IV. Transcendent Events Mark “End of the World”

1. PREPARATORY EVENTS, COMING IN GLORY, FINAL SEPARATIONS

As we have just seen, in discussing His second coming and the “end of the world” (Matthew 24:3), Christ tells of identifying preparatory events and movements to take place in the last days, and declares, “Then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14)—not simply the ending of an expiring state but really the beginning of a new and perfect state. That is highly significant.CFF1 221.1

It is in this connection that Christ says:CFF1 221.2

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

As we have seen, that involves and necessitates separation of the good from the evil, among the living as well as the dead. Here is the inspired portrayal:CFF1 221.3

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them [autous, masc., individuals, not ethne, neut., nations] one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31, 32).CFF1 221.4

Then Christ depicts the purpose of the final separation:CFF1 221.5

“Then shall he [the “Son of man”] say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 24:41).CFF1 221.6

“And these [the wicked] shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 24:46).CFF1 221.7

Such are the events that follow the ripened “harvest” at the world’s end. “When the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come” (Mark 4:29).CFF1 221.8

In His paralleling parable of the tares, Christ elaborates and defines His terms: “The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels” (Matthew 13:39).CFF1 222.1

And the twofold result of the reaping is this:CFF1 222.2

“Let both [the wheat and the tares-Matthew 13:24, 25] grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers [angels], Gather ye together first the tares, and bind their in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matthew 13:30).CFF1 222.3

And the Master’s inerrant “end of the world” explanation is this:CFF1 222.4

“The harvest is the end of the world; ^{44) The Old Testament portrayal of the harvest, in Joel 3 is in connection with the retributive scenes of the “day of the Lord“: “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision [“threshing” (margin, or judgment)] for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision” (Joel 3:13, 14).} and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares [“children of the wicked one”—Matthew 13:38] are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:39-43).CFF1 222.5

Such are the opposite eternal destinies of the two groups. And that stupendous reaping time predicted by Christ is portrayed in actual fulfillment in Revelation 14.CFF1 223.1