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Bible Question: In
Matthew 25:31, does the dividing of the sheep and goats take place
on earth when Christ comes back? Or, does this happen at the great
white throne judgment? It sounds like it happens on earth just prior
to the 1,000 year reign of Christ.
Bible Answer: Matthew
25:31-46 is the sheep and goat judgment.
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But
when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with
Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And 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;
and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the
left. (NASB) Matt. 25:31-33 |
Jesus'
Second Coming. Scripture teaches that at sometime in the future,
a period of great distress will occur on this earth. We call it the
Tribulation. There is a study
and an important question
at this site that provides more of an explanation about the timeline
of future events such as the Rapture, the Tribulation, the Kingdom,
and heaven. Earlier in Matthew 24:29-31, Jesus told us that His return
comes after the Tribulation.
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But
immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL
BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS
WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be
shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the
sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they
will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with
power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with
A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from
the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (NASB)
Matt. 24:29-31 |
When
He returns to earth in the future, He brings those Christians who
died during the tribulation (Rev. 3:5; Rev. 19:11-16, before the tribulation
(Rev. 20:4-6) and at the end of the tribulation (Matt. 25:31-33) together.
That is the message of Matt. 24:31-33.
Sheep
& Goat Judgment. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells us that
He will place the sheep, Christians, on His right and non-Christians
on His left. Those He places on His right will go into the kingdom
(Matt. 25:34) which starts as an earthly Kingdom and ends up as a
heavenly kingdom (Rev. 20:2, 4-5; Rev. 21:5-7; 1 John 5;5 and Rev.
2:11). Those on His left will go into eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46).
Some
have said the goat and sheep judgment occurs immediately at Jesus'
Second Coming. Others believe it occurs at the Great White Throne.
This difference of opinion is mainly found between dispensationalists
and non-dispensationalists such as amillennialists and postmillennialists.
Non-dispensationalists say Matthew 25:31-46 is the Great White Throne
judgment. But there are several reasons this cannot be true.
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