Verse by Verse Matthew 25

[0:00] And didn't really have enough time to get started on 25, so here we go. Good to have Mrs. West back. Oh, it's good to have you back.

[0:17] Amen. And Robin and Genesis, I saw you guys sneak in here too. Good to see you both. All right, Matthew 25. Now this is really, we're just continuing what was going on in chapter 24.

[0:33] I'll point out a few things just to get your bearings. Again, this is an answer to those questions about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ from back in the beginning of chapter 24.

[0:47] And what transpired all over his answer was the second coming of Christ. Is what he's talking about, when the end of the world is going to be. And you'll notice, and I'm not going to, I'll just throw these verses out and I'll read them and I don't expect you to catch up with me.

[1:02] But in 24, 27, it ends by saying, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. And in the middle of verse 30, the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven. And he carries that on into verse 39.

[1:14] The verse ends by saying, the coming of the Son of Man be. And then he talks about some people, well, verse 42 ends, the Lord doth come. Verse 44, the Son of Man cometh.

[1:25] Verse 46, when he cometh. Verse 48, my Lord delayeth his coming. But in verse 50, the Lord of that servant shall come in a day. And it carries right on into chapter 25.

[1:36] Verse number 6, right in the middle there. It says, behold, the bridegroom cometh. Verse 13 ends by saying, wherein the Son of Man cometh. Verse number 19, after a long time, the Lord of those servants cometh.

[1:47] And so this is all about the return of the Lord. Verse 27 in the middle. Verse 31, when the Son of Man shall come. So these two chapters, they don't separate. They're a continuation.

[1:59] And what we start in chapter 25 is going to be some parables, maybe you would call them. In the first 13 verses is one. And then in verse 14 on to verse 30 is another.

[2:09] And he's just going to give, he already did at the end of chapter 24, gave a little story or a little thought here about a servant. And watching over the household. And saying that if he knew when the thief was going to come.

[2:25] Or I shouldn't say that. Where is it at? Verse 45. Over the household. If he says that his master is going to delay his coming.

[2:37] Goes out and parties. He's 43. If the good man of the house had known what hour the thief, yeah, there it is, should come, he would have watched. And then later on, if the servant knew when his master was going to return, he would keep things tip-top shape and be prepared for his coming.

[2:54] It's all about the return of the Lord and being ready to meet him. Now, as I said before and I'll say it strongly again, this is not about the church. It's not the body of Christ.

[3:05] This is not about a rapture and being prepared for the return of Christ to catch us out of here. And if we're not ready and we're not watching, then we're not going. That's not the teaching at all. This is somebody has to be doing something and actively doing something and prepared for his return.

[3:21] The theme is the second coming. There's no body of Christ in this chapter at all. And this is an answer to the questions about the end of the world. And when is this world going to end?

[3:32] Well, when this kingdom comes. That's when it's going to end. Remember Jesus Christ praying in that prayer he taught his disciples in Matthew 6, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[3:42] Well, here's the description or pictures of when that kingdom comes. And the teaching is before it shows up, be ready. Be ready, be watching, be doing what you're told to be doing.

[3:54] Now, some of this isn't going to make a whole lot of sense to us. And the reason is, is because it's not for us. And secondly, it's going to make an awful lot of sense to somebody in the tribulation who is anticipating the return of Jesus Christ.

[4:07] And they'll be fulfilling and obeying these kind of teachings. It'll make an awful lot of sense to them. When the kingdom shows up, that'll be the end of this world. As a matter of fact, it's called the world to come.

[4:19] When the kingdom is established on this earth. So let's get into this passage now in chapter 25. And we'll come through these first 13 verses. We can't help but notice the very first phrase of the very first verse.

[4:32] And we've covered this stuff extensively now coming through Matthew. This is about the kingdom of heaven. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

[4:45] The kingdom of heaven is not likened to a wedding. It's likened to ten virgins who went forth to meet the bridegroom. We're not talking about the marriage supper of the lamb necessarily.

[4:57] We're not talking about the bride of Christ or those kind of things people insert into here. It's not the teaching. It doesn't say if they're boys or girls. It says they're meeting the bridegroom. They're not marrying the bridegroom.

[5:09] They're going to celebrate with him. In verse 1, it's the kingdom of heaven. We understand now that's a literal kingdom on earth when Jesus Christ comes back as king to establish his kingdom.

[5:22] Do I need to remind that just quickly? Look at verse 31 later on. 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.

[5:38] That's what's going to happen in the kingdom. So we'll catch some more of that later. You know what? We're right there. Let's remind you. Verse 34. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my father.

[5:50] Inherit the kingdom. They get in. Prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Some people don't get in. In verse 41, depart from me, says the king to another group.

[6:02] So at this time, as the kingdom is being established and set up, the Lord Jesus Christ is taking over that throne of David. That's what it says. You don't have to turn, but let me just remind you in Luke chapter 1.

[6:15] When he shows up, when the angel shows up to Mary, he said some things here. The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary. Thou hast found favor with God.

[6:27] And behold, thou shalt conceive and thy womb and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.

[6:38] And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end. That didn't take place when he came as a man and was murdered on a cross, did it?

[6:48] So he's going to come back and he's going to establish his kingdom. So this is regards to the kingdom. Verse 1, then, Shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

[7:01] And five of them were wise and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

[7:11] So it doesn't say that they didn't have any oil. The foolish, it says they didn't have the extra vessel of oil additional. So they've got their lamps. No doubt it's prepared and ready to go, but they're not, they don't have any foresight here.

[7:24] And thinking down the road, he may delay his coming. It may not happen as soon as I think. And they're not ready. But the others were wise and they brought vessels, it says in verse number 4.

[7:36] But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps in addition to carrying their lamps. And while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

[7:48] Now, are they watching? Are they watching and waiting for the bridegroom? They fell asleep. But it's okay. This thing has, it's not such a technical thing that we have to worry about to say, oh, they're not going to be there.

[8:02] Verse 6 says, At midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.

[8:15] But the wise answered saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. But go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came.

[8:26] And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage. And the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

[8:37] But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. So the teaching now, Watch therefore, Jews, for ye know not neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh.

[8:49] You'll be surprised. All right. So there's some things we need to pull out of here. And just be sure that we get it all and don't mistake anything. You notice this, there's a verse in a song we sing that is pulled right out of this passage.

[9:06] And the doctrine of it's not accurate. And it's tough to sing it sometimes when you know better. What's the song? My lamp all trimmed to burning bright. I can't think of the...

[9:18] Come on, Ron. Yeah. Where's the verse, though? I can't think of how it starts. The third verse, I think it is. Someday till then I'll watch and wait.

[9:29] My lamp all trimmed and burning bright. And this I know. And then when my Savior opens the gate, my soul will take his flight. So, yeah, a little bit misapplied doctrine there to say that we're going to be watching and waiting with our lamps trimmed and burning bright so that when he comes back we're ready.

[9:47] But anyway, that's where it comes from. And this is obviously not about us being caught up together with him, but rather when the bridegroom comes down, getting to enter into the kingdom with him.

[10:01] The next parable is going to say that just as plain and even plainer. This illustration is based on wedding customs, I suppose we're not familiar with. And that's okay. We can still get the point and get the teaching that at a time unannounced, the bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, is going to appear or come back.

[10:19] And the only way to participate and be in with him is to be prepared and to be ready and to be watching. And so he just gives an illustration that hints at that.

[10:30] Look, these guys weren't ready, so they're not getting in. These guys were, so they're getting in. And that's as simple as it is. He tells them, and they tell them in verse number 9, this kind of gets into something a little deeper we won't really go to, but he tells them to go rather to them and sell, that sell and buy for yourselves.

[10:48] This is what they're told to do. Go buy. And while they went to buy, well, it's too late. It's too late. He already came. And so the purchasing and the preparation had to be done ahead of time.

[10:58] And there's a connection back to Revelation chapter 3 about buying some things and being ready and overcoming and so forth. And it gets into that tribulation teaching and doctrine.

[11:12] Notice verse 11. Afterward came also the other virgin saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. Now, they already went in before that verse 10. And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage.

[11:24] The door was shut. Come back to chapter number 7. And there's people that are going to be saying, Lord, Lord. And he's going to have no part with them. Come back to chapter 7, Matthew 7.

[11:39] And we came through this a good while back. But notice the wording and notice the doctrine. It's just right on line. Verse 21. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

[11:53] But he that doeth works doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?

[12:03] And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name have done wonderful works? Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Notice verse 24.

[12:14] Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken them unto a wise man. The wise man is the one that doeth them, does what he's told, does the action, I should say, the works.

[12:28] And so there's an element of works, a basis of works in the tribulation prior to the second coming of Christ. And that's conditional for a man to be ready or considered worthy or prepared to enter into that kingdom.

[12:44] There's more we can run here. But one thing to pull out and notice for certain is that nowhere in this chapter is there any evidence or wording of exercising faith in Jesus Christ.

[12:57] This is not a gospel passage. This does not teach you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. That's not even hinted at. It's you're prepared, you're ready, you're doing it, or you're not.

[13:08] You might say, well, how... Look, I sat... As soon as I graduated Bible school, I went back to the church that I was from. And the pastor at that time, he was an older man.

[13:19] He wasn't very... He didn't get deep into the Bible much. He was a pretty simple preacher. And one thing he did, he went to Matthew 25, one of the first Sundays back.

[13:31] And this is... Granted, you have to understand, this is after three years of just hardcore studying, teaching, preaching, the whole... I mean, just as hard and hot as it ever got in my life and concentrated.

[13:42] And then I go... And I was warned the whole time, look, you're going to go out, you guys are going to graduate, you're going to go out in the churches, you're going to go back to... You're going to sit under a man, and you're going to know more Bible than he does. You're going to have to shut your mouth, you're going to have to bite your tongue, you're going to have to just exercise grace, because it's going to happen.

[13:58] They're just trying to prepare a bunch of young guys for not being fools, which happens. So there I was sitting in that pew, and he goes, turn to Matthew 25. And I thought, oh no, what's he going to...

[14:10] What are we doing here? This was the Sunday morning message. And he said right away, now some people say this doesn't have anything to do with us today, but I'm going to preach it like it does. And I'm going to preach the gospel.

[14:20] And I thought, oh. And it just like was fingernails on the chalkboard to me, going down there slowly, because I knew the doctrine of the passage, and I knew that he was going to misapply stuff.

[14:31] And when you try to do that, it doesn't work. You end up in a mess, and then you just have to kind of ignore some things, and just pull out one little thought, and preach that. Here's one of the ideas that's generally preached, is that in the Bible, oil is a type of the Holy Ghost.

[14:46] And therefore, five of the virgins had the Holy Spirit. The other five didn't. And those that had him, well, they were okay to go in. They were okay.

[14:56] They could be saved. They could go to heaven. That's just rough. That's a real hard stretch of the passage to make it match today's doctrine. It's a little bit easier just to let it teach what it says, and realize that there's an element of works, and these had to do what they were told there to get in.

[15:15] And the command is to watch therefore, in verse 13. It's the same thing that was back earlier. Look back in the previous chapter. In verse, well, we'll just pick up.

[15:30] We did read it already, didn't we? Verse 42 says, Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord does come. Verse 44, Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.

[15:43] And the readiness there is the one who's active and engaged in doing the work. Faithful and wise servant. In the end, verse 50, The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, if he's not watching.

[15:56] And it's not a matter of him just not getting in to celebrate or be with the bridegroom, but look what happens to this guy. In verse 50, or verse 51, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him as a portion with the hypocrites, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[16:10] This is a little more at stake here than just not being prepared or get rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ. Somebody's going to hell when they weren't ready for his return. Now, this is going to be even plainer in this next parable.

[16:24] So come back in chapter 25, and we'll begin in verse 14. And notice right at the beginning, Nine times out of ten, or more than that, every time a man in a parable, it's the Lord Jesus Christ, or it's pictured as Christ.

[16:48] And here he is going away, as he did after his ascension. He's gone for a while. Verse 15, He gave five talents. Now, a talent's a Jewish weight, a Jewish measurement.

[17:01] And to another two, and to another one. To every man according to his several ability, in straight way he took his journey. So the Lord here is not giving equal distribution.

[17:14] How about that? He's judging men worthy of more than others. He says they have different abilities. How about that? And the Lord did that, and he's right to do that.

[17:26] And shame on anybody today who tries to make everybody fair, and give everybody a trophy, or whatever the case is. That whole mindset and mentality is just wrong. And so this man hands out five, two, and one.

[17:38] So obviously the guy that gets one doesn't have the ability, and is not as expected to return, or to do much as the five. That's obvious from the statement. And it shows up.

[17:49] Verse 16, Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. How about that? This guy did what he was supposed to do, and it worked out.

[18:01] And likewise, he that received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his Lord's money. Hid the money, did he?

[18:12] Hid his talent. Now there's an easy spiritual, because of the word talent, and we use it in English to mean ability and gifts, and it's an easy spiritual application there to say that he didn't use the gifts that God gave him, or his abilities for the master.

[18:28] And it's true in this life, just the same, and this side kind of rabbit trail for a second, but God gives every single one of us, every single one of us, a little different touch of ability, or talent, or just gift, if you want to call it that.

[18:44] I'm not even talking necessarily the spiritual gifts that are mentioned, but just you're unique, and you think differently, and you talk differently, and you have different hand-eye coordination.

[18:55] Some have it, some don't. But some have a colorful memory or ability to write or to speak. Some have the ability to memorize. Some have the ability just to do.

[19:07] And God's given you that ability. And one of the things you and I need to do in this life is to figure it out. What has God gifted me to do? What am I good at? And how can I use it for Jesus Christ?

[19:18] That's what you want to land on. Not how can I make money with this? How can I swindle somebody? I'm pretty slick talker. How can I take advantage of this guy? No, how can I use this for Christ?

[19:30] I listened to a preacher just recently. He talked about a man in his church. He said, this guy will travel all over the counties making sales. He's a salesman. He will talk to everybody till he's blue in the face.

[19:42] He's such a talker. He has the gift of gab. But come Saturday morning, when we do our outreach church-wide stuff, you won't find him anywhere near the church. He won't use his gift of gab for the Lord.

[19:54] He won't show up and talk to people about Christ. He'll use it to make money. And that guy's burying his talent. Now, anyway, we'll move on from that. But don't waste it.

[20:05] Figure out what you can do for Christ before you're dead and do something with it. Verse number 19 says, After a long time, the Lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them.

[20:18] And we call that the day of reckoning. We get it right out of a King James Bible. The Lord shows up, and there's a day of reckoning with those servants. Now, you need to remember now, these aren't saved and lost body of Christ.

[20:32] These are servants of this master, of this good man. They're his servants. And he's given them of his goods. So we can't, we got to just let the passage be what it is and not think, one's two are saved and one's lost.

[20:50] We'll see what the outcome is. But this is the case. These are Jewish. It's a complete Jewish setup here with the kingdom of heaven, with their Jewish master, the Lord Jesus Christ, with the talents that he's given them, a Jewish measurement.

[21:05] And then he comes back, and there's a reckoning. Now, the reckoning here is not about giving them rewards or taking their rewards like what we would read in the judgment seat of Christ.

[21:15] But the outcome here is either they're getting into the kingdom or they're getting cast into outer darkness, thrown into a fire. Verse number 20. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliverest unto me five talents.

[21:31] Behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things.

[21:41] I'll make thee ruler over many things. Enter, there's the word, getting into the kingdom of heaven. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliverest unto me two talents.

[21:56] Behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I'll make thee ruler over many things.

[22:07] Enter thou into the joy of the Lord. So we got identical responses and their faithfulness is, they're good and faithful.

[22:18] You're faithful over a few things. Because of that, I'm going to make you ruler over many things. And that seems to be the thing that the Lord's commending them for. It's not their money-making ability.

[22:28] Christ is not teaching on how to make money. This is not the passage to teach that from. He's teaching on faithfulness and rewarding faithfulness. And he has the identical response and both of these two guys doubled what was given to them.

[22:46] And I have to just keep parking on this for a minute because the Lord knows you and he knows what he gave to you. He knows what he's putting inside of you. What gifts and abilities. And he knows if you're hiding it, you know it too.

[22:58] If you're afraid or if you're scared, but when the Bible says, I can do all things through Christ with strength as me, you know if you're hiding something or keeping back from the Lord an opportunity.

[23:09] God gifts people in artistic ways, in musical ways, in speaking ways, in thought and study, and so many things that can be used for the Lord Jesus Christ.

[23:23] I remember when I taught in Christian school, taught a Bible class and every year I'd have about two dozen teenagers in the class all year long and just as throughout the years, some kids, once in a while, there'd be one that just could draw.

[23:38] I mean, could draw. Just pure talent. And then others could sing and there's things like, but those kids that would draw, I just, I kept, I couldn't stop it. I'd be like, you need to use this.

[23:48] They're always doodling, you know, all over their papers, everything just totally covered with weird stuff. And I'd walk by and they're taking a test and they're finished and they're drawing something weird on the back and I'd stop and I'd be like, you gotta find a way to use that for the Lord.

[24:03] He gave that to you. Don't waste it drawing these dumb, demonic looking cartoons or some retarded looking video game thing. Use this for Jesus Christ.

[24:13] Find, I mean, if you have a heart for God, you'll find a way to do it. He'll open a door for you, I promise you. You could be a, some kind of graphic illustrator for, for who knows what. I don't even know.

[24:25] But I encourage, I saw them all the time and thought, don't waste that ability. Don't waste it on yourself. Use it for Jesus Christ if you have it. So, all right, let me get back to this here.

[24:37] Verse number 24. Here comes the bad guy. Then he, which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, he's kind of, he's nervous. He just saw what happened with these other two.

[24:50] He probably hoped it didn't work out so well for them. He's going to suck up to him a little bit. Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering where thou hast not strong saying you're a successful man.

[25:04] You find a way to make money. You know what you're doing. And I was afraid. I'm not as good as you. I'm not on your level. I went and hid thy talent in the earth. And notice this.

[25:15] Lo, there thou hast that is thine. Not here. Like the others said here. He said there. It's still hidden in the earth.

[25:26] I didn't even have the time to go dig it up for it. Go get it, Lord. You gave it to me. I went and buried it. Go get it. It's yours. What a guy. What a guy. His Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked, amen, and slothful, amen, servant.

[25:42] Thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not and gather where I have not strawed. Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers. And then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

[25:57] Now he never told these men what to do with it. He told them you could have at least done this after the fact. But he never told them how to operate and how to handle his money.

[26:08] He just expected them to do something with it. And in verse 28, Thou therefore, or take therefore the talent from him and give it unto him which hath ten talents for unto every one that hath shall be given.

[26:20] Looks like the guy still has his ten. And he that, he shall have abundance from, but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

[26:32] And now here comes the big climax, the verse that all the Baptists that don't know their Bibles would want to take out of the passage so that they could teach it the way they want to teach it.

[26:45] But you can't get around verse 30. Cast ye the unprofitable servant, he's still a servant of his Lord, cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[26:58] Same thing that happened to the guy in the end of chapter 24. Cut him asunder and appoint him as portion with the hypocrites, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[27:09] Somebody's getting tossed out. So this forces the interpretation of the story or the passage, parable, away from the church. This unprofitable servant loses his standing with his master.

[27:26] He's a servant of the Lord, yet now he's damned because of his lack of effort. Because he didn't believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? No.

[27:38] Not even close. Because he didn't do what he was supposed to do with what the Lord gave him to do it in the time that he gave him to do it in. When he came back, he was expecting to see that he had worked for him.

[27:50] And he hadn't done it, and he's kicked out. This has nothing to do with the judgment seat of Christ because this guy's getting tossed into hell. He's losing what we call losing his salvation.

[28:01] Look back at chapter 8 for a cross-reference here. I use the term salvation loosely, but you know what I mean. Matthew chapter 8.

[28:21] Remember what we just read in chapter 7, that not everybody that says Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom. Matter of fact, a lot of Jews, servants of the master, aren't going to make it in.

[28:36] Chapter 8, verse number 12, but the children of the kingdom, let me back up to verse 11, I say unto you that many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, many Gentiles.

[28:51] But, verse 12, but the children of the kingdom, the Jews shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That phrase shows up just a handful of times in the book of Matthew.

[29:05] And each time, it's Jews that weren't diligent, that weren't doing what the Lord had told them to do. They weren't showing for the works. They weren't prepared for his coming.

[29:16] They're cast out. They don't make it in the kingdom. They're cast into outer darkness. They're going to gnash their teeth, which is grinding together in rage and anguish and pain.

[29:27] Now, this is a tough passage for a lot of people to handle because it ends with somebody going to hell. And because they so badly want to make this the New Testament for the body of Christ, now they've got to find a way around to say, well, that guy was never saved, obviously.

[29:43] But there's no real evidence of teaching this in this passage. The best thing to do is just allow Pauline doctrine to stay with the church and allow this passage to teach what it teaches and don't have to bring them together.

[29:55] You might have to change your mindset that this is the New Testament and understand that this is Jesus Christ teaching on the future kingdom. And as I said, it'll make a whole lot of sense to somebody in the tribulation.

[30:08] All right, moving on. Verse number 31. We'll try to get a little bit further here. 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.

[30:20] So this is not the rapture of the church. This is with angels. This is him coming to take over and to sit upon a throne. The throne is in Jerusalem. In chapter 5, he told him, swear not at all because he said, heaven is my throne, the earth is my footstool.

[30:35] And I'm going to catch that verse here since I can't quote it. In Matthew 5, neither by heaven for it is God's throne nor by the earth for it is his footstool, neither by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king.

[30:50] And the king comes back and sits on his throne in Jerusalem and that is down here on the earth. And now what he's going to do is going to assemble everybody before him.

[31:00] There's going to be a judgment. This is typically, maybe you have a heading called the judgment of nations in your Bible because in verse 32, and before him shall be gathered all nations. Now when man, when the Bible publishers and people put that little heading in there, if you have it, I don't know, it might say the judgment of nations.

[31:20] It's a little misleading thinking like, oh here's like the United Nations, like oh here's the, what, ambassadors or representatives or you may picture in your mind this, you're going to picture the entire human race in front of the king here.

[31:33] So it's not nation over here, one nation over there, another nation over here, but I believe it's mankind brought before him in some representative way.

[31:43] I don't know exactly how but he's gathering all nations before him and he's separating them. In verse 32, he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats and he shall set the sheep on his right hand but the goats on the left.

[32:01] So I distinguish, there's three distinguishments here to be made. There's goats, there's sheep, and then there's one more verse, let's see, we can try verse 40.

[32:15] The king shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, and as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. So there's Jews.

[32:26] The king comes back, the Jews are behind him or with him, he's their king and their leader and he's delivered them and saved them at that moment. In Romans, Paul says, when Christ comes back that all Israel shall be saved and he's going to give them a new heart, take away their stony heart, put a new heart, new spirit in them and they're going to know him and so they're his and now he's judging the nations based upon their treatment of him or his people.

[32:55] He even calls it, you did it unto me. So there's three designations. There's the sheep that have done right by the Jew, there's the goats that have done wrong by the Jew and there's then the brethren of Christ, the Jew.

[33:08] So in verse 32, before him shall be gathered all nations, 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.

[33:29] Why do they get in? For I was unhungered and you gave me meat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. Naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came in unto me.

[33:42] Then shall the righteous answer him, the righteous, that is the sheep, the righteous, they're righteous because of their works. Then shall the righteous answer him saying, Lord, when saw we thee unhungered or fed thee or thirsty and we gave thee drink?

[33:55] When saw we thee a stranger and took thee or naked and clothed thee? And when saw we thee sick or in prison and came unto thee 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.

[34:10] You notice the word done. You've done it. He that doeth the will of his father. It's works. It's their deeds. They're judged on their deeds and they're brought in to the kingdom.

[34:22] And then others on the other hand aren't. Now this is, it'll make a lot more sense I'm telling you in the tribulation when the Antichrist is going after that Jew.

[34:36] Remember back in 24, take a peek at it real quick. We're going to close here in a few minutes. Back in chapter 24 and verse 15 when this tribulation is full on, this time of Jacob's trouble is going at it.

[34:51] In verse 15, when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place whoso readeth let him understand. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.

[35:02] And we've already covered all this. Get out of town. They're going to the mountains. These are Jews. This is a remnant that is not following and believing and worshiping the beast and his image.

[35:13] And off they go to run for their lives and somebody's got to take care of them. And somebody is taking care of them. They're scattered. There's a picture of this.

[35:25] Let me take you back to Jeremiah. This is probably where we'll have to close. Jeremiah. Look at Jeremiah. 50 is one of them.

[35:36] 25 and 50 are the two places we're going to go. Yeah. 25 and then Jeremiah 50. kind of show you a little picture of this being played out in history.

[35:53] A little passage here we'll read about Nebuchadnezzar and beginning in verse 9 of Jeremiah 25. Behold I will send and take all the families of the north saith the Lord and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon my servant will bring them against this land and against the inhabitants thereof that's Israel and against all these nations round about will they destroy them and make them an astonishment and a hissing and a perpetual desolations.

[36:22] Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride and the sound of the millstones and the light of the candle and this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years and it shall come to pass when 70 years are accomplished that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation saith the Lord for their iniquity in the land of the Chaldeans and will make it perpetual desolations why is he doing that?

[36:50] And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it even all that is written in this book which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations for many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also that is of the Jews and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to their works of their own hands so God uses those Gentile nations to punish and judge the nation of Israel for their sin as he said he would in the book of Moses and when those kings abuse those Jews and don't take care of them the punishment is you're kicked out of your land you're out of the land you're in subjection to them but when they abuse them and put them to work and overdo it God says okay that's how you're treating my people when the time's up that their punishment's over you're gonna get it from me come to chapter 50 and see it again verse number 18 and 19 I think no 17 and 18

[37:52] Israel is a scattered sheep the lions have driven him away first the king of Assyria hath devoured him and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel behold I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I have punished the king of Assyria and so there's just a historical reference or picture of the way God's gonna be dealing in the future when he comes back and said my people were scattered and you either helped them out or you didn't you either took them in or you turned them in and that's that's the nature of this time it'll make a whole lot more sense I promise you when this stuff is going down on this planet thank the Lord it's not for us and we're not gonna be here and have to deal with this so anyway we'll have to quit there and when we come back next week Lord willing we'll finish this off and see that this these