Matthew 25:31-34
25:31. "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
25:32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
25:33 "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
25:34 "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Jesus will appear as King of kings and Great Shepherd in the time of His second coming to separate sheep and goats.
This year is the year of separation. Each of us has to try to be shepherded well, obedient to the shepherding Word, so we are not separate but united to enter into the year of revival and the year of miracle.
The sheep are on the right hand of God, and the goats are on the left.
The base of separation is not physical matter, but spiritual one as follows:
Matthew 25:41
25:41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
The goats are on the left hand of God because of being cursed or doing cursed deeds, so they enter into the everlasting fire or everlasting persecution.
The sheep are on the right hand of God because they are righteous, doing righteous deeds or the work of faith, so they enter into eternal heavenly kingdom.
Romans 1:17
1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
The righteous will live by faith.
One who does unrighteous deeds does not have any faith.
James 2:20,26
2:20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Faith without works is vain and dead.
On the contrary, faith with works, referring to righteous deeds, will become perfect faith.
Thus,the righteous has to do the works of faith or righteous deeds.
The example of the works of faith is as follows:
The work of Abraham's faith is through offering Isaac, His only beloved son, because he LOVES GOD MORE THAN ALL THINGS.
The work of Rahab's faith is through hiding the spies, being willing to give her soul, because she LOVES OTHER PEOPLE LIKE SHE LOVES HERSELF.
We have to love God according to the Word, and then we can love other people as we love ourselves in line with the Word.
Thus, THE WORK OF FAITH results in PERFECT LOVE.It is as two tablets of stone; the first tablet is the love to God, and the second one is the love to other people.
Holding the two tablets of stone, we are in the embrace of the merciful hand of God which is mighty and none can defeat. Here are the results:
25:31. "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
25:32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
25:33 "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
25:34 "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Jesus will appear as King of kings and Great Shepherd in the time of His second coming to separate sheep and goats.
This year is the year of separation. Each of us has to try to be shepherded well, obedient to the shepherding Word, so we are not separate but united to enter into the year of revival and the year of miracle.
The sheep are on the right hand of God, and the goats are on the left.
The base of separation is not physical matter, but spiritual one as follows:
- Heavenly wisdom [Ecclesiastes 10:2].
- Character/attitude [Matthew 25:35-45].
- Deeds
Matthew 25:46
25:46 "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Matthew 25:41
25:41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
The goats are on the left hand of God because of being cursed or doing cursed deeds, so they enter into the everlasting fire or everlasting persecution.
The sheep are on the right hand of God because they are righteous, doing righteous deeds or the work of faith, so they enter into eternal heavenly kingdom.
Romans 1:17
1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
The righteous will live by faith.
One who does unrighteous deeds does not have any faith.
James 2:20,26
2:20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Faith without works is vain and dead.
On the contrary, faith with works, referring to righteous deeds, will become perfect faith.
Thus,the righteous has to do the works of faith or righteous deeds.
The example of the works of faith is as follows:
- Abraham, the representative of Israelites, offered Isaac, his only son.
James 2:21-22
2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
2:22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
Meaning a willingness to offer all things God asks through the encouragement of His Word.
Genesis 22:1-2
22:1. Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
22:2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
Abraham offered Isaac on the Mount Moriah, where God has determined, not the place of his own will. We have to be shepherded in the place where God determines by the encouragement of His Word, not of men.
2 Chronicles 3:1
3:1. Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
The place where Abraham had offered Isaac became the place Solomon built the house of God, referring to the spiritual house of God now.
All our sacrifices are toward the building of Christ's perfect body.
Thus, the work of Abraham's faith means we have to be willing to sacrifice all things such as time, energy, money, feeling, et cetera, which God asks through the true teaching Word for building Christ's perfect body.
ALL THINGS must be sacrificed for building Christ's perfect body, EXCEPT ONE THING, namely the true teaching Word because the true teaching Word is Jesus Himself. Sacrificing the true teaching Word means crucifying Jesus for the second time.
Genesis 22:9-14
22:9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
22:10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
22:11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am."
22:12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
22:13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
22:14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided."
The result of obeying the Word to sacrifice all things is we meet Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides. What is nothing becomes real, and what is impossible becomes possible.
Revelation 19:7-8
19:7 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
19:8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
The Lord provides not only for our present needs but for our future life also, that Jehovah Jireh will prepare us as the bride with fine linen, clean and bright, to welcome Jesus' second coming. Thus, the clean and bright fine linen is the works of faith.
All things we sacrifice for Christ's body will never go with the wind. The Lord will return it to us, even He gives us the bonus, namely the clean and bright fine linen. He will never fool us. - Rahab, the representative of Gentiles, was willing to sacrifice her soul to hide the spies.
James 2:25-26
2:25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
It is also related with the building of Christ's body because the purpose of the Israelites was to go to Canaan, referring to the revival of building the body of Christ.
Joshua 2:18-19
2:18 "unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own home.
2:19 "So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.
The result of Rahab's sacrifice is she received the line of scarlet cord, whose function is as follows:- To save Rahab and all her family, meaning to save our whole family.
- To unite Israelites and Gentiles to become one perfect body of Christ, or God's Bride.
Ephesians 2:13-16
2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
2:14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
2:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
2:16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
The oneness of the body of Christ is real through making peace.
Making peace means breaking down the middle wall of separation and building the wall of New Jerusalem.
Making peace means confessing sins to God and men, not repeating the sins after being forgiven.
Not making peace means breaking down the wall of New Jerusalem or destroying the body of Christ. It means perdition.
- To save Rahab and all her family, meaning to save our whole family.
The work of Abraham's faith is through offering Isaac, His only beloved son, because he LOVES GOD MORE THAN ALL THINGS.
The work of Rahab's faith is through hiding the spies, being willing to give her soul, because she LOVES OTHER PEOPLE LIKE SHE LOVES HERSELF.
We have to love God according to the Word, and then we can love other people as we love ourselves in line with the Word.
Thus, THE WORK OF FAITH results in PERFECT LOVE.It is as two tablets of stone; the first tablet is the love to God, and the second one is the love to other people.
Holding the two tablets of stone, we are in the embrace of the merciful hand of God which is mighty and none can defeat. Here are the results:
- The merciful hand of God gives us wisdom of heaven.
Mark 12:29-34
12:29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
12:30 'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.
12:31 "And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
12:32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.
12:33 "And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
12:34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him.
Meaning as follows:- The merciful hand of God is able to preserve us from now on until the time of antichrist's reigning over the world.
Revelation 13:18
13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. - The merciful hand of God makes all things successful.
Ecclesiastes 10:10
10:10 If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success. - The merciful hand of God is able to give us peace until there are no more questions. [Mark 12:34]
- The merciful hand of God is able to preserve us from now on until the time of antichrist's reigning over the world.
- We have victory, especially over golden calf.
Exodus 32:19-20
32:19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses' anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
32:20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.
The golden calf refers to these things:- Idolatry, namely hard heart or self-truth (making ourselves right through blaming other people).
- Spiritual lukewarmness.
Exodus 32:17-18
32:17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp."
32:18 But he said: "It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear."
Spiritual lukewarmness means not appreciating the true teaching Word.
We have to be victorious, faithful, and fervent in spirit in committing service and ministry to the Lord. - Sins, up to the peak, namely sins concerning eating-drinking and marrying-giving in marriage.
Such things can be delivered only by the two tablets of stone, referring to the love of God.
We have to live in righteousness and holiness.
- Idolatry, namely hard heart or self-truth (making ourselves right through blaming other people).
- We receive the glory of heaven.
Exodus 34:29
34:29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.
The face of Moses had shone and in New Testament the face of Jesus shined while He was worshiping on the mountain.
The function of the glory of heaven is as follows:- Spiritually, it renews us from carnal men to spiritual men.
- Physically, it helps us from all impossible things.
John 11:39
11:39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."
The thing that must be renewed specially is disbelief. - Spiritually, it renews us from carnal men to spiritual men.