The Son of man will send forth his angels, and they will collect out from his kingdom all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing lawlessness,

Since then under angelic oversight a separating work has been done. (Matt. 24:31) The distinction between true and false Christians has become clearly discernible as the angels have acted to gather out “all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing lawlessness.” (Matt. 13:41) Just as a harvest is short in comparison with the growing period, so the time of harvest and separation will be short until the “great tribulation” brings an end to the last ones of the crop of weedlike counterfeit Christians that have grown up during the centuries since the death of the apostles.