• "These will go away into eternal punishment."
  

• Literally, "And will depart these into retribution eternal."

• "will depart" is the Future Indicative of the verb apérchomai (565), to "go away, depart," here "with the preposition eis and indication of place go (away) (to)" (adapted from Friberg), or more literally, "into."

• "into retribution, punishment (Friberg's offerings), translating the noun kólasis (2851), used only here and in 1 John 4:18 in the NT. "Retribution" is a fitting translation, for there is no hope here of discipline that will result in corrected behavior that will lead to an end of the punishment. There is no remediation, no remedy.
  

• "eternal," the Accusative Singular of the adjective aiō´nios (166), "eternal, everlasting, opposite próskairos (4340) (temporary, transitory)" (adapted from Friberg). This adjective further reinforces that the consequence of not serving the King by not serving His brothers is punishment without reprieve. The punishment will last forever. What a horrible, eternal nightmare!
  

• "but the righteous into eternal life."

• Literally, "but the righteous ones into life eternal."

• In contrast to the individuals among "goat" nations on the King's left, the righteous ones, on the King's right, inherit life, not punishment. And the life, like the punishment, is eternal also.

• "the righteous," literally, "the righteous ones" is the Nominative Plural of díkaios (1342), used of persons who are morally and ethically righteous, upright, just (adapted from Friberg). This is not to say that these individuals were perfect or that they never made a mistake. But it means, in this context, that if it came down to jeapordizing one's own life to assist these Messianic Jewish people, these righteous ones were willing publicly to identify with the King by identifying with the King's brothers. In Pauline words, they had a deep-seated, unshakeable faith in the King that translated into imputed righteousness. But it also translated into personal or racticing righteousness. This was so much so that they were willing to jeopardize their own security by aiding people considered to be enemies of the State run by the World Dictator, also known as the Man of Lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:3), the Beast (Rev. 13:1-10), and the Antichrist (1 John 2:18). These "righteous ones" will refuse to take the "Mark of the Beast" (Rev. 13:11-18), and will come to the aid of others who also will refuse to cooperate on pain of death.

• Somehow, these righteous Gentiles (and the Messianic Jewish "brothers" of Jesus) had managed to survive the horrors of the anti-God, anti-Christ regime of the Tribulation period. They were in their natural bodies and had passed the Judgments conducted by the King at the end of the Tribulation for all who had somehow survived the Tribulation.
  

• Starting from the time of Abraham onward, the world has been divided by God into two ethnic groups. These ethnic groups consist, on the one hand, of the descendants of Abraham through the promised offspring of Isaac and Jacob, later named "Israel" by God. The nation of Israel is, and will always be God's chosen nation. On the other hand, all other peoples are lumped into one category, "the Nations," oftentimes translated as "Gentiles."

• Each of these two people groups is further subdivided into two. These include Jewish people who are genuinely believers in God and, later, after His appearing, in the Messiah. On the other hand are Jewish people who are not genuine believers in God or in His Messiah. The other group, Gentiles, consists also of two categories. These include those who are genuine believers in God and, after His appearing, in Jesus Christ. And on the other hand are Gentiles who believe neither in God nor in His Messiah.

• The Judgment of the Gentiles, discussed in this article and outlines in Matt. 25:31-46, segregates the Gentiles who survived the Tribulation into those who are genuine believers in the Messiah and those who are not. Their faith, or lack of faith, is revealed by their stance toward Jesus' "brothers," who we have defined as Messianic Jews who somehow survived the Tribulation period.
  

• Just because Jesus founded His Church, comprised both of believing Jewish people and Gentiles, the existence of the nation of Israel as God's chosen nation has not been terminated. Throughout eternity there will be three redeemed people groups. These will consist of Israel, the Church, and Gentiles.

• Though the Scriptures affirm the reality that all are saved from eternal damnation by faith, and not by their works (Eph. 2:8-9), they also affirm the reality that a saved individual will produce good works. The saved person exists as God's workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that in them we might walk around (Eph. 2:10).

• In the case of these righteous Gentiles, their good works in looking out for the well-being of the King's "brothers" were evidence of the saving faith in the Messiah they already possessed.

• There is a very specific context for this judgment. To take the terms of this judgment and use them as a justification for doing all kinds of good works to earn one's salvation without respect to following Jesus is to trivialize this judgment beyond recognition.

• This is a very specific judgment. It is a judgment for Gentiles – for non-Jewish people. And it is a judgment that takes place after the Tribulation period. And it is a judgment for Gentiles who have survived that Tribulation period.

• There are other judgments in Scripture. All believers who are part of the Church will be stand before the "Judgment Seat of Christ" (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10). Apparently all the wicked dead of all ages will be resurrected to appear before the "Great White Throne Judgment" (Rev. 20:11-15).

• Since none of us will be able to escape evaluation in the next life, each of us must prepare to stand before Jesus Christ, the Great King and Judge face to face. Only if we are properly related to Him through faith resulting in service, can we hope to survive that judgment (John 5:21-29).
  

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