Salvation and Judgment

 

Salvation and Judgment

 

Matthew 25:31-35 『When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:』Tote (Τότε) is a relative pronoun that connects the previous sentence, not when, but the meaning of then, which means after.

In the above words, people talk about the second coming and judgment in the last days. It is like a scene from a movie where a judge with a sack appears, stands people up, and judges them by dividing them into good and bad people. However, the above sentence is divided into two parts. The work of the Son of Man and the work of the King. The Son of Man refers to Jesus who came to the world to bear the cross, and the King refers to Christ who comes as the judge.

『When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:』 This part is expressed in Luke 2:12-14. 『And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.』

The Son of Man is the Son of God. He was originally Jehovah God, but he became the Son of Man to save sinners. The throne of his glory represents Jesus Christ dying on the cross on behalf of mankind, and returning to his original position through resurrection.

『And before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.』 God the Father has delegated all the authority to forgive sins and to judge to His Son. Mark 2:10『But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,).』 John 5:22『For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:.』 Jesus Christ has the authority to judge.

In chapter 5, verse 24, it says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." And in chapter 5, verse 29, it says, "And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." According to chapter 5, verses 24 and 29, those who hear the words of Jesus and believe in God will obtain eternal life and proceed to the resurrection of life.

The sheep are placed on the right side, which means the right side of God. Ephesians 2:5-6 『Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:』 Therefore, the sheep are those who go to the resurrection of life. Those who believe that they died on the cross with Jesus and were resurrected together will receive heavenly life. However, those who do not believe this will go to the resurrection of judgment. The Son of Man has already decided this. Therefore, those who believe that they died on the cross with Jesus and were resurrected are not the object of judgment. It is not decided in the last judgment, but it has already been decided that this will happen, and those who have this faith already have heavenly life. Salvation is not decided in the last judgment, but those who believe in the words of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, while alive, are saved.

『Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:』 Here, the King is a King who judges. The one on his right hand is already seated with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This is a contrast between those on his right and those on his left. He says that these are to inherit the kingdom (ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου.) prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Humin (ὑμῖν) means you, the sheep. It was predetermined when the world was created. This is called the predestination of Christ, and his kingdom is called the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of the Son. In Colossians 1:13, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his Son:”

He explains the reason on the right: "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in". "I" identifies with the least of my brothers. In Matthew 25:40, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.."

The one on the right is the one who has shared the life (resurrection) of heaven with the least of these (the poor in spirit). He lets them eat and drink. Eating and drinking symbolizes the blood and flesh of Jesus. The blood of Jesus symbolizes the death of the cross, and the flesh symbolizes the life of resurrection. He has conveyed the faith of dying with Jesus and resurrecting with him. A stranger is someone who has left the kingdom of God. Welcoming him is to convey the death of the cross and resurrection to someone who has left the kingdom of God, thereby making Jesus Christ the Lord.

Today, there are many church communities, but those who do not preach the physical death with Jesus on the cross and the spiritual resurrection with Christ, and those who do not believe this word, are like the goats on the left. They are not seated in heaven in Christ, so they are still caught in the net of the law in the world. When they are in the world, they are in hell where their spirit is imprisoned in the body, and when they take off the body of the world, they go to the resurrection of judgment where they will have the second death in Hades. The spirit that died rises and puts on the clothes of judgment. The clothes are described as fire.