The preceding section provides a sketch of the beginning and ending of the kingdom of the heavens and its process. The Gospel of Matthew, however, contains twelve parables that provide details concerning the process of the kingdom of the heavens.
1. The parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3-8, 18-23).
This parable speaks of the time before the coming of the kingdom of the heavens by showing what happened when the Lord was sowing the seed in preparation. In this parable the Lord does not say, “The kingdom of the heavens has become like” (cf. v. 24) or “the kingdom of the heavens is like” (cf. v. 31), because at that time the kingdom of the heavens had not yet come. The seed that the Lord sowed, the word He planted, was the word of the kingdom of the heavens that was to gain and prepare people to be the sons of the kingdom of the heavens. There are four kinds of hearers of the word. The first kind of hearer is like the earth beside the way on the edge of the field (v. 4), which is close to the evil spirits. The field refers to the world, the air is close to the world, and since Satan and his evil spirits are in the air, this kind of person must be close to the evil spirits. When this kind of hearer hears the word of the kingdom of the heavens, he cannot understand it, and Satan easily snatches it away (v. 19). The second kind of hearer is like the shallow earth on top of rocky places. This kind of hearer only shallowly accepts the word of the kingdom (v. 5). He is unwilling to allow the Holy Spirit to dig deeply to soften his hardened heart and to remove his hidden sins, personal desires, self-seeking, and self-pity (the rocks under the earth). Thus, the word cannot sink deep in his heart, and when affliction or persecution comes, he is stumbled (v. 21). The third kind of hearer is like the thorny ground. This kind of hearer receives the word of the kingdom of the heavens but is filled with the anxiety of the age, the deceitfulness of riches, and other kinds of private lusts and pleasures (thorns) that choke the word and make it unfruitful (vv. 7, 22). The fourth kind of hearer is like the good earth (v. 8). This kind of hearer receives the word of the kingdom of the heavens and allows the word to work in his heart to become deeply rooted and to bear much fruit (v. 23).
2. The parable of the tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43).
The parable of the tares speaks of the beginning, continuation, and end of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. Therefore, the Lord begins by saying, “The kingdom of the heavens has become like” (v. 24). This parable follows the first parable. The seed that the Lord sowed in the preceding parable becomes “the sons of the kingdom” (v. 38) in this parable; they are the true believers (the wheat). Just after the church was established on the day of Pentecost, the Lord’s servants were not watchful (the men slept), and the devil began to mix false believers (tares) in among the true believers. Once there were false believers, the outward appearance of the kingdom, which is Christianity, began. The Lord allows false believers to live together with true believers in the world (the field)—but not in the church—until He returns at the end of this age. Then the Lord will send angels to weed out the false believers from the world, that is, out of His kingdom, because the world will become His kingdom when He returns, and the false believers will be thrown into the lake of fire where they will be eternally punished (Rev. 11:15; Matt. 13:28-30). Once the false believers are separated from the true believers, the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens—Christendom—will end. At that time all true believers will be raptured to the air (the wheat being gathered into the barn). From that point forward, the overcoming believers (the righteous) will be in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, that is, in the kingdom of their Father, and will shine with the light of glory just like Christ (the sun).
3. The parable of the mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32).
The parable of the mustard seed speaks of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens, Christendom, during its time of abnormal and improper development. The mustard seed in this parable is the seed sown in the first parable, which is God’s word of life. The Lord sowed God’s word in the world in order to obtain the church, which would be like an herb. But after a certain period of time, the church lost its herbal nature and became a great tree. This was an abnormal development because it broke God’s natural law and principle that every living thing should be according to its kind (Gen 1:11-12). According to history, this abnormal development began when the Roman emperor Constantine accepted Christianity. When the church began, worldly people, especially the early Roman emperors, persecuted and harmed the church. When Constantine, the king of the worldly people, accepted Christianity, he not only ceased his persecution of the church but even encouraged people to be baptized and accept this religion. In this way the church, which was originally like a small herb with shallow roots in the earth and was full of the nature of a pilgrim and sojourner, became like a great tree with large branches, flourishing leaves, and roots deep in the earth. The church outwardly sprang up, developed, obtained power and authority, and became Christianity. Thus, it became a place where Satan (the birds of heaven) could roost. This situation of abnormal development will continue until the Lord returns; the Lord, however, wants His people to leave such a situation and return to the original position of the church.
4. The parable of the leaven (Matt. 13:33)
The parable of the leaven speaks of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens reaching a point of inward corruption. According to history, this situation was fully present by the fifth century A.D. with the formal establishment of the Roman Catholic Church. The organization of Roman Catholicism is like a woman who usurps the headship and mixes all kinds of heresies and evil things (leaven) into the truths concerning Christ as food (the meal) for God’s people. This caused the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens, which is Christendom, to become inwardly filled with all kinds of corruption.
These four parables are a group showing how the Lord sowed the kingdom of the heavens on the earth as the seed of life and produced sons of the kingdom so that He could obtain a heavenly kingdom where the heavens could rule. They show how Satan worked in many ways to damage the word of the kingdom of the heavens to prevent it from bearing fruit. But the word still produced sons of the kingdom who could become a kingdom where the heavens could rule, the church. Then Satan mixed in false believers, causing this heavenly kingdom to have an outward, earthly, false appearance; he later caused this outward appearance to be mingled with the world, to have a worldly development, and to inwardly receive all kinds of heresies and evil things, filling this outward appearance with satanic corruption. Satan did all these things to damage God’s goal for the church and to frustrate the church from bringing in the kingdom of God. Thus, anyone who seeks God’s heart’s desire and pursues the kingdom must leave the situation in Christianity behind, including the presence of tares, the appearance of the great tree, and the leaven of its teachings.
5. The parable of the treasure hidden in the field (Matt. 13:44).
This verse says, “The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid, and in his joy goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field,” and it speaks of how the Lord treasures the kingdom, sees it as most precious, and sacrifices all for it. The kingdom is hidden in the world (the field, mainly the Jewish world); it is the mystery hidden from the foundation of the world (vv. 35, 17). When the Lord began His work, He expressed this kingdom (4:23; 5—7; 9:35); later, because He was rejected by the Jews, He hid the kingdom from them (13:10-13; 11:25). However, for the joy of this kingdom the Lord went to the cross and sacrificed all to purchase the kingdom hidden on the earth, which was to obtain the kingdom on the earth created by God.
6. The parable of the pearl (Matt. 13:45-46)
The parable of the pearl speaks of the Lord’s delight in the church as the life-pulse of the kingdom. He considers the church to be a pearl, and He gave all for the church on the cross. Christ produced the church by being wounded by the sinner on the cross and by releasing His life on the cross, just as a pearl is produced by an oyster (the living Christ) that is wounded by a little rock (the sinner) and secrets its life-juice around the wounding rock (the believer). Then the pearl is taken out from the sea (the world filled with death). In this universe the Lord wants to obtain a glorious church as beautiful as a pearl, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but being holy and without blemish, and thus He obtains a kingdom. For the sake of the church that He appreciates and loves, He sacrificed all on the cross (Eph. 5:25-27).
Just as the parables of the tares, the mustard seed, and the leaven are related, the parables of the treasure and the pearl are also related. The former three parables speak of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens, Christendom, and how it becomes mixed and corrupted, something from which the believers should escape. These latter two parables speak of the purity and holiness of the kingdom and the church, something that the believers should appreciate. The kingdom is hidden in the field, which refers to the earth created and redeemed by God; the church comes out of the sea, which refers to the world corrupted by Satan. On the one hand, the Lord wants to obtain the kingdom of God in the created and redeemed earth; on the other hand, He wants to save the church out of the Satan-corrupted world. He will destroy the sea, which signifies the world, to obtain the field, which signifies the earth. As the church, the saved ones should come out of the world; as the kingdom, the Lord and the believers will inherit the earth (Heb. 2:5). Giving up the world is a requirement related to the church, which enables us, as the kingdom, to obtain the earth. When we give up the world today to be the Lord’s beloved pearl, we will inherit the earth and obtain the Lord’s precious treasure in the future. The church as the pearl is manifested today; the kingdom as the treasure is hidden today, but it will be manifested in the millennial kingdom on the redeemed earth. Today we must be the Lord’s pearl so that in the future we may obtain the Lord’s manifested treasure.
7. The parable of the net (Matt. 13:47-50).
To some, the parable of the net repeats what is spoken of in the parable of the tares concerning true believers and false believers. However, the Lord surely would not use two parables in this chapter to speak about the same matter. This parable speaks of the end of this age when the Lord returns and how He will gather before Him all the nations (the Gentiles) living on earth and divide them according to who is righteous and who is evil. Prior to this, the Lord will send an angel to preach an eternal gospel to those on the earth (casting a net into the sea) to tell them that: (1) they must fear God because the people on the earth will persecute God’s people, the believers who are left on earth during the great tribulation; and (2) they must worship God because Antichrist will require the people on earth to worship his image (Rev. 14:6-7). After this eternal gospel is preached, which is different from the gospel of grace preached by the church, the Lord will return to the earth, and angels will gather all the Gentiles living on earth who heard this gospel and bring them before the Lord to be judged. This judgment is explained by the Lord in Matthew 25:31-46. In this judgment the Lord will consider those who received the eternal gospel as righteous and cause them to enter into the earthly section of the millennial kingdom as its people. He will condemn those who did not receive that gospel and cause them to enter into the lake of fire to perish eternally. The net of the eternal gospel will end the Satan-corrupted world, signified by the sea, because it will drag out of the world (bring onto the shore) all those living on earth at the time. As a result of this judgment, the God-created, redeemed, and obtained earth, signified by the field, will be opened up because a group of righteous people will be sent into the millennial kingdom to be the people on earth. Thus, on the one hand, the Lord will terminate the Satan-corrupted world, signified by the turbulent sea, as the age of the Gentiles, and on the other hand, He will open up the God-created and redeemed earth, signified by the productive field, as the age of the millennial kingdom.
The seven preceding parables spoken by the Lord beside the sea refer to the “mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens,” which were “hidden from the foundation of the world” (13:11, 35). They cover the span of time that began when the Lord first came to the earth to preach the word until the time when the Lord returns to the earth to end this age. These parables show that the church age in which we live is a time of both the reality and the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens, and they show how both have begun, are continuing, and will end.
8. The parable of the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16).
The parable of the vineyard covers the time from when the Lord began to work on the earth, and it includes all whom the Lord has called to leave everything and to follow Him for the kingdom throughout all the generations during the age of grace. It is only through His calling that people can enter into the realm of His universal work, that is, enter into the vineyard to work. In His eyes, whoever is not in the vineyard is “standing idle” (v. 3). All who have been called to live for His kingdom have entered the kingdom, regardless of when they entered. It does not matter whether one is called early or late, whether one comes at the beginning of the age of grace (early in the morning) like Peter and John, whether they come during the course of the age of grace (the third, the sixth, and the ninth hour), near the end of the age of grace (the eleventh hour), or when the Lord comes back (when evening falls); all will be raptured to His presence to receive the same wages, that is, to enter into the kingdom. The Lord will give wages beginning with the last and ending with the first. This means that the last group of people to live for the Lord will receive their wages first, and the first group to leave everything for the Lord will receive their wages last. The Lord does this to show that His giving us the kingdom is not in exchange for our leaving everything and laboring for Him today, even though it may appear as if the kingdom is a reward for leaving everything and laboring for Him. Rather, His reward is based on our consideration of His heart’s desire and on our answer to His call to live for His kingdom. Therefore, His reward is in the principle of a gift, not a business transaction. How can our small sacrifice be a payment for entering the Lord’s kingdom? How can our little labor be exchanged for the Lord’s glorious kingdom? How can we count our small sacrifice and labor for the Lord? This is especially true because it is our duty to live for the Lord who created and redeemed us. The reward of the kingdom will depend on the Lord’s “want” and “wish” (vv. 14-15). Want expresses the Lord’s authority, but wish expresses His grace and love. Peter said in 19:27, “Behold, we have left all and followed You. What then will there be for us?” Unlike Peter, we should not emphasize our sacrifice and labor; rather, we must focus on the Lord’s love, grace, and authority. Our sacrifice and labor are not sufficient to pay the price for obtaining the Lord’s kingdom; the Lord’s grace, love, and authority, however, are sufficient as the motive for the Lord to give us His kingdom as a gift. If we are not willing to consider His heart’s desire, answer His call, and leave everything to live for His kingdom, He will not be willing to give His kingdom to us. Actually, the coming kingdom is not a wage that can be earned by our labor; instead, it is a reward placed before us to encourage us to leave everything and to follow the Lord in order to obtain it.
9. The parable of the wedding feast (Matt. 22:1-14).
The parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14 speaks of how God calls people to enter into the joy of His kingdom in the age of grace. In contrast, Matthew 21:33-46 contains a parable concerning matters in the age of the law, not in the age of grace, as revealed in the parable of the wedding feast. The age of the law relates to the “kingdom of God” (v. 43), but the age of grace relates to the “kingdom of the heavens” (22:2). In the age of law, God requires man to labor and work to produce fruit for Him, but in the age of grace, God has prepared all things for man to receive (v. 4). If we would answer His call and come, we can freely enjoy everything that He has prepared for us. When we live for the Lord and pursue the kingdom in the age of grace, we are not laboring or even sacrificing for the Lord; rather, we are enjoying what the Lord has accomplished for us and receiving what He intends to give us. From our perspective, our pursuit of the kingdom involves entering and working in the vineyard. From the perspective of the Lord’s salvation, our pursuit of the kingdom involves attending a wedding feast to enjoy all that the Lord has accomplished for us. If we truly know the Lord’s grace and the salvation He has accomplished, we will not feel that pursuing the kingdom during the New Testament age is a labor but a feast. It does not involve drudgery but enjoyment, because the kingdom is a wedding feast spread by God for His Son. When the Lord was on earth, He sent out the disciples to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the Jews (the first group of servants who were sent out to invite people to the feast, 10:5-7), but the disciples were rejected. After the Lord was crucified and His salvation was prepared, He sent out the apostles to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the Jews on the day of Pentecost (the second group of servants sent out to invite people to attend the feast). This group was also rejected by those who were busy with the affairs of the world (their field) or caught up in the lure of money (their business). Consequently, they ignored the gospel of the kingdom. Some even persecuted, shamed, and killed the apostles. Therefore, God became angry and caused the Roman prince Titus to lead an army in A.D. 70 to destroy the Jews who had rejected the gospel and killed the apostles and to burn down Jerusalem (Luke 21:20-24). Later, God sent His servants to the crossroads and the streets (the Gentiles) to preach the gospel of the kingdom all over the earth (Matt. 24:14) and to call people to enter into the kingdom by gaining kingdom people from all the nations (28:19). As a result, many answered the call and were saved. However, being saved is one thing, and overcoming is another. Thus, many answer the call, but few are chosen to enter the kingdom (22:14). Those who are not chosen do not have the surpassing righteousness that is pleasing to God, which is the wedding garment spoken of in verse 12 and the fine linen that is spoken of in Revelation 19:8. This is not the righteousness obtained by faith, which causes us to be saved; rather, it is the surpassing righteousness that gives us entrance into the kingdom, as spoken of in Matthew 5:20. It is the righteousness we live out after being saved by relying on the Lord’s overcoming life. This overcoming righteousness is the wedding garment that we need in order to enter into the kingdom and attend the wedding feast of God’s Son, the Lamb. Many believers will not be able to enter the kingdom, because they do not have this overcoming righteousness. Rather than experiencing the joy of the wedding feast of God’s Son, they will be cast into the outer darkness, where there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth (22:13).
10. The parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13).
The parable of the ten virgins is about believers viewed from the aspect of life, and it speaks of how we should be watchful and ready, maturing in life and waiting to be raptured to meet the Lord. The Lord is the universal Bridegroom (John 3:29; Matt. 9:15). In the aspect of life, we should be pure toward the Lord as virgins who go forth out of the world to meet the Lord bearing spiritual light with oil in their lamps in this dark age (2 Cor. 11:2-3; Matt. 25:1, 4). This should be the goal of our living. But there is a distinction between believers in this aspect. Although we belong to the Lord as virgins (v. 1), there is a distinction between being prudent or foolish in the matter of preparing and waiting for the Lord. Although we all have the same nature, our living and actions differ. Some of us act foolishly, and some of us act prudently, but we all bear responsibility for our living and actions (the number five signifying the bearing of responsibility). Whether we are foolish or prudent is based on whether or not we have oil in our vessels. Oil refers to the Holy Spirit, and we all have a lamp, that is, a spirit, for this oil, and as virgins we all have oil in our lamps. The oil in our lamps refers to the Holy Spirit, who has regenerated our human spirit. However, the vessels of the prudent virgins are also filled with oil, referring to the Holy Spirit filling our soul as the vessel of our personality. To have oil in our vessels means that we are willing to pay the price to pursue being filled with the Holy Spirit, not only in our spirit but also in our soul. Every regenerated believer has the regenerating Spirit, but not all have been filled with the Spirit to be mature in life.
When the Lord delays His coming, the ten virgins die (slept, v. 5). The believers who die before the Lord returns represent the majority of the believers, but not all the believers, because ten is the majority of twelve. The totality of the believers, the whole church, are represented by the number twelve (Rev. 21:14). The believers who die before the Lord returns represent the majority of the believers in the church with only a smaller number being alive when He returns. The number of the majority of the believers who are dead is ten, and the number of the believers who are alive is two. This living remnant is represented by the “two men” and the “two women” in Matthew 24:40-41. These two plus ten make twelve. When the Lord comes, two of the twelve will be living and working, and ten of the twelve will be sleeping in death.
When the Lord comes, an angel will blow a trumpet, and the dead believers will rise from the dead to meet the Lord (1 Thes. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52). All the dead believers will be resurrected (all the virgins arise, Matt. 25:7). After they rise, they take heed to the life that enables them to be raptured to see the Lord (trimmed their own lamps, v. 7). Then the virgins who do not have vessels filled with the Holy Spirit, the believers who are not ready, will discover their lack and ask the believers who are prepared for help. A lack in spiritual life, however, cannot be made up by others, so the foolish virgins will have to pay the price for themselves in order to make up this lack. Thus, they can only go away in order to pay the price and be filled with the Holy Spirit to mature in life and be ready to meet the Lord (going away to buy, v. 10). However, when they go away to prepare, the Lord will come. The believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit, matured in life, and ready will be raptured to attend the wedding feast with the Lord. This is the feast spoken of in Matthew 22:2; 26:29; and Revelation 19:9. Those who are not ready, who have gone away to prepare, will be left behind until the end of the great tribulation. They will be raptured later when they are ready, but by the time they are ready, the door to the wedding feast of the kingdom will be closed. Even though they beg the Lord to open the door, He will refuse and say, “I do not know you” (Matt. 25:12). The words not know you do not mean that the Lord does not know about them but that He does not approve of them. Because they were not watchful and not ready, the Lord will not approve of them, and He will refuse to allow them to participate in the wedding feast of His kingdom. Therefore, the Lord warns us to watch (v. 13). Brothers and sisters, are you prepared?
11. The parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30).
The parable of the talents shows that the believers should be faithful and hard working in the aspect of their work between the time of the Lord’s ascension and His return so that when He returns, they will be able to settle accounts with Him. The Lord is not only our Bridegroom but also our Master, and to the Lord we are not only virgins but also slaves. The word Bridegroom expresses the Lord’s preciousness, and Lord expresses His honor. Virgins speaks of our holiness in our living, and slaves speaks of our faithfulness in our work. In the aspect of life, we should be watchful and ready as virgins, waiting for our Bridegroom; in the aspect of work, we should be faithful as slaves, serving our Master.
When the Lord ascended, He gave gifts (talents) to the believers (slaves) (vv. 14-15). These gifts are given through the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4, 7-11). The first parable emphasizes the filling of the Holy Spirit, and this parable emphasizes the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Being filled by the Holy Spirit is for a life of waiting for the Lord, and it causes believers to be mature in life; receiving gifts is for the believers’ work in serving the Lord, and it causes the believers to be fruitful in labor. In order to be filled, we need to pay a price, and even though gifts are freely given, we must pay the price in order to be filled so that the gifts can properly be used.
The gifts given by the Lord to the believers differ in size. Some are five talents, some are two talents, and some are one talent in size (Matt. 25:15). They are measured to each believer according to his individual capacity. The Lord wants each believer to use the gift he receives to work for Him (traded). The result of each one’s trading should be gaining more than the original gift (the one with five talents gained another five, the one with two talents another two). However, the one who received the smallest gift (one talent) did not utilize his gift for the Lord (dug in the earth and hid his master’s money, v. 18) and did not use it to help others to earn interest (deposited the money with the money changers, v. 27). When the Lord returns, He will judge the believers’ work (settle accounts with them, v. 19). All believers will be raptured to stand before the Lord’s judgment seat to be judged (the master of the slaves came and settled accounts with them, v. 19; see also 2 Cor. 5:10), and each one will tell the Lord what he did (Rom. 14:10, 12). Those who faithfully used their gift (gained) will be praised by Him and will enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens to rule in the kingdom and enter into His joy in the kingdom. The lazy ones who buried their gifts will be rebuked by the Lord, not enter into the kingdom, have their gifts taken away from them, and be cast into the outer darkness to weep and gnash their teeth (Matt. 25:26-30).
The preceding two parables speak of two aspects of the believers’ relationship with the Lord. In one aspect our relationship is that of virgins with the bridegroom, telling us how we should live; in the other aspect, our relationship is that of a slave with a master, telling us how we should work. The Lord wants us to pay attention to both our living and our working. We must first pay attention to life and then pay attention to work. After we have the life of a virgin, we should have the work of a slave. We must have the life of a virgin before we can have the work of a slave. The life of a virgin is the qualification for the work of a slave. We must be virgins to the Lord before we can serve Him as slaves. As slaves, we need the life of a virgin, and as virgins, we need the work of a slave. We must have life before we can work, but once we have life, we must also have work. Life is the power for work, and work is the expression of life. We must love the Lord as our Bridegroom before we can serve Him as our Master. Loving the Lord in life is related to being raptured and feasting together with Him in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens; serving the Lord in work is related to entering the kingdom and reigning with Him in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
12. The parable of the sheep and the goats (Matt. 25:31-46).
This final parable is unlike the preceding parables, which are spoken of entirely as parables. These verses are a small parable inserted into a clear word concerning how Christ will judge the nations living on earth when He returns. These nations are not the Jews, nor do they include the Jews, because the Bible says that the Jews “do not reckon themselves among the nations” (Num. 23:9). The nations in Matthew 25:32 also do not include those in the church because the church is chosen out from among the Gentiles, the nations (Acts 15:14). The nations in Matthew 25:32 are the Gentiles who are on the earth at the end of this age. Nations in this verse is the translation of the Greek word for Gentiles, and it is the same word found in Matthew 6:32 and 10:5. Although the nations are not the chosen people of God, the Jews, or the church, they are the Lord’s sheep because all people on earth were created by the Lord and belong to Him. All men are the Lord’s sheep (Psa. 100:1-3). The time of this parable corresponds to the time immediately after the Lord returns to the earth in glory and when the earth has become His kingdom (Rev. 11:15). He will be the King of all the nations on earth, and He will sit on His throne of glory in Jerusalem, which is the throne of David (Jer. 3:17; Luke 1:32; Matt. 19:28). The Lord will judge the world in righteousness from His throne of glory (Acts 17:31), meaning He will judge the nations living on earth at that time. This judgment from the throne of glory occurs at the beginning of the millennial kingdom, and it is different from His judgment on the great white throne at the end of the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:11-15). At that time the Lord will be the Judge of the dead, whereas in this judgment He will be the Judge of the living (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1). The Lord will judge them according to whether or not they treated the least of His brothers well. These brothers are the believers left on earth during the great tribulation. In the preceding points we saw the parable of the net and said that people on earth will persecute and kill believers who are left on earth during the great tribulation. Therefore, God will send an angel to preach an eternal gospel to the people on earth, telling them to fear God and not to persecute the believers left on earth. The sheep are those who receive the eternal gospel and treat the believers well on earth during the great tribulation. Since these believers are the Lord’s brothers, those who treat them well will be considered by the Lord to be righteous ones. The goats are those who do not receive the eternal gospel and mistreat the believers on earth during the great tribulation. The Lord will condemn these evildoers as goats.
These goats will immediately go into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels to suffer an eternal punishment (Matt. 25:41, 46). Before the millennial kingdom they are cast into the lake of fire, after Antichrist and the false prophet have been (Rev. 19:20). The righteous, the sheep, will enter into the kingdom prepared by God for them from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34). This kingdom is the earthly part of the millennial kingdom, the Messianic kingdom. They will enter into this kingdom to be its people. This will be the time of the “restoration of all things,” when all things are restored to their original condition in the garden of Eden (Acts 3:21; Isa. 11:6-9). There they will enjoy the blessings prepared from the creation of the world by God for the men He created.
The salvation of the sheep in this parable is different from that of the believers. When believers are saved today, they are regenerated, and the eternal life enters into their being; they obtain eternal life. When these sheep are saved, they will not be regenerated, and the eternal life will not enter into their being; instead, they will enter into eternal life. Today the eternal life is a life in and for the believers, but for the sheep in the future it will only be a realm. Just as eternal perdition will be a realm in which the goats will suffer, eternal life will be a realm in which the sheep will be happy. Their entering into eternal life will be an entrance into a realm of blessings, just as the goats’ entering into eternal punishment will be an entrance into a realm of suffering. The sheep will not obtain eternal life or be part of the new creation; they will merely be restored to their original created condition. They will only obtain restoration through the restoration of all things. Once this judgment is completed, the millennial kingdom will begin.