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The Time After Pentecost
Thes 2:8). The good shall be separated from the wicked as “the shepherd separateth the sheep
from the goats” (Mt 25:32). Then the number of the elect shall be filled. This day of the harvest,
the Last Judgment, is at hand.
“Suffer both to grow until the harvest” (Mt 13:30). The growth of the wheat and the cockle
side by side is a type of good and evil, of the children of light and the children of darkness, of
the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of Christ. These two kingdoms, each commanded by
its king, will oppose each other until the end of time. In the one kingdom the law of the flesh
rules supreme, and in the other the law of the spirit. In the one, men devote themselves to the
search for fortune and transitory pleasure; in the other they live for the hope of a blessed eternity.
In the kingdom of Satan men place a high value on the things of this earth; in the kingdom of
Christ only that which is supernatural is important. Although these two kingdoms exist side
by side here on earth, they are separated in their ideals and objectives by an immense chasm.
The same sun rises upon the members of these two kingdoms, and they breathe the same air;
their fields are made fruitful by the same rains, but the two kingdoms are as far apart as day and
night. The cockle and the wheat grow side by side, and as they reach maturity the difference
between them becomes more acute. Evil is gathering its forces for one last effort, for the decisive
battle. But when Christ will appear for judgment, those who were opposed spiritually will also
be separated physically: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire” (Mt 25:41). But
to His own He will say: “Come, ye blessed of My Father” (Mt 25:34). Christ has known His
own from the beginning, and He has remained with them in the world, there redeeming and
blessing them. He has permitted the evil ones to continue also, either that He might convert
them from their evil, or that they may be the cause of the increase of virtue in the good. “Suffer
both to grow until the harvest.”
“In the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the cockle and
bind it into bundles to burn; but the wheat gather ye into my barn” (Mt 13:30). The Day
of Judgment is the day of the return of the Lord, the day of reckoning, the day when a
clear and decisive distinction will be made between the good and the evil, between the
kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan. The Last Judgment will conclude the work
of divine providence, which has watched over the course of the world for thousands of
years. The Last Judgment will perfect the work of divine providence and will confirm and
make final all the judgments of God from the beginning. Then the history of the world
and all the events that have occurred since the beginning of time will be laid before us like
an open book. This is the day on which the justice of God’s decisions will be confirmed,
and they who accuse Him of having been harsh, will be confounded (Mt 25:24). On that
day the wisdom of God will triumph, for all men will see how mildly, wisely, and justly
God has governed the world. All will then see that God has treated every one according
to his just due. “Thou hast delivered us, O Lord, from them that afflict us, and hast put
them to shame that hate us” (Gradual).
At the Last Judgment we shall see the triumph of the charity of God, who has always lent a
willing ear to the petitions of men, who has entertained only thoughts of peace and good will,
and who has turned away from thoughts of bitterness and affliction. (Introit). It will be apparent
that God has left nothing undone to save those who have gone astray. The Day of Judgment
will be a day of triumph for the power of God, who bends even the powers of evil to His own
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