--Acts 3:23.
[572]Again the testimony of Jesus is to the effect that at the beginning
of his reign the nations and peoples shall be gathered before him in the
sense that they will be instructed concerning his reign. In parabolic
phrase he pictures them being separated as sheep are separated from
goats. A goat is an animal that is unruly, disobedient. It refuses to
stay in the pasture where it is placed, but insists on getting outside
and destroying things where it has no business. The goat, therefore,
pictures an unruly or disobedient class. Sheep are docile, submissive,
and in Oriental countries they are led by the shepherd. They know his
voice and follow him. The Lord used this to illustrate the ones who are
obedient to him. The goats, therefore, picture the wicked class; and
concerning them the Lord said: "These shall go into everlasting
punishment"; whereas the sheep picture the obedient _class_, and of
them he says that they shall go into everlasting life.--Matthew
25:41-46.
[573]Punishment does not mean torture. The laws of the land provide for
the punishment of wrongdoers, and the duration of that punishment is
according to the enormity of the crime. If a man steals his neighbor's
chickens, the duration of his punishment would probably be a few days in
prison. If he burns his neighbor's house, the duration of his punishment
would probably be a term of years in prison.
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