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In our examination of the question of whether our pursuit of social justice will determine our eternal destiny, we have been looking at the Judgment of the Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25:31-46. So far, we have:

• Set the discussion of this judgment in the context of the Olivet Discourse, which was given in response to the disciples’ question of the timing of Jesus’ coming and the end of the age (Part 1).
• Seen that there are at least 3 distinct judgments in the New Testament, and that believers alive now are not part of the Judgment of the Sheep and Goats (Part 2).
• Seen that Christ’s Coming has been anticipated since the beginning of the Old Testament. As the story has unfolded, additional details have come to light, revealing an increasing complexity to His Coming. What seemed, from the Old Testament perspective, to be a single event, now, clearly, has two parts, separated by at least 2000 years (Part 3).

This raised an important question – With the details in Matthew 24-25, do we have a complete picture of Christ’s return and the end of the age? Or, are additional details needed for a complete picture?

I believe that it is the later. And to make sense of the Judgment of the Sheep and Goats, we need to consider some of these additional details. Let’s begin with the information that Jesus gives us in the first half of the Discourse.

Abomination of Desolation

He begins by saying that the time between His two comings will be characterized by war, famine and earthquakes (24:4-8). Then will come a time of tribulation for Jesus’ disciples, characterized by betrayal, false teaching, and apostasy (24:9-14). This will be followed by an unprecedented time of tribulation for His followers, so intense that, if it were not shortened, all life would be wiped out (24:15-28). This later time is known as The Great Tribulation (24:21). It’s beginning will be marked by the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11).

Following this reference back to the Book of Daniel, we find Israel in exile in Babylon for their persistent unwillingness to worship God alone. In chapter 9, Daniel has been reading Jeremiah’s prophecy that this exile will last 70 years (9:2; cf. Jeremiah 25:1-11). This prompts him to confess Israel’s sin and ask God’s forgiveness (9:3-19). God responds by giving Daniel a brief overview of Israel’s future (9:24-27). Although English translations indicate that 70 “weeks” have been decreed for Israel and Jerusalem, the Hebrew word translated “weeks” means “units of seven”. This 70 “units of seven” is broken up as follows:

• Between the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of Messiah will be periods of 7 and 62 “units of seven”.
• After the 62 “units of seven”, the Messiah will be cut off, and the people of another prince will destroy Jerusalem and the Temple.
• This prince who is to come will make a covenant restoring the sacrifices and grain offering, implying restoration of the Temple. This covenant will cover the 1 remaining “unit of seven” decreed for Israel.
• In the middle of this last “unit of seven”, this prince will break the covenant with the “abomination which makes desolate”.
• All of this will end with the complete destruction of this prince.

Clearly, God intended the “units of seven” to indicate meaningful units of time (9:25). Several factors, some of which we will consider momentarily, indicate that the “units” are “years”. Thus, the “abomination of desolation” will occur in the middle of the last seven years of the time decreed for Israel.

Daniel 11 is a vision given to Daniel, after the Medes and Persians conquered the Babylonians. Beginning with Darius, it looks ahead, in great detail to the succession of royalty that will follow him. The succession culminates with Antiochus Epiphanies (175-164 BC), who erected a statue of Zeus in the Temple, and sacrificed swine on the Temple altar. It is this event that Daniel 11:31 calls the “abomination of desolation”. Since this event occurred almost 190 years before the Olivet Discourse, it cannot be the event to which Jesus is referring. However, it does serve as a foreshadowing of the ultimate “abomination of desolation” of Matthew 24, Daniel 9:27 and 12:11.

Daniel 12, looks all the way to the end time, to a period of severe distress, unprecedented in Israel’s history (12:1). When the question of how long this period will last, a general answer of “a time, times, and half a time” is given (12:7), followed by a more specific answer of “1290 days” (12:11), that begin with the setting up of the Abomination of Desolation.

From these references, we can conclude that the period of severe distress that Daniel describes is The Great Tribulation about which Jesus speaks. Both are characterized by unprecedented tribulation and begin with the Abomination of Desolation. From Daniel, we learn that it will last for 3 ½ years, or “a time, times, and half a time”, or 1290 days. We will see that these all refer to the same time period.

Time References And The End of The Age

Like Daniel, Revelation uses different units to refer to the same time period. The movement between these various units provides reference points which we can connect to better understand some of the details. Consider:

• The Great Tribulation will last for “a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 12).
• In Revelation 12, Israel, represented by a woman, gives birth to a child, Jesus. Although Satan, represented by a dragon (compare vv. 3 & 9), tries to kill Jesus, He ascends to heaven. Sometime afterwards, Israel flees to the wilderness (12:6). Satan is cast out of heaven, down to the earth (vv. 7-12). Enraged, he persecutes Israel who is transported to the wilderness to escape him. There, she is nourished for “a time, times, and half a time” (v.14), or 1260 days (v.6). This fits the description of the Great Tribulation in Daniel 9 & 12. The extra 30 days (1290 in Daniel, 1260 here), are not explained, but may reflect slight differences (e.g., After the Abomination of Desolation is set up, it may take 30 days before the persecution gets ramped up and/or Israel gets established in the wilderness).
• 1260 days is also the duration of the ministry of the two witnesses, who will deliver God’s message with signs and wonders (11:3). In the previous verse (11:2), the nations (Gentiles) have authority over the holy city for 42 months. 1260 days divided by 30 days per month equals 42 months. The flow of the passage indicates that these both refer to the same period of time.
• 42 months is the amount of time given to the Beast who will blaspheme God and His people (13:5). He will make war with the saints, and will be worshipped by everyone who is not written in the book of life of the Lamb (13:7-8). Those who do not receive his mark will not be able to buy or sell anything.

Now obviously, these are just a few of the details that we are given about the end times. And there are infinitely more details that we have not been given. But from these passages, we can see that all these different units of time refer to the same period (1260 days = 42 months = 3½ years = a time [1 year], times [2 years], and half a time [½ year]).

Characteristics of The Great Tribulation – The Situation Preceding the 2^nd Coming

Furthermore, these descriptions give us a glimpse of the setting in which the Judgment of the Sheep and Goats occurs, helping us to understand it more clearly. Several details are particularly relevant to our discussion –

• The 7 years immediately preceding Christ’s return, including the Great Tribulation, will have a distinctively Jewish focus.
• During the Great Tribulation Israel will suffer intense persecution. As a result, she will flee to the wilderness where she is protected by God.
• Although the Temple will have been restored, Gentiles will have authority over the holy city.
• The Beast who blasphemes God and demands worship will make war with the saints, killing or imprisoning many.
• All who do not receive the mark of the beast will be be unable to buy or sell anything.
• All who are not written in the Lamb’s book of life will worship the beast.

With these things in mind, let’s return to Matthew 25.

We have already concluded that believers currently living are not part of this judgment (Part 2). This fits well with the focus on Israel during the Great Tribulation. The age of the church, that period between Messiah being cut off (Daniel 9:26) and the final 7 years (9:27), is complete, the church is gone, and focus returns to Israel.

And, we have identified the Son of Man as Christ, assuming His Throne after His return.

So, who are the hungry and thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick and imprisoned? Is it the poor and needy of the world, as has been suggested?  A significant clue is found in verse 40 where Jesus calls them His brothers. It is hard to imagine Jesus ever using that term for unbelievers. It always denotes a close, family relationship. At the very least, these are believers.

Now, remember the conditions immediately preceding this judgment. Believers will not have the mark of the beast, and so, will be unable to buy anything – food, drink, clothing, medicine. This will leave them hungry, thirsty, ill-clothed (naked), and sick. Because the Beast is warring against them, they will not be able to hold a job. They will be on the run, fleeing persecution, making them homeless (strangers). Many who are caught will be imprisoned, many others, killed. It is these whom Jesus calls brethren. Their persecution will be intense. Since their suffering is based their identity with Christ and their refusal to worship the Beast, kindness shown to them will be counted as if it were shown to Christ Himself.

This raises another question. If the poor and needy are believers who are suffering for their faith, how are they different from the sheep who are invited to enter the kingdom? To begin to answer that, we need to notice that they are part of the “nations” who are gathered for judgment (25:32). The Greek word here is ethnos. Anytime New Testament writers spoke of Gentiles, i.e., all the other nations, in contrast to Israel, they used this term. Given the Jewish focus of the Great Tribulation, and the disciples’ expectation of a Jewish Messiah coming to restore Israel’s glory, we should understand it here in that sense here. The gathering of the “nations” is, literally a gathering of the Gentiles for judgment. Some are sheep, some are goats. This realization gives us additional insight into the poor and needy. Not only are they believers, but since they are distinct from “the Gentiles” they are probably Jewish believers.

So, will these Gentiles be judged on the basis of their works? While it might appear that way, it would be more accurate to say that their works are unmistakable evidence of their faith in Christ . . . or not. Remember the situation during this time. Identification with Christ will necessarily mean rejection of the mark of the beast, and with it, all the suffering already described. To show kindness to these believers will be to identify with them, and thus, with Christ – something no one who accepts the mark of the Beast will do. And no one who worships the Beast will be a believer (Revelation 13:8). Because of the circumstances, the line of demarkation will be quite clear.

The goats – those who worship the Beast – will go away to eternal judgment. Since this judgment is distinct from the Great White Throne Judgment (see Part 2) where the dead are resurrected, and since there is no resurrection spoken of here, we must conclude that this is a judgment of those living on the earth at Christ’s return.

The sheep – Gentiles who prove their faith through their actions – are invited to inherit the kingdom. Since they are a part of the nations out of which the goats were also sorted, they must, likewise be living on the earth at Christ’s return. Thus, the invitation is to enter the kingdom in their earthly bodies.

In light of these things, the error of the teaching that our eternal destiny is based on our treatment of the poor and needy is evident. It fails on at least three points –

• The New Testament teaches that salvation is by grace, through faith, not works. Our eternal destiny cannot rest on our treatment of the poor, which would be works.
• The judgment of believers currently living is for reward, not eternal destiny, and will not include unbelievers. These distinguishing traits preclude any possibility that we are part of the judgment of Matthew 25.
• The poor and needy of Matthew 25 cannot be the disadvantaged of the world. They are believers, most likely Jewish, who come to faith during the Great Tribulation, and suffer intense persecution for their identification with Christ.

Although this answers the question that prompted our consideration of this passage, the discussion is not complete without identifying the  kingdom inherited by the sheep. That will be next week’s discussion.