Nevertheless, most of us are called onto pass judgment on others in various ways. And when we are honest we do try to come as near to God’s viewpoint as we can. That is, we try to take every thing into consideration. But try as we may, we must admit first and last that only God can be the final judge, for only he has . all the facts. There are many pic tures of the "Last Judgment'1 in the Bible and they do not agree in details, since they are pic tures of what cannot really be imagined. But back of all the pic tures. stern, compelling, chilling as some of them are. we discern some plain ' truths. One is that not only is God the final Judge . of every man. but his judgment is final because he and only he has all the facts, and he docs not render his judgment till all the facts are in True, God's judgment is going on all the time, and we can read them in history. I can read his righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps” as the poet says. This is true of men and nations, that the divine judg ment is interwoven with their lives. God settles many of the af fairs of this planet, on this planet.. But in the ultimate future, and only then, will all the facts be in. No judgment before then, not even God's, is final. The Greet Separation All sorts of efforts have been made to dull the force of Jesus' terrific picture of prophecy of the Last Judgment in the parable of the sheep and the goats. It has been said that this is a judgpent of nations, not individual persons; but anyone who can read Greek can see that is not the case. The word "them” in Matt. 25:32 plain ly does not refer to nations but to persons. (Furthermore, how do ’ nations” fit into the end of the story'.’) It has been said too that this is not a separation of the “saved” from the “unsaved ” But the issues of the Trial, as Jesus pictures it. are eternal life and eternal death. The fact is, this is Jesus' picture of the Last Judgment of mankind, and there is no getting out of it. At least two points stand out, etched as it were by fire. One is that the final judgment against a man is not necessarily for what he has done but for what he didn't do; did not even think about doing The other point is that the basis of judgment is a man's human relations. True, deeper than that is a man's relationship to Christ; but in this parable, Christ identifies himself complete ly with the troubled sufferers of the world What we do. or do not do, about human misery, we do or fail to do for the Lord.

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