In Matthew xxv:31 our Lord speaks of what will take place when He has
returned, "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, and He shall separate
them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats;
and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the
left." We are aware that this passage is often looked upon as teaching
a universal judgment of the whole human race; but it is not that. Not
a word is said by our Lord concerning the resurrection of the dead.
The dead are not included in this judgment. This judgment can
therefore not be identified with the Great White Throne Judgment of
Revelation xx. Nor is the Church in any way connected with this
judgment, because when that takes place the saints are with the Lord in
glory. It is the judgment of the living nations which the Lord finds
on earth at the time of His second coming. This judgment will cover
the first part of His reign as King, when He will first rule like David
in subduing His enemies, when Gog and Magog, under the leadership of
the Prince of Rosh, will also be dealt with in judgment (Ezekiel
xxxviii and xxxix), and that will be followed by His reign as Prince of
Peace, as foreshadowed by the reign of Solomon. Now, at this judgment
of the nations, when He divides them as a shepherd divideth his sheep
from the goats, there will be nations which He puts at His right hand,
and to which He saith, "Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." These
nations are therefore converted nations, righteous nations, declared to
be fit for that Kingdom over which He will reign. The question arises,
When were these nations converted? Though the Gospel has been preached
for about 1900 years yet we do not know of any converted nation on the
earth to-day. The nations which we term Christian nations are at
present engaged in the most bloody war of all history. Yet in as much
as the Lord finds converted nations on the earth when He comes back and
receives His throne, these nations must have been converted previous to
His coming. It is therefore an important and interesting question,
When and how were the nations converted which the Lord at the judgment
of nations calls blessed, and bids to enter the Kingdom on earth? They
were not converted by the preaching of the Gospel as it is done to-day,
for if they were converted as the result of the testimony of the Church
they would share in the glorious destiny, "Caught up in clouds to meet
the Lord in the air." The only alternative then is that they will be
converted after the true Church has been completed and taken into glory.
Sometimes before our Lord is manifested from Heaven with His holy
angels, a turning of nations to God must therefore take place. It will
be during the time when God deals with this earth in mighty judgments,
when the earth and the heavens are shaken, when Antichrist, Satan's
masterpiece, is on the earth and produces the Great Tribulation. It
will be one of the startling events of the end of the age, after the
Church has been removed from the earth. During these years of trouble,
judgment, and great tribulation, God will give a final witness to all
nations. Of this our Lord speaks in Matt. xxiv:14, "And this Gospel of
the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations, and then shall the end come." Though the Gospel of Grace is
being preached world-wide, the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom
as a witness unto all nations has not yet taken place. It falls into
the seven years preceding the visible coming of our Lord.
Who Will be Used in the Conversion of These Nations?
But who will be the preachers who proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom if
all true Christians have left the earth and the true Church is no
longer here? The apostates and destructive critics of to-day, with the
mass of professing Christians who received not the love of the Truth
will surely not take up the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom, for
we read in the Word of God that those who received not the love of the
Truth that they might be saved will follow the strong delusion of
Antichrist and believe the lie (2 Thess. ii:10-11). Who then are the
preachers? An elect company of God's ancient people, Israel. They are
now scattered among all the nations of the earth, judicial blindness is
upon them; but it will not be always so, for God has not cast away His
people.
When the Church is gone the Lord will not leave the world without a
witness. He will raise up a company of God-fearing people, Israelites;
take away the veil from their hearts and use them as heralds. As it
was in the beginning of this present dispensation, so will it be at the
close. The first preachers were Jews, and the last heralds before the
Lord comes in visible glory will again be Jews. To them will be given
the last evangel of God's mercy to a lost world. "To every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people" (Rev. xiv:6); and the message, "Fear
God and give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment is come, and
worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains
of waters" (Rev. xiv:7). They will preach the Gospel of the coming
Kingdom, that the Kingdom is about to come, and then call upon all
nations to repent and turn to God.
It would be intensely interesting if we could follow the calling of
this remnant of Israelites for this testimony as revealed in different
portions of the Old Testament. Such a remnant of believing Israelites
is anticipated in the Psalms, which speak of the coming final
deliverance of Israel. There we read of their persecutions, their
prayers, and their expectations. The reader will please turn to Psalm
xliv:10-26; Psalms lv to lvii; Psalm lxiv, lxxix and lxxx; Isa.
lxiii:15 to Isa. lxiv. And how well this remnant is fitted to give a
world-wide testimony among all nations, for they are scattered amongst
the nations and acquainted with the different languages. Therefore the
preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom to all nations will be
accomplished before the real end comes.