Matthew 13:40 speaks of a harvest at the end of the age, after a period of waiting in which the full separation between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of evil is not yet obvious. It is not that the two are essentially mixed together; rather that the distinction is not visible to all, and must, at God’s appointed time, be revealed by his action (see Matthew 13:29). At the end of this present period, there will be a harvest—a decisive new event that has not taken place before.
Matthew 13:40 speaks of a harvest at the end of the age, which indicates that there is a period of waiting: an essential feature of the parable is that there is a time in which the full separation between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of evil is not yet apparent. It is not that the two are essentially mixed together, but rather that the distinction is not visible to all and must, at God’s appointed time, be revealed by his deliberate act (see Matthew 13:29). There is a consummation of this world, a conclusion of the present dispensation, and with it comes a harvest—a decisive new event that had not taken place before.1
37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.