The judgement of the nations
Matthew 25:31 – “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 “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 creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Now once again I wish to remind those that have been following this series about the word “nations.”
Nations is ethnos in the Greek and in actuality refers to races not an actual country.
So basically it is stating that all the people of the earth are gathered before Jesus as He sets upon His Throne. The fact that He is separating them points to the Great White Throne Judgment at which time we will have the books of our life opened and reviewed as well to see if our name is listed in the Book of Life.
By how the verses plays out about separating the sheep from the goats and that those on the right, the sheep, “inherit the Kingdom.” Shows that there is a judgment here.
Matthew 25:41 – “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ 44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ 46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
Those that deny God and His Son’s teachings will have to join their true master Satan in the pit of fire that has been reserved for them for all eternity.
However if you are found to be righteous and true to God and the teachings of the Bible you will go into the next phase of existence and partake of the tree of life to live for all eternity in the service of God.