What can we conclude from our comparison of these parables? If we employ the pre-trib reasoning, our conclusion would be that these are all separate events, with three different groups of "righteous" and "wicked." But, that is unreasonable, because there is only one "end of the age." The answer then must be that Jesus did not intend to give an exact chronology, but merely to illustrate His main point, that the wicked and righteous would be separated at the end of the age, and the righteous would inherit the Kingdom, and the wicked would be cast into the fire.

But, why would Jesus use imperfect illustrations that seem to conflict in some of the details with the real end-time scenario? The answer is that Jesus was simply using illustrations that were well known to His hearers. In that culture, they all had seen many times how a shepherd would separate the sheep from the goats when he brought them in from the field. They had seen many times how a farmer would have his workers separate the tares first, and then gather the wheat into the barn. And they had all seen how a fisherman would draw the net to shore, and then separate the bad fish from the good. These were all familiar to the Jewish people in a culture of shepherds, fishermen, and farmers. Jesus' intention was simply to use these as illustrations. He was not at liberty to rearrange how a shepherd separated the flock, or how a farmer harvested wheat, or how a fisherman sorted his fish. Had he changed the illustration to suite a perfect eschatology, they would have been confused knowing that this was not how it was actually done. Instead, Jesus borrowed these familiar things to illustrate His main point, that the wicked will be separated from the just. And the righteous will inherit the Kingdom, while the wicked will not. To go beyond this main point and try to press the details of the parable is a huge mistake. This tendency is because we are not that familiar with farming, tending flocks, or fishing, in our culture. We tend to think that Jesus was making up the illustration to fit the eschatological details. He was not. He was using well known illustrations, imperfect as they were, to illustrate only one point.

Who will Repopulate the Earth
Pre-tribbers argue that if the rapture occurs after the tribulation, all raptured and resurrected believers would receive glorified bodies, while all unbelievers would be sent to eternal punishment, leaving no third party to generate an offspring capable of revolting at the end of the Millennium, [Rev. 20:7-10]. This objection is largely based on the Sheep and Goats parable. It appears that no one is left out of Jesus' parable. "All nations" are gathered before Him and separated. Pretribbers believe the "sheep" in Jesus' story are "tribulation saints," saved after a pretrib rapture. They believe the Church will enter the Millennial Kingdom in glorified bodies, while "tribulation saints" will enter in natural bodies, bearing the rebellious offspring. The challenge for posttribbers is to explain how unbelievers could be present on earth towards the end of the Millennium, if all the unsaved are damned, and if all saints receive glorified bodies, incapable of reproduction, at the beginning of the Millennium.

This judgment will occur when Christ appears in glory with the angels to take His seat on the Millennial throne, [Matt. 25:31]. We know that there will be a Jewish remnant who be protected by God through the tribulation, [Rev. 12:14]. They will look upon Christ and be saved when He appears in glory for the battle of Armageddon, [Zech 12:10,11]. They will flee on foot toward the Mt of Olives after Christ and the saints touch down [Zech. 14:4,5]. Since, according to the posttrib view, the rapture takes place just before Christ appears to the world at Armageddon, this Jewish remnant will have missed the rapture. They will enter the Millennial Kingdom as new converts in natural bodies. These could produce many children, some of which will revolt at the end of the Millennium. The "sheep" are all believers who participate in the rapture and resurrection. The "goats" are the unbelievers who worshipped the Beast. The Jewish remnant will be a third party not mentioned in Jesus' parable of the sheep and goats. One important point that adds credibility to this scenario is the fact that Jesus said the "nations" will be judged, some being the sheep and others the goats. The Greek word for "nations" is usually used in Scripture to denote Gentile nations. It is variously translated "nations," "Gentiles," or "heathen." It usually excludes the Jewish people. This scenario, in my opinion, completely solves the problem raised by pretribbers regarding who will spawn the seed that revolts at the end of the Millennium.

But, there is more to this than just a Jewish remnant. Several Old Testament passages indicate there will be Gentile survivors of the tribulation who will enter the Millennial Kingdom in natural bodies. A few examples follow.

Isaiah 2
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Isaiah 14 1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

Zechariah 14
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one....
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Ezekiel 36
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God....
36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.

These passages clearly indicate that there will be some unsaved people who survive the tribulation and enter the Millennial Kingdom in natural bodies. Yet pretribbers claim the parable of the sheep and goats has all the unsaved cast into eternal punishment at the beginning of the Millennium. Some claim this is also implied in Revelation. According to Revelation 13:8, all who are not written in the Book of Life will worship the Beast, and all who worship the Beast will be damned, [Rev. 14:9-11]. The verses in Revelation, however, do not indicate if this damnation occurs before or after the Millennium, or upon the end of their natural life span during the Millennium.

Those who use Matthew 25 and the verses from Revelation to denounce post-tribulationism apparently do not realize that they are creating a paradox for themselves. Post-tribbers can simply point to the Old Testament passages that show some heathen will pass into the Millennium. While some post-tribbers may not be able to adequately reconcile this idea with the parable of the Sheep and Goats, they nevertheless have Scriptural precedent for claiming that some unsaved people will continue to live under Christ's rule, as well as the Jewish remnant who trust Christ when He appears in glory. These will therefore reproduce in the Millennium. Pre-tribbers, who raise this objection to post-tribulationism, do so based soley on their interpretation of Matthew 25. But, this is not a valid objection unless they can reconcile the Scriptures from the Old Testament that indicate some unsaved will indeed enter the Millennium. The problem they create affects all premillennialists equally. It does not favor any single rapture position within the premillenial camp. Since their view of Matthew 25 does not square with the Old Testament passages cited above, there must be something wrong with their interpretation of Matthew 25. The only way to reconcile these Scriptures is to realize that Jesus was making a general statement when He said "all nations," [Matt. 25:32]. He did not mean that every single individual living would be either a "sheep" or "goat," only that every nation will have some "sheep" and some "goats." While Jesus' words do not specifically mention a third party, they do not rule this out either. In the parable of the Dragnet, we could easily infer that not all people will be included in this gathering. In that parable, no one would assume that the dragnet caught ALL fish in the entire ocean. Furthermore, the expression "all nations" does not necessarily mean every person on earth. According to Zech. 14:2, God will gather "all nations" to Jerusalem for the battle of Armageddon. Does this mean every man, woman, boy, and girl, will take up arms and march on Jerusalem at the end of the tribulation? Of course not. Rev. 19 indicates that it is the armies of the nations that march on Jerusalem. Isaiah 2 describes "all nations" coming up to Jerusalem to worship during the Millennium. Yet, Isaiah 34:2 says God will utterly destroy "all nations" at the second coming. Is no one left alive? Haggai 2:6,7 says God will shake "all nations" once more (speaking of the tribulation) and then says these same nations will come up to worship at the Temple in the Millennium! These passages fill in information left out of Matthew 25. The Sheep and Goats parable is not all-inclusive.

Who then are these, mentioned in the passages above, who are neither "sheep" nor "goats," who are left over after the battle of Armageddon and pass into Christ's Kingdom as subjects? The answer is not at all complicated. There will be millions of children on earth when Jesus returns. They will not have worshipped the Antichrist, nor taken his mark because of their young age. They only need the mark to buy and sell, something children seldom do. Not having reached the age of accountability, even if they were forced by their parents to go through the motions of worshipping the Antichrist, God will not hold this against them. Those who go away into eternal punishment are the "wicked," those who actively opposed Christ and persecuted or neglected His people, [Matt. 25:41-45]. Little children are precious to Christ, as indicated in the following passage. They are not "wicked," even though they are not yet believers. Children all meet the criterion to enter Christ's Kingdom.

Mark 10
13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

While John 3 indicates that unless a man is "born again" he cannot enter the Kingdom of God, Jesus clearly excluded little children from this requirement. If this applied to children in Jesus' day, how much more to those children are born during or prior to the tribulation, and are facing the establishment of that very Kingdom. There are also several passages in the Old Testament that indicate children will enter the Millennial Kingdom of Christ.

Isaiah 11
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Psalm 17
13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: [Armageddon]
14 From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. [Millennial Kingdom]

Speaking of God's restoring Israel's land inheritance in the Millennium, Jeremiah wrote the following.

Jeremiah 3
17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.

The Scripture is not very explicit regarding the fate of children in the tribulation. However, we can assume that God will treat them much the same as He has done in the past. Scripture indicates that unless someone believes the gospel he will be condemned. Yet, we know this does not include children under the age of accountability. The Scriptures do not address this issue clearly. But we can make certain assumptions based on the character of God. I am only suggesting that God will do the same with children at the end of the tribulation. When the rapture occurs, only born again Christians will be caught up. No Scripture suggests that unsaved children will be raptured. Children who are not believers will not be raptured. However, they will not fit into the category of the "sheep" (the righteous) or the "goats" (the wicked). The "sheep" (all believers) will enter the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world, [Matt. 25:34], while the "goats" (all who worshipped the Beast) will be cast into everlasting fire, [Matt. 25:41]. The children who have not reached the age of accountability will pass into the Millennium still having the opportunity to believe and be saved, or be rebellious, as some will according to Zech. 14:16-19. These, along with the Jewish remnant, will reproduce and eventually spawn the great multitude who follow Satan at the end of the Millennium.

Perhaps some readers are concerned that small children would be left to enter the Millennial Kingdom without their parents. Either their parents were believers and were gathered at the rapture, or else they were unbelievers, and were destroyed at the Battle of Armageddon. Either way, if the above scenario is correct, there will be a multitude of children without guardians present to look after them. I can see how this possibility would not sit well with Christian parents of small children.

As parents, we certainly are concerned with the welfare of our children. But, why should we expect that God would rapture our kids? Although this is a common pre-trib assumption, I see no precedent for this idea in Scripture. Suppose a Christian couple is killed in a car accident. Does God supernaturally rapture the kids? No, they are left to muddle through life as best they can. They will have to endure a very difficult and traumatic experience. I don't see why the rapture would be any different.

I believe the rapture is the same day Christ comes to establish His Kingdom. Consequently, the children will all be in a "friendly" enviornment following the rapture. Besides, the entire host of angels are coming with Christ, and will participate in both the battle of Armageddon, and in gathering the elect at the rapture [2 Thess. 1:7,8 & Matt. 24:29-31]. But, I suspect they will have another job as well.

Heb 1:14
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
(KJV)

Notice the future tense, "shall be." This implies that the angels are dispatched to aid people BEFORE they are actually saved. I submit to you that after the angels are finished gathering together the "elect," they will be sent with another mission. They are not called "guardian angels" for nothing!

Matt 18:10
10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
(KJV)

The fact is, the Bible really doesn't say exactly how this will play out. I think we just need to trust the Lord that He will do the right thing by us and our kids. The best thing we can do is teach them about the Lord as soon as they are able to understand. Then, leave them in God's hands. However, with all those angels attending Christ's coming, I would be surprised if they just sat around after the second coming with nothing to do!

The Basis for Judgment
One feature of the parable of the Sheep and Goats that puzzles folks is the apparent basis for separation. The Sheep are allowed entrance into the Kingdom prepared for them "from the foundation of the world" because of how they treated "my brethren." The Goats go into everlasting fire because of their apparent rejection of "these my brethren." Some might suppose that this passage teaches salvation by works. At any rate, the results are permanent. Verse 46 says, "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." "Eternal Life" and "eternal damnation" are assigned to the sheep and goats. Therefore, the basis of judgment and separation MUST be connected with salvation. The key to this apparent difficulty is the identity of the "brethren."

Matt 12:46-50
46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
47 Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."
48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"
49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!
50 "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."
(NKJ)

Matt 28:9-10
9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."
(NKJ)

Jesus was about to send His disciples into all the world to preach the Gospel. When Jesus sent the disciples out the first time to preach to Israel only, He told them:

Matt 10:11-18,40-42
11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. ...
40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
(KJV)

Verse 40 is the key. To receive the disciples, whom Jesus sent out as His ambassadors with the Gospel, is to receive Jesus. And receiving Jesus is to receive the Father. All of this is demonstrated by how people receive and respond to Jesus' "brethren." Hence, Jesus could say on that day, "in as much as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."

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