Jesus, in Matthew 25, speaks the Judgement of the Nations (Goyim in Hebrew meaning both Gentiles and Nations) which will come prior to His millennial reign. The prophets Joel and Zechariah wrote that it is in the valley of decision that Jesus will gather representatives from all the nations and the nations will be judged according to how they treated His brethren. You see, during that period of time called the Tribulation, Israel and the 144,000 Jewish Evangelists will be under heavy persecution from the Antichrist. It seems that those who are compassionate toward Israel will enter into the millennial reign, and those who would prefer to abide in the system of the antichrist will be consigned to eternal fire. But perhaps you might ask, “How can it be fair for God to judge nations when those nations are made up of individuals?”
At the end of their wilderness wandering, just prior to Israel crossing the Jordan River, Joshua sent out two scouts to gather information about the strength of opposing forces within the promised land. The scouts would have been discovered inside the city of Jericho, but for a prostitute named Rahab, who hid them from the guards. Why did she do this?
Joshua 2:11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
So, Rahab saved the scouts and later, when Jericho fell to Israel, Rahab, a Gentile, and her father, mother, brothers and sisters were spared. Why were they spared? Was it because Rahab saved the scouts or was it because she knew the Lord? She saved the scouts because she knew the Lord, but she was saved because she knew the Lord. The work of compassion was her response to the Lord’s salvation.
In the judging of the nations, we also find the judging of individuals because it is at the level of individual conduct that we set the tone for the nation. All that we currently find reprehensible in the nation has been cultivated through individual moral failings which, over time and with compound interest, have become the moral account of the nation.
We are responsible for our own house. Those things that we allow in, whether we are aware of them or not, are our responsibility. Many of those things we are aware of and we just don’t want to deal with it and we place our families in jeopardy.
In the book of 1 Samuel, Eli, the High Priest, knew his sons were abusing their place as priests in the temple of God. God spoke to Samuel, who was just a young boy serving in the temple, and told him of Eli and his sons. God said:
1 Samuel 3:13 For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.
Eli bore the responsibility to punish his sons for their actions, yet instead, he stood by and allowed their sin to continue. Because Eli did not rule his own house well, his sons would be killed in battle, the Ark of the Covenant taken captive, and when Eli was told of it, he fell over and broke his neck and died. You are responsible for your own house. Rule your house well, and your family, your friends, your work, your church, and, by extension, your nation will be blessed. Turn a blind eye to evil within your own house and you finance the moral bankruptcy of the nation.
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