people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time and at that time shall thy people be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." And this illustrates the following words in St. Luke :— "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh."+ It was in connexion with these last troubles that our Lord again more particularly intimates the appearance of impostors and false prophets to be a prognostication of the near approach of his kingdom: Mark, xiii. 21, "And then, if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ, or, lo, there, believe him not."- Matt. xxiv. 24. "For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Mark, xiii. 23, "But take ye heed; behold, I have foretold you all things." - Matt. xxiv. 26, "Wherefore if they say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not for as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For," or 66 moreover, wheresoever the carcase is, there shall the eagles be gathered together.” A plain repetition of his former predictions, on occasion of the Pharisees demanding of him" when the kingdom of God should come." The ancient prophecies have prepared us to expect that the issue of the last conflict of the nations, which is the cause of the unprecedented afflictions of the last times, will be the entire prostration of all human power and authority, and of all the divine institutions in church and state, as prostituted and abused by sinful men. The language of prophecy predicted this by "signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars."* Our Lord here uses the same symbols to predict the same events: Mark, xiii. 24. “But in those days, after that tribulation,”Matt. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days,”— "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." And this great political revolution, we have ever seen, is immediately preparatory to the appearing of the King Messiah in his glory. We have already copied St. Luke's report: "And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."-So St. Matthew, xxiv. 30. “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." The ancient prophecies † have also told us, that all his saints shall be collected to him on this occasion, and come with him when he cometh as "the Lord from heaven." So in the prediction before us, Matt. xxiv. 31. "And then shall he send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four lxvi. ; 22, 23. Isaiah, xiii. 3, &c.; xxiv. 19, &c.; xxx. 26; xxxiv. 4; l. 2, 3; † Jude, 14; Psalm lxviii. 17; Isaiah, xxv. 7; xxvi. 19; Dan. vii, 22; Micah, ii. 13; Haggai, ii. 7. winds, from one end of heaven to the other,"— Mark, " from the uttermost part of the earth, to the uttermost part of heaven." All this most certainly is coeval with what is predicted in a passage quoted above from Daniel: "At that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince that standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that same time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book"- the book of God's election "the Lamb's book of life:" and as, in Daniel, the resurrection is immediately mentioned, we may conclude that the gathering of the elect is universal, including "them that sleep in Jesus," as well as those that are alive, and remain unto the coming of our Lord." 66 There immediately follows, in our Lord's discourse, the interesting parable of the figtree, designed to awaken all who love his appearing, to watch for these signs of its approach, Matt. xxiv. 32: -- "Now learn a parable of the figtree," Luke," and all the trees:"-" when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know," Luke, "of your ownselves," "that summer is near. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors :"— Luke, "Know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." There can be no doubt that the kingdom of God, in this connexion, means the erection of the glorious kingdom of the Messiah, so much the theme of prophecy, and which we know at this time so exclusively occupied the thoughts and expectations both of the disciples of Christ and of the Pharisees. "When shall this kingdom come," and what shall be its signs, was the question of the Pharisees on a former occasion, and of the disciples on this; and the answer on both occasions, is, The coming is after particular corruptions of the professed church, through religious impostors, and after unprecedented wars, and tumults, and revolutions, among the kingdoms of the earth. As surely as the swelling bud indicates the approach of summer, shall these signs indicate the coming of the Son of Man in his kingdom. These wars and desolations cannot mean the destruction of Jerusalem, nor the kingdom predicted to follow the reign of Gospel-grace among the various nations of the civilized world; as well because of what has been already advanced to dissuade from that error of many commentators, as from this circumstance, that, in fact, the erection of the kingdom of grace, whether we date its commencement at the epocha of the resurrection or at the day of Pentecost, did not follow the desolation of Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish state, but preceded it several years. But the wars and tumults here spoken of are to be signs and prognostications of the approaching kingdom, and not its consequences or concomitants. Indeed, these predictions would never have been understood of the siege of Jerusalem, and fall of the Jewish state, but for a misunderstanding of the meaning of a term in the following verse: Matt. xxiv. 34. " Verily, I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." The word rendered "generation" does not necessarily refer to the coexistence of the same race of men; it also means a family or nation, deriving their origin from one common stock. 1 And again; the word rendered " pass away" does not necessarily mean the lapse of time: for in this very passage it is used for the extinction of the heavens, and for the failure of a word spoken. This verse, therefore, may signify, and, from the context, perhaps, must signify, that this race or family of Abraham shall not become extinct, or fail in the procreation of its posterity, till all these things shall be fulfilled: it shall survive as a nation, and be found in the destined circumstances when the Son of Man shall be revealed. * Indeed, what follows bespeaks something of far more importance than the destruction of Jerusalem : "But of that day, and of that hour, knoweth no man; no, not the angels that are in heaven, neither the Son; but the Father only." 66 He The Son himself knoweth it not: that is to say, had it not in commission to make it known to his people." In "the mystery of the Father and of the Son," while the Son acts in the subordinate character of the Messenger of God - the Prophet of his people, his omniscience is not put forth, no more than his almighty power; he is 1 See Schleusner in yeva, " proles, posteritas, omnes qui ex communi quadam stirpe origines ducunt, familia, natio, gens, cognati," &c. This was Mr. Mede's interpretation. Bishop Horsley thought all these things might refer to the leading question, "When shall these things be?"— the destruction of the temple. &c., as distinguished from "What shall be the sign of thy coming," &c. * Compare Isaiah, lxv. 8, 9. |