In what will the end of the world consist, and what will follow upon it?
The end of the world will be immediately followed by two great events, viz., the resurrection and the judgment. Moreover, the Apostle St. Peter teaches us that the end of the world will be by fire at the moment when Jesus Christ shall come in His glory to judge the living and the dead (LXXIV. 1, 2).
Will this universal conflagration which will destroy the present world be as it were a preparation for the judgment?
Yes, by purifying all things and making them worthy of the new state so as to be in harmony with the glory of the elect (LXXIV. 1).
Will this final conflagration act by its own virtue, or also as instrument of the divine power?
It will act also as an instrument of God in particular for the purification of those souls which would have perhaps remained in the flames of purgatory for a long time (LXXIV. 3-8).
These souls then will be purified and made worthy to be admitted among the elect as it were instantaneously?
Yes; and the purifying virtue of this fire will be proportioned by God to the degree of expiation necessary in each case.
Do we know when this conflagration will take place?
No; but it will be preceded by certain signs which will herald the near advent of the Sovereign Judge.
What will these signs be?
There will be unheard-of upheavals in the whole of nature which, as the Gospel says, will make men quake with fear.
Next - The Catechism of the Summa - Tertia Pars - L. OF THE RESURRECTION (A)
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