61. People Whose Faith Is Divorced from Charity Are Meant by the Goats in Daniel and Matthew

The goat in Daniel 8 and the goats in Matthew 25 mean people whose faith is divorced from charity, and this can be seen from the fact that in Daniel the goat is contrasted with a ram, and the goats in Matthew with sheep — the ram and the sheep both meaning people possessing charity. For in the Word the Lord is called a shepherd and the church a sheepfold, and people in the church are collectively called a flock and individually sheep. And because sheep are people who possess charity, therefore goats are people without charity.