Jesus taught there would be a separation coming between believers and unbelievers in God when He comes back. As the time of the Day of Christ draws near, the separation has already started.

“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. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.” – Matt. 25:32, 33

“‘Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ” – Matt. 13:30

When the Lord gathers all races of peoples he will judge them according to their works; ‘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; ‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ ” He further explains, “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ As we treat the Christians among us, so He will treat us, as we treat the Word of God, so it will judge us.

2 Iranian Girls who came to Christ

I wonder if this separation hasn’t already started? On the one hand, we read about two former Muslim girls who came to faith in Jesus and now visit the prisons in Iran giving out Bibles, or about the black Virginia Pastor who stood up to the Virginia Legislator and told them that abortion and homosexuality were against God. On the other hand we read about a Swedish church removes crosses to make Muslim migrants feel welcome, or about Pope Francis proclaiming those who own firearms are “hypocrites,” and not Christians.

Swedish Pastor removes Crosses to make Muslims feel more comfortable

The news is filled with stories of true and false Christians making good and bad choices for God. Peter warned this would happen –

“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.” – 2 Pet. 2:1-3

Even though this separation must happen, we should pray earnestly for those who are deceived that they might come to the light and repent before it is too late. Pray that they are delivered from the spirit of Antichrist which has captured them. Those who preach Chrislam have denied the Father and those who remove crosses to please Muslims have denied the Son of God who died on the cross for our sake. They are the ones spoken about by John –

“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist (the man) is coming, even now many antichrists (the spirit of antichrist) have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” – 1 John 2:18, 19

This separation is necessary to divide the sheep and the goats, the wheat from the tares. While it is sad, it is inevitable. It is a sign of the lateness of the hour before Jesus comes. Remember, He will come as a thief in the night and the goats and the tares will not be expecting Him.