Sheep and goats

Matthew 25:31-33 says, “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.”

Sheep and goats grazed in the same pasture, but it was necessary to separate the herds because the male goat was often hostile toward the sheep. “Sheep” denotes the righteous; they are emblematic of innocence and harmlessness (Psalm 23:1; 74:1; 100:3; John 10:7, 14-16, 27). Goats, which are naturally difficult to deal with, were considered symbols of riotous, profane, and impure men. They represent all who have lived and died in their sins (Ezekiel 34:17; Zechariah 10:3).

The right hand is the place of honor, and denotes the situation of those who are honored, or those who are virtuous (Psalm 110:1; Ecclesiastes 10:2; Ephesians 1:20; Acts 2:25, 33). The left hand was the place of dishonor, denoting condemnation (Ecclesiastes 10:2).

People in sin will be lost. Paul wrote, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Don’t be a “goat.” Turn to God and obey the gospel so you can be at God’s right hand.

Kyle Campbell