Sheep and Goats Parable

This parable pictures the Kingdom conditions after the Church is glorified and the Kingdom established. It will begin fulfilment "When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him." All nations, including those now asleep in death, will be on trial before Christ's Judgment Seat, to determine their willingness or unwillingness to come fully into harmony with God, and to receive the Divine blessing of life everlasting, or, contrariwise, to be destroyed in the Second Death.

Those developing the wayward, goat-like disposition will pass to Messiah's disfavor, represented by His left hand. At the close of the Millennium, the separation will have affected the entire human family, and have brought all into one of two classes. One class will be rewarded with "the gift of God, eternal life." The other class, unworthy, will get the punishment which God has provided, namely, destruction--kolasin, cutting off from life. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."

Their destruction is symbolically represented by fire, and was illustrated by the fires in the Valley of Hinnom (mistranslated "Hell"), in which the garbage of Jerusalem was destroyed. The Valley of Hinnom (Greek, Gehenna) was once quite deep. Only dead carcasses were put into it, including those of very vicious criminals. It symbolized hopelessness--annihilation. Jesus used Jerusalem as a figure of the New Jerusalem. This valley--Gehenna--prefigured the Second Death, from which there will be no redemption--no recovery.

Gehenna was earlier called Tophet. When Israel became idolatrous, the image of Moloch was erected there and children were roasted alive in the arms of the image--sacrifically-- devilishly. Good King Josiah defiled it for garbage purposes.

Our pious fathers provided worse idols for us--Creed-idols! To these we were taught to sacrifice millions of heathens, and non-elect infants. But their day is gone! Thank God! Saner views of God are ours, and a truer interpretation of the Bible.