Judgment of the Gentile Nations

In order to understand the "Judgment of the Gentile Nations" we need first to understand some basic Biblical facts concerning the total Judgment of God which consists of two stages - Judgment in time (present time and in history) and God's eternal judgment (Please refer to my earlier posting entitled - "Total Judgments of God).

This message is about eternal judgment with emphasis on the Judgment of the Gentile nations. The writer of Hebrews says this is one of the 6 foundation doctrines of Christ (Hebrews 6:1, 2).

Here are some statements of truth concerning the human race and God's eternal judgment:

1. The human race is divided into three different categories.

Paul said, "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God" (1 Cor. 10:32, KJV).

The 3 categories are:

The Jews - a special nation, separated by God for purpose of His own, from all other nations.

The Gentiles (Greek) - all other nations of the world, except Israel.

The Church of God - all true believers (Jews and Gentile) who have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ.

2. The eternal judgments of God will be carried out in four sucessive scenes:

Notice that the eternal judgments of God, with the exception of the Jews, will be carried out before Christ at different judgment seat or throne.

Judgment of true Christians - this will be carried out before the judgment seat of Christ.

Judgment of the Jews - this will be carried out during the Great Tribulation. In fact the Great Tribulation is their judgment.

Judgment of the Gentile nations - this will be carried out before the throne of Christ's glory.

Judgment of the remaining dead - this will be carried out before a great white throne.

Judgment of true Christians

I will just mention it briefly because I have already posted the full message earlier - "Judgment of true Christians"

1. Only true Christians will be judged first (1 Peter 4:17, 18).

2. The Lord will take vengeance on those who do not know God (unbelievers) and those who do not obey the Gospel (disobedient believers) (2 Thess. 1:7, 8).

3. The so-called Christians who failed to enter the Narrow Gate (Luke 13:24 - 17) will not be judged as true Christians. Consequently they will not be judged first.

4. True Christians are not condemned. The Lord Himself gave us the assurance (John 3:18; 5:24). Paul gave the same assurance of freedom from condemnation (Romans 8:1).

5. God's judgment is without partiality (1 Peter 1:17).

6. The things which will be brought up for judgment will be "the things done in the body". These are the acts, service, attitude and behavior of every Christians during his life here on earth (2 Cor. 5:10).

7. The same Verse (2 Cor. 5:10) also indicates that the judgment of Christians will be to assess their rewards. Every act or service performed by a Christian during his earthly life must fall into one of two categories - either good or bad. Every act that is not performed in faith and obedience, for the glory of God, is unacceptable to God and therefore bad. There is no neutrality or grey area.

8. The main purpose of our salvation is to bear fruit for Christ (John 15:16). Read the two parables - the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14 - 30) and the parable of the minas (Luke 19:11 - 17).

Judgment of the Jews

In considering the special judgment of Israel, it is observed that there are two principles God uses to deal with the human race:

1. In blessing - God normally blesses the Gentiles through the Jews, but He blesses the Jews directly.

2. In punishment - God normally punishes the Jew through the Gentiles, but He punishes the Gentiles directly.

These two principles will direct God's dealings with the human race at the close of the present age.

In the closing stages of the Great Tribulations, God will judge and punish Israel for the last time as a nation, through the instrumentality of the Gentiles. When this final judgment of Israel is complete, God Himself will intervene directly in judgment upon the Gentiles.

Jeremiah 30:3 - 9 describes this final judgment upon Israel after they have return as a nation to their own land. Here is the order of events foretold by Jeremiah:

1. God will bring Israel back to their own land.

2. There will be for Israel a time of national peril and distress, more terrible than any that they have previously passed through.

3. The Lord Himself will eventually intervene against the foreigners - the Gentile enermies of Israel - and will save Israel from them.

4. The national kingdom of Israel will again be restored upon the throne of David, under the supreme government of the Lord Himself. The period of the restored kingdom will be the millennium.

Zechariah's prophecy

The end-time gatherings of the Gentile nations against Israel, and the direct intervention of the Lord on behalf of Israel, are further described in Zechariah:

"And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations gathered against it. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn" (Zechariah 12:3; 12:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).

The phrase: "They will look on Me whom they have pierced ...." indicates how accurate is the prophecy concerning Israel's rejection and crucifixion of Christ. At this point Israel will at last acknowledge their terrible error, and in great mourning and repentance they will be reconciled with their Messiah, whom they have long rejected.

Paul, in describing the final reconciliation of Israel to God, said: "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob'" (Romans 11:16).

After Israel has thus passed through the fires of the Great Tribulation and been reconciled again to God through Jesus Christ, there will be no further need for God to judge them. Thereafter, when Christ sets up His earthly Kingdom and takes His seat upon the throne of His glory, He will need only to judge the Gentile nations remaining alive on earth at the close of the Great Tribulation.

Judgment of Gentile Nations

In order to understand Matt. 25:31 - 46, it is helpsul to look at the following parallel passage of Scripture:


The Lord spoke through Joel: "For behold, in those days and at that time, whin I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land" (Joel 3:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).


God declares that He will first bring back the scattered Jewish people in their own land. Then He will gather all the Gentile nations and bring judgment upon them in Person "on account to His people". This is after the Second coming Jesus Christ. This is not the rapture of the true Church, the Bride of Christ. The Second coming is for the Judgment of the Gentile Nations.


The basis of the judgment is the same as that described by Jesus in Matthew 25. God said He is going to enter into judgment with the Gentile nations "on accout of My people Israel".


The purpose of the judgment that follows is to separate the sheep (those whom God accepts) from the goats (those whom God rejects). The sheep will be received into the Kingdom God has prepared for them - Christ's Millennial Kingdom. The goats will have final, irrevocable judgment pronounced upon them, by which they will be banished into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.


Unlike the rich man (Luke 16:22, 23) these rejected Gentiles (goats) will be sent forth, not to Hades, but directly to the place of final punishment of all rebels - the lake of fire. Into this lake the Antichrist (the beast) and his false prophet already will have been cast.


The separation between the sheep and goats is based upon one decisive issue - the way in which those being judged have treated the brothers of Jesus, the Jewish people (Matt. 25:34 - 46).


Even at the present moment anti- Semitism is becoming continually more widespread and more aggressive and all nations will be judged by God on the basis of their treatment of the Jewish people. Once the sheep have been separated from the goats, the judgment of the Gentile nations will be complete.


In this so-called parable (actually there is no suggestion that it is a parable) of the sheep and goats Jesus meant individual persons in all Gentile nations. This is completely logical. Each person is responsible to his own sins and the "soul who sins shall die" (Ezek. 18:29) and therefore God will judge each individual person in all Gentile nations. The Lord will decide whether his is a sheep or a goat.


What follows?


After the completion of the judgment of the Gentile Nations those who are accounted worthy to enter into the period of Christ Millennial Kingdom will have passed through the refining judgemt of God. First, Israel will be purged in the fires of the Great Tribulation. Then at the close of the Tribulation, the Gentiles will be purged by Christ own direct intervention and judgment.


After these purging judgments upon both Jews and Gentiles, Satan will be bound for 1000 years (Rev. 20:2) and there will be a thounsand years of peace and prosperity, with Christ ruling as King over all the earth.


When the 1000 years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison (Rev. 20:7) and he will make one final attempt to organize the Gentile nations in rebellion against Christ and His Kingdom, but this rebellion will be brought to nought by the direct intervention of God.


At this time Satan himself will at last be banished forever from earth and will be cast into the lake of fire, to join the Antichrist and the false prophet who will already be there.


The Great White Throne Judgment


With the defeat of Satan's final uprising, all the rebellious among those living at that time upon the earth will be purged out, and it will then remain to judge the dead of all previous ages. For this purpose, all the dead who have not previously been resurrected will at this time be called for judgment. In this way the stage will be set for the final scene of God's eternal judgment called the Great White Throne Judgment:


"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:11 - 15).


Here is the ultimate end of all sins and rebellion against the Almight God (all unbelievers) - to be cast forever into the lake of everlasting fire. Only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will escape this final judgment.


Names recorded in the Book of Life


The names recorded in the Book of Life are of those who during their life on earth availed themselves, through faith, of God's mercy and grace.


The Scripture reveals two categories:


1. All true Christians (the Bride of Christ) - all those who put their faith in Christ's atoning sacrifice on behave of mankind. They will already have been resurrected (rapture) just before the commencement of the Millennium. They will have passed through their Judgment (Judgment of true Christians) before the judgment seat of Christ, not for condemnation, but to assess their reward.


2. All those who died in faith during the Millennium.


Conclusion


Will there be others to whom God will extend mercy from His Great White Throne? The answer to this is locked up within the omniscience of God. For us, with our limited knowledge and narrow perspective, it is therefore foolish to speculate. One thing we do know is that the Judge of all the earth is always right (Gen 18:25)!


Paul, who fully understood the unsearchable wisdom and knowledge of God, said:


"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out" (Romans 11:33, NKJV)!