Q. I think I understand all the judgments as to when and where they will occur and who will be involved. However, I am having a problem determining exactly what is the judgment of the nations. Is it in conjunction with the Sheep and Goat judgment? Is it called the judgment of the nations because all the people living at the end of the Great Tribulation from their various nations will be called to this judgment? I know that whole nations, as well as individuals, have been judged by the way they have treated the Jewish people. Will whole nations be judged or just on an individual basis within these nations? Thank you for the time you spend answering our questions. It has certainly been a blessing to me.
A. The Sheep and Goat Judgment is recorded in Matt. 25:31-46 and is sometimes erroneously called the judgment of nations. It takes place immediately after the 2nd Coming. The Greek word translated nations in Matt. 25:32 is ethnos. Most of the time it’s translated Gentiles. Notice that in verse 33 after gathering all the nations (Gentiles) together, Jesus will separate them into two groups which he calls sheep and goats. Those he identifies as sheep will be welcomed into the Kingdom while the goats are consigned to eternal punishment. Since their eternal destiny is at stake here, the context is individual, not national. Although He has sometimes caused entire nations to suffer temporal punishment, God does not condemn the righteous with the wicked where eternity is concerned. That’s always done on an individual basis.
