Jesus continued, saying that when the Son of Man returns in the full glory, the sheep and the goats will be gathered together. The sheep will then be separated from the goats.
The king will say to the sheep that inherit Eternal life because they were kind to Jesus. They were kind to Jesus because they were kind to the least of their brothers, which is like being kind to Jesus.
The king will say the opposite to the goats. They will be thrown into the Eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels because they were not kind to Jesus. They were not kind to the least of their brothers, which was like not being kind to Jesus.
This is a tricky passage. To be honest, I think it is one of the more confusing passages.
On one hand, it is hard to tell whether or not it is even a parable or not. Jesus seems to refer to people as sheep and goats, which is elements of being a parable. On the other, it seems to be more straightforward than the other parables.
Likewise, if we take it too literally, it also seems to suggest a works-based salvation as the only differing characteristic of the sheep and goats is whether or not they were kind to other people.
Also, this pseudo-parable is probably one of the major Biblical bases for the popular conceptualization of a hell, Dante-esque. In other passages, hell is viewed as a "darkness". These are a strange combination because "fire" gives off light. Therefore, fire seems incompatible with a "darkness" analogy.
That said, there is no indication based on this text alone to separate out an annihilation theory of hell versus an Eternal torment of hell. Likewise, once the "fire" goes out and whatever was there has been consumed, there is darkness.
Regardless whatever is going on, this seems to be an attempt to describe the indescribable - hell. It also emphasizes the importance of loving one another. I do not think this passage suggests a work-based salvation, but rather the kindness to others are the indicators of salvation.
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