7. "Consurget enim gens in gentem, et regnum in regnum; et erunt pestilentiæ et fames et terræ motus per loca:

8. "Hæc autem omnia initia sunt dolorum.

7. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be pestilences, and famines, and earthquakes in places.

8. Now all these are the beginnings of sorrows.

Commentators are agreed that our Lord speaks of the destruction of the Temple as far as the 23rd verse, and that then he speaks of both it and the final judgment. Many, with d'Allioli, consider that even as far as the 23rd verse there is a vision of the Last Day to be dimly seen. After the manner of prophets two, and sometimes three events are foretold in the same sentence, and these all very far from each other, both in time and place. Some of the signs there are proper to one, some to the other and some common to both. The Jews looked upon the destruction of the Temple as the end of the world. It was the end of them as a nation.

Went away towards Bethany.-He sat on Mount Olivet after supper, and his disciples looking at the beautiful Temple.

2Came to show him the buildings.-They remembered His having pronounced its doom, and they now plead that its beauty might lead Him to spare it.

There shall not be left a stone upon a stone.-The siege began on the spot where our Lord prophesied, about thirty-two years afterwards. The Romans left some of the foundations. These were all dug up in the time of Julian, to prepare the ground, and were scattered by supernatural intervention. Thus was the prophecy fulfilled.

What shall be the sign?—The four disciples (Mark xiii. 3) mixed the two events together.

"Take heed. This was for them (John outlived the time) and chiefly for those who see the last days' preparations.

"These hundreds of false prophets before the siege of Jerusalem.

"Wars. In the reign of Nero there were wars everywhere.

Pestilences follow famines.-There were three famines and five earthquakes in the space of fifteen years before the destruction.

The beginning.-The throes of terrible events.

13. "Qui autem perseveraverit usquè in finem, hic salvus erit.

14. "Et prædicabitur hoc Evangelium regni in universo orbe, in testimonium omnibus gentibus: et tunc veniet consummatio.

13. But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved.

14. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations: and then shall the consummation come.

The signs which are given in these verses decidedly are meant to usher in the final judgment as well as the destruction. These are chiefly internal signs, or those given from and through the Christians themselves. The four disciples who were with Our Lord at this time, all suffered, and three of them were put to death before the event. The hatred of the Christians is borne witness to by Tacitus and other pagan writers. The persecutions were the sad evidence of it.

Forewarnings were given by Our Lord, and well acted upon by the Christians. When the signs of destruction began to appear, the Christians, who were in Jerusalem, all left it. They retired to a place called Pella; and Bossuet says, upon good authority, that not a single Christian was known to have been in Jerusalem when the fire broke out. Apostates and Judaisers were left, of course, for they expected a new kingdom.

1Deliver you up.-James was delivered up and put to death. Peter was sent to prison in Jerusalem, and put to death in Rome. Andrew suffered death in Greece, and John had undergone half a martyrdom before the destruction of Jerusalem.

2Betray one another.-S. Paul complains of his suffering from false brethren; and so do others.

3False prophets.-These were chiefly heresiarchs among the Christians. They have not ceased yet, and will not until they be superseded by Antichrist.

4The charity of many.-This is verified continually, but some remarkable cooling must have occurred before the destruction.

Persevere.-The trials of these times make virtue perfect.

6This Gospel. . . . . . shall be preached.-After the dispersion of the Apostles, the light of faith shone out, and the whole world had heard of it in thirty years. It is said that the conversion of the world to Christianity is a sign of His second coming.

Now come the immediate signs of the destruction. The first is the "Abomination of Desolation" spoken of by the prophet Daniel. Commentators are divided as to what this abomination meant. However it is easy enough to see that two things would go to cause it: 1st. A Roman army with its idols and false worship. 2nd. Its hostile intentions which were too literally carried out. The idols and the army were an abomination and their end vastitas.

Some are inclined to consider the possession of the Temple by the Zealots and the fearful carnage and orgies which were perpetrated within even the Holy Place as the desolation. Indeed, there may be some special thing of which we have no record.

It must be something which the Christians understood, for they followed Our Lord's advice and fled to the mountains, whereas the Jews gathered into Jerusalem for protection (as is usual in cases of siege) and met with a terrible and appalling fate.

1Abomination of desolation.-This must have been something which readers of Daniel then could understand better than we do now. Some suppose a statue of Antichrist at the End.

2He that readeth. Some say these are the words of the Evangelist and not those of Our Lord, and are written parenthetically.

3Flee to the mountains.-The Christians did and saved themselves. The same is recommended for the days of Antichrist.

Not come down.-Not to wait to take anything with him.

Some think

To take his coat.-Let him fly half-clad to save his life. With child. These have serious obstacles to flight. there is an allusion to mothers devouring their children, as happened during the siege of Jerusalem.

"Winter. ... or Sabbath.-No physical or moral obstacle. The Judaising Christians were permitted to keep strict Sabbath and could not walk more than a mile on the Lord's Day.

From the beginning of the world.-Writers of history and readers of Josephus are all agreed that the destruction of Jerusalem was the most unmixed scene of woe ever witnessed. This verse has clear reference to the time of Antichrist also. Some say he will rebuild the temple, be worshipped there, and then finis ejus vastitas.