the twelve tribes of Israel." Matt. xix. 28. Then follows the sentence upon the wicked, by which they are doomed to the unquenchable flames of hell for ever, or, as St. John expresses it,

Chap. xx. 14. "And hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. This is the second death."

Hell and death, before, denoted the places where the souls and bodies of the reprobate lay, but here, by an easy transition, they are employed to signify these souls and bodies themselves, which are cast into the infernal pool of fire: and this damnation of both together, at the last judgment, is here denominated, the second death; while that of the soul only, which had preceded at the time of her separation from the body, may receive the name of first death. Thus much from the Apocalypse.

66

But the general arraignment of all mankind before the tribunal of Christ at the last day, and the special judgment he will pass upon them, are more clearly and explicitly exhibited us by Christ himself in his following words: When the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty; and all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: 'Come ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink,' &c.-Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink,' &c.—And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just into life everlasting," Matt. xxv. 31, &c. And again, our Saviour speaking on the same subject in another place, says: "As tares are gathered up and burnt with fire, so shall it be at the end of the world. The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals, and them that work iniquity: and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the just shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father." Matt. xiii, &c. In fine, the general judgment finishes by

66 was

Chap. xx. 15. "And whosoever," says our prophet, not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire." All those who have not " by good works made sure their calling and election," 2 Pet. i. 10, and so have not gotten their names registered in the book of life, are condemned to hell fire for all eternity.

The general judgment is an event so tremendous and so interesting to mankind, that our Saviour frequently inculcated it in his discourses, as we see in the gospel and St. John in the Apocalypse, besides the natural description of it above cited, gives us a second allegorical one, with new circumstances, under two elegant expressive figures of harvest and vintage. Thus paints the admirable and exact pencil of our incomparable prophet:

66

Chap. xiv. 14. And I saw, and behold a white cloud: and upon the cloud one sitting like to the Son of man, having on his head a crown of gold, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

V. 15. "And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat upon the cloud: Thrust in thy sickle, and reap, because the hour is come to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

V. 16. “And he that sat on the cloud, thrust his sickle into the earth, and the earth was reaped.

V. 17. "And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

V. 18. 66 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire: and he cried with a loud voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying: Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vineyard of the earth. because the grapes thereof are ripe.

V. 19." And the angel thrust in his sharp sickle into the earth, and gathered the vineyard of the earth, and cast into the great press of the wrath of God.

V. 20. “And the press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the press, up to the horses' bridles for a thousand six hundred furlongs.'

The Son of man, v. 14, or Christ, is seen by St. John sitting on a white cloud, as we saw him before, bearing on his head a crown of gold for a mark of his sovereign power and dominion over the world, and in his hand a sharp sickle, an instrument for cutting down corn. Then an angel comes out from the temple in heaven, v. 15, from the Almighty who

*

* In Great Britain and Ireland all kinds of grain are called by the general term Corn.-AM. ED.

sits there enthroned, and brings orders to the Son of man to thrust in his sickle and reap; because the hour is come to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe; the number of saints pre-ordained by the Almighty is completed, and the period allotted to the existence of the human species is run out. Christ, in obedience to his eternal Father, thrusts his sickle into the earth, and the earth is reaped, v. 16; he puts an end to the world, and reaps the harvest of his elect, by withdrawing them from all further labours, and gathering them to himself, as the husbandman gathers his corn into his granary. “And he (the Son of man) shall send his angels with a trumpet, and a great voice and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them." Matt. xxiv. 31. The harvest being made,

follows the vintage.

An angel comes out, v. 17, from the temple in heaven, as sent by the Almighty, with a sharp sickle in his hand, and presently comes forth, v. 18, from the altar of holocausts where fire was perpetually kept, a second angel who hath power over the fire, and who is commanded, because perpetual fire is to be the punishment of the wicked, to tell the first angel to thrust in his sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vineyard of the earth: because the grapes thereof are ripe. The angel executes the order, cuts off in an instant the clusters of grapes over the whole earth, v. 19, gathers them together, and casts them into the great press or wine-press of the wrath of God: that is, the angel collects together the whole troop of the reprobate, and casts them, as being ripe for punishment, into the deep pit of hell. This is conformable to what we hear from our Saviour: "The Son of man," says he, “shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals, and them that work iniquity: and shall cast them into the furnace of fire." Matt. xiii. 41, 42. St. John then adds, v. 20, “And the press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the press, up to the horses' bridles for a thousand six hundred furlongs." Here is a striking allegorical expression of the effusion of God's anger upon the damned, who are represented as trodden in the lake of hell, in the same manner as grapes are trodden in the wine-press: and the person that thus treats them, we are told, is Christ himself; he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty." Apoc. xix. 15. Christ is constituted the avenger of the injuries done to his almighty Father, and is his minister to execute his judgments upon the impious. The allusion

of the treading of the wine-press is carried on, and as if it were supposed that the whole heap of the damned lodged in the pit of hell, were there trodden, there would issue out from their bodies a quantity of blood that would cover a space of ground, all around, to the distance of a thousand six hundred furlongs, or two hundred miles, and to such a height, that the blood would reach to the horses' bridles, if waded through. This sea of blood would not, however, affect the city or mansion of the blessed, which is placed at a great distance. One cannot but shudder at the picture here exposed to us, as it suggests the dismal idea of such an immense multitude of the human species devoted to the flames of hell without hope of redemption. For, in effect, if a circular space, of four hundred miles diameter, be covered with blood to four feet height, which is about the height of a middle-sized horse's bridle from the ground; and if we suppose fifteen pounds to be, at an average, the quantity of blood in a man; the density of blood 'being nearly one 25th greater than that of water, a foot cubic of which weighs a thousand ounces; we shall find, by making the computation, that the number of men's bodies, requisite to give the mass of blood above mentioned, will be upwards of 60,000,000,000,000.

We have now seen, on one side, the body of the reprobate banished from the presence of Christ, and doomed to their perpetual prison: while on the other side the whole company of saints shine with all the noble qualities belonging to bodies clothed with immortality. They now see the happy moment arrived for the accomplishment of all their expectations. That part of them, who adorned the world before the Saviour of mankind appeared in it, are called into the heavenly mansions with angelical acclamations. They enter, singing in jubilation: Come, let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our Saviour. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise to him with psalms." Psalm xciv. The other body composed of the Christian saints, are gratified in a peculiar manner with the gracious countenance of Christ, their Lord and Master, who invites them to reign with them in bliss for all eternity. On so happy an occasion that crowns all their wishes, the heavens resound with the loudest acclamations of joy and exultation:

66

Chap. xix. 7. "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give glory to him, (God,) for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has prepared herself.

V. 8. "And it was granted to her that she should clothe

herself with fine linen, glittering and white. For the fine linen are the justifications of saints.

V. 9. "And he said to me: Write, blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." The heavenly choirs thus break out into jubilation and transports of joy, because the time is come for the nuptials of the Lamb, that is, for Christ to espouse his Church, which is the society of his saints, by taking her to himself, by freeing her from all enemies, by removing all evils for ever from her, by enriching her with every blessing, and in fine by cherishing her as a spouse does his beloved consort. The wife or bride of the Lamb, that is, the company of Christian saints, appears in a suitable garb for the marriage. She is dressed in fine linen, the symbol of the justifications or the good works and merits of her holy members; the most pleasing attire in which she can present herself to the Lamb. Her robe is glittering and white, because she has been purified as silver in the furnace, and washed white in the waters of tribulation and persecution. Here then follows the marriage of the Lamb, or the gracious and affectionate union of Christ with his saints. He then introduces them into heaven, and presents them, as his bride, before the throne to his eternal Father. Then may be truly said, Blessed are they, v. 9, that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb; the saints are seated in glory, and filled with ineffable and endless bliss, which is the marriage supper, the ultimate term of all.

After so glorious a conclusion of the marriage feast, St. John proceeds,

66

V. 9. And he saith to me: these words of God are true." The angel of Christ, that is, St. John Baptist, who in the form of an angel attends the apostle during this prophecy, gives testimony to what has been just pronounced: Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The angel affirms that these are the words of God, and consequently true, or will infallibly have their accomplishment at the appointed time, viz. at the last day.

The apostle supposing this to be the conclusion of all that was to be revealed to him, turns to the angel:

V. 10. “And I fell down," says he, "before his feet, to adore him. And he saith to me: See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Adore God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." St. John, in token of gratitude, offers to pay to the angel such homage as is due to a being of his rank,