Bible Talks

From: Messages of God's Love: 1963

Matthew 25:11-46¹¹Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. ¹²But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. ¹³Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. ¹⁴For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. ¹⁵And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. ¹⁶Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. ¹⁷And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. ¹⁸But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. ¹⁹After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. ²⁰And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. ²¹His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ²²He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. ²³His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ²⁴Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: ²⁵And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. ²⁶His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: ²⁷Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. ²⁸Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. ²⁹For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. ³⁰And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ³¹When 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: ³²And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: ³³And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then 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: ³⁵For 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: ³⁶Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. ³⁷Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? ³⁸When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? ³⁹Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? ⁴⁰And 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. ⁴¹Then 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: ⁴²For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: ⁴³I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. ⁴⁴Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? ⁴⁵Then 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. ⁴⁶And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:11‑46)

THE LORD has told us in Matthew 24:14¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14) that the “gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” This will be after the Church has been caught up to heaven. Those who will carry this message to all the world will be the faithful servants of Christ from among the Jews. The gospel of the kingdom that they proclaim will not be the gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus, which tells of an accomplished redemption. But it will announce to all the world that the King is coming to set up His kingdom, that He is about to crush the serpent’s head and to take His great power and reign.

We can see how contrary is the course of this world to the purposes of God with respect to His beloved Son. Satan, the Beast, and the men of this world, who want the earth for themselves, will be set to oppose any interference from God with their schemes. But “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision...” Psa. 2:4⁴He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. (Psalm 2:4). Yet the tidings of the coming kingdom will bring upon the Lord’s messengers such fierce persecution, that those who dare to show them even the smallest ordinary kindnesses will do so at the risk of their lives.

Now in our chapter, from verse 31 to the end, we have the judgment of those living nations to whom this gospel of the kingdom has been sent.

“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.” Here it tells us that the holy angels will be with Christ when He sits in judgment, while elsewhere we learn that His saints shall also accompany Him when He comes from heaven (2 Thess. 1:10; 2:1¹⁰When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. (2 Thessalonians 1:10)
¹Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (2 Thessalonians 2:1)). During this present interval of grace, the Lord is in heaven sitting upon the Father’s throne, but in that day He will sit upon His own throne, for all things in heaven and earth shall be put under Him.

The solemn judgment scene before us is on earth. The judgment of the wicked dead at the great white throne, one thousand years later, will be in heaven (Rev. 20:7-15⁷And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, ⁸And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. ⁹And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. ¹⁰And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. ¹¹And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:7‑15)). It is not a question of a general judgment, as many believe, but the living nations are judged according to how they treated the messengers of the gospel of the kingdom. It is of this only that they give an account to the judge.

There are three classes spoken of here — the sheep, those who received the messengers kindly; the goats, those who did not; and the brethren of the Judge, the messengers themselves. The sheep are set on the King’s right hand and He says to them: “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” The sheep do not pretend to have shown any kindness to the King personally, but all that they had done to His messengers He takes as done to Himself. He credits them as having received Him.

The goats on the other hand, those who had rejected the messengers are set on the King’s left, and He tells them, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” They might only have shown indifference to the messengers or they might have rejected them outright, but the King takes it as having been done unto Himself. We can see from this that even now it is a solemn thing to hear the message of God’s love and grace and to turn from it.

ML-02/03/1963

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