"The Judgement of the Nations" 

1. CHRIST'S COMING AND CHRISTENDOM -- 24:45

The wise and foolish virgins -- 25:1-13 While the full revelation of the church and Christ as the Bridegroom was not made until later, the disciples did know that Christ's relationship to His own was that of a bridegroom. ( see 
Matt. 9:15 and John 3:29). In 25:1 we have SEPARATION (they were virgins); ILLUMINATION (they had lamps, see (Phil. 2:15-16); and EXPECTATION (they went forth to meet the bridegroom). Is this not a picture of what the church ought to be doing today? Yet, within the group were those who were not prepared, just as in "the church" today. Of course, all believers are in the TRUE CHURCH and are ready for heaven; but in "The Church" as the world sees it -- or Christendom -- there are many who appear to be Christians outwardly, but have never been born again in their hearts.


It has been nearly 2000 years since Christ promised to return, and during that time, "The Church" has gone to sleep. it is only in the last century that true Christians have awakened to the great truth of Christ's second coming, and the cry has gone out, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh."


It is not necessary to make every detail of a parable mean something. The oil may speak of the Holy Spirit, whom every true believer has within (Rom. 8:9). Christ's main lesson in this parable is: stay awake and be ready! When He returns, we will be surprised to find some whom we thought were true Christians not ready at all; and some whom we did not know about, ready to meet the lord.


The profitable and unprofitable servants -- 25:14-30 The first parable spoke of service within the household; while this parable deals with service in the world. Notice that "talents" are different from "abilities" for in verse 15, He gave to every man "according to his several abilities." The "talents" represent different opportunities to use our ability to serve Christ. We are born with differing abilities, but Christ gives us opportunities to match our abilities. (1 Cor. 4:2)


The first two servants were both faithful and doubled their talents; so they both received the very same reward (vs. 21 and 23). The Christian who is faithful in his sphere of service, though it be small, will get the same reward as the man who seems to have a great ministry. It is doubtful whether the third servant can be called a Christian. He called the Lord "an hard man" and said that he was "afraid." Actually, he refused the reward by not using the opportunity Christ gave him. In verse 26, Christ repeats the servant's unjust accusation (but does not say it is true), and says in verse 27, "THEREFORE, if these things are true, you should have worked even harder to please me." If we fail to use what He gives us, we will loose it to another.

2 . CHRIST'S COMING AND THE GENTILES -- 25:31-46

Some confuse this passage by calling it "The General Judgment" of thinking it is the same as the White Throne Judgment of Rev. 20:11-15.
There is no such thing as a "General Judgment" in the Bible. The saints have their works judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ immediately after the rapture (2 Cor. 5:1-11). The unsaved dead will be raised to face Christ at the White Throne Judgment at the close of the 1000 year reign of Christ (Rev. 20:1-15). The judgment of spoken here in Matthew 25 is the judgment of the Gentile nations at the close of the tribulation.


In God's covenant with Abraham, He promised that all nations of the earth (and these are Gentiles) would be blessed THROUGH ISRAEL (Gen. 12:1-3). During the tribulation, God will be purging Israel, so that at the close of the seven year period, there will be a believing remnant waiting to meet Christ. The nation of Israel will receive her King, and Christ will establish His kingdom on this earth, as promised in Luke 1:31-33 and 67-80. The question is, which Gentile nation shall enter into this kingdom?


Look at the three groups of people in this scene:
(1) the sheep, (2) the goats and (3) these whom Christ calls "My brethren" (verse 40). I believe "My brethren" are the believing Jews who witness for Christ during the tribulation period. Since they would be enemies of the Antichrist, yet sealed and protected by God, they would suffer great persecution. They would not be able to buy or sell, and they would be hungry. They would be fleeing from their homes (Matt. 24:15-21), and would need places to stay. Without jobs and not wearing the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:17), they could not secure clothing, and would be naked. Many would be cast into prison.


Many Gentiles during this period, will believe the message of the Jewish missionaries (Matt. 24:14 with Rev. 7:9-17). They will then show love and mercy to these suffering Jews, but feeding them, clothing them, visiting them in prison. Just as Paul persecuted Christ by persecuting His saints, these Gentiles will show love for Christ by showing love for His brethren.


These acts of kindness are not good works that save them (Eph. 2: 8-9); they are proof of their faith in the message and their love for Christ. The Gentiles who rejected the messengers, rejected Christ (Matt. 10:16-23 and 40- 42). Their end is outer darkness -- HELL.


It is important to note that Christ will not judge the Gentile nation as nations, but as individuals. There will not be "sheep nations" and "goat nations" but "sheep separated from the goats" IN EVERY NATION. Only those who have evidenced faith in Christ by their love for the "brethren" will enter into the Kingdom. They will have life eternal; the others will go away into eternal punishment.