From His Heart

Speaker 1

Now I've entitled this message the Most Misunderstood Parable.

We're going to read a parable that, although we understand the words, so many misunderstand the meaning. We see a lot of people use this parable that we're getting ready to read in ways that it was never intended to be taken.

So what's the truth and the real truth about this end times parable?

Speaker 2

As Pastor Jeff Shreve pointed out, the end times parable of the sheep and the goats is often misunderstood, but it's so very important because its truth will clarify so many misconceptions that Christians have.

Thanks for joining us today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve as he unpacks the sobering truths of the final judgment where Jesus separates the sheep from the goats, not based on good deeds, but on a true relationship with Him. It's an urgent call to examine your heart and come to Jesus before it's too late.

This lesson is the last in Pastor Jeff's nine-message series called "When the Son of Man Comes: A Study of Matthew, Chapter 24 and 25." You can get this entire and extensive series for your gift of any amount from From His Heart this month. Just go to fromhisheart.org.

First though, open God's word to Matthew chapter 25 and begin to properly understand the most misunderstood parable, Matthew 25.

Speaker 1

Begin reading 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. 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. He will put the sheep on his right, the place of honor, the place of blessing, and he will put the goats on the left.

Then the king will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 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."

Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?"

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."

Then he will also say to those on his left, the goats on his left, "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in; naked and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison and you did not visit me."

Then 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?"

Then he will answer them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Matthew is the only gospel writer that records this parable, that records this judgment of the sheep and the goats. Some people, some theologians, they don't like to say this is a parable, but it kind of sets itself up as a parable because he will sit like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats, which shepherds did in that day.

But Matthew's main point in writing his gospel, he tells us right off the bat what it's all about. This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Matthew's gospel is very Jewish, and it's showing that Jesus is the Messiah, the long-promised king of Israel. One day he's going to sit on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom will have no end.

So that's the purpose of his gospel. That's why he shares this parable of the sheep and the goats and the setting up of the Lord's millennial kingdom. Now, there are people that don't believe in a literal 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ. We call those people confused. No, we don't. They're called amillennial, "ah" meaning not, and "millennial" meaning millennium, a thousand years. They say there's not going to be a thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ.

Well, the Bible is very clear that there is a thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ. We have early church fathers: Irenaeus, who was 2nd century; Justin Martyr, 2nd century; Tertullian, 2nd and 3rd century; Papias, 1st and 2nd century; Hippolytus, 1st and 2nd century. They all talked about the coming reign of Jesus Christ.

You remember when Jesus, in Acts chapter one, is getting ready to ascend to heaven, and the disciples say to him, "Lord, is it at this time that you're restoring the kingdom to Israel?" That was on their mind, that was on their heart. "Lord, what's the sign of your coming? And when is the coming, the end of the age? When is Israel going to be on top again?" Because they had been taught that their whole lives.

The Old Testament promises that there is coming a day when David's greater son, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, will rule and reign in Jerusalem forever and ever and ever. So we get the backdrop of this parable. It's a parable of the king setting up his kingdom.

What is the real truth about this end times parable? That's our question, and three revelations for today: eye-opening revelations.

Revelation number one: After the tribulation period, when the king returns, King Jesus will take his throne and set up his kingdom. He sets up this 1000-year reign, his millennial kingdom. Now you ask yourself the question, "Well, who's going to be part of this kingdom?"

Now this was huge for the Jews because that's what they were. They kept thinking of an earthly kingdom. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven—sometimes people see those as differently, and sometimes they're synonymous. But oftentimes when Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven, it's heaven come to earth; it's the earthly kingdom.

And so who's part of that? Well, it says that the angels are going to be there, but when the Son of Man, verse 31, comes in his glory and all the angels with him, you know, we don't know how many angels there are, but there are a lot. We know a third of the angels rebelled against God in heaven, led by Lucifer, whose name meant light bearer. But he became Satan, the father of the night, and he led a third of the angels to rebel against God.

God kicked them out—Lucifer and those angels—and Lucifer became Satan, and those fallen angels became filthy, hairy demons. We know that there are two-thirds more holy angels than there are demonic angels. But he comes with all his angels.

But not only will the angels be there as he sets up his kingdom, there will be glorified saints in the kingdom. So angels who serve God and glorified saints. Now the glorified saints, who does that encompass? Well, that encompasses every believer during the church age. That's what we live in now. This is the age of the church and the age of God's grace on anyone who will repent and believe.

The Bible teaches that there is coming a rapture for the church. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and 1 Corinthians chapter 15 speak of the rapture. Jesus didn't talk about the rapture in the Olivet discourse, but he does talk about the rapture in John 14, when he tells them he's going away and their hearts were sad. He said, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

He's going to take us to the Father's house. That is the rapture. And when we go, the Bible says, when we go up to meet the Lord in the air, that's when we're changed. We're given a glorified body for our citizenship. Philippians 3 says, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of this humble state into conformity with the body of his glory through the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to Himself."

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither can the perishable inherit the imperishable." So what has to happen? This perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. That's our glorified body. We get that when we're raptured to be with the Lord, to go to the Father's house.

So the glorified church, the bride of Christ, we're going to return with him, Revelation chapter 19, and we're going to rule and reign with Him. But not just the glorified church; it's also the Old Testament saints.

Speaker 2

Pastor Jeff will continue to expose the false interpretations and tell the truth about the most misunderstood parable from Matthew chapter 25 in just a moment. You're listening to part one today of the ninth message in the series, "When the Son of Man Comes," a study of Matthew, chapter 24 and 25.

You can listen to any broadcast that you may have missed when you go to fromisheart.org and click the Listen link. You can also download a free MP3 of any program, as well as the sermon notes and outlines from Pastor Jeff. You can get the entire unedited series in multiple formats when you go to fromisheart.org and make a gift of any amount. Again, that's fromisheart.org or call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-24253) to request the series "When the Son of Man Comes."

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From His Heart is thankful for you trusting us and walking with us to share real truth, love, and hope to a lost and dying world. Now let's get back to the second part of today's lesson: The most misunderstood parable, Daniel Chapter 12.

Speaker 1

Tells us when the Lord returns that those Jews that believed in him in the Old Testament and put their faith and trust, they didn't know the name Jesus, but they knew God's provision for their sin and put their faith and trust in God's provision for their sin. They're going to be resurrected and given glorified bodies. And then you have the people who die during that seven-year tribulation period, which is hell on earth. They're going to be given glorified bodies, and this is what the scripture says in Revelation chapter 20: "And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received the mark on their forehead or on their hand, and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the One who has part in the first resurrection; over these, the second death has no power. But they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years."

So that covers all believers who had died. The millennial kingdom will be comprised of angels and glorified saints. Also, there will be mortal people, human beings, unglorified people who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. There will be mortal people in the kingdom, and that's what this deals with. This parable deals with the sheep and the goats. This deals with the people who make it through the tribulation period. I mean, there's so much death; billions and billions die in those seven years. But these people made it through, and one day they're going to stand before the Lord, and the Lord is going to decide about them. They don't decide about the Lord; He is making a decision. And they're going to be gathered to this valley, as the Bible says, this valley of decision.

Now, you have to have mortal people, some mortal people go into the kingdom, because without that, you're not going to have children being born. The kingdom would not grow if it were just all glorified saints. Well, glorified saints don't reproduce. They don't marry in heaven. We're like the angels. The Bible says we don't marry or we're not given in marriage. So if everybody is glorified, like those that say that the rapture comes at the return of Christ, it comes at the very end. Jesus comes back, and we're gathered to be with him, and then we come down with him, and that's when we're glorified. Well, you wouldn't have any mortal Christians. Everybody would be glorified. If you don't have any mortal Christians, you can't populate the kingdom, so you have to have a mixture.

And these people who make it through the tribulation, who are still flesh and blood, who are still perishable and still mortal, they will go into the kingdom. Those who know the Lord and love the Lord and trust the Lord, they're going to be the goats or the sheep that are put on his right hand, and then there'll be the goats on his left hand. So the king will set up his throne and set up his kingdom. And twice in this parable that talks about the king, the king will say, "and the king will sit on his glorious throne."

In Revelation, King Jesus will separate the people like sheep from goats. There's going to be a separation. You know, I didn't know a lot about this, but I did a little bit of study. Shepherds commonly do that, separate their flock, the sheep from the goats. They separate them at night when they're sleeping because sometimes they can have different parasites and different diseases. One affects the sheep, one affects the goats. So they want to keep them separated. They'll separate them when it comes to feeding because they feed differently. Sheep are grazers, and goats are browsers. Sheep and goats are different, obviously. And you know, you've heard about goats eating tin cans. Well, they actually will do that. They're very, very curious creatures. Sheep are more docile. So the shepherd will separate oftentimes for nighttime, for sleeping, and then for grazing and browsing. He'll separate those.

And Jesus is pictured as the shepherd who's sitting on his glorious throne, and all the nations are gathered before him. Now the prophet Joel talks about this, and he says, "For behold, Joel, chapter three. For behold, in those days and of that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat means Yahweh judges. I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of my people and my inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and they have divided up my land. Multitudes, multitudes in the Valley of Decision. For the Day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision."

Now, to the east of Jerusalem is the Mount of Olives. Jesus is on the Mount of Olives looking westward toward Jerusalem when he's giving the Olivet discourse. The King is going to sit on his throne there in Jerusalem, and the multitudes, the Gentiles, are going to be gathered in that valley, the Kidron Valley that sits between the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem. They're going to come before him. And Daniel tells us that there's a 75-day gap between the end of the Tribulation and the beginning of the millennial kingdom. What happens in those 75 days? The judgment of the sheep and the goats. The sheep come on the right side. The right side, the right hand, is the hand of blessing, the hand of favor, the hand of honor, the hand of authority. When Jesus died and ascended to heaven, rose from the dead, and then ascended to heaven, he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, the place of honor, the place of blessing, the place of authority.

And he puts the sheep, the shepherd, as he has, the individuals from all the Gentile nations come before him. He is going to evaluate them. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. And this one is a sheep, this one is a goat. Now, what determines who's a sheep and who's a goat? Well, if you don't read this correctly, you would get the idea that it has everything to do with your works. Well, you have to do good works. I mean, you got to feed the sick, and you got to do all these things and clothe the naked and feed the hungry and visit those in prison. And if you do those things, then you get to come on his right side. Then you get to come into the kingdom. But that's not what this is teaching.

See, the sheep are not saved by works of compassion, but by grace, through faith. They're saved the way everyone is saved. "For by grace, you've been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, lest anyone should boast." Nobody's ever saved by works. Saved by grace, through faith. The apostle Paul said he is solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of two things: repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are critical. Without repentance and faith, you're a goat. You'll never be saved without those two things.

Now, just so you don't get confused, Galatians 2:16. The apostle Paul says this: "Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, since by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified." Very, very clear and emphatic.

Now, when Jesus starts off, and he will say to those on his right, verse 34, "Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And then he goes into all this: "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. Thirsty, I was a stranger, and you invited me," and all these things. And they say, "When, Lord? When did we see that?" And he said, "Well, you did it to the least of these."

Speaker 2

The.

Speaker 1

The least of these brothers of mine. As you did it to the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me. Do you remember when Paul met the Lord on the road to Damascus? He was blinded by a bright light. The Lord said to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he says, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

Now, Saul was persecuting the church of God, but Jesus identifies with the church of God. He identifies with his followers. And he says, "Saul, you're persecuting me." Well, Jesus is saying to these sheep, this is what you did. You did good things and you were compassionate and showed love and care to these brothers of mine.

Who were the brothers? Well, the brothers were the Jewish believers during the tribulation.

Speaker 2

Well, we're going to pause right there, but there's much more to be said about this on the next broadcast where, after a brief review, Pastor Jeff will continue the message: The Most Misunderstood Parable. Make sure you're with us then.

And when you go online, if you haven't already done so, we invite you to sign up for Pastor Jeff's weekly Real Hope email encouragement letter. You'll get it in your inbox every Friday morning, and it will be an encouragement to you each and every week. Again, that's from his heart.org; click the email encouragement letter right there on the homepage.

Thank you for joining us today. I'm Larry Nobles, reminding you that From His Heart is a listener-supported broadcast ministry from Dr. Jeff Shreve, who speaks real truth, love, and hope to a lost and hurting world. And he'll do that again tomorrow with part two of this timely message. Here's part of what's to come.

Speaker 1

Think about an inheritance. An inheritance always goes. Unless something is really haywire, it always goes to the children.

Now, the Bible says that we're going to inherit the kingdom that the father prepared for his children. The sheep, they inherit the kingdom because they're children of God.

Speaker 2

Remember, no matter how much you may have messed up in life, God still loves you and has a great plan for your life. Find out more at from his heart.org.

Speaker 1

Sam.