Judgment at the Second Coming and the Nations

At the second coming, there is indeed judgment, but Scripture presents multiple groups and multiple stages rather than one simple, all-encompassing judgment of every human who has ever lived. The short way to put it is: at the second coming there is a real, earthly judgment involving Israel and the nations, but not every person of all time stands before Christ for final sentencing at that moment.

Matthew 25 and the judgment of the nations

Matthew 25:31--46 is often taken as "the" final judgment:

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." Matthew 25:31--32

At first glance this appears to answer the question: "all nations" are gathered, so the whole world must be judged. But several details require closer attention.

The "sheep" are invited to:

"Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25:34

The kingdom was prepared for a specific people: Israel. The covenants and promises of a terrestrial kingdom belong to the Jewish nation. If we read the passage as a mass judgment of all peoples, we would have to conclude that every non-Jew present is consigned to everlasting fire, for the "goats" are told:

"Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41

This would leave no Gentile nations to populate the millennial kingdom, which conflicts with prophecies of Gentile nations streaming to Jerusalem and attaching themselves to Israel (e.g., Zechariah 8:23).

A more nuanced reading sees Matthew 25 as a specific judgment related to the establishment of the earthly kingdom, focused on those in a kingdom-related context (Israel and those directly involved with her and her Messiah in the tribulation events), not a universal judgment of all resurrected humanity.

Revelation 19--20 and multiple groups

Revelation 19 describes Christ’s return:

"I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." Revelation 19:11

He smites the nations and slays the assembled armies (the battle often associated with Armageddon). The beast and false prophet are cast alive into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20), and "the remnant were slain with the sword" (Revelation 19:21). That is a real judgment, but it is a war judgment upon those militarily gathered against Him.

In Revelation 20, several more distinctions appear:

• Satan is bound for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1--3).
• Thrones are set, and those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus "lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Revelation 20:4).
• "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:5).

This shows clearly that not all the dead are raised and judged at the second coming. A portion are raised to reign; the rest await the post-millennial judgment, the so-called great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11--15).

Who is judged when Christ returns?

Putting these strands together, we can distinguish several categories:

1. The beast, false prophet, and the gathered armies: They are judged in war at the second coming and destroyed or cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:19--21).
2. Believing martyrs and faithful saints of the tribulation: They are raised to live and reign with Christ during the thousand years (Revelation 20:4).
3. The nations before the throne in Matthew 25: These are sorted as "sheep" and "goats" in preparation for entrance into the kingdom. The "sheep" inherit the kingdom; the "goats" go into everlasting punishment. This judgment appears closely related to Israel and her treatment and to those who survived the tribulation, not to all humanity of all ages.
4. The rest of the dead: They are not raised until after the millennium (Revelation 20:5, 11--15).
5. The body of Christ (church of this dispensation): These are caught up at the rapture prior to the second coming and are with the Lord already; they are not summoned to a kingdom-entrance judgment at His return to earth.

Furthermore, Old Testament prophecies envision Gentile nations in the millennial age. For instance, in Zechariah 8:23, ten men from the nations take hold of a Jew, saying, "We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you." Such texts presuppose Gentile survivors entering the kingdom era, which means not every Gentile is annihilated or cast into hell at the moment of the second coming.

Answering the question directly

Therefore:

• If by "the whole world" one means every person who has ever lived, the answer is no. Many remain in their graves until the end of the millennium, and the great white throne judgment occurs after the thousand years.
• If one means "all living peoples and nations on earth at that time," significant multitudes are indeed judged—especially those in direct opposition to Christ—but Scripture also indicates surviving Gentiles who are not destroyed and who enter the millennial kingdom under Christ’s rule.
• Israel has a particular role in the judgment connected with entrance into the promised kingdom, but the scene is not exclusively Jewish; it includes nations in relationship to Israel and her Messiah.

Because the texts present multiple judgments, resurrections, and participant groups, any attempt to compress all end-time judgment into a single event at the second coming oversimplifies Scripture. The second coming brings decisive judgments on certain groups (notably Israel in relation to the kingdom, and the hostile nations), but not the final judgment of all humanity of all ages.

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