Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 34

 The Final Judgment

Matthew 25:34 “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:”

inherit the kingdom... The purpose of this judgment is to determine who shall enter the kingdom (Dan. 7:9-14, 7:22; Rev. 11:15), and to give the meek the earth as promised (Psm. 37:11; Mat. 5:5).

prepared for you... This terminology underscores that their salvation is a gracious gift of God, not something merited by the deeds described in verses 35-36. Before the foundation of the world, they were chosen by God and ordained to be holy (Eph. 1:4). Predestined to be conformed to Christ’s image (Rom. 8:29).

Eph. 1:4-5 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” “Having predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”

Rom. 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

So, the good deeds commended (in verses 35-36), are the fruit, not the root of their salvation. The deeds are not the basis for their entrance into the kingdom, but merely manifestations of God’s grace in their lives. They are the objective criteria for judgment, because they are the evidence of saving faith (Jas. 2:14-26).

Jesus in this verse, calls Himself King for the very first time. That will be His title when He returns to the earth. Messiah, Jesus, Lord, Word, now King. He is inviting the saved to come and reign with Him. We Christians, will be joint heirs with Jesus.

You see, God did predestinate us to be saved, but God knew (had foreknowledge), that we would accept the grace that Jesus provided us. This kingdom has truly been prepared from the foundation of the world. God knew that we would be saved even then.

foundation of the world... Greek: katabole, to cast or throw down (see the verb kataballo, translated cast down in 2Cor. 4:9; Rev. 12:10). Katabole should have been translated overthrow or casting down of the world in Mat. 13:35; 25:34; Luke 11:50; John 17:24; Eph. 1:4; Heb. 4:3; 9:26; 11:10; 1Pet. 1:20; Rev. 13:8; 17:8. With the exception of Heb. 11:10, katabole is used with Kosmos, social world, and refers to the overthrow of the pre-Adamite world by the flood of Gen. 1:2; 2Pet. 3:5-7; Psm. 104:5-9; Jer. 4:23-26 and the defeat of Lucifer and his earthly kingdom before Adam (Isa. 14:12-14; Eze. 28:11-17; Luke 10:18).

Katabole is not the ordinary word for founding or foundation. A reference to the founding of the world would require the use of themelios, as in Luke 6:48-49; 14:29; Acts 16:26; Rom. 15:20; 1Cor. 3:11-12; Eph. 2:20; 1Tim. 6:19; 2Tim. 2:19; Heb. 6:1; 11:10; Rev. 21:14, 21:19. This word is never used with kosmos, social system, or used of ge, the earth. The verb, themelioo, occurs in Mat. 7:25; Luke 6:48; Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:23; Heb. 1:10; 1Pet. 5:10. This verb is used only once of the founding of the earth (Heb. 1:10).

Katabole, therefore, means the disruption, overthrow, or ruin of the social system before Adam. In Gen. 1:1 we have the themelioo, founding of the earth (Heb. 1:10), and in Gen. 1:2 we have the katabole, overthrow of the social system on the earth by a flood. Note in the first scriptures above that from is used seven times and before is used three times in connection with the overthrow of the social world. Thus, the New Testament is very clear that the earth became desolate and empty before it was re-created in the six days of Gen. 1:3-31.

It is the first and only time that Jesus calls Himself the King. He has displayed His royalty in His acts; He has suggested it in His discourses and His parables; He has claimed it by the manner of His entry into His capital and His Temple; He will afterwards assent when Pilate shall ask Him the plain question; but this is the only place where He uses the title in speaking of Himself. How significant and impressive is this! It is as if He would once for all before, He suffered disclose the fullness of His majesty. His royalty, indeed, was suggested at the very beginning by the reference to the throne of His glory; but inasmuch as judgment was the work which lay immediately before Him, He still spoke of Himself as the Son of man; but now that the separation is made, now that the books have been opened and closed, He rises above the Judge and styles Himself the King.

We must think of Him now as all radiant with His royal glory-that visage which, was so marred more than any man now shining with celestial light-that Form which was distorted more than the sons of men, now seen to be the very form of God, the chiefest among ten thousand of the highest angels round Him, altogether lovely, the personal embodiment of that glorious kingdom He has been preparing through all the centuries from the foundation of the world-disclosed at last as the answer to every longing soul, the satisfaction of every pure desire, the King.

There already is involved all that follows: all the joy of the welcome Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

The King on His throne (Mat. 25:31) will extend an invitation to those on His right hand, the sheep, to enter the kingdom God had prepared… since the Creation of the world.

Book of Hosea Chapter 10 Vs. 9

 ONCE MORE: PUPPET-KINGS AND PUPPET-GODS

O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them. Hos. 10:9

For full details on the wicked town of Gibeah (see Judges Chapters 19 to 21), also the birthplace of Saul.

thou hast sinned... Israel had sinned greatly at Gibeah. The sin was the shameful thing they had done to the Levite's concubine. We mentioned this briefly in a previous lesson. This is as if God has never completely forgotten about the terrible sin committed there.

He is explaining that what is going on here is just as bad, if not worse. Their punishment will surely come this time.

Once more the prophet returns to the ancient origins of Israel’s present sins, and once more to their shirking of the discipline necessary for spiritual results, but only that he may lead up as before to the inevitable doom. From the days of Gibeah thou hast sinned, O Israel. There have they remained never progressed beyond their position there and this without war overtaking them in Gibeah against the dastards.

Hosea referred again to the shameful incident at Gibeah (cf. Hos. 9:9). Since that time Israel had persisted in sin. The question in Hos. 10:9 is better translated with the future tense; Will not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah? (cf. NASB; Hos. 5:8) How appropriate that judgment should overtake the city that had served as a pattern for Israel’s sinful history!

Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 33

 The Final Judgment

Matthew 25:33 “And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”

shall set the... The sheep are denoted here as the righteous. The name is given to them because the sheep is an emblem of innocence and harmlessness (See John 10:7, John 10:14-16, John 10:27; Psm. 100:3; 74:1; 23:1-6).

on his right... The right hand is the place of honor, and denotes the situation of those who are honored, or those who are virtuous see (Ecc. 10:2; Eph. 1:20; Psm. 110:1; Acts 2:25, 2:33).

On the right (ἐκ δεξιῶν)

Lit., form the right side or parts. The picture to the Greek reader is that of a row, beginning at the judge's right hand.

The goats are the wicked (see Eze. 34:17).

Goats (ἐρίφια)

Diminutive. Lit., kidlings. The sheep and goats are represented as having previously pastured together. Compare the parables of the Tares and the Net.

on the left... That is, the left hand. This was the place of dishonor, denoting condemnation (see Ecc. 10:2).

Jesus is Judge of the earth. Every individual shall stand before Jesus to be judged. There are only two kinds of people; the saved and the lost. The sheep belong to God, and the goats belong to Satan. The right hand side is for God’s people, and the left is Satan’s side.

No need of pleading or counter-pleading, of prosecutor or prisoner’s counsel, no hope from legal quibble or insufficient proof. All, all is "naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do." He sees all at a glance; and as He sees, He divides by a single dividing line. There is no middle position: each one is either on the right or on the left.

The dividing line is one entirely new. All nations are there; but not as nations are they divided now. This is strikingly suggested in the original by the change from the neuter (nations, εθνη) to the masculine (them, αυτους), indicating as by a sudden flash of unexpected light that not as nations, but as individuals, must all be judged. The line is one which crosses all other lines that have divided men from one another, so that of all ranks and conditions of men there will be some on the right and some on the left. Even the family line will be crossed, so that husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, may be found on opposite sides of it. What, then, is this new and final line of separation? The sentence of the King will mark it out for us.

They will be judged individually, not as national groups. They are described as a mingling of sheep and goats, which the Lord will separate.

Book of Hosea Chapter 10 Vs. 8

 ONCE MORE: PUPPET-KINGS AND PUPPET-GODS

The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us. Hos. 10:8

The high places...The high places had been where much of the worship of the false gods took place. Aven here, is speaking of the Beth-aven we spoke of earlier. It had been Beth-el (house of God) but became a place where evil worship took place. The sites of idolatrous worship would be destroyed as well, the ruins becoming overgrown with thorns (cf. Hos. 9:6) and thistles. The reference to the destruction of the high places (bāmôṯ) is ironic (cf. Lev. 26:30-31). When Israel entered the land, the Lord commanded her to destroy these worship centers (Num. 33:52; Deut. 12:2-3). Because of Israel’s dismal failure in carrying out this charge, the Lord chose to use a foreign army to accomplish His purpose. In utter desperation the people would beg the mountains to fall on them.

the thorn and... Now they will grow up with weeds. There will be no one to care for them. The growing of the thorn and thistle show the lack of use. It was almost as if the altars themselves were ashamed.

Cover us; and… An expression of extreme fear. The captivity would be so severe that the people would pray for the mountains and hills to fall on them, similar to the last days (Luke 23:30; Rev. 6:16). The battle would be so great, many would choose to die, rather than be captured.

Wickedness translates ’āwen, which occurs, spelled slightly differently, in Beth Aven, the derogatory name for Bethel (cf. Hos. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5).

And the high places of idolatry shall be destroyed, the sin of Israel; thorn and thistle shall come up on their altars. And they shall say to the mountains, cover us, and to the hills, Fall on us. It cannot be too often repeated: these handmade gods, these chips of kings, shall be swept away together.

Again, the sites of idolatrous worship would be destroyed as well, the ruins becoming overgrown with thorns (cf. Hos. 9:6) and thistles. The reference to the destruction of the high places (bāmôṯ) is ironic (cf. Lev. 26:30-31). When Israel entered the land, the Lord commanded her to destroy these worship centers (Num. 33:52; Deut. 12:2-3). Because of Israel’s dismal failure in carrying out this charge, the Lord chose to use a foreign army to accomplish His purpose. In utter desperation the people would beg the mountains to fall on them. A similar plea will be made by unbelievers in the Tribulation in response to the terror of God’s wrath in the seal judgments (Rev. 6:16).

Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 32

 The Final Judgment

Matthew 25:32 “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 before him... At his coming to judgment the world will be burned up (2Pet. 3:10, 3:12; Rev. 20:11). The dead in Christ that is, all true Christians, will be raised up from their graves (1Thes. 4:16). The living will be changed – i.e., will be made like the glorified bodies of those that are raised from the dead (1Cor. 15:52-54; 1Thes. 4:17). All the wicked will rise and come forth to judgment (John 5:28-29; Dan. 12:2; Mat. 13:41-42; Rev. 20:13). Then shall the world be judged, the righteous saved, and the wicked punished.

gathered all nations... Not every person in all nations for many will not know Christ has even landed on the planet earth until later (Isa. 2:1-22; 66:19-21; Zec. 8:23). It will be an individual judgment of all involved with Israel when Christ comes to set up His kingdom, not a judgment of the wicked dead.

All the nations (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη)

The whole human race: though the word is generally employed in the New Testament to denote Gentiles as distinguished from Jews.

Contrasts between the Two Judgments:

Judgment of the nations (Mat. 25:31-46)	Judgment of the wicked (Rev. 20:11-15)
1. Living nations	the wicked dead
2. Before Millennium	after Millennium
3. Christ the Judge	God the Judge
4. On earth	in heaven
5. Two classes	one class
6. Some saved	none saved.
7. Some destroyed	all destroyed.
8. No resurrections	a resurrection
9. No books opened	books opened.
10. Basis: persecution of Jews	all sins of all men
11. One generation	many generations
12. Gentiles only	Jews and Gentiles
13. Angel's help	none mentioned.
14. Some go to hell	all go to hell.
15. Some enter kingdom	none enter it.
16. Separation of good from bad	no good at all
17. To determine who continues to live on earth.	none here will live on earth again.
18. Some enter eternal life	none enter it.

and he shall... Shall determine respecting their character and shall appoint them their doom accordingly.

Separate them (αὐτοὺς)

Masculine, while the word nations is neuter. Nations are regarded as gathered collectively; but in contemplating the act of separation the Lord regards the individuals.

sheep from the goats... Sheep and goats were allowed to feed together by day but were separated at night (cp. Mat. 13:39-50).

The sheep from the goats (or kids, so Rev. in margin)

The bald division of men into sheep and goats is, in one sense, so easy as not to be worth performing; and in another sense it is so hard as only to be possible for something with supernatural insight (John Morley, Voltaire). Goats are an appropriate figure, because the goat was regarded as a comparatively worthless animal. Hence the point of the elder son's complaint in the parable of the Prodigal: Not so much as a kid (Luke 15:29). The diminutive (ἐρίφια) expresses contempt.

It seems quite certain, then, that whatever subsequent unfolding there may be in the later books of the New Testament as to the order in which judgment shall proceed, there is no intention here of anticipating them. It is true that the preceding parables have each given a partial view of the judgment, -the first as affecting those in office in the Church, the second and third as applied to the members of the Church; but just as those specially contemplated in the first parable are included in the wider scope of the second and third, so these contemplated in the second and third are included in the universal scope of the great judgment scene with which the whole discourse is fitly and grandly concluded.

In this great picture of the final judgment the prominent thought is separation:

The judgment of the Gentiles will occur 1,000 years earlier in order to determine who will and will not enter the kingdom.

The words the nations (ta ethnē) should be translated the Gentiles. These are all people, other than Jews, who have lived through the Tribulation period (cf. Joel 3:2, 3:12). They will be judged individually, not as national groups.

Book of Hosea Chapter 10 Vs. 7

 ONCE MORE: PUPPET-KINGS AND PUPPET-GODS

As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water. Hos. 10:7

her king is... After three years’ siege she shall be cut off. Her king is cut off; for all the rest of the kingdom was lost, and now he is pent up there also. He that was once the confidence of the ten tribes, and king of a mighty people, is now spoiled of all but one city, where he is rather a prisoner than a king, kept close till made a captive.

cut off as... Shortly will be cut off; it is not unlikely this prophecy should be delivered when Samaria was besieged.

as the foam... As a contemptible, weak, and light thing: it is a proverb, and foretells how contemptibly the Assyrians should use them.

The foam on the water would be skimmed off and done away with. This is speaking of the king being of no use to his captors.

Undone Samaria! Her king like chip on the face of the waters! This may refer to one of the revolutions in which the king was murdered. But it seems more appropriate to the final catastrophe of 724-21: the fall of the kingdom, and the king’s banishment to Assyria. If the latter, the verse has been inserted; but the following verse would lead us to take these disasters as still future.

Israel’s king (cf. Hos. 10:3, 10:15), as well as her calf-idol, would be removed in the coming invasion. Float away (dāmâh) is literally, be destroyed (cf. Hos. 4:5-6; 10:15 where NIV translates the same word as destroy). Like a twig floating on the… waters the nation would be swept away by the current and brought to ruin.

Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 31

 The Final Judgment

Matthew 25:31 “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:”

When the Son... When—immediately after the tribulation (Mat. 24:29-31; Rev. 19:11-21).

of his glory... Mat. 24:30; 2Thes. 1:7-10; 2:8.

angels with him... Literal angels accompany Him to earth (2Thes. 1:7-10) to gather Israel (Deut. 30:4; Isa. 11:11-12) and separate the tares from the wheat (Mat. 13:38-50). See, Mat. 24:31.

then shall he... Then—at the second coming (Mat. 24:29). See Mat. 25:34, 25:37, 25:41, 25:44, 25:45.

of his glory... Mat. 25:31; 19:28; Jer. 14:21. This speaks of the earthly reign of Christ described (in Rev. 20:4-6). The judgment described here (in verses 32-46), is different from the Great White Throne judgment of (Rev. 20:11-15).

This judgment precedes Christ’s millennial reign, and the subjects seem to be only those who are alive at His coming. This is sometimes referred to as the judgment of the nations, but His verdicts address individuals in the nations, not the nations as a whole (verse 46).

This Scripture is speaking of Jesus’ return to the earth when He will be King of kings and Lord of Lords. He will rule with an iron hand.

The Final Separation

As in the Sermon on the Mount, and again in the last discourse in the Temple, so here, the language rises into a strain of great majesty and sublimity as the prophecy draws to a close. No one can fail to recognize it. This vision of judgment is the climax of the teaching of the Lord Christ. Alike for magnificence and for pathos it is unsurpassed in literature. There is no departure from His wonted simplicity of style. As little here as everywhere else do we recognize even a trace of effort or of elaboration; yet as we read there is not a word that could be changed, not a clause that could be spared, not a thought that could be added with advantage. It bears the mark of perfection, whether we look at it from the point of view of the Speaker’s divinity or from the point of view of His humanity. Divine in its sublimity, it is most human in its tenderness. Truly this was the Son of God. Truly this was the Son of man.

The grandeur of the passage is all the more impressive by contrast with what immediately follows: And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said unto His disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Into such an abyss was the Son of man looking when in language so calm, so confident, so majestic, so sublime, He spoke of sitting on the throne of His glory as the Judge of all mankind. Did ever man speak like this Man?

It is significant that even when speaking of the coming glory He still retains His favorite designation, the Son of man. In this we see one of the many minute coincidences which show the inner harmony of the discourses recorded in this Gospel with those of a different style of thought preserved by St. John: for it is in one of these we read that He the Father hath given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man. Thus, the judgment of humanity proceeds out of humanity itself, and constitutes as it were the final offering up of man to God. This on the God-ward side; and, on the other side, there is for those who stand before the Judge, the certainty that as Son of man He knows by experience all the weaknesses of those He judges and the force of the temptations by which they have been beset.

Nothing could be more impressive than the picture set before us of the throne of glory, on which is seated the Son of man with all the angels around Him and all nations gathered before Him. It is undoubtedly the great assize, the general judgment of mankind. No partial judgment can it be, nothing less than the great event referred to in that passage already quoted from St. John’s Gospel, where after speaking of judgment being committed to the Son of Man, it is added: Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, 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.

When the Lord returns in His glory, He will judge not only the nation Israel as in the Parable of the 10 Virgins Mat. 25:1-13. and the Parable of the Talents Mat. 25:14-30 but also the Gentiles.