The Sheep and Goats Judgment: When the King Returns in Glory
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
Matthew 25:31–32
This is no symbolic picture. This is the literal return of Jesus Christ at the end of the Tribulation, when He descends from heaven as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:11–16) to establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth (Revelation 20:1–6).
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Timing: When Does This Judgment Occur?
Immediately after Christ returns in power.
This is the Second Coming—as seen in Matthew 24:29–30:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days… they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Then comes the judgment:
“When the Son of Man comes… then He will sit… and before Him will be gathered all the nations.” (Matthew 25:31–32)
This connects directly with Joel 3:2, where the Lord says:
“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there.”
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Who Is Being Judged?
This is a judgment of Gentile survivors of the Tribulation.
The Church is not in view, they are already glorified ( 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).
The Jews are judged separately in Ezekiel 20:33–38, a “purging” in the wilderness.
This is a judgment of the nations (ethnos)—the Gentiles who lived through the Tribulation, who now stand physically before Christ on earth, not in heaven.
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What Is the Basis for Judgment?
The King evaluates their treatment of “the least of these My brothers.”
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me…”
Matthew 25:34–35
These acts of mercy are not works-based salvation, but evidence of true faith—demonstrated through sacrificial compassion toward Christ’s people, likely the Jewish believers
(Revelation 12:17)
To the goats, He says:
“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food…’”
— Matthew 25:41–42
Their neglect of Christ’s brethren reveals their unbelief.
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What Are the Outcomes?
“And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
— Matthew 25:46
Sheep (believers): Enter the Millennial Kingdom in their mortal bodies, to live, repopulate the earth, and worship Christ.
(Isaiah 65:20–23; Zechariah 14:16–19).
Goats (unbelievers): Are cast into eternal fire—a final and irreversible judgment.
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“Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another.” (v.32)
There is no escape for unbelievers. Jesus said:
“So will it be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace.”
— Matthew 13:49–50
The goats at the Sheep and Goats Judgment are living unbelievers who survived the Tribulation.
They are judged on the spot, then sent to the same fate:
“Eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41)
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Who Enters the Kingdom?
Only the righteous enter:
They are joined by the redeemed Jewish remnant (Zechariah 12:10).
Their children and descendants are referenced in Zechariah 14:16–19—those who must come up year after year to worship Jesus in Jerusalem.
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The Sheep and Goats Judgment is real, immediate, and global.
Who gets to enter the Kingdom?
Only the righteous—those who trusted Christ and stood with His people when the cost was highest.
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
— Hebrews 4:7