Jesus' apostles, in the setting of the above passage, were preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. They were not building churches at this time. They were going forth in advance of the Lord Jesus, preparing the towns and villages for His coming. They were Christ's witnesses—witnesses of His soon appearing to that particular area of the land of Israel.

Each city was judged on the basis of how it received the Lord's witnesses. The judgment may not have been exercised at that time (nearly two thousand years ago). But if not, it will be exercised when the Lord comes and establishes His Kingdom on the earth.

It appears to us that the manner in which we Christians bear witness will return to this ancient pattern just before the Lord returns. We shall go forth, accompanied by powerful signs and wonders, to every city and village on the earth. Our purpose will be to bear witness of the soon coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to heal the sick, cast out devils, and warn people to repent and be baptized in preparation for the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.

If this type of witnessing is to be true of us in the near future, then the task of each church now is to build up the saints in Christ so they will be able to participate in the worldwide latter-rain witness of the Holy Spirit.

The issue that determines whether or not a nation or tribe will be saved is how that group of people treated the elect, the remnant, the brothers of Christ:

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:40)

In the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew the sheep are standing on the Lord's right hand and the goats are standing on the Lord's left hand.

Where are the elect, the Lord's brothers to whom He refers, in this scene? The text does not state but it does mention them (see Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:11). Evidently they are standing with Him in glory as He judges the nations of the earth.

Whether the people of a nation or tribe enter the Kingdom of God or the everlasting fire depends on how those people treated the Lord Jesus as represented by His brothers—the least to the greatest.

There have been nations, villages, and peoples throughout church history that have received and treated in a kindly and respectful manner the messengers of the Lord.

Then there have been other nations and villages that have cast the brothers of Christ into prison, despising them and the Lord who sent them. The people of those nations turned a deaf ear to the Gospel, refusing and rejecting the Lord's ambassadors.

To be continued.