There are several interpretations. This is my understanding. Matthew 25 follows 24 in logical sequence. At the end of Matt. 24, when Jesus talks about the events of the last days before His coming, He tells them to be ready. The end of chapter 24 gives an example of being ready and not being ready. This idea of readiness permeates the next sections of Matt. 25.
The first part of Matt 25 is the kingdom likened to five wise virgins and five foolish virgins. This too is a story of those who were ready and those who were not. Follow that is the Parable of the Talents, again talking about who is ready and who is not. The ones who are ready receive the commendation from the Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matt. 25:21).
Following these examples of being ready before the coming of the Lord, the end of Matt. 25 addresses when the Lord does come. Before the Millennium (the 1000-year reign of Christ and His saints), “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” (v. 32). So this is a division between nations, not between people.
Those nations who cared for the people of God who were persecuted by the antichrist figure are the sheep, while those who did not care for the people of God are the goats. Then the Millennium period begins and the sheep enter it.
