24 And he called out, m ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and n cool my tongue, for o I am in anguish in this flame.’
24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For n their worm shall not die, o their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
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Matt. 24:1–25:46 The Delay, Return, and Judgment of Messiah. These two chapters are often called the “Olivet Discourse” because Jesus “sat on the Mount of Olives” (24:3) when he spoke these words. It is the fifth of Jesus' five major discourses recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (see Introduction: Key Themes; Literary Features). Addressed to his disciples, it is intended to give them a prophetic overview of the events to transpire in both the near and distant future.
Matt. 25:31–46 Judgment at the End. Jesus' disciples are to wait patiently in anticipation of reward at his return, when the unprepared and unrepentant will receive only judgment.
Matt. 25:41–46 Then he will say to those on his left. In contrast to the sheep (who will “inherit the kingdom”; v. 34), the goats are condemned to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. The reason for their condemnation is that they are guilty of sins of omission—that is, they have refused to show compassion to the least of these, which is the same as if they failed to have any care for Jesus himself. Given the evident unrighteousness of their hearts, they are condemned to eternal punishment. Some interpreters hold that this judgment (these will go away) will occur prior to the inauguration of Jesus' earthly millennial kingdom, and that the “sheep” (v. 33) are those blessed to enter and live under Jesus' dominion. Others equate this judgment scene with that which closes the earthly age, just prior to the eternal state (Rev. 20:11–13). The most important point, however, is that judgment will come.