“All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left” -Matthew 25:32-33
The subjects of Christ’s judgment will be all the nations. The nation means every person alive on earth when the Lord returns. Although He will have taken all believers into heaven at the Rapture, during the following seven years of the Tribulation many other people will come to believe in Him. During that dreadful time, multitudes of Gentiles (Revelation 7:9, 14), as well as all surviving Jewish people (Romans 11:26), will be brought to faith in Christ.
Jesus makes it clear that those who are alive when He returns will include both saved and unsaved, represented by the sheep and the goats, respectively. And those two separate people will have two separate destinies. The believers will be ushers into the kingdom and the unbelievers into eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46).
I believe the time of the “great harvest” is now. We all have a choice to make and very soon. If you’re watching anything that’s happening in the world it’s clear that Bible prophecy is coming true right before our eyes.
The process of Christs judgment will include the absolute and unerring separation of the saved from the unsaved. When all the nations and peoples of the earth will have been gathered before Him at His return, the Lord will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
In ancient times sheep and goats were frequently herded together. But sheep are docile, gentle creatures, and goats are unruly and rambunctious and can easily upset the sheep. Because they do not feed or rest well together, the shepherd often separated them for grazing and sleeping at night.
In a similar way Christ will separate believers from unbelievers when He returns to establish His millennial kingdom. He will put the believing sheep on His right, the place of favor and blessing. But the unbelieving goats He will put on the left, the place of disfavor and rejection
In ancient biblical times, a father’s blessing was extremely important, because it determined who would receive the major part of the inheritance. When Jacob was about to bless his two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, he was careful to place his right hand on the son who would receive the inheritance. Because the major blessing normally went to the eldest son, Manasseh was placed on Jacob’s right and Ephraim on his left. But when the time for blessing came, Jacob crossed his hands so that his right hand was on Ephraim’s head rather than Manasseh’s. Against Joseph’s objection, Jacob insisted on giving the major blessing to Ephraim, because God had chosen him over his brother (Genesis 48:8-20).
My sheep and goat prayer:
Father God, when the time comes to separate the sheep from the goats, I want to be grouped with the sheep. I pray that I would live my life fully surrendered to you, trusting in you and following you for the rest of my days on this earth, and that I will look forward to spending eternity with you in heaven. In Jesus Name -Amen
From Pity to Praise 