Hell is something that Jesus taught about throughout the gospels.
Here is a quote from Him -
31 "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. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 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:
41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
When I look at Scripture I see major players and major themes throughout. No, this is not a teaching about the Nature of God. But I do see repeated themes. When it comes to that of shepherds, sheep and goats? There is another Word from the Word of Trust that comes to this one. It is from the song. You know the one. The Song of songs.
There we see a woman who looks for her love. She asks him, "Where do I find you," and confesses her desire to kiss him in a manner that is bespoken of as more than a sisterly kiss. His voice is heard, and he almost chides her with the first phrase, "If you don't know..." I know. I know that you know too. Let's read together:
Looking at the Book as if it were a poem, we see two protagonists featured; a woman and a man. We see a progress from courtship to consumption. For instance, the man proclaims:
"As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." The woman answers:
"As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."
The quote that addresses the memory link that you have stirred in me is about sheep and goats:
[Sgs 1:2-4, 7-8 KJV]Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love [is] better than wine. Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name [is as] ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.
... Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest [thy flock] to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.
Notice that she, the Shulamite, does not heard lambs but kids. The word denotes young, female goats. If my understanding of the post exile book known as the Song of Solomon is correct, what we may be looking at is in some ways prophetic of the relationship that forms between Christ and the Church. A quick comparison of various verses may be used to support this view. Recall what Paul taught about the mystery spoken of in the beginning where two become one flesh, see also: Revelation 3:20, which speaks of knocking at doors, as does Song 5:2. John 7:38 speaks of "living water," using the same language found in places like Jeremiah 17:13, Jeremiah 2:13, and Zechariah 14:8, and the phrase is used poetically in Song 4:15. There is talk about a certain perfume in the Song and that is also mentioned elsewhere. cf. John 12:3 and Mark 14:3 with its mention in Song 1:12; 4:13; 4:14.
Do we (those called out ones, called those "of the way" in earliest days and "Christians" later) who are comprised of both Gentile and Jew, have goats? Do we lead kids (young female goats)? Well, certainly we do. Not to put too much of a point on it but there are some old-man goats here, and I could be counted as one. May I strive to change and be reckoned in grace as something other than this?
That is the hope that I have for me. Shall I not count that same hope for thee? I shall count for thee as well for God has shed abroad His Grace and I have witnessed this in the presence of others even more than I see in myself.
How about you?
