Title: Gathering of the Sheep

Topic: Salvation

Summary: Scripture predicts that one day the sheep (meaning good people) will be gathered. How will that happen?

Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.

References:
Deuteronomy 30:1
Psalms 107; 147
Isaiah 11:11; 27:12; 40:11; 54:7; 66:18
Jeremiah 3:17-18; 23:1; 29:10-12; 31:8-end
Isaiah 32:37-39
Ezekiel 11:17; 20:34, 41; 34; 36:24; 39:27
Micah 2:12-13
Zechariah 10:8
Matthew 12:30; 13:30, 40, 43, 47-48; 18:20; 24:30-31
Luke 13:34
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3

The Bible generally uses two different terms for large groups: “people” and “nations.” When it uses “nation,” it is talking about a group with the desire for good as its ultimate underlying motivation; when it uses the term “people” it is talking about a group whose deep motivation is to seek true ideas and concepts. As with all symbolism in the Bible, this can be also used in a negative sense, to describe groups with the lust for evil or those driven by false concepts. It can also be used in the abstract, with “nation” representing desires for good themselves and “people” representing true ideas themselves. In a way, these meanings make sense if we look at the two words themselves. “People” brings to mind a collection of individuals, and that is somewhat how it is with ideas -- you can have many of them that inter-relate, but also stand somewhat on their own, individually. “Nation” is a more unified term, reflecting the way that a desire for good tends to unify other feelings.