THERE IS coming a great judgment of the subject of judgment. The judgment under discussion living nations. This world of ours, reeking in shall take place at the end of the Great Tribulation sin, lo, these many years, in that day shall be the (a short dispensation which follows the age in which we are now living). This judgment is not individualistic, but is a judgment of all nations living then upon the earth. Each nation will be divided into two parts, the one composed of believers, and the other of unbelievers. Each group will then be dealt with as a unit. The righteous nations shall enter into the Kingdom of Christ, while the wicked will take their place in everlasting punishment. May the God of all grace awaken each and every one of us to the realities of His righteous judgments, and inspire us anew to a more faithful presentation of the righteous judgments of our God.

I. THE JUDGE OF THE LIVING NATIONS

And 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 (Matt. 25:31).

IN THE human realm when an important trial is to take place our minds are immediately concerned with the questions, "Who is the Judge?" For much depends upon the judge as to the outcome of the trial. So when we turn to the divine judgments of the future, it is well for us to know who the judge shall be. And as we study God's Word we are brought face to face with God's appointed Judge — the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son . . . and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man (John 5:22, 27).

The Son of Man. once despised and rejected shall judge the nations. That One, Who nineteen hundred years ago stood before Pilate, the Governor, with the Chief Priests and Elders accusing Him, with an angry and tumultuous crowd demanding His crucifixion, not counting Him worthy to be released unto them; the One Who wore the scarlet robe and the platted crown of thorns; the One Who received mock worship from ungodly men; the One Whom soldiers spat upon; and the One Who was nailed to the cruel Cross of Calvary where He, the Son of God, bore God's righteous judgment for guilty man's sin; He. is the One Who shall judge the living nations.

The next question which logically comes to our mind concerning a judge in the human realm is, "What is His reputation?" Many of the judges in our land today have a mighty poor reputation for one who is placed in office to enforce the laws of the land. At times we even hear of judges releasing law-breakers for large sums of money. We speak of such a thing as the judge being bought off. For such cause, no doubt, many men do not receive their just deserts. Then, too, the judges being yet finite, there is always the possibility of their making mistakes, for man "looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart." But the Judge of the living Nations, being the Son of God, is holy and righteous, for we read,

He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He (Deut. 32:4).

The Apostle Paul also gives us many clear, ringing testimonies of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, one of which is found in II Timothy 4:8 where he calls Him the "Righteous Judge." Rev. 15:4 is also very clear and definite in its testimony:

Who shall not fear Thee, O God, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.

He, being the Holy and Righteous One, there is absolutely no possibility of His making a mistake. Money, or any other form of bribe will carry absolutely no weight with Him. Thus the living nations are assured of a fair trial.

The next question which comes to our minds concerning a judge is, "How much influence, or authority, does he have in human affairs?" If a judge does not have a great deal of influence, or authority, and those being tried are not satisfied with his judgment, the case is carried to a higher court. But when the Lo-d Jesus Christ comes to judge the living nations they will stand before the highest court. They will stand before the judgment bar of God.

And 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 (Matt. 25:31).

He shall come in His glory and shall sit upon the throne of His glory. Ah! no longer is the Lord Jesus manifested in humility. No! He comes in His glory. He comes in His own glory, for we find that God hath highly exalted Him,

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-11).

In His first coming. His coming in humiliation, when He was being taken for trial. He told the men that they could have no power over Him except it were the Father's will, for if He wished He could send for twelve legions of angels and thus be delivered from them. Since it was the Father's will for Him to suffer at the hands of cruel men. He did not then ask for the angels. But now when He comes in glory to judge the nations the holy angels accompany Him for He is now the exalted One. Many other Scriptures speak of His coming glory.

For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works (Matt. 16:27).

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse: and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no man knew, hut He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and Ho treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev. 19:11-16).

This coming shall take place at the end of the Great Tribulation, for that shall be the time of His glorious appearing and the establishment of the throne of His Kingdom.

And 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 (Matt. 25:31).

When the living nations are called to judgment they must stand before the One Whom many of them rejected, the One Who is just and right; the One with Whom nothing is impossible; the One Whose glory transcends all human comprehension. They will stand in the presence of the Son of the living God!

II. THE TRIAL OF THE LIVING NATIONS

When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall H: 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. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered, 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 in prison, and ye came unto Me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying. Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them. Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand. Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye pave 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. Then shall they also answer Him, saying. Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? Then shall He answer them, saying. Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal (Matt. 25:31-46).

ONE central fact gives us the key to this judgment. God is here dealing primarily with nations, not with individuals. Of course the faith or unbelief of the individual determines which group he is included in. The "sheep" will be exclusively believers. Such is the consistent use which the Scripture makes of the symbol "sheep." On the other hand, the "goats" will be exclusively unbelievers. They all go away into everlasting punishment. This no believer 'can 'ever do. But having recognized that the faith or the unbelief of the individual will determine the group in which he is included, let us remember that the practical effect of this division is to separate each nation into two parts,: the one part composed of believers, the other of unbelievers. From other Scriptures we know that God will deal with individuals in individual judgments deter-: mining the rewards of the individual believer for the deeds done in the body, or determining the particular degree of punishment which each individual unbeliever mu3t suffer, that judgment being based upon his works. But this is not the primary message of this judgment of the living nations. Rather this judgment is a judgment to determine the nations which shall enter into the Kingdom. The division having been made, God deals with the nations thus defined as a coporate. group. On the one hand will be a group of nations composed of the believers from among those nations. On the other hand will be a similar group of nations composed of the unbelievers of the same nations from which the believers were drawn. The nations in the one group enter into the joys of the Kingdom. Those of the other enter into the woes of hell. Thus is fulfilled the prophecy.

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God (Ps. 9:17).

It should be borne in mind that such a division of the nations is plainly indicated in God's dealing with His people Israel. Any careful Bible student is bound to recognize that Israel, nationally, falls into three divisions. In some instances in speaking of Israel the Spirit designates the nation as a whole composed of believers and unbelievers. In other instances speaking of Israel He refers exclusively to believers of the nation Israel. And in yet other instances He designates the Elect Remnant of the seed of Israel who have a special place in the plans and purposes of God. In each case a careful study of the context in which the reference to the nation Israel appears will indicate which of these divisions is meant. Perhaps two outstanding; examples will help to make this more clear. It is quite evident that God is speaking of unbelieving Israel when He says,

But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained unto the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that Stumblingstone; as it is written. Behold, I lay in Sion a Stumblinsrstone and. a Rock of Offense: and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed (Rom, 9:31-33),

But it is just as evident that believing Israel was in the mind of the Spirit when He said,

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Rom. 11:26).

Such then is the division which the Lord makes between the nations in this day of national judgment.

It is to be noted, too, that this judgment is a judgment primarily of national works. The nations on the one hand enter into the Kingdom to "inherit it because of their treatment of the Lord in the treatment which they have accorded to these "brethren." The other group of nations goes away into hell-fire there to suffer God's vengeance for their mistreatment of their Lord in the person of His servants. In that day the line of demarkation will be very clearly drawn. Men will be positively for the Lord and will show their allegiance to Him by the treatment which they accord His messengers, or they will be enlisted under the banner of Antichrist and will clearly show their colors by their persecution and mistreatment of the messengers of the living God. This is the line which is drawn between the nations. There is here no depicting of the salvation or judgment of individuals, but rather a setting forth of national participation in the Kingdom, or national exclusion from the Kingdom according to the treatment which the "brethren" have received at the hands of these nations. It is left for other Scriptures to set forth the individual judgments, whether of the salvation of the individual, or the rewards of the individual believer and of the degrees of punishment of the individual unbeliever.

That this cannot be a setting forth of individual salvation or condemnation, is evident from another consideration. God's Word plainly teaches that salvation is secured on the ground of God's grace operative through faith in the shed blood of Christ. Our works have no part in determining that issue. Hear the inspired testimony.

For by grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8-9).

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us (Titus 3:5).

This unmistakable teaching shows clearly how unscriptural it is to conclude in the parable of the sheep and the goats that salvation is by works. And in view 'f the prominence which works are given in that judgment it serves to emphasize the nationalistic character of that judgment.

III. THE SENTENCE OF THE LIVING NATIONS

Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34).

THE Lord will recompense those who live and labor for Him. It is by the Lord's grace that weak, finite beings such as we, should be permitted the privilege of swerving Him. After we have taken a glimpse at have Calvary we serve Him out of pure love if we any gratefulness in our hearts at all. But the Lord in His marvelous and matchless grace promises a reward for every bit of service done in His Name.

For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in My Name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose His reward (Mark 9:41).

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward His Name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister (Heb. 6:10).

The nations who have loved their God shall be blessed beyond all human conception. They will have passed through the Great Tribulation and suffered many things from the Antichrist and his followers, but now they shall receive the Kingdom blessing. They are exalted above their enemies, and for the service which they have been permitted to render they receive great recompense of reward.

But oh, the sadness that comes to our hearts as we consider the sentence of those on His left hand, those who have not believed in the Lord Jesus, but rather have followed the Antichrist, and given to him their devotion! Word still teaches it, therefore it cannot be done away with.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand. Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41).

These nations shall suffer eternally in the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Some have tried to do away with the doctrine of hell-fire, but God's Word still teaches it, therefore it cannot be done away with.

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God (Ps. 9:17).

But He shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out (Luke 13:27-28).

And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them ; and they shall lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. And so shall the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague (Zech. 14:12-15).

And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. (II Thes. 1:7-9)

Think of sinful human beings having to stand before a glorified Judge Whose glory we cannot imagine. This is the doom of the nations living on the earth at His coming, who have rejected the Lord Jesus.

All nations must stand before the One Whom men tried and crucified nearly two thousand years ago, the One Who is the very Son of God; the One Who can make no mistakes; the One Who is omnipotent. By Him they must be tried for their works, and from Him they must receive their just sentence.

This is a prophetic study, dealing with a future judgment of the nations, but in closing it will be well to remind ourselves of the personal, individual promise and admonition:

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward His Name in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: that ye be not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Heb. 6:10-12).