Pages

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

The Gathering of the Nations for Judgment (St. Nikolai Velimirovich)


By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"And all the nations will be assembled before Him" (Matt. 25:32).

All the nations will be assembled before the Lord Jesus when He appears in His glory surrounded by Holy Angels sitting on a throne as the judge of all the living and the dead. "All nations will be assembled," all, without exception. Not only the Jews who tormented Him, not only the Christians who glorified Him, but also the heathen who knew Him not, nor acknowledged Him. For if He did not appear to all nations, He sent to all nations someone or He gave something for the sake of knowing God's will and for the sake of salvation. That is why all nations must appear before Him for judgment. 

O what an awesome and majestic spectacle when all the nations and all the tribes on earth are assembled before the Lord, Who is brighter than many suns. What joy for the holy martyrs and confessors when they see how, in this countless mass of nations, there is not one tongue left at all to deny the divinity of the Lord Jesus! But, it will not be of any value to anyone in that hour and in that place to recognize and to confess the divinity of our great Lord, if they denied Him on earth. There and then accounts will be settled, not gain nor loss. He who appears before the Lord with whatsoever, with that he will be either condemned or justified.

Now is the time to acknowledge the divinity of the Lord Jesus, now, when many deny Him and when His divinity is doubted by many. They who love the Lord and who have trust in all of His words will easily acknowledge this. For when He says this, about what do they who love Him have to worry, to doubt, or to hesitate.

O Lord, Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us! To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.