The left or Right

“And He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.” [Matthew 25:33]

Have you ever wondered why in some countries the drivers use the right side of the road and in others – like Great Britain – they use the left? Well, the theory is that in olden days the nobility would ride their horses on the left of the road so their sword hand, usually the right hand, would be on the same side as an oncoming horseman. Naturally, with armed nobility riding around, it made sense for peasants to walk on the right, facing the oncoming traffic. For many years this was the case in the U.K. and Europe.

But remember that during the French revolution many of the aristocrats were executed. Even after the revolution it was a bad idea to be mistaken for nobility. So everyone in France started to travel on the right side of the road. Then along came Napoleon, who carried this practice with him as he conquered large parts of Europe and built the first international road system since the Romans. But because of his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon never made it to England. Therefore, the U.K. and all its territories continued riding on the left. Today the words “right” and “left” have also come to represent opposite extremes in politics and religion, generally in reference to liberal or conservative views and practices.

Did you know that the Bible teaches that right and left extremes will come together in the last days to worship the beast and its image? Revelation 13 talks about “small and great, rich and poor, free and slave” receiving a mark of allegiance to the beast. This power will attempt to unite all mankind in a defiant stance against God. When good and evil play out their final struggle, no one will be immune from making a choice one way or the other. Everyone will worship either God or the beast.

According to Scripture, the confrontation won’t last long. Every person from every nation will be gathered before Christ, “and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32). Great things are in store for the sheep on the right, for they will inherit the kingdom of God (verse 34). I want to be sure I’m at the right hand of Jesus on that day, don’t you?