The Valley of Decision

There is a young woman on YouTube who has a fairly popular online ministry (over 10,000 subscribers), and I have watched a few of her teaching videos over the last several years. (I would prefer not to name her because this is meant neither as an endorsement nor a personal attack—I'm just using one of her videos to illustrate a point.)

I happened to watch another one of her videos recently, and in this particular teaching she sets out to prove that born-again believers could (gasp) lose their salvation! She admonishes us to forget all about OSAS ("Once Saved, Always Saved") and realize that if we aren't careful to forgive others, then come "judgment day" (which she leaves nebulously undefined) we won't receive a "favorable outcome" (her words). That is, we will lose our salvation and end up spending eternity in hell (which I am inclined to presume would qualify as an unfavorable outcome).

Now, this young lady is certainly not the first person I have ever heard attack the biblical doctrine of eternal security. Not by a long shot, I'm sad to say. Just as there is for the post-trib Rapture, there is a militant cadre of individuals out there who virulently oppose the doctrine of eternal security and stridently denounce OSAS as a false doctrine coming straight from the pit of hell. And just like the majority of post-tribbers, they tend to yank the same old verses out of context and twist them in the same old ways and pummel the same old straw men to do their dirty work.

This young woman, however, did something that I had never heard anyone do before. In attempting to prove her point, she referred to the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (aka the Judgment of the Nations, or simply the Sheep and Goat Judgment) of Matthew 25:31–46, which appears at the conclusion of the Olivet Discourse.

In this passage of Scripture, Jesus is gathering all the sheep on His right and welcoming them into the kingdom, and gathering all the goats on His left and sending them off to eternal punishment. So, she maintains, this shows that if you don't forgive other people in this life (which is the main topic in the video), you will find yourself—to your utter shock and dismay—counted among the goats rather than the sheep as you had anticipated. And you sure don't want that, now do ya? So be sure to forgive others!

I was stunned. Although I had only watched a couple of her videos, up until that moment she had struck me as being biblically competent, more or less—at least she didn't strike me as biblically ignorant. But this positively floored me, and really drove home the following point:

Most Christians today simply do not understand the Olivet Discourse.

In Matthew's version, Jesus goes on for two whole chapters about the Tribulation, the Second Coming, and the judgments that follow on its heels to determine who will (and who won't) enter into the Millennial Kingdom. Unfortunately, largely because they have sat in churches where line-by-line expository preaching has been replaced by light-hearted pep talks, the majority of Christians are utterly clueless about how to interpret the Olivet Discourse, and that goes double for the series of parables that conclude it.

In this article, I want to focus on the Sheep and Goat Judgment—the dramatic parable/prophecy that brings the Olivet Discourse to a close—because incidents such as what I just described with this young lady on YouTube drive home the point that if you don't understand the Olivet Discourse in a broad sense, then you certainly won't know how to interpret the individual parables it contains.

Let's review

(If you haven't read my previous article concerning the Olivet Discourse, it might be helpful to do so because it gives some additional background.)

Since the Sheep and Goat Judgment comes at the climax of the discourse, let's start from the beginning and take a few minutes to recap what Jesus says up to that point.

(24:1–3) First of all, understand that the disciples were convinced that the kingdom was right around the corner; but Jesus had just told them that the temple was going to be destroyed, and this greatly troubled and confused them because they knew it would decades to rebuild it.

Later on the Mount of Olives, four of them came to Jesus privately and asked Him three questions that pertained strictly to Israel's future: when would the temple be destroyed, what would be the sign of His return to earth (the Second Coming), and what would be the sign of the end of the age (and in effect the beginning of the "age to come," or the 1,000-year dispensation many commonly refer to as the Millennial Kingdom or the Kingdom Age).

(24:4–8) Jesus warns them not to be deceived, and gives them a number of general signs that would intensify in concert during the run-up to or in the early part of the Tribulation: the rise of false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, disease, and earthquakes. Look for these to occur with ever increasing intensity and frequency, just like a woman's labor pains, as the Tribulation draws near and gets started.

(24:9–14) Jesus describes the great persecution they will endure, and how people will turn on them and things will get worse and worse. He tells them the gospel will be preached to the whole world, and then the end will come. And don't lose sight of the context here: Jesus is talking about Israel during the Tribulation. I know many people want to make this whole thing about the Church, but I'm sorry—it's not. The gospel will be preached by 144,000 Jewish witnesses that are sealed by God in Revelation 7, and the Jews will be persecuted in ways that will make the Holocaust pale in comparison.

(24:15–28) He warns them to watch for the abomination of desolation, a very specific event in which the Antichrist will erect an image in the holy place of the rebuilt temple and demand worship as God. This will occur at the midpoint of the Tribulation and when they see that, Jews need to run for their lives because that marks the beginning of the Great Tribulation—the greatest persecution they will ever know. And notice the clues that tell us this is focused on Israel: a reference to those in Judea, a reference to not fleeing on the Sabbath, etc.

(24:29–31) Jesus vividly describes His return to earth at the Second Coming, and says angels will gather the elect (in this case, Jews) from all over the world. This is without a doubt one of the most controversial and misunderstood passages of Scripture in the entire Bible, as some Christians try with all their might to make the elect out to be the Church and the event described out to be the Rapture, or the Rapture and the Second Coming fused into one event (which is logically and scripturally impossible). This is the fulfillment of prophecies given concerning Israel in the Old Testament (the big fat part of the Bible many of those same Christians apparently haven't read).

(24:32–35) He gives them an illustration of the fig tree: When its leaves come out, everyone knows summer is near. Thus, when they see these things begin to happen, they will know His return is near. He also says that the generation that sees these things begin to occur will not pass away until it's all fulfilled. So, when the curtain goes up, things are going to move along smartly.

(24:36–41) Jesus emphasizes that no one knows exactly when He will return, so they need to be ready at all times. He draws a comparison to the days of Noah, when people were living their lives as usual and suddenly the flood swept them away.

A lot of people try to make the "one will be taken, and the other left" part to be a description of the Rapture, but it just doesn't work. Aside from being a jarring violation of the overall context of post-Second Coming events, the word translated as "left" here suggests they are sent away. The Rapture has nothing to do with the disposition of unbelievers.

Rather than being a picture of the Rapture, this is an overview—a sneak preview, if you will—of the judgments of separation that follow. Stay tuned.

(24:42–44) Jesus repeats His warning that no one knows the day or hour of His return to earth, and so be watchful. He gives an illustration of a man who, if he had known what hour the thief would come, would have remained alert and would never have allowed his house to be broken into.

(24:45–51) Jesus begins a series of four parables, and the first one is often called the Parable of the Servants. In this parable, Jesus contrasts two groups of servants: (a) those who are faithful and wise and who diligently carry out their appointed tasks because they know their master could return at any time, and (b) those who are evil and unfaithful and who act wickedly and do as they please because they assume their master is delaying his coming (or maybe never coming back at all).

(25:1–13) Chapter 25 opens with the second parable in the series, known as the Parable of the 10 Virgins. We can conclude from verse 1 (which refers back to the previous events of chapter 24) that the general time frame is right after the Second Coming (which confirms that it has nothing to do with the Church). Many people, however, blow right by the time stamp since this parable begins a new chapter. In other words, it's amazing how many people forget that Matthew 25 immediately follows Matthew 24.

This parable describes 10 virgins or bridesmaids who are waiting for the bridegroom to come and snatch the bride away to the wedding (in accordance with ancient Jewish wedding customs). They all have some oil for their lamps, and all 10 fall asleep while waiting.

At around midnight, the bridegroom suddenly arrives and whisks his bride off to the wedding ceremony (which was the custom in those days) before the virgins even know what has happened. They all get up and trim their lamps so they can join the procession headed to the wedding feast; however, only the five wise virgins brought extra oil, while the five foolish virgins have run out and so are unable to light their lamps.

The foolish virgins ask the wise to lend them some oil, but they decline, lest they run out as well. The wise virgins advise them to go to buy some, and then head off to attend the wedding feast (which follows the wedding ceremony), and are granted entrance. The five wise were prepared ("those who were ready went in...") and the five foolish were unprepared. When the foolish finally show up, they are denied entrance, with the bridegroom claiming he doesn't even know them.

As in all parables, everything represents something else. The oil is the Holy Spirit, the Bridegroom is Christ, the Bride (who is never actually mentioned, but whose existence can be assumed) is the Church. And where exactly is the Bride as the events of the parable unfold? She's at the wedding. Duh.

It's the identity of the virgins that seems to cause many people trouble, and the problem is the Church-colored glasses through which many Christians tend to read the New Testament. They get stuck on the fact that the Church is sometimes referred to as a virgin, which is true—but only in the singular. The Church is the Bride, not Brides plural, nor is the Church a gaggle of virgins or bridesmaids. Many Christians don't realize that the word "virgin" is also used in reference to Israel in several places in the Old Testament.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard a sincere, well-meaning pastor or Bible teacher try to make the 10 virgins out to be the Church—born-again believers during the Church Age, I could retire in style. These virgins represent Jews who survive the Tribulation, and who will be granted or denied entrance into the wedding feast (the earthly kingdom God promised Israel) based on whether or not they maintained their faith. The five wise did, and the five foolish did not. I've said it before, but it bears repeating:

People who come to faith in Christ during the Tribulation (after the rapture of the Church) will not be part of the Church and will not have the blessing of being sealed with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit as are members of the body of Christ. Church Age believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and He will never leave them; but no matter how hard you look, you will find no such assurances in Scripture for people who get saved during the Tribulation, be they Jews or Gentiles.

The parable concludes with the general admonition to watch and be ready for His physical return.

(25:14–30) Next up is the Parable of the Talents, where Jesus speaks of a man who leaves three servants in charge of his wealth while he is away. He gives five talents to one, two to another, and to a third only one talent. (The word "talent" in this parable refers to a measure of wealth, not ability.) Upon his return, he calls the servants to give account of what they accomplished in his absence.

The one who had received five had invested wisely and earned five more. Similarly, the one who had received two earned two more, and both these servants are praised and rewarded—they enter the kingdom. The servant who only received one talent, however, was fearful of his master and simply buried it in the ground. When he faces the master, he just hands it back to him. The master is angry, and this servant is sent away to punishment.

Again, Israel is in view, only instead of focusing on preparedness as in the Parable of the 10 Virgins, the Parable of the Talents emphasizes faithfulness. God will hold Israel accountable for His Word and the revelation knowledge of His character that He has entrusted them with. God doesn't need money—He values His Word and His character above all else.

The grand finale

That brings us to the climactic grand finale of the Olivet Discourse—the Sheep and Goat Judgment:

(25:31–46) Although the Sheep and Goat Judgment is often referred to as a parable, strictly speaking it's not, at least not in the traditional sense as are the preceding three. Even though several symbolic characters are used (sheep, goats, brothers), in reality it is a prophecy of an actual event, one that is described in several places in the Old Testament. For example:

Many biblical scholars believe that the Valley of Jehoshaphat is a reference to what is known today as the Kidron Valley, which runs between the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives. Others believe no such valley exists in reality, and that the reference is a figurative one—God is simply meting out judgment to the nations.

Personally, I'm not taking any side bets.

It is worth noting, however, that the word "Jehoshaphat" means "the Lord judges," because that is precisely what the Lord will do at the Sheep and Goat Judgment—judge the nations (i.e., the individuals of those nations). The way they treated His people Israel during the Tribulation will be brought to light, and they will stand face to face with their eternal destiny.

The valley of decision. And it's the Lord who makes the decisions—and as we'll see, He made those decisions before the foundation of the world.

The very first verse removes any doubt about when this event occurs: "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory...." This event follows the Second Coming. This judgment occurs after Christ has returned and is preparing to inaugurate the Millennial Kingdom. When Christ says "all the nations will be gathered," this is a clear indication that this involves Gentiles. From the Hebraic perspective (which is prevalent throughout the book of Matthew), "the nations" = Gentiles. This also makes sense when you consider that the Jews are dealt with in the previous parables.

Jesus separates the sheep on His right, and praises them for caring for Him personally in various ways. But when the sheep wonder when they did any of those things to Jesus, He says that when they cared for His brothers, they were in effect caring for Him—and He welcomes them into the kingdom. Similarly, Jesus separates the goats on His left and condemns them for failing to do the same things. When the goats protest that they never saw Jesus Himself in need of care, Jesus reminds them that they failed to care for His brothers, and in effect failed to care for Him—and He sends them off to eternal punishment.

Incidentally, notice that the goats still call Jesus "Lord," which recalls the word of the apostle Paul to the Philippians:

Many people through the years have missed the mark in attempting to identify the symbols used in the Sheep and Goat Judgment, but I think it's fairly straightforward if you (a) first understand some basic biblical truths such as the pre-tribulation Rapture and God's separate programs for Israel and the Church, and (b) remember that context is king. What we have here are Gentile Tribulation survivors—both believers (sheep) and unbelievers (goats). Also mentioned are Jesus' brothers—the Jewish remnant who survive the Tribulation.

Speaking of the sheep, some people, especially post-trib Rapture advocates, want to make these sheep in the Sheep and Goat Judgment out be us—Church Age believers. After all, Jesus does refer to us as His sheep—the Church is the sheep, right?

Not so fast. Keep reading:

Are these "other sheep" Jesus makes a cryptic reference to those of the Sheep and Goat Judgment? I could be wrong, but I am inclined to believe they could be. Some think He's just referring to the Church as opposed to the Jews. Maybe so, but remember: That "one flock" Jesus mentions ultimately refers to are all those saved by faith in His finished work on the cross, and that "one flock" comprises multitudes of people who are not part of the Church. I'm just saying.

I believe this is yet another point where those Church-colored glasses through which so many read Scripture get in the way.

The Lord's "brothers" are Jewish believers who have survived the horrors of the worst persecution in their history—they have survived and maintained their faith until the end, in many cases with a little help from the Gentile sheep. I won't get into it here, but there are a few scriptural clues that make me inclined to believe that the 144,000 Jewish witnesses (12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel) that are sealed to preach the gospel in Revelation 7:3–8 are martyred by Revelation 14, before the final round of bowl judgments are unleashed. But I could be wrong—and if I am wrong, they may be included among these "brothers" that survive the Tribulation.

During the Great Tribulation, every Jew will be Public Enemy No. 1, and authorities loyal to the Antichrist will hunt them down and slaughter them. Many who survive will only do so because of Gentile believers who are willing to put their faith into action and offer them help and a safe haven, no doubt at the risk of their own lives.

Remember: The Antichrist will be indwelt by Satan following the abomination of desolation, and Satan believes that if he can wipe out the Jews, then they can't petition Christ to return to save them and the Second Coming won't happen—and he wins. That's why Satan will persecute the Jews with such intensity: He's got an awful lot riding on this. If he can wipe them out, he gets to remain the god of this world. If he fails (and he will) and they implore their Messiah (and they will) to return to save them (and He will), then Satan loses, and will be thrown into the lake of fire. Game over.

Although it might seem so at first glance, don't walk away from this thinking that the sheep are being rewarded for their actions. In other words, these believers have not earned their way into the kingdom by virtue of their good works. Notice what Jesus says to the sheep: "Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

These people are saved by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, just as we are now during the Church Age. The big difference is that they will have to maintain a faithful demonstration of that faith to prevent the Holy Spirit from departing from them as in Old Testament days, whereas only the Church is sealed with His presence eternally. Their good works—their aid to Jewish believers during the Great Tribulation—is tangible evidence of their faith. In other words:

They are not entering the kingdom
because they gave a Jew a loaf of bread.

They are entering the kingdom because
they are saved by the blood of the Lamb.

For a confirmation of this, notice that Jesus uses the word "inherit." Since when is inheritance based on good deeds? Since...never. No, inheritance is based on birth. In this case, being born of the Spirit into the family of God.

And as if that weren't enough, notice that Jesus invites them to inherit the kingdom that was prepared for them "from the foundation of the world." In other words, even though they are not part of the Church, God still knew they would be saved before Creation. Their salvation and entrance into the Millennial Kingdom wasn't decided then and there at the end of the Tribulation, based on an evaluation of their good works.

It wasn't decided in the valley of decision: It was decided before Creation.

Why sheep? Why goats?

Now that we have some basic understanding of what the Sheep and Goat Judgment is (and is not), I'd like to share with you my Top 10 list of facts about sheep and goats that make them fitting symbols for believers and unbelievers.

1. Sheep have 54 chromosomes; goats have 60. That is, goats have an additional six chromosomes—six, the number identified with man and his fallen, sinful state.

2. The tails of sheep hang down demurely, while the tails of goats stick up proudly. The Spirit leads believers to live lives characterized by purity and modesty, while the flesh wants to flaunt itself and attract attention.

3. Sheep will not normally try to jump a fence. Goats are curious and are constantly jumping fences and wandering off into areas they shouldn't be. Believers are content with the bounds set by their Heavenly Father, but unbelievers stubbornly follow their own fleshly desires.

4. Sheep are relatively indifferent to their environment. Cold, rain, whatever—they do not seem to be focused on the environment in which they live. Goats, however, are much more sensitive to their environment, and will invariably seek shelter from adverse weather conditions. As believers, we know this world is not our home, and we should be focused on spiritual things and the world to come. For unbelievers, this fallen world is as good as it gets—this is their "best life now."

5. Sheep graze on grass and clover, while goats will eat just about anything—including garbage. Believers are admonished to guard their minds, and think on things that are true, pure, and of good report—and to keep out the trash. Unbelievers gorge themselves on a daily diet of things that are unholy, impure, and that drag them ever further from a loving God that seeks their repentance.

6. Sheep have a flocking instinct, and tend to stay together. A sheep will become quite agitated and distressed if separated from the other sheep. Goats, on the other hand, are curious and independent, and will go off on their own. Believers are part of the body of Christ, and will naturally seek the company of God's people. Jesus commanded us to comfort, strengthen and edify one another, and build each other up in our faith. Unbelievers naturally seek their own way.

7. Sheep have little discernible social structure within the herd, and tend to look to the shepherd as being in control. Goats often butt heads in an effort to secure a more dominant position over other goats. Believers look to Jesus, not thinking more highly of themselves than they ought. Unbelievers are all about self—I'm number one.

8. Sheep will stay with their young, always keeping them at their side. Goats, on the other hand, routinely wander off and leave their young unattended for extended periods of time. Believers will lovingly foster and mentor new believers as spiritual babes. Unbelievers have no such concern for the spiritual welfare or development of others.

9. Sheep recognize and will follow the voice of the shepherd, and his voice alone. Goats will not. Believers know and will follow only the voice of the Lord, and ignore the voices coming from the world with their seductive promises of "spiritual enlightenment." On the other hand, unbelievers chase after whatever tickles their ears, and end up mired in deception.

10. Copper is toxic to sheep, whereas goats require copper in their diet. In the Bible, what we know as copper is also referred to as bronze and brass, and these metals are symbolic of sin: insensitivity to it, persistence in it, and the judgment of it. As believers, sin is toxic to our spiritual growth and our walk with the Lord; however, the Holy Spirit will convict us and lead us to repent and turn from sin on an ongoing basis to keep our fellowship with God strong and vibrant. Conversely, the flesh knows nothing but sin. Without the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, trying to convince an unbeliever he is sinful is a bit like trying to convince a fish it is wet.

Although I have known most of these differences between sheep and goats for some time, I just learned this last one while preparing this article and it just blew me away. I'm sorry, but if you don't see God's fingerprints all over this one, then I don't know what to say to you.

For example, in Numbers 21 the people of Israel are grumbling against Moses and the Lord for bringing them out of Egypt just to let them die in the wilderness, and the Lord becomes angry with them and sends poisonous snakes among the people to bite them. Moses prays to the Lord for them, and God tells Moses to make a brass serpent and put it on a wooden pole and carry it throughout the camp, and as he did so everyone who looked at the brass serpent was healed and lived.

This peculiar incident is never mentioned again in the Old Testament, and it's not until Jesus refers to it in His conversation with Nicodemus in the Gospel of John that we finally learn what it means: The brass serpent represents sin, the pole represents the cross, and the entire incident was a foreshadowing of the fact that Christ was made to be our sin on the cross, with all who look to Him in faith being saved (John 3:14–15).

Decisions, decisions...

The expression "the valley of decision" is actually a bit of a misnomer in reference to the Sheep and Goat Judgment, because in fact nothing is being decided at that point. At least not from God's point of view. It is the results of the Lord's decisions that are made manifest—God chose who would be saved before Creation because He knew then each and every person who would and would not believe. Although everyone has a personal responsibility to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and believe the gospel, God exists outside of time (which He created) and knew who would do so from the beginning.

In another sense, however, multitudes of people today really are in the valley of decision, and I'm talking about the decision every single person has to make in regard to their eternal destiny. As the world continues to spiral out of control, many people anxiously wonder what the future holds—and they sense it's not good. In fact, many are overwhelmed with a sense of foreboding. Maybe they kinda sorta believe God exists, but don't know what to do about the gnawing feeling in their gut that they are separated from Him.

If you are one of those in the valley of decision today (or perhaps I should say the valley of indecision), know with a certainty that God loves you so much that He sent a part of Himself into the world as a man to live a sinless life and die to satisfy His own perfect justice on your behalf. All He asks you to do is to realize that your sin has separated you from Him, ask His forgiveness, and believe in faith that His Son's death and resurrection paid your sin's penalty. That's it.

Of course, the world is full of people who knock themselves out trying to convince you of some of the following:

• That belief in God is little more than a silly superstition that obviously has no place in our modern technological world.

• That even if God does exist (which only pathetic simpletons believe in the first place), He's a jolly old cosmic Santa Claus who is checking His list to see who's naughty and nice, and who is all about love love love love love.

• That the idea that the Bible is the inspired Word of God is absurd.

• That the Bible is nothing more than a collection of ancient myths and legends, and has been 'proven' to be full of mistakes and contradictions by some 'scholars' somewhere.

• That Jesus never existed—or what's infinitely worse, that He was just another great moral teacher along with Buddha, Confucius, Muhammed, and so on, who came to show us the way and whose wisdom and philosophical musings should be venerated right along with that of those other great teachers. (By the way, most secular historians agree that the historical Jesus existed.)

• That the idea that Jesus was God in the flesh is an offense to any intelligent, rational person.

• That the notion that Jesus' perfect sacrifice satisfied a perfectly holy God's perfect justice on our behalf and is the way in which God extended His perfect love to us—requiring only that we repent and believe in faith—is an insult to people's intelligence.

Yet the decision is yours—you must decide.

And you will.

Whatever you do or don't do, you are deciding. So, if you are one who has been pooh-poohing the issue of your eternal destiny, it's not too late.

The rock. The God-given revelation that Jesus Christ is precisely who He claimed to be—the Son of the living God: the visible manifestation of an invisible God. And if Jesus is who He claimed to be, then He did what He claimed to do: take the punishment for our sin and make it possible for us to have His perfect righteousness imputed to us by faith.

So don't waste another hour languishing in the valley of decision...

Stand on the rock.

Greg Lauer — SEP '14

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