I would like to examine today a biblical passage on which dispensational theology relies in interpreting one of the stages of its proposed end?times scenario concerning the people of Israel. This passage is taken from Matthew 25:31–46. It begins with Christ saying: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.” (v.31). In other words, Christ is clearly speaking here about His glorious and magnificent second coming.

But what does the dispensational commentator write about this passage? In the introduction he says: “This passage describes the judgment of the nations, and we must distinguish it from the judgment seat of Christ and the great white throne judgment. Standing before the judgment seat of Christ occurs after the rapture, to evaluate believers and reward them only… As for the great white throne judgment, it takes place in eternity after the millennial kingdom, when the wicked dead are judged and cast into the lake of fire…” He continues: “The judgment of the nations, however, occurs on earth after Christ comes to reign, as the verse indicates. And if we are correct in linking this to Joel 3, then the location is the Valley of Jehoshaphat outside Jerusalem (Joel 3:2). There the nations will be judged according to how they treated Christ’s brothers from among the Jews during the tribulation.” (Joel 3:1–2, 12).(1)

A reader encountering this for the first time may be surprised and ask: What does this passage have to do with the judgment of the nations? Why is the commentator speaking here about the judgment seat of Christ and the rapture? And about the great white throne judgment after the millennium? How did he conclude that there will be a judgment of the nations on earth based on how they treated Christ’s Jewish brothers during the tribulation, after Christ comes to reign on earth for a thousand years? All of these are legitimate and important questions.

To understand what the dispensational commentator has written here, we must return to Matthew 24 and see how dispensational theology interprets that chapter. Once we do, the surprise disappears, because we discover that this theology is built on a large number of faulty assumptions. For example, it considers it to think that Christ’s answer to His disciples in Matthew 24 concerns the end of days before Christ comes to reign on earth. Yet Christ was answering a question about the destruction of the temple and the ruin of Jerusalem only. This is clear in Mark 13:1–4 and Luke 21:7.(2) The wording in Matthew 24:3(3) was simply adapted to Jewish thought, which linked the destruction of the temple with the coming of the Messiah in His kingdom and the end of the age, since Matthew’s Gospel was written for Jews. In other words, Christ was predicting only the destruction of the temple and the ruin of Jerusalem, which occurred in 70 A.D., along with the great tribulation that accompanied those events. He was not speaking at all about another destruction of the temple, or an abomination of desolation, or another great tribulation at the end of time. (For more on this topic, see my book in Arabic:  (Dispensational Theology Under the Microscope).(4)

To confirm this point, Christ clearly declares: “Truly I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” (Matthew 24:34). And this is exactly what happened: that generation did not pass away before everything Christ predicted about the destruction of the temple, the ruin of Jerusalem, and the great tribulation that befell that people in 70 A.D. was fulfilled. Yet dispensational interpretation—despite claiming to adhere to literal interpretation—abandons literalism here, insisting that “generation” means the generation in which these events will occur, or the continued existence of the Jewish people until the end of time.

Dispensational theology also wrongly assumes that the church will not be on earth at the end of time when the events Christ predicted in Matthew 24 occur, because the church will have been raptured before those events begin, which they believe will last seven years.(5)

Based on these faulty assumptions, dispensational theology constructs a strange scenario for the events of Matthew 24 at the end of time, after the rapture of the church. It begins with the “beginning of sorrows” lasting three and a half years. During this period, devout Jews preach the gospel of the kingdom—that is, the message of the coming of Christ the King who will reign on earth—which they claim is different from the gospel of salvation (vv.4–14).(6) Then comes the great tribulation for another three and a half years (vv.15–28). Then Christ appears on the clouds to gather His elect from among the Jews so that He may reign over them (vv.29–34). Then follow warnings about that day and the need to be prepared (vv.36–51). Although dispensational theology admits that Christ’s prophecy was partially fulfilled in 70 A.D. with the coming of the Roman commander Titus and his destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, it insists that the true fulfillment will occur at the end of time.

With all this in mind, we return now to Matthew 25:31–46. It is not surprising that dispensational theology offers the interpretation mentioned at the beginning of this article, because it fits its faulty assumptions about the end of time: that Christ will come in His second coming to reign over Israel after seven years of tribulation specific to that people, and that Christ will judge the nations based on how they treated the devout Jews during that tribulation.

Let us now examine the details of this passage, which dispensational theology has distorted and taken far from its true biblical meaning. The dispensational commentator writes: “It is important to note three groups of people: the sheep, the goats, and Christ’s brothers. The first two groups whom Christ judges are the nations living in the great tribulation. The third group is Christ’s brothers, who refused to deny His name during the tribulation despite severe persecution.”

The commentator commits two major errors: first, he assumes—without any biblical evidence—that the judgment concerns the nations living during the great tribulation. Second, he speaks of Christ’s brothers who refused to deny His name during the tribulation. In other words, he inserts into the biblical text the idea of nations living during the tribulation and the idea of Christ’s brothers refusing to deny His name during the tribulation, without any biblical proof. It is as if he wants to impose his preconceived views on the reader before even beginning to explain the passage. Why does he introduce these ideas without evidence? The obvious answer: because his previous faulty assumptions force him to reach these faulty conclusions.

Let us now examine Matthew 25:32–46. Christ continues: “All nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand: ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; naked and you clothed Me; sick and you visited Me; in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You…?’ (and the other actions mentioned in the text). And the King will answer and say to them: ‘Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’”

The question we must ask now is: Who are the least of Christ’s brothers? Dispensational interpretation answers—without any biblical evidence—that they are Christ’s Jewish brothers persecuted during the great tribulation.

I respond with two important points:

First, this interpretation ignores a crucial biblical truth: genuine Christian faith must bear good works. Good works are necessary and are the evidence of true faith. According to the meaning of this passage in Matthew 25, we can say that the least of Christ’s brothers are the needy, the weak, the sick, the disabled, the poor, the suffering, the orphans, the widows, the strangers, the oppressed, the marginalized—those who need our help. This reminds us of the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which Christ emphasized the necessity of helping those in need regardless of their ethnicity or social status. Scripture in both Testaments contains many verses urging us to help such people and to practice justice.(7)

Second, physical kinship with Christ after His coming has no value or meaning. Once, Christ’s mother and brothers came seeking to speak with Him. “Someone said to Him: ‘Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.’ But He answered and said: ‘Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?’ And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said: ‘Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.’” (Matthew 12:47–50). Thus every believer in Christ is His brother, regardless of nationality. Even James, the Lord’s brother, when writing his epistle, introduced himself as: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,” not as Christ’s physical brother. Clearly, physical kinship no longer held any significance.

Therefore, the dispensational interpretation of the least of Christ’s brothers is not only far from what Christ meant—it is entirely contrary to it. It is built on assumptions with no biblical support. Dispensational theology here ignores the essential commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” And “neighbor” means every human being—even an enemy.

Returning to Matthew 25: after the King judges the goats, He commands them to depart into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. We certainly disagree with the dispensational claim that the judgment is based on their failure to care for Christ’s Jewish brothers during the tribulation, since—as we have seen—there is no biblical support for this. Rather, the judgment condemns them for rejecting faith in Christ and for failing to perform good works toward Christ’s brothers, according to the correct definition of who His brothers are.

But the major problem for dispensational interpretation lies in the final verse: “And these (the goats) will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46). It is clear that this passage speaks of eternal life—the eternal kingdom—not a thousand?year earthly kingdom. This aligns with Revelation 20, which speaks of the great white throne and the final judgment: “Then I saw a great white throne… And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God… And the dead were judged according to their works… And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:11–12, 15). This is clear evidence that Christ in Matthew 25 was speaking about the final eternal judgment of all humanity, not about a judgment of nations before a millennial earthly reign, as dispensationalism claims. There is no mention here of an earthly kingdom fulfilling promises to Israel; rather, the passage speaks of the eternal destiny of the righteous and the wicked. For all these reasons, most interpreters agree that Matthew 25 describes Christ’s final eternal judgment of all humanity—not a judgment of nations at the beginning of a millennial reign.

(1) This quotation is from the book “Believer’s Bible Commentary” authored by William MacDonald, one of the teachers of dispensational theology.

(2) It came in the Gospel of Mark 13:1–4: “And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him: ‘Teacher, look what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’ And Jesus answered and said to him: ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.’ And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately: ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?’ But the evangelist Luke wrote saying: “So they asked Him, saying: ‘Teacher, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when this is about to take place?’” (Luke 21:7).

(3) The Gospel of Matthew wrote about the same subject, saying: “And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying: ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?’”

(4) My reader, you can obtain the book in Arabic “Dispensational Theology Under the Microscope.” Send me your email address if you reside outside the United States of America, or your postal address if you reside within the United States of America, to my email address: shukrihabibi@hotmail.com, and I will gladly send you a copy of this book.

(5) Dispensational theology links the prophecy of the final seventieth week in the book of Daniel, chapter nine—which is seven years—with the seven years of tribulation at the end of time. In its view, this week must take place after the rapture of the church, during a special period in which God deals once again with the people of Israel.

(6) It is worth noting that the expression “the gospel of the kingdom” appears in the Gospel of Mark: “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations” (Mark 13:10). This confirms that the message of the gospel is itself the gospel of the kingdom, that is, the proclamation of the kingdom of God. And this is clear evidence of their incorrect interpretation of this verse.

(7) These are some Biblical references, as examples and not an exhaustive list: “Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:9). “Thus says the Lord: Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the hand of the oppressor; and do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.” (Jeremiah 22:3). “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). And from the New Testament I quote this biblical reference: “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27).