OUR LORD’S PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS
Scriptures are cited from the King James (Authorized) Version, unless stated otherwise.
A PARABLE is defined as “A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told
by Jesus in the Gospels.” The things said in parables are never the things meant. Jesus employed
figurative, not literal language, when He spoke in parables. In this parable, Jesus does not refer to
literal, but figurative sheep and goats. Many Christians have mistakenly thought that Jesus
always spoke in plain, literal language. On the contrary, Matthew 13: 34 indicates that Jesus only
spoke to the multitudes in parables, which He would later explain to His disciples.
Why did He hide these truths from the multitudes? And why is God’s Plan still hidden from
mankind in general? We answer: In this present Age, our Lord’s teachings are spiritually helpful
and life-giving to those in the right heart condition to receive them. But for the majority –
blinded by Satan – to have known of the Divine purposes in advance would have doubtless been
injurious to themselves; for in their blindness they would have attempted to thwart these
purposes, putting themselves into a worse condition of condemnation. But thank God, in the next
Age, with Satan bound, conditions will be favorable for an understanding of God’s Word!
The Setting of the Parable
Our Lord’s parable of the sheep and the goats is found in Matthew 25: 31-46. Many Christians
have misapplied this parable to the Church, but it actually applies to the world, the nations, after
the true Church class has been exalted with her Lord, and after Christ’s Kingdom has been set up
in the earth. In verse 31 our Lord stated, “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.” The word “angels” is
translated from the Greek word aggeloi, which means messengers. The true Church class is here
meant – compare Jude 14.
The Judgment Day of the World
Then follows a description of the work of the Millennial Age (verse 32): “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.” All the people of the world except for the Church – which has had its
judgment day during the Gospel Age – will be before Christ’s great white throne of justice,
mercy and love during their judgment time (compare Revelation 20: 11-15). “He [God] hath
appointed a [thousand-year] day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that
man [Christ] whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he
hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17: 31).
Over six thousand years ago Adam and his entire race were judged in Eden, and the resulting
sentence was death (Genesis 2: 17). None of Adam’s race is worthy of everlasting life – for all
are sinners. But in God’s due time He sent His Son to die for Adam’s sin so that all may have the
opportunity to accept Christ and gain eternal life.
This present Time of Trouble – which ends the Gospel Age and ushers in Christ’s Reign on the
earth – will enlighten mankind to prepare them for their judgment day (Isaiah 35: 4). Eventually
all the blind eyes will be opened, and all the deaf ears will be unstopped, and the knowledge of
the glory of the Lord will fill the whole earth (Numbers 14: 21). But some will resist this
knowledge, decline to accept Christ and will therefore not come into judgment, but after a
hundred years of resistance will be destroyed (Isaiah 65: 20).
The Future Success of the Kingdom’s Work
Those in the parable have accepted Christ’s terms and have come on trial for everlasting life.
This will include all in their graves, whom, the Master says, will come forth, not all at once, but
gradually (John 5: 28, 29). Messiah’s Kingdom will impart the knowledge of God and of
righteousness (1 Timothy 2: 4) to encourage, help and uplift all the willing and obedient. They
will then be tested upon that knowledge, and chastised for correction. All such will rise more and
more out of sin and death conditions – out of imperfection of mind and body, and out of
immoral conduct to the full image of God on the human plane as possessed by Father Adam in
the beginning.
The entire Millennial Age will be needed to bring about these blessed conditions. Righteousness
will then reign as sin does now (2 Peter 3: 13). Whoever will sin will suffer promptly, hence all
the nations will seek to avoid sin. The world in general will then be a grand place, where “they
shall not hurt nor destroy” and where “the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick” (Isaiah 11: 9; 33: 24).
The curse shall be gradually rolled away, and eventually there will be no more sorrow, no
more crying, no more dying (Revelation 21: 4) – the blessing of God, bringing perfection, will
prevail.
The Basis of Judgment
The trial of the Millennial Age will be an individual judgment. Everyone’s character will be fully
evaluated by the Great Judge, and each person will be determined to be either a “sheep” or a
“goat” – what appropriate symbols, for the chief characteristic of a literal sheep is its meekness,
whereas those of literal goats are its waywardness and insubmissiveness! Every one of the sheep
will be placed at the right hand of God’s favor; whereas all of the goats will fall out of His favor,
though they will still continue to receive the Kingdom’s blessings, and render outward obedience
to its laws (verse 33).
The Judge will not make His decision known until the “little season” which follows the
conclusion of the Millennial Age. He will say to the “sheep” at His right hand, “Come, ye
blessed of my Father [the kind that my Father is pleased to bless and to grant everlasting life!],
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (verse 34). This is not
the Mediatorial Kingdom, which will end at the close of the Millennial Age, but the Kingdom
which God gave to Father Adam, but which he lost through disobedience, and which Christ
redeemed by the sacrifice of Himself.
Then the goats will be sentenced, as follows: “Depart from me, ye cursed [doomed ones], into
everlasting fire [destruction], prepared for the devil and his angels” (verse 41). You have been
granted all the privileges, blessings and experiences of the thousand years of contact with
righteousness, truth and the spirit of God (Joel 2: 28); yet you only render outward obedience,
but at heart are out of harmony with God. I cannot recognize you as My sheep, nor can I present
you to the Father blameless and irreprovable. You must be destroyed in the Second Death.
Both the “sheep” and the “goats” show surprise at what the Judge declared to be the basis of His
judgment. To the sheep He said, “I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye
gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye
visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me” (verses 35, 36). To the goat class He said, “I
was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a
stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited
me not” (verses 42, 43).
Both the “sheep” and the “goats” claimed that they had no knowledge of any such experiences.
When did we minister unto Thee? When did we fail to minister unto Thee? The answer was,
Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these, My brethren, or did it not unto him, ye did it,
or did it not, unto Me (verses 37-40; 44, 45).
Characteristics of the Sheep Class
We here see a great principle that will be operating in the Millennial Kingdom. Our Lord is not
referring to people who will then be literally hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, or in prison. What does
He mean? With the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom, all who possess the spirit of Love
will be happy to provide spiritual food and water to the spiritually hungry and thirsty; to help
cover their nakedness with the merit of Christ; to help the sin-sick back into harmony with God;
and to pray for the awakening of those in the prison-house of death.
All those who take pleasure in that work will be revealing themselves as “sheep,” whereas those
who will be careless respecting their consecration vow, and merely selfishly enjoy the Millennial
blessings themselves, will be marking themselves as “goats.”
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