1. “When the Son of Man comes...He will sit on the throne of His glory” (Matt. 25:31).
The fifth judgment will occur when the Lord returns. At this time the church age will be over, and the believers will have been raptured to the air to be judged before the judgment seat of Christ. Following Christ’s return, He will come to the earth and sit on His throne of glory to judge all the people from the nations living on the earth at that time.
1. “At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah, and all the nations will be gathered to it” (Jer. 3:17).
When the Lord returns, Jerusalem will become the throne of Jehovah, the throne of Christ, and all the nations will be gathered to it. When the Lord comes to earth and sits on His throne of glory to judge the nations who are living, He will be in the earthly Jerusalem. The earthly Jerusalem will be the center of God’s government and rule on the earth. Therefore, it is reasonable that the Lord would establish His throne of glory there to judge the nations.
1. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory...All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:31-32).
In chapter 48 we saw that these verses refer to the nations who are living on earth, the Gentiles. They will be gathered before Christ to be judged by Him. The Judge of the nations who are living on earth will be the Christ who comes in His glory. He will gather all the nations living on earth and separate them, just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. Even the Gentiles are His flock (Psa. 100:1-3); therefore, as their Shepherd, He is the only One with the authority to judge them.
2. “He has set a day in which He is to judge the world in righteousness by the man whom He has designated” (Acts 17:31; see also John 5:22, 27).
Christ is the man whom God has designated to judge the people in the world. God has given all judgment to Christ. He has given Christ the authority to judge. On the day that God has set, Christ will judge the people in the world in righteousness.
3. “Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living” (2 Tim. 4:1; see also Acts 10:42).
Christ will judge the people living on earth. God has designated Him as the Judge of the living.
1. “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:32).
Christ will judge the nations living on earth at His throne of glory when He returns. The nations are the Gentiles who are living on earth at that time. The nations do not include believers or Jews. When the Lord returns to the earth, the nations will be gathered before His throne of glory to be judged by Him, just like a shepherd separates his flock.
2. “Judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31).
The Lord will judge the world in righteousness. The world means the people in the world. Those who come before the Lord’s throne of glory to be judged by Him will be all the people living on the earth.
3. “Who is to judge the living” (2 Tim. 4:1; see also Acts 10:42).
The Lord will judge the living people on the earth before His throne of glory.
1. “Inasmuch as you have done it to one of these, the least of My brothers, you have done it to Me...Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, neither have you done it to Me” (Matt. 25:40, 45).
Christ will judge the living nations before His throne of glory based upon how they treated the least of His brothers. If they treated the least of the Lord’s brothers well, the Lord will call them righteous and consider them sheep. If they treated the Lord’s little brothers evilly, the Lord will condemn them as evil and consider them goats. In chapter 48 we saw that these brothers of the Lord are the believers who are left in the tribulation. They are not yet mature, so they are the least of the Lord’s brothers. How the people of the earth treat these brothers of the Lord is the basis for the Lord’s judgment upon them when He comes to the earth.