Revelation 11:18; Standing Before God

Revelation 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. 

The text before us in Matthew 25:31-46 describes the scene when our Lord returns and we have to stand before Him. 

There are 2 categories of people that will stand before our Lord at His coming. He described them as either the sheep or the goats. And He will divide that is to separate the sheep from the goats. 

Verse 31 says when the Son of man shall come. This time particle “when” is used of events which will really occur, but the time of whose occurrence he does not definitely fix, you do not know when, but it will certain happen. 

Why did the Lord call Himself the Son of man? It is to identify Himself with the countless multitude that He has come to judge, that He is a man too and therefore He is fully qualified to understand the make-up of man. He is a most worthy judge because He lived a sinless and perfect life as a man, the perfect example for all mankind. If you want to know how to live a godly life, our Lord says, look at my life and learn from it.

Matthew 25:31-46 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. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

How to distinguish between true and false believers?

• Our Life before God (v34, 37, 41)
  • True Believer 
    • Blessed of the Father (v34)
      • Heir of the kingdom – Life Eternal (v34b, 46b)
      • Elect – Chosen from the foundation of the world (v34c)
      • Made Righteous (v37)
  • False Believer (v41)
    • Cursed (v41)
• Our Life before Men (v35-40, 42-46)
  • True Believer (v35-40)
    • Evidence of Spiritual Fruit – Kindness & Compassion
      • Gave (v35a)
      • Took (v35b)
      • Clothed (v36a)
      • Visited (v37b)
  • False Believer (v42-46)
    • No Evidence of Spiritual Fruit – No kindness and compassion
      • Gave not (v42,)
      • Took not (v43a)
      • Clothed not (v43b)
      • Visited not (v43c)

The true believer is blessed of the Father, elect and righteous. This is the identity of a true believer. Do you know if you possess this seal of approval by the testimony of the Holy Spirit that seals your conviction?

Not only does our Lord assess us by our standing before God, but also our standing before men. Our correct standing before God corresponds to our good standing before men too.

Dear friends, may the Lord grant to us discernment to prepare to meet our God. There is that day of reckoning of God’s wrath that none can escape. The only escape is by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ in humble submission according to Scriptures. Take note of the identity of the true believer and his disposition is this truly a description of you? His life before God and life before men, may the Lord help us to examine our hearts and be sure that we are blessed of the Father and blessing the people around us. Amen.