnos and ethne,
respectively) can refer to entire geopolitical communities to which individuals
belong, the plural form ethne (“nations”) is often times used in scripture to
refer to individual non-Jews, or “gentiles” (with the expression “the nations”
likely expressing the fact that the individual gentiles in view are
representative of this particular category of people). That is, the word
“nations” does not always refer directly
to specific countries (e.g., Egypt, Turkey, Libya, etc.), but rather was used
to refer to individual gentiles themselves. Consider the following examples
where the same word translated “nations” in Matthew 25:32 is used to refer to
individual gentiles, as opposed to directly denoting the entire geopolitical communities
to which the individuals belonged:
Acts 10:45-46
And amazed were the believers of the Circumcision,
whoever come together with Peter, seeing that on the nations also the gratuity of the holy spirit has been poured
out. For they heard them [the nations] speaking in languages and
magnifying God….Now the apostles and the brethren who are of Judea hear that the nations also receive the word of
God.
Here, “the nations” who received the word of God
(and on whom the “gratuity of the holy spirit” was poured out) refers
exclusively to the centurion, Cornelius, along with “his relatives and intimate
friends” (Acts 10:24). See also Acts 15:7, where Peter refers to himself as
being the one chosen by God to herald the evangel entrusted to him “to the
nations” (where, again, the expression “the nations” refers to individual
gentiles rather than to the geopolitical communities to which these gentiles
belonged).
Acts 14:47-48
For thus the Lord has directed us: I have
appointed Thee for a light of the nations; for Thee to be for salvation as far
as the limits of the earth.'" Now on hearing this, the nations rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and they believe, whoever were set for life
eonian.
Here, again, “the nations” refers to individual
gentiles. They’re referred to as “the nations” because they were seen as
examples of this category of people.
Romans 9:30
What, then, shall
we be declaring? That the nations who are not pursuing righteousness overtook
righteousness, yet a righteousness which is out of faith.
Obviously,
there weren’t entire geopolitical communities who were being justified by
faith; rather those being justified were individual gentiles. Other examples
could be given, but these should suffice.
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