As we continue in this series that explains what happens at the Judgment Seat of Christ, keep in mind we are obtaining our information from the scriptures - in particular - the prophetic parables of Jesus Christ. He had much to say on this topic, so obviously He wanted us to be well informed about that Day.
When we were last together we found out what happened to the goats, those Jesus placed on His left hand, when they appeared before Him the day He returned. The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats reveals their fate...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 word cursed means: doom. The word doom means: appointed end. So Jesus is saying to the goats, those who rejected His salvation (only way to be reconciled to God) while they lived on the earth - depart from Me and go to your appointed end - the doom you chose while you lived on the earth.
In the very next verse of this parable Jesus explains why...for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink...I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me...Matt 25:42-43.
I was shocked to read that the goats actually demanded proof from Jesus when they retorted...Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?...Matt:25:44. I can't imagine how these rejecters of the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ had the audacity to question the words of Jesus even while standing before Him in His reality!
Then Jesus answered...assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me...Matt. 25:45. This is a future event, so we don't know all that will take place, but we can imagine that Jesus may make a sweeping movement with His arms toward the sheep, indicating to the goats who He was calling the least of these. Nothing can be hidden at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
After His explanation, Jesus will say to the goats...go away into everlasting punishment...Matt. 25:46. Where is everlasting fire - everlasting punishment? This parable says it is a place that was...prepared for the devil and his angels...Matt 25:41. This eternal place of punishment was never designed to accommodate mankind, it was created only for the devil and his angels that sinned against God.
The Prophet Isaiah addressed this subject. Recorded in the Septuagint Bible he said...therefore hell has enlarged its desire and opened its mouth without ceasing...and her glorious and great, and her rich and her pestilent men shall go down into it...and the mean man shall be brought low, and the great man shall be disgraced, and the lofty eyes shall be brought low...but the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment and the holy shall be glorified in righteousness...Is. 5:14-16.
Where is the place of everlasting punishment that the goats, whose names were blotted out of the Book of Life, chose to be their eternal home? Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire...Rev. 20:15. The final destination for the goats, the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet will be...the Lake of Fire and brimstone...and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever...Rev. 20:10.
I remember having a conversation with my dad (who claimed to have read the Bible many times) when he said there is no such place as Hell. I asked him, "If there is no such place as Hell, how did it enlarge itself?" A bit surprised, he said, "Well...um...where is that in the Bible?" "In Isaiah 5:14," I answered, knowing by the sound of his perplexed voice that this verse impressed revelation upon his mind. Our answers should always be the Word of God.
What did the prophetic Parable of the Sheep and Goats reveal about the future of the sheep? Once Jesus has dealt out the eternal punishment for the goats, and they have left His presence...the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world...for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me"...Matt. 25:34-40. He is inviting the sheep into the kingdom of Heaven.
Now Jesus turns His attention to the sheep who are standing before Him at the Great White Throne judgment...and the books are opened...and they were judged, each according to his works...Rev. 20:12-13. What will be found in these books? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
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