In Part 2 of our look at the Olivet Discourse, and the question of whether our pursuit of social justice will determine our eternal destiny, we began to examine the judgment spoken of in the Judgment of the Sheep and Goats, that will mark the end of the age.

As we compared the judgment in Matthew 25 with other judgment passages in the New Testament, we discovered that there are three distinct judgments spoken of, and that believers alive now will not be part of the Matthew 25 judgment.

While this gives us some comfort, we cannot simply discount Jesus’ words to the disciples here based on other passages. Clearly, a lot is at stake in this judgment. If it doesn’t apply to us, to whom does it apply?

To answer that question, we need to consider Matthew 25 in the larger context of the unfolding revelation about the Coming of the Christ. Perhaps a good place to begin is Genesis 12, where God makes a covenant with Abraham. In this covenant, we are introduced to “Abraham’s Seed” – a descendant of Abraham who would bring blessing to all the world. The covenant is reiterated through Isaac, to Jacob, who becomes Israel, whose sons become the 12 tribes. Out of one of those tribes, Judah, comes David. In a covenant with him, God expands the covenant with Abraham, adding the promise of a kingdom in which David’s throne will be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16). Later, in Isaiah, we discover that the One who sits on this throne will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, and that He will deliver Israel from their oppressors, establish the Kingdom and uphold it with justice and righteousness (Isaiah 9:1-7). It is also in Isaiah, that we learn that He will be despised and forsaken, “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”; that He will bear our griefs and be pierced for our transgressions, bringing healing to us through His scourging (Isaiah 53:1-6ff).

These are just a sampling of the passages that predict His coming. While we can’t examine all of them, we can summarize the Old Testament revelation concerning Him with 3 major statements:

• He will bring blessing in place of the curse.
• He will suffer for the healing of men’s sin.
• He will restore Israel’s glory and establish the Kingdom, where He will rule on David’s throne in perfect righteousness.

Now, here is the thing to note about these prophesies – from the information in the Old Testament, it was not apparent that the Messiah would come twice –  that there would be His first coming, which ended in 33 AD, and that we would now be waiting for Him to return.  What appeared to be, from the Old Testament perspective, a single event, is now, clearly, at least two separate events, separated by over 2000 years.

This Old Testament perspective has been compared  to someone driving toward the Rocky Mountains from the east. From a distance, the Rockies appear to be a single geographical feature. It is not until you get into them that it becomes apparent that the peaks are often separated by great distances, with many previously unseen features between them.

Likewise, from a distance, the Coming of the Christ seemed like a single event. But when He arrived, Jesus provided the details to show that His coming had two parts. Chief among them was the fact that before His coming in glory, He had to suffer.

And in Matthew 24-25, He provides even more details. In contrast to the disciples’ expectation of an immediate fulfillment of the promises of the Kingdom, He reveals that they should expect a period characterized by war, famine, and natural disasters, followed by a time of tribulation for His disciples. Then it will get worse. This time of tribulation will be followed by a time of severe tribulation. Only after that, will He return. But, since no one knows the time, vigilance is essential. After His coming, He will take His throne and judge the nations as depicted in the story of the sheep and goats. Only then will the age end.

All of this raises 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 there still more details, not yet apparent, that are necessary for a complete picture?

I believe that it is the later. And to make sense of the judgment of the sheep and the goats, we need to consider some of these additional details, found in Revelation. We will do that in Part 4.

Note – I had hoped to finish the Sheep and Goats discussion with this article, but time and space compel me to extend to at least one more week. Thank you for you patience and continued interest.