Page 151 - Eschatology - Masters revised

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and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and
you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or
sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do
for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

There are two resurrections of all people. The first resurrection will occur in three stages. The first is
Christ’s resurrection. Then the rapture marks the time when all believers in the church age will be
resurrected, first those who have died in Christ, then those which are alive. These believers will receive
their resurrected and eternal glorified bodies.

The Sheep and Goat judgment is all about judging the living, mortal unsaved people who are still alive at
the conclusion of the tribulation period to determine who will suffer immediate damnation and who will
receive eternal life and be allowed to enter into the Millennium as mortals, yet born-again spiritually,
just like genuine believers in our era have eternal life while still physically mortal (John 3:36 & 1 John
5:11-12) and are promised a future resurrection with immortal, glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-
44).

Those judged at the Sheep and Goat Judgment are believers and non-Christians who survived the
tribulation. It will be certain to them at this juncture that Jesus is Lord because he has literally returned
to the Earth, taken authority of the situation, and is now standing before them. Thus, the criteria Christ
will use at this judgment is belief in Christ, that is, the gospel (which will be preached during the
Tribulation via the 144,000 Hebrew evangelists and their converts, not to mention an angel, as
Revelation 14:6 shows).

How does the Lord judge them? Those designated “sheep” will have received eternal life via spiritual
rebirth (just like us today) and will be allowed to enter the Millennium — as mortals — because they
became believers during the Tribulation, which will include the 144,000 and their millions of converts.

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