Practical Duties for the Christian in this Present Evil Age, Part 6 (Second Coming Chapel)

TEXT: Matthew 25:41-46

Jesus ends the description of the judgment of the sheep and goats with a summary of the destinations of these two groups of individuals. The goats "go away into everlasting punishment." And the "righteous" sheep enter "into life eternal." We usually do not have a problem accepting the doctrine of "life eternal." It is the "everlasting punishment" that troubles us more -- likely because, deep down, we do not want to accept even the possibility that we might end up enduring it. We may pretend to be jealous of God's compassion or capacity for mercy, but what really makes us question the concept of "everlasting punishment" is the fear that it is actually a real possibility.