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Matthew Poole and Matthew Henry agree that this passage refers to the general resurrection. The modern commentators have less spiritual insight. Poole and Henry have clearly caught the truth of which Christ spoke.

The men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba "shall rise up in the judgment." This is a physical rising of the wicked before the White Throne:

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened…and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Revelation 20:12).

For this to occur, there must be a general resurrection of the lost. The saved have already been raptured, that is, resurrected. Now the lost are also resurrected to stand before God at the Last Judgment.

"…Them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2).

Now, in our text, we are told that the men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba will "rise up in judgment with this generation." Henry says "this generation" refers to all generations "of those to whom Christ preached then, and of those to whom Christ is preached now." This is the correct interpretation or else the gospel of Matthew was only written for men long dead.

"This generation" means you. These men and this woman will stand at the right hand of God at the Last Judgment.

"And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world"

(Matthew 25:33-34).

The men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba will rise up in the middle of the great congregation on the right hand of the White Throne of Judgment.

Then we are told exactly what the men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba will say. They will "rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it…"

When you are called forth, to stand before God's Throne, your sins will be read out of God's Books (Revelation 20:12). Then God will look at you and the men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba will stand up and say,

"We condemn you!"
"We condemn you!"
"We condemn you!"

After the record of your own sins has condemned you, the men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba will condemn you. Then God Himself will condemn you - and you will be sent to Hell.

I. First, the men of Nineveh will rise up and condemn you.

"The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here" (Matthew 12:41).

Nineveh was an ungodly and wicked city (Jonah 1:2). It was the capital of the Assyrian empire, located on the banks of the Tigris river, to the north-west of Babylon. God sent Jonah to tell Nineveh that judgment was coming (Jonah 3:4). The people of Nineveh believed God and were converted! (Jonah 3:5).

Evangelical commentator John MacArthur correctly says:

The revival in Nineveh under Jonah's preaching was one of the most extraordinary spiritual revivals the world has ever seen…From Jesus' words…it is clear that the revival under Jonah represented authentic saving conversions. Only eternity will reveal how many souls from that one generation were swept into the kingdom as a result of the revival (MacArthur Study Bible, note on Matthew 12:41).

Notice three things about these people in Nineveh.

1. They heard only one sermon - not many. You have heard many sermons, but you remain lost. They heard only one sermon, and were converted.

2. They heard no gospel - only law. All they heard was "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jonah 3:4). Even though all they heard was law which condemned them, they turned from sin to the Lord and were converted (Jonah 3:5-10).

3. They had only a short time to get saved - only three days (Jonah 3:3). The city was three-days journey in extent. As Jonah walked, he preached. He preached the same sermon over and over, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jonah 3:4). When three days were over, he would be gone for good. They only had three days to get saved!  If they had not been converted, they would have lived 37 more days in a hardened state and then gone to Hell. They really did have only three days to get saved.

At the Last Judgment these people will rise up and condemn you.

"You heard many sermons but stayed lost - we condemn you!"

"We heard only law. You heard the gospel. But we got saved, while you hardened your heart. We condemn you!"

"We had only three days to get saved. You had days, and weeks, and months. We condemn you!"

Why did these people of Nineveh get saved while you remain lost? Because they turned away from sin and threw themselves on the mercy of Christ (Jonah 3:8-10),  and you won't do that! You refuse to do what they did!

At the Last Judgment, they will cry out -

"We condemn you!"
"We condemn you!"
"We condemn you!"

II. Second, the Queen of Sheba will rise up and condemn you.

"The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42).

The "queen of the south" was the Queen of Sheba (I Kings 10:1). Sheba was a city of Arabia, located to the south of Judea. The verse says, "She came from the uttermost parts of the earth." John Wesley's comment is correct, "That part of Arabia from which she came was the uttermost part of the earth that way, being bounded by the sea" (Wesley's Notes on the New Testament, vol. 1, note on Matthew 12:42).

There are two main lessons from the account of the Queen of Sheba given in I Kings, chapter ten.

1. She sought after the truth. She didn't just hear a sermon and let it go at that. No, no! She wanted to know the Lord for herself! The pre-incarnate Christ said,

"Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

If you are not seeking Jesus Christ, you will not find Him. If you don't seek Jesus, this woman will rise up in judgment against you and condemn you!

2. She went through great difficulty to get to the preacher so she could get saved. She traveled a long distance, in great danger, to get saved. If you are not willing to set aside a couple of hours each and every Sunday, don't expect the Queen of the South to agree with you! At the Last Judgment she will rise up and condemn you!

There is no distance too far, no responsibility too important, no opposition too great, to keep a sensible person from Christ.

People in China and the Moslem world risk their lives to become Christians. If you won't set aside two hours every Sunday, don't expect these people to agree with you at the Last Judgment. They will say,

"We condemn you!"
"We condemn you!"
"We condemn you!"

When you stand alone in front of God's Great White Throne, and God says, "Why did you miss church? Why didn't you seek Jesus Christ?" before you can give your weak excuse, the Queen of Sheba will rise up and say:

"I condemn you!"
"I condemn you!"
"I condemn you!"

And that's why you need to decide right now to be here next Sunday.

And that's why you need to come to Jesus Christ right now. Jesus is the only one who can save you from condemnation at the Last Judgment.

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:17).

Jesus died on the Cross to pay the price for your sin. He shed His Blood so your sins could be washed away. He arose from the dead, physically. He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God. Look to Jesus! Believe on Him! He alone can save you from condemnation for your sins! Turn to Jesus and believe on Him now!

Scripture Read Before Sermon: I Kings 10:1-9; Jonah 3:1-10.

Solo by Benjamin Kincaid Griffith: "The Great Judgment Morning"