The Nations Which Enter Into The Kingdom

In Matthew xxv:31 our Lord speaks of what will take place when He has
returned, "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,
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 He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the
left." We are aware that this passage is often looked upon as teaching
a universal judgment of the whole human race; but it is not that. Not
a word is said by our Lord concerning the resurrection of the dead.
The dead are not included in this judgment. This judgment can
therefore not be identified with the Great White Throne Judgment of
Revelation xx. Nor is the Church in any way connected with this
judgment, because when that takes place the saints are with the Lord in
glory. It is the judgment of the living nations which the Lord finds
on earth at the time of His second coming. This judgment will cover
the first part of His reign as King, when He will first rule like David
in subduing His enemies, when Gog and Magog, under the leadership of
the Prince of Rosh, will also be dealt with in judgment (Ezekiel
xxxviii and xxxix), and that will be followed by His reign as Prince of
Peace, as foreshadowed by the reign of Solomon. Now, at this judgment
of the nations, when He divides them as a shepherd divideth his sheep
from the goats, there will be nations which He puts at His right hand,
and to which He saith, "Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." These
nations are therefore converted nations, righteous nations, declared to
be fit for that Kingdom over which He will reign. The question arises,
When were these nations converted? Though the Gospel has been preached
for about 1900 years yet we do not know of any converted nation on the
earth to-day. The nations which we term Christian nations are at
present engaged in the most bloody war of all history. Yet in as much
as the Lord finds converted nations on the earth when He comes back and
receives His throne, these nations must have been converted previous to
His coming. It is therefore an important and interesting question,
When and how were the nations converted which the Lord at the judgment
of nations calls blessed, and bids to enter the Kingdom on earth? They
were not converted by the preaching of the Gospel as it is done to-day,
for if they were converted as the result of the testimony of the Church
they would share in the glorious destiny, "Caught up in clouds to meet
the Lord in the air." The only alternative then is that they will be
converted after the true Church has been completed and taken into glory.

Sometimes before our Lord is manifested from Heaven with His holy
angels, a turning of nations to God must therefore take place. It will
be during the time when God deals with this earth in mighty judgments,
when the earth and the heavens are shaken, when Antichrist, Satan's
masterpiece, is on the earth and produces the Great Tribulation. It
will be one of the startling events of the end of the age, after the
Church has been removed from the earth. During these years of trouble,
judgment, and great tribulation, God will give a final witness to all
nations. Of this our Lord speaks in Matt. xxiv:14, "And this Gospel of
the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations, and then shall the end come." Though the Gospel of Grace is
being preached world-wide, the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom
as a witness unto all nations has not yet taken place. It falls into
the seven years preceding the visible coming of our Lord.

Next: Who Will Be Used In The Conversion Of These Nations?
Previous: According To Prophecy

Report
Privacy

SHARE

BOOKMARK

Viewed 648

Most Viewed

Least Viewed

The Nations Which Enter Into The Kingdom