be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? Mark xiii. 3, 4. And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river; when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my LORD, what shall be the end of these things? Dan. xii. 6-8. And they asked him saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? Luke xxi. 7. Peter seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me, John xxi. 21, 22. And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power, Acts i. 7. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, 1 Thess. v. 1. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors, ver. 32, 33. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up, 43. A. D. 33. you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many, Mark xiii. 5, 6. For false Christ's and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect, 22. And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them, Luke xxi. 8. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apos tles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light, 2 Cor. xi. 13, 14. That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning crafti ness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, Eph. iv. 14. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience, v. 6. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, 2 Thess. ii. 3. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of : you whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation loved, believe not every spirit, but slumbereth not, 2 Pet. ii. 1-3. Betry the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world, iv. 1. VER. 5. John A. D. 33. MATT. XXIV. 5, 6. A. D. 33. a And many false prophets shall | bring a sword upon that land, and rise, and shall deceive many, Matt. xi. 11. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect, 24. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied, Jer. xxiii. 21. I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed, 25. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive, John v. 43. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee, in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him; he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, Acts v. 36, 37. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which before-time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God, viii. 9, 10. say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GoD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righ teousness. For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? xiv. 17-21. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows, Mark xiii. 7, 8. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by, a Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients, Ezek. vii. 24-26. Or if I VOL. I. Luke xxi. 9. b The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD shall I be afraid? When the wicked, is the strength of my life; of whom even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident, Psal. xxvii. 1-3. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, xlvi. 1-3. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD, cxii. 7. Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom the people shall 2 F 1 say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Isa. viii. 12-14. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation, xii. 2. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusted in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength, xxvi. 3,4. Come, my people, enter thou into thychambers, and shut thy doors about thee hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain, 20, 21. When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation, Hab. iii. 16-18. In your patience possess ye your souls, Luke xxi. 19. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me, John xiv. 1. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid, 27. That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand, 2 Thess. ii. 2. But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the A. D. 33. Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear, 1 Pet. iii. 14, 15. c But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? Matt. xxvi. 54. For I say unto you, That this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end, Luke xxii. 37. Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar: and, lo, God hath given thee all that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island, Acts xxvii. 24-26. d And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come, ver. 14. VER. 7. Εγερθήσεται γὰρ ἔθνος ἐπὶ ἔθνος, κα βασιλεία ἐπὶ βασιλείαν· καὶ ἔσονται λιμο καὶ λοιμοὶ, καὶ σεισμοὶ κατὰ τόπους. For a nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be b famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. a And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city; for God did vex them with all adversity, 2 Chron. xv. 6. Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still, Isa. ix. 19-21. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom, xix. 2. Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother, Hag. ii. 21, 22. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished: and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle, Zech. xiv. 2, 3. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour, 13. A. D. 33. and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven, Luke xxi. 11. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken, 25, 26. And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come, Acts ii. 19, 20. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Cæsar, xi. 28. VER. 8. Πάντα δὲ ταῦτα ἀρχὴ ὠδίνων. rows. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be a And if ye will not yet for all this heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and hearken unto me, then I will punish not rise again. And it shall come to you seven times more for your sins. pass in that day, that the LORD shall And I will break the pride of your punish the host of the high ones that power; and I will make your heaven are on high, and the kings of the as iron, and your earth as brass: And earth upon the earth. And they shall your strength shall be spent in vain: be gathered together as prisoners are for your land shall not yield her ingathered in the pit, and shall be shut crease, neither shall the trees of the up in the prison, and after many days land yield their fruits. And if ye shall they be visited. Then the moon walk contrary unto me, and will not shall be confounded, and the sun hearken unto me; I will bring seven ashamed, when the LORD of hosts times more plagues upon you accordshall reign in mount Zion, and in Je-ing to your sins. I will also send rusalem, and before his ancients gloriously, Isa. xxiv. 19-23. For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? Ezek. xiv. 21. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. And the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come, Joel ii. 30, 31. And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate. And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. And your when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. 'And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury and I, even 1, will chas. tise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat, Lev. xxvi. 18-29. Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance, Deut. xxviii. 59. The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still, Isa. ix. 12. Therefore the LORD shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still, 17. Manasseh, Ephraim ; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still, 21. Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still, x. 4. when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape, 1 Thess. v. 3. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that bey not the Gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 1 Pet. iv. 17, 18. : VER. 9. For Τότε παραδώσουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς θλίψιν, καὶ ἀποκτενοῦσιν ὑμᾶς· καὶ ἔσεσθε μισούμενοι ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν, διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου. Then a shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and ↳ shall kill you: and eye A. D. 33. Καὶ τότε σκανδαλισθήσονται πολλοὶ, καὶ ἀλλήλους παραδώσουσι, καὶ μισήσουσιν ἀλλήλους. And then shall many be offended, and shall b betray one another, and shall hate one another. a This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes, 2 Tim. i, 15. For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia, iv. 10. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge, 16. See also on chap. xi. ver. Καὶ διὰ τὸ πληθυνθῆναι τὴν ἀνομίαν, ψυγήσεται ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν πολλῶν. And a because iniquity shall abound, b the love of many shall wax cold. a From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the now, ye rich men, weep and howl for enemy of God, Jam. iv. 1-4. Go to your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your |