Geese
When we were last together studying the series on the Wedding Garment, I asked, "What loss will this believer experience on Judgment Day that would cause weeping and gnashing of teeth?" I will have to postpone that answer until my next blog, because I find there is a bit more scripture to consider before we can describe the loss in depth.
And I saw the dead, small and great. standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life...and the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books...Rev. 20:12. On this Day, all human beings ever born on the earth are standing at the Great White Throne Judgment. We see one book - Book of Life. Then we see books in which "works" are written to be judged.
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory...all nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats...and He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left...Matt. 25:31-33.
Did you ever wonder why on Judgment Day that Jesus separated the masses of humanity in this manner? I did, so I will share with you the very important answer. Sheep symbolize believers in Jesus Christ, and are placed on His right hand of power and authority. Goats symbolize those who rejected Jesus Christ, and are placed on His left. The pagan Greeks believed the left side was lucky for them.
How does Jesus know with billions of people standing before Him, who are the sheep and who are the goats? Is it because He is God, or is there a fair and just strategy being employed that will leave no doubt in the minds of the masses, who are the sheep and who are the goats?
Do you remember in my Jan-Feb 2014 blogs I explained how a name is written in the Book of Life and how it is removed? If you do remember, it will help you understand God's strategy with the separation of the sheep and the goats.
First, Jesus will open the Book of Life. Each human that appears before him will have a chance to see Him look into the Book of Life for his name. If it is there he will be placed on the right hand of God...whew! This means that this person is a believer in Christ, so his name is preserved by the Blood in the Book and cannot be blotted out.
If his name is not in the Book, he will be placed on the left hand of God. His name was written in the Book of Life the moment he was conceived by his parents on the earth, but since he rejected Jesus Christ, there is no blood to preserve his name in God's book, so it was blotted out...Ex. 32:31-33.
Since this person was blotted out of the Book, there isn't "another book" for him.The sum total of the works of an unbeliever is rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior, so he has no foundation of salvation on which to build a house - he has no house - no righteous works to be judged on Judgment Day. This is why the separation of the sheep and goats must take place first, so through this process all will understand clearly.
What happens to the goats? Then He will say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels...Matt. 25:41. The goats have now departed from the Great White Throne Judgment.
Who are still standing there? The sheep are still standing at the Throne, waiting for the "other books" to be opened which will reveal their "works" - whether or not they built their house from gold, silver & precious stones - or - from wood, hay & stubble. Did the sheep build their house with righteous works or with unrighteous works?
When Jesus Christ looks in the "other books" and determines there are no righteous works to warrant His reward, He will pronounce this believer an unprofitable servant who will be cast into outer darkness - the exterior of Heaven. While this certainly will be a loss, there is a profound loss that will cause weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In the prophetic Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt. 22:1-14), we read that at the end of the world God comes into the Wedding Hall to see who has arrived to attend the Wedding of His Son - he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment...so he said to him, friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless...Matt. 22:11-12.
This prophetic parable delineates - step by step - what happens to people after God first invites Israel to receive Jesus Christ as the Messiah - then invites all people. The man who walked into the Wedding Hall without a Wedding Garment, could not answer as to why he did not have on a Wedding Garment - he was speechless. Why was he speechless - shocked? Because no one told him that he needed a Wedding Garment to attend the Marriage of the Lamb - so he had no righteous works to weave his Wedding Garment - the reward Jesus brings at His coming.
Why did God this man "friend" before He cast him into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question...
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