V • • • o* *c» ^\ *-S8& ***** l wm : /\ '-SB** ^ * ^ »P**. Ss&k.* ***£&% \" r oY ,0- **o* "oV* ^ ^\fV L A° ©* ' TVT* A OUR LORD'S GREAT PROPHECY, AND ITS PARALLELS THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE, HARMONIZED AND EXPOUNDED: COMPRISING A gdroto jtf % Cotjot figratito %\mm xrf |nta:ptoi0tu WITH A PARTICULAR EXAMINATION OF THE PRINCIPAL PASSAGES RELATING TO THE SECOND COMING OP CHRIST, THE END OF THE WORLD, THE NEW CREATION, THE MILLENNIUM, THE RESURRECTION, THE JUDG- MENT, THE CONVERSION AND RESTORATION OF THE JEWS, AND A SYNOPSIS OF JOSEPHUS' HISTORY OP THE JEWISH WAR. y& BY REV. D: D. BUCK. w AUTHOB OF "THB OHBI& TO iS *tt « "'A DIVINB FAMILY," RKJ. NEW YOtarStfTOBmtN : MILLER, ORTON & MULLIGAN, Now York : 25 Park Row— Auburn: 107 Geuesee-st. 1856. erf Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six by D. D. BUCK, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of New- York. The Lij washington PREFACE. To the Reader: From the title page you will learn something respecting the nature and importance of the subjects discussed in this Treatise. The author cannot rationally hope to prevail with all his readers to adopt his views and methods of expounding portions of Scripture, which have been the subject of so much disputation and perplexity. He does hope, however, to awa- ken additional interest in the important subjects brought un- der notice, and to excite increased attention to those prophecies whose fulfillment must greatly affect the destiny of the whole world. Be apprised, Reader, before you proceed further, of one trait in the character of this work : you will find that the au- thor does not attempt to explain mysteries, or to defend dispu- ted positions, by merely advancing his own opinions. He will, in every important instance, cite you to the law and to the testimony. You will meet with some disclosures that are sufficiently startling, and with some arguments and illustra- tions which are entirely new. And you will perceive that the whole matter has been treated with originality and indepen- dency. There is but little borrowed from other writers ; but what there is, is duly credited. The earnest, prayerful effort of the author has been to be right — exactly right — in all IV PREFACE. matters pertaining to the great subject in hand, so far as God has deemed it wise to reveal the truth to men. The author has all along proceeded upon the supposition, that God designed the Holy Scriptures for the benefit of mankind ; and that, for this reason, they may be understood. Of the origin of this work, something, perhaps, should be known. The peculiar features of the Harmony, and the gov- erning principle and arguments of the Exposition, are not new to the author : they are the result of several years' re- search and reflection. Indeed, it has been the principal sub- ject of inquiry and investigation for several years. f The preparation of the work for the press, however, has been hurried : too much hurried, probably, for the author's personal good, or for the popularity of his publication. It has all been written within the last twelve months. And the labor of composing has been continually interrupted — some- times for several weeks together — by much personal illness, by almost continual family affliction, by unusually heavy pas- toral labors, by a number of calls for extra lectures and ad- dresses, at home, and in other places ; not to mention the perplexities and delays occasioned by a change of residence, and the necessary additions to ordinary ministerial labor, in closing up the affairs of one charge and beginning those of another. A large proportion of the work has been composed while the majority, perhaps, of its readers were quietly slumbering. With these facts before him, the candid, and especially the Christian, reader will not fail to make some allowance for such errors and imperfections as must, in the nature of things, more or less mar the productions of human wisdom. Let the critic remember that the golden rule applies to " all things whatso- ever ;" and, consequently, it must apply to criticism. PREFACE. V Finally, Header, if you would derive most advantage from the perusal of this work, be earnestly advised, (1.) To read the whole work through, in the order in which it is composed ; for you will find that all the parts sustain a close relation, and in some cases, the connection is very important. (2.) En- deavor to understand the author's position and meaning in every place. (3.) Be sure to read the Notes, — especially those in the Appendix — in their appropriate connections. (4.) Do not, on any account, fail to examine the synopsis of Josephus' History of the Jewish War, when you come to the place where it is referred to. (5.) And certainly you ought to keep your Bible open before you, and refer to it as often as a complete comprehension of the quotations and references may require ; never forgetting that, after all, it is not what man may say, but what God has said, that will prove decisive in human controversy. (6.) Need it be said to Christians — in reference to such important subjects — examine carefully, pa- tiently, prayerfully ; desiring and seeking to be divinely en- lightened ? CONTENTS. PART I. THE HARMONY CHAPTER I. Principal subject — The Harmony. Differs from others — When first designed — How originated — Effect of Trans- positions — xvii. chap, of Luke — Relation of the several Records to each other — Matthew's record adopted as the principal one — Reasons — Why neither of the Evangelists was inspired to preserve the whole Discourse — "Wise Design — Testimony — How applied to Prophecy — Perfection m Imperfection — Design of Mystery — Relation of Parts to the "Whole — Illustrations, Page 31 CHAPTER II. Principal subject — The Transposition op Luke xvn. 31-33. A principal difficulty in expounding the Lord's prophetic Discourse — Two classes of Interpreters — Perplexity of the Orthodox Divines — Fanciful Ex- positions — How to detect the Transposition — "Which record should be cor- rected — Are Luke xvii. and Matt. xxiv. parallel? — "Which record is most complete — The Saviour's method of Teaching — "When the Apostles were inspired — Character of the first References to the subjects of the great Prophetic Discourse — Other Transpositions — The Question at issue, . . 39 CHAPTER III. Principal subject — The Interrogations. State of the case — How Christ began his Discourse — How many things were comprised in the Questions proposed — What is indicated by the different forms in which the Inquiries are preserved — Impressions of the Disciples — Why three events were blended in their Inquiries — How they obtained their impressions — What probably occasioned the Difference in recording Till CONTENTS. the Inquiries — Importance of considering this — Cause of Indefiniteness of many Expositions of this Discourse — The true method of Reasoning — Illustrations, 45 CHAPTER IV. Principal subject — Preliminary Considerations relating to the Exposition. "When the Disciples were fully Inspired — Their liability to mistakes, pre- viously to their Inspiration — Examples — Principal Design of Christ's final Discourses — A principal Error of the Disciples — Jewish understanding of the Prophecies — Examples — Facts to be considered — Leading Themes of the first Gospel Preachers — The Kingdom — The Judgment — The End of the world — Impression of the two sons of Zebedee — "When the Kingdom of Messiah was expected to begin — Origin of that Expectation — Christ's Object in giving the Discourse forming the subject of this Treatise — State of the case summarily exhibited — Why Christ did not previously correct the Errors of his Disciples — Divine method of Instruction, 52 CHAPTER V. Principal subject — Theory of Exposition. Benefits of a Theory — Illustrations from Ancient Philosophy — Great names — Preparatory advisements — Character of the Theory of Exegesis — How to obtain a correct Theory — The case stated — What the Saviour design- ed — Illustrative Parable — Radical Mistake — How occasioned — Principal elements of the true Theory — Difficulties — What is attempted — General bearing of the Exposition — Origin of Universalism — Universalist and Orthodox Exegesis compared — Test of Truth and Error, 63 PART II. THE EXPOSITION CHAPTER I. Principal subject — Destruction of the Temple. Why Christ's attention was directed to the Temple — General form and extent of the Temple — Why Herod's was called the Second Temple — Stones in the wall — Adornments — Why called Gifts — Improbability of the pre- diction — The Romans trying to save the Temple — How the destruction began — Two days' Conflagration — Council Debate — The Ptomans in the CONTENTS. IX Inner Court — Storming the Temple — The Holy of Holies on fire — Des- peration of the Jews — Astonishment of the Romans — Progress of the flames — Titus in the Holy of Holies — Last effort to save the building — How the Prediction was finally fulfilled, 69 CHAPTER II. Principal subject — Calamities of the Jews previously to the Siege of Jerusalem. Supposition of the disciples concerning the Coming of Christ, and of the End of the World — Design of our Lord's Discourse — Caution against Deceivers — Source of danger — Impostors claiming to be the Christ that was cruci- fied — Plausibility of their pretensions — Wars and Rumors of Wars — Pro- gress in the commotions — Character of Christ's Predictions — Famines and Pestilences — Earthquakes — Singular Comments — Objections — Criticisms — Literal and figurative Language — Earthquakes in divers places — Signs in the heavens — Fearful sights on the earth — Indications — An Army in the clouds — The Supernatural Voice — The wonderful Warning — Some- thing still worse — Affecting Illustration, 78 CHAPTER III. Principal subject — Sufferings of Christians previously to the Siege of Jerusalem. Correction of the Record — Illustrations — Beginning of the Persecution — Progress — Saul of Tarsus — Different forms of Jewish persecution — Per- secution by others — Chronological accuracy of the Prophecy — Persecution overruled for good — Why the Jews persecuted — Why the Heathen — Pe- ter before the Sanhedrim — Stephen — Paul before the Rulers — God's design in permitting Persecution — Good result of the Appeal to Caesar — Comfort in suffering — Why forbidden to premeditate — Perversion of a text — When we may, and when we may not, premeditate — What is meant by Taking no thought — Nature of Apostolic Inspiration — What is meant by giving them a Mouth and Wisdom — Examples — Curious way to resist Logic — An Orator in Chains — Beginning of Apostacy in the Church — Treachery — Progress of Apostacy — Terrible Result — Pattern Age of the Church — The World and the Church at variance — What is meant by not a Hair of the head perishing — How to possess our souls in Patience, . 95 CHAPTER IV. Principal subject — Corruption and Declension of the Church. False Prophets — Two classes of them — Influence upon the Church — Conso- lation and Warning — What preserves the Church — Difficult Text — X CONTENTS. Strange Salvation — Curious Comment — The Truth finally discovered — A true Exposition — Import of the term "World — Examples — How extensi vely the Gospel was Preached in the Apostolic Age — Meaning of The End — Erroneous Impression — Explanation — Design of the Prophecy — Anew Explanation — When, and How, the Jewish Dispensation was consumma- ted — The Beginning and the Ending — Objects of that Dispensation — Its effect upon common Providence — Error of the Jews — How corrected by Christ — Objection — Answer, 115 CHAPTER V. Principal subject — Flight of the Christians. Progressive order of the Prophecy — What is indicated by the Inquiries which led to the Prophecy — When did the Christians flee from Jerusalem? — Difficulty in determining — Strange blunders in quoting History — What was the Signal for beginning the Flight — Abortive efforts to determine — The Source of Information — Probable time of the Flight — Three Consid- erations — Interesting Parenthesis — Further Information concerning the Flight — Two Aspects of the Signal — Wisdom of Christ's Admonition — Benefit to Christians of all countries — Description of the Flight — Regu- lations of the Flight — How the Families were preserved — Our Lord's Proph- ecy partly a Compilation — Why those days were called Days of Vengeance — How long they were to continue — An important consideration — Con- dition of Women with young Children — Time of the Year when the Flight occurred — Why not on the Sabbath — Numbers Destroyed and taken Cap- tive during the War — The Elect for whose sake those days were short- ened, 130 CHAPTER VI. Principal subjects — False Christs and False Prophets. Renewed appearance of Impostors -r- Why so successful — Two-fold Caution — Simon Magus — Menander, his Successor — Claims to be Jesus Christ — Character of the Signs and Wonders wrought by the Impostors — Why the Jews, who were imposed upon by false Miracles, did not credit the true — • Illustration from modern Infidelity — Modern Wonder-workers — Deceiving the Elect — Import of the phrase, "If it be possible" — Facts in the case — Origin and Names of the principal Heresies during the Primitive Times — Origin of the False Christs and False Prophets — Two ways in which they appeared — Why Christ was expected in " the Secret Chambers" — Use of Josephus' History , 155 CHAPTER VII Principal subjects — The Coming- of Christ, and the History of Jerusalem since the Eoman War. Does the 27th verse refer to the Romans ? — Opinions of eminent Divines — The Issue announced — How the question is to be settled — The Passage CONTENTS. XI examined — Its designed use — Things to be considered — The single bear- ing of the Illustration — The Carcass and the Eagles — Two Applications — How one could be taken and another left — An important Emendation of Matthew's Record — Position of the passage from Luke — Destruction and Dispersion of the Jews — Different from previous Dispersions — Jerusalem in the possession of the Gentiles — Import of the expression, "Trodden down of the Gentiles" — The city in the times of Constantine — Julian the Apostate — His attempt to defeat the fulfillment of the Prophecy — Result — How the city is to be in the possession of the Gentiles — Import of the expression, "Times of the Gentiles," 165 CHAPTER VIII. Principal Subject — Darkening the Sun, &c. Various In- terpretations Reviewed. The Figurative Theory not very Ancient — Influence of a Mistake — Nature of the Argument — Plan of the Argument — Two Branches of the Figura- tive Theory — The Difference — Double Sense Theory — Robinson's — Ar- guments used in sustaining the Figurative Theories — Examination and Refutation — Review of "Whitby — What led him into his Peculiar Views — Difficulties of Error — Whitby against Grotius and Whiston — Newton's Theory — The Argument on " Immediately after the Tribulation of those days," reviewed — Josephus — Facts — Appeal to Logic — Conclusion — The Argument relating to the Figurative Language of the Old Testament considered — The Prophecy of Joel — The Question Settled — An Exegeti- cal Curiosity — Peter's Reference to the Prophecy of Joel — How did he understand it? — Other specimens from the Old Testament — An important Fact in the case — Origin and Proprieties of Metaphorical Language, . 189 CHAPTER IX. Principal subject — Darkening of the Luminaries, and the attending circumstances. Preliminaries — Plan of the Argument — "The Tribulation of those days" — The days defined — Important Consideration — An Omitted Verse — How long the Time is to last — Conclusion of this branch of the Argument- Darkening the Luminaries — An Error of the Literalists — Nature of Meta- phorical Language — Where is the Original ? — How the Scriptures speak to men — Important Distinction — The Prophecy of Joel and of Christ compared — The specific Time and Circumstances of Darkening the Lumina- ries — Parallel Predictions — Parallelism of Times and Events — Gog and Magosr — Objection, that St. John describes the great Battle as taking place after the Millenium — John and Ezekiel Harmonized — Different Ex- positions compared 230 XII CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. Principal subject — The Coming of Christ. Examination of SEVERAL RELEVANT SUBJECTS. How the Subject is Introduced — Erroneous Interpretations — Two Forms of the Interpretation — "Whitby's — Newton's — The first Reviewed — Logic ver- sus History — The second Reviewed — Injurious Tendencies — Animadver- sions — Objection founded on Scripture Precedents — Great Mistake — Impor- tant Difference — Old Testament Metaphors — Objection founded on Christ's Declaration to the High Priests, Matt. xxvi. 64 — Objection founded on Christ's remark concerning John, ch. xxi. 22 — How difficult to defend Er- ror — Objection founded on Christ's Declaration that some should not die till they had seen him coming in his kingdom, Matt. xvi. 27 — True Inter- pretation — Dissimilarity between that Passage and the one under comment — How David Typified Christ — Two Kingdoms, or the same in two different Dispensations, 249 CHAPTER XI. Principal subject — The Coming of Christ. Review of the Figurative Theory. Remarkable Exposition — Its Objectionable Character — Defectiveness, even if the Text be Figurative — Common Rules of Interpretation Reversed — No Parallel Texts, with one exception, in the Old Testament — The Point to be proved — No Historic Proof of the Figurative Theory — Inconsistent with Christ's Mediatorial Offices — A Word for Universal] sts — Character of the Mediatorial Dispensation — Fatal Results — Self-contradiction — Va- riance with the "Words of Christ — Ingenious Evasion — Singular Logic — Embarrassment of Commentators — How Occasioned — Dr. Tower's Opinion — Dr. Campbell's — Dr. Mede's — Tense of the Saviour's words, 271 CHAPTER XII. Principal subject — Judgment Advent of Christ. The true Exposition. Order of Events — Sign of the Son of Man — Distinguished from Christ him- self — "Where it will appear — Its Kature — Difference between a Sign and a "Wonder — The Sign the occasion of universal Mourning — The Reason — Effect upon the Jews — A day of salvation to them — The Reason — A Scene of mourning among the Jews — Occasion and Result — Literal Com- ing of Christ — Scoffers, and their Excuse — Believers, and their Danger — The Personal Coming Proved — Source of the knowledge of the Thessalo- nians — Design of the Parables in connection with the Prophecy — Christ's application of the Parables — The Judgment at his Coming — Extent of Time embraced in the Prophecy — Conclusion of the Prophecy, 291 CONTENTS. Xlll CHAPTER XIII. Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. Review of vari- ous Expositions. Applied by some to the Escape of Christians from Judea — Objection founded on the Chronology of the Events — Objection from its being unwarranted by the Language of the Text — Also from its conflict with Christ's own Declaration — Difference between the Comment objected to and the Words of Christ — Encouragement of Sceptics — The passage applied to the Call of the Gentiles — Keview — Misapplication of Texts — Erroneous Impres- sion — The Issue taken — Limitation of the Gospel to the Jews — When the Gentiles were called — How extensively the Gospel prevailed previously to the Fall of Jerusalem — St. Paul's Testimony — Eusebius' — Mosheim's — > Surprising Statement — When the Gospel Kingdom began — Result of the Fall of Jerusalem — State of the Church subsequently — Professor Stuart's Opinions — His method and spirit of treating the passage — Is it a literal Trumpet? — Extremities of the Heavens — Whence are the Elect to be gathered? — Difference between Accuracy and Literality — God's Trum- pet — Can the Dead hear ? — Illustrations, 306 CHAPTER XIV. Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. The True Exposition — A Universal Gathering — Who are the Elect? — Ap- plied to believing Gentiles — Scripture Proofs — Election of the Gentiles — To what Privileges — For what Reason — Applied to the Israelites — Scrip- ture Proofs — Reason of their Election — Chosen as a People — By an ever- lasting Covenant — They should be preserved Forever — St. Paul's View — Two great Divisions of the Elect — Relation of the two — Relation of the two-fold Gathering — How the dead will be Gathered — Design of the Res- urrection — Hope of the ancient Saints — Who will be raised at the first Resurrection — The Elect in two Conditions — God's purpose to gather them all — When — Where — Why — How — Views of the Apostolical Church — Gathering of those who will be alive at the coming of the Lord — The final Assembly — Examples of Gathering of the Elect — Design of the Transfig- uration on the Mount, 320 CHAPTER XV. Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. 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Luke xrii. :a ? *fl "fl "R H 'A -R R "« ui© « © -|j © ©. » (28) o &S| ill* § a * a s « a H cfl ** cj BO 00 C3 c3 U H <*-t fe cp ^ *s «> a «^ S-P © P m^ "Ml £ S « .2 « ^ S« O X * O ,£3 tf'O « ** _rj |— ( 3p n "5 bS °£ n 2 > V « * «? ... _T cp bD bD . ^^ P.P bC & o g 5»s ~ 5 ► ^3^ p.n ap^ ^ O ™ © 5 O) £r-H ° g s j,: * §» -*r ® 2> _, a -S So «fl r.sa * j* 5 P 03^3 «s -.12 * 9 p'~ o* 00 cj c3 fe 'g&g'S.S'g s§a ,H 03 rj .-I ► te^J © 243^^3 t 3 ^ 2 t+* c3 _ <-* C3 CO ^H ^3 <» •S o ^ O 3 Sep ej fH r< « fl T3 'co^S 03 1 .9 -'S k>° « ^^ cpnd O Hop" g d p. 2 C3 cp p o be' &^^^ 03 ^ u« '^."S'? be' ^3 °1^ (> to .S i — ipi*i ° s aa 5Soh1 P^T . oo ^ be te CS+3 W p 5 * 9 9 •fl o CD »-4 ■ ■k o # r-H «o o> o id rl ► 5P „J : R:S i *a •p o s op •a S ♦3« t-» m c4 (29) HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. PAET FIRST. CHAPTER I. Principal subject — The Habmony. Differs from others — When first designed — How originated — Effect of Trans- positions — xvii. chap, of Luke — Relation of the different Records to each other — Matthew's record adopted as the principal one — Reasons — Why neither of the Evangelists was inspired to preserve the whole of the Lord's Discourse — Wise Design — Testimony — How applied to Prophecy — Per- fection in Imperfection — Design of Mystery — Relation of Parts to the Whole — Illustrations. 1. It will be perceived at once that the Harmony herewith submitted is arranged after a new method. Several have been examined, and from some of them important suggestions have been derived ; but in this arrangement no one has been followed. Indeed, the author has found no one to follow.* In a few instances the author's convictions have led him to differ from the usual arrangement of verses, as found in the various Harmonies which he has examined. 2. The author takes pleasure in acknowledging himself indebted for several valuable thoughts, to an article in the Methodist Quarterly Keview for July, 1842, on the Coming of Christ Even so long ago as the great agitation on the subject of the Second Advent, in 1842 and '43, the author had in contemplation the publication of a Treatise on the xxiv. chap- *See Note A in the Appendix. 32 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. ter of Matthew ; and did, in fact, several years since, give several expository lectures, which embodied the principal ele- ments of this Harmony and Exposition. 3. The design which led to the formation of this Harmony, made it desirable that all which was spoken by our Lord in the discourse under notice, should be constantly and connect- edly before the eye. The paragraph and verse Harmonies in common use are a great assistance in this respect ; but still the reader is under the necessity of forming in his own mind a Harmony, having more particular reference to the collocation of the sentences and words of the discourse. 4. From this necessity of a mental Harmony, to supply the common deficiency of the written, the idea was suggested of writing out in full what must of necessity exist in the mind, in order to be rigidly systematic in the examination of the prophecy. It is certain that neither of the three evangelists has preserved all that the Saviour uttered ; for we find in each some things which are omitted by the others. And it is also certain that whatever we find in any of the three, as a part of the discourse, must have been spoken on that occa- sion ; otherwise, the record would not be authentic. 5. Now, whatever was spoken, must have been said in some definite order. Some things were referred to before some other things ; as, for example, the coming of the false Christs before the coming of the true Christ. And it is obvi- ously of great importance to ascertain, as nearly as possible, the exact order in which the various items of the discourse succeeded one another in the original delivery. But this cannot be done by merely arranging oppositely the different verses and paragraphs, as they are found in the several records. It is necessary to have a natural collocation of all the sentences and words ; for this will give us the con- secutive ideas that constitute the discourse. Nothing short of this will perfectly answer the purpose in a critical analysis of the composition. 6. This is attempted in this newly arranged Harmony. But with how much success, the reader who has critically investigated the subject, is best qualified to decide. The HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 33 position of every sentence, and of every word, has been sub- jected to a thorough examination. In some places the author was in doubt concerning the proper place of a verse, or sen- tence. But in no instance did this occur in what may be termed the more important portions of the prophecy. The Harmony of Muenscher has been of much real service in transcribing the sacred text ; though it has not been in all cases adopted in the arrangement of either the sentences or verses. 7. Notwithstanding the fact, that the Harmony herewith presented to the reader, has brought together into one con- tinuous narrative all that is recorded in the three inspired sketches of our Lord's discourse, yet, as it may be perceived, the arrangement of the sentences does not sensibly disarrange the regular succession of thought. And this collocation of all the sentences in the several records, has been made without any respect to the literary character of the composition, as amended ; the only guiding inquiry was respecting the place where each properly belongs. Yet how unbroken and regular the succession of thought ! The transitions in the amended composition are usually even less abrupt than in the individual records. In some cases even greater perspicuity and force are given to the preceding and succeeding verses, by the introduction of omitted sentences or verses. See this exemplified in the effect produced by placing the 22d verse of Luke between the 18th and 19th verses of Matthew. And there, undenia- bly, is the proper position of that verse. See, also, what a difference it sometimes makes in the definiteness of the sentiment, by the transfer of a single ex- pression, as in the 33d verse of Matthew. 8. As the xvii. chapter of Luke also contains something on the same subject, it was considered advisable to give particu- lar prominency to the references to that chapter. By noticing the frequent transpositions of the verses of that chapter, as they are arranged in harmony with the more extended discourse, it will be observed that the succession of thought differs essentially from the order in the discourse in 3 34 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. Matthew ; and in several other particulars it is quite dissimi- lar to the one forming the subject of this Treatise. It ought not, therefore, to guide us in deciding the consecu- tive relations of the sentences in the more full and perfect record. One Of the transpositions is so very important, and has so greatly embarrassed the usual exposition of the prophecy in Matthew, that it has been deemed' expedient to consider the matter in a chapter by itself. 9. It will be perceived that the record of Matthew has been selected, in the effort to preserve the original order of the discourse. The principal reasons for this, are, (1.) Because the Holy Ghost seems to have designed the record of Matthew for the principal history of this remarkable prophecy. The other histories appear to be, to some extent, supple- mentary, and designed to preserve what was omitted by the first. But, in order to be perspicuous, it was necessary for the supplementary writers to give a sufficiency of the original discourse to show where their emendations belong, and thus fill out to completion the original record. 10. On a careful examination of the three records, it will not usually be difficult to know just where to put the sup- plemental portions ; for Divine "Wisdom has so directed, that throughout each of the records, there are enough of the prominent points of general agreement to guide us in forming all the points of the discourse into a complete whole. (2.) A second reason for adopting the sketch of Matthew as the governing record, is, because it is not only more full and perfect, but it is also connected with a succeeding chapter which is omitted by both the others. Perhaps the principal reason why the other evangelists were not moved to preserve the important parables, and the description of the judgment scene, which are found in the xxv. chapter of Matthew, was, because the first historian was inspired to make so perfect a record, that supplementary additions were unnecessary. 11. If it should be inquired, why the Holy Spirit should move the first historian to keep such a perfect record of the illustrative parables and judgment scene, as to render sup- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 35 plemental emendations unnecessary, while, in the more important portions of the prophecy, the first record is so incomplete as to need additions ? The answer would be this : It has pleased God to proceed in the matter on the usual plan of giving testimony, both in the publication and preservation of important facts. But in using testimony to convince the world, it was deemed important to have more than one witness, that " in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word might be established." The same wisdom that guides the best human governments in matters of testimony, would have chosen this very method of communicating divine truth, if it had com- prehended the things which are divine as the things which pertain to this world. Inspiration has not erred in conforming the method of reve- lation to the established judicial usages of the wisest govern- ments. 12. But if the primary witness had been led to give a full, regular, and perfect narration of the matter, the other wit- nesses would have had either nothing to testify, or else woultf have been compelled to testify to precisely the same thing* as the other ; and which, in reporting a discourse, must havi required the exact preservation of the language and order. In the former case, this would have been a virtual exclusion of all additional testimony ; in the latter, it would have too much the appearance of collusion. 13. It is not a new idea, that, in important matters of fact and prophecy, the Holy Spirit has purposely shut out every appearance, and every rational suspicion, of collusion. The witnesses of both fact and prophecy are usually independent of each other. They agree in the principal points of their testimony ; and they do not disagree anywhere. The omis« sions of one, and the additions of another, when all are framed together, form a beautiful and perfectly harmonious testimony. 14. And, notwithstanding the objections and cavils of Infi- delity, the truths of the Bible are without doubt far better established by this kind of testimony, than they could be by any other. 36 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. Had all the inspired witnesses left their testimony as if they had copied verbatim from some original document, the same Infidelity that now cavils at the apparent disagreements, omissions, and additions, would then undoubtedly be just as ready to cavil at the appearance of collusion ; and would probably make the verbatim of the witnesses a stronger objec- tion, than the present verbal difference with substantial agreement. 15. These observations may not appear to be as applicable to matters of prophecy, as to matters of history ; for, some may say, the prophecy is its own witness ; its fulfillment proves its truth. True, indeed ; but is it of no consequence to know when, where, and by whom, the prediction was uttered? Should not the prophet be identified with his own prophecy, so as to establish completely his inspiration ? So as effectu- ally to guard against the possible appropriation of a wonderful prediction for the countenance and propagation of a subse- quent imposture ? But how can the identity of a prophet be preserved in inseparable connection with his own predictions, if his words are not preserved ? And is not the preservation of words, and times, and circumstances, and personalities, a proper subject of testimony ? 16. The predictions which form the subject of this Exposi- tion, are of too much consequence, in the great and growing controversy between truth and error, to be left for the testi- mony of a single witness. And Inspiration was too wise to move the first and principal witness to give a testimony that should, in effect, exclude all others. Hence, in the nature of the case, we should expect to find the first record imperfect in itself, but perfect as apart. This is the general nature of the prophecies and histories that relate to the important facts in the Saviour's life, death, and resurrection. And it is a superficial view of things which leads any one to wish it were otherwise. The solution of some problems is altogether more interesting when wrought out, than when merely stated. Yet we always need some primary and self-evident principles to begin with. 17. So, to some extent, it is with some of the great facts, HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 37 and doctrines, and prophecies which are found in the Bible. God was too conversant with man's nature and necessities, and too regardful of his well-being, to give to him a revela- tion, which had nothing about it to call into exercise, and strengthen, and happify those strong, vigorous minds, whose health, and enjoyment, and usefulness are inseparably con- nected with the investigation and mastery of deep, and broad, and elevating subjects. It formed a part of the original design, that mind should be arrested, exercised, expanded, elevated, purified, and happified by subjects that lead directly heavenward, and not be doomed to the everlasting drudgery of the research, discovery, and demonstration of compara- tively unimportant matters. 18. And where shall we look for such themes as we have judged to be designed for man's welfare ? Shall we look for them in connection with the less important, and less interest- ing matters which form the primary and self-evident principles in theology? Or shall we turn to the great and thrilling subjects which have about them a sufficiency of interest to attract and rivet the universal attention ? — which, on this very account, may be selected as the only appropriate themes to be held in connection with the great and sometimes mys- terious problems that shall exercise the restless, ambitious, and growing mind. To such we will turn. And we will not be disappointed in our anticipations of some solutions to be wrought out, by patience and labor, in such a thrilling subject as the final destiny of the world. 19. Not to be diverted, however, from the former illustra- tion, — it may be observed, that the precise form in which we £nd the records of the great prophecy in question, may prove to be, after all, the very form which is best adapted to secure and exercise the world's attention. The design of the Infi- nite Wisdom which moved the evangelists thus to record their testimony, was doubtlessly as good and considerate, as the same Wisdom which, in other things, shows itself by creating component parts imperfect, in themselves considered, but perfect, when considered as parts. And is it not sufficiently 38 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. evident, that, with finite things, the highest perfection is relative ? 20. If there are embarrassments and difficulties connected with the kind of testimony which we have supposed in the case before us, nevertheless, it must be endured, for the nature of the case admits of nothing better. And there is reason to believe that the disadvantages of such a case are, after all, less than would result from any other system. If this be so, we should no more complain of the embar- rassments that may result, than of the system of creating human beings, merely because the foot, or the hand, as apart, has not all the attributes and excellences of the body itself, which is the union of all the individual parts. 21. The imperfection of the individual records of our Sa- viour's (Jiscourse, is such as the perfection of the design rendered expedient and necessary. It was — so to speak — as the imperfection of a hand, considered merely of itself, and not as a part of something else. It is imperfect, in this specific sense, that it has not eyes, ears, and the other mem- bers and faculties of the body which it helps to form. But, considered as a part, and in respect to its relations, it is as perfect as the body to which it belongs. 22. Let us not, then, view with regret and suspicion the (in this sense) imperfect records which have preserved for us the wonderful discourse which we are about to review. Let not short-sighted, caviling Infidelity rob us of our joy and boast in believing that " all Scripture is given by inspiration of God ; " and that even the fragmentary records of some parts, and the supplementary records of others, are just as they should be : " Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good unto thee." But we must gather up these fragments, that nothing be lost. This the Harmony professes to do ; and, still further, professes to restore the various parts according to their original order. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 39 CHAPTER II. Principal subject — Transposition of Luke xvn. 31-33. V principal difficulty in interpreting the Prophecy — Two classes of Inter preters — Perplexity of Orthodox Expositors — Fanciful Expositions — How to detect the Transposition — Which record should be corrected — Are Luke xvii. and Matt. xxiv. parallel ? — "Which record is most complete — Christ's method of Teaching — When the Apostles were inspired — Character of the First References to the subjects of the great Prophetic Discourse — Other Transpositions — The Question at issue. 1. The principal difficulty in harmonizing and applying the different sketches of our Lord's discourse arises from this single fact : In Matthew's record, the admonition to those up- on the house-top, directing them not to come down to take anything out of the house, appears to belong to the period of the Roman invasion. But in Luke xvii. the same admonition appears to belong to the period that we usually apply to the coming of Christ. Now, when we apply any portion of the prophecy to the coming of Christ, the objector is ready to meet us with the remark, that in the account given by Luke, where he is speaking of the coming of Christ, he uses the identi- cal admonition that, in another place, we apply to the period of the Roman war. Therefore it is concluded by some that the coming of Christ spoken of in the prophecy, was not a lit- eral, personal coming, but a figurative, or judicial coming, by the instrumentality of the Romans. Those who adopt this conclusion are divided into two wide- ly different classes : (1.) Those who deny the doctrine of a sec- ond personal advent of Christ, as it is held by the orthodox churches : and, (2.) Those who believe that the Bible teaches such a doctrine in other places, but understand the language in this prophecy as being figurative. 2. Those of the class first mentioned have this in their fa- vor : that the allusions to the coming of Christ in this dis- course are apparently as plain and literal as in any other part 40 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. of the Bible. And if these are admitted to be metaphorical, it is with much plausibility that those who deny the doctrine of the second coming to judgment, insist upon a figurative interpretation of the other passages. And, besides, the ortho- dox divine has to admit that some of our Saviour's admoni- tions, which in Luke xvii. are given in connection with allu- sions to the second coming, are, in the other places, given undeniably in connection with matters pertaining to the Roman war. Here the opponents of the orthodox claim to find proof of the figurativeness of the coming spoken of, and of its being in some way connected with the judgments that are already past. And, if in this place, why not elsewhere ? 3. And this has likewise greatly perplexed our divines, when they have undertaken to point out and separate the por- tions that belong to the two very different periods. They have been in doubt to which of the events to apply the ad- monitions to those on the house-top, as found in the xvii. of Luke. If they apply that portion to the second advent, as the connection would seem to warrant ; then what shall be done with the same words, where they as evidently belong to the period of the war ? If they apply them to the Roman war, then how dispose of the passages that we claim to relate to the literal coming ? Here the orthodox divines have found themselves greatly em- barrassed. And their opponents have not been either slow to perceive it, or reluctant to improve it. 4. Here lies the principal difficulty in giving a consecutive, systematic, and satisfactory interpretation of this wonderful discourse. All the rest is comparatively easy. But while this difficul- ty remains, the orthodox expounders will continue to bewilder and confound their readers, by the unsatisfying theories of double prophecy, of typical events, or of allegorical imagery. And so long as this difficulty is allowed to modify or govern our expositions of the general subject, so long will the ortho- dox contribute to strengthen the hands of his opponent by those idle fancies, and groundless assertions, which have be- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 41 come stereotyped as expositions of such verses as describe the coming of the Lord, and the darkening and falling of the luminaries of heaven. In the appropriate place in this Expo- sition, these stereotyped fancies will be properly attended to. And if they are not demonstrated to be fancies, then the au- thor of this Treatise will acknowledge his work to be an en- tire failure. The reader is premonished, however, that he will then meet with some surprising/tfcte / such facts as will contribute not a little to settle this whole matter of allegori- cal interpretation. 5. In the verses of the xvii. of Luke, of which we are now speaking, the two widely separated events are seemingly blended together. Did it never occur to you, reader, that those verses are not in their proper place in the discourse ? Turn, now, either to the parallel places in the Scriptures, or to the Harmony in this Treatise, and see for yourself that the verses are transposed from their relative position in the discourse. You perceive that the verses relating to those admonitions in question, in order to be opposed to the parallel verses in the other places, have to be taken out of their present con- nections in Luke xvii., and placed in advance of their present numerical order. And where do they appear, when placed oppositely to their parallels in the other records % It is easy to see : they appear just where they properly be- long : they are found in that portion of the discourse which all admit refers to the Roman war. It is obvious, then, that these verses, as they stand in Luke xvii., are transposed. Put them where the other records place them, and the principal hindrance to a consistent interpretation of our Lord's prophet- ic discourse is taken away. The importance of noticing this matter is sufficiently obvious. No theory, no interpretation, no general conclusion, can be deemed complete and reliable, if this remarkable circumstance is not duly considered. No good can result from overlooking it, or from treating it as a matter of little moment. 6. A question still remains : admitting the transposition of the verses in question, how shall the relative order of the ver- 4:2 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. ses in the discourse be determined ? Shall the other records be arranged to agree with the xvii. of Luke ? or shall the order of this chapter be made to harmonize with the others ? It is a plain question, and a question of some importance to the general subject. Our remaining observations in this chapter will bear upon this point. We have already been reminded that, of the several records of our Lord's prophetic discourse, no one is full and perfect in itself Even the most lengthy and complete account giv- en by Matthew omits several things of great importance, which are supplied by the others. And, in one case, (to be particularly noticed hereafter,) Matthew omitted one verse that throws a flood of light upon the obscurest portion of the predictions. Indeed, the verse supplied from Luke xxi. 24, may be regarded as the most important explanatory verse in the whole body of records. In the proper place it will be shown to be the connecting link between the most distant periods, joining together the beginning and the ending of the predicted events. What would have been the result, if this important verse had been omitted also by Luke ? It is needless to inquire : the ques- tion has been sufficiently answered by those who undertake to expound Matthew, without noticing, in its relative order, the verse supplied by Luke. The importance of this verse, and the consequence of overlooking, or misplacing it, will not now be exhibited, but reserved for the Exposition. 7. The principal difficulty in harmonizing and applying the different records of the prophetic discourse, it has been re- marked, is on account of the transposed verses in Luke xvii. It is now appropriate to ascertain what influence those ver- ses should have in deciding the relative order of the narration. And the first remark is this : Our Lord's discourse, as there recorded, was not delivered on the same occasion, nor in an- swer to the same inquiries, that we find originated the dis- course recorded in the other places. And although there is, to some extent, a general parallelism, we are not certain that either was designed to be a proper parallel of the other. We need not, therefore, feel ourselves obliged to restrain HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 43 the natural interpretation of the discourse about the temple, simply because, in some other discourse, a matter was intro- duced in a different relative order. But if we conclude that the two discourses were designed to be parallel, then we should notice that these transposed verses are found, as the record shows, in a very brief and broken narrative of what was said on the general subject ; and withmit any other ac- count of the same discourse, to fill up and elucidate that single, and evidently imperfect record — (imperfect, as explained in a previous chapter.) What other things our Saviour said on that occasion, — things (as in the other case) elucidating the nature and order of events, we are as ignorant as we must have remained in respect to many things in the temple discourse, if the subse- quent records had not gathered up and preserved them. 8. Can it be wise, then, that the order of the narration of that single and imperfect sketch should be made of so much greater importance than the fuller narration of the three-fold and perfected record ? Shall we change the whole order and design of the natural exposition of the elucidated and com- pleted record, simply because the same order of relation is not observed in another record ? Shall we correct the perfect by the imperfect 1 Shall the three-fold testimony be set aside for the single testimony % Shall what we know to be as com- plete as Inspiration designed it, be distorted in its natural or- der by what we have reason to believe is not as complete as it was designed % For the great discourse which is found in the three evan- gelists, was delivered subsequently to the othea: and, if it is on the same subject, it must have been designed as an improve- ment upon the other, as its very appearance proves. 9. This leads to another remark : Our Saviour was in the custom of presenting subjects to the minds of his disciples, that they might become themes of inquiry and meditation. He was also accustomed to give them information on various subjects, not all at once, in its fullness, but gradually, and from time to time, as he judged them able to receive it, until they had obtained a full understanding of the matter. 4A HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. We should constantly remember that the disciples were not fully inspired from the first ; but were slow of apprehension, liable to mistake, and even fell into errors and misconceptions about the very matters on which Christ had been speaking. 10. This state of things continued, with some improvement, until they were finally and fully inspired to act in the Saviour's place. When Christ saw fit to introduce an important sub- ject, he sometimes designedly left his communications unfin- ished, that he might resume and complete them at a more convenient or appropriate time. Thus in regard to his departure from them, his crucifixion, the gift of the Spirit, &c. Now, would it not have been exceedingly unwise for the disciples to use those first, unfinished instructions as the crite- rion by which to regulate the order, and decide the nature, of the more full and finished communications ? The case in hand is quite similar : Our Lord, designing to be more full and explicit at another time, introduced the sub- ject of Jewish calamities, and of his own judgment coming; but, at first, gave only such an amount of information as an- swered the purpose of awakening an interest, and preparing the way for complete and final instruction. 11. And it is, as the record itself shows, a matter of fact, that they did not, from that first discourse, understand either the precise nature, or the relative order, or the time, of the great events under our present notice. Hence the meaning of their inquiries on the subject, at a time subsequent to the first discourse ; and hence, also, the propriety of delivering the lengthy and particularizing discourse which is the subject of this Treatise. Now, to make the relative order of the last and finished discourse subject to the order of the sketch of the first dis- course, is to act without sufficient reason. But this we do, if we permit the order of the introductory discourse to overrule the order of the final one. We need not be trammeled, then, in our exposition of the xxiv. of Matthew, by any discrepancy of parallelism in the xviL of Luke. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 45 12. It may be observed, still further, that there are other transpositions in the relative order of the two discourses. For example, the allusion to the carcass and eagles. Take anoth- er instance in the three sketches of the same discourse : the 10th verse in Mark's account must be put between the 13th and 14th verses, in order to harmonize with the record of Matthew. And the 9th verse in Matthew has to be divided, and a part transferred to another place in the relative order, that it may be harmonized with the two records of Mark and Luke. Transpositions in the relative order of sentences, then, are not unusual. So that, in maintaining the present position, there is not an effort to prove a new and unheard-of thing. The labor is simply to show an additional instance of what is admitted to have more than once occurred in the same gen- eral connection ; and to settle the matter of precedency be- tween an unfinished and a finished lesson of instruction, as to which of the two should be used to amend the other. CHAPTER III. Principal subject — The Interrogations. State of the case — How Christ began his discourse — How many things were comprised in the Questions proposed — What is indicated by the different forms in which the Questions are recorded — Impressions of the Disciples — Why three events are blended in their Inquiries — How their impressions originated — What probably occasioned the Difference in the Records — Importance of considering this — Cause of Indefiniteness of many Exposi- tions — The true method of Reasoning — Illustrations. 1. Some importance should undoubtedly be attached to the interrogations which our Lord had in view when he delivered the discourse under review. The previous unfinished, and — in this sense — imperfect, instructions relative to the destiny of the Jews, and of the world, had resulted as was foreseen, and perhaps intended ; or, at least, wisely permitted. The 46 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. great subjects on which the Lord intended to speak more par- ticularly, at a more appropriate time, had, it appears, already- been matters of thought, and, probably, of conversation, among the disciples. They were ready now to press their inquiries, that they might the more clearly understand the matters on which they had thought, but which still seemed obscure and confused. Of the coming of the Son of man, of the destruction of Jerusalem, and' the end of the world, they had already heard something ; but in respect to the precise nature, and relative order of some of the events, they were yet in the dark. 2. The appropriate time had now come for Christ to give the complete lesson, which from the first he undoubtedly intended to teach. As they called his attention to the huge stones in the wall, and the magnificent appearance of the temple, he opened his wonderful prophetic discourse by the solemn declaration, that the time would come when there should not remain there one stone upon another. This appears to have been the substance of all that was said in respect to the matter, until they arrived at the summit of mount Olivet, and Christ had taken his seat over against the temple, where the whole city was distinctly exposed to his view. 3. Then Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him privately, and desired him to inform them when the things which he had predicted should take place. Here we should remember that we have no proof whatever, that anything had been said, at that time, about his coming, or of the end of the world. Yet the evidence is clear, that their inquiries had respect to three very different events : " Tell us when shall these things be?" That is, undoubtedly, the things relating to the destruction of the temple. " And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ? " These are the questions, as recorded by Matthew. The other two evangelists do not retain the triple form of the question, but appear to have recorded it as if all the events would transpire at the same time. " Tell us when shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled." There is here an appearance, which may be HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 47 regarded as an evidence, that the three events were supposed by the disciples to belong to the same period, and that the signs of one would also be the signs of the others. It is cer- tain, however, that the questions were propounded in the three-fold manner, and referring respectively to the three great events. To suppose otherwise, would be an impeach- ment of Matthew's testimony, charging upon him the fact of reporting, as said, something that was not said. This is a very different thing from simply omitting something, in order that another might strengthen the first record by confirmatory additions. 4. And it is possible, indeed, probable, that all the disciples were impressed, that the ruin of the temple., and the second coming would be at the end of the world. And although Matthew has preserved the triplicate form of the interrogato- ries, it is no evidence that he supposed the three events would be widely separated. From the fact, that the whole subject was evidently suggested, at this time, by the observations about the destruction of the temple, and from the evident mingling of the three great events in their inquiries, it is probably safe to conclude, that the disciples were impressed that the three great events would transpire in connection, or at periods not remote from each other. Whether the disciples had any definite conviction in relation to the length of time which should elapse previous to the ruin of the temple, and the other supposed synchronous events, is not certain. But there are reasons for concluding that they supposed all would transpire during the lifetime of some who were then living. The different subjects had been blended in their inquiries and meditations,- and, in some way, the whole matter seemed to them connected with the coming of the kingdom of God. Now, it is certain that Christ represented the kingdom of heaven as being " at hand," as coming " nigh" unto them, as " within," (or, more properly, among,) them, and as having indeed " come" unto them, just as certainly as that he cast out devils by the finger of God. He had also informed them, ithat as they fled from city to city from their persecutors, they 4:8 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. should " not have gone over the cities of Israel until the Son of man be come." If any doubt remained in their minds, in relation to the nearness of this great event, it was probably removed by that very distinct affirmation of Christ, that there were some then standiug with him which should not die, until they had seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom. 5. This passage is so remarkable, and probably had so much influence in forming the impression that all these great events were near ; — and it being still a great difficulty in the way of a clear understanding of the general subject; — it will be expedient to bring it distinctly before the mind, in order that we may perceive the effect it most probably had upon the disciples, who were from other sources also impressed that the end of all things was near. We will, after the plan of the Harmony, take the record of Matthew, and add what was supplied by the other evangelists, that all that is upon record may be presented at once to the mind. The places referred to are Matt. xvi. 27, 28, Mark viii. 38, and ix. 1, Luke ix. 26, 27. [ " Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashwmed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation / of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh [in his own glory,'] (and) in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels.'] For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels ; and then shall he reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some [of them that stand here] which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. [Till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power,] [Till they see the kingdom of God."] 6. Let it be remembered that it is not intended, just now, to explain this passage, and the others just referred to ; but simply to show what had been the subjects of thought and meditation among the disciples, and with what impressions they probably approached the Saviour, at the time they pro- posed the questions which are now under consideration After such observations from Christ, and after the conversa tions and reflections natural to inquisitive minds, how natural, when one of the supposed synchronous events was named, to HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 49 inquire, "Tell us, when shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ? " It must be evident, considering the circumstances of the case, that although three very different events were contem- plated in the inquiries, yet these events were considered as being likely to transpire at, or about the same time. And this conclusion appears to be still more probable, when it is considered, that ahaough the inquiries did actually have respect to three difT rent events, and by one of the historians they were so recorded ; yet the other historians, designedly recording the inquiries in the spirit in which they were made, and having more particular reference to the impression on the minds of the disciples, which prompted them to make the inquiries in that form ; — we say — this remarkable circum- stance must make it appear evident that the disciples were impressed that all would transpire at about the same time. 7. And here we have another of those beautiful instances in which one part of the Scripture, without any apparent design, elucidates and sustains the other. By this two-fold method of preserving these important questions, we have not only the precise form in which they were propounded, but the understanding and spirit by which they were suggested. We have not only the formal interrogatories to which Christ gave his attention, but the understanding and impression of the inquirers, which he undertook to correct, or to confirm. To these unexpected, and, to the careful reader, constantly occuring coincidences, the pious mind delights to turn. They are the " things new," and yet old, which Inspiration has hidden away down in the depths of divine wisdom, like pearls in deep waters, that the inquiring mind may be both excited and rewarded in its deep searchings after hidden wis- dom. They not only prove that the Scriptures were designed to be studied, but that they will endure study, and strengthen the belief that begins its examination with the things upon the surface. 8. Can any one fail to perceive the importance of having distinctly in view this two-fold method of preserving the inquiries under notice % Without a proper consideration of 4 50 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. this, can we distinctly show to what, and for what, onr Sa- viour spoke, at the time we are now considering ? Has there not been too much haste in approachiDg this tremendous subject? Has there not been too much leaping at conclu- sions, as the expression is ? Has there not been an evident overlooking, or lightly considering, the circumstances which prompted the inquiries to which the Saviour replied ? And has there not been, of consequence,- a proportional indefinite- ness in showing what object Christ had in view in giving this important discourse ? And may not this account for the un- deniable confusion and uncertainty which, to an unpleasant degree, characterize the many expositions of this portion of the divine oracles? 9. So far as common philosophy is concerned, we live in the Baconian age : we reason by induction. We first inquire, What are the facts f And by this we mean, all the facts accessible; all that bear wpon the case } however remotely. He who, by any means, adds a new fact to the knowledge of the day, is regarded as having conferred a favor upon the race. And this is especially true in all these important studies which affect human destiny, and are still somewhat obscured, and apparently conflicting. In erecting our theories upon ascer- tained facts, — which is the true method of reasoning, — we are thankful for what may seem at first to be little facts ; facts overlooked by the ordinary explorer. We sometimes find that one of these little truths — to use such a word — is in fact a great truth ; a truth that gives an entirely different aspect to important matters. It was, to the common thinker, an apparently trifling matter that the electric fluid was once drawn from the clouds by a kite string ; but it has changed the destiny of the world. So, in the philosophy of theology _, no ascertainable fact should be either overlooked, or treated as if it were of little or no importance. And this must be especially essential in those momentous biblical subjects which have undeniably perplexed so many of our divines. Is it not palpable that they have too frequently reasoned from hypothesis, instead of facts? And is it not true that the inductive method of reasoning has hardly yet found its way HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 51 to conspicuousness in our biblical expositions ? And is it not particularly true in the multitudinous, antagonistical, and unsatisfactory methods of expounding the portion of Scrip- ture which is now under notice ? In what treatise shall we find even the principal, and easily ascertained facts, that have a bearing upon this subject? Instead of inferring facts from theories, let us reverse the order, and derive theories from facts. 10. These extended remarks cannot be deemed out of place by that class of minds to which these pages are addressed. That kind of intellectuality is not in haste to plunge into the obscure depths of uncertainty. It pauses to examine every step of logical progress ; and would rather go two steps back- ward, to be doubly sure, than one forward, but half assured of its certainty. That kind of mentality likes to linger in the examination of foundation and explanatory truths, and gather within its eager grasp all the leading lines of certainty and probability that seem to converge to the distant, unseen point, toward which the ruling desire is perpetually tending. A little delay at the outset, to see what materials for further research we have gathered, and to take our bearings for another advance, is not deemed to be time thrown away ; but regarded, rather, as a new observation of the stars, that guide us, and a re-examination of the calculations that assure us, that we may proceed the more pleasantly, and the more safely. We have ventured too long upon these voyages of discovery without a chart to guide us. Or, if we have charts innumera- ble, they were at first so imperfectly constructed, and have been since so carelessly copied, that he who ventures to guide his explorations according to their indefinite and self-contra- dictory outlines, will be likely to veer away into the regions of doubt and darkness, or to dash headlong upon the reefs of skepticism and infidelity. If, in our progress, we find ourselves at a point beyond which we have no further light or pilotage, we shall cast our anchor and wait for day. Or, if we must proceed, we will feel our way along as carefully as possible, constantly sound- ing, as we advance, and leave our discoveries as a chart for the benefit of subsequent adventurers. 52 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. CHAPTER IV. Principal subject — Considerations preliminary to the Ex- position. "When the Apostles were fully Inspired — Previous liability to mistakes — Examples — Principal Design of Christ's final Discourses — A principal Er- ror of the Disciples — Jewish understanding of the Prophecies — Examples — Facts to be considered — Leading Themes of the first Gospel Preachers — The Kingdom — The Judgment — The End of the world — Impression of the two sons of Zebedee — "When Messiah's Kingdom was expected — Origin of that Expectation — Christ's Object in giving his prophetic Discourse — State of the case summarily exhibited — Why the Errors of the Disciples were not corrected before — Divine method of Instruction. 1. It is of great importance to recollect that the apostles were not fully inspired at the time when the Lord delivered his prophetic discourse. Their plenary inspiration appears to have been deferred until the great spiritual baptism at Pen- tecost, after the Lord's ascension. Until then, they seem to have been liable to mistake, like other men ; and were not judged to be fully qualified to assume the responsibility of governing and teaching the church. It was not without a reason that the Lord directed them to tarry at Jerusalem un- til they were endowed with power from on high. There were some things which they desired to know, but were not empow- ered to know, until that plenary baptism of the Holy Ghost. Our Lord was fully employed in unfolding to them the mys- tery of divine things, as they were able to bear it. During his continuance with them, after his resurrection, he continued to discourse with them of things pertaining to his kingdom. But even at the end of that forty days' especial instruction, they had not learned at what time the kingdom should be re- stored again to Israel. Of the fact that it would be restored, they seem to have been duly informed ; but of the " times or seasons which the Father hath put in his own power," they were yet without knowledge. Acts i. 6, 7. HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 53 2. It will not be hazardous, then, to suppose that the apos- tles were uninformed witn respect to some things, and even mistaken about others, at the time they came to Christ with their inquiries respecting the signs and time of his coming. The days of their pupilage were not yet accomplished. They were still sitting as disciples at the feet of their divine Mas- ter, learning the things which it behooved them to know, as the future guides and governors of the church. And, what was just as necessary, they were at the same time unlearning many things which it behooved them to forget. They still had their mistaken impressions and views, even with respect to some matters on which our Lord had already discoursed. This may seem surprising to us, but it is undeniable. The coming of Elijah was as little understood, before it was explained, as the coming of Christ himself. The relation of infants to the heavenly kingdom was so little comprehended, that the disci- ples rebuked those who brought them to the Saviour. And they were still so mistaken in their impresssions of the nature of Messiah's kingdom, as to dispute about who should be greatest. They did not yet know the nature and necessity of the faith that was instrumental in curing the demoniac. Even Peter himself, one of the chief apostles, was yet uninformed that his Master must die. And, after all that he had said about his resurrection, Christ's appearing to them, after he was risen, was a matter of astonishment and terror. In fine, the notions of the disciples were erroneous at this time, respecting many things which to us appear almost self-evident. Even af- ter Christ had discoursed freely on various topics pertaining to his coming and kingdom, there was much that they could not fully comprehend. 3. It is not, therefore, assuming anything in itself improb- able, to conclude, that the disciples may have misunderstood the Lord's previous observations on the subjects about which they now inquired. And, after a little, it will perhaps be suf- ficiently evident to the reader that they must have misunder- stood him in some things ; and that a principal design of Christ's final discourse was, to complete his lessons of instruc- tion, so far as the disciples had failed fully to apprehend his 54 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. meaning ; thus communicating truth as they were able to re- ceive it ; and to correct such erroneous views as the y might still entertain. We have seen how this was done in some things. But our principal object now is, to show how it was done in the matter of which we are treating. 4. The principal error under which they seem to have been laboring, was, in relation to the nature of Messiah's kingdom. Their Jewish conceptions and prejudices still remained, and evidently modified all their views of the work of Christ, and of his prophetic discourses. They still " trusted" it should be he " that should redeem Israel." And it must not be forgot- ten, that the redemption for which they looked to Christ, was not the redemption of transgressors, by means of the death of the Redeemer ; but the literal, political redemption of Israel, as a people, from their political bondage. The Old Testament Scriptures are filled with glorious predictions of Messiah and his happy reign over Israel. And these prophetic descrip- tions of the conquest of the Gentiles, and of the elevation and prosperity of the seed of Jacob, were familiar to the Jewish mind, and most gratifying to the Jewish heart. This famil- iarity, and this gratification, with the prophetic delineations of Messiah and his kingdom, understood as they were by the Jews, must be considered as the key to all their otherwise in- explicable conduct, in their treatment of Messiah. 5. Their prayers, praises, hopes and enjoyments, all had in- timate association with their understanding of the Messianic prophecies. When Gabriel appeared unto Mary, to announce to her the great favor she had found with God, he, at the very first, appealed to her Jewish heart : " Behold, thou shalt con- ceive and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his fath- er David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever." When Mary was led to magnify the Lord, in view of herself being the mother of Christ, she felt and spoke as a Jew : " He has holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy ; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed, forever." We perceive the same thing in the exultation HAKMONY A2s T D EXPOSITION. 55 and prophecy of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, in view of his being the harbinger to go before the face of the Lord. " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ; for he hath vis- ited and redeemed his people ; and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of David ; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began ; that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us : to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant : the oatli which he sware to our fat/wr Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our ene- mies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteous- ness before him, all the days of our life." This was the nature of the redemption, and this the kind of kingdom, which the Jews expected to receive by the Messiah. 6. The song of the angels was of the same character, and could not fail to deepen the impression in their mind. " Un- to you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." The terms Saviour, Christ, and Lord, had a significancy with Jewish minds probably much more definite and literal than they have with us. It is probable that the venerable Simeon, as he held the infant Jesus in his arms, had also the literal conception which was so character- istic of that people. It was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ As the aged saint took the infant Redeemer in his arms, he blessed God, and said, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word ; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people ; a light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel" And as the venerable prophetess Anna came into the temple at that instant, she likewise " gave thanks unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" 7. When the magi came from the east to Jerusalem, in search of the newly born Saviour, their inquiry was, " Where is he that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." It is not wonder- 56 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. ful that when " Herod the king had heard these things he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." He was afraid of los- ing his throne ; and all Jerusalem was in commotion with the expectation of the result of rival kings. " And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people togeth- er, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea : for thus it is written by the prophet : And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not least among the princes of Judah ; for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Is- rael." It is not surprising, then, when we consider the com- mon impression of the Jews, that Herod should seek the young child to destroy him ; for the redemption and rule that were expected of Christ, would have unthroned the tyrant, and driven from the land his Koman supporters. But to the peo- ple generally it would have been deliverance from a yoke of iron. Therefore they greatly rejoiced. 8. These Israelitish views of temporal dominion manifested themselves in a variety of ways through the whole period of the Saviour's life. Friends and enemies alike exhibited the general conviction. Ambition sought to secure the right and left hand honors of his throne. Bewildered Admiration un- dertook by force to make him a king, whether he would or not, when he manifested his divine power. Enmity, with fo- rensic skill, framed his accusation of treason, in disappoint- ment of the common anticipations relative to his kingly char- acter. His death sentence, and his published accusation on the cross, were but so many proofs of the common disappoint- ment. Pious grief wept over the sepulchre, murmuring through the falling tears, " We trusted it had been he who should have redeemed Israel." The very last inquiry made by the disciples, before the risen Saviour ascended, showed that even then they had not entirely lost the influence of natural and deep-founded convictions. " Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel ?" They needed, besides the Saviour's personal instructions, the promised illu- mination of the Holy Ghost. 9. Now, these are the facts that must be considered, in or HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 57 der to make appropriate inductions, and establish a theory of exposition that shall be worthy of our confidence. But these are not the only facts : there yet remain others, which, if pos- sible, are still more important. Christ himself was accustomed to speak of his kingdom in a way which certainly appears to have been calculated to deepen the common impression, and rendered it the more necessary, at the appropriate time, to explain himself more fully, and do what could appropriately be done to give the disciples a true exposition of his doctrine. 10. When the harbinger of Christ lifted up his voice to the myriads who attended his ministry, his first proclamation was, " Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And of Christ himself it is written, " From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent ; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." So, when Christ sent forth his apostles to preach, he gave them their instruction in these words : " And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Now, it would be very unreasonable to suppose that John, and Christ, and the apostles merely oegan their ministry by making this proclamation ; and that they did not continue to teach the same thing. The only rational conclusion is, that this proclamation formed the principal theme of their minis- try ; and that they begun, and continued, with the same lead- ing subject. Consistently with this view, we find that the occasional records of the subject matter of that beginning of gospel preaching, had intimate relation to this leading theme. Of Christ we read, "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom." At another time we read, "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom" The very frequent reference to the kingdom, under its various distinguishing •itles, shows that it was a common, if not the principal theme of public discourse, and private conversation. The mention of the kingdom, in connection with the case of John the Baptist; with the case of those who rejected the first apos- tolic message, and in connection with very many of our Sa- viour's parables; — these, and other instances that might be 58 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. named, show the frequency and familiarity of treating the great leading theme of the new dispensation. 11. Connected with this theme was another, which appears to have been almost as prominent in our Saviour's public and private teaching ; this was the Judgment, when appropriate rewards and punishments should be administered to all clas- ses of people. John the Baptist dwelt largely on the Judg- ment, and continually warned the people. And how fre- quently, and how terribly, Christ proclaimed the Judgment, it is not necessary particularly to specify. The disciples be- came familiar with the idea, and had their minds frequently and deeply impressed with the terrible calamities that should befall the impenitent, and the blessings and honors reserved for the faithful. The cities in which the mighty works of Christ had been wrought, were solemnly admonished that in "the day of judgment" it would be "more tolerable for Sodom than for them." " The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it ;" " The queen of the South shall rise up in the day of judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it" — are but specimens of the warnings which Christ gave to the people who heard him. 12. The disciples were taught also to look for the final clo- sing up of these retributions, and the separation of the differ- ent characters, at the " end of the world ;" or, as some prefer to render it, at the end of that age or dispensation. The par- able of the Tares may be selected as a specimen of the in- struction which the disciples were accustomed to receive. The explanation of the parable was thus : " He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom ; but the tares are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world ; and the reapers are the angels. As, therefore, the tares are gath- ered, and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 59 fire ; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of their Fath- er" The parable of the Fishes is of the same import. And both of these, and, indeed, most of the other parables, are in- troduced as illustrations of things pertaining to the kingdom of heaven. " The kingdom of heaven is like unto," is the usual introduction. 13. There was also another view of the general subj ect, which must have left a deep impression upon the minds of the dis- ciples. When our Saviour, with reference to the rich, young ruler, observed, " That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven," Peter desired to know what should be # given unto them who had forsaken all to follow him. " And Jesus said unto them, Yerily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." After hearing such a declaration as this, it is easy to understand what was the probable impression upon the mind of the ambitious mother of the two sons of Zebedee. These two relatives of Christ, James and John, having, perhaps, some little more familiarity with their Master than the others, and hoping thereby to secure the highest honors of that kingdom which was so generally expected, through the agency of their moth- er, presented their request, that one might sit on the right hand and the other on the left, " in the kingdom." It is not difficult to perceive what kind of kingdom even these leading apostles were still anticipating. In the language of another, " They were still looking for a temporal kingdom. They ex- pected that he would reign on the earth, with great pomp and glory. They expected that he would conquer as a prince and a warrior. The disciples here had no reference to the king- dom of heaven, but only to the kingdom which they supposed he was about to set up on the earth." {Barnes.) 14. And there is still another consideration of importance, in making up our conclusion with respect to the impressions of the disciples, at the time of the discourse about the tem- ple. It is so probable as to amount almost to certainty, that 60 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. they were expecting the fulfillment of all these things during their own natural life-time, or, at longest, within a few years. They did not forget that their Master had said to them, that, in fleeing from place to place before their persecutors, " Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of man be come." And on another occasion, when speaking of the loss or salvation of the soul, the Master had said, " For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels ; and then shall he reward every man according to his work. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Mark says, " Till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." Luke says, " Till they see the kingdom of God." 15. ISTow, all these things are to be taken into considera- tion, in making up our minds concerning the views entertained by the disciples, at the time of propounding their questions respecting the times and the signs of the fulfillment. Our Saviour undoubtedly had some definite plan to guide him, and some distinct object in view, when he uttered his celebrated discourse about the seasons and the signs. He desired either to confirm, to remove, or to modify, the convictions of his disciples respecting these things. On a preceding page this matter has been definitely stated ; and it now remains only to gather up the scattered facts that we have discovered, and present them in order before the mind, that we may ascertain, as far as practicable, with what convictions the disciples ap- proached the great subject under discussion, and what Christ had before him to prompt and guide his discourse. 16. Are we not safe in concluding that the impression of the disciples was, (1.) That Christ was to come once more, — not as he had come, in shame and obscurity, — but in great glory, and with the holy angels ? (2.) That his second advent would be a coming to execute terrible judgments upon the wicked, particularly upon the cities that would not receive him ? And that this judgment would be the time of universal separation between the evil HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 61 and the good, (Matt, xiii.) that the one might be punished, and the other rewarded ? (3.) That this would be done openly and generally, when he should come in kingly majesty to establish his kingdom as a temporal prince ? (4.) That all this should take place while some of them should yet be living upon the earth ? (Mark ix. 1.) (5.) That this would be, in some senses, the end of the world ? (Matt, xiii.) 17. Knowing, as our Saviour did, all that passed in the minds of men, and perceiving distinctly the error of his dis- ciples, we cannot err in supposing that he designed in this discourse to correct their erroneous impressions, and, as far as practicable, establish them in the truth. It was his desire, undoubtedly, to do this ; and we conclude, therefore, that he now undertook to do it. To suppose otherwise, would be sup- posing that he acted without such motives as we always like to ascribe to the adorable Saviour. It would be supposing that he misimproved a most favorable, and, perhaps, final opportunity of doing so important a work. Sometimes he in- structed and admonished them without being requested to do so. Now, in addition to all the self-prompting and unchange- able desires to proclaim the truth, he was under the influence of a request from his beloved apostles, whom he had chosen to enlighten the world, and to regulate his church. Should he turn a deaf ear to their earnest request, when, upon the very face of it, there appeared an error that could not be cherished without injury? He had himself — shall we not say? — designedly suggested the subject, by his astounding declaration respecting the overthrow of the temple. Shall he now refuse to satisfy the very inquiries which he had awa- kened, and on a subject which he had purposely introduced for their information ? No, indeed : he perceives the fatal mistakes of the world's appointed instructors ; and he now undertakes, at great length, and with unusual pains, to show them the truth as it appeared to his own omniscience. 18. But here we may be met by what with some will be fiimple inquiry, and what with others will be caviling : Why 62 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. did not the unerring wisdom of the divine Saviour unfold, with unmistakable distinctness, these things at the very first ? Why suffer mistakes to grow out of his own words? Or, originating from any source, why suffer a mistake to remain in the minds of his disciples for any length of time ? Why not, — as he doubtless had the power, and could not lack for the disposition — why not at once — without any delay — tell them so they must understand, and thereby qualify them to instruct the world ? Undoubtedly this would have been sug- gested by all who make such inquiries, if they had been per- mitted to advise the Son of God. But to those who repose in the belief, that Infinite Wisdom always does what is best, a sufficient answer will be, " Even so, Father ; for so it seemed good in thy sight." Whether we can understand the reason or not, still it is undeniably true, that Infinite Wisdom did not see proper to adopt the method of instruction which these inquiries have in contemplation. The process of quali- fying the apostles for their destined offices in the church, was a lingering process ; nor was it completed until they were plenarily inspired by the baptism at Pentecost. 19. This gradualism in the method of instruction was not confined, however, to the particular subjects under contem- plation. It appears to have extended to all subjects. We meet with evidences of it throughout the Saviour's ministry. The rule by which he was guided is sufficiently indicated by that beautiful remark of his, — "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." And this was nearly at the close of his instructions. We may, or we may not, understand all the reasons which guided unerring Wis- dom in this matter ; but the fact in question is too plain for contradiction. And, whether we comprehend the reasons or not, we will submit our own judgments to the Wisdom that cannot err, and conclude that it must have been best. 20. But we now approach the time when not only the pow- er, but the disposition to instruct, could be exercised to their full extent with more appropriateness, perhaps, than at any previous period. If there was ever a time when it was proper for Divine Wisdom to display itself, by fully unfolding to HARMONY AND EXPOSITION, 63 finite minds the world-affecting scenes of future ages, it was the time when the world's appointed religious teachers came to their Master, with solemn and pointed inquiries about the momentous matters which it behooved them to understand ; — and which inquiries of themselves afforded proof, not only of their desire to be taught, but of their need of teaching. May we not conclude, with safety, that the peculiar circum- stances of the case would induce the Saviour to give his in- structions with greater fullness and precision than any pre- vious period had rendered expedient ? CHAPTER V. Principal subject — Theory of Exposition. Benefits of a Theory — Illustrations — Great names — Preparatory advise- ments — Character of the Theory of Exegesis — How to obtain a correct Theory — The case stated — What the Lord had in view — Illustrative Parable — Radical Mistake — How occasioned — Principal elements of the true Theory — Difficulties — What is attempted — General bearing of the Exposition — Origin of Universalism — Universalist Exegesis and Ortho- dox compared — Test of Truth and Error. 1. To accomplish any great, and, especially, any difficult enterprise, it is necessary to have a plan. And we need not linger to show the necessity of having a good and correct one : it is nearly self-evident. An erroneous plan or theory cannot guide us correctly ; a true theory may not ; but it will be much more likely to lead us to ultimate truth, than either no theory, or an incorrect one. We must have our plan, then ; and the time has come to obtain it. Whence shall it be derived? From previous theories, shattered into frag- ments, like an exploded world, and rudely conglomerated into a new one? Certainly not: let it be original, as far as the nature of the case will admit. Let us take warning from the theoretic philosophy of ancient ages, and be satisfied with no 64. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. theory that is not directly educed from as many facts as we are permitted to examine. The usual theories of interpreting the Lord's great prophecy, like the ancient fanciful theories of the universe, are cumbersome, self-contradictory, and un- satisfactory. " But they have the sanction of great names." This is indeed true, and a source of deep regret. And so had the ancient theories of the universe : as great names sustained them as can be found on the historic page. " Pythagoras, and Thales, and Ptolemy were neither idiots nor children; they were master spirits of a splendid age. But, since the days of Co- pernicus and Newton, who thinks of receiving the once orthodox and popular theories and conclusions of former ages, simply because they had the sanction of great names ? " Great men are not always wise." They may be great in some things, and far from great in other things. Great men are at variance in respect to a thousand things ; and by the greatness of names we can never ascertain a doubtful truth. Truth is greater than great men ; and sometimes God reveals to "babes" what he hides from the "wise and prudent." (Matt. xi. 25.) "Let God be true, and every man a liar." Before these pages are finished, the reader will frequently have the opportunity of seeing not only some of the reason- ings of great men, but also some of their assertions, tested by matters of fact. These preparatory advisements are not without their use even now, as we proceed to develop our theory of exegesis. It will be independent, and in some respects, perhaps, a little startling. And as far as it is possi- ble for any one who has been almost surfeited with reading on a particular subject, to shake off', flee from, and forget, the most he has read, or listened to, so far will it be done now ; and, so far as it is practicable, the world shall have an original Exposition of the LoroVs great Prophecy. If what herein appears shall happen to harmonize with what others have thought or said, — very well, — it will be a matter of thank- fulness and gratulation. If otherwise, — it will be an occa- sion of regret ; but not, for that reason, a sufficient induce- ment to withhold, alter, or discard, the writer's own convictions. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 65 He claims, within the limits of evangelical orthodoxy, to think for himself, and to make known, in a suitable manner, his own impressions of divine truth. 2. " How can we reason, but from what we know ? " What, then, are the facts to be considered in framing our theory \ and how can they guide us to the ultimate truth? In the previous chapter, section 16, the reader will find a summary of the principal relevant facts. Let them be well considered, before proceeding further. It appears that the apostles came to the Lord with some correct, some incorrect, and with some confused notions relating to the great matters pertaining to Messiah and his kingdom. This afforded Christ an opportu- nity of relieving their confusion, correcting their mistakes, and confirming them in what they already truthfully under- stood. The only thing necessary to assume, (if it be an assumption,) is, that our Saviour, in his reply to their inqui- ries, did really undertake to make them understand the facts in the case. Or, in other words, that he did really desire and design to correct their erroneous impressions, and establish them in the truth. But, in such a case, it would be necessary for him to speak with more or less reference to the precise difficulties which embarrassed their minds. And these em- barrassments related not only to the nature of the events, but to their times, and successive order. This should now be a subject of consideration. 3. It has already been exhibited that the disciples were erro- neously impressed relatively to the nature and establishment of Messiah's dominion. Their conceptions and prejudices were still decidedly Jewish, as distinguished from the evan- gelical. To them it appeared likely that their Master would literally and visibly raise up and occupy the Israelitish throne, and reign gloriously over the nations. The general current of thought is indicated by one of our Lord's parables, which he introduced in this manner : " And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of y God should immediately appear. He said, therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a 5 66 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. kingdom, and to return. And lie called his ten servants, and delivered unto them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us." Then follows the other details of the parable, closing up with the destruction of his enemies that would not submit to his dominion. Now, he had distinctly declared to his disci- ples, " Verily I say unto you, That there be some standing here, which shall not taste death till they have seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom." 4z. It was very naturally inferred by the disciples, that this coming, and this destruction of enemies, and this setting up of the anticipated kingdom, would all take place within a few years. Hence, when the terrible calamities which Christ had predicted, should fall upon the Jews ; when the temple and city should be overthrown ; when there should be fearful sights in the heavens, and general commotion on earth, they would naturally be looking for the second coming of their Lord, as a literal and visible prince and delieverer, at that very time. But in this they would he mistaken. Hence the pro- priety of the first and repeated cautions with which our Saviour opened and continued his discourse. The disciples had entirely mistaken the nature of the kingdom ; and could not conceive how it could be established, in their lifetime, without all these visible and temporal results. And, growing out of this error concerning the nature of the kingdom, they fell into another ; they confounded together two very differ-* ent things ; that is, they did not — and, with their impressions, could not — distinguish between that spiritual coming at Pen- tecost, to establish the spiritual kingdom, and that literal, visible, and final coming to judgment, which should be at the end of the world. Hence — to anticipate the exposition — the propriety of Christ's repeatedly informing them that "the end is not yet ; " and more than once, by way of anticipa- tion, alluding to the real nature of his final judgment coming at the end of the world. 5. These are the principal elements of our theory. "Who shall Bay that it is not warranted by all the facts and probabilities HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 67 relating to the case ? With this simple plan to guide us, we can lay out the work of exposition, without any great per- plexity, and, certainly, without any insuperable difficulties. We see what was necessary to be done ; and we find the Sa- viour undertaking to do it. We feel safe in supposing that he did it in the most appropriate manner. But we cannot deny, after all, but that there are difficulties which do not usually embarrass our biblical expositions. There are, we must candidly admit, difficulties which no theory can fully and perfectly remove. The author has not ventured upon this subject, unapprised of the difficulties of the case; nor without a studious examination of the various labors of others. The most that is now attempted is this : (1.) To give an exposition which shall answer the purpose for which the Lord's discourse was originally designed. (2.) To expound the whole discourse, so that one part of the exposition shall not be in conflict with any other part. (3.) To give an exposition which shall not violate the ordi- nary rules for the use of language ; but shall treat prose as prose, poetry as poetry, and avoid blending the literal with the figurative. (4.) To interpret those portions which relate to the second advent and general judgment, so as to be in harmony with the many other portions in the Bible, where Jerusalem and the Jews have no especial concern. (5.) To show the reason for blending the two leading sub- jects in the discourse, and, at the same time, distinguish and separate one. portion from another. (6.) To show the relation of the parables which are con- nected with the discourse. (7.) In doing this, as a matter of course, some of the errors of the usual interpretations must be faithfully exposed. 6. It will be perceived, at once, that this work is not par- ticularly intended to bear against Universalism. It is espe- cially designed for those who are sentimentally orthodox, in relation to the great doctrines of the Second Advent, and general Judgment. In accomplishing our object, however, we do hope to rescue the divine oracles from those orthodox 68 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. perversions, which have probably done more to originate and perpetuate that fatal system of error, than all the preaching and writing of its professed advocates. Universalism, as a system of theology, was brought forth, and is nourished, by just such license in biblical interpretation as has been taken by most of our orthodox divines, in their exposition of the xxiv. chapter of Matthew. The principal difference between the Universalist and the Orthodox writers in the subject now under notice, is this: the orthodox teacher adopts a certain method of interpreting a difficult passage, and limits it to that particular passage, or class of passages. He dares not pur- sue his own method any further. He shrinks back from the legitimate consequence which he perceives must result, if his method should be carried throughout the Bible. The Universalist, on the other hand, starting with the usual princi- ples of interpretation of the portion under notice, finds that by applying them to other portions of the Bible, he can explain away what appears to contradict his opinions, and so make out a desired theory, notwithstanding all the literal teachings of the Scriptures to the contrary. The Orthodox is the more inconsistent, and the Universalist is the more reckless, and the less reliable. 7. After all, the truth or error in the usual expositions, depends very much upon the manner of interpreting only a few of the passages in the discourse. The verses which refer to the "end" spoken of, to the coming of the Son of man, as the lightning from heaven, to the darkening of the heavenly luminaries, to the gathering of the elect together, and to the rewarding and punishing of the different characters, — the interpretation of these must be decisive of all the rest. And to these we design to bestow particular attention. It will he desirable to keep the eye upon the record of Matthew, as found in the Harmony, with the supplementary additions from the other records. The reader is earnestly requested to comply with this suggestion. PART SECOND. THE EXPOSITION CHAPTER I. Principal subject — Destruction of the Temple. Why Christ's attention was directed to the Temple — General form and extent of the Temple — Why Herod's was called the Second Temple — Stones in the wall — Adornments — Why called Gifts — Improbability of the pre- diction — The Romans trying to save the Temple — How the destruction began — Two days' Conflagration — Council Debate — The Romans in the inner court — Storming the Temple — The Holy of Holies on fire — Des- peration of the Jews — Astonishment of the Romans — Progress of the flames — Titus in the Holy of Holies — Last effort to save the building — How the Prediction was finally fulfilled. Verse 1. And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple ; and his DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM, FOR TO SHOW HIM THE BUILDINGS OF THE TEMPLE. The disciples had enjoyed but few opportunities of visiting the temple, for their usual residence was in Galilee. It was not unnatural for them, then, to express their admiration at the extent, magnificence, and beauty of the sacred edifice. And they desired to have their Master observe the buildings of the temple ; of what materials they were built, and how adorned with goodly stones and gifts. As the Lord Jesus had undoubtedly observed these things in his previous visits to Jerusalem, perhaps their reason for directing his attention to them at this time, was, because he had just declared in their hearing, that the temple should be left desolate, and that he should visit it no more. And he had also on a previous occa- sion predicted the utter desolation of the whole city. In their still imperfect faith, they may have thought that he had not 70 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. duly considered the exceeding improbability that such an edifice should be so totally overthrown, as not to leave one stone upon another. Lu. xix. 44. They called his attention to the buildings of the temple. The temple proper stood on the highest part of Mount Moriah, and was surrounded by a great variety of buildings, of which, however, no very definite idea can be obtained without a dia- gram. The whole group of walls, porches, and buildings was more than half a mile in circumference. The principal build- ing, which gave name to all the rest, stood nearly in the centre of this vast enclosure, and overlooked the whole. Its front, which faced the east, had a portico about one hundred and fifty feet long, and one hundred and fifty feet high. This temple was, in some sense, the third temple, and was built by Herod the Great. But as the second temple, which was erected under the supervision of Zerubbabel, 500 years B. C, was not in reality destroyed, but only — -by a gradual reedification — enlarged and improved, until finally the new buildings superseded the former, therefore the new temple was still called the second one. And this was the more appro- priate, because the regular service of the temple was con- tinued without interruption during the whole process of renewing the building. Our Lord introduced his discourse in a manner calculated to arrest attention and affect the heart. He announced the utter destruction of that great and holy edifice, so venerated and beloved by the Jews ; so admired by the world. And his discourse was rendered still more impressive, from the fact, that, at this very time, their attention was particularly directed to the extent, solidity, and beauty of the holy house. [Mark : And one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner OF STONES, AND WHAT BUILDINGS ARE HERE!] As Jesus went out and departed from the temple, he ap- pears to have gone somewhat in advance of his disciples ; and when he was in a position favorable for viewing the buildings, the disciples came to him to direct his attention to their solid- ity and beauty. One of the disciples — speaking probably HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 71 for the rest — desired him to "see what manner of stones" composed the walls. We are informed by Josephus — who is good authority in the case — that " The temple was built of stones that were white and strong ; and each of their length was twenty-five cubits ; their height was eight, and their breadth about twelve." It is not surprising, then, that these Galileans should ex- claim, "Master, see what manner of stones, and what build- ings are here !" Each of these beautifully shaped and pol- ished stones was as large as a small dwelling house ! No European or American architecture exhibits such vast blocks, either in its walls or foundations. And there are but few architectural remains in Asia and Africa that could compare with the Jewish temple [Luke: And some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly BTONES AND GIFTS.] Of these adornments we may form some conception, by a single quotation from Josephus, who was an eye-witness of what he describes : " The temple had doors also at the en- trance, and lintels over them, of the same height with the temple itself. They were adorned with embroidered vails, with their flowers of purple, and pillars interwoven ; and over these, but under the crown work, was spread out a golden vine, with its branches hanging down from a great height ; the largeness, and fine workmanship of which, was a surpris- ing sight to the spectators, to see what vast materials there were, and with what gr^at skill the workmanship was done."* There were undoubtedly many other ornaments, not only of the precious metals, but also of precious stones, variously displayed within and upon the temple : it was as beautiful as it was magnificent and strong. These ornaments were gifts, presented by different persons, for the purpose of beautifying the house of God. They were gifts, also, in the sense of being devoted to that especial purpose. It was not unusual, anciently, for people of all forms and systems of religion to make gifts to the divinities they worshipped. * Jewish Antiquities, Whiston's translation, B. 15, c. 11, s. 3. 72 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. Those which were devoted to the adorning of the temples Of their gods, were conspicuously exhibited as tokens of de- votion and gratitude. The Jews were also accustomed to present beautiful and useful articles to Jehovah their God ; and sometimes they were devoted to ornament his sanctuary. The more especial object of this Treatise does not make it appropriate to dwell upon the particulars of the structure of the temple. The reader is therefore referred to other works, in which he may find a thousand particulars which are not noticed in this. Verse 2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things ? Verily I say unto you, \Luke : the days will come, in the which] there shall not be LEFT HERE ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER, THAT SHALL NOT BE THROWN DOWN. It must have seemed very improbable that such a building should be so utterly overthrown, that not one stone should be left upon another. The size of the stones, and the strength of the walls, and the solidity of the foundations, were such, that no common calamity could ever bring about such utter deso- lation. And the improbability of the prediction must have been greatly increased by the apparently impregnable defences by which the holy house was guarded. If to this we add, the superstitious veneration which the Jews had for their temple, and which at any time would in- spire them to make almost superhuman efforts to preserve it from injury ; and consider, also, the uniform protection which the Romans extended to the religious institutions of the na- tions they subjected; we can but perceive that our Lord did not prophesy from a consideration of what might seem proba- ble, but from omniscient perception of all future events. We learn from history that the Roman general who con- quered the city, did not design to demolish the temple, but greatly desired to preserve it. This was especially true of the temple proper. The holy house was strongly built, and well calculated for defence ; and the Romans despaired of the complete conquest of the Jews, so long as the temple remained to serve them as a citadel. The desire to preserve the temple did not prevent the most HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 73 extraordinary efforts to drive out the Jews. So, as soon as the Romans obtained access to the buildings of the courts that surrounded the temple proper, they set fire to some of the outer gates, which were made of wood, and covered with sil- ver plates. The fire spread from the gates to the cloisters which surrounded the inner court, and raged for two days. These cloisters wero three stories high. On the third day, Titus, the Roman general, ordered a part of the army to pro- ceed to extinguish the fire, which it appears was finally ac- complished. At the same time he called a council of the commanders of the legions, the procurators, and the tribunes, to consult with them about what should be done with the temple. As it is interesting to watch the progress of all events that tend- ed to help or to hinder the fulfillment of the improbable pre- diction, the observations on this verse will be extended, so as to bring definitely before us the precise manner in which the prophecy met is fulfillment. When the subject of the destruction of the temple was sub- mitted to the council, same of them — as Josephus says — " thought it would be the best way to act according to the rules of war, and demolish it ; because the Jews would never leave off rebelling while that house was standing, at which house it was that they used to get altogether." Others were of the opinion that " in case the Jews would leave it, and none of them would lay their arms upon it, he might save it ; but that in case they got upon it, and fought any more, he might burn it ; because it must then be looked upon, not as a holy house, but as a citadel ; and that the impiety of burning it would then belong to those that forced this to be done, and not to them." But Titus said, " that although the Jews should get upon that holy house, and fight us thence, yet ought we not to re- venge ourselves on things that are inanimate, instead of the men themselves ; and that he was not in any case for burn- ing down so vast a work as that was, because this would be a mischief to the Romans themselves, as it would be an orna- ment to their government while it continued." 74 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. The house here spoken of appears to have been the temple proper, around which the other buildings and cloisters were arranged. While this council was holding its deliberations, the fire in the cloisters around the inner court was still raging, notwithstanding that a part of the army was engaged in sub- duing it. The opinion of Titus prevailed ; and a still larger part of the army was dispatched to assist in extinguishing the flames. The fire had not yet reached the temple proper, nor the porch- es and rooms in immediate connection with it. Upon this lofty, central building, and immediately around it, the Jews had gathered, to make their final struggle to save themselves and their holy house. The fire had now so destroyed the surrounding gates and cloisters, that, by forcing their way through the burning ruins, the Romans could get into the inner court, and come directly around the temple proper, which Titus was so anxious to pre- serve. The Jews were still more anxious to preserve it than he ; for it was not only their last refuge, but they regarded its desecration with the utmost dread and horror. The next morning after the council, Titus stormed the tem- ple with his whole army, still designing, however, to preserve it. The Romans succeeded in forcing their way into the inner court, and came into close conflict with the Jews directly around the holy house. Titus was at this time resting in his tent, some distance from the scene of action. And now one of the Roman soldiers, without any orders, and, indeed, in violation of orders, " hurried only by a certain divine fury," as Josephus has it, snatched a brand from the burning ruins of the surrounding cloisters ; and, being lifted up on the shoulders of another man, he hurled the blazing brand through one of the windows of the chambers that were built around the holy house, and set the edifice on fire. The flames immediately burst out of the rooms around the temple, and mounted upward around the temple building it- self; and the Jews instantly perceived that their holy house could not be saved. As the flames raged upward, the Jews made a terrible clamor, and labored with desperation to pre- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 75 vent its ravages. " And now," says their historian, " they spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered anything to restrain their force, since that holy house was perishing, for whose sake it was that they had kept such a guard about it." " And now," he continues, " a certain person came running to Titus, and told him of this fire, as he was resting himself in his tent, after the last battle ; whereupon he rose up in great haste, and [unarmed] as he was, ran to the holy house, in order to have a stop put to the fire. After him followed all his commanders ; and after them followed the several le- gions in great astonishment ; so there was a great clamor and tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly motion of so great an army. Then did [Titus] Caesar, both by calling to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giv- ing a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench the fire. But they did not hear what he said, though he spake so loud, having their ears already dinned by a greater noise another way ; nor did they attend to the signal he made with his hand neither, as still some of them were distracted with fighting, and others with passion. But as for the legions that came running thither, neither any persuasions, nor any threat- enings, could restrain their violence ; but each one's own pas- sion was his commander at this time. And as they were crowding into the temple together, many of them were tram- pled on by one another, while a great number fell among the ruins of the cloisters, which were still hot and smoking, and were destroyed in the same miserable way as those whom they had conquered. And when they were come near the holy house, they made as if they did not hear Caesar's orders to the contrary ; but they encouraged those that were before them to set it on fire." * The inner and most holy part of the building was not yet on fire ; and Titus still hoped to preserve that part from the flames. With some of his officers, Titus went into the holy of holies, and found it to be far superior to the representa- tions which foreigners had made of it, and determined to * War, B. 6, c. 4. 76 HARMONY and exposition. make another effort to preserve it. So he " came up in great haste, [to the upper portions of the building, where the flames were burning,] and endeavored to persuade the soldiers to quench the flames ; and gave order to Liberalius, the centu- rion, and one of the spearmen that were about him, to beat the soldiers that were refractory with their staves, and restrain them. Yet were their passions too hard for the regards they had for Caesar, and the dread they had of him who forbade them ; as was their hatred of the Jews, and a certain vehe- ment inclination to fight them too hard for them also. More- over, the hope of plunder induced many to go on, as having this opinion, that all the places within were full of money, and as seeing that all around about it was made of gold. And, besides, one of those that went into the place [the holy place] prevented Caesar, when he ran so hastily out [as before mentioned] to restrain the soldiers, and threw the fire upon the hinges of the [inner] gate, in the dark ; whereby the flame burst out from within the holy house itself immediately, when the commanders retired, and Caesar with them ; and when no- body any longer forbade those that were without to set fire to it. And thus was the holy house burnt down without Caesar's approbation." Thus, against the wishes of Titus, and in spite of the des- perate exertions of the Jews, the temple was destroyed, im- probable as the event had appeared. But still the strange prediction of Christ was not completely fulfilled ; the most improbable part remained to be accomplished ; for with all the devastation of human conflict, and raging flames, the solid walls and foundations must have remained in many pla- ces standing. ]STo common accident, or ordinary military destruction, could have thrown the walls so utterly prostrate as to leave not one stone upon another. It now remains to show how the prediction received its complete fulfillment. After the city was entirely subdued, Titus gave orders that it should be utterly demolished, excepting three of the princi- pal towel's, and so much of the western wall as might serve as a protection for the camp of the garrison that was left on the ground. The towers were reserved as specimens of the HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 77 fortifications of the city that had been overthrown. And here again we bring forward the Jewish historian. " Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the en- tire city and temple" (excepting, of course, the towers and wall afore-mentioned.) " But for all the rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground, by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited." This demolition, as we have seen, extended to the entire city and temple, with the aforesaid exceptions, which did not in- clude any part of the temple. The garrison which was left on the ground was under the command of Terentius Rufus. The Jewish Talmudists call him Turnus Rufus ; and they re- late, that he plowed up Zion as a field, and made Jerusalem become as heaps, and the mountain of the house [the temple mountain] as the high places of a forest." Thus we have the testimony of such historians as cannot be suspected of partiality toward Christ, to prove the most literal and astonishing fulfillment of a most minute and unlikely prediction. Nothing but Omniscience could have foreseen this unparalleled devastation, so many years before it trans- pired. We observe here the most minute and rigid fulfillment ; and we may not unnecessarily resort to fiction or figure to ex- plain any part of this prophecy. IS HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. CHAPTER II. Principal subject — Calamities of the Jews previously to THE SrEGE OF JERUSALEM. Supposition of the disciples concerning the Coming of Christ, and of the End of the "World — Design of Christ's Discourse — Caution against Deceivers — Source of danger — Impostors claiming to be the Christ that was cruci- fied — Plausibility of their pretensions — Wars and Rumors of Wars — Pro- gress in the commotions — Character of Christ's Predictions — Famines and Pestilences — Earthquakes — Singular Comments — Objections — Criticisms — Literal and figurative Language — Earthquakes in divers places — Signs in the heavens — Fearful sights on the earth — Indications — An Army in the clouds — The Supernatural Voice — The wonderful Warning — Some- thing still worse — Affecting Illustration. Verse 3. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, [Mark : over against th* TEMPLE,] THE DISCIPLES, [Mark / PETER, AND JAMES, AND JOHN, AND ANDREW,] CAMS UNTO HTM PRIVATELY, SAYING, TELL US, WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE ? AND WHAT 8HALL BE THE SIGN OF THY COMING, AND OF THE END OF THE WORLD? From the preliminary chapters, especially chap, iii., part first, it will appear that the disciples came to Christ with erroneous and confused notions respecting both the nature of his com- ing, and the time and order of relative events. The coming for which they looked was a literal, personal coming, as a tem- poral prince, to set up his throne, and reign gloriously upon the earth. The destruction of the temple they probably re- garded as a part of the general judgment upon his enemies which he would inflict at his coming. And they supposed — as has been exhibited in previous chapters — that it would take place at the end of the world. What was their precise idea of the end of the world, does not fully appear. But they appear to have understood that the world would, in some sense, come to an end, because the Lord had distinctly spo- ken of his coming to judgment at the end of the world. See Matt. xiii. And all this they supposed would transpire in a few years : HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 79 within their own lifetime. See Matt. xvi. 28. Now here was a mingling of truth and error ; a confounding together of things totally unconnected. And it behooved the Lord Jesus to correct their errors, and to establish them in the truth. The theory of exposition maintained in this volume pro- ceeds upon the supposition, that this discourse of our Lord was intended principally to accomplish this purpose. But as this point has been so fully exhibited in the former part of the work, it is unnecessary to say more in this connection. Verse 4. And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Take heed that no man DECEIVE YOU. Our Lord begins his reply by cautioning them against de- ception. He very well knew that they would be in danger of being imposed upon by deceivers. The note of Richard Watson on this verse is too appropriate to be omitted : " He first cautions them against those false pretenders to the Mes- 6iahship, who should mislead many of the Jews ; because they would flatter their expectations of a worldly kingdom ; and promise them deliverance from the hated Romans. Both of these feelings formed so strong a passion with the Jews, that they were easily led to join the ranks of any pretender ; and Christ's followers were admonished to take heed, because their carnal and national prejudices were also strong ; and under their infatuating influences they also might be seduced from attachment to a religion wholly spiritual, — one, too, which would appear anti-national, as containing threatenings of the entire overthrow of their state and nation." Verse 5. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ ; and shall deceive many. [Luke : And the time draweth near; go ye not therefore af ■ tER THEM.] Here our Lord assigns his reason for warning them against deception : because there should be many who would under- take to deceive them, in a way perfectly adapted to their Jew- ish expectations and prejudices. They would profess to be their Messiah and deliverer. This would at once arrest atten- tion, and any plausible evidence of Messiahship would be 80 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. joyfully received. As the perplexities and aggravations of the Jews should increase, under the hated domination of the Komans, they would become more and more eager for the deliverer and the deliverance which they supposed were prom- ised in the Scriptures. Our Saviour well understood this ; and he knew very well how the false pretenders would take advantage of it, in order to succeed in their imposture. " Many shall come m my name, saying, I am Christ." It is possible, and these words appear to make it probable, that many of these false Christs did really profess to be Jesus himself ; they came in his name, professing their Messiahship. If this was so, it of course made the danger of the disciples still greater ; for they believed, from our Lord's own words, that he would come again. That Jesus claimed to be the Christ, that he was unjustly put to death, and that he was reported to have risen from the dead, and that astonishing miracles were wrought in the most public places, in attestation of his resurrection, would soon be matter of common report among the people. And that he had spoken of coming in his kingdom, even before that generation had all passed away, would probably be known and talked of among the people, soon after the public proofs of his resurrection. And it could not be possible for the myriads who had at- tended his ministry, and had witnessed his innumerable and undeniable miracles, very soon to forget the impressions ex- cited by the demonstrations of his Messiahship. And cer- tainly the unnumbered thousands who were present at Jeru- salem, and witnessed the prodigies that attended his death ; — the darkening of the sun, and the quaking of the earth ; — certainly these could not forget these astounding events that made the heathen centurion exclaim, " Truly, this was the Son of God." And could there be any probability, or even possibility, of forgetting such a supernatural and appalling event, as the rending of the vail of the temple from top to bottom, at the moment Christ died upon the cross ? These things were not done in a corner, nor in the presence of few people ; but in HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 81 the most public places, and in the presence of all the multi- tudes that came from every part of the world to attend the great Paschal feast. It is probable, then, that years after the crucifixion, the principal facts in the case were common topics of discourse among the bewildered and excited people, who had either wit- nessed these things personally, or heard of them from those who had. And as the troubles of the people increased, and their su- perstitious fears became excited, it is not irrational to sup- pose, that troublesome misgivings and gloomy apprehensions were occasioned. He whom they had crucified, who claimed to be their Messiah, might now appear to have been indeed what he professed to be. And with misgivings and regrets for the past, they would be very eager to listen to any evi- dence or report of his coining again. This would be especially true of those who had not consented unto his death, and who were measurably impressed with the conviction of the reality of his pretensions. Any promise of his returning again ; all that he had said about it himself; and all the Scripture that looked in that di- rection, might be seized upon by the false pretenders as so many evidences in their favor, when they professed to be Christ ; the very Christ that had wrought the miracles, and been the occasion of the omens and prodigies of the days of Jesus. This view of the passage is not insisted upon ; but it appears to be warranted by the language of Christ. There is no positive historic confirmation at hand ; and certainly there is nothing to contradict it. The history of the many false Christs has not descended to our day. But who is prepared to disprove the propriety of giving to our Lord's words their most appropriate meaning % It is generally thought, however, that by the words now under notice, is simply meant, that they would only claim to be the Messiah, without making any reference to Jesus of Nazareth. But it is plain that the words will bear a much more definite application. Receiving the words, however, in 82 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. the sense in which they are usually understood, there is no part of the prophecy more abundantly proved to be true.* " And shall deceive many. 77 The circumstances of the case were so favorable for the pre- tensions of these impostors, that they met with great success. The very people whom the true Messiah could not persuade to follow him, were so abandoned to their delusions, that they nocked after these numerous deceivers in great numbers. Having rejected the true light when it shined upon them, they were left in darkness to stumble at every step. "And the time draweth near / go ye not titer ef ore after them" The appearance of the impostors, and the political troubles next mentioned, were not far distant ; the time was nigh at hand. It seems probable, however, that the reference to the false Christs, before the reference to their hearing of wars and rumors of wars, somewhat anticipated the chronological order of events. The political troubles appear to have been first. But as the Saviour thought it expedient to begin his discourse by admonishing them against deception, it was natural to assign, in brief, the reasons for being on their guard. In its appropriate place in his discourse, he resumes the subject, and speaks of it more particularly, after describing the commotions and troubles which would be so prolific in the production of the Messianic pretenders. This trait in the character of the discourse will be noticed again, in connection with more difficult subjects. Verse 6. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars ; see that te be HOT TROUBLED ; FOR ALL THESE THINGS MUST COME TO PASS J BUT THE END IS NOT YET. Providence so ordered it, that we have an authentic record of the various and almost continual commotions which agita- ted the world — particularly the Jewish world — during the time which intervened between the delivery of this prophecy and the fall of Jerusalem. But, judging from the state of * See note B, in the Appendix HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 83 things at the time Christ was living in Judea, it did not seem likely that the next forty years would witness such commo- tions. The Roman government was well established, and general good feeling appeared to exist between the Romans and their subjected provinces. Judea was at this time a Ro- man dependency, and was governed by officers appointed by the emperors. It was also more or less connected with the various provinces and small kingdoms abounding in that part of the world, and which were also, in some manner, depend- ent upon Rome. But when agitations began among the numerous Roman dependences, it spread from one to another. And as the Jews were living in almost every province and city, they could not avoid experiencing the inconveniences and sufferings attend- ing those political commotions. During the latter part of the time that elapsed before the fall of Jerusalem, the empire itself was fearfully agitated ; and wars and rumors of wars abounded. And about this time, for some reason, the Jews seemed to become peculiarly obnoxious and troublesome to the various sorts of people in the provinces and cities where they resided, as they were scattered throughout the world. And between the Jews in their own land and their foreign rulers, there were almost constantly difficulties. Rumors of the almost unceasing insurrections, tumults, and massacres in other coun- tries would of course reach Judea, as the troubles in Judea would be known abroad ; and the strong bond of sympathy by which the Jews everywhere felt themselves united, would naturally agitate them, whenever anything of moment befell their kindred in any part of the world. Judea — and especially Jerusalem — was still the heart of the Jewish world. Anything greatly affecting the heart af- fected also the extremities ; anything greatly affecting the ex- tremities also affected the heart. To give a particular nar- ration of all these things, would, as one author very truly observes, be "to transcribe a great part of the history of Josephus." " And ye shall hear of wars" — evidently denotes that 84 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. those of which the Saviour was now speaking, were not so much the wars of the Jews in their own country, as those of which they should hear. And by the rumors of wars we are not obliged to suppose it necessarily means only threatened, or anticipated wars. It may include both rumors of the merely threatened wars, and the rumors of actual wars, flying about, as is usual in such cases, with the conflicting versions which are so well calculated to keep the mind in agitation. From the history of those times we find this to have been actually the case. There were real wars, with their flying rumors ; and there were anticipated and threatened wars, with their usual alarms and forebodings. " See that ye be not troubled." It will be a time of trouble and alarm, especially with such as have not the true faith that keeps the heart composed. The trouble against which he admonishes them is such as may be avoided, even in times of trouble. It is the same word that Paul used in 2 Thess. ii. 2 ; when he wrote to the Thessaloni- ans, to calm the agitations which had been excited there, by the supposition that the day of the Lord was at hand : " Now I beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 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." Do not be discomposed ; do not let yourselves be thrown into a tumult / or become terrified. The word is thus de- fined — "To make a loud noise, or uproar ; to make a tumult- uous noise, or outcry; to cry or speak in a loud voice;" — « and some other definitions implying less excitement. It would be very improper for the disciples to be troubled in this way. It would be so for a number of reasons : (1.) It would be an agitation disproportionate to the wars and rumors of wars of which they should hear. (2.) It would imply a want of trust in the overruling Providence which was able to protect or deliver them. Or, (3.) a want of resignation to the divine will, if they should be required to suffer and die by these calamities. (4.) If the trouble should be occasioned HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 85 by expectation of the end of the world immediately, as in the case of the Thessalonians, it would be occasioned without suf- ficient reason, — "for the end is not yet." " The day of Christ is not at hand." " For all these things must come to pass." They are matters to be expected. The state of the world is such as to make it reasonable to anticipate them. Providence, in its active and permissive operations, will bring all these things to pass. They cannot be avoided. And this is another reason why you should not be terrified. Expect such things ; prepare for them ; be in such a readiness to meet them as not to be surprised into terror. " But the end is not yet." Neither the end of the troubles and commotions, nor the end of the nation, nor of the world. However much like universal ruin things may then appear, the end is not yet ; there are still many other kindred events to follow. Verse 7. For nation shall rise against nation ; and kingdom against king- dom J AND THERE SHALL BE FAMINES, AND PESTILENCES, AND [Luke ; GREAT] EARTH- QUAKES, IN DIVERS PLACES. The wars and rumors of wars before spoken of, appear to have related more particularly to the petty jealousies and sectional insurrections which more especially affected the Jews. But this verse shows a progress in the warlike move- ments of the age ; and also subsequency in the order of oc- currence. These wars now spoken of will be something more than the neighborhood conflicts, and sectional commotions among the people of the same place and country. It will be a rising up of nation against nation, and kmgdom against kingdom. And such truly was the progress of sanguinary conflicts in those days. The wars were on a larger scale. The compara- tively insignificant contests among the people of the same tribe, province, or city, soon began to involve nations. The leaven of local jealousy spread until the world became more generally affected. To give a detailed account of the manner in which this part of the prophecy was fulfilled, would extend the exposition 86 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. further ihan would comport with the author's design. Those who are best acquainted with the history of those times, will be most ready to acknowledge the wonderful definiteness and precision of our Saviour, in giving not only a general state- ment of the commotions of those times, but also in portray- ing the successive order and progress of events. And why should he not ? Was he not truly omniscient ? Did he not foresee the rise, and progress, and final result of all events, just as if they were moving as a panorama before his eye ? — • He who did nothing amiss, said nothing out of true order. If he sometimes reversed the chronological order, it was for some special reason, for the better ordering of his discourse, that it might be the more clear and impressive. But in the case of the words now under notice, the true order of occur- rence is indicated. " And there shall be famines" One of these famines was foretold by a prophet by the name of Agabus, as may be seen by referring to Acts xi. 28. Josephus describes it as having been so severe at Jerusalem, that many people died from want of food. Several other his- torians also mention the same famine. Several times in the reign of Claudius Caesar, famines prevailed in several parts of the empire, particularly in Rome, Greece, and Palestine. Perhaps no other period of time had so many famines as this. Those of which we read in the Old Testa- ment happened usually after long intervals. But the period referred to in the text may be said, with a degree of justness, to have been characterized by famines. Some of these should undoubtedly be attributed to the agitations of the times. But this will not account for them all : some must be regarded as special judgments, like the famine in the days of Ahab. " And pestilences ." Plagues, properly so called, or other pestiferous and epi- demic diseases. These should prevail. Such diseases do not always attend upon famines; but they are very likely to result. There are several pestilences noticed by the histories of that period ; and they seem to have visited more particu- larly those places where the Jews resided. Perhaps, however, HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 87 this should not be considered remarkable, for the Jews were found in great numbers in nearly all the prominent places mentioned in the history of those times. Josephus describes one of those pestilences which visited Babylon, and occasioned many removals from that city. An- other is mentioned by Tacitus, as having occurred about this time. But as the oriental countries have been from time im- memorial more or less troubled with famines and pestilences, they could hardly be considered as marking any particular period, unless they occurred with unusual frequency. This was undoubtedly the case at this time. "And [great] earthquakes, in divers places" The word rendered earthquake literally means a shaking. It is thus defined by a standard lexicon : (The noun) " A shaking; but especially an earthquake." (The verb) "To shake; to toss; to agitate; to shake — the earth in an earth- quake" The italicising is according to the lexicon, and is designed to show the appropriate and common use of the term. While no one is disposed to call in question the correctness of the translation, as we find it in our English Bibles, is it not surprising that some of our commentators should indicate a disposition to wrest this word from its appropriate literal use in this place, and expound it as a figure >? One justly celebrated expositor introduces his observations on this sen- tence in this manner : "In prophetic language, earthquakes sometimes mean political commotions. Literally they are tremors or shakings of the earth," &c. Now, the prophecy of Christ must of course be considered as " prophetic language," though perhaps not precisely such language as the quotation intends. But where is the propri- ety of intimating a doubt as to the intention of the word in this connection? Has there been any instance of figurative language in this discourse thus far ? Was there any difficulty with the writer in finding abundant proof of the exact lite- rality of the fulfillment of the prediction ? ~Not at all. Why, then, unnecessarily introduce any observation that would tend to weaken the force, and lessen the definiteness of this prophecy? 88 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. Another commentator, still more celebrated than the first, comments on the passage thus: "If we take the word Sfitfjaoi form 2s«w, to shake, in the first sense, then it means particularly those popular commotions and insurrections which have already been noted ; and this I think to be the true meaning of the word ; but if we confine it to earthquakes, there were several in those times to which our Lord refers." How many other celebrated divines have ventured such an opinion, the author is not particularly concerned to know. By whomsoever, and for what purpose soever, such a sugges- tion is ventured concerning the application of the word, in its present connection, it is certainly liable to several serious objections: (1.) It obscures a confessedly simple and literal narration, (it is certainly so up to this point,) by the introduction of a figurative term in the midst of literal language*, without any necessity for it, and without any note or appearance of figura- tive character. This is manifestly a violation of all good rules in writing and speaking. (2.) It makes the narration imperfect in other respects; first, by leaving no appropriate word to apply to the literal earthquakes which did remarkably accompany the other signs mentioned in connection with the word in question. Sec- ondly, by making the word purely, yet unnecessarily, tauto- logical ; for if the word, in its present connections, means only the political agitations which have just been particularly described, then it is purely tautological. If it means politi- cal commotions, other than the first described, it unnecessarily confuses the narration, by introducing two different ways of describing the same thing — a figurative, and a literal way — without the least appearance of a change of style. This must be considered in no other light, than that of a dangerous precedent in the interpretation of inspired lan- guage. And it should never be countenanced ; especially in such a case as the one before us, where there is not only no need of it, but absolute injury results to the whole prophecy; for when we begin to indulge in this preference for the figurar tive over the literal, when there is no occasion for the figura- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 89 tive, with what safety can we be trusted in those more obscure portions of the Scriptures, where the literalit y of the language is not quite so apparent ? (3.) Neither is the ground of choice in preferring the figura- tive to the literal, in the case before us, a safe ground. It is not always safe to suppose that the noun must have a mean- ing perfectly accordant with the verb from which it is derived. Rigid adherence to such a rule would introduce confusion into our common language, and greatly disarrange our modes of thought and expression. It is very frequently necessary for us to interpret colloquial language, not so much with reference to its radical origin, as to its conventional use by the people. And even if there were (which is not the case in this instance) any departure from the rigid etymologi- cal derivation of the word, the very connection of the word, and the admitted facts of its literal fulfillment, together with its appropriate and common use, ought to preclude the very idea of its being figurative. Do not let these extended remarks on what may appear to be a trifling matter, become a weariness to the reader. Noth- ing is trifling in the words of inspiration; all is serious, weighty, and worthy of the highest deference. Nevertheless, the comparatively unimportant perversion of the words in question would have passed with a mere notice, if it were not for the fact, that this loose and inconsistent method of com- menting has not only nearly ruined the moral effect of this most important prophecy, but has also opened the door for the introduction of the most pernicious errors. This tendency to figurativeness, which, as in the case before us, without any occasion, or justification, confounds poetry with prose, the figurative with the literal; — this apparent choice of, and appetite for, figurative exegesis, so that whatever seems a little dark, (though there is no darkness in the words before us,) must be poetized into light ; so that figures are introduced, not according to the necessity — the must — of the case, but according to the possibility- — the may — of the case ; — this mingling together of the literal and the allegorical, making our Saviour sometimes narrate calmly like a historian, and 90 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. then, with the next breath, rhapsodize like a poet, until no man is certain what is literal and what figurative ; this is to be guarded against and deprecated. And it seemed appropriate to begin the labor at the very beginning of the figurative indefiniteness and obscurity which too many expositors have introduced into this plain, prosaic discourse. Straws show which way the current runs. And if — as we have seen — popular commentators, without any occasion, and, indeed, against occasion, have develoj>ed such a preference for the figurative, what may we expect when we come to those parts of the discourse, where — from the nature of the subject — it may not be convenient to point out the chapter and verse of the precise and literal fulfillment ? " There shall he great earthquakes in divers /places" A plain prediction of what actually occurred. Probably no period of the world's history was ever more characterized by earthquakes. It was not one wide, world-affecting con- vulsion, such as has been known in comparatively recent history, but a great many distinct earthquakes ; — " earthquakes in divers places" at different times. There is no lack of historic evidence to show that this portion of the prophecy was literally and strictly fulfilled. Josephus gives an account of a terrible one that happened just before the war with the Romans. ("War, B. 4, c. 4.) " There broke out a prodigious storm in the night, with the utmost violence, and very strong winds, with the largest showers of rain, with continual light- nings, terrible thunderings, and amazing concussions and "bellowing s of the earth that was in an earthquake." This was remarkable ; for earthquakes are not usually accompanied by such atmospheric disturbances. On the other hand, they frequently, if not generally, occur when the atmosphere seems unusually serene. An eye witness thus describes the state of the atmosphere at the time of the great earthquake that destroyed Lisbon, in 1755. " There never was a finer morning seen than the 1st of November ; the sun shone out in its full lustre ; the whole face of the sky was perfectly serene and clear; and not the least signal or warning of that ap- proaching event, which has made this once flou isking, opu- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 91 lent, and populous city, a scene of the utmost horror and desolation, except only such as served to alarm, but scarcely left a moment's time to fly from the general destruction." So universal an earthquake as the one described by Jose- phus, might well be regarded, as himself remarks, as "a manifest indication that some destruction was coming upon man, when the system of the world was put into this disor- der ; and any one would guess that these wonders foreshowed some grand calamities that were coming." But the earth- quakes were to be in " divers places." And so they were ; they are mentioned as having occurred during this period, at Crete, Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos, Laodicea, Pompei, Colosse, Campania, &c. !Not only the Jewish country proper, but probably all countries where they resided, were visited by these quakings of the earth. " And fearful, sights, and great signs shall then he from heaven" The record of the Jewish historian is so full and ap- propriate to elucidate the fulfillment of this prediction, that we cannot do better than to have his words before us: Speaking of the many false prophets and deceivers, and how easily the people were persuaded to believe them, and hope for divine interposition in their behalf, he says — (War, B. 6, c. 5,) "Thus were the miserable people per- suaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God ; while they did not attend nor give credit to the signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation ; but like men infatuated, without eyes to see, or minds to consider, did not regard the denunciations that God made to them. Thus there was a star, resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet that continued a whole year." Another translator renders his words thus: "A sword seemed to hang over the city, or a comet pointing down upon it for a year, which plainly seemed to portend their ruin by the Bword." (Whitby.) "Thus also, before the Jews' rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war, when the people were come in great crowds to the feast of un- leavened bread, ... at the ninth hour of the night, so 92 HARMONY AND EPPOSITTON. great a light shone round the altar and the holy house, that it appeared to be bright-day time : which light lasted for half an hour. This light seemed to be a good sign to the un- skillful ; but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes, as to portend those events that followed immediately upon it." These were indeed "fearful sights." The " sacred scribes " appear to have considered that prodigious light about " the altar and the holy house," as portending that terrible fire which soon after desolated the whole. "At the same festival, also, [the Passover] a heifer, as she was led by the high priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple." "Was this designed to indicate to the blinded Jews, that their typical offering of beaste had finally terminated, as to the divine approval, and become fulfilled, by bringing forth Jesus, the true Lamb of God? * The historian continues — " Moreover, the eastern gate of the inner court of the temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night! " "Now those that kept watch in the temple, came hereupon running to the captain of the temple, who came up thither, and not without great difficulty was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open to them the gate of happiness." The "vulgar," as the historian calls them, might indeed suppose this indicated the opening the gate of happi- ness to them, for it was the opening of the gate that kept the common people out of the inner court of the temple, which was appropriated only to the most favored portion of the Jewish people. "But," continues the history, "the men of learning under- stood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord ; and that the gate was opened for the advan- tage of their enemies. So these publicly declared, that the HAUMONY AND EXPOSITION. 93 signal foreshadowed the desolation that was coming upon them." It was at the Paschal feast that Jesus, the true Lamb of God, was led forth to be slain, as may have been betokened by the prodigy of the heifer and the lamb ; and this dreadful prodigy of opening the huge brazen gate, happening — it seems — at the same feast, may have portended that it would also be at the passover that their enemies should succeed in obtaining the mastery over the city and temple. " Besides these," continues the history, " a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Arte- misius, \Jyar, second month of the ecclesiastical year,] a cer- tain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared. I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals ; for, before sun-setting, chariots, and troops of soldiers m their armor, were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities ! " "Moreover, at the feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner temple, as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said, that in the first place they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a multitude, saying, Let us depart hence ! " " But what is still more terrible, there was one Jesus, the son of Ananus, a plebeian and a husbandman, who, four years before the war began, and at a time when the city was in great peace and prosperity, came to that feast whereon it is our custom for every one to make tabernacles to God in the temple, began on a sudden to cry aloud, A voice from the east ! A voice from the west ! A voice from the four winds ! A voice against Jerusalem and the holy house ! A voice against the bridegrooms and the brides ! A voice against the whole people ! " This voice was heard by day and by night through the city. No persuasion or punishment could stop his cry. When they whipped him until his bones were bare, he did not shed 94: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. tears or make any complaint, but, with every stroke of the lash, nttered "Woe, woe, woe to Jerusalem ! This lamentable and wonderful voice continued for seven years and five months, and was always heard loudest at the festivals. No wonder that it was heard with discomfort and horror. Verse 8. All these are the beginning of sorrows. But what could be worse than the terrors and sorrows already described? Answer — The wars and rumors of wars, not heard of merely, but actually present, witnessed, and suffered, with all their varied horrors. In particular, the inva- sion of their own country with fire and sword, until blood and blaze should be the every-day, and the everywhere scenes throughout their whole territory. And more especially, the unparalleled famine, confusion, and carnage that characterized the siege of their capital city. The fulfillment of the portentous omens would be more terri- ble than the signs themselves. The intolerable ravages of the fatal disease would be worse than the premonitory symptoms. The faithful and but too particular narration of these " sor- rows," as witnessed by one who lived and suffered in the midst of them, cannot be read by any person of common sensibility, without being deeply and painfully affected. Dr. Clarke's note on this verse is very ingenious and im- pressive: "The whole land of Judea is represented under the notion of a woman in grievous travail ; but our Lord inti- mates that all that had already been mentioned, were only the first pangs and throes, and nothing in comparison of that hard and death-bringing labor which should afterwards take place." All that has hitherto been described, however, pertains to the period previous to the final siege of Jerusalem. And here our Lord leaves, for the present, the prediction of the Jewish cala/rrvities, that he may return and recapitulate the sufferings of his disciples. Let this be distinctly noticed by the reader. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 95 CHAPTER III. Principal subject — Sufferings of Christians previously to the Siege of Jerusalem. Correction of the Record — Illustrations — Beginning of the Persecution — Progress — Saul of Tarsus — Different forms of Jewish persecution — Per- secution by others — Chronological accuracy of the Prophecy — Persecution overruled for good — Why the Jews persecuted — Why the Heathen — Pe- ter before the Sanhedrim — Stephen — Paul before the Rulers — God's design in permitting Persecution — Good result of the Appeal to Caesar — Comfort in suffering — Why forbidden to premeditate — Perversion of a text — When we may, and when we may not, premeditate — What is meant by Taking no thought — Nature of Apostolic Inspiration — What is meant by giving them a Mouth and Wisdom — : Examples — Curious way to resist Logic — An Orator in Chains — Beginning of Apostacy in the Church — Treachery — Progress of Apostacy — Terrible Result — Pattern Age of the Church — The World and the Church at variance — What is meant by not a Hair of the head perishing — How to possess our souls in Patience. [Luke : But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and per- secute you.] [Mark : But take heed to yourselves.] Our Lord deemed it expedient to speak first of the afflic- tions of the Jews generally ; and — as previously noted — he extended his description to the siege of Jerusalem. When he resumed the subject, as at v. 15, he began with the fatal siege. Having thus far spoken of the Jews as a people, he returns to the beginning of the period then under consideration, for the purpose of showing the condition of Christians during the same time. " But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you." We perceive the importance of supplying a sentence that was omitted by Matthew. If we take the prophecy as it is preserved only by him, it would teach that the persecution of the disciples would not begin until that period of general tribulation was ended, which- would be incorrect. The sen- tence from Luke removes the difficulty, as may be seen in the Harmony. The persecution of the Christians did indeed 96 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. begin "before all these" Jewish calamities. While Jesus was with them, as when the bridegroom is with the children of the bridal chamber, they were kept in security and joy. But when he was taken away, as when the bridegroom de- parts, there was sadness and fasting. The persecutors, having so well succeeded with the Master of the house, then began to afflict his servants. The green tree had been scorched by their flaming madness ; what could prevent the dry tree from being consumed ? And the persecutors were not willing to wait long before they made a beginning : within a few weeks after the crucifixion of Jesus, they began to hunger for the flesh of the disciples. " They shall lay their hands on you? They shall apprehend you, and bring you up to answer for your proceedings. This was immediately done in the case of Peter and John, Acts iv. 1. " And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them. 2. Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrec- tion of the dead. 3. And they laid their hands on them, and put them in hold until the next day." This laying hands upon them was not only persecution of itself, but it had an ulterior design. " And persecute you? This was the ulterior object. They wished to get these leading disciples into their power, that they might still further afflict them. On that first occasion, however, they were restrained from inflicting anything very severe. They " straightly threatened them," and let them go. " But take heed to yourselves? It is necessary to be on your guard. JJe wise as serpents, for you are as sheep among wolves. Your enemies will not cease to pursue you. They may indeed but simply lay their hands on you at the first, and persecute you in this milder way. But take heed to yourselves ; and do not unnecessarily incur danger ; your enemies will not be satisfied with merely apprehending you : Do not trust present appearances. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION 97 Verse 9. Then shall they deliver you up [to councils,] [Luke : to the SYNAGOGUES, AND INTO PRISONS,] TO BE AFFLICTED. How soon was this accomplished ! A few days after this, as the apostles were teaching and healing, Acts v. 17, " Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation ; 18. A id laid their hands on the apostles, and put them, in the com -non prison." As yet, however, they had not been delivered up formally to the council. But, having been liberated by the interposition of an angel, and directed to go and preach in the temple, they were once more appre- hended, v. 27. " And when they had brought them, they set them before the council." There was still another thing to be fulfilled, besides the arrest, and arraignment, and imprisoning ; they were next in order " To he afflicted? Here it follows: v. 40. "And to him [Gamaliel] they agreed ; and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they . . let them go. 41. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." They were probably beaten naked. This was the beginning of their being " afflict- ed" for the sake of their Master. The "wolves" among whom these " sheep" had been sent, having once tasted their blood, will hardly let them escape. " And in the synagogues ye shall he beaten." Here is the date of Saul's persecution. It was at his feet that the murderers of Stephen laid their clothes. He was already distinguished among the people for his eminence in the matter of making " havoc in the church." " And Saul was consenting unto his death." " When they were put to death he gave his voice against them." Even so early was his influence in this matter felt and confessed. And what was Saul's method of persecution ? Acts xxvi. 10. " And many of the saints did I shut up in prison, hav- ing received authority from the chief priests ; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them 11. And 7 98 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme." How many of the disciples suffered in this way, as " Saul made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women, committing them to prison," has never been recorded. And how many times of punishing in the synagogues is intended \y this word " oft," we are not apprised ; but being " exceeding mad" against the disciples, and having " authority from the chief priests," and thinking that he was " doing God service," it is safe to suppose that the numbers " beaten in the synagogues," were large. It is not intended to intimate here that the persecution of Saul was all previous to the martyrdom of Stephen, but only that he had already begun his cruel work at that time, and continued for some time after. And Saul himself, when he became an apostle, understood experimentally the sufferings which he had inflicted upon others ; and came in for his own share of the fulfillment of this prophecy, which at first he helped to fulfill upon others. 2. Cor. xi. 24. " Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes, save one." Besides the beatings and stripes otherwise mentioned, we learn by this that at five different times he received the full measure of blows permitted by the Jewish law. It was undoubtedly in the synagogues. " And shall Mil youP This was the next thing in order. What was the next event in the fulfillment ? Answer — The hilling of Stephen, under the superintendence of this persecuting Saul of Tarsus ! And now the various forms of persecution which the Saviour predicted, have all occurred in their respective orders, from laying hands upon, through arraignment before councils, imprisoning, beating in the synagogues, and killing. A 1 this was Jewish ; and was done regularly, or irregularly, accord- ing to the customs of the councils of the synagogues and the great council at the capital. But shall the persecution extend no further ? Answer — " And ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake." HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 99 The scene is now to be shifted from Jewish judicatures to the magistracy of rulers and kings. The murderers of the Master, who succeeding in enlisting against him the power of their heathen governor, will soon manifest their pleasure at the havoc made among the disciples. Henceforth, those who delight in cruelty, or who wish to ingratiate themselves with the Jews, will understand how to proceed. The prediction is before us ; now for the fulfillment : Acts xii. 1. " Now about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 2. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of unleavened bread. 4. And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternians of soldiers to keep him J intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people." Soon we find Paul and Silas at Philippi, suffering a perse- cution arising from the cure of the wonderful Pythoness. Do we inquire concerning the nature of the judicature before which they were brought? Answer — Acts xvi. 19. " And they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the market place unto the rulers. 20. And brought them to the magistrates" Kings and rulers were next in order after councils. Omniscient Wisdom knew how to frame the proph- ecy. The next persecution was that in which " they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city." Acts xvii. 6. We shall soon find Paul brought up to the "judgment seat" of Gallio, the deputy governor of Achaia. It would be tire- some to follow out much further the fulfillment of this part of the prediction. The magistracy of rulers and kings is identified more or less with the history of the apostle to the Gentiles. We shall find him before Felix, Festus, Agrippa, and Nero. It has not seemed good unto the Holy Ghost to cause to be recorded all the particulars of the further fulfillment of these words ; but from many incidental references, we find the matter went on. 100 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. But why was all tins ? Was there no divine power i/j restrain ? Or did the Divine Being see that good would result ? Answer — " For my sake, for a testimony against them" or, rather, for a testimony (sis) unto them. And this better agrees with Luke's expression — " And it shall turn to you for a testimony." There are just these two ideas conveyed in this sentence of the prophecy ; (1.) That it would be' for the sake of Christ, or on his account, that they should be thus dealt with. It would not be on account of any evil found in them ; or on account of any particular hatred that men would feel toward them, as individual persons. It would be solely on account of their known and confessed attachment to the Lord Jesus. Their open and fearless proclamation of the Messiahship of Jesus the crucified, would raise the storm of indignation and persecution among their own nation, and particularly among the councillors and priesthood of the Jewish nation. They were always first in opposition to the Master, and they would be first in persecution of his disciples. They hated to be charged with the rejection and murder of one whom the apostles proclaimed every where to be the only true Christ. The persecution by the Gentiles would also be for the name of Christ, but for reasons somewhat different : one thing would be, the opposition of the apostles to the idolatrous worship and doctrines everywhere prevalent, and the fact, that the spread of Christianity would be seen to effect, proportionally, the downfall of idolatry. The worshippers of the great Diana of the Ephesians would set all the city in an uproar, on account of this perceived op- position of the new religion to their old religion. Yet, after all, the Jews would everywhere be the principal instigators of this opposition to the name of Christ. They would never rest without doing what could be done to arrest the progress of the new sect. (2.) The other idea is this: their being brought before councils, rulers, and kings, would be to them opportunities for giving testimony to the truth. They should be permitted, HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 101 and even invited, sometimes, to testify to the truth as it is in Jesus. £Tow, however much these simple and apparently unimport- ant and indefinite words may have been overlooked, they are, in truth, among the most important of those found in this discourse. Nothing less than omniscience could have foreseen these two surprising facts, — that all the persecution which the dis- ciples should suffer, and all the reasons for their being brought before the various near at hand, and far off, tribunals, would be in consequence of their relation to a person who had never stepped beyond the limits of Palestine, and whose name was hardly known beyond the boundaries of his own native prov- ince. But the other part of the prediction is, if possible, still more surprising. How exceedingly improbable that those persecuted, despised, maltreated, dispersed followers of one who was crucified as a malefactor, between two thieves, should, by the very efforts to silence them, stand up as privileged ambassadors, to say what they chose to testify, before all kinds of councils, and before all kinds of rulers, in almost all lands ! Has it usually happened so ? Were the victims of the Inquisition ever admitted to extraordinary privileges be- fore their judges % "Were the Protestant martyrs, whose blood enriched the soil of England, entitled to special privileges before their Romish rulers ? And have persecuted sects usually found their judges disposed to listen to the promulga- tion of their most abominated doctrines, and keen reproofs and admonitions? But the omniscient Saviour affirmed that both of these things would be true respecting the arraignment of his per- secuted followers. How did the matter result ? The first arraignment was specifically on account of oppo- sition to Christ. "When Peter and John were arraigned be- fore the Sanhedrin, the reason is thus given : (Acts iv. 2,) the priests, captain of the temple, and Sadducees, were " grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the 102 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. resurrection of the dead. 3. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day ; for it was now even- tide." This was on their Master's account. Did they have an opportunity of testifying of Jesus there ? This is the an- swer : 5. " And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, 6. And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest,, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name have ye done this ?" [The miracle of curing the lame man.] 8. " Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel," — And then follows that fearless, explicit testimony of the Messiahship of Jesus. 10. "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11. This is the stone which was set at naught by you builders, which is be- come the head of the corner. 12. Neither is there salvation in any other ; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." How this arraignment before this council " turned to them for testimony !" Peter could not have obtained such an audience as that anywhere else ; and nowhere else would such an audience have listened to such a fearless testimony. And who but the Divine could have foreseen this ? This illustration of the two ideas in the passage is given at some length, merely as a spe- cimen of the precise fulfillment of this wonderfully specific prophecy. When Peter and others were arraigned before the Sanhe- drin again, soon after, (Acts v.,) he had another as remarkable chance of testifying of Jesus. And Stephen for a long time had the audience of " all that sat in the council," while he poured forth that full torrent of testimony, which they per- ceived but too clearly was going to prove Jesus to be the Christ. And what an opportunity for testimony had Paul HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 103 before Felix and Drusilla, and Festus, and Bernice, and Agrippa ! And what a chance for testimony as he " stood on the stairs" of the theatre in Jerusalem, bound with two chains, and gave the discourse recorded in Acts xxii. ! This idea of bearing testimony — not against — but (s^) to councils, rulers, and kings, is the key that opens beautifully that mysterious providence which led the primitive church with her ministers through such a succession of persecutions. "We may now understand the meaning of those prisons, chains, indictments, and other sources of suffering and notoriety, which lifted the infant church into eminency, and secured for the fettered apostles the audiences of priests, governors, coun- cilors, kings, and queens. There was much meaning, and comfort, too, for the perse- cuted apostles in such words as these : Acts xxiii. 11, " And that night following, the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul ; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusa- lem^ so must thou hear witness also at Rome" These imprisonments and judicial arraignments should be occasions of testimony. " Csesar's household " was to be converted; and Paul — not Peter — must be the apostle to those Gentiles. He had " of- ten purposed " to go there, that he " might have some fruit among" them, but " was let [hindered] hitherto." Paul in Rome, in the capacity of an apostle, could probably do less in giving testimony for Christ, than Paul the prisoner, waiting the convenience of the emperor, under the protection of the emperor, and dwelling for " two whole years in his own hired house, receiving all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him." Acts xxviii. 30, 31. Therefore Paul was moved to " appeal unto Caesar." But, in relation to this being all for the name and sake of Christ, it is worthy of remark, that, on the part of the apos- tles, it was in a sense far different from what it was on tho part of the persecutors: with the enemies it was on account of enmity, that they might distress and destroy ; but with the 104 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. friends it was on account of friendship, that they might tes- tify for Christ, and establish his religion. They were not slow to perceive the advantages their persecutions gained them, not on account of sympathy only, but also on account of privilege in giving testimony for the truth as it is in Jesus. God made the wrath of men to praise him. This must have contributed much to comfort and sustain those who suffered for the truth's sake. They " took joyfully the spoiling of their goods," and rejoiced that " they were counted worthy to suf- fer for his name." Paul well understood this matter of per- secution and suffering for his Master ; Acts, chapters xx., xxiii., xxiv., which see. [Mark : Bur when they shall lead totj, and deliver you up, take no thought BEFORE HAND WHAT YE SHALL SPEAK; NEITHER DO YE PREMEDITATE; BUT WHATSOEVER SHALL BE GIVEN YOU IN THAT HOUR, THAT SPEAK YE. j Our Saviour did not design this direction for application to all persons, and all circumstances : it was a specific instruc- tion for a specific circumstance / namely — when they should be led and delivered up to councils, rulers, and kings, as be- fore described, and for the purpose aforesaid. Then, in that particular case, they were not to depend upon their own pre- meditated thoughts either for testimony or defence ; but to look for such especial enlightenment and guidance as no pre- meditations of their own could secure. It is, therefore, a manifest perversion of this passage, to apply it to ordinary pulpit and private teaching, as if the Lord designed to discourage and prohibit prudent premedita- tion and systematic arrangement of thoughts, in ordinary cir- cumstances. !No man that loves to think systematically, and few that are capable of thinking so, will need these disclaim- ers against a somewhat common perversion of this passage. But it is well to do everything practicable for the purity and propriety of the exegesis and application of the Scriptures. No doubt but in many instances too much dependence is placed upon our previous meditations, and too little upon the timely aid of the Holy Spirit. But these ordinary labors HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 105 were not the subject of the Saviour's present admonition. A very plain rule may be suggested as a general guide in this matter : (1.) What is already understood, or may reasonably be ex- pected, in relation to future circumstances, may be made a subject of premeditative preparation. (2.) But what we cannot know, or reasonably anticipate, of the future, and yet must meet, — in this we must leave it to Providence to order and assist. This latter was the usual circumstance under which the dis- ciples were brought before rulers and kings. The former is the usual circumstance attending our ordinary labors. In these sudden, ever-varying, and uncertain trials and ar- raignments before the different tribunals, no human fore- thought could be sufficient to guide in matters. of propriety and necessity ; and premeditations and plans would only em- barrass their adaptation to the unanticipated circumstances, and withdraw their trust in direct and special divine assistance. They were directed to " take no thought" before hand, just as Christ had said respecting food and raiment, "take no thought for the morrow." E"ow, it is admitted by all who have examined the word, in reference to its original force, that it means something more than mere intellection ; it con- veys an idea of feeling as well as cogitation : it is the same word that Christ used in his address to the half-distracted Martha: "Thou are careful" &c. Luke x. 41. The spirit of the Lord's admonition to his apostles was about this : Do not be troubled or anxious about what you shall say on these occasions. Do not let it worry and distress you. Go, trusting in the guidance and support of the Master, for whose sake all this is done and permitted. There was great wisdom in such an admonition : (1.) It would serve greatly to relieve the anxieties of the disciples, in these most trying circumstances. (2.) It would keep ever before them the only real and re- liable source of direction and support. (3.) And, consequently, going in this spirit, and divinely led and strengthened, their testimony would have a freshness, 106 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. an adaptation, and a power, that could not be secured in any other manner. " But whatsoever shall he given you in that hour, that speak ye," Here is the promise of assistance implied. They were to expect assistance from another ; it was to be given to them. This is why they ought not to be troubled about the matter before hand. They were to speak whatsoever should he given them. Their words were to be given them ; and they would be aided in addressing them to the people. They were to go before such judicatures, expecting to be plenarily inspired for the exigencies of the time. [Luke : For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversa- ries SHALL NOT BE ABLE TO GAINSAY OR RESIST.] Here is the promise of assistance given in due form. Their wisdom should be given them ; they should be enabled to understand and to calculate on the spot, so as to accomplish what their adversaries could not prevent. Sometimes they should be enlightened with respect to the past / sometimes with respect to the fuUure / and they should know how to adapt themselves to all the circumstances attending their arraignment. Their "mouth" should be given them. Their very organs of speech should seem to be new ; and would, indeed, be newly empowered to speak with the greatest propriety and force the words which should be given them. As the result of this special endowment, their adversaries should neither be able to gainsay nor resist their testimony. How wonderfully was this accomplished ! Turn to Acts iv., and see the blazing testimony, and the scorching reproofs, of John and Peter before the great council that had condemned their Master. And notice the result : verse 13, " Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled ; and took knowledge of them, that they had heen with Jesus. 14. And beholding the man standing with them, they could say noth- ing against it." HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 107 When Stephen was set upon unexpectedly by the cavilers and disputers of the synagogues of the Libertines, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians, and Asiatics, (Acts vi. 9,) it is said, notwithstanding the odds against him, " And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake." And when he was suddenly brought before the great council, his speech was so irresistible, that legal pleading and logic could not be depended upon to gainsay or resist it ; and the readiest way to overthrow it, was, to kill the irresistible preacher. So long as he was alive, and had a mouth to speak, so long they knew it was hopeless to resist him But a dead man was not so formidable ; so they overwhelmed him with a shower of stones. See how the infamous Felix was made to tremble, as Paul stood before him in chains, inspired to utter terrible things which could not be gainsayed or resisted. Acts xxiv. 24. "And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. 25. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trem- bled, and answered, [it was all the answer he could make,] Go thy way for this time." Take Paul's speech before King Agrippa, and the august assembly convened to hear him, and notice the effect. Acts xxvi. The prisoner stood up in chains, and gave one of the most eloquent, appropriate, and affecting speeches that ever fell from human lips. It was a most happy specimen of Gos- pel testimony. After overwhelming, and almost converting, the king, the conclusion of the scene is thus stated, v. 31 : " And when they were gone aside, they talked between them- selves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. 32. Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar." The world might be safety challenged to show a single clef r instance in which the primitive disciples were found incom- petent to defend themselves and their Master before any of the councils and rulers of that age. 108 HAKMOKT AND EXPOSITION. But whence the wisdom and words which proved adequate for all emergencies? [Mark : For it is not ye that speak, but the Holt Ghost.] This is the explanation. When these men stood up to give testimony, they were more than men ; they had a portion of the Divinity. How astonishingly was this fulfilled at Pente- cost ! There were promised to them- a " mouth and wisdom," in order to qualify them for every unexpected emergency. When the whole Jewish world was represented at Jerusalem, the fulfillment of the prediction was to begin, and to be man- ifested unto the world. Acts ii. 4. " And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." And in all the multitude of dialects they spake of the wonderful works of God. But, in relation to the wisdom and words, it was not themselves that spake, but the Holy Ghost speaking by them. The apos- tles well understood the nature and source of this astonishing endowment. They knew how to explain the wonderful phe- nomenon : verse 33, " He [Christ] hath shed forth this that ye now see and hear." How distinct the prediction ! How undeniable the fulfill- ment ! As far as Luke's history of the Apostles extends, it seems to be a comment upon the Saviour's prophetic discourse. Verse 10. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, AND SHALL HATE ONE ANOTHER. Many will be scandalized. The new " sect " will be " eve- rywhere spoken against." The chief men and rulers giving the example and encouragement in persecution, those who wish to gain or retain their favor, and those who think only as they are taught by their superiors, will join in the popular hue and cry against the unpopular sect. Many will thereby become disaffected. Their attachment to the new religion will cost them their good name, their tem- poral prosperity, their social enjoyment, and, in some cases, it will cost even liberty and life. This will be sacrificing too much ; more than they have HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 109 faith to endure. Many will therefore be offended ; they will stumble at these impediments, and fall from their steadfastness in Christ. And the offence will be so grievous, that, in many instances, treachery and hatred will succeed in the place of confidence and love. Those who had pleasantly and familiarly associa- ted together, each leading on and strengthening the other, will now have their feelings so set against one another as to " betray " one another. Perhaps the kindly influences that had been mutually exerted to induce one another to espouse and maintain the new religion, would now appear as a ma- licious effort to draw them into a religion of shame, anxiety, and danger. To mutual confidence will succeed mutual treachery ; and they shall " betray one another." The warm- est love will then give place to the deepest hatred. The union and confidence of heart will be transformed into jealousy and maliciousness. Those engaged in making havoc of the church will not fail to perceive and improve this most unhappy result, for the fur- therance of their cruel designs. These embittered and alien- ated brethren will be used to hunt out and accuse their former companions : " they shall betray one another." We may find a record of the fact, which will answer as a specimen, in the account which Tacitus gives of this pro- cedure, in the persecution under Nero : " At first several were seized, who confessed, and then, by their discovery, a great multitude of others were convicted and executed." Annal. i. 15. There are frequent references to this melancholy state of things in the history and writings of St. Paul. See Acts xx #> 29, 30, 2 Tim. i. 15, iv. 10, 14. It was thus that he was " in perils among false brethren." [Mark : The brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father thb BON ; AND CHILDREN SHALL RISE UP AGAINST THEIR PARENTS, AND CAUSE THEM TO BE PUT TO DEATH.] This is not only a more particular description of this time of trial to the church, but it appears also to show an extension 110 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. of the disaffection, until not only the ecclesiastical, but even all the social relations shall be disturbed, and families be at war among themselves. And now will be fulfilled not only what Christ himself predicted on another occasion, (Matt. x. 34,) but what was long before prophesied by an Old Testament seer. See Micah vii. 6. How intense must have been the alienation that caused the nearest and dearest natural relations to betray one another even to death ! What terrible afflictions to the church, and what trial of faith, when parents against children, and chil- dren against parents, and brother against brother, should be maliciously excited, and cause one another to be put to death ! Through such fires as these were the primitive disciples re- quired to pass, as the church was enlarging herself, and estab- lishing her doctrines, government, and worship, that the d?*oss might be purged away from the pure gold, and that the pat- tern age of the true church might be an age of tested, puri- fied, and duly developed faith and love. These were times when they " endured a great fight of af- flictions," that the church in all subsequent ages might have before her " examples of suffering, affliction and patience." This was the time of " the present distress," when Christians were called to show whether they loved their master better than houses, lands, parents, companions, and life. (Remainder of) Verse 9. And ye shall be hated of all nations fob my name's sake. By noticing Mark, verse 12, it will be seen that these words are to follow the account of these afflictions ; and by Luke, verse 18, we learn that these words are to precede the reference to the hair of the head not being suffered to perish.* It is thus that we prove not only the transposition, but find the appropriate place for this sentence. And it may as well be remarked here, that all the trans- positions exhibited in the Harmony are settled by definite reasons. This persecution and alienation will not be limited to any ♦See the Harmony. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. Ill particular section ; it will be general. The church every- where must pass through this fiery furnace. It will be the world against the chwrch, and the church against the world. The faithful disciples must be "crucified unto the world," and the world " crucified " unto them. The " offence of the cross" will be great everywhere. The preaching of Christ will be a " stumbling block unto the Jews, and to the Greeks foolishness." Then " all that will live godly in Christ Jesus Bhall suffer persecution," no matter where they happen to dwell. The world hated Christ, and he told his disciples not to marvel if the world hated them also. Now was it fully accomplished. If they had been of the world, the world would have loved its own ; but because they were not of the world, but had been chosen out of the world, therefore the world hated them. And this extended to all nations, Jews and Gentiles. In this place, however, it seems to allude more particularly to the Gentile nations : the hatred of the Jews,being first in order, was more particularly described previously. It is wonderful how systematic and precise our Saviour was in this prophecy. He pays particular attention to the succes- sive order in which the many things would transpire. He did not speak of their being " hated of all nations," until he had first described how they would become known to all nations, by being brought before rulers and kings. And this hatred of the nations would be on the same account as that of the Jews ; it would be " for his name's sake." And how was this? Simply because "for his name's sake" they should be brought before rulers and kings ; and the knowledge which the people everywhere would obtain of them, would be asso- ciated with their relation to Christ. [Luke: Bur there shall not a hair of your head perish.] Does this mean that none of them should suffer bodily in- jury, or be put to death \ Certainly not ; he had just admon- ished them of the reverse. Does it refer to the probable fact, that all the Christians fled from Jerusalem during the siege, and did not in any case per- ish then ? Probably not. 112 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. For (1.) All the apostles, as it is supposed, with one excep- tion, perished by violent deaths before the siege. (2.) To speak of the escape from that danger would be anticipating the time without any evident reason ; for the period of which he was now speaking was obviously that which preceded that great event. The effort to apply it to that event appears strained and unnatural. Besides, it does not seem to harmon- ize with the spirit and design of such, a promise. It seems to have been designed for the comfort of the Lord's people in all ages of the world ; and especially for the com- fort of those whose severe afflictions, and imminent dangers, occasioned the first giving of the promise. Now to take it entirely, or almost entirely, away from them, and apply it only to a single circumstance, and a circumstance which had not yet been even alluded to, and, by so doing, deprive all the coming generations of sufferers from claiming it, seems rather more than common sense can submit to. But what does the promise mean ? Probably this : they were to comfort themselves with the belief that all their dan- gers, trials and sufferings were directed or permitted by a Providence which was not only personal, but minutely partic- ular. It numbered the very hairs of their head. They should even regard themselves as the objects of special divine watch- care. This would sustain them in that affliction, and in every other ; and, indeed, it would be a standing promise for all ages of the world. This view beautifully harmonizes with our Lord's first ef- forts to inspire his disciples with a firm belief and trust in a special providence. Matt. x. 28. " And fear not them which Mil the body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31. Pear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." The promise was also undoubtedly designed to assure them of a particular providence, not only in the sense of preserv- ing, when it should be best, but also in the sense of remwier- HARMON \T AXI) EXPOSITION. 113 ating, when it should please God to cause or permit them to suffer " for his name's sake." In that careful estimation of all their sufferings and losses on his account, to serve as the basis of his gracious rewards, not a single hair injured in his behalf should be lost in the reckoning. And, in this sense, which is the only important sense, not one hair should be suffer- ed to perish : it should be preserved in that final gain of glory and enjoyment which all who suffer for Christ, and " endure unto the end," shall receive at the hand of their Master. And this view of the subject is in precise accordance with Christ's own application of this promise, when he first gave it to his disciples. Let the reader satisfy himself by turning to the place just referred to, and read for himself how the Lord designed to be understood. Matt. x. 28-39. You will notice here that Christ was de- scribing the identical condition of things which has already been enlarged upon, without the least allusion to Jerusalem or the escape therefrom. Has this matter been sufficiently noticed by those commentators who are forever referring to Jerusalem ? TTe notice in the passage alluded to, which the judicious reader has not failed to examine, that this is the conclusion and the application : " He that fjideth his life shall lose it ; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find itP May not this be applied to every part of the life ? The principle involved in this promise which we are enlarging upon, is suf- ficiently exhibited in another place : Matt. xix. 20. " And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlast- ing life." Here is the principle on which nothing, however trifling in itself, can be lost, if it is sacrificed for the name of Christ. And by using and applying the common prove? 1 !*, which forms the substance of the promise, the Saviour un- doubtedly intended to teach them that all their sufferings and sacrifices — even to the very least — would finally be reward- ed to them, in the gracious remunerations of the resurrection state. Not one hair should perish ; in equivalence it would remain forever. 8 114 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. This would be comfort indeed; comfort in all ages, in all circumstances, even in maimings, bruises, and death itself. Not only would he put all their tears in his bottle, (Ps. lvi. 8,) but preserve all the hairs of their head, [Luke : In tour patience possess ye tour souls.] Rather, in jour perseverance, or patient endurance, (Wojxovij,) of affliction, preserve (x^tfadbs) your souls. Others will lose their souls, by trying to avoid these afflictions, and gaining the world. They will be like those mentioned in the parable of the Sower, (Matt. xiii. 20, 21,) who received the seed in stony places : " He heareth the word, and anon with joy re- ceiveth it ; yet hath he no root in himself, but dureth for awhile ; for when tribulation or persecution ariseth, because of the word, by and by he is offended" He is one who cannot endure affliction; he falls away, and, of course, loses the promise: he does not endure unto the end ; and, of consequence, he loses his soul. This is the very character which our Lord had just been de- scribing : there would be many offended, or fall away, in consequence of these severe afflictions which would come upon the church everywhere. Seeking to save their lives, they would lose their souls. Shunning the dangers of the cross, they would renounce their Saviour, and their souls would per- ish. Bartering their Saviour for the world, they would make a wretched exchange : they would lose their souls. ISTow, what our Lord desired in this verse, seems to be just this : (and how well it harmonises with the whole connections of the words !) Do not be of the number who fall away ; who cannot continue through these afflictions. But persevere until the end is attained ; for, whether you live or die, not a hair of your head shall perish ; all will be treasured up to the day of final reward. " By patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory, and honor, and immortality," and God will " render" to you " eternal life." Rom. ii. 7. In this way you shall preserve your souls, "Thou, therefore, endure hard- ness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," 2 Tim. ii. 3. " But HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 115 watch thou in all things, endure afflictions" &c, chapter iv., v. See much more of the same import in the same epistle. And what has the admonition now under notice to do with the escape of a few hundred Christians from the besieged city ? How would such a restricted limitation of it apply to the world-wide, and age after age endured afflictions which are spoken of in connection with it? How does it happen that so many commentators appear to see nothing but Jerusalem in all these places ? What necessity, or, rather, what authority is there for such restricted applications of these ever-during admonitions and promises, which Christ designed for the sup- port and guide of his disciples forever ; and which, notwith- standing all the unfortunate misapplications of them, will, should, and must be instinctively looked upon by the unper- verted spiritual mind, as present admonitions, and present promises, for all similar conditions? It is not safe to overlook the instinctive promptings of the unsubverted spiritual mind. CHAPTER IV. Principal subject — Corruption and Declension op the Church. False Prophets — Two classes of them — Influence upon the Church — Conso- lation and Warning — What preserves the Church — Difficult Text — Strange Salvation — Curious Comment — The Truth discovered — A true Exposition — Import of the term World — Examples — How extensively the Gospel was Preached in the Apostolic Age — Meaning of The End — Erroneous Impression — Explanation — Design of the Prophecy — Anew Explanation — When, and How, the Jewish Dispensation was consumma- ted — The Beginning and the Ending — Objects of that Dispensation- Its effect upon common Providence — Error of the Jews — How corrected by Christ — Objection — Answer. Verse 11. And many false prophets shall bise, and shall deceive many. This does not refer to the false Christs who had already appeared, but to false teachers who would arise in great mim- 116 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. bers. And they would be successful in deceiving many. Our Lord seems to have the church particularly in view ; yet what he affirms would be also true respecting the Jews as a people. During the siege of Jerusalem, as Josephus informs us, (War, B. 6, c. 5, 2,) " A false prophet was the occasion of these people's destruction, who had made a public proclama- tion in the city that very day, that God commanded them to get up upon the temple, and that there they should receive miraculous signs of their deliverance. Now there was then a great number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants to impose on the people, who announced to them, that they should wait for deliverance from God." But the false prophets, or teachers, now referred to by the Lord, were such as would come at an earlier period, and would more particularly affect the church. They were such as he had warned them against at a former time : Matt. vii. 15, " Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." St. Paul also appears to have the same in view, Acts, xx. 29 ; — "I know this, that after my departing, shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." And St. Peter has the same in view, 2 Pet. ii. 1, " 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 de- nying the Lord that bought them. 2. And many shall follow their pernicious ways ; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. Jude also has a bitter complaint against these false teachers ; verse 4, " For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation ; ungodly men, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, and deny- ing the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." We find that not only were the most vital doctrines denied, and the most abominable taught, but the false teachers also encouraged the most filthy practices. With these things in remembrance, we are prepared for the next verse. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 117 Verse. 12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax COLD. How could it be otherwise ? either that iniquity should not abound, under these circumstances ; or, abounding, that the love of many should not wax cold ? With such a woful state of things in the church, iniquity would pour in like a flood, extinguishing the flame of love in many hearts. But who would have anticipated such dreadful corruptions in the church, so soon after the resurrection of the Saviour? While the blood of martyrdom was even then fertilizing the earth, who would have expected such a luxuriance of wicked- ness in the church? It was even as Omniscience foretold. Even under the apostolic ministry and government; within the same generation that witnessed the baptism of Pentecost ; in spite of divine admonitions, and living apostolic inspira- tions ; notwithstanding all, the true church of Christ became infested with schisms and heresies, and cursed with abound- ing wickedness. From this we may learn two things: 1. To beware of pride and vain glorying. 2. Not to despair : not even in the most discouraging times. And when we see wickedness abounding in the church, as well as in the world, we need not give up all for lost ; it is nothing new under the sun ; and God will still have a seed to serve him. u The love of many shall wax cold." And it would be wonderful indeed if it were otherwise, in such circumstances as these. When the very fuel of purity and truth, that was designed to feed the flame of love, is with- held, and every disadvantage is in successful operation, love must grow cold ; there is nothing left to sustain it. With these persecutions from without, making havoc of the church ; and with these corrupters making havoc within, is it not sur- prising that the church w T as preserved? It is surprising, when we consider matters as they appear to the mere philoso- pher ; but it is not surprising, when we consider that the church is founded upon a Rock, and that God has sworn by himself to defend and preserve it. The church has a vitality, in consequence of these divine provisions, wh ch her ene- 118 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. mies are unable to destroy ; and her identity is as imperisha- ble as the souls that compose it. Verse 13. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same 6hall be saved. To the end of what ? Shall be saved from what ? Two celebrated commentaries now before the writer, which abound with the favorite Jerusalem idea, pass entirely over this verse ! Did it stand in the way of a favorite theory ? Two or three others touch it so lightly, as to hardly treat it with common respect. But one noted commentary of world-wide reputa- tion thus expounds : " But he that shall endure — the persecutions that shall come — unto the end ; to the destruction of the Jewish polity, without growing cold or apostatising — shall he saved, shall be delivered in all imminent dangers, and have his soul at last brought to an eternal glory. It is very remarkable that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusa- lem, though there were many there when Cestius Gallus invested the city ; and had he persevered in the siege, he would soon have rendered himself master of it ; but when he unexpectedly and unaccountably raised the siege, the Chris- tians took that opportunity to escape." {Dr. Clarke?) Shall be saved from what ? Why, " he shall be delivered in all imminent dangers." How definite ! How satisfactory ! It is this, then : " He that shall endure unto the end " — "of the Jewish polity, without growing cold or apostatising, shall he saved ; shall be delivered in all imminent dangers ! " Does this mean saved from all imminent dangers ? or, being in such dangers, they shall be saved in them ? To say they shall be saved from all imminent dangers, is flatly contra- dictory to the plainest historical facts, relating to the history of the church in those after days. To say they shall be saved in all imminent dangers, is nonsense, and a total perversion of the word. But the commentary means, that " not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem." Ah, that is the salvation, then. He that endures to the end of the danger, shall be saved from, or in, that danger ! Well, this is information 1 He that perseveres in endurance until all HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 119 the calamities are brought to an end, shall be saved from those calamities ! What a salvation ! But what is the end until which they must endure ? Until the end " of the Jewish polity," says the commentary. Yery well ; when did that end take place ? This same authority applies the 29th verse to that event, which relates to things, " immediately after the tribulation of those days ! " "Worse and worse! It amounts to this, then : If they endure until " after the tribulation of those days," they shall be saved from perishing vn that tribulation ! There are two things in this comment which are deserving of especial notice : (1.) They must endure to the end of the Jewish polity, which was " after the tribulation of those days ; " and, (2.) They made their escape from those calami- ties at the time Cestius Gallus invested the city, which was at the beginning of the war, and several years before the tribulation of those days was ended ! Put this and that together, and call the product salvation ! But the end was the end of the war. No ; the war lasted several years after this escape. It was the end of the siege. No ; the final siege had not yet begun. "Well, at all events, it was the end of something that terminated about those days. Yery good ; but as the promise reads, " He that endureth unto the end shall be saved," it is proper to ask two or three questions : (1.) Suppose, by reason of disease, accident, or violence, they should be unable to endure to the end of the Jewish polity ; does the promise save them ? (2.) Suppose they endure unto that end, and then apostatise, as some that we read of in the book of Kevelation, does the promise save them? It is worthy of notice that the commentator seemed to distrust his own teachings ; for, in connection with this tem- poral salvation, he speaks of another ; " Shall be delivered in all imminent dangers, and have his soul at last brought to an eternal glory" Truly, this puts a new face upon the whole matter ; it looks very differently now. But how does it look in the connection in which it stands ? Let us see : " He that endureth to the end" — " of the Jewish polity," trouble, war, 120 HAUMONY AND EXPOSITION. siege, or something else that is going to end about those times — shall "have his soul brought to an eternal glory!" Well, this is both definite and evangelical ! We know now just how long to remain steadfast in order to obtain eternal glory ! But you mistake the commentary : it means, He that en- dureth — to the end of life. Does it, indeed ? Then why not intimate such a thing ? Why not say it at once, and avoid this most wretched way of " darkening counsel by words without knowledge ? " To the end of life. Yery good ; this is right ; it is a pity that the thing was not stated so in the exposition ! This agrees with both common sense and Scripture ; for probation continues during life ; and until life is ended, the promise is not made sure. The spirit of the promise is this : " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Rev. ii. 10. It was in prospect of immediate death that the apostle was permitted to say, 2 Tim. iv. 6, " For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith ; 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- eous Judge, shall give me at that day," &c. And this agrees with our Lord's use of the promise in Matt. x. 22, where there does not appear to be the remotest allusion to the Jewish war. How much better than the above quoted comment is that of Richard Watson ! Says he, on this text, — " ISTot to the end of these persecutions and troubles ; for men may outlive their sufferings for Christ's sake, and the grace, too, which carried them through the trial, and fall away in times of sub- sequent ease and prosperity. Much less are we to understand, with others, by being saved, being delivered from the calami- ties of the siege of Jerusalem ; for these words, like the pre- ceding verses, refer to Christians throughout the world, and not merely to those in Jerusalem, or even in Judea. The salvation, as the connection shows, is eternal salvation ; and it is promised to them that endure. Here the word vzrof/.evw HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 121 may be taken in the sense of remaining when others aposta- tise and depart ; or in the sense of patiently sustaining all the afflictions, and conflicts, and temptations spoken of, to tlie end of life ; for then only is our salvation secure and certain." This is wholesome, scriptural, and satisfactory. But such expositions as the one just before examined, cannot be too earnestly deprecated. But our task with that kind of com- menting is not yet finished ; there is much more to come. Verse 14. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the WORLD FOR A WITNESS UNTO ALL NATIONS J AND THEN SHALL THE END COME. Whether the word world in this verse should be understood in its most extensive import, as it is used in some places ; or whether it should be understood in a somewhat limited sense, as it is not unfrequently used, admits of a question. There can be no doubt, however, but that it should be understood in a very general sense,.as including the greater proportion of the habitable earth. Perhaps the ordinary colloquial import of the term is sufficiently definite. We say all the world was represented in the great London Exhibition. But we do not wish to be understood in the most exact and extensive sense. Alexander conquered the world, is a very common expression ; but no one understands it in its most extensive import. Luke ii. 2. " There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed." Here is the same original word that is used in the verse under notice. But it evidently means the Roman empire, which did by no means include literally all the world. But the word before us, in its present connections, should not be limited to the empire ; for it was to be " unto all nations." It is possible that it should be as unrestricted in its application, as it is in Mark xvi. 15. u Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." True, the word in this text is xotfjxov, and the word in the verse under examination is ojxovfxsvyj ; but a little attention to the use of the words will show that they are used interchangeably. In Ro- mans x. 18, we have this latter word used to show the general promulgation of the gospel : " I say, Have they not heard % 122 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words nnto the ends of the (oixov^sv^) world." In Colossians i. G, we have the other word ; speaking of the general spread of the gospel, it is said, " Which is come unto you, as it is in all the (xo0>w) world." In Acts xvii. 31, where the universal judgment is spoken of, the same word is used that we find in the verse under notice. "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the (oimv^sv^v) world in righteous- ness, .... whereof he hath given assurance unto all men" &c. "We perceive by this that the word may mean, and sometimes does mean, the whole habitable world. And there is not only no particular reason for restricting the word in the verse before us ; but, on the other hand, there is reason for understanding it in its fullest signification. This is shown by the above quotations from Rom. x. 18, and Col. i. 6, where it is distinctly affirmed that the gospel had been carried throughout the world. And the same thing is affirmed very plainly in the 23d verse of the last mentioned chapter : " Which was preached to every creature under heaven." And this is proved also by reliable history. Eusebius, B. 2, c. 3, says, (and he speaks of the period before the destruc- tion of Jerusalem,) " Thus, then, under a celestial influence and cooperation, the doctrine of the Saviour, like the rays of the sun, quickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in accordance with divine prophecy, the sound of his inspired evangelists and apostles had gone throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." It would seem as if these proofs ought to be deemed sufficient to establish the conclusion respecting the extent of the signification of this word, especially as there is nothing to show to the contrary. " And then shall the end come;." What end is here intended? Answer — the end about which they inquired ; but not the end as they understood it. " What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the (aiwvos) age, or dispensation f " This rendering is according to the best authorities. The question appears to have been this : What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the (tfumXeio^) HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 123 finishing, or consummation of the (aiwvos) age — the present age, or duration of time that is to terminate when thou com- est ? By examining the chapter devoted to these inquiries, (Part 1, chap. 3,) there will be no difficulty in understanding what follows. The end here spoken of is undoubtedly the same that they had in view in their interrogations. It had a Jewish signification, and related to the closing up of the cuwvos then passing, and the establishment of the Messianic dispensation. But the manner in which they propounded their questions, manifested confusion and error in their appre- hension of the subject. And the Theory of this Exposition supposes that this discourse of our Lord was designed to cor- rect their erroneous impressions, and confirm them in the truth. The note of "Wesley is to the point, and characteristic of his remarkable clearness and precision. "The disciples inquire confusedly, 1, Concerning the time of the destruction of the temple ; 2, Concerning the signs of Christ's coming, and of the end of the world, as if they imagined these two were the same thing." The confusion of the disciples had respect to two things — 1. Supposing that Christ's coming spiritually, for the establish- ment of the Mediatorial kingdom, which would be during their own natural lifetime, was the same as the personal, visible advent for the judgment of the world, which will be at the final consummation — not of the Jewish period — but of the probation of the nations of the earth, when all nations shall be judged. They were also in error, 2, In supposing that the destruction of the temple would be synchronous with the coming of Christ, as they understood that coming, and as just above explained. This statement of the case is of great importance to a correct understanding of what follows. In view of the erroneous impression of the disciples, our Lord undertakes to show them three things : 1, The (rfuvrsXsia) consummation of that age ; 2, The destruction of the temple, and its attending calamities ; 3, The judgment advent of the Son of man, at the end of the world. These three things he presents in their respective order, and 124 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. pays the strictest regard to the chronology of the events The verse under notice relates to the consummation of the then present (ouwvos) age ; and it teaches not only when, but how, it should terminate. The author is apprised that what he is about to advance concerning the time and manner of closing up the Jewish age is entirely new. And it ought to be new ; for, after years of research, he has not had the happiness of finding any ex- planation of this subject that has appeared to be consistent either with the Scriptures, or with itself. But to the question : " 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." The complete and literal accomplishment of the first part of this prediction, has already been shown in the proper place. And it has been proved to have been fulfilled during the apostolic times. We now proceed to speak of the end which should result from that fulfillment. God raised up, separated, and peculiarly distinguished and governed, the Jewish people. And it was for the accomplish- ment of a distinct and peculiar purpose, during a definite and limited time. They were chosen to receive a particular knowledge of the nature and will of God, and to preserve that knowledge in the midst of the darkness and idolatry of the world ; so that, at a more suitable time, when God should think advisable, it might be communicated to the world generally. Intimately connected with this general design, there was another, more specific, and, if possible, more important : The world was, in due time, to be taught (perhaps it should read, retaught) the divine method of salvation, through the sacrifi- cial suffering and death of God's own beloved Son. Hence, for this two-fold purpose, the Jews received not only the moral law, by which is the knowledge of sin; but also the ceremonial law, by which to show the salvation from sin. The moral law of necessity implies and contains all appropri- ate doctrines and duties. The ceremonial law as necessarily HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 125 contained multiform typical services, designed to show both the necessity and nature of salvation, through the sacrificial Buffering and death of another. These statements need not be enlarged upon, in this connec- tion, for they are understood by all who will candidly examine this Exposition. Now this two-fold purpose God undertook to accomplish by means of the Jewish nation, until Divine Wisdom should see fit to fufill the typical dispensation, by the sacrificial death and offering of Jesus Christ once for all. Christ was the Lamb of God to which all previous offerings significantly pointed. Whatever human ignorance may think of this, it was undeniably the design and method of Infinite Wisdom. And the Jewish people were selected for the purpose of carry- ing this double purpose forward to completion. As one would reasonable expect, the divine administration over the world had always a particular respect to the accom- plishment of this object, as it was, for a definite period, com- mitted to the Jews. This great purpose was ever distinctly in view by the divine Mind, in all the principal events of that former dispensation. All would be dark, inexplicably dark, and unsatisfying, but for this. Now, that period of time during which this matter was intrusted to that people, and for whose sake, on this account, the world was more or less affected and governed, was em- phatically the Jewish (aiwvos) age. Everything in the divine administration was more or less Jewish in its reference and tendency, for this specific reason. It was a peculiar age for a peculiar purpose. And as it was not designed to be eternal, but temporary, it was necessarily limited to the period of its propriety, and then must terminate. The time of limiting the light of God's will and nature to that people, must in due time have an end ; and then God would send out his light and his truth abroad unto all people. Then there would be no longer any necessity or propriety in confining to that people the glad tidings of salvation through the redemption wrought out by the world's Kedeemer. The door of information and privilege must then be opened to the 126 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. excluded nations. The middle wall of separating exclusive- ness must then be broken down. And this must terminate that peculiar dispensation. It will then have accomplished its purpose ; and will be dismissed from its position in the divine government. But it would not be completely ended in a moment, for it did not completely begin in a moment. It required progressive and gradual consummation both in. beginning and ending. We might suppose that aiwvo$ began with the call of Abraham ; but did it then have the written and ceremonial law ? Could it then systematically and significantly typify the priesthood and sacrifice of Christ % "No ; and yet that age was, to some extent, begun. We might suppose it began with the Exodus from Egypt ; but were the typical institutions completely selected and established ? JSTo ; but there had been progress. It was not until after the giving of the law, and the consecration of the Levitical priesthood, and the setting up of the tabernacle, that the typical aiwvog- was fully established. It was not unbegun before ; but it was uncomplete until then. Just so in the ending or consummation of that period ; it is easy to perceive that even with John the Baptist it began to terminate : " The law and the prophets were until John ; since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and e very- man presseth into it." Luke xvi. 16. And when Christ and his first embassy of apostles began to preach, " The kingdom of heaven is at hand," there had been progress from John ; but there was still farther progress to make. The new dis- pensation began to jostle and to crowd the other; but both seemed for a time to coexist. The dawning of the new day began to shed twilight over the Israelitish hills ; but the day had not yet fully come. " Let thy kingdom come," was still the prayer of the church. And yet the Saviour affirmed, " If I by the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt but the king- dom of God is come upon you." Luke xi. 20. The view of the subject here defended, is the only one that can naturally harmonize those passages which teach that the kingdom had come, was nigh, and was yet to come. The fact is, the new HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 127 dispensation was gradual in completing its beginning ; and the old dispensation was as gradual in completing its consum- mation. When the Lamb of God was made an offering for sin, so far as sowing efficacy was concerned, the old dispensa- tion was ended, and the new one established. But still the time had not yet arrived for opening the door to the Gentiles ; the keys were already in the hands of the apostles ; but they had not learned how to nse them. They were instructed in relation to their duty to disciple all nations ; but commanded to begin at Jerusalem, and for a season to tarry there. God had not yet granted this salvation to the Gentiles. But the old dispensation, in regard to its exclusive- ness, was now ended ; the door of salvation was opened to the whole world. Yet one thing of importance remained : the hitherto excluded nations must now be imformedof their com- mon election to the privileges of the new dispensation ; and the far-off and universally scattered tribes of Israel, yet remaining in conscientious observance of the fulfilled institu- tions of the Jewish aiwvos, must now be visited by the ambas- sadors of the new kingdom, and invited to bow to the sceptre that governs to save. The obligation, the exclusiveness, the privileges, and the efficacy of the Jewish dispensation have already ended ; and but this one thing remains to complete its termination. When shall the end be ? and how shall it be % Ajaswer : " And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations / and then shall the END BE." As from the call of Abraham to the setting up of the tabernacle, it was progressing to its complete beginning / so from the days of John until this universal testimony to the nations, it was passing away, one thing after another, until its complete ending. This shall be the end. But the end would not come as they supposed it would. They thought Christ would then make his appearance in his judgment character, to establish such a worldly kingdom af. the Jews were generally and fondly expecting. They antici- pated some great and violent commotion, of which tho 128 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. destruction of the unbelieving Jews, with their holy house, would be a part. The predicted commotions and general judgment of the nations, at the closing up of the Gospel age, as related in Matt. xiii. and elsewhere, they had confounded with the extensive commotions and particular judgment of the Jewish people, at the closing up of the Jewish age. And this great mistake originated from their erroneous conceptions of Messiah's kingdom. The discourse of Christ was undoubt- edly intended to correct their errors ; and most clearly did it do so, if we may judge from its adaptation. It is lamentable that this misconception of the matter which the disciples manifested, and which our Lord undertook to correct, should still be propagated, to the confusion of God's people, and the encouragement of error and delusion. Up to this point in the prophecy, our Lord has accomplished two things : 1. He has corrected their misconception, that the end of the Jewish age would synchronise with his second personal coming to judgment. He has passed on from one event to another, with strict regard to the chronologic order, and conducted them down to the end of which they inquired, without a single reference to his personal coming. Thus has he corrected their erroneous impression in respect to that point. 2. In the second place, he has taught them that the nature of his kingdom* is not such as they expected : it will not come " with observation : " it will not be an earthly, visi- ble kingdom ; but one that will be established and spread abroad by the suffering, martyrdom, and testimony of his disciples ; and its establishment completed by the universal proclamation of the Gospel. To this view there may be urged this objection : That the phrase tfuvrsXsios rou aiwvos, in Matt, xxiv., and which event ter- minated before the fall of Jerusalem, is the same as in Matt. xiii., where it evidently refers, not to the end of the Jewish age, but to the end of the world. The point of the objection is this : That in Matt. xxiv. the euwvos terminated previously to the destruction of Jerusalem ; * During the Gospel dispensation. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 129 whereas, in Matt. xiii. we understand the term to refer to the end of the world, at the day of judgment. Just so ; and this is the answer — 1. Tou aiwvos, in Matt, xxiv., was evidently the Jewish age, which had just been the subject of discourse, and was then the matter of conversation and inquiry. 2. But, in Matt, xiii., the Jewish age or dispensation was neither directly nor indirectly referred to ; and did not in any sense form the subject of inquiry or discourse. 3. The "kingdom of heaven" — the Messianic age — was distinctly and confessedly the subject of the parables contain- ing the phrase in question. And in every instance, to guard against being misunderstood, the parables were thus intro- duced — "The kingdom of heaven is like," &c. 4. Finally, as must be evident to all, the ajwvoj referred to in both portions of the record, was the specific age which was then the special subject of inquiry and discourse. Therefore, what is affirmed of the end of the aiwvog- in Matt, xiii, has no proper connection with what is affirmed of the end of the aiwvoj in the verse under comment ; for, in one place, the (Tuvs against one another. At Cesarea, too, in honor of his brother's birth-day, 2,500 Jews were slain ; and a great number likewise at Berytus in honor of his father's. The like was done in other cities of Syria. Those whom he reserved for his triumph were Simon and John, the generals of the captives, and seven hundred others of remarkable stature and beauty. Thus were the Jews mis- erably tormented, and distributed over the Eoman provinces ; and are they not still distressed and dispersed over all the nations of the earth ? " {Newton on the Prophecies, p. 365.) Of their sufferings from continual alarms, from fatal accidents and diseases, from terrible famine, from ghastly wounds, from 152 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. cold, heat, weariness and bereavement, it is impossible to express or imagine. Josephus is not the only source of infor- mation ; but he is every way sufficient to show the literal an 1 minute fulfillment of our Lord's most extraordinary pre- diction. Verse 22. And except those days should be shortened, there should no FLESH BE SAVED; BUT FOR THE ELECT'S SAKE, [ Mark .' WHOM HE HATH CHOSEN,] THOSE DAYS SHALL BE SHORTENED. But who are the elect, for whose sake those days should be shortened ? Probably the same as in verse 24. The general impression that it refers to the Christian Jews, is most likely to be correct. God did not intend to make a full end of that race of people ; they have yet an important part to accom- plish in the great purposes of Divine Wisdom. But so gen- eral and terrible was the destruction that was brought upon them, that they might well have exclaimed, (Isa. i. 9,) ''Ex- cept the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah." That is, they would have been so totally overthrown as to leave none of them alive. From the beginning God determined not to suffer them to be utterly destroyed. He would have a portion in Jacob. The idea of a chosen remnant being preserved was familiar to the Jewish mind. Moses in his wonderful prophetic discourse and song, beginning in the twenty-eighth chap, of Deut., very distinctly describes the general and long-lasting desolation of the Jew- ish people ; but he just as distinctly affirmed the perpetual continuance of the race. By the prophet Isaiah, chap. x. they were likened to a forest of innumerable trees. Whereas, in their desolation, they should be thinned out until but a few were left. Yerse 19. " And the rest of the trees of the forest shall be few, that a child may write them. 20. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them ; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 153 God. 22. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return." The same idea of preserving a chosen remnant, is promi- nent also in chap. lxv. verse 8. " Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it ; so will I do for my servant's sake, that I may not destroy them all. Verse 9. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains / and mine elect shall inherit it, and my ser- vants shall dwell there." By Jeremiah, in several places, the same idea of preserv- ing a remnant is set forth, as, e. g. in chap. v. verse 10. " Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy ; but make not a full end." Verse 18. "Nevertheless, in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end of you." In chap. xxx. verse 11, we find the same idea : " For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee : though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee." So in Amos, chap. ix. verse 8. " Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth ; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord." St. Paul, in Rom., chap, xi., speaks also with particular reference to a chosen remnant which God preserved for himself: verse 5. "Even so, at this present time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace." Verse 7. " Israel [in the general] hath not obtained that which he seeketh for ; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded." These, undoubtedly, were the elect for whose sake the days of desolation, of which Christ was then particularly speaking, were shortened. They were preserved because they believed in Christ, and obeyed his admonitions. God, in fulfillment of many promises, saved them by special interposition. But even this chosen and preserved part of that unhappy people were not saved from the inconveniences and dangers of that period of tribulation-. Their hasty- flight- into the mountain- ous regions did indeed save them from the destruction that 154 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. befel those who remained in Judea ; but did it provide for them abodes of comfort and permanency in the places to which they fled ? Was it not especially for their sakes, as exiles from their native soil, that those days should be shortened, lest, after having escaped one form of destruction, they should perish by another ? And the shortening of those days was also necessary on account, also, of those who, by reason of age, infirmity, or other hindrances, could not escape from the ravages of the war. Some who were not previously converted were undoubtedly preserved, and became believers after the war had past. We should not limit the elect to those who were at that time believers, for several reasons : (1.) It is a fact that many others were preserved through the whole war. (2.) Many of those who were thus preserved were afterwards, probably, converted to the true faith. (3.) The elect, and the remnant which are so frequently spoken of in the Scriptures, have, it is likely, usually included a portion of such as were not, at the time, true believers. It is so at present ; it has been so from the first ; and it is to such that the promise of the renewing Spirit is given. See Ezek. xxxvi. 21-38, and similar passages. That there might not be an utter extermination of even the unconverted Jews; but that some might be preserved for future conversion, and to be parents of subsequent converts, those days of special suffering were providentially shortened. It is, perhaps, less evident that those who escaped from the country, stood in need of having the time of distress shortened, as much as those who remained during the war. " Those days should be shortened" Yet several years were spent in completing the terrible devastation that was begun by Oestius Gallus. The last siege of Jerusalem continued only a few months. And it was so strongly fortified, and so desperately defended, that even the conquerors were constrained to acknowledge that God had fought for them. In view of the strength of the walls and towers, Titus himself exclaimed, ""We have fought with God on- our side ; and it is- God; who bath pulled 7 the Jews ^SfaS of HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 155 these strong holds ; for what could the hands of men or ma- chines do against these towers ? " The internal dissensions and slaughter among the Jews themselves contributed not a little to hasten the final catastrophe. CHAPTER VI. Prmctpal subjects — False Christs and False Prophets. Renewed appearance of Impostors — Why so successful — Two-fold Caution — Simon Magus — Menander, his Successor — Claims to be Jesus Christ — Character of the Signs and Wonders wrought by the Impostors — Why the Jews, who were imposed upon by false Miracles, did not credit the true — Illustration from modern Infidelity — Modern Wonder-workers — Deceiving the Elect — Import of the phrase, "If it be possible" — Facts in the case — Origin and Names of the principal Heresies during the Primitive Times — Origin of the False Christs and False Prophets — Two ways in which they appeared — Why Christ was expected in "the Secret Chambers" — Use of Josephus' History. Verse 23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there ; BELIEVE IT NOT. This should not be regarded as a mere repetition of what was said at the beginning of the discourse ; but as a warning against false Christs and false prophets, who would make their appearance at the precise time of which the Lord was now speaking : they would come during the terrible siege of Jeru- salem. The Jews did not believe that God would abandon them to their enemies. They were constantly looking for some divine interposition, by which they should be delivered. And it seems to have been generally understood among them, that, according to the prophecies, it was time for Messiah to come. Hence, they were easily imposed upon by the impostors who appeared in their midst. As their calamities increased, and utter destruction threatened them, their hope of Messiah's 156 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. appearing seemed to increase, and, as it were, concentrate itself within the limited space which seemed to intervene be- tween them and total destruction. They expected a deliverer who should perform miracles, and exhibit astonishing signs among them. The impostors would not fail to adapt themselves to the expectations of the people ; and would come claiming to be Christ, and working, or appearing to work, miracles. Our Saviour gives this additional caution, to put his disci- ples on their guard against plausible and successful impos- tures. If they say, Lo, here is Christ, believe it not. If any who may associate with the impostors, shall endeavor to per- suade you to join with them, do not be deceived : remember that you have been forewarned of this very thing. Or if they shall point to the pretenders, and say, There is Christ, and try to persuade you to go after them, do not be deceived : others will run after them, but be you constantly guarded against them. Verse 24. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and SHALL SHOW GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS. This did actually occur. ^Notwithstanding the disappoint- ments and calamities that were occasioned by former impos- tors, the Jews would not abandon their expectation of a deliv- erer ; and a succession of deceivers continued to impose upon them. At an earlier period than Christ was now speaking of, there appeared Simon Magus, who is referred to in Acts viii., 9-11. Eusebius, B. 3, c. 26, describes another : " M enander, who succeeded Simon Magus, exhibited himself an instrument of diabolical wickedness, not inferior to the former. He also was a Samaritan ; and having made no less progress in his impostures than his master, reveled in still more arrogant pre- tensions to miracles, saying that he was in truth the Saviour, once sent from the invisible world for the salvation of men." Several impostors are mentioned by Josephus, and will be re- ferred to in -connection with a following: verse. "And shall show great signs and wonders" HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. .61 The comment on this prediction by Watson is worfc! , of notice : " What these were, we have now no means of judging ; whether deceptions, or the result, to a certain extent, of a per- mitted supernatural agency. " From the detected character of popish ' signs and won- ders,' which bear so strong a resemblance to those of Jewish and pagan miracles, we may conclude it probable that they were impostures and 'lying wonders,' but artfully contrived by the more skillful to mislead the ignorant mass, prepared for delusion by that gross superstition and belief in magic which prevailed among them. Simon Magus bewitched the people with his i sorceries,' and Josephus calls the false proph- ets who appeared at this time among the Jews, magoi and goetes, magicians and sorcerers. "As to amulets, charms, sorceries, and enchantments, the Jews of that age were notoriously credulous ; and as incred- ulous as to the real miracles of our Lord and his apostles. " The truth of these miracles obtains from this a stronger evidence, and the unbelief of the Jews a moral solution. By a credulous people, they must have been admitted as demon- strative of the doctrines in confirmation of which they were wrought ; but they hated the doctrine itself, and this passion overpowered every mental habit, and changed, as to those glorious evidences of pure and holy truth, the whole charac- ter of their minds. Nor is this without a parallel. The cre- DULrrY of lneidelity in our own age has often been remarked ; and it is exemplified in the readiness with which both those who entirely reject the Holy Scriptures, and the critics who would explain away their supernatural character, admit the most absurd theories in opposition to them, and the deceived confidence with which they teach them to others." In all ages, there have been those who have wrought aston- ishing wonders. Our own times are not without the wonder- workers, whose doings form the topic of private gossip and public reports. By mysterious and little understood natural laws, by which one person may affect another, and by which even inanimate things may, to some extent, be affected ; and 158 HARMOXY AKD EXPOSITION. also by permitted diabolical agency, such as is frequently allu- ded to in the Scriptures, those impostures may have been really astounding, and well calculated to deceive the super- stitious and credulous Jews. Verse 24, (last part) Iksomuch that, dtt were possible, they shall deceive THR VERT ELECT. The note of "Whitby is quite appropriate and satisfactory, with respect to the phrase, " if it were possible :" " First. That the phrase ej tfuvcwov, 'if it be possible,' or, 'if it may be,' doth not denote an absolute impossibility, but only a great difficulty in the performance of an act possible. So Acts xx. 16. ' Paul hastened si fawriv ofcw-u, if it were pos- sible for him, to be at Jerusalem before Pentecost ;' and yet sure he made not all this haste to do what was impossible. The apostle commands, g< fovcwov, 'If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, have peace with all men ;' (Rom. xii. 18,) and yet doth not he exhort us to use our utmost endeavors to do what was impossible. Ei fovarov, ' If it be possible, let this cup pass from me,' saith Christ, (Matt. xxvi. 49,) and yet he adds, ' all things are possible to thee, O Father,' (Mark xiv. 35,) and hence the phrase is changed by St. Luke into si /3o£Xsi, ' if thou wilt.' " Now, that the deceiving of Christians in those times of miraculous endowment was very difficult, is evident from that speech concerning a thing hardly feasible, Oarrov ng rovs cko XpKfrcv [xsTadtdajzeig, ' Sooner may a Christian be turned from Christ.' " Secondly. This phrase imports, not what the event would be upon the elect, but the vehemence of the endeavors of the seducers, that they would do the utmost that they could pos- sible to shock the Christian, and seduce him from his stead- fastness, as is evident from the words of St. Mark, xiii. 22, ' They will show signs and wonders, *pog r6 d?rwXavav, el (Juvarov, to deceive, if they are able, the elect.' " Now, to say such a one will do you mischief, if he can, or if he be able, is surely no security that he can do you none. "And, Thirdly. Should this phrase respect the event, it may HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 159 do it not absolutely, but only with relation to the means here mentioned ; i. e. ' they shall show great signs and won- ders,' which shall prevail to seduce Jews, heathens, and Sa- maritans, and even Christians, were it possible for impostors by lying signs and wonders to deceive them, who are invest- ed with the power of making true and greater signs and wonders by the assistance of the Holy Ghost, and will attend to the things wrought among them or by them." Much more of the same import may be found by consult- ing Whitby's annotations on the text under notice. This part of his argument has been adopted, as containing the substance of about all the logic which the passage has called forth. There are now before the writer a variety of commentaries, in all of which this passage is brought under notice. But strange as it may be, not one of them undertakes to settle the matter by referring to facts. Yet, there are historical eviden- ces which ought to be deemed sufficient to settle the point in question. St. Paul says, 1 Tim. iv. 1, " Now the Spirit speaketh ex- pressly, that in the latter time, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 2 Tim. ii. 17. "And their word will eat as doth a canker : of whom is Hymeneus and Philetus : 18. "Who concerning the truth, have erred, saying the resurrection is passed already ; and overthrow the faith of some." 2 Tim. i. 15. " This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me ; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes." Rev. ii. 20. " Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, be- cause thou sufferest that woman, Jezebel, which calleth her- self a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants to com- mit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols." 2 Cor. xi. 3. " But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent be- guiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be cor- rupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."* In the various schisms and corruptions which crept into the church during the latter part of the apostolic age, there is '■-"'■ *See Note C, in the "Appendix 160 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. every reason to believe that many real believers in Christ were turned away from the faith, and gave heed unto fables. Eusebius' Eccl. Hist. B. 4, c. 22, contains an extract from Hegesippus, a Christian divine, who was born in the begin- ning of the second century. He treats of the introduction of heresies in the church, and of the origin of false Christs, and false prophets. " But after James the Just had suffered martyrdom, as our Lord had, for the same reason, Simeon, the son of Cleophas, our Lord's uncle, was appointed the second bishop, whom all proposed, as the cousin of our Lord. Hence they called the church as yet a virgin, for it was not yet cor- rupted by vain discourses. Thebuthis made a beginning se- cretly to corrupt it, on account of his not being made bishop. He was one of those seven sects among the Jewish people. " Of these also was Simeon, whence sprung the sect of the Simonians ; also, Cleobius, from whence came the Cleobians; also Dositheus, the founder of the Dositheans. From these, also, sprung the Gortheonians, from Gortheus, and the Masboteans, from Masbotheus. Hence, also, the Menandrians, and Marcionists, and Carpocratians, and Yal- entinians, and Basilidians, and the Saturnilians, every one introducing his own peculiar opinions, one differing from another. From these sprung the false Christs and false proph- ets, and false apostles, who divided the unity of the church, by the introduction of corrupt doctrines against God, and against Christ." Euseb. B. 4, c. 7, speaking of Satan's efforts to corrupt the church, observes, " He employed the agency of wicked im- postors and deceivers, as certain abandoned instruments and ministers of destruction. Intent upon every course, he insti- gated these insidious impostors and deceivers, by assuming the same name with us (Christians) to lead those believers whom they happened to seduce to the depths of destruction, and by their presumption, also turn those that were igno- rant of the faith, from the path that led to the saving truth of God." Perhaps it may appear to some that all this testimony, which, after all, is but a specimen of what might be exhibit- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 161 ed, does not prove that any of the true believers were de- ceived, and turned from the gospel faith. But it must result from extreme unwillingness to believe what this array of ev- idences is designed to prove. It may, indeed, be objected, that the false Christs, and false prophets here spoken of, were not those to which Christ par- ticularly referred. The objection is, to a degree, perhaps, founded in truth. But these false teachers were those who began to corrupt the church, previously to the time of which Christ was speaking, and they continued until after that time. There is sufficient reason for believing that some of them were among the very ones that Christ particularly referred to. It may be objected still further, that those who were de- ceived and corrupted were not, after all, real believers. But the objection is directly opposed to all the appearances and historical teachings in the case. Indeed, does it not flatly contradict the express declarations of the inspired word ? It may be still further objected, that those of whom these quotations speak, as having been deceived, were not the elect of whom Christ was speaking. But is this anything more than a mere assumption, without a particle of proof? All the probabilities in the case are against the assumption. Be- sides, nothing can be gained for the doctrine which the objec- tion is designed to defend, by admitting that true believers of one period may be deceived, but not those of another period. [Mark: But take ye heed;] Verse 25. Behold, I have told you before. "jBut take ye heed." Be always on your guard against these impostors, for they will come among you, even occupying the highest places in the church, and many shall be seduced by them, and shall follow their pernicious ways. Take heed for yourselves, and also for the flock over which you may be overseers. Be at all times on the alert, that you may detect and expose the wolves in sheeps' clothing, not sparing the flock in the fold. How vigilant and faithful the apostles were, in respect to these things, we may easily understand, by examining the writings and histories of Paul, Peter, Jude, and John. 11 162 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. The Lord knew beforehand what they were destined to wit- ness and endure ; and, as far as possible, prepared them for the watch-care and government of the church. This admoni- tion was necessary at all times, and especially necessary for the particular time which Christ had then in view. "Behold, I have told you before." Not only of the fact that such impostors will appear ; but also the particular manner in which they will appear, and how they will succeed in their wicked devices. Let the fact that I have distinctly informed you of these things, so long before they come to pass, be an additional evidence to you of my Messiahship, when the false Christs and false prophets shall call it in question. And be ready, at all times, to expose these impostors, by the signs which I have given you. Verse 26. Wherefore, if they shall sat unto you, Behold, he is in the DESERT, GO NOT FORTH ; BEHOLD, HE IS LN THE SECRET CHAMBERS ; BELIEVE IT NOT. In some instances the impostors would appear openly in public places. Then the procedure would be, " Lo, here is Christ, or lo there !" This would be the first method, and, therefore, it is first described. But they will also proceed in another manner : they will try to induce you to go into the desert. Josephus, Ant., B. 20, c. 8, s. 5, 6, thus refers to this very meth- od of procedure : "And now these impostors and deceivers per- suaded the multitude to follow them into the wilderness, and pretended that they would exhibit manifest wonders and signs, that should be performed by the providence of God. And many that were prevailed on by them suffered the pun- ishment of their folly ; for Felix brought them back, and then punished them. Moreover, there came out of Egypt about this time to Jerusalem, one that said he was a prophet, and advised the multitude of the common people to go along with him to the Mount of Olives. ... He said, further, that he would show them from hence how, at his command, the walls of Jerusalem would fall down ; and he promised them that he would procure them an entrance into the city through those walls, when they were fallen down." HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 163 War, B. 2, c. 13, s. 4. " There was also another body of wicked men gotten together, not so impure in their actions, but more wicked in their intentions, which laid waste the happy state of the city no less than did these murderers. These men were such as deceived and deluded the people, under pretence of divine inspiration ; but were for procuring innovations and changes in the government ; and these pre- vailed with the multitude to act like madmen, and went be- fore them into the wilderness, as pretending that God would show them there the signals of liberty." We learn from the next section, that the Egyptian false prophet before mentioned, so prospered in his imposture, that " thirty thousand men were deluded by him. These he led round about from the wilderness [where he first induced them to go] to the mount which is called the Mount of Olives, and was ready to break into Jerusalem by force from that place." War, B. 7, c. 11, s. 1, gives an account of a weaver, by the name of Jonathan, who " prevailed with no small number of the poorer sort to give ear to him. He also led them into the desert, upon promising them that he would show them signs and apparitions." How wonderfully distinct and particular was the Saviour's prophecy, both in respect to the events that should occur, and also with respect to the circumstances and succession ! How very appropriate and necessary the admonition, not to go into the desert ! "Behold, he is in the secret chambers ; believe it not? The temple had many secret chambers ; and it was not un- natural for these credulous rejectors of the true Christ, to sup- pose that the Messiah might have come, and might be hidden in the inner recesses of the holy house. They had been de- ceived in all those who had led the multitudes into the desert, as well as in those who had exhibited themselves publicly in their streets. Now, besieged in their capital, with destruc- tion just ready to come upon them, if the still expected de- liverer appeared, he would be likely to issue from the inner 164 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. chambers of the temple itself. Here, again, the Jewish his- torian, without intending any encouragement to Christianity, gives a distinct narrative of the fulfillment of this part of this most minute prophecy. War, B. 6, c. 5 s. 2. Speaking of several thousands of men, women, and chil- dren, who were destroyed in consequence of their being in- duced to seek refuge in the temple, he observes, — "A false prophet was the occasion of these people's destruction, who had made a public proclamation in the city that very day, that God commanded them to get up upon the temple, and there they should receive miraculous signs of their deliver- ance. ISTow, there was then a great number of false prophets suborned by the [Jewish] tyrants to impose on the people, who denounced this to them, that they should wait for deliv- erance from God ; this was to keep them from deserting, and that they might be buoyed up above fear and care by such hopes. Now, a man that is in adversity, does easily comply with such promises ; for when a seducer makes him believe that he shall be delivered from those miseries that oppress him, then it is that the patient is full of hopes of such deliv- erance." How perfectly the discourse of Christ observes the chrono- logic order of events ! Nothing less than Omniscience could have foreseen the precise succession of the multitude of items which make up the body of the prophecy. And, in respect to the confirmatory history of the accom- plishment of the predictions, the observation of Wesley is very just : " Josephus' History of the Jewish War is the best commentary on this chapter. It is a wonderful instance of God's providence, that he, an eye-witness, and one who lived and died a Jew, should, especially in so extraordinary a man- ner, be preserved, to transmit to us a collection of important facts, which so exactly illustrate this glorious prophecy, in al- most every circumstance." Note on verse 14. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 165 CHAPTER VII. Principal subjects — The Coming of Christ, and the History of Jerusalem since the Roman War. Does the 27th verse refer to the Romans ? — Opinions of eminent Divines — The Issue announced — How the question is to be settled — The Passage examined — Its designed use — Things to be considered — The single bear- ingof the Illustration — The Carcass and the Eagles — Two Applications — How one could be taken and another left — An important Emendation of Matthew's Record — Position of the passage from Luke — Destruction and Dispersion of the Jews — Different from previous Dispersions — Jerusalem in the possession of the Gentiles — Import of the expression, "Trodden down of the Gentiles" — The city in the times of Constantine — Julian the Apostate — His attempt to defeat the fulfillment of the Prophecy — Result — How the city is to be in the possession of the Gentiles — Import of the expression, "Times of the Gentiles.' Verse 27. 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. This verse is so important in its relations to the general subject, that a misapplication of it cannot fail to involve the exposition of the chapter in inextricable difficulty. That it appears to refer to the second personal advent of our Lord is sufficiently evident. But that it does primarily and exclu- sively refer to that event is generally denied. And, in this general denial, those who believe in such an advent make, to a certain extent, common cause with those who do not believe in it. The passage itself is probably as plain a reference to the second advent as any one in the whole Bible. And if it were placed almost anywhere else in the Bible, the believers in the second coming of Christ could scarcely find a reason for disagreement about its meaning. But the connection of the passage with the other parts of the discourse is insisted upon by some as sufficient evidence that it must, in some way, refer to the temporal matters that were, at that precise point, the subjects of prophecy. If this 166 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. be allowed to decide the matter, then there can be but one primary application of the verse ; and that must refer it to the temporal judgments which then formed the special topics of discourse. It is deemed advisable to lay before the reader the opinions of commentators whose works are in common use in our country. Bishop Newton (On the Prophecies.) " The Roman army entered Judea on the east side of it, and carried on their conquests westward, as if not only the extensiveness of the ruin, but the very route which the army would take, was intended in the comparison of the lightning comiug out of the east, and shining even unto the west."* Lond. ed.p. 354. Dr. Coke. " His coming will not be in this or that particu- lar place, but like the lightning, sudden and universal. The appearance of the true Christ will be as distinguishable from that of the false Christs, as lightning, which shineth all round the hemisphere, is from a blaze of straw ; it is very remarkable, * That the Roman army entered into Judea on the east side of it, and carried on their conquests westward.' " Dr. Clarke. " It is worthy of remark, that our Lord, in the most particular manner, points out the very march of the Roman army; they entered into Judea on the east, and carried on their conquests westward, as if not only the ex- tensiveness of the ruin, but the very route which the army would take, were intended in the comparison of the lightning issuing from the east, and shining to the westP Dr. Scott. " The Christians, if they had not been fore- warned, might have been deceived on another ground ; for they expected their Lord to come, not to deliver, but to de- stroy Jerusalem ; they were therefore reminded that his coming for this purpose, would not be secret, or local / but bike the " lightning, which shineth" at once from east to west ; for in his righteous providence, he would, with conspicuous *This was not original with Bishop Newton; he professed to derive it from Bishop Peabck. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 167 and irresistible energy, desolate the whole land. The Eoman armies entered Judea by the east, and carried their victorious ravages to the west, in a very rapid and tremendous manner." Richard "Watson. " In the noble and illustrative compari- son here used, his disciples were taught that he would not appear in the desert or in secret places, but, 1. In public ma- jesty as Judge, to be known 'by the judgment which he should execute.' 2. Suddenly, without whispering premoni- tory rumors, even as the lightning from heaven. 3. Through the length and breadth of the land, by the sudden and gen- eral, meeting of the Roman armies in march, from the east even to the west, all hastening from the Mediterranean coasts on the east, toward Jerusalem on the west." Dr. Whitby. " You will then need none to instruct you where Christ is, or to say to you, He is here, or there ; for by the Roman army, which shall pass through the territories of the Jews like lightning, his coming to take vengeance on that nation shall be manifest ; and wherever the Jews, who, like dead carcasses, shall be devoured by the Roman eagles, are, thither shall he fly with them, to tear and to devour them." Mr. Burkitt. "There is a three-fold coming of Christ spoken of in the New Testament. 1. His coming in his spiritual kingdom by the preaching of the gospel among the Gentiles. 2. His coming to destroy Jerusalem forty years after his ascension. 3. His final coming to judgment at the great day. All these comings of the Son of man, for their suddenness and unexpectedness, are compared unto lightning, which in a moment breaketh out of the east, and shineth unto the west. Learn hence, that the coming and appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the judging of the wicked and impenitent sinners, will be a very certain, sudden, and unexpected appearance." Cottage Bible. " The meaning appears to be, that as this surprising meteor shoots in the same instant from east to west, and pervades the whole horizon, so should the Roman 108 HARMONY ASD EXPOSITION. armies, which attend the coming of the Son of man, like a mighty tempest, at once cover the whole land of Israel." Mr. Barnes. " This is not designed to denote the quarter from which he would come, but the manner. He does not mean to affirm that the Son of man will come from the east, but that he will come in a rapid and unexpected manner, like lightning. Many would be looking for him in the desert ; many in secret places. But, he said, it would be useless to be looking in that manner. It was useless to look to any par- ticular part of the heavens, to know where the lightning would next flash. In a moment it would blaze in an unex- pected part of the heavens, and shine at once to the other part. So rapidly, so unexpectedly, in so unlooked-for a quar- ter, would be his coming." That Mr. Barnes understood the illustration of the light- ning to be applicable to the destruction of Jerusalem, appears from several observations that follow the above. " The words, therefore, had doubtless a primary reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, but such an amplitude of meaning as also to express his coming to judgment." Referring to the illustration of the eagles, in the next verse, he remarks : " This verse is connected with the preceding by the word 'for,' implying that this is a reason for what is said there, that the Son of man would certainly come to destroy the city, and that he would come suddenly. The meaning is, he would come hy means of the Roman armies." Dr. Benson. " The coming of the Son of man shall be in a very different manner, and for very different ends, from what you are imagining. It shall be like lightning, swift, un- expected, and destructive. His appearance will be as dis- tinguishable from that of every false Christ, as lightning, which shines all around the hemisphere, is from a blaze of straw. "What Bishop Pearce observes from Josephus is very remarkable. 'The Roman army entered into Judea on the east side of it, and carried on their conquests westward, as if HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 169 not only the extensiveness of the ruin, but the very route which the army would take, was intended in the comparison of the lightning coming out of the east and shining even unto the west." There are many other smaller and less important publica- tions, which adopt the same general method of explaining the verse under notice. They are usually but little more than mere compilations ; and, as might be expected, copy from the more extensive commentaries their principal ideas, and their leading illustrations. Several of the more ancient standard expositions are quite confused and undecided in respect to the meaning of the illustration of the lightning. So far as the author has been able to extend his researches back along the succession of commentators, Bishop Peaece appears to have been the ingenious discoverer of the happy mode of interpreting the illustration of the lightning. From Bishop Pearce the thing was copied by Bishop Newton in his work on the Prophecies. And this latter work appears to have been the principal source of argument and illustration, in commenting on this part of the Scriptures, for nearly all the later divines. " Honor to whom honor is due." The foregoing quotations, considered with reference to their principal points, teach just two things : 1. That the lightning shining from east to west illustrates the invasion and conquest of Judea by the Romans : that they entered into Judea on the east, and carried on their conquests west- wardly. 2. That as the lightning flashes out suddenly and unexpectedly, instantly illuminating the whole heavens ; so would it be with respect to the coming and conquests of the Roman armies ; it would be so sudden, so unexpected, and the conquests and desolations so general and rapid, as to be fitly represented by the flashing, spreading, destructive light- ning. The author is not sensible of doing injustice to the prece- ding quotations, by this condensed summary of their general 170 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. teaching ; and his only object in making this summary is, to bring more distinctly before the reader the precise points to which he designs to reply. Reader, consider attentively the principal points in these quotations ; notice how confident the declarations, and the appeals to history ; and how important to the proper under- standing of the prophecy these historic illustrations are con- sidered. Having done this, carefully consider now what you are about to read ; for its importance commends it to your most serious attention. After a long, thorough, and entirely satisfactory examination of this matter; having critically examined the original authorities referred to ; having in innu- merable instances made it a subject of inquiry, and sought information from the living, as well as from the writings of the deceased ; the author is now prepared to make his unex- pected, startling, but well-weighed, and confident statement. Reader, there is no truth, or semblance of truth, in those quotations, so far as they relate to the history of the coming and conquest of the Romans. Not only is there no truth in them, but in respect to the point in question, they are diametri- cally opposite to the truth in every important particular. The whole thing is a fiction, with hmdly a sufficiency of founda- tion truth to be called a romance. The positive affirmations are proved to be without truth by the very authorities which are appealed to ! The issue is distinct, and the reader is challenged to inves- tigate. But how shall the question be decided % by opinions, or assertions ? Certainly not ; it is purely a question of fact, and to facts the appeal is made. But as the investigation would necessarily interrupt the consecutive exposition of the prophecy, the facts in the case are brought together in a part of the book specially devoted to that purpose. The reader is therefore particularly requested, before proceeding any fur- ther, to turn to the second Appendix, and, with a good map before him,* examine the subject for himself. * Robinson's is the best. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 171 Verse 27. 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. Supposing the reader to have complied with the request to examine the application of this verse to the Jewish war, and that he is now ready to proceed with the Exposition, we come directly to the text. We find several things in this verse to observe : 1. The Lord was not, at this point, discussing the subject of his coming ; but merely alluded to it for a particular pur- pose, to be hereafter considered. The reference to his com- ing, in this place, was evidently anticipatory, so far as it relates to chronological order. The proper position for the subject of his coming, to be regularly described, is after the 29th verse. There it is treated formally, particularly, and with special reference to its preceding, attending, and succeed- ing events. Will the reader do himself and the author the favor carefully to notice this evident and important fact. 2. Another thing to be observed is, that this reference to his coming was for the purpose of illustrating another subject; not the coming of the Romans, but the coming of the FALSE Christs, of which he was then particularly speaking. 3. And it should be noticed also, that the intention of the illustration was to point out a contrast, not a similitude. The Lord had in view the liability of his disciples to be mis- led by confounding things that had no proper similarity. They might be deceived by the false Christs, on the supposi- tion that when the Lord should come, it might be in a manner similar to the appearance of the impostors. He at once secures them from this source of danger, by simply stating the manner in which he would appear, — as the light- ning flashing through the heavens. 4. Christ undoubtedly desired that this illustration should have such an impression on the minds of his disciples as would be natural, — not needing a lengthy dissertation, or, indeed, any labored effort, to produce the proper impression. The minds for which the illustration was intended (supposing it designed for general use,) were not the critical, the investi- gating, and the superior ; but the common minds ; the minds 172 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. of the farmers, merchants, mechanics, fishermen, day laborers ; those of the women and children ; in a word, the ordinary- minds of the people generally. And such would undoubtedly understand him to speak of himself, in a strictly personal, and not in a merely representative, or judicial sense. And this would be the more likely to be the case, from the fact that he did, immediately after, speak so evidently of his personal advent. 5. "We should be careful not to judge of the impression naturally produced in their minds, by the groundless notions which we may have derived from the far-fetched, labored, metaphysical, and — as has been proved — fictitious, interpre- tations of this passage. The disciples of that day had not our numerous, voluminous, figurative, and wonderfully ingenious expositions of the Lord's discourse. They listened to its delivery, or they perused the record, with very different pre- conceptions from ours. So far as they prejudged the matter at all, they supposed that Christ would come, in person, about that time. Everything indicates this: the coming of the impostors ; the danger of deception ; the nature of the admo- nitions ; the misunderstood predictions. And the admonitions of Christ cannot be tortured into such a shape, as to show, or even to appear to show, that he desired or intended to remove from their minds the impression that the coming he referred to would be a personal coming. His whole effort in the case was to guard them against other things ; particularly, against a misunderstanding of the time and manner of his coming. 6. Our Lord most certainly knew what were the supposi- tions of the disciples respecting the nature of his coming ; and it is sufficiently obvious that the reference to his coming in the 27th verse, was intended to guard them against deception on this particular point. But how did he do it ? Did he say to them, You are mistaken in your impression that I am to come personally : it is not a personal coming, as the impos- tors will pretend, but only a figurative or judicial coming : I mean simply that I am to come in judgment, by means of the Roman armies ? Now if this was in fact the coming he referred to, and he HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 173 desired to guard them against being deceived by the impos- tors, how much more natural it would have been for him just to have informed them of this ; and, by so doing, not only guard them from danger of deception on this point, but save many generations from misapprehending him. But, instead of removing their impression that he was to come personally, he made an allusion to a coming that he immediately de- scribed in a way that seems to be as personal as language can make it. And the difference between the coming of the impostors and his own coming, he did not in any way inti- mate to consist in being the one personal, and the other figurative ; but in the distinctly asserted fact, this his coming should be as the lightning flashing through the heavens. And when he introduced the subject in its proper order, not by a mere allusion, but for the purpose of describing it, he affirmed that he would come in the clouds of heaven, and that all the tribes of the earth should see him coming in that man- ner. This must certainly have been to the disciples, with their previous impression of the personality of his coming, not only a sufficient guard against deception by the false Christs, but also a deep confirmation of the reality of his coming in person at the proper time. The subject is here treated incidentally, and will be re- sumed at the appropriate place to treat it particularly, as our Lord himself has done. Verse 28. Foe wheresoever the carcass is, there well the eagles be gath- ered TOGETHER. But what is intended by the carcass and the eagles ? This is a little obscure. Those who see nothing but the coming of the Romans in the reference to the coming of the Son of man as the flashing lightning, will of course find something to fix upon, in connection with the Romans, which may be used as an argument for such an application of the text. And it should be cheerfully admitted that among the images and other de- vices on the Roman ensigns, the image of the eagle was very conspicuous ; as much so, probably, as the same figure on our own national standard. And this seems to have been consid- 1Y4 HAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. ered a sufficient proof that the preceding verse refers to the Romans, because of this supposed allusion to their ensigns. But on this point there are several things to be considered. 1. It has been proved that the reasons assigned for referring the 27th verse to the Romans, are not founded in fact, Is it not more than useless, then ; — is it not reprehensible, to coun- tenance and propagate so evident and so injurious an error ? If the eagles of the 28th verse refer to anything connected with the Romans, the proof must be drawn from some other source than the verse relating to the lightning. 2. If the 27th verse be acknowledged to have no reference to the Romans, but to be an anticipatory reference to the coming of Christ, then the 28th verse would be closely related to the 26th, and would seem to refer more particularly to the impostors of whom Christ was then discoursing. The body of the Jewish people might then be considered as the lifeless carcass, ready to be preyed upon by the false prophets and false Christs, who, like the eagles, would scent their prey, and gather to deceive and destroy. The advantages of this appli- cation over the usual one would be, (1.) That the subject of the discourse would not be interrupted by the introduction of an entirely new theme ; for, in this case, the 27th verse would be a mere allusion — parenthetic in nature — to a subject re- ferred to for a moment to show, at a glance, the contrast between the true coming of Christ — which would soon be formally considered — and the coming of the impostors, which was then the immediate subject of discourse. And, (2.) This application would better agree with the character of the eagle; for it is well known that this bird is not gregarious, and does not make its attacks in great numbers, like armies. It is an unsocial bird ; and, to quote Watson's Dictionary, " Provi- dence has constituted it a solitary animal ; two pairs of eagles are never found in the same neighborhood, though the genus is dispersed through every quarter of the world." Now the Romans rushed upon the Jews in large masses, totally unlike the gathering of the eagles to the prey, solitarily, or in single pairs. But the impostors, of whom Christ was then speaking, did not come upon the Jews in crowds, but singly, HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 175 or in small numbers at a time. And they were really as much instrumental in the destruction of the Jews as the Romans themselves, though not quite so immediately. These considerations are not relied upon as proving the supposition beyond dispute ; but as worthy of notice, showing very clearly that there is no necessity of referring the verse to the Romans. If, however, it should be deemed more appro- priate to interpret the verse in connection with the 27th, then nothing can be more proper than to apply it to the destruction of the wicked at the second coming of Christ. The Scriptures distinctly teach us, that when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, it will be in flaming fire, taking vengeance on the wicked, who shall then be destroyed. 2 Tliess. i. 7 ; Rom. ii. 5. And we are just as distinctly taught that the angels will be the agents employed in that final de- struction of the wicked. Sinners dead in trespasses and sins, might be represented as the lifeless carcasses ; and the awful descent of the angels from heaven, to execute the judgments denounced upon the incorrigible, might be represented fitly by the terrible rushing of the eagles upon their prey. And this application, too, should be preferred to the one in com- mon repute. It is not insisted upon however. 3. But, in relation to the application of the text, it should be remembered, that the illustration itself was neither new nor unusual. Long before the Romans were heard of, the gathering of the eagles to their prey was a proverb among the Orientals. Job. xxxix. 27-30. The Old Testament contains several references to the eagles ; and sometimes, it seems, the ravages of armies are illustrated by the habits of this bird. But whether the illustration in the verse before us was designed to apply to the Romans or not, it is certain that a little less positiveness in the matter would be more becoming : and a little more attempt at proof would be desirable, on the part of those who so confidently teach that the coming of the Romans is intended. 4. After all, this is a matter of but little consequence in its bearing upon this Exposition. If it refers to the Romans, its introduction in this manner, and in this place, is exceedingly 176 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. abrupt, and tends greatly to confuse the mind, in its efforts to discover the chronological relation of the events predicted. Allowing the application of the illustration to the Romans, it seems appropriate to read it in connection with the passage which follows it in the Harmony, which is the next one brought under notice. If any importance, touching this point, should be given to the seventeenth chapter of Luke, then this gathering of the eagles to the carcass should be considered as referring to that specific time when there should be " two men in one bed ; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding together ; the one shall be taken, and the other left." "And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord ? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together." Luke xvii. 34-37. It should be observed here, that our Lord is now, (Luke xvii.) speaking of a particular time of separation, between those most intimately associated. And it was to be " in that night" And there is nothing in the whole passage that appears to have the remotest reference to the Romans. But, on the other hand, there are some considerations which make it appear exceedingly improper so to apply it ; especially the specific time "in that night;" and likewise the nature of the occur- rence which would then take' place : not the escape of one, and the taking of the other ; but a taking of one from the side of another, who is left. Now what was there during the whole Roman war that was so prominent among the other events as to mark the specific time "in that night," when the gathering of the eagles should be dated ? And, more particularly, what was there, " in that night," that corresponded with the predicted separation of intimates — the talcing of one, and leaving the other? What does this mean ? It must be admitted by every one, that our Lord was now, (Luke xvii.) discoursing of the "day when the Son of man is revealed." Those who understand the Saviour to refer to his literal com- ing, to separate "between the righteous and the wicked, find no indefiniteness or difficulty in the passage. For, in Matt. xiii. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 177 30, we learn that the angels will be directed to "gather together first the tares," in order to destroy them ; and in verse 49 we read, " So shall it be at the end of the world ; the angels shall come forth, and server the wicked from among the just." In this way it is easy to perceive how two may be together, and one may be taken, and the other left. And it is worthy of remark, too, that the second coming of Christ is represented as being in the night. Matt. xxv. 6. It may have been noticed that the quotation from Luke xvii. omitted the 36th verse. This was designed ; for it is quite probable that that verse is not genuine. Our best divines either leave it out, or mark as doubtful or interpolated. Our standard Bible has this marginal note, " This 36th verse is wanting in most of the Greek copies." Dr. Clarke says, "The 36th verse is,without doubt, an interpolation." Finally, in view of the manifest impropriety of applying the illustration of the lightning to the coming of the Romans, as it has been sufficiently exhibited in the proper place ; and in view of the consideration that the Lord was not then referring to the Romans at all, but to his own personal advent, as con- trasted with the appearance of the impostors, why should the associated illustration of the eagles be so confidently — without any proof, or necessity — applied to the Romans, of whom he then had no occasion to speak ? Why should it not be judged to refer to the event with which it is associated in the seventeenth chapter of Luke ? especially, since in that event there is an evident propriety of application, and since it was at that point the evident subject of discourse ? But, as previously observed, it is not essential to the theory of this Exposition whether the illustration of the eagles be ap- plied to the Romans or not ; yet, for the foregoing reasons, the author prefers the application either to the coming of the impostors, or the advent of Christ with his holy angels, to ex- ecute judgment upon the incorrigible at the end of the world. "With these two events the illustration agrees better than in its application to the Romans, both in respect to its connec- tions with the discourse, and with the nature of the events. 12 ITS HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. [Luke : And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations j and jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.] The importance of this passage from Luke must be evident to all. It is surprising that it has had so little prominency in the endeavors of biblical writers to frame a theory of exposi- tion that should be in harmony with itself. " But the passage has often been alluded to." Yes, truly, it has often been al- luded to, and that is about all. It is proper here to remark, (1.) This passage forms a part of the Lord's discourse, just as certainly as if it had been preserved in the record of Mat- thew ; for, although it is not improper to suppose that some things in the discourse may have been, for wise purposes, omitted in the records, yet it would be inexcusable to suppose that any of the inspired writers had added a passage that the Lord did not deliver. This would be a false record. Let it be kept in mind, then, that the very words of this passage from Luke were spoken by Christ ; and that they just as truly belong to this prophecy as if they were found in every one of the evangelists. (2.) It is obvious that some importance should be allowed to the position which this passage occupies in the discourse. It will be observed from the Harmony that it is not placed where it is usually found in the Harmonies which are in com- mon use. It is generally placed opposite to Matt., verse 21, 22, and Mark, verses 19, 20. But why it is placed there, re- mains yet to be discovered. Why it should not be placed there, will appear from several considerations. First. It is out of the chronological order. The passage it- self, as all may perceive, is indefinitely long, as it relates to the time of its fulfillment ; and a principal part is yet unac- complished. But it is made to occupy a position where it separates events which transpired in connection with the war that desolated the land seventeen centuries ago. This, of itself, ought to be sufficient to prove that the passage is out of place in our common Harmonies ; for, as has been shown in this Ex- position, our Lord had great respect to the chronological order of events in framing his discourse. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 179 Secondly. In its present position in the Harmonies in com- mon use, the passage does not make good sense. It is placed opposite to the verses which speak of the Lord's shortening those days of tribidation, lest all flesh should perish. Of course the passage in question is made to refer to the same days that the Lord had shortened for the elect's sake. But the passage itself speaks of days of tribulation that have al- ready lasted nearly eighteen hundred years, and are yet un- fulfilled. Now, to speak of having shortened the longest national dispersion that the world ever witnessed, is not to speak good sense. It is doing injury to the natural perception of propriety of speech which forms the groundwork of all in- telligent instruction, and the only rational basis of conviction. And the inconsistency of making the passage speak in this way, is aggravated by the fact, that, while these days are yet unfulfilled, so far from there being a probability that " no flesh should be saved," " except those days should be short- ened," the Jews have wonderfully increased ; and probably at this moment number more than they did at the beginning of the Eoman war. Thirdly. The commentators and harmonists who have ei- ther made or adopted the usual arrangement of the parallel passages, completely nullify the teaching of the verse in ques- tion. They do it in this way : When pressed to define what days of tribulation those were that were shortened for the elect's sake, they invariably limit them to the time of the Eoman war, and particularly to the final siege of Jerusalem. But this completely nullifies the teaching of the passage un- der notice ; for this passage still reaches on to future times, after so many ages of partial fulfillment. Fourthly. By putting the passage from Luke into its pres- ent position in the usual Harmonies, it of course comes in be- fore the verses which refer to the appearance of the false Christs and the false prophets that so characterized the times of the Roman war. And, according to the ordinary arrange- ment of the verses, our Lord is made to say, after giving the prediction in question, "Then if any man shall say unto you, 180 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. Lo, here is Christ, or there ; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets," &c. Now, whether there shall be such impostors after the fulfill- ment of the passage in question, is possible, perhaps ; but that the prediction of these impostors was literally fulfilled during the Roman war, is admitted by all. Why, then, by such a collocation of verses, divert the passage from its legiti- mate teaching, and make it refer to another period, to which it does not belong ? These are some of the reasons why the verse in question should not occupy the position where it is usually found. We will now notice a few things to justify the position of the verse in the harmony of this treatise. First. We notice that the passage cannot be out of place, as it respects what follows it. For, as all can perceive for them- selves, it was placed by Luke before the verses relating to the signs in the heavens. Let this he distinctly understood and remembered. Secondly. As it relates to the general captivity and disper- sion of the Jews, and the still continued downtreading of Je- rusalem by the Gentiles, it chronologically belongs to the pe- riod subsequent to the final siege of Jerusalem. This cannot be dented. Now, then, if our Lord continued to deliver his predictions in chronological order, where does this passage belong ? Precisely where you find it in this Harmony* It is here made to precede the prediction of the signs in the heavens ; and to follow the description of the final siege. Where else can it be placed, if any regard be had for the chronological order of events ? And do you not see that Luke himself has placed it pre- cisely at this point ? The preceding verse relates to the " great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people ;" and it is evidently parallel with the verses in Matthew and Mark which speak of the unexampled tribulation which all our divines agree in referring to the final siege of Jerusalem. In placing the 24th verse of Luke where it is found in this Harmony, we have not only strictly observed the chronologi- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 181 cal order of events, but we have most certainly followed the inspired writer, who was moved to preserve this important The only thing necessary to add, is, that Luke, writing a supplement to the other records, and finding that Matthew and Mark had both given a particular narrative of the prediction of the appearance of the impostors, did not think it necessary to record that part of the discourse. And it will be observed that what he omitted belongs to the period of the war and siege of Jerusalem, and was, of course, antecedent to the pe- riod embraced in the verse under notice. Certainly, then, in a full record of all that is presented of our Lord's discourse, this verse must come in precisely where this Harmony places it. So much (and is it not enough ?) has been said to show that the verse in question does not belong where it is usually found in the Harmonies in common use ; and so much, to show that it does belong precisely where this Harmony places it. The argument is intended for men of intelligence and candor. "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword." This is a condensed statement of the destructiveness of that terrible war, particularly of the dreadful slaughter that at- tended and terminated the siege of the capital. A particular account of the Jews during that war has already been given, and need not be repeated. It is estimated that more than a million perished at Jerusalem alone. "And shall be led away captive into all nations." Never was a prediction more literally and terribly fulfilled. In the former general captivities there had been but compara- tively little dispersion : they had been permitted to dwell to- gether, to some extent, even in the land of their captivity. Even in Egypt the great body of the Israelites had a distinct portion of the country assigned them, and had their own reli- gious and social communities, customs, and rules. And when the ten tribes were carried away into captivity, and the kingdom of Israel terminated, the people appear still to have inhabited the same region of country, as a general thing, and undoubtedly enjoyed more or less of their peculiarities of re- ligion and government. 182 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. So, likewise, when the two tribes were carried away, and the kingdom of Judah destroyed for a season, the Jews seem to have been kept in the same region of country. But the captivity predicted by the Saviour was not only more general than the former, but it reached the extremity predicted by Moses : they were driven to the uttermost parts of the earth. It is not designed to say, in the foregoing re- marks, that the Jews were not, to some extent, dispersed among all nations, in consequence of the former captivities ; but only that the dispersion was not so general as the one now under consideration. The two tribes were carried to Babylon ; and the ten tribes appear to have been carried east of the Tigris, into the further regions of Assyria. When Judea was finally laid waste by the Romans, and the people either destroyed or carried cap- tive, the dispersion appears to have been more general than formerly. This may not have resulted immediately ; but it did result finally, as the facts in the case demonstrate. It is sufficient to answer the language of the prediction, if there was a dispersion among the principal nations then ex- isting. But what then began by the Roman captivity has been ever since fulfilling, until now there is hardly an inhab- ited spot where the descendants of Jacob are not found. They bleach or blacken in all climes, and all the languages of the earth are spoken by Jewish tongues. For some divine pur- pose, the Jews have been preserved as a distinct people, du- ring the long ages of their captivity ; and for some divine purpose they have been scattered among all nations. Their destiny is so manifestly providential, that there is reason to believe that God will yet use them for some great work in the consummation of the gospel age. We shall have occasion to refer to this subject again in connection with another part of the chapter. " And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles >, un- til the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" The meaning of this appears to be, (1.) That the city shall remain in the possession of the Gentiles during the specified term. But r (2.) By being trodden down, something more than HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 183 mere possession must be intended: it is a term that denotes violence, and, applied to a people, oppression. Now, speak- ing of the city with reference to its sacred associations, and speaking of it especially as a Jew would naturally feel, the Gentile occupants of it might well be regarded as tramp- ling it oppressively under their feet, even when they did not particularly ravage or abuse it. In the possession of the Gen- tiles, the Jews have ever regarded it as an abused and injured place. It occasions great pain to them to see their holy city — the city of the living God — occupied and polluted by the uncircumcised nations. And so far as the Jews are concerned, the city has been more oppressed and abused than any other on the face of the globe. For half a century after its desolation by the Romans, the city remained almost entirely unoccupied, except by the gar- rison that was stationed there to keep possession. After this the Roman emperor rebuilt the city, changed its name, and placed there a Roman colony. Thus it remained until the time of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, when the city, and indeed the whole country, was Christianized, if such a term may be used to describe such a conversion and revo- lution as were brought about by Constantine and his pious mother, the celebrated empress Helena. Jerusalem now be- came to the Christian what it had formerly been to the Jew ; but still to the Jew it was a forbidden city, for it was kept under the control of the Christian Gentiles. And the Chris- tians seemed to regard the Jew as being as great an abomi- nation as the Jew had formerly regarded the heathen. The Christianizing of the country was not, then, any great favor to the Jews ; the city of his fathers, and of his father's God, was to him a forbidden place. And this prediction of the Lord Jesus was doubtless as well understood by the people then as it is now. So far the prediction had been literally fulfilled. But Providence was willing to permit it to be publicly tested whether the word of Christ should fail in this important matter. After Constantine had reigned thirty years, he was suc- ceeded by Constantius the Second, who reigned twenty-four 184 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. years. Then that wonderful man, Julian, called the Apos- tate, became emperor of Rome, A. D. 361. Julian appears to have been the most learned and philosophic, the most able, brave, and successful, and, in his way, the most religious, of the emperors of that age of the world. He was educated in the belief and practice of the Christian religion by Ensebius, an Arian Bishop of Mcomedia.** But as Julian was finally brought into open conflict with his brother Constantius, the emperor, who was a professor of Christianity of the Athanasian party, Ju- lian was not only brought to oppose the dominion of Constantius, bnt also his religion, and his Lord. Succeeding to the em- pire, he eventually made an open renunciation of Christianity, and embraced the religion of the Pagans, and became remark- ably zealous in promoting paganism and conforming to its practices. This gained for him the title of Apostate. But he issued an imperial decree, granting free toleration to all the religions of the empire. Probably out of hatred to the reli- gion from which he had apostatized, more than from any other motive, and from a desire to defeat the very prediction now under consideration, "he embraced the extraordinary design of rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem." He must, of course, make some pretence of piety to explain such an un- expected and singular enterprise. " In a public epistle to the nation or community of the Jews, dispersed through the provinces, he pities their misfortunes, condemns their oppres- sors, praises their constancy, declares himself their gracious protector, and expresses a pious hope, that after his return from the Persian war, he may be permitted to pay his grate- ful vows to the Almighty in his holy city of Jerusalem." Jerusalem was at this time, we should recollect, in the possession of the Christians. The church of the Holy Sepul- chre, and other magnificent buildings of Christian origin, adorned it ; and the church there was numerous, wealthy, and enjoyed a preeminence somewhat proportional to the remarka- bleness of the city itself. It was visited, as it is now, by pilgrims from all parts of the world. But the Christians then, * This "was not Eusebius Pamphilius, the celebrated Ecclesiastical Histo- rian ; but an Arian Bishop, who was contemporary with him. HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 185 as now, were almost exclusively Gentiles, and the prediction of the Lord Jesus was still fulfilling. To quote again from Gibbon's Decline and tttll, "The vain and ambitious mind of Julian might aspire to restore the ancient glory of the temple of Jerusalem. As the Christians were firmly persuaded that a sentence of everlasting destruc- tion had been pronounced against the whole fabric of the Mosaic law, the imperial sophist would have converted the success of his undertaking into a specious argument against the faith of prophecy, and the truth of revelation." The Apostate at first designed to prosecute the Persian war, and then carry out his ambitious designs respecting the holy city. But as he contemplated the advantages which success in his building enterprize might give him, as an opposer of the religion of Jesus, he changed his plans : " The prospect of an immediate and important advantage would not suffer the impatient monarch to expect the remote and uncertain event of the Persian war. He resolved to erect, without delay, on the commanding eminence of Moriah, a stately temple, which might eclipse the splendor of the church of the Kesurrection on the adjacent hill of Calvary ; to establish an order of priests, whose interested zeal would detect the arts, and resist the ambition, of their Christian rivals ; and to invite a numerous colony of Jews, whose stern fanaticism would be always prepared to second, and even to anticipate, the hostile measures of the Pagan government." The emperor now selected his men, and had the work com- menced with the order with which all his enterprizes were undertaken. The officer who was appointed to superintend the affair, " received an extraordinary commission to restore, in its pristine beauty, the temple of Jerusalem." " At the call of their great deliverer, the Jews, from all the provinces of the empire, assembled on the holy mountain of their fathers ; and their insolent triumph alarmed and exasperated the Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem. The desire of re- building the temple has in every age been the ruling passion of the children of Israel. In this propitious moment the men forgot their avarice, and the women their delicacy; 186 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. spades and pick-axes of silver were provided by the vanity of the rich, and the rubbish was transported in mantles of silk and purple! Every purse was opened in liberal contribu- tions, every hand claimed a share in the pious labor ; and the commands of a great monarch were executed by the enthu- siasm of a whole people." Here, now, we have a systematic and powerful combina- tion to hinder the further fulfillment of this wonderful prophecy. All that imperial authority, wealth, influence and zeal could do, — all that they could do, assisted by such zeal and energy as were exhibited by the assembled Jews, — all this was brought to bear against the truth of this prophecy. What was the result ? The sceptical historian has sufficiently answered : "Yet on this occasion, the joint efforts of power and enthusiasm were unsuccessful ; and the ground of the Jewish temple, which is now covered by a Mahometan mosque, still continued to exhibit the same edifying spectacle of ruin and desolation." Providence interposed by taking away the life of the profane Apostate ; he lived but six months after commencing his undertaking. "But," continues the historian, " the Christians entertained a natural and pious expectation, that, in this memorable contest, the honor of religion would be vindicated by some signal miracle. An earthquake, a whirlwind, and a fiery eruption, which over- turned and scattered the new foundations of the temple, are attested, with some variations, by contemporary and respecta- ble evidence. This public event is described by Ambrose, bishop of Milan, in an epistle to the emperor Theodosius, which must provoke the severe animadversion of the Jews ; by the eloquent Chrysostom, who might appeal to the memory of the elder part of his congregation at Antioch ; and by Greg- ory Nazianzen, who published his account of the miracle before the expiration of the same year. The last of these writers-has boldly declared, that this preturnatural event was not disputed by the infidels ; and his assertion, strange as it may seem, is confirmed by the unexceptionable testimony of Ammianus Marcellinus. The philosophic soldier, who loved the virtues, without adopting the prejudices of his master, has HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 187 recorded, in his judicious and candid history of his own times, the extraordinary obstacles which interrupted the restoration of the temple of Jerusalem. 'Whilst Alypius, [the super- intendent under Julian] assisted by the governor of the province, urged, with vigor and diligence, the execution of the work, horrible balls of fire breaking out near the founda- tions, with frequent and reiterated attacks, rendered the place, from time to time, inaccessible to the scorched and blasted workmen ; and the victorious element continuing in this man- ner, obstinately and resolutely bent, as it were, to. drive them to a distance, the undertaking was abandoned.' Such au- thority should satisfy a believing, and must astonish an incredulous, mind." See Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. This writer last quoted by Gibbon, with such a commenda- tion, was the emperor's private secretary, and finally wrote his biography. So this attempt to defeat the fulfillment of this prophecy proved abortive. The city continued in about the same condition two or three hundred years. Then it was taken and plundered by the Persians. Then it was taken from the Persians by the emperor Heraclius, who restored it to the Christians again; and the Jews were forbidden to come within three miles of the city. Not long after, it was taken by the Mahometans, and, with the exception of the time it was in the hands of the Crusaders, (who were also Gentiles,) it has been trodden under foot by the followers of the false prophet. How the city is situated at the present day, is too well known to need a particular description ; the crescent of Omar's mosque still glitters upon Moriah, and the Gentile treads the summit of Zion ; while the poor, despised, insulted Jew crawls to a remaining fragment of the ancient wall, that he may kiss the stones of his father's habitation, and lift up his wailing cry, "How long, Oh, Lord, how long?" " Until the times of the Gentiles oe fulfilled" The treading down of Jerusalem, though continued long, is limited. When that period has transpired which is here called " the times of the Gentiles," the holy city will cease to 188 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. be trodden down, as it has been since its desolation by the Romans. It seems rational to suppose, that at that time, it will again come into the possession of the Jews. But what are we to understand by the times of the Gentiles f undoubtedly the same as St. Paul intends by the fullness of the Gentiles. Rom. xi. 25. Wesley's annotation is, " The times of the Gentiles — that is, the times limited for their treading the city ; which shall terminate in the full conversion of the Gentiles." His note on the expression in Romans is, " Till there be a vast harvest among the heathen." "Wesley's view of the extent of this conversion of the Gentiles, is given more definitely in his note on the next verse, — " And so all Israel shall he saved, — being convinced by the coming in of the Gentiles. But there will be a still larger harvest among the Gentiles, when all Israel is come in." Providence has limited a time, during which the Gentiles, in large numbers, will be converted ; and a certain period, or extent, of that conversion among the Gentiles is called their fullness, and the fulfilling of their times. Until that period shall arrive, the Jews will be generally blinded : the vail will be upon their hearts ; they will remain dispersed among the nations, and the Gentiles will possess their capital city. At a certain period of the prevalence of the gospel among the Gentiles, the blindness which had previously hindered the conversion of the Jews shall be taken away, and they be generally gathered unto Christ. With this change in their spiritual condition, will occur a change in their political. Providence will gather them in from their captivity among the nations, and their holy city shall be no longer trodden down by the Gentiles. Dr. Clarke's comment on the words under notice is not very dissimilar to Wesley's. " Till the fullness of the Gentiles come in, — i. e., till all the nations of the world should receive the gospel of Christ, after which the Jews themselves should be converted to God." Whitby's view is thus expressed : " Jerusalem shall be inhabited, not by the Jews, but by the Gentiles ruling there, HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 189 till the season for the full conversion of the still hea hen Gentiles shall come in ; i. e., till the time of the conversion of the Jews, and the flowing in of all nations to them." These justly celebrated divines have undoubtedly given — • generally speaking — the true sense of the passage. But there seems to be a necessity of speaking of the conversion of the Gentiles with some limitations ; for the same passages which are relied upon to prove the ingathering, evidently teach that it will be only a general, not a universal, conver- sion. And some passages which refer to that time expressly teach that all will not be converted when the Lord comes to judgment. CHAPTER VIII. Principal Subject — Darkening the Sun, &c. Various In- terpretations Reviewed. The Figurative Theory not very Ancient — Influence of a Mistake — Nature of the Argument — Plan of the Argument — Two Branches of the Figura- tive Theory — The Difference — Double Sense Theory — Robinson's — Ar- guments used in sustaining the Figurative Theories — Examination and Refutation — Review of Whitby — What led him into his Peculiar Views — Difficulties of Error — Whitby against Grotius and Whiston — Newton's Theory — The Argument on "Immediately after the Tribulation of those days," reviewed — Josephus — Facts — Appeal to Logic — Conclusion — The Argument relating to the Figurative Language of the Old Testament considered — The Prophecy of Joel — The Question Settled — An Exegeti- cal Curiosity — Peter's Reference to the Prophecy of Joel — How did he understand it? — Other specimens from the Old Testament — An important Fact in the case — Origin and Proprieties of Metaphorical Language, Verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON SHALL NOT GIVE HER LIGHT, AND THE STARS SHALL FAH FROM HEAVEN. Most of the modern divines have considered this verse, and those associated with it, as figurative, and have made their expositions accordingly. Their ingenious theories of exegesis 190 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. have become extensively and permanently incorporated with our standard biblical literature. And, such being the char- acter of the books of study and reference in ministerial educa- tion and labor, it is not at all surprising that the opinions of our leading commentators should almost universally obtain with the ministry and membership of the modern church. It will be as difficult now to change the deep impressions and permanent modes of thinking on this subject, as to alter the deep- worn courses of our rivers, or change the direction of the streets of our cities. It seems, however, from the concessions of some of our leading divines, that the figurative theory of expounding this portion of the Scriptures is modern : it was not so interpreted, usually, by the ancient commentators. Dr. Clarke, who was, -perhaps, as well qualified to judge in this matter as any man, makes this concession. His words — or Bishop Newton's, rather; for he copies from the Bishop — his words are — " Commentators generally understand this, and what follows, of the end of the world, and Christ's coming to judgment : but the word immediately shows that our Lord was not speaking of any distant event, but of something immediately conse- quent on calamities already predicted ; and that must be the destruction of Jerusalem." Upon whom rests the responsibility of changing the more ancient channels of thought, and diverting the former convic- tions of the church from the simple literal into the metaphor- ical, it may not be easy to determine. But there is a natural tendency in the reflective mind to follow up the streams of passing events, and discover, if possible, their first beginnings. We love to explore the majestic rivers that flow deep and broad along our borders, until we may stand with a foot on either side, and gaze down into the little fountains whence they originate. And even if these remote beginnings lie hid in the inaccessible regions where we may not extend our researches, still we like to ascend as near to the undiscovered sources as possible. As it is evident that the present usual method of expound- ing this part of the Scriptures is not the more ancient — the HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 191 primary method — but one of quite recent origin, the author has felt a great desire to trace the principal figurative meth- ods back to their origin. He has not succeeded, however, as well as he hopes some other person may do ; but so far as he has accomplished his design, it appears that Bishop Pearce either invented, or, more probably, adopted from some earlier writer, the leading features of the common figurative theory ; and that Bishop Newton, in his work on the Prophecies, en- dorsed and adopted the theory ; and from him it has been borrowed by many writers of more recent date. The inves- tigations of the author have not furnished him with any evi- dence that the present usually adopted methods of figurative exegesis are of any great antiquity, or of any such authority as might properly deter a man from examining them, with a view to test their truthfulness and propriety. . Like all other merely human methods and opinions, they may be erroneous ; and no one can reasonably censure an honest difference of opinion, or a respectful, but earnest, opposition, if they are conceived to be erroneous theories, and injurious to the cause of truth. The author has employed a large portion of his time, and devoted his very best efforts, to the investigation of this sub- ject. And the reader may be assured that what may be advanced for his consideration, is not the result of mere cap- tiousness, or springs from any desire to be found arrayed against the popular opinions of the age. In accounting for the origin of the figurative theories of exegesis in common use, it may be difficult to determine how much influence has been exerted by Bishop Pearce's mistake in applying the 27th verse to the coming and conquest of the Romans. But as that verse must be regarded as a key to much that follows, an essential error in the explanation of that verse must be fatal to the correctness of the exposition of the verse now under comment. Of the probable history of that most egregious and fatal error, perhaps enough has already been said. If undeniable facts can demolish a fanciful theory, the usual application of 192 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. the 27th verse has been demonstrated* to be utterly without foundation. And so far as the explanation of that verse af- fects the passage before us, so far the argument is an argument of facts, and not of mere opinions. It is not the author of this Treatise in array against the good and great men from whom he has the fate to differ ; but it is an army of authen- ticated facts arrayed against dignified, popular, but erroneous opinions. With a full persuasion of the erroneousness and injurious- ness of the usual methods of expounding this part of the prophecy of our Lord, conscious of entire purity of motive, and confiding in the great Author of truth, the writer reso- lutely braces himself to the task, which, undesired on his part, Providence seems, to some extent, to have assigned to so un- worthy an instrumentality. The plan of procedure, in this part of the Exposition, will be, Firstly, To notice the usual figurative exegesis of the pas- sage. Secondly, To exhibit the arguments usually employed in support of such exegesis. Thirdly, Review those arguments. Fourthly, Give, and defend, the true exposition. I. The figurative theory is first to be considered. Whitby's comment may be selected as embodying the sub- stance of this theory, though in some things he differs from most of the others, in relation to the time intended by the " tribulation of those days." " It being foretold that this should happen immediately after the wasting of the Jews by Vespasian's army flying quickly through Galilee, Idumea, and Judea ; this cannot be taken literally, because no such thing then happened to the sun, moon, or stars. It must be, therefore, a metaphorical expression, to signify, as it doth frequently in the Old Testa- ment, and other writers, an utter desolation, and terrible de- struction, brought upon a nation, and upon their capital cities, compared to the sun and moon ; for in this language the prophet Isaiah speaks of the destruction of Babylon, saying, xiii. 9, 10, ' The day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with * The reader is supposed to have read the second Appendix, in its proper connections. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 193 wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate ; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it ; for the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light ; and the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.' The indignation of God against the Idumeans is represented in like dreadful words, Isa. xxxiv. 3, 4 ; so is the destruction of Sennacherib and his people, Isa. li. 6 ; go is the destruction of Egypt, Ezek. xxxii. 7. And in these words this very destruction is foretold by Joel, ' The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall not give their light. (Joel iii. 15, ii. 31.) " This, therefore, saith Maimonicles, ' is a proverbial expres- sion, importing the destruction and utter ruin of a nation.' Artemidorus also saith, that, ' the sun darkened or turned into blood, and the stars falling, or disappearing, import the de- struction of many people.' And in this sense it is almost in- credible, which Josephus saith, viz: that eleven hundred thousand perished in that siege." Whitby continues, "Anoth- er exposition of these words is this, That then there shall- be a destruction of their ecclesiastical and civil state, and of the rulers of them both ; according to these words of Maimonides, 'This metaphor imports, that men who for their state and dignity might be compared to the sun, moon, and stars, shall suddenly fall down as a leaf from the vine and from the fig tree.' "And this happened a considerable time hefore the destruc- tion of Jerusalem, when the thieves and zealots, saith Josephus, ' kept all the nobles, and rulers of the country, in close custo- dy ;' when the zealots ' slew and consumed the nobility, and made it their business to leave none of the men of power alive,' and when i twelve thousand of the nobility perished after this manner ;' when the high priests, and among them Ananus, were destroyed by the Idumeans, which Josephus reckons * the beginning of their captivity ;' when they ' abol- ished the families of the high priest by succession, and placed in their room men ignoble and unknown, who neither belong- ed to the priesthood, nor knew what the office of high priest meant.' That this was to happen before 'the great and ter- rible day of the Lord,' or at that time, we learn from the 13 194 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. prophet Joel, saying, that ' then shall the snn be darkened,' &c. This therefore cannot be referred to any time after the destruction of Jerusalem." Thus far the learned and critical Whitby. Dr. Clarke adopts, from Zightfoot, the same general princi- ple of exegesis ; but it will be seen that he places the darken- ing of the heavenly lights after the fall of Jerusalem. " The word immediately shows that our Lord was not speaking of any distant event, but of something immediately consequent on calamities already predicted ; and that must be the destruction of Jerusalem" Quoting Lightfoot, he contin- ues, " The Jewish heaven shall perish, and the sun and moon of its glory and happiness shall be darkened — brought to nothing. The sun is the religion of the church ; the moon is the government of the state ; and the stars are the judges and doctors of both." This is followed by the usual Scriptural references. There is just this specific difference between Dr. Clarke and Whitby ; while both reject the literal interpretation of the passage, and refer to the same Scriptures for proof, yet, strange- ly, one places the event before the destruction of Jerusalem, and the other after ! These two commentators may be regarded as having ex- pressed the present usual understanding of the passage before us, with this Jnost remarkable circumstance ; that the same texts of Scripture which lead one to place the event previous to the fall of the city, lead the other to place it afterward! And the many divines who have more or less followed in the metaphorical theory, appear to have found some difficulty in deciding between these two opinions ; and they have generally not chosen to speak definitely on the point. Perhaps some of them did not think it was of much importance which way it was decided, if it was only figurative. The theory of double sense, or the typical method of inter- preting the passage, appears to have had less favor with our divines. Matthew Henry almost adopts it, and Richa/rd Watson adopts it fully. Several others refer to it favorably. But, as a late writer has shrewdly remarked, {Meth. Quar. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 195 Review, July, 1842,) " If commentators could make out a lit- eral or a figurative sense, clear of difficulty, they would adopt it. But as they cannot do this, they destroy the difficulty by doubling it. Because they cannot make it either, they make it both ; and thus make our Lord utter about two subjects at the same time, what seems to them to be applicable to neither." Dr. Robinson has a theory to explain this passage, which differs from all those which are found in the works consulted in writing this Treatise. He says, in his Harmony, " The subsequent desolation and calamity spoken of in Matt. xxiv. 29-31, and the parallel passages, I refer to the overthrow and complete extirpation of the Jewish people fifty years later under Adrian ; when they were sold as slaves, and utterly driven out from the land of their fathers." The foregoing extracts contain all the essential points in the usual theories of figurative exegesis of this part of the chapter. They all agree in rejecting the literal exposition ; and they all agree in the general application of the language to the Jewish government, church, and people. And, fur- thermore, with the exception of Dr. Robinson, they all agree in limiting the fulfillment of the prediction to the period of the Jewish calamities under the Romans. EL The arguments relied upon to sustain the figurative theory, are of several kinds. 1. Because it was predicted that these things should take place " immediately after the tribulation of those daysP And the days spoken of are understood to mean the time of the calamities which befell the Jews during the Roman war, and, especially during the dreadful siege of Jerusalem. This lat- ter sentence, however, will not apply to the argument of Whitby, who thinks that " those days " refer to an earlier pe- riod of the war. ]STow, as the darkening of the luminaries of heaven was to take place " immediately " after that time, and as we have no account of any such occurrence transpiring literally, it is concluded therefore, that the passage is meta- phorical, and should be applied to the calamities of the Jew- ish people. 196 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 2. Another source of argument is found in the metaphorical use of just such imagery, which all admit was intended to ap- ply to just such national and ecclesiastical afflictions. And there is no lack of examples of this kind. The passage from Joel is relied upon with great confidence, inasmuch as that prophet appeared to have this very time in view. And this is not a little strengthened by the consideration, that Peter applied this very prophecy of Joel to the Jews of that day. Indeed, it is an indeniable truth, that the prophets were ac- customed so to speak of temporal things : the instances are very numerous. And this argument appears greatly to strengthen the other. For if this part of the chapter cannot be interpreted literally, and yet must be explained in some way ; and if it was customary to deliver prophecies of tem- poral things in language identical or similar with this lan- guage ; and if an inspired apostle has specifically applied one of those prophecies to this very people, and to this very time ; — how can we refrain from the conclusion, that the Lord de- signed his prediction to be interpreted in the same manner ? Have we not, first, a real necessity for expounding the passage figuratively? And have we not, also, many scriptural prece- dents for doing so ? 3. And, furthermore, the Lord has distinctly said, " *j yevsa, aurri," " This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. And as this declaration was made after speaking of the things now under notice, how can we avoid coming to the conclusion, that all these signs in the heavens and in the earth were only metaphorical representations of things that transpired within the period which that generation of men then living survived? 4. And, still further, the coming of the Son of man is de- scribed as an event subsequent to the darkening of the heav- enly luminaries ; and yet the Lord declared, " There be some standing here which shall not taste death, till they have seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Now, if his com- ing was to follow the signs in the heaven, and yet was to transpire before all of these men died, how can it be shown that the event is still future ? Why not suppose it was a figura- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 197 tive description of things that happened during that very age in which his hearers lived ? It will undoubtedly be admitted by those who have investi- gated the subject, that these are the principal arguments which are usually urged in favor of the figurative interpreta- tion of this passage ; and that they are here presented in a form as advantageous as the circumstances render practicable. It has certainly been the intention, not only here, but through- out the Treatise, to represent everything in a fair and candid manner. The real desire of the writer is to master the sub- ject ; to grapple with its most formidable difficulties, and either be defeated by what is so insuperable as to take away the shame of defeat, or to overcome what is really worthy of the conquest. If the arguments advanced on the side of the figurative theory can be fairly met and overcome, then the way will be clear for the full strength of the argument on the other side. We shall now address ourselves to this undertaking. III. The first of the arguments on the side of the figurative theory is derived from the declaration, that these signs in the heaven should take place (EOds'ws 6s iisra. t^v d\Qiv down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 19. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilder- ness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20. But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to genera- tion. 21. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed ; for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." 218 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. The reader is particularly desired to read the foregoing quo- tations and remarks, and also the observations which shall fol- low, with the Bible open before him, that he may perceive their relevancy and conclusiveness. In respect to these chapters in Joel, it is observed, Firstly. That the foregoing remarks are not designed for a general comment, but only to direct the reader's attention to the general scope of the passage, and the connection between the two chapters. Secondly. The third chapter is GooVs own explanation, not only of the time, but of the nature, of the events referred to i/n the second chapter. There was no division into chapters when the prophet gave the word of the Lord : he made a general statement of the great events of the day of the Lord ; and then, without any division or interruption in his discourse, went on to give God's own explanation of the matter. Let this be noticed and remembered. Thirdly. The time of this darkening of the sun, moon, and stars was not the time when the Jews were under affliction. It was not when their state, church, temple, and people per- ished. It was not the time when God helped t/ie heathen agavnst the Jews. It was not the time when GooVs people went into captivity. It was not a day of terror and suf- fering to Israel. It was not a day of judgment that brought in desolation upon Judah and Jerusalem. The commentators who refer these signs in the heavens to the calamities of the Jews, take the affirmative of the forego- ing declaration ; this Exposition takes the negative. But, lest there might be a suspicion of injustice towards the commentators in thus pointing out their position in the argu- ment, their own words will be given. The first quotation is from the work of Patrick, Lowth, &c. Joel ii. 30. " This and the following verse principally point out the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem by the Eomans, a judgment justly inflicted upon the Jewish na- tion for their resisting the Holy Spirit, and contempt of the means of grace. So Malachi, after he had foretold the com- ing of the Messiah, (iii. 1,) immediately adds that his coming HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 219 should be attended with terrible judgments upon the disobe- dient, (iii. 2, iii. 5, and iv. 1.) The prophet here takes notice of the extraordinary signs which will be the forerunners of that destruction ; such were the great slaughters of men, and burning of the towns and cities of Judea, which prece- ded that last and finishing stroke of the divine vengeance ; and chiefly the comet which hung over their city, and the fearful sights seen in the air some time before, which are mentioned by Josephus, De Bell. Jud., lib. 6, cap. 31, and foretold by Christ, Luke xxi. 11." Yerse 31. " Compare Mai. iv. 5. Particular judgments upon kingdoms and nations are often described in such terms as properly belong to the general judgment. The expressions here used, in the literal sense, import the failing of light in the sun and moon, whether by eclipses (when the moon looks of a bloody color,) or any other cause ; and here they denote the dark and melancholy state of public affairs at the destruc- tion of the Jewish nations by the Romans ; and the utter overthrow of that state and government." (See the note upon Isa. xiii. 10.) Dr. Clarke's annotations are equally definite in applying the signs under consideration to Jewish calamities : Yerse 39. " Wonders in the heavens and in the earth.'] This refers to the fearful sights, dreadful portents,, and de- structive commotions, by which the Jewish polity was finally overthrown, and the Christian religion finally established in the Roman empire. See how our Lord applies this prophecy, Matt. xxiv. 29, and the parallel texts." Yerse 31. "The sun shall he turned into darkness.] The Jewish polity, civil and ecclesiastical, shall be entirely de- stroyed." With this application of the passage, agree all the com- mentators that give a figurative interpretation to the language in Matt. xxiv. 29. The issue, then, is distinct : the commen- taries generally take the affirmative of the foregoing summary of statements ; this Exposition takes the negative. ]STow for the proof : the prophet — or the Lord, rather, by the prophet- shall give his own explanation. 220 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. (1.) That the last verse of the second chapter refers to the same period of time, is perfectly evident from its connections. And the commentators understand it so ; only thej give it a spiritual signification / (2.) That the^r^ verse of the next chapter refers to the same time, God htmself distinctly and repeatedly declares. If the commentators affirm differently, it is sufficient that God has made his own statement : " Let God be true and every man a liar." " For, behold, ln THors days, and in that tike, (how specific !) when I shall brlng again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem." JS"ow, this does not refer to a time when Judah and Jerusalem are brought into captivity, but out of captivity. And so it is understood by the commenta- tors themselves. And well they may, for it is precisely the meaning which is everywhere else attached to this form of expression. See, for example, other places : Jer. xxx. 3, "For 10, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people, Israel and Judah, saith the Lord : and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it" See also verse 18. " Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Ja- cob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places ; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof." See likewise, chap, xxxiii. 7. "And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them as at the first." Yerse 11. " For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord." Examine also all' the parallel places. We have now advanced two steps in the argument : it has been proved, by the commentators themselves, — or, rather, by the undeniable connections of the passage, — that the last verse of the second chapter refers to the same time that the sun and moon are to be darkened. And it has been proved — it is spoken with reverence — by God himself, that the first verse of the next chapter refers to the days spoken of in the former. And from the declaration of the Almighty, we learn that "those days," and " that tbje," do not refer to the time HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 221 of the Jewish calamities and destruction, but — and God is witness — to the time when he " shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem ;" i. e., when he shall bring them back again to their own land, to build them up and to bless them, as is proved by the parallel predictions. The issue thus far has been plain, and the evidence undeniable and de- cisive. But more yet remains. (3.) "In those days, and at that time" God will, indeed, bring all the heathen nations against Jerusalem to battle ; it will be a time of terrible commotion and slaughter. Yerse 2. " I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people, and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land." God's controversy at this time is not to be with his people, but with their enemies who come up to fight against Israel. And his pleading with the enemies of his " heritage Israel," will be such as he describes in Isa. lxvi. 16 : " For by Jure, and by his sword, will the J^OYdi plead with all flesh ; and the slain of the Lord shall be many." The nature of the contest, and who are to be the sufferers, may be still further seen by the Lord's threatening to the hea- then nations that came against Jerusalem : Yerse 6. " The children also of Judah, and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. 7. Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return you recompense upon your own bead." Now, as previously shown, follows the divine proclamation of the general war of the Gentiles against the Jews In noticing this, we shall observe the specific time when the sun is to be darkened. Yerse 9. "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles ; prepare war ; make up the mighty men ; let all the men of war draw near ; let them come up. 10. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears ; let the weak say, I am strong. 11. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about ; thither cause 222 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. thy mighty ones to come down, Lord. 12. Let the heathen be wakened, and come np to the valley of Jehoshephat ; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13. Pnt ye in the sickle, /i?/* the harvest is ripe; come, get you down ; for the press is full, the vats overflow ; for their wickedness is great." And now the scene is depicted ; the vast gathering of Is- rael's enemies ; the day of God's vengeance upon them draw- ing nigh ; God's method of interposing " for his heritage Is- rael," by wonders in heaven above and in earth beneath ; and the triumph and permanent prosperity of Israel ever after. Yerse 14. " Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decis- ion ; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decis- ion. 15. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and THE STABS SHALL WITHDRAW THEIR SHINING. 16. The, Lord shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem / and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the lord WTLL BE THE HOPE OF HIS PEOPLE, AND THE STRENGTH OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL." The battle over, the enemies of Israel slain by the divine vengeance, the " children of Israel " triumphant by the strength of the Lord, now follows the permanent result to Je- rusalem and the Lord's heritage. Yerse IT. " So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain ; then shall Jerusa- lem he holy, and there shall no stranger pass through her any more." The remainder of the chapter, like the verse just quoted, sufficiently shows that the prophecy does not relate to the time of trouble and desolation, but to a time of triumph and per- manent prosperity. There is no way to avoid the perfect con- clusiveness of the argument thus far, except by affirming, (1.) That the last verse of the second chapter does not refer to the same time as the verses preceding it ; or, (2.) That the first verse of the third chapter does not refer to the same period as the conclusion of the second chapter. But the inseparable connection of these specified portions is so evident and unde- niable, that probably no intelligent man can be brought to HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 223 deny it. The commentators are under the necessity of ad- mitting it ; and it is only by the irresponsible and unjustifia- ble liberties taken by the figurative theory of interpretation, that anything can be said by way of explaining this portion of the Bible, with any degree of relation to the Eoman war. There is a possibility that the merely superficial or casual reader might, at first, be led to suppose that the specific and repeated allusion to the time which we see in the 1st verse of the third chapter, may not refer to the time described in the preceding chapter, but to the time " when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem." But the critical di- vines know very well that the language does not afford a doubt of the reference being to the times described in the sec- ond chapter. Even those who are utterly perplexed in their endeavors to explain the third chapter in its connections with the second, honestly admit the relation. Take, for example, the admission of Dr. Lowth in the Com- mentary of Patrick, Lowth, &c. ; " Yerse 1. In those days, and in that time.'] The time called ' the last days ' ch. ii. 28," &c. It is true, indeed, that this divine supposes what is re- corded in this chapter, will not take place until " the latter part of these last days, or times," which he thinks include the whole period between the first and second advent. Dr. Clarke is equally clear in making this admission: Yerse 1. For, 'be- hold, in those days.] According to the preceding prophecy, these days should refer to gospel times, or to such as should immediately precede them? The italicising is retained as it is in the book. Now, as the reader is desired particularly to notice, the very commentators who refer the darkening of the sun to the Jewish calamities under the Romans, acknowledge the unbroken and inseparable connection between the 2d and 3d chapters ; but, behold, when they come to comment on this very darkening of the sun, in connection with the events with which it is so undeniably associated, as God explains it in the 3d chapter, they totally abandoned the ground of their former exposition, and refer it to other events, or confess their inability to understand it. This is the course of Dr. Lowth, as may be seen by consult- 224: HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. ing his notes on the chapter. And, as for Dr. Clarke, his comment is so remarkable that it shall be quoted here not only as a curiosity in Bible exegesis, but as a demonstration of the utter insufficiency and inconsistency of the usual figura- tive theory for explaining these portions of the Bible. " Verse 1. For, behold, in those days.'] According to the preceding prophecy, these days should refer to gospel times, or to such as should immediately precede them. But this is a part of the prophecy which is difficult to be understood. All interpreters ovre at variance upon it / — some applying its prin- cipal parts to Cambyses / his unfortunate expedition to Egypt ; the destruction of fifty thousand of his troops (by the moving pillars of sand,) whom he had sent across the desert to plun- der the rich temple of Jupiter Ammon ; his return to Judea, and dying of a wound which he received from his own sword, in mounting his horse, which happened at Ecbatane, at the foot of Mount Carmel. On which his army, composed of different nations, seeing themselves without a head, fell out, and fought against each other, till the whole were destroyed. And this is supposed to be what Fzekiel means by Gog and Magog, and the destruction of the former. See Ezek. xxxviii and xxxix. [! !] Others apply this to the victories gained by the Maccabees, and the destruction brought upon the enemies of their country ; while several consider the whole as a figu- rative prediction of the success of the gospel among the nations of the earth. It may refer to those times in which the Jews shall be brought in with the fullness of the Gentiles, and be reestablished in their own land. Or, there may be portions in this prophecy that refer to all the events / [!] and to others that have not yet fallen into the range of human conjecture ; [!] and will be only known when the time of fulfillment shall take place. In this painful uncertainty, rendered still more so by the discordant opinions of many wise and learned men, it appears to be my province, as I have nothing in the form of a new conjecture to offer, to confine myself to an explana- tion of the phraseology of the chapter ; and leave the reader to apply it as it may seem best to his own judgment." [! ! !] It is really painful to observe the indefiniteness, confusion, HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 225 and contradictions which characterize most of the usual an- notations on the times of general gathering and conversion of the Jewish people. And jet the fact of their final gathering is too evident from the prophecies to be denied. And this unhappy state of difference and difficulty among the commen- tators, which Dr. Clarke has so truly described and exhibited, may be attributed mainly, if not entirely, to the trouble which is occasioned to them by their unfortunate theory of literali- zing what they happen to understand, of spiritualizing what is a little obscure, and allegorizing here and there through the chapters and verses, with little or no respect to the proper rules of literary criticism. When the times and events of this chapter are spoken of in other places, they sometimes refer them to one thing, and sometimes to another, without any apparent standard of certainty to guide them. And yet the reference to the darkening of the sun and moon in these two chapters, in the first place, is affirmed confidently (without a shadow of proof, however,) to refer to the result of the Roman war. But when the same thing is considered in the connec- tions with which the prophecy has placed it, we meet with little else than obscurity, confusion, and contradiction in the annotations of our numerous divines. And yet the time of the events in this third chapter of Joel is proved to be the same period which is described in the chapter preceding it. But did not St. Peter, in the discourse recorded in Acts, 2d chapter, apply this darkening of the sun, &c, to the destruc- tion of the nation by the Romans ? No / he did not do any such thing : Those who assert it, do so without a particle of proof : they do so against proof : All that Peter affirmed in quoting the prophecy of Joel, was simply that the dispensa- tion, or period of time, spoken of in the prophecies as " the last days," had now oegun ; and this outpouring of the Spirit was the proof of it. And he quoted the paragraph including the reference to the darkening of the sun, not only because it was originally associated with it in the prophecy, but because there was an object in showing that these last days were to continue until the final closing up of the Messianic dispensa- tion. He wished to show to them that the very time had be • 15 226 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. gun which should continue until, as he afterwards said to the Jews, (ch. iv. 21,) " the times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." " Yea," continued he, " and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days." But Joel has distinctly predicted, that these days, thus begun, are to continue until the restoration of the Jews, and the final over- throw of their enemies in the great battle that should result in the complete and permanent establishment of Israel in their own land. And Peter knew that the prophet, when he spake of this darkening of the sun in its relation to associated events, described it as occurring at the closing up of the tribu- lation of the Jews, at the great battle that should destroy their enemies ! As there is not one word in Joel that favors the application of this event to the destruction of the Jews, — as everything in his prophecy goes against such an applica- tion ; — so, in the address of Peter : there is not one word that favors such an application ; the scope of his argument did not admit it ; his reference to the period of consummation of all the prophecies forbids it. Such an application has been his- torically proved to be utterly at variance with the recorded facts ; it has been proved to be contrary to logic, — reasoning from admitted premises ; and it has been incontestibly dem- onstrated from the prophecy of Joel itself, that the darkening of the sun, &c, relates to a time of general deliverance to the Jews, and not to a time of desolation. Having now spoken thus lengthily of the prophecy in Joel, because it is the one chiefly relied upon to sustain the figura- tive interpretation of the verse in Matthew, which relates to the darkening of the luminaries, it will be appropriate now to offer some observations on the several passages where the same or similar language is used, and admitted to be figura- tive in its character. 1. Such passages are always found in the evidently and confessedly poetic portions of the prophecies. But the dis- course of Christ is simple prose, without a single attempt at poetic images and adornment. The advocates of the figura- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 227 tive theory will admit this, so far as it applies to the discourse generally, excepting only the passage in dispute. 2. In every instance of such use of this language in the prophecies there is an explanation of its meaning, and a lit- eral application of it, in connection with its figurative use. God deemed it not expedient to trust the human mind with such metaphors without giving them his own explanation. This most extraordinary and important fact, so far as the writer recollects, has never yet been published. We will notice all the texts which are usually quoted to justify the figurative inter- pretation of the passage in Matthew. The first is Isa. xiii. 9, 10. " Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate : and he shall destroy the sinners out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light : the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine." After this figurative description follows the literal explanation, which, in so many words, tells us that it refers to the overthrow of Babylon by the Medes. The next is Isa. xxxiv. 4. " And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll ; and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf fall- eth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig-tree." Then the prophet goes right on to say expressly that it applies to the desolation of Idumea. Jeremiah xv. 9, may be considered, perhaps, in some measure an example of such use of language. "Whether it is or not, the context gives a literal and clear application of the language to the judgments of God upon Jerusalem and the nation, on account of the sin of Manasseh, the king. The next passage is Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8. " And when I put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark ; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light." Then it goes right on to say expressly that it refers to the desolation of Egypt by the Icing of Babylon. Amos viii. 9, is usually quoted as another example. " And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the 228 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. earth in the clear day." This is both preceded and followed by clear and literal applications to the judgments of God upon the Jews for their oppression and idolatry. Daniel viii. 10, is also referred to. " And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven ; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them." This is a symbolical representation of the doings of one of the suc- cessors of the Grecian king, and is thus literally explained and applied in connection with the account of the vision. Another reference is to Joel ii. 10, 11. " The earth shall quake before them ; the heavens shall tremble ; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army ; for his camp is very great ; for he is strong that executeth his word ; for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible ; and who can abide it ? " This is preceded by a description of a visitation of the locusts, under the idea of an army ; and is followed by a plain statement (verses 20, 25,) of the fact that it means a visitation of locusts and other destructive insects. Then follows the passage in verse 30, 31, of which so much has already been said. Now, let it be distinctly noticed, that, if this is figurative language, it is an exception to all the other passages, for it is nowhe?*e explained ! This ought of itself to be deemed decisive of its literal character. Although it is nowhere explained, it is elsewhere applied ; for in the third chapter, where the time and the events are more dis- tinctly described, it is applied to the time of God's deliverance of the children of Israel, and the destruction of their ene- mies, at the final redemption from captivity. If anything more need to be said to show the utter failure of the common attempts to justify the figurative interpreta- tion of the darkening of the heavens, as described in Joel, and in our Lord's discourse, it should be by way of inquiry into the origin and propriety of metaphorical language. The argument can only be touched upon in this connection, as it is too extensive, and perhaps not sufficiently relevant for the subject of the Exposition. A few observations only will be submitted. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 229 (1.) The use of metaphoric language implies a knowledge or idea of what would be understood if such language were applied literally. No one ever uses figures without having in view the literal things from which the figures are derived. If we speak of a man as the pillar of the state, we have in view the nature of a literal column at the same time. If we say Christianity is the sun of the world, it implies that we have a previous understanding of the nature and fact of the sun. (2.) Now, whence did this ancient figurative use of the darkening of the luminaries arise ? How did it happen that it was so common for the prophets to speak of ordinary, lim- ited judgments, in language which all admit would, if used literally, apply to the general judgment? How became it so common to speak metaphorically of the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, and the passing away of the heavens ? Figures are the shadow of the literal. Where is the substance that originates the shadow % Metaphors are borrowed from literal speech. "Where is the literal speech, and the revela- tion of the literal idea, of the blotting out of the bright heavens, and the downfall of the world ? (3.) This question is to be settled by those who seize upon every reference to these great events, and pronounce them figurative. Will they please to tell us where there is a spot in all the Bible where the literalist may plant his feet, and stand up in defence of orthodoxy, and give a philosophical explanation of the commonness of such language as appears to refer to the day of judgment? 230 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. CHAPTER IX. Prmcvpal subject — Darkening of the Luminaries, and the ATTENDING CIRCUMSTANCES. Preliminaries — Plan of the Argument — "The Tribulation of those days"— • The days denned — Important Consideration — An Omitted Verse — How long the Time is to last — -Conclusion of this branch of the Argument- Darkening the Luminaries — An Error of the Literalists — Nature of Meta- phorical Language — Where is the Original? — How the Scriptures speak to men — Important Distinction — The Prophecy of Joel and of Christ compared — The specific Time and Circumstances of Darkening the Lumina- ries — Parallel Predictions — Parallelism of Times and Events — Gog and Magog — Objection, that St. John describes the great Battle as taking plixe after the Millenium — John and Ezekiel Harmonized — Different Ex- positions compared. Verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON SHALL NOT GIVE HER LIGHT, AND THE STARS SHALL FALL FROM HEAVEN. \Luke .' AND UPON THE EARTH DISTRESS OF NATIONS, WITH PERPLEXI- TY J THE SEA AND THE WaVES ROARING J MEN'S HEARTS FAILING THEM FOR FEAR, AND FOR LOOKING AFTER THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE COMING ON THE EARTH j] AND THE POWERS OF THE HEAVENS SHALL BE SHAKEN. Having disposed of the figurative method of interpreting this passage, the true exposition will now be given. Up to this point there has not yet occurred a single instance of departure from a literal rendering of our Lord's language. And the inconsistency and ruinous results of the metaphorical exposition of this passage, have been sufficiently shown. There is no more necessity for departing from the literal in this passage than in any of the previous portions. Aud it may be expedient to remark, before proceeding further, that as there has been no departure from strict orthodoxy in €he previous annotations, so there will be none in the comments on this and the subsequent passages. The doctrines of the church, as set forth in reliable standards, will be rigidly main- tained throughout the Treatise. The method of procedure in this part of the discussion HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 231 will be, 1. To show what is meant by the " Tribulation of those days." 2. What is meant by the darkening of the lu- minaries "immediately after." 3. Who will be the subjects of the perplexity and distress, on the occurrence of these wonders. I. "The Tribulation of those days" is to be explained. 1. The remark, that the relative pronoun must refer to its antecedent, may appear so trite as hardly to justify its repe- tition. But there is a positive propriety in refreshing the memory with this most familiar and self-evident truth. The word " those" then, must refer to something which had pre- viously been the subject of remark. And " those days" must, consequently refer to some days previously described. 2. Now, we learn from the passage itself that the days referred to were days of " tribulation / " and the scope of the passage, particularly as recorded by Luke, shows that the days of tribulation last mentioned, were days of tribulation particularly to the Jews. " For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people." It is evident, then, that the " tribulation of those days" means the period of affliction of the Jewish land and people, of which the Lord had previously spoken. 3. There is one other remark that should be introduced in this connection : where two things are referred to for the pur- pose of distinguishing them from each other, and the word these is used in connection with those, then the relative those does not refer to the things last spoken of, but to things fur- ther back in the discourse. Now, in the case before us, as those is not used to distinguish between different times or things that have been previously mentioned, it must refer to the described days of tribulation, without any restriction : it must include all that had been mentioned of that description ; and espe- cially such as was so prominent or remarkable as to have, particularly impressed the memory ; — otherwise, the antece- dent of the relative would be so uncertain as to leave the. hearer or reader in doubt respecting the teacher's meaning. Such being the relation of those in the passage before us, 232 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. there can be no propriety in the supposition that it does not include all the tribulation, as far as it had been particularly described. If we can ascertain, then, how long the tribula- tion mentioned was to continue, we can understand with certainty one thing in relation to the signs that were to follow " immediately after ; " we can ascertain a time before which the signs should not transpire, though we may not be able to define how soon after. For as the signs were to be after the tribulation was ended, so far as it had been described; when we have ascertained how long those days were to continue, we have ascertained a period during which, and before which there can be no propriety in looking for the manifestation of the signs. And this of itself should be deemed conclusive against any assertion or conjecture concerning the predicted signs, if they happened before, or during, the period of tribu- lation to which reference is had by the relative those. (4.) One thing further; — in defining the "tribulation of those days," we are not to rely upon the assertions, fancies, or conjectures of men : we are to depend on the Lord's own declaration ; not on what he did not say ; not* on what he may be supposed to have said or intended ; but on what he did say. And now the inquiry arises, — in making up our judg- ment of what the Lord intended, shall we base our conclusion on only a part of his words, or shall we found it upon a con- sideration of all that is preserved of his discourse f There can be but one rational answer ; and yet who would suppose from the usual method of settling the question of the continu- ance of those days, that any very great importance was to be attached to an omission from the record of Matthew and Mark, which is supplied only by Luke ? The supplementary verse has not only been usually misplaced in the gospel Har- monies, but it has been almost entirely neglected in the com- ments on the twenty-fourth of Matthew. It is hardly allowed a respectable reference. To use an expressive, though not an elegant, word, the supplementary verse from Luke has been almost ignored out of existence, so far as it relates to the ex- position of the twenty-fourth of Matthew. And yet our Lord just as certainly uttered the words recorded in Luke xxi. 24, HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 233 as the words in Matt. xxiv. 29, or any other verse in the chapter. And is that supplementary verse of such little signification and importance as to be of no influence in the exegesis of the 29th verse of Matthew ? Does it not bear upon its very face character of the greatest consequence in determining the days of that tribulation f (5.) In relation to the position which the supplementary verse occupies in the accompanying Harmony, nothing more need to be said ; the reader is requested to examine again, if necessary, the argument on that point, in its proper place in the Exposition. Let all that is preserved of our Lord's discourse be brought together in its proper order, and then it will not be difficult to determine the question concerning how long the tribulation referred to is to continue. (6.) After our Lord had brought down his description of Jewish suffering to the siege of Jerusalem, and had given al- so predictions of some things which happened during the siege, did he pause then, in that department of his prophecy, and begin to speak of the signs in the heavens aud earth f !No ; HE CONTINUED HIS DISCOURSE ON THE SAME GENERAL SUBJECT OP TRIBULATION DOWN TO THE PERIOD OF THE TERMINATION OF THE affliction, and then he proceeded to speak of the signs in the heavens, <&c. (7.) The connection of the 29th verse of Matthew will ap- pear from reading the record of Matthew as amended by the supplementary verse from Luke. And it will appear from the very face of the words that the tribulation last spoken of previously to the 29th verse of Matthew, began at the siege, or at least at the downfall, of the city, and reaches forward even to the fullness of the Gentiles, and the here implied, (but elsewhere predicted,) redemption and restoration of the city to the Jews. Matt., verse 28 : " For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." Luke, verse 24 : " And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles 234: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. be fulfilled." Matt., verse 29 : " Immediately after the trib- ulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened," &c. (8.) Now, here were days of tribulation just as really, and just as distinctly pointed out, as the tribulation before, and during, the siege. And these days of tribulation yet con- tinue ; and are to continue until the specified time of termi- nation. And there ought not to be any doubt that the rela- tive those in the verse under comment, referred to this very, this long continued, period of affliction ; for, whether all do, or do not, admit the propriety of placing the supplementary verse in the precise location that it sustains in this Harmony ; yet all do, and must, admit that it belongs somewhere before the verse under comment ; and it must, then, of course, be included in that period of tribulation of which the Lord had been speaking, and to which the relative those referred. (9.) Besides, as it must have been remarked in the previous sections of the discourse, our Lord paid the strictest regard to the chronological succession of events, as they affected the same class of persons ; he never confuses or reverses the or- der of things, but describes them as if they were passing be- fore his omniscient eye in regular panoramic succession. And, in the very nature of the case, the chronological order of the events described in the verse from Luke, not only required that it should be placed before the verse relating to the signs in heaven, as it is in Luke ; but, also, that it should be placed after the verse relating to the siege of Jerusalem. If so, then the order must be as it is presented in this Harmony ; and the " tribulation of those days " refers as specifically to this yet continuing period of affliction as to anything pre- vious. But see this argument more fully presented in the comment on the passage in question. (10.) Here, then, we have direct, affirmative proof that the signs in the heavens relate to something else than the down- fall of the Jewish nation. "What may be called the negative argument — though it implies the affirmative — has been more fully exhibited in the last chapter. But now we have the af- firmative proof that the signs in the heavens have not yet HAUMONY AND EXPOSITION. 235 transpired, because the time for them has not yet arrived. Those days of tribulation, as Christ himself affirms, are to in- clude all that has been foretold by the prophets. Luke, verse 22 : " For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." ]Sow, the Lord did not, and could not, mean, that all things foretold were to happen at any one particular time of those days, because the prophe- cies speak of a long continued succession, age after age, of tribulation. He undoubtedly meant to apprise them that the ages of affliction had begun, and they were to expect all those terrible judgments, which had been foretold. (11.) But the same prophets — particularly Moses — whoso clearly foretold that beginning of those tribulations which were then witnessed, just as distinctly predicted the continu- ance of them through a succession of ages not yet termina- ted. The predicted days of IsraeVs distress and desolation had then begun. How long were they to continue ? Answer : Until " all things that are written may be fulfilled." These were the days ; Jerusalem's destruction was but one of the earlier calamities ; ages of tribulation are to follow, for they have been foretold by the prophets, and the time has not yet expired.* (12.) In concluding, then, that the days of tribulation to which the relative those refers, were not limited by the fall of Jerusalem, we are sustained by these several considerations : First. The prophecies of the Old Testament favor it. Second. Christ's reference to those prophecies, and his dec- laration concerning their being entirely fulfilled during the " days of vengeance " of which he was speaking, should be regarded as a demonstration. Third. The connection and specific teaching of the verse from Luke ought to be considered a positive proof of the justness of the conclusion. Fourth. The utter insufficiency, the logical absurdity, the self-contradiction, and the downright variance with the facts in the case, which characterize the attempts to apply the verse * See note D, in the Appendix. 236 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. under comment to the occurrences of the war under the Ro- mans, ought to drive any man in disgust from - such an exposi- tion, whether he finds any other theory of interpretation or not. Fifth. The prophecy in Joel proves that the time is yet in the future. Sixth. There is a plain, scriptural exposition of the passage. II. We are next to consider the darkening of the lumina- ries of heaven, immediately after the tribulation of those days. (1.) Those who have fancied that this darkening took place at, before, or soon after, the destruction of Jerusalem, have not wandered more widely from the truth, than those who have endeavored to find the fulfillment of the prediction in the unusual conditions of the atmosphere, or in the remarka- ble revolutions of the nations, since that time. All have equally overlooked the plain, Scripture teaching that it will not occur until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, and Je- rusalem ceases to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles. It is really surprising that those who profess to be literalists are so prone to fix upon almost anything as a fulfillment of this prediction, without the least regard for the fact, that it will not occur until the Jews again become possessed of Jerusa- lem, and, as Joel describes it, the nations of the world com- bine and meet in the vicinity of the city to fight with the Jews. (2.) If' a man professes to disregard the literal teaching of the prophecies, and holds himself under no obligation to be- lieve what the Bible says, but allows his imagination full play, to conjecture what he thinks lies hidden under a veil of ap- parently literal teaching ; — in such case there is nothing to surprise us in the innumerable and unscriptural fictions which are so pleasing to human fancy. But where there is a dispo- sition to censure the fanciful expositors, and a claim to be- lieve what the Bible says, — it is astonishing that such errors as have been rife among us for a few years past, in relation to the second advent, should be countenanced and defended with a zeal worthy of truth itself. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 237 (3.) Tne author of this Exposition, after becoming wearied, and, in some instances, disgusted, with the examination of the common figurative expositions of this, and similar passages, has deliberately, solemnly, and unchangeably determined to be a literalist throughout in his exegesis of the imfigurative portions of the Bible ; and in the figurative portions he de- termines to be guided by what is, in connection, or elsewhere, taught in literal prose. He understands precisely what he means in this declaration, and holds himself in readiness to meet the consequences of abiding by it. One thing is cer- tain, — if he errs in this matter, he will have this to console him, that he honestly understood God to mean what he was pleased to reveal. (4.) In giving a philosophical account of the origin and commonness of the metaphorical use of language, which, ap- plied literally, would naturally belong to the scenes of the closing up of this world's probation, — it would be necessary to suppose that the people were acquainted, and, to some ex- tent, familiar with, the great revelation that the world is des- tined to be renewed at the second coming of Christ. And as there is nothing in nature that teaches this doctrine, we must suppose that it was made originally, and renewed occasional- ly, by revelation from heaven. (5.) But where are those intimations and revelations of this great truth which the church in all ages has fixed upon as principal stones in the foundation of orthodoxy ? They must be somewhere in the writings of the prophets, if the church has spoken, in this matter, " according to the oracles of God." But where are those revelations of this truth, if our commentators may explain every thing of this kind in a figurative manner ? Where is there one text which they admit to be purely and independently literal ? If the prophecy of Joel does not contain such a revelation, it is not to be found tn the Old Testament ! And if the text imder comment does not contain such a revelation, rr is not to be FOUND IN THE New TESTAMENT ! (6.) There is just this one remark further, at the present posi- tion in the argument : The Bible speaks to the common mind, 238 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. — not with strict philosophic precision, as things would be treated in a scientific discourse, — but as things appear to the general mind. In other words, the Bible speaks, as we con- verse and preach, in the ordinary language of our hearers, and with a designed adaptation to the common capacity. Hence, the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars, are to be understood as so appearing to those who may be witnesses of the awful events. How the phe- nomena may be explained scientifically, forms no part of the present design. When men have given a satifactory scientific explanation of the sun and moon standing still in the days of Joshua, or of the sun being darkened three hours at the cru- cifixion of Christ, then it will be time for the author to go beyond the facts of revelation, and attempt the philosophic solution of the mysteries which are hidden with God. (7.) If the prophets ever taught that Israel and Judah should be scattered among the nations ; if they ever foretold the downfall of their metropolis, and the possession of their land by others ; if they ever predicted the ultimate triumph of Messiah's kingdom ; they have just as clearly taught that the present tribulation and dispersion of the children of Israel should finally be brought to a termination, and they again brought back to the everlasting possession of their own land. The predictions of the restoration and conversion are so defi- nite, so full, so frequent, and so connected with other matters that we know to be literal, that we cannot consistently deny the latter without wholly denying the former. Our commen- tators, our hymnologists, our most influential preachers of all evangelical churches, are constrained to admit the doctrine of Israel's future conversion and restoration ; and it is generally admitted that St. Paul argued the matter by appealing to the prophecies. (8.) Now, there is not, probably, a plainer prediction of these things than in the second and third chapters of Joel, al- though the same things are taught elsewhere with a fullness and a definiteness that remove all reasonable occasion of mis- interpretation in respect to the principal events. And the divines who see fit to refer the prophecy of Joel to the down- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 239 fall of the Jewish nation, are compelled to admit that, prima- rily or secondarily, suggestively or typically, it refers also to the closing up of the present dispensation of things. The truth of these observations will be admitted by all who have examined the subject. (9.) Before proceeding to apply these extended remarks to the exposition of the verse under comment, the reader is de- sired particularly to acquaint himself with the preceding ar- gument on the identity of the time and events described in the latter part of the second chapter of Joel and the whole of the third chapter. He will then perceive that the prophet has gone over precisely the same period of time that is else- where described as the times, the days, or the age, of the Mes- siah ; a period that begins with the setting up of the king- dom, and extending to the complete establishment of it, either by the conversion or destruction of the nations. It is a peri- od which opens with an outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh ; not all flesh in extent, as including all people; but all flesh in variety of condition, as excluding none. But the prophecy was not to be limited to that first outpouring, and to that first ingathering, as of the first fruits of the general harvest. The period still continues ; and we of this genera- tion may claim the same promise, and so may all generations until the great day of the Lord. (10.) "Before the great and terrible day of the Lord come," which will hereafter be explained, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon turned to blood, and the stars withdraw their shining. The time of this change in the luminaries of heaven is clearly indicated both by Christ and by the prophet Joel. It will be (Joel iii. 1) at that period of time when God "shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem." That is, as has already been shown by numerous quotations to the same effect, at the period when " God shall set his hand the second time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left." Isa. xi. 11. " For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord : and I will cause them to return to the land 240 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it." Jere- miah, xxx. 3. (11.) It appears, however, that the Jews will not be permit- ted to possess their own land withont a great conflict with the Gentile nations. (Joel iii. 2.) " I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshajphat, [Hebrew — valley of the judgment of God,] and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the* nations, and parted my land." Yerse 7. " Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return you recompense upon your own head." After a description of the preparation for the general war, and the gathering of the nations in the valley of God's judgment, called also the " valley of decision" God says, (verse 12,) " For there will I sit to judge all the hea- then round about." Then comes the description of the mighty gathering : (Yerse 14,) " Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision : for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." (12.) And now occurs the darkening of the luminaries of heaven. Multitudes upon multitudes have been gathered from " all nations" into the judgment valley — " the valley of decision." They come with weapons of war to fight against God's " heritage, Israel ;" and God is going to " plead with them there for his people." " The harvest is ripe ;" " the press is full ; the fats overflow." The times of the Gentiles are now fulfilled. God now says, " For there [in the valley of decis- ion] will I sit to judge all the heathen round about." The times of affliction for Israel are now ended : " the tribulation of those days" is over ; God is now going to recompense the heathen of all nations upon their own head, as he pleads with them in behalf of his people. (13.) But how is it done ? It is done as God has done be- fore : nature, with all its elements, is made to do God's battle- service. The first thing is to involve them in utter darkness, as he once did the Egyptians, and as was done also at the crucifixion. Yerse 15. " The sun and the moon shall be HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 24J. darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." The moon will seem to turn to blood, and the stars shall appear to fall from heaven. God's people shall now see, as their fa- thers did, the terrible interposition of Jehovah in their be- half; and the multitudes assembled against them shall be met and vanquished by the Almighty himself, as lesser armies had been before. (14.) Yerse 16. " The Lord shall also roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the earth shall shake." God will roar against them with that dreadful voice that terrified the Israelites around Mount Si- nai. See Exodus xix. 16-20. " There were thunderings, and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud ; so that all the people that were in the camp trembled." Some such terrible interposi- tion of God will now be seen in behalf of his people ; and the voice and roar that shake the earth and heaven, will be attended by commotions in the elements around : " the sea and the waves roaring." The earth, the sea, the sky, will be terribly affected ; and the whole demonstration will be against the multitudes upon multitudes in the valley of judgment. The sun as in sackcloth, the moon crimsoned, the falling and extinguished stars, the roar and voice of God from Jerusalem that makes the earth and heaven tremble, and the waves of the sea roaring with the horrible commotion ; — all of these things shall bring about what the Saviour next describes : Luke, [And upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexi- ty : 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.] (15.) This is God's method of pleading with the nations in behalf of his heritage Israel. For, (Joel iii. 16,) in the midst of this terrible demonstration against the assembled nations, " The Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." It will be the set time to favor Zion. The God who did wonders in Egypt, at the Ked Sea, at Sinai, at Gibeon, and at other times when he vanouished Israel's enemies ; the God who had seemed to cast away his 16 242 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. people whom he foreknew, will at this time return to save his people, and to accomplish all the blessings that were prom- ised to them in the latter days, when they should return to the Lord. This is undoubtedly the great battle between Gog and Magog and the children of Israel, which is so graphically described in Ezekiel, chapters xxxviii. and xxxix., which the reader is earnestly desired now to read. (16.) The correspondency between our Lord's predictions and those of the Old Testament, is wonderful. We find a cor- respondency, first, in the fact that the things predicted by him in the passage now under comment, occur in the exact order which is observable in the prophets ; namely, " Immediately after the tribulation of those days," which Moses as well as him- self had distinctly predicted as continuing until the final restora- tion of Israel to their own land. (Our Lord's prediction of this will hereafter be noticed.) Second. There is a corresponden- cy in the signs themselves ; only our Lord is more particular in describing the effect upon the nations. Thirdly. As will immediately be shown, the coming of the Lord in the midst of this darkness, and elemental commotion, and general dis- tress of the nations to redeem his elect, (Luke, verse 28,) has a perfect correspondency with the prophets' declaration, that it should be to redeem his people, as will be found by reading Joel and the parallel prophecies. (17.) It is not strictly necessary to the exposition, that the prophecies of the Old Testament should further occupy our attention in this connection ; but still, in order to throw addi- tional light on the time when these wonders in heaven and earth shall be exhibited, in behalf of God's heritage, and, of course, against Israel's enemies ; — and especially to show still further the impropriety of applying the prophecy in Joel to the downfall of the Jewish nation ; — for these reasons, and others that might be mentioned, the reader's attention may be detained for a little for the purpose of considering one of the parallel prophecies to which reference has already been made. Our Saviour and Joel seem to have had distinctly in view the terrible judgments of God upon the assembled na- tions of Israel's enemies, at the closing up of the present dis- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 243 pensation of things. In order to exhibit this parallelism more distinctly, attention will be directed to several things which strikingly identify the time and the occasion of the divine manifestation in behalf of the ancient covenant people. (18.) The first thing we notice from our Saviour's predic- tion is, that it should not be during the continuance of the days of the tribulation of which he had been speaking. And it is undeniable that he had spoken of their tribulation in all its days of continuance to the time when Jerusalem should be trodden down by the Gentiles no longer ; when the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled. Our Lord had declared in so many words that the days of calamity, and of Jerusalem's oppression, should continue so long, and until that time. And then he added, " Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened," &c. Now this is precisely what Joel teaches, as has been sufficiently shown in the pre- ceding sections ; it should be at the time when the Lord shall " bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem ; " and when he should assemble all nations in the " valley of judg- ment," or " decision," at the time when they should gather to fight against the Jews. And this is evidently parallel with the prophecy of the gathering of Gog and Magog, at the same time, and for the same purpose. (19.) In the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth of Ezekiel we have general, but very distinct, declarations of God's purpose in respect to his ancient heritage. In the thirty-seventh we have the matter exhibited in the form of a vision ; and accompa- nied by GooVs own explanation of what the vision signified / Then in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters, we have a particular account of the gathering of the nations against the Jews, and God's terrible interposition in behalf of his people, by the judgments upon their enemies. In the thirty- eighth we have God's address to Israel's enemies, as we have also in Joel iii. Yerse 8. " After many days thou [Israel's enemies] shall be visited : in the latter years thou should come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste : but is brought forth out of 244 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. 9. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm ; thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land ; thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. 15. And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16. And thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land ; it shall be in the latter days ; and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 17. Thussaith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spo- ken in old time, by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years, that I would bring thee against them ? 18. And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. 19. For in my jealousy, and in the fire of my wrath, have I spo- ken. Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel. 20. So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are up- on the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God : every man's sword shall be against his brother. 22. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, cmd upon tJie many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hail-stones, fire and brimstone. 23. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord." (20.) Now who can fail to perceive here a parallel with the prophecy of Joel ? It relates to the same time of gathering in the captivity of the Jews. It speaks of the same gather- ing of the multitudes of their enemies into the land to fight against Israel. It alludes to the same terrible shaking of earth, HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 245 sea, and heaven, when God interferes in behalf of his heritage Israel. In both places this is spoken of as God's pleading with them then in behalf of Israel. In both places it represents the result as a total overthrow of Israel's enemies, and a per- fect and permanent establishment of Israel in their own conn- try. And what is worthy of especial notice, in the prophecy by Ezekiel (xxxviii. 17,) this same gathering and judgment of the heathen, and Israel's redemption, are declared to have been spoken of by the prophets of a former period. And we should observe that Joel prophesied before Ezekiel. (21.) " In those days, and at that time," then, according to the prophets, will occur this terrible judgment that shall dark- en the heavens and convulse the earth and sea. Then will be the judgment and punishment of the nations, and the re- demption of God's " heritage Israel," that they may dwell forevermore in their own land in peace and purity. This, then, as our Lord himself declared, is only the fulfillment of the things that have been written. And the tribula- tion that was experienced by the Jews during the Roman war, was only the beginning of the sorrows that have been predicted, and that shall continue until all that has been fore- told shall be accomplished. And "immediately after the tribulation of those days," shall the wonders in heaven, and the commotions among nations occur, and the divine glory will be manifested in the judgments which shall de- stroy the ungodly. (22.) There is one specific objection that may be urged against this conclusion respecting the time of the fulfillment of this part of the prediction : it is this : John, in Revelation xx. 8, represents the battle of Gog and Magog as occurring after the Millenium ; whereas, Ezekiel clearly represents it as occurring at the conclusion of the present days of Israel's tribulation, which we cannot suppose will last during the thousand years of holiness and peace. (23.) The reply to this objection is very easy, and ought to be deemed satisfactory. In the first place, nothing would be gained to either side of this controversy, by supposing that Ezekiel and John contra- 246 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. dieted each other. It cannot be deemed admissible that there is any such contradiction in the Bible. In the second place, the prophecy of Ezekiel is so clearly parallel with many others, as it respects the tdme of the ful- fillment, that there is no room for a doubt of its being at the close of the present period of Israel's dispersion. And if one prophet must be explained by another, the one ought to be explained by the many ; the less clear and literal, by those that are more easily understood. In the third place, and par- ticularly Ezekiel and John are in the most delightful harmo- ny ; and it is precisely the character of the harmony which the book of Revelation so conspicuously displays in its rela- tions to the other parts of the prophetic Scriptures. This is the agreement between John and Ezekiel : what Ezekiel represents literally, as the closing up of the ante-mil- lennial dispensation, John uses symbolically to illustrate the closing up of the Millennium itself. And this is precisely the leading characteristic of this part of John's writings : He uses the prophecies and histories of the literal as symbols to represent something else, and similar events of other times. Prophecies and histories respecting literal Jerusalem, he uses symbolically to describe the church in its future glory. Proph- ecies and histories which were applicable literally only to Babylon on the Euphrates, he uses symbolically to illustrate the Papal abomination. Home literal, in its situation, domi- nation and character, is made a symbol of Home spiritual. Now this character of John's Revelation is sufficiently evi- dent ; and no one ever thought of stumbling, because he could not harmonize the chronology between John's symbolical Je- rusalem, Babylon, and Pome, and the literal cities whose characters and destinies furnished him with some of the prin- cipal actors in his symbolical drama. And why need wa stumble because his symbolical Gog and Magog do not come upon the stage just when the literal did.* Why does he us^ Jerusalem, Babylon, Pome, and other things to illustrate his d/ramaf Because such things had existed literally and had *See Note E. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 247 become subjects of prophetic and historic knowledge ; and, therefore, in this way, by using them, he could convey a vol- ume of meaning in a single verse. (25.) And, if any object,that he has used as a symbol something of which we are yet in doubt, — something which is still future to us, — the answer is ready : He wrote this part of his Rev- elation for the special admonition of those who will survive during the Millennium, and will be in danger at the close of that period of being deceived by the devil, who will then for a little season be released from prison. And at that time, the history of Gog and Magog will be as well understood as is now the history of Babylon or Rome. And we might as well suppose that there will be no literal resurrection, because it is sometimes used symbolically, as in Ezek. xxxvii., — or that there was no literal Jerusalem, because it was used symboli- cally, — as to suppose there will be no Gog and Magog at the close of the present dispensation, because they are used sym- bolically to illustrate the close of the Millennium. The figu- rative proves, rather than ^proves, the literal. (26.) Two things are here worthy of remembrance : First. That the gathering of the Jews, and the great and decisive de- struction of their enemies, are so evidently taught in the proph- ecies, that almost all divines are constrained to admit the literal fulfillment of, at least, the principal things predicted. It is to be regretted, however, that so few have spoken out dis- tinctly concerning those things which they are constrained to admit. Another thing to be remembered is, — that the lan- guage of our Saviour, in the part of his discourse now under notice, is generally admitted to be applicable to the very time to which it is referred in this Exposition. Even those who are most confident in their application of the whole to Jewish affairs, admit that it may refer to the day of Judgment. (27.) Even Dr. Scott, after referring it specifically to Jew- ish matters, closes thus : " But the whole passage will have a more literal and far more august accomplishment, at the day of judgment." Dr. Clarke, who seems unwilling to allow any part of the twenty-fourth chapter to refer to the day of judg- ment, nevertheless concedes that the 1st verse of the twenty- 248 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. fifth chapter refers to the day of judgment, in connection with a reference to Jewish and Roman affairs. Yet our Lord him- self limits the application of the twenty -fifth chapter to the times described in, at least, the closing part of the twenty- fourth, by introducing his parable by a " Tlien" which ought to be considered sufficiently specific in defining the time. Dr. Benson acknowledges that our Lord spoke of both events at the same time, one being considered as a type of the other. Dr. Coke expresses himself in about the same manner. Bur- kitt admits that some part of the chapter may refer to the day of judgment. Watson considers it a clear example of double prophecy ; one event illustrating the other. Barnes expresses the same conviction. Wesley is positive that our Lord here begins to speak of his coming to judge the world. Dr. Rob- inson admits that from verse 43, the discourse refers to the day of judgment. (28.) It appears, then, from the admission of all, or nearly all, of the divines most commonly in use in this country, that at some place or other in this discourse, and in some form or other, the Lord did speak of his second coming to judge the world. Why not, then, suppose that he began just where it came in chronological order, and in accordancy with the teach- ing of the prophets, and introduced the subject in close sub- sequent connection with the termination of the tribulation of God's ancient people. If the darkening of the luminaries of heaven is to be one of the signs of the judgment, where is it taught, if not in Joel and in Matthew ? Where do our stan- dard hymnologists and preachers obtain authority to promul- gate such views to the church, if not from Joel and from Christ? Surely they will not refer to similar expressions, where there is in connection a specific application of the lan- guage to other events. They must go to Joel and to Christ. And, if so, why not suppose that Christ and the prophet re- ferred specifically to the great event ? (29.) The only difference between this Exposition and most others, on this point is, that here the application is decided, literal, definite ; and, in the others, the application is rather to be inferred — ■ a sort of may be, instead of must be. And HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 249 then the application usually comes rather in the form of a concession, as if it was with reluctance, rather than with clear, definite perception of the necessity of such application. And there is usually a loading upon Jerusalem and the Jews just as much as can possibly be made to take that direction, and the rest is thought to refer to the judgment. To this general state of things, two noble exceptions have come under the writer's notice : they are Wesley's Notes* and Henry's Expo- sition. Doubtless there are some others, but the writer has not had the good fortune to obtain them. CHAPTER X. Principal subject — The Coming of Christ. Examination op SEVERAL RELEVANT SUBJECTS. How the Subject is Introduced — Erroneous Interpretations — Two Forms of the Interpretation — Whitby's — Newton's — The first Reviewed — Logic ver- sus History — The second Reviewed — Injurious Tendencies — Animadver- sions — Objection founded on Scripture Precedents — Great Mistake — Impor- tant Difference — Old Testament Metaphors — Objection founded on Christ's Declaration to the High Priests, Matt. xxvi. 64 — Objection founded on Christ's remark concerning John, ch. xxi. 22 — How difficult to defend Er- ror — Objection founded on Christ's Declaration that some should not die till they had seen him coming in his kingdom, Matt. xvi. 27 — True Inter- pretation — Dissimilarity between that Passage and the one under comment — How David Typified Christ — Two Kingdoms, or the same in two different Dispensations. Verse 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 THET SHALL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN, WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. Here we have the coming of Christ described, both in re- spect to the manner, and with respect to its chronological order. The word then sufficiently shows its connection with * More recent and thorough examination of Wesley's Notes compells the re- luctant admission, that, after all, he was not as free from defect in this mat- 250 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. the scenes described in the preceding verse. The darkening of the luminaries would first occur, succeeded immediately L j the dreadful commotions on the earth, and the distress and terror of the nations, as has already been shown in the comment on the 29th verse. The reference to the second advent in the 27th verse has been explained in its appropriate place, and shown to be a merely parenthetic allusion to it, for the pur- pose of guarding the disciples more perfectly against being deceived by the impostors, who would make their appearance at the time of which the Lord was then speaking. 2. In the verse before us we have the subject introduced in its appropriate place and form. But we cannot proceed with the exposition until something more is done to exhibit the errors which have become so prevalent in the usual inter- pretations of this verse. Like the 27th verse, this also is usually applied to the coming of the Romans, and treated as a mere figurative representation of the divine judgments upon the Jews. Whitby may be considered as having given the popular opinion in respect to this verse. " Our Saviour's coming here seems therefore to import his coming by the Roman army to besiege and destroy Jerusalem, and the unbelieving Jews / for so Christ seemeth plainly to interpret this t coming of the Son of man :' (Yerse 27.) ' The coming of the Son of man shall be as the lightning shining from the east to the west ; 6Vou /ap, for wheresoever the Jews are, thither shall the Roman army be gathered' (see verse 27, above :) his coming therefore must be with the Roman army."* " And this interpretation," he ter, as the -writer at first gladly hoped and supposed. Wesley, it appears, from his own explanation of the case, (Preface, Sec. V,) followed, almost with- out deviation, in the track of Bengelius, whom he regarded as a " great light of the Christian world." Bengelius did not mislead Mr. Wesley in divinity, but in critical exegesis of certain passages, where — not the theology of the Scriptures — but common history and unfulfilled prophecy, have to be depend- ed upon for primary sources of argument and illustration ; — in this depart- ment of biblical exegesis, it is undeniable that Mr. Wesley was misled, not only in the passage before us, but in several others, by his too great reliance apon Bengelius. * Certainly, if Christ used the words you put in his mouth. EAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. 251 continues, " will not seem strange if we consider, (1.) That God's commg to destroy ; or execute his vengeance on a wick- ed generation, is represented as his ' coming in the clouds of heaven.' " Then follow several references to the Old Tes- tament. 3. Now, after the historical demonstration of the error of applying the 27th verse to the coming of the Romans ; and after the argument against the metaphorical interpretation of the 29th verse, it cannot be necessary to detain the reader long with preliminaries to the true exposition of the verse under notice. The common figurative theory of interpreta- tion, as it is exhibited by Whitby, consists of two different branches ; one of which makes the coming of Christ to be a literal coming of the Romans to execute the judgments of Christ upon the Jews ; and the other branch of the theory supposes that the coming of Christ here described, though in some way connected with the coming of the Romans, does not so much refer to the actual coming of that people, and of the calamities they occasioned, as to the subsequent manifes- tation of the Lord Jesus by the judgments which he, by means of the Romans, inflicted. 4. This branch of the theory is sufficiently stated by New- ton in his dissertation on the Prophecies ; and it has been adopted by several of our principal commentators. " Our Saviour proceeded in the same figurative style, (verse 30 :) 4 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven,' &c. The plain meaning of it is, that the destruction of Jeru- salem will be such a remarkable instance of divine vengeance, such a signal manifestation of Christ's power and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will be led from thence to acknowledge Christ and the Christian religion. In the ancient prophets, God is frequently described as coming in the clouds, upon any remarkable interposition and mani- festation of his power ; and the same description is here ap- plied to Christ. The destruction of Jerusalem will be as am- ple a manifestation of Christ's power and glory, as if he was himself to come visibly in the clouds of heaven." [! !] See Newton on the Prophecies. 252 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 5. If this form of the figurative theory were not to be found in most of the Expositions in common use, the writer would consider it too absurd, not to say ridiculous, to meet a formal notice. But when we find it maintained, either in whole or in part, by such divines as Newton, Clarke, "Watson, Coke, Benson, Barnes, Macknight, &c; and when we find that it is the best explanation that the defenders of the figurative theo- ry can give of this coming of the Lord ; it theii stands us in hand to expose this absurdity. The reader's attention will be directed, first, to the branch of the theory as maintained by Whitby, — that the coming of Christ here means " his coming by the Roman army to besiege and destroy Jerusalem and the unbelieving Jews." 6. Now, if reason and fact can be allowed to have an influ- ence in settling a disputed question, it will not take long to exhibit the utter inconsistency of this form of the theory. (1.) If the coming of the Lord at this time was merely " the coming of the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem and the un- believing Jews," then it will follow, of necessity, that it occur- red at the same time, since, in fact, it is affirmed to be the same event. (2.) Now, the Romans came several years before the de- struction of the city. But our Lord places the coming here spoken of afterwards ! (3.) Again, the destruction of the Jewish state, and church, their city, and people, resulted from the coming of the Ro- mans, and must, of course, have been after that coming, be- cause results must be subsequent to the causes which produced them. But our Lord describes this coming as being after the trib- ulation of those days, and subsequent in order to the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars. Which shall we believe, man or the Lord? Who is to be sustained and justified, — those who pay less respect to human wisdom, and more to divine, — or those who do otherwise ? The answer should be a practical one. 7. It is but justice to Whitby to observe, that he had logical foresight enough to avoid this palpable contradiction, by sup- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. posing that " the tribulation of those days," after which this coming was to be, occurred at an earlier stage of the war, " a considerable time before the destruction of Jerusalem," while " Vespasian's army was flying quickly through Gallilee, Idu- mea, and Judea." And he makes it out — truly, and undenia- bly — that the Jewish ecclesiastical and civil government was indeed overthrown, and their eminent men and rulers de- stroyed, before Jerusalem itself was overthrown. Hence his distinct affirmation that the coming now spoken of by the Lord, was " the coming of the Romans to destroy Jerusalem and the unbelieving Jews." 8. So far as the writer has extended his investigations, Whitby appears to be alone in the peculiar turn which he gives to his exposition. He was too strongly wedded to his figurative theory to abandon it for a literal application of the verse ; and he was too keen a logician to blunder into a pal- pable contradiction of the Lord. Therefore he adopted this singular method of saving his logic, whatever might happen to his divinity. To this singular modification of the figurative theory, there are objections, which seem to have prevented any, or many, from adopting it ; although the theory in the mam has been almost universally received. (1.) The first thing that may be noticed is, that his comment on the verse under notice does not agree with his explanation of verse 27, where the same coming of the Lord is incidentally alluded to. In explaining the coming of Christ there, he does indeed refer it to the coming of the Romans / but it is appli- ed to their first conquests of the country. Whereas, the com- ing here mentioned is restricted to the coming of Titus to finish up the war by besieging Jerusalem and destroying the Jews that remained ! (2.) Another thing to be remembered is this : this same able divine has labored, and successfully, too, to show that there was a total destruction of the Jewish " ecclesiastical and civil state, and the rulers of them both," " a considerable time before the destruction of Jerusalem." There was, indeed ; and previously to the sige of Jerusalem, the whole country, north, south, east, and west, had been conquered and ravaged ; 254 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. while in the metropolis itself, before the coming of Titus to besiege it, not only the priesthood, but the judiciary, the civil government and the eminent men of the nation, had been de- stroyed, and the temple itself had become a fortress for an army of robbers. Now, to save the logic of his strange theory, the learned divine has to plunge into the palpable absurdity of supposing that the great manifestation of the Lord's judgment upon the Jews, by which Christ was to be seen coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, was not the coming of the Romans to invade and ravage the length and breadth of the land ; was not the destruction, by death and captivity, of the bulk of the nation, till but a single city was left ; was not the utter overthrow of their state, church, judiciary, and em- inent men, like the darkening of their sun, moon, and stars ; — no — all this formed no part of that work of judgment which was to manifest so amazingly the glory of Christ, by his ven- geance upon the Jews ; — but, after all the country was con- quered, the state, church, and eminent men destroyed, and there was but a single city left, and that so near destruction in consequence of the ravages of the robbers within, that it was rather a relief than otherwise, (so it was expressly affirm- ed,) to be assailed by the Romans ; — then, as the author un- der review says, this judgment-coming of the Lord took place ! Then it was that he was so conspicuously seen coming in the clouds of heaven to punish the unbelieving Jews ! All before this time was to be counted as nothing ! The destruction of the church, government, rulers, cities, provinces, and people without number, was nothing ! But when Titus came to be- siege the metropolis, and destroy what remained of the people, this was the surpassingly glorious manifestation of the Lord coming in the clouds of heaven. It is not suprising that this strange peculiarity of the troublesome theory should have but few, if any, supporters. There is yet left in the common mind a little of that common sense which is rather trouble- some to the sophist who labors to save his logic at the expense of reason. The other branch of the figurative theory of applying this HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 255 verse, is thus stated by Bishop Newton in his work g.i the Prophecies : " The plain meaning of it is, that the destruc- tion of Jerusalem will be such a remarkable instance of divine vengeance, such a signal manifestation of Christ's power and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will be led from thence to acknowledge Christ and the Christian religion. In the ancient prophets, God is frequently described as coming in the clouds, upon any remarkable inter- position and manifestation of his power ; and the same description is here applied to Christ. The destruction of Jerusalem will he as ample a manifestation of Christ's power and glory, as if he was himself to come visibly in the " clouds of heaven" [!] ]STow, wonderful as it may seem, the defenders of the figu- rative exposition are so hardly, so desperately pushed by the difficulties of their fanciful theory, that this is the best expla- nation of the passage that they can give ! The most particu- lar, the most generally quoted, the most evidently literal description of the second coming of the Lord that can be found in the Bible, is explained to mean nothing more than the moral effects upon unbelieving men of a terrible judgment upon the wicked Jews ! And this is the favorite theory of nearly all our modern divines ! Let us look once more at the words of which such a statement is designed to be a comment. Verse 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 glort. Now, who, that is not hopelessly committed to the figura- tive theory, would suppose that it was possible for such divines as Newton, Clarke, and a host of others, to satisfy themselves with such a view of such a passage? Such an unnatural, unsatisfying, unimpressive exposition would be the less objec- tionable, if it were not for several considerations : 1. The literal interpretation of the passage would not intro- duce into the church any sentiment that was new, unfamiliar, or unprofitable. 2. It would be only treating the passage just as we are 256 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. habitually treating many other passages which are less par- ticular, less evidently literal, less important, and less im- pressive. 3. The passage is acknowledged by these very divines (most of them) to have a remote reference to the second advent at the end of the world. They usually contend, however, that its primary reference is to Jewish affairs. 4. The figurative interpretation of this passage is no more natural or justifiable than the figurative interpretation of any other, and every other, of the same character, contained in the Bible. And the same arguments which are used to set aside the literal rendering of this verse, may be used just as successfully, and generally more so, to evade the literal teach- ing of every passage in the Scripture on which we rely to prove the coming of the Lord to judgment. Hence, those who deny the second advent of our Lord, have only to extend as far as they please the application of orthodox (?) argu- ments, and where does the Bible teach the judgment-coming of our Lord ? 5. The figurative theory of interpretation naturally tends to prevent the confidence which the mass of readers would have in the Scriptures, if commentators did not almost uni- versally betray a distrust of the literal teaching of the divine word. But when great men set the example of metaphorizing, and poetizing the most important communications of the Holy Ghost, it is not surprising that the common people are so generally unaffected by those very portions of the Bible which seem to have been designed for the principal perma- nent sources of warning to the careless, and encouragement to the faithful. If the people are warned and religiously influenced by the passages relating to the second advent, it is rather in spite of, or in contempt of, the fanciful and unnatural theorizings of men renowned for wit, research, and learning. The hope of the world, in respect to these things, is in the natural, unsophisticated confidence and reverence which com- mon people usually have for what they believe to be the teachings of Inspiration. But just as soon as this simple- hearted confidence is destroyed, by the clashing, far-fetched r HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 257 mystifying comments of men, so soon the foundation on which to build the hope of conversion is to a great extent undermined. And the question, after all, is simply this : Was the Bible designed for the common people — for the many people — or was it designed for the few — the learned? If for the common people, then it was adapted to them, as common people ; and it was done by the Infinite Wisdom that arranged all the w >nderful adaptions in nature. Whence, then, the propriety, or even lawfulness, of wresting from its natural and easy import such passages as the one before us, and expounding them in such a way that no common, un- sophisticated mind would ever be likely to adopt from its own spontaneous convictions ? If the Bible was not designed and adapted to the common mind — to the many — then it either had no adaption, or it was designed for the few — the learned. And, if this be so, then the Romish church is right in with- holding the pure word of God from the masses, and teaching that the priesthood alone are capable of understanding it. 6. This loose and fanciful method of expounding this, and other similar portions of the Scriptures, is most evidently the source of theoretic Universalism, and other forms of semi- infidelity. And it occasions a lack of intensity in the im- pressions which these portions of the Bible were evidently designed to produce. The injury is incalculable, and ordina- rily incurable. This painful truth meets us at every point, and probably eternity will disclose an extent of injury from this source that will be absolutely appalling. 7. Great must be the necessity then, that should justify any departure from literality in expounding such passages as this. It ought to be ascertained, first, that a literal interpretation is absolutely impracticable ; that it either clashes with other portions of the Bible, or with indubitable facts. Nothing less than this should be deemed sufficient to warrant us in conclu- ding that the Lord did not mean just what he said, in a dis- course intended for the common mind. 8. But are there any such reasons for wresting this passage from its literal and natural import ? 'No ; there is not one. Does its literal teaching conflict with well ascertained facts ? 17 258 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. No ; it does not : the whole race of learned men may be safely challenged to produce a single fact that can possibly be brought into conflict with the literal teaching of this text. Does it clash with other portions of Scripture I No ; it does not: there is not only no disagreement, but the literal teach- ing of this text is in the most perfect harmony with those portions which undeniably relate primarily to the second coming of the Lord. What, then, can justify this almost universal practice of poetizing one of the most rigidly prose portions of the Bible ? Let him answer who can. 9. There is one objection that may be anticipated here : Have we not examples of undeniable figurativeness in many portions of the Old Testament, where the language is similar, or just like that now under notice ? No ; there is not one. These are passages which speak of God being in the clouds at the giving of the law, and during the exodous and journey of the Israelites. But they are all literal, for they refer to literal occurrences. But there is not a passage in the Old Testament, excepting Dan. vii. 13, that is just like or even similar, to the passage under notice. One would naturally infer from the confident manner in which writers are accus- tomed to appeal to the Old Testament, as presenting many examples of using this kind of language figuratively, that nothing was more common, and nothing more evident, than the figurative use of such descriptions of the coming of God or Christ. There is a vast amount of assertion*, and a great deal said about the hieroglyphical and prophetical style of prediction ; and there are, indeed, a great number of passages which are usually referred to as specimens and proofs. But, with the exception before noted, there is not one, no, not one, that is even similar to the verse under notice. This is written as the convincing conclusion of an examination of all the passages that a learned and laborious defender of the figura- tive theory could produce. His attempt has utterly failed. There are a few expressions in the poetical parts of the Old Testament which do, indeed, contain a similar word, as, for instance, the word come ; Isa. lxiv. 1. "Oh that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down ! " Hab. iii. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 259 3. " God came from Teman." Gen. xi. 5. " The Lord came down to see the city and the tower." Ex. iii. 8. " I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians." But what similarity is there between these mere expressions and the descriptive passage under notice ? There is, indeed, the similarity of a word. But if this establishes a parallel- w»*, then what passages are not parallel ? And where unto would this thing grow, if it should be diligently encouraged? But it may be replied, that these, and many other similar ex- pressions, present a similarity of idea : they represent God as coming down, going forth, rising up, &c. This is true, indeed; but whoever thought, on any other subject, that the similarity of a single idea made the expression conveying it parallel to a group and succession of ideas ? The passage before us is not merely an idea, or an expression : it is a graphic descripttion of a scene, ivith its attending residts. And, with the aforementioned exception, the whole race of metaphorizers may be safely challenged to point out a paral- lel in the Old Testament. If men should reason so loosely and unphilosophically on almost any other subject, they would be in danger of losing their reputation for common intelligence. And why the world has so long tolerated this superficial method of explaining away the most solemn and literal teachings of Inspiration, is really wonderful. 10. The same observations are just as applicable to the many references to the passages which speak of God coming in a cloud, riding upon a cloud, &c. These figurative expressions which abound in the poetical Scriptures, are no more parallel with the passage before us than those noticed previously. There is about the same parallel that there is between a regu- lar, well painted picture, and a single daub of one of the colors on something else. . Besides, they either state, or refer to the fact, that was so prominent in the early and never-for- gotten history of the Jews, when God did literally come down in a cloud, dwell in the thick cloud, make clouds and dark- ness his pavilion, march forth " in the pillar of a cloud" &c. Where, then is the force of the argument to justify the meta- phorizing the passage before us, on the ground of parallelism 260 . HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. with these representations ? In the first place, they are not 'parallel. In the second place, if they were parallel, it would be fatal to the reasonings of those who make this use of them. 11. The advocates of the figurative theory are confident that the Isew Testament affords them many examples of even such descriptions of the coming of Christ as the passage under notice presents, where a figurative interpretation must be adopted. For example, Christ's declaration to the high- priest, Matt. xxvi. 61, "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man, sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." The use the advocate of the figurative theory would make, is this : As it is certain the high-priest could not live until the day of judgment, and as the second advent will be prior to the resurrection of the dead, therefore, it is not possible that the high-priest can ever be a witness of the second coming of Christ. For this reason, then, it is conclu- ded that the coming spoken of must be a figurative coming to destroy Jerusalem. This is the most plausible argument that can be produced in favor of the figurative theory. But let us analyze it, and see what it contains. In the first place it assumes that that identical high-priest, Caiaphas, lived until the time of destroying the Jewish na- tion. Of this there is no proof whatever, but several things which render it exceedingly improbable : (1.) He had already been a priest five or six years, and was probably nearly forty years of age. The strong probability is that he died long before the so-called coming to destroy Jerusalem. About four years after Christ was brought before him, he was deposed from the priesthood under the displeasure of the emperor ; and what became of him is not known. (2.) There was a terrible destruction of the eminent men of the nation previous to the great catastrophe. And men so eminent as the son-in-law of Annas would not be likely to escape. (3.) The strong probability is that he was made way with, like myriads of others of eminent position, during the dreadful years of commotion that preceded the final overthrow of the nation. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 261 la the second place the argument assumes, that because the advent is to precede the resurrection, therefore, the resurrec- ted high-priest could not witness it, since he would not be raised until afterwards. The entire force of the assumption rests upon the presumption that Christ would not remain in the clouds a single moment after giving the word that wakes the dead. And the resurrection will undoubtedly be as in- stantaneous as the change of the living — " In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised,'' &c. ]STow, if Christ should see fit to sound the trumpet at the beginning of his advent, or while he remains in the air, what force could there be in this plausible assumption, which the objector deems so conclusive ? That Christ will remain for a time in the air, is demonstrated from the declaration, 1 Thess. iv. 15-17, " We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent {go before) them which are asleep (dead.) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the Am !" Thus it appears to be the very design of God, and he has so de- clared it, that the voice that wakes the dead is to be sounded while the Lord remains in the clouds / and the dead are to be raised and caught up to meet him there ! What then becomes of this specious objection? It is annihilated. And the min- isters who make it ought to be ashamed of their ignorance of this most interesting part of the Bible. The Church has been accustomed to sing, "The living look with dread; The frighted dead arise, Start from their monumental bed, And lift their ghastly eyes." And this view is rigidly Scriptural : " Behold, he cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall see h%m / and they also which pierced him ; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." Rev.i. 7. 262 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. If it should still be urged, that this seeing him, and wailing because of him, will be true only with respect to the wicked who shall be alive at the last day, — then the objector will, in the third place, assume that the wicked will not be raised at the second advent. Let this objector, then, recollect that Tie must not object to the doctrine of two resurrections, if he should hereafter meet with it. And the objector further as- sumes that Caiaphas did certainly live and die an impenitent man, so that he cannot be raised at the " resurrection of the just." Yet multitudes of these very Jews were afterward converted; even the "murderers and betrayers" of Christ. And at one time, " a great company of priests were obedient unto the faith." In the fourth place, the objecfor assumes that Christ's dec- laration was to be restricted to the person of Caiaphas him- self: " Hereafter ye shall see," &c* Yet the same divines that so restrict the word are trying to convert the world un- der the authority of the commission given to the apostles ; " Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations ; and lo I am with you unto the end of the world." Those to whom he said ye, according to the objector's principles, must be still alive, be- cause they were to continue to the end of the world ! And these same divines ought, according to their own reasonings, to suppose that Paul and his brethren then living expected to live until the coming of the Lord to raise the dead ; for he says — " We shall not all sleep, (die,) but we shall all be changed," &c. And " then we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord," &c. Now, what has become of this popular and plausible objec- tion to the literal theory ? It is wholly a series of mere as- sumptions arrayed against, (1.) The probabilities in the case of Caiaphas living beyond the common age of man during such times as those ; (2.) Mere assumptions opposed to the direct Scripture declarations respecting the fact of the risen dead seeing the Lord in the clouds ; (3.) Mere assumptions against the theories of the very divines who make them, in respect to the fact of two different resurrections ; (4.) As- sumption in direct opposition to Scripture usage in respect to HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 263 restricting declarations to the individuals to whom they were first addressed. More time has been occupied with this popular objection to the literal rendering, because it has been deemed a poser to the literalist. Has there not been enough said to demon- strate its perfect nothingness and unworthiness ? 12. A moment may be occupied in noticing another ar- gument to prove that Christ spake of his coming with ref- erence to Jewish affairs. By an eminent divine it is thus stated : " In John xxi. 22, is a very significant passage. ' And Jesus said : If I will that he [John] tarry until I come, what is that to thee V John's fellow disciples spread abroad a report from this, that the Saviour had said to him, that he should not die. But John himself remarks, that ' Jesus did not say, He shall not die,' but, * If I will that he tarry until I come, what is that to thee.' " " In other words," continues the writer, " John understood Jesus not as promising exemption from death, but only that he should live until his coming. And when, now, was that to be % If his coming meant the gene- ral judgment, then John would not have to die at all ; for saints then alive were not to die, but to be immediately 1 caught up to meet the Lord in the air,' doubtless with an ap- propriate metamorphosis. The coming in question, then, after which John was to die and not before, must have been some coming during that generation. And what else could it be referred to, except to his coming to punish the unbelieving Jews?" Now, who would ever dream of such an explanation of this matter, if his whole field of vision were not entirely oc- cupied with " the destruction of Jerusalem ?" This is the same writer that attempts to make so much of Christ's decla- ration to the high-priest ; inferring, as a matter of course, that Caiaphas lived to witness that so-called coming. And the writer also understands Christ to have affirmed repeatedly in the hearing of his disciples, that " the generation of men then living " should not pass away until all that he had foretold 2Gtt HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. about Jerusalem's desolation should be fulfilled.* Now, if the disciples understood Christ to refer to a judicial coming to destroy Jerusalem, and also understood him to say, that all should be fulfilled before that generation of men then living should pass away, how came they to spread abroad the report, that " that disciple should not die f " Observe, the report was not, that he should live to be very old ; not that he should not die a violent death / but that he should not die. The disci- ples had been distinctly and repeatedly informed, according to the figurative theory, that these temporal judgments should occur within the lifetime of that generation of men \ and yet, because John should live to witness them, therefore John should never die ! Was there ever a more unnatural and im- probable conclusion ? How hard it is to prop up a founda- tionless theory ! The whole matter is susceptible of an easy, natural, and scriptural explanation. The incident occurred after Christ's resurrection, when the disciples had been enlightened in re- spect to many things which previously they had not under- stood. It occurred among the last incidents recorded by John, and probably just before the ascension. Now Christ continued with his disciples, after his resurrection, forty days, " speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." Acts i. 3. Now it is morally impossible that so important a matter as his coming to raise the dead, and change the living, could have been omitted during all those finishing instructions which Christ tarried to give them, in order to prepare them for their work after his ascension. Let us suppose, then, what we are morally obliged to suppose, that now, after receiving their final instructions from the Lord Jesus, the disciples un- derstood the matters pertaining to the second advent as Paul has described it in 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52. Those who " remain unto the coming of the Lord " will not die ; but will be " changed," without passing through death, into immortal be- * Christ's remark concerning John was made after all his discourses about Jerusalem had been delivered. HAEMONY ASTD EXPOSITION. 265 ings. "With this view of the case, all is natural and plain. The disciples understand Christ to say, or at least to inti- mate, that it would be his will that John should " tarry " un- til his coming. Then the saying immediately goes abroad, that John should not die. How natural ! How scriptural ! They understood that John was to be kept " alive unto the coming of the Lord ;" and, of course, supposed that he would not die. " Yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die ; but, If I will that he tarry until I come ^ what is that to thee f Follow thou meP Christ had just signified to Peter " by what death he should glorify God ;" and said to him, Follow me. But Peter, instead of attending to his own affairs, began to meddle with Christ's ; and wanted to know what should be the destiny of John. Christ gave him to understand that it was none of his concern ; it was wholly a matter of his [Christ's] own determination. " If I will that he tarry until I come, what is that to thee ? Follow thou me." How much easier it is to support the truth, than to support fiction ! If men were really anxious to find out a literal in- terpretation of the Lord's words, it is surprising that they should go out of the way to avoid the literal explanation, and be satisfied with unnatural and improbable speculations. 13. There is another passage on which great reliance is placed, to show that the coming of Christ could not mean his coming at the end of the world, Matt. xvi. 27-28, compared with Mark viii. 38, and ix. 1, together with Luke ix. 26-27.* Yerse 27. " For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels ; and then shall he reward every man according to his works. 28. Yerily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." JSTow, it is evident that verse 27 does refer to the coming to the general judgment. And if verse 28 refers to the same thing, then there is an end of the matter : Christ came to judgment — the final judgment — while some of those disci- ples were living in this world ! But who will adopt this ? * See the whole passage harmonized in Part I., chap. 3. 266 HAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. No one who cares a groat for his orthodoxy. Then those who are ever on the lookout for figures must find some other meth- od of interpretation. Dr. Clarke may be selected as present- ing the popular view. " Yerse 27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father.'] This seems to refer to Dan. vii. 13, 14. ' Be- hold, one like the Son of man came to the Ancient of days — and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a king- dom, that all people, and nations, and languages, should serve him.' This was the glorious mediatorial kingdom which Jesus Christ was now abont to set up, by the destruction of the Jew- ish nation and polity, and the diffusion of the gospel through the whole world It is very likely that the words do not apply to the final judgment, to which they are generally referred ; but to the wonderful display of God's grace and power after the day of Pentecost. " Yerse 28. There he some — which shall not taste of deaths This verse seems to confirm the above explanation, as our Lord evidently speaks of the establishment of the Christian church after the day of Pentecost, and its final triumph after the destruction of the Jewish polity ; as if he had said — ' Some of you, my disciples, shall continue to live until these things take place.' The destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jewish economy, which our Lord here predicts, took place about forty-three years after this ; and some of the persons now with him, doubtless survived that period, and witnessed the extension of the Messiah's kingdom," &c. It will be readily seen that Dr. Clarke does not admit that verse 27 refers to the judgment advent. He supposes it to re- fer to the setting up of the mediatorial kingdom. In this he differs from most other divine?, who, nevertheless, agree with him in the adoption of the figurative theory of exegesis in the main. A sufficient answer to Dr. Clarke's view may be found in the Exposition of Richard Watson. " Yerse 27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory, c&c. In the full manifested glory of the Godhead, accompanied by the whole host of holy angels ; in strange contrast to his then HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 267 humble condition, surrounded by a few poor disciples, despised and rejected of men! That these words relate, not to the setting up of his mediatorial kingdom, as predicted by Daniel, nor, figuratively, to his coming to judge the nation of the Jews, is most evident from what follows : And then he will reward every man according to his works. This is not an act of gracious mediation, but of strict judgment ; so that the coming of Christ in the fullness of his glory, as mediator, could not be intended ; nor is a national judgment a rewarding of every or each man according to his work ; for sinners of widely different degrees of delinquency are involved in the same public calamities, and the comparatively innocent share the penalty equally with the most guilty. Besides, those who ap- ply this to the desolation of Judea by the Romans, which was no doubt a judicial act of Christ in his exalted state, ought to show how the pious and faithful, as well as the wicked, were then rewarded ; which is undoubtedly intended in rendering to ' every man according to his works.' The passage has clearly no meaning but as it refers to the end of the world, and the general judgment ; for then, only, can those be fully rewarded who have laid down their lives for the sake of Christ,* one of the subjects on which he had been discours- ing, and which stands intimately connected with these words. Verse 28. Till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. That this coming of the Son of man relates to the setting up of the mediatorial kingdom of Christ in its fullness and per- fection, is as certain as that the coming of the Son of man in the preceding verse relates to his second advent as Judge. The parallel places sufficiently explain the meaning. St. Luke says, ' Till they see the kingdom of God ;' and St. Mark, ' Till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.' 1 The kingdom of Christ,' 'the kingdom of God,' and 'the kingdom of heaven,' are all phrases used to express the gos- pel dispensation, or Christian economy. .... Those com- mentators who apply these words to the judicial visitation of the Jewish nation, and the destruction of Jerusalem, adopt an * See verses 24-26. 268 HARMONY AM) EXPOSITION. interpretation which is wholly forbidden by the parallel pla- ces from Mark and Luke, above referred to ; for how that direful event could be the ' coming of the kingdom of God with power,' is utterly inconceivable, when the established sense of the phrase, ' The kingdom of God,' as used in the gospels, is considered." 14. These extracts are characteristic of the clear discrimi- nation and powerful logic of that great modern divine, Rich- ard Watson. "Whenever he brought a subject to the test of his own personal examination, and did not rely upon others, his own almost infallible judgment in logic and divinity gui- ded him to sound conclusions. But when he depended upon the testimony and researches of others — as he unfortunately did in his adoption of the errors which have already been pointed out in his annotations on the 24th chapter of Matthew i — then he, of course, was as liable to mistakes as those whom he followed, without personal examination of the matters of which they treated. He could not fully adopt the figurative theory ; but he appears all along to be more or less trammel- ed by it. He may be regarded as a good specimen of what is known as the " double sense" expositor. He applies — in almost every case — the passages relating to the judgment advent to their appropriate subjects, in a clear and decided manner, but frequently seems to hesitate to break entirely loose from the fanciful methods of interpreting these portions of the Bible ; and in trying to keep within the limits of the figurative theory, he has, as might have been expected, exhib- ited weaknesses and inconsistencies in his generally unsur- passed annotations on those portions of the divine word. It will be safe to leave the explanation of Matt. xvi. 27, 28, as he has most convincingly presented it. It may be ob- served, however, that the language applied to the coming of the Son of man in his kingdom, is not at all similar to the 30th verse of Matt, xxiv., which is now before us. In the verse in Matt, xxiv., we have the appearance of the sign of the Son of man in heaven; but there is nothing of this in the other. We have also the declaration that all the tribes of the earth shall see him coming w the clouds of heaven j but there HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 269 is nothing of this in the other. To see him " coming in his kingdom," or his " kingdom come with power," or to see the " kingdom of God," is a very different thing, indeed, from seeing Christ himself coming in the clouds of heaven with all the angels of God. And, besides, this is seen by all the tribes of the earth ; but that is restricted to them : " There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God come with power." Then, in the passage in the 2±th chapter, there is the sound of the trumpet, the gathering of the elect from the four winds, and, in verses following, many other circumstances which clearly show that there is no parallelism between the two passages. The 27th verse of the former passage is parallel with the lat- ter as far as it goes ; the 28th verse is not parallel at all. There is, indeed, the resemblance of a word or two, and, per- haps, of an idea or two ; but beyond this the parallelism is not perceivable. It is certain, then, that there is a sense in which Christ is said to " come in his kingdom," which has no reference whatever either to the destruction of Jerusalem, or to the judgment day. But the kingdom spoken of is not the kingdom usually spoken of by the prophets and others, where the Messiah sits upon the throne of David, and reigns over the house of Jacob ; for David was in no sense a type or forerunner of Christ, in his mediatorial office, but only in his kingly office. Christ, as mediator, now sits at the right hand of God, being made head over all things to the church. And his present dominion is certainly called a kingdom. But all this may consist with the literal fulfillment of those many predictions of a future kingdom, when the present dispen- sation of mediation has passed away. By not discrimina- ting between these two kingdoms, or the same dominion in two widely different dispensations, — and by confounding together the passages of Scripture which relate to the two .respectively, great confusion has prevailed in the church, and our Expositions of the sacred word have been per- plexed, contradictory, and unsatisfying. The two verses in Matt, xvi., then, as Mr. Watson has most convincingly prov- ed, relate to things very different in nature, and widely sep- 270 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. arated in fulfillment. And it is not objectionable that verses relating to sncli very different times and things should be found in such close connection. The one naturally suggested the other, as in many other instances where other things as dissimilar were spoken of. Take, for a convenient example, John v. 25-29, where a spiritual, and the literal resurrections are both referred to. 15. Some divines, both ancient and modern, suppose JVTatt. xvi. 28 refers to the transfiguration of Christ a few days after, when he took Peter, and James, and John up into the moun- tain to meet Moses and Elias. By referring to 1 Pet. i. 16-18, the argument is made very plausible : Yerse 16. " For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, hut were eye-witnesses of his majesty. 17. For he received from God the Father, honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, ' This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' 18. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him, in the holy mount" The explanation derived from this remarkable passage is not to be contemned ; but it does not appear to be as natural as the one adopted by "Watson, and in its essential features, quoted above. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION 271 CHAPTER XI. Principal subject — The Coming of Christ. Review of the Figurative Theory. Remarkable Exposition — Its Objectionable Character — Defectiveness, even if the Text be Figurative — Common Rules of Interpretation Reversed — No Parallel Texts, with one exception, in the Old Testament — The Point to be proved — No Historic Proof of the Figurative Theory — Inconsistent with Christ's Mediatorial Offices — A "Word for Universalists — Character of the Mediatorial Dispensation — Fatal Results — Self-contradiction — Va- riance with the Words of Christ — Ingenious Evasion — Singular Logic — Embarrassment of Commentators — How Occasioned — Dr. Tower's Opinion — Dr. Campbell's — Dr. Mede's — Tense of the Saviour's words. Verse 30. And thehe 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 plain meaning of it is, that the destruction of Jerusa- lem will be such a remarkable instance of divine vengeance, such a signal manifestation of Christ's power and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will be led from thence to acknowledge Christ and the Christian religion. In the ancient prophets, God is frequently described as coming in the clouds, upon any remarkable interposition and mani- festation of his power ; and the same description is here ap- plied to Christ. The destruction of Jerusalem will be as ample a manifestation of Christ's power and glory, as if he was to come himself visibly in the clouds of heaven."— New- ton on the Prophecies. However remarkable these declarations may appear, as a comment on the passage before us, yet they express the pres- ent usual method of expounding these words of our Lord. Nearly all our commentators, as, e. g., Dr. Whitby, Dr. Clarke, Dr. Warburton, adopt this method in full. Mr. Bur- kitt, Mr. Watson, Mr. Barnes, and several others, likewise adopt it, but connect it with a supposition that the passage 272 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. also refers to the day of judgment. The comment of New- ton, quoted above, may be considered as expressing, with some modifications, the usual modern understanding of this matter, so far as the Commentaries give expression and direction to the general mind. To this method of explaining the text, there are many and weighty objections. 1. It is an exceedingly indefinite exposition of a very defi- nite prediction. The passage contains several distinctly named particulars, arranged in a definite order of succession ; and perfectly corresponds, in its literary character, with preceding and succeeding portions that are strictly literal, not only as a whole, but in respect also to their individual sentences. But this figurative exposition does not define anything with clear- ness, pays little or no regard to the arrangement of the suc- cessive parts, and leaves the mind with no distinct impression of anything that appropriately develops or confirms the sen- timents of the prediction. It is, to all intents, indefiniteness from beginning to end ; and is, nevertheless, intended as a comment upon a passage that is particular and definite throughout. What the text means as a whole, the comment is very positive in asserting ; but what its individual parts mean, it might not be easy to determine ! We can give the solution of the problem : but, alas, we cannot tell what its component figures are ! Now, even if the passage were confessedly figurative, we should be bound to suppose that each distinct subject intro- duced was intended for some distinct application ; as, e. g., that the sign of the Son of man does not mean the Son of man himself, but something that refers to him, and in some way represents him ; for the sign must be different from the thing signified. But this figurative expression pays almost no re- gard to this important matter ; but, to a great extent, con- founds things together with no discrimination between signs and things signified. But this is of vast importance in the exegesis of figurative language ; so that, even supposing the passage to be metaphorical, this exposition does not expound it in accordance with any well defined principle of interpre- tation. If the text treated of matters of no importance, such HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 273 loose methods might be tolerated, perhaps; but the subjects treated are vastly important. Yet the moment the attempt is made to show what is signified by the sign, that moment con- fusion marks the exposition. Nothing but the most indefinite, general statements, and without proofs, too, can be trusted in the application. And we must be compelled to suppose that our Lord was, in this part of his discourse, a mere rhapsodist, speaking with- out distinct ideas, and without definite arrangement, meaning much in the general, and little or nothing in the particular ; — we must come to this conclusion, if we admit that such in- definite and irresponsible expositions do justice to the predic- tion. In the preceding verse, the figuratist professes to find an application for each individual idea : the sun, the moon, the stars, all mean something. The darkening, the falling, and the shaking of the luminaries of heaven, all mean some- thing. And he has at hand an application for the whole, as a whole, and for the parts, as parts. Viewing the passage as figurative, he is consistent with himself: his common sense, without much proficiency, perhaps, in the knowledge of of literary rules, guides him to such conclusions. He there- by saves the Lord from being a mere rhapsodist, carried be- yond all literary propriety, by the ungovernable excitement of his own ardency. But when the figuratist attempts to apply his rules to the explication of the several parts of the passage under notice, he finds himself in as much difficulty as the Universalist does, when he undertakes to apply the various parts of the so-called parable of the rich man and Lazarus. What it means as a whole, is very clear to him ; but what is meant by its several parts, is yet to be discovered ! In the meantime, let him who has — not the best understanding of literary rules — but the most ingenious fancy, take the lead in search after the hidden idea ! So, in relation to this part of our Lord's prophecy : it re- quires the utmost ingenuity — not a sober, common sense un- derstanding of literary propriety — to make anything out of it, treated as a figurative description of something else. 18 274: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. There are no well ascertained facts, and no evident scriptural example, to suggest to the common mind the application of the several parts. It is judged to be figurative — not because it may not be literal, but because it is associated with other passages which are also supposed to be figurative. And even these other passages would not contradict either fact or Scrip- ture, if they should be interpreted literally, as has been shown in previous chapters. In the usual treatment of this passage, the ground of pro- cedure is — not virtually merely, but really — that the estab- lished rules of interpretation must be reversed, and, instead of concluding that the passage is literal, until it i& proved to be figurative, it must be regarded as figurative until it is proved to be literal ! And this is the principal source of the indefi- niteness and difficulty that characterize this, and all other fig- urative expositions of this part of the prophecy. This text has none of the characteristics of figurative language, and there are no well ascertained facts that suggest themselves to the common mind, as the things signified by what are consider- ed as merely signs. The text is undeniably definite in all its parts, and the comment is as undeniably of the opposite character. 2. To this figurative interpretation it is further objected, that it is not warranted by a single scriptural example. As this point has been sufficiently treated in the preceding chap- ter, it will not be necessary to enlarge upon it here. One would suppose, from the confident assertions of figura- tists, that such descriptions as this text contains are very fre- quent in the Old Testament, and are very commonly applied to extraordinary manifestations of divine power. Well, now, here is the Bible, within reach of every man ; if there is a similar description to be found in the Old Testament, it can- not take long to discover it: let it be found and compared with this; and so annihilate this objection. The text in Dan. vii. 13, is admitted to be similar, to some extent ; but the figura- tist will not bring that up as parallel in its application with his supposition of the text in Matthew. 3. It is objected, again, that the figurative exposition and HAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. 275 application is not sustained by a single fact. Yet it is, in its very nature, a question of fact. And Providence has wisely so ordered it that an unimpeachable historian was raised up, qualified, and wonderfully preserved, as if on purpose to re- cord, with tiresome particularity and profusion, the facts that were developed during the fulfillment of the times which the figuratist supposes to be alluded to here. And there were not wanting other historians, heathen, Jewish, and Christian, whose pages are filled with matter pertaining to these times. The fact to be proved is this — that the judgment visitation of the Jews at that time, was, to " all the tribes of the earth," such a manifestation, not of common Providence — but of " the Son of man" that " all the tribes of the earth " (or land, if any prefer) should mourn at this revelation, as if they beheld the Son of man visibly coming in the clouds of heaven. In the very nature of the case — to do anything like j ustice to the text — that visitation should be so unlike all preceding ones, and so peculiarly appropriate to the Lord Jesus Christ, as to affect the people — even those that were not believers in him pre- viously — (for none but such would mourn at the sight of him) as if they personally witnessed his descent from heaven. The figuratist may perhaps shrink from this definite state- ment of the fact in question : he wishes to have the matter so indefinite that almost anything will pass for proof. But if the text does not warrant and require this definiteness, then it does not warrant anything. "To the law and to the testimony." And even this definiteness is assumed by some of the figu- ratists themselves : Bishop Newton says, "The destruction of Jerusalem will be as ample a manifestation of Christ's pow- er and glory, as if he was himself to come visibly in the clouds of heaven." Dr. Clarke says, in substance, the same thing, quoting from Newton, and somewhat modifying. Mr. Wat- son says the same thing, with the exception that he takes the liberty 01 substituting, against the plain words of the passage, the word " Christians," in place of " all the tribes of the earth." His words are, " The sign of the Son of man is that demonstration of the supernatural character of the judicial 276 HAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. visitation of the Jews, that to the Christians it should be as sure a sign that it was Christ who was then inflicting his ven- geance upon his enemies, as though there should be a visible appearance of him." If this substitution of the word Chris- tia?is, and entirely omitting the characters who should mourn as they see the Son of man, is not a clear misconception of the whole scope of the passage, then it would be difficult to define a misconception. To such dreadful consequences has the labor of defending the figurative theory driven the wisest and best of men. ISTow, with the question at issue thus definitely settled, that the judgments then inflicted upon the Jews did thus manifest the, power and glory of Jesus Christ, so that the effect was as if he himself had been seen coming in the clouds of heaven, — it is again objected, that there is not one clear instance of historic proof brought to substantiate the point asserted. Men of the largest capacity, and of the most astonishing industry, with a zeal almost unparalleled in any other department of research, have devoted months and years to this very subject; and where is the first historical fact that they have adduced to prove a question which, in the nature of the case, must be de- cided by fact, if it is decided at all ? Where are their proofs? The defenders of the figurative theory were generally men of keen penetration, and logical accuracy ; and they have not failed to perceive the exact nature of the thing to be main- tained. Why, then, have they brought forward nothing but assertion — bare assertion — to prove a point so evidently vital to their whole system of exegesis ? This is a dreadful state of things ; and, especially, when, in this way, men venture to explain away the most definite and literal of all the prophecies of the Bible, so that, in effect, they are dead. Let every man clear himself in this matter ! There is a cry of blood from the ground ! These slain witnesses — the Old and New Testaments — that have lain unburied in the midst of us, are destined to have a resurrection. 4. To this method of interpretation, it is objected still fur- ther, — that the character it necessarily ascribes to Christ is inconsistent with his present offices. The only thing in which HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 277 the calamities of the Jews, at the time in question, differed from former and subsequent afflictions of the same kind, was their greater severity. " For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." And this is the only probable differ- ence between the judgments of that period and those of other days : they were not in nature different, but in degree. No one ever supposed that previous desolations had been manifestations of Christ, as distinguished from other persons in the Godhead : no one will venture to point out any espe- cial revelation of Christ, as the Son of man, in the present manifestations of divine wrath. On what, then, can Bishop Newton and his followers base their opinion, that the judg- ment of the Jews, at the time in question, was as much a man- ifestation of Christ, as if he had been seen coming down in the clouds of heaven. How were those sufferings, and that deso- lation peculiar, except in being more terrible, and longer con- tinued? And is this, only this — the distinguishing feature of Christ, so that when this is witnessed, it is as if the Son of man himself were seen with all his power and glory in heaven % Now, to this, it is objected, that the character necessarily ascribed to Christ is inconsistent with his present relations to the human race — Jew as well as Gentile. It is the dispen- sation of grace, not of judgment. Let the TTntversalists re- member this ! We are living under the Mediatorial dispen- sation, in which Christ sustains a peculiar relation to the human race ; and which relation originates appropriate offices. Wq may easily learn what is Christ's peculiar office and work, in this dispensation, by the testimony of the Scriptures. " God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but that the world through him might be saved." John iii. 17. For this object he labored all his life, as he " went about doing good," both to the bodies and to the souls of men. When he died, he died as the world's Eedeemer, having the same object in view that he had when he " came to seek and to save that which was lost ;" for it was only by death that he could pre- pare the way for the beatowment of mercy upon the guilty, 273 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. whom lie came to redeem. And when lie rose from the dead, he still had his own appropriate work to accomplish : he was raised for our justification. And when he ascended to heav- en, he still had his own peculiar work, as the world's Media- tor, to accomplish there : he was to " appear in the presence of God for us." He was exalted " a Prince and a Saviour, for to GIVE REPENTANCE TO ISRAEL, AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS." Acts V. 31, This is his peculiar work, during the present dispensation, as the " one Mediator between God and man." " He ever liveth to make intercession for us." " If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father." If w T e receive the Spirit, or any other favor, it is through his mediation. But it forms no part of his appropriate work to administer wrath, or pur- sue his enemies with vengeance. If vengeance overtake men, Christ has no agency in bringing it about. His work during this dispensation is saving men ; and it is his only work : it is wholly, so far as Jesus is concerned, a dispensation of grace* And this doctrine is understood by all the orthodox churches. It is the great bulwark against Universalism and open infidel- ity. We sing it, and preach it, and pray it, and give thanks for it, and in every possible way testify our rejoicing and hope in this doctrine. Now, to say that an unparalleled ex- hibition of divine vengeance is such a manifestation of the Son of man, that it exhibits his power and glory, as the Son of man, as much as if he was himself to come in the clouds of heaven, is saying (to speak mildly,) what no ortho- dox divine will say, unless he is terribly bewildered by an erroneous theory. And for this reason the figurative theory of interpreting the passage before us is objected to. To maintain the figurative interpretation, we are required, (1.) To violate the most essential laws of literary criticism ; (2.) To adopt such an interpretation wuthout one clear exam- ple in the Scriptures ; (3.) Without a solitary proof from au- thentic history ; and, (4.) At the sacrifice of the very foun- dation principles of orthodoxy. If this is not enough to blast with perpetual withering any theory whatever, it is difficult to know what is capable of doing it. * See Appendix, Note G. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 279 5. The figurative theory is objected to, also, because it is at variance with itself, and diametrically opposed to the distinct affirmation of Christ himself. So that if this can be shown, the theory must be unworthy of countenance, even if all the previous objections could be answered. The advocates of the figurative theory assume. First. That the darkening of the heavenly luminaries refers to the destruction and desolation of the Jewish ecclesiastical and civil polity. Verse 29 is thus explained : Dr. Whitby. " All the government both in church and state shall be overthrown, as it was by the zealots." " It be- ing foretold that this should happen immediately after* the wasting of the Jews by Vespasian J s army flying quickly through Galilee, Idumea, and Judea ; this cannot be taken literally, because no such thing then happened either to the sun, moon, or stars. It must be therefore a metaphorical ex- pression, to signify, as it doth frequently in the Old Testament, and other writers, an utter desolation, and terrible destruction brought upon a nation, and upon their capital cities, compar- ed to the sun and moon," &c. Dr. Clarke. " Commentators generallyf understand this and what follows, of the end of the world : but the word im- mediately shows that our Lord is not speaking of any distant events but of something immediately consequent on calamities already predicted : and that must be the destruction of Jeru- salem." Then quoting from Dr. Lightfoot. " The Jewish heaven shall perish, and the sun and moon of its glory and happiness shall be darkened — ■ brought to nothing. The sun is the religion of the church ; the moon is the government of the state ; and the stars are the judges and doctors of both." Bishop Newton advances precisely the same opinion as Dr. Clarke ; indeed, the principal part of Dr. Clarke's comment on this part of the Bible, is taken almost verbatim from Newton. Mr. Barnes adopts the same view. * Dr. Whitby dare not leave the Lord to make his own statement : he has to put words into his mouth. \ He probably refers particularly to the more ancient. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. Mb. Watson takes the same view ; but he supposes it also refers to the day of judgment. Prof. Stuart understands the passage to be figurative, ap- plying to Jewish affairs, without any reference to the judg- ment day. Mr. Burkttt adopts the theory of applying it to the Jewish calamities ; but he is confused, self-contradictory, and unde- cided in fixing upon the exact time. This is sufficient to show the general course of explaining the phenomena described in the 29th verse, — referring it all to the overthrow and desolation of the Jewish nation by the Romans. Secondly. These confrnentators understand the next verse, (30,) and the 29th verse to refer either to the coming of the Romans, or to the coming (metaphorically,) of Christ with the Romans, and effecting the destruction and desolation descri- bed in the 27th verse, under the similitude of the darkening and falling of the luminaries of heaven. But whichever way it is modified, they do not understand Christ to have come in any other way than judicially by the Romans to inflict these terrible judgments. Dr. Whitby, on verses 27, 28, remarks : "You will then need none to instruct you where Christ is, or to say to you, He is here, or there ; for by the Roman army, which shall pass through the territories of the Jews like lightning, his coming to take vengeance on that nation shall be manifest." Again, on verse 30 : " Our Saviour's coming here seems therefore to impart his coming by the Roman army to besiege and to destroy Jerusalem and the unbelieving Jews ; for so Christ seemeth plainly to interpret this ' coming of the Son of man.' Terse 27 : ' The coming of the Son of man shall be as the lightning shining from east to west ; for wheresoever the Jews are, thither shall the Roman army be gathered : his coming therefore must be vrdh the Roman army." Dr. Clarke understands it in the same way : he thinks it was a judicial coming by the Roman armies. He comments in this way on verse 27 even more distinctly than Dr. Whit- by. Dr. Clarke, in this matter, follows HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 281 Bishop Newton, who understands the coming to be only a judicial coming by the invasion and conquests of the Roman armies. In this he copies verbatim from Bishop Pearce, who should have the credit of leading New- ton and a host of others in the same conclusion. Me. Barnes adopts the same conclusion : Referring to the 28th verse, he says, " This verse is connected with the prece- ding by the word ' f< >r,' implying that this is a reason for what is said there, that the Son of man would certainly come to de- stroy the city, and that he icould come suddenly. The mean- ing is, Tie would come by means of the Roman armies" &c. Mr. Watson understands it in the same way ; but thinks it also refers to the day of judgment.' Mr. Burkitt in the main agrees with Watson. These are enough to show how the coming of the Son of man, in this place, is to be understood. It is supposed to be nothing separate from the coming of the Roman armies ; it being merely a judicicd coming by that instrumentality. Now, one thing is absolutely certain : If this coming of the Son of man was merely judicial, and by means of the Romans, it is absolutely certain that it must have occurred at the same time, for it was, in fact, only another view, and an- other name, for the same event. Thirdly. We are now prepared to maintain the objection against this theory of interpretation. (1.) That it is at variance with itself ; (2.) That it is diametrically opposite to the distinct affirma- tion of Christ himself. 1. That cause is invariably antecedent to effect, is an axiom in philosophy. And it is of universal application ; it must, then, apply to the subject in hand. 2. But the Roman armies were, under Providence, the cause of this overthrow and desolation of the " sun, moon, and stars" — as the figuratist* interprets it — of the Jewish people. This is admitted by every one. 3. Then, as certainly as the certainty of an axiom, the Ro- mans must have come before these judgments were inflicted, for they were, under God, the cause of them. 2S2 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 4. But this method of interpretation, as it has been shown in the foregoing quotations, maintains as a prominent feature, that the coming of the Son of man was only a judicial com- ing " by means of the Roman armies, to destroy Jerusalem, and the unbelieving Jews." Then, undeniably, it took place at the same time — since, in fact, it was but another view, and another representation, of the same thing. And, just as cer- tainly, as cause is before effect, his coming must have occurred before the infliction of the judgments which resulted. And the judgment which resulted were, the overthrow of the Jew- ish church, government, temple, and metropolis. 5. But Christ distinctly declares that his coming woidd be afterwards ! He first describes the whole series and succes- sion of events, down to the final desolation, including, as a distinct feature, the gathering of the eagles to the carcass, which the theory applies to the coming of the Romans ; and then goes on to say, " Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened," &c. "And then" — not before, when the Romans came to inflict the tribulation and overthrow — "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 COIMTNTG in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." 6. Was there ever a contradiction more distinct? The theory teaches that the Son of man came before the infliction of those judgments. The Lord declares it would be after- wards. ]STow, this particular point will not be pressed any farther : it would be useless. The contradiction is so palpa- ble, so undeniable, that if any confidence whatever is to be placed in the declarations of our Lord, the point must be re- garded as established — completely established. The figura- tive theory teaches what is diametrically at variance with the declaration of the Lord Jesus Christ. 7. There is an evasion of this issue, however, which will develop the other point in the objection, viz : That the figura- tive theory is at variance with itself. The effort has been made by several leading commentators to show that the " coming " spoken of in the 30th verse is not, in fact, the HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 283 coming it is usually understood to be, but only the evidence or manifestation of the coming, judicially by the Romans, which was not so clearly discovered during the progress of the execution of the judgments ; but now, " after the tribula- tion of those days," after the darkening of the "sun," " moon," and " stars" of the Jewish nation, the fact that it was all effected by the judicial "coming of the Son of man," "by means of the Roman armies," will be such a manifestation of Christ to the people, that it may be represented by his " com- ing in the clouds of heaven ! " 8. Now, this is, in fact, a virtual abandonment of the essen- tial elements of the figurative theory. It is, in truth, admit- ting that the most particular statement and description of the coming of Christ means neither the coming of Christ person- ally, nor his coming judicially, " by means of the Roman armies ; " but merely that, after his coming, some length of time after, the evidence of that coming shall " come," and be so clear and convincing, that it shall he as if Christ himself were then coming in the clouds of heaven ! What then, let it be asked, with all seriousness, becomes of their fond speculations about the " coming of the Son of man, by means of the Roman armies," being as the lightning flash- ing from east to west, from one end of heaven to the other % All this metaphorizing, and rhapsodizing, in the comment on the 27th verse, about the coming of Christ, by the Roman armies, being like the sudden, startling, blinding, flashing lightning, amounts to nothing : when he came at that time, as the theory maintains, the people do not appear to have had any intimation that there was any Christ about it ; but, some- time afterwards, after all the results of that coming had been effected, then, yes, then the remnant that survived the over- throw of the nation, suddenly awoke to the conviction that all this had been accomplished, some how or other, by the " coming of the Son of man" though they were not impressed with the fact at the time ! But now, so truly had he come in "secret," in the "secret chambers," in the " desert," just as Christ had forewarned them that he would not come, — now, the astonished people, the few that are left, wake up to the 284: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. terrible impression that the Lord had come down in terrible majesty, and they knew it not ! Now, after all this, they just begin to see him ! His sign appears in the heavens ! They now see him — no, not him — but the fact, the proof or whatever else it may be called — they now behold, as if it were the actual coming of the Lord himself in the clouds of heaven ! Well done ! Splendid theory ! Making out that the coming of the Loed, " by means of the Roman armies" was so evident, so sudden, so much like the flashing lightning, that all the poetic and hyperboli- cal expressions found in the Old Testament could hardly suffice to convey an adequate idea of its " power," " glory," and " public majesty ; " and then — oh consistency ! the peo- ple unapprised of it ! and, months or years after, a surviving remnant suddenly awake to the appalling assurance that the Son of man had come ! that he came so many years or months ago ! Now, not really, not as a present perception of a pres- ent fact, but as a conception, or conviction, of a fact of pre- vious occurrence, they — in recollection, suspicion, or convic- tion, or in some other mental operation, " see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory ! " Indeed ! Well this must be a valuable theory ! It certainly costs a great deal to maintain it ! 9. But is this maintained by those who support the figu- rative theory? Yes, by all of them, excepting those who leave the theory at the point where the former part of this objection meets it, viz : in diametrical opposition to the affir- mation of the Lord Jesus. We will now bring to the point more distinctly the opinions of those who try to evade that issue by taking the one under present notice. Mr. Watson — commenting on the 30th Verse — " The sign of the Son of mem is that demonstration of the supernatural character of the judicial visitation of the Jews, that to the Christians* it should be as sure a sign that it was Christ who was then inflicting his vengeance upon his * Indeed ! It was " Christians" then, who were to mourn at the appear- ance of their Lord! What is this, but adding to, and taking from, "the words of this prophecy ? " HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 285 enemies, as though there should he a visible personal appear- ance of him. Even Josephus, a Jew, acknowledged in these events the special displays of the more immediate agency of an angry God ; * and much more to Christians, taught by Christ to expect his coming in this manner , would they be the sign of his majesty to whom 'all power in heaven and earth' had been committed, and thus prove a mighty confir- mation of their faith." f Me. Barnes — commenting on the same verse — "The sign of the Son of man. The evidence that Christ is coming to destroy the city of Jerusalem." % Dr. Clarke: — " Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man. The plain meaning of this is, that the destruction of Jerusalem will be such a remarkable instance of divine ven- geance, such a signal manifestation of Christ's power and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will, in consequence of this manifestation of God, § be led to ac- knowledge the Christian religion." Mr. Burkitt — " Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn ; that is, then shall the Jews be convinced that their destruction was the punishment of their sin, in rejecting and crucifying Christ ; and accordingly they that had pierced him shall behold him, and mourn over him. Thus it was before the destruction of Jerusalem, and thus will it be before the final judgment." || * Did Josephus belong to one of " all the tribes of the earth " who should "see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven? " \ And yet, as it seems, even these " Christians, taught by Christ to expect his coming in this manner" — i. e. as Mr. Watson holds, by the Roman armies, — were so blind as not to see him until " after the tribulation of those days! " \ How is this ? The evidence that he is coming to do the very thing which Mr. B. supposes to have been done previously ; for this is his method of ex- pounding the previous verses. § He dare not interpret his own text ; it was a manifestation of Christ that he was commenting about. | Well, how is this ? Here are several contradictions. In his comment on the previous verse, he says, " Our Saviour goes on in figurative expressions to • set forth the calamities that should befall the Jewish nation, immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem." In commenting on the 30th verse, as quoted first above, he says, the Jews would be convinced that their destruction was-— 286 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. Bishop Newton — "The plain meaning of it is, that the destruction of .1 urusalem will be such a remarkable instance of the divine vengeance, such a signal manifestation of Christ's jpower and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will be led thereby to acknowledge Christ and the Christian religion The destruction of Jerusalem will be as ample a manifestation of Christ's power and glory, as if he was himself to come visibly in the clouds of heaven." * 10. It is useless to extend these quotations : enough have been given to show the general course of interpreting the pas- sage under notice. This method of treating it brings the theory fully upon the point of the objection of which we are now treating ; and showing its utter absurdity, and self-contradic- tions. It not only does no sort of justice to the text under comment, but it completely nullifies all the fanciful interpre- tations of the 27th verse, and all the usual applications of the " coming of the Son of man," when the particular point of objection now under notice is not present to the mind, to ex- pose the absurdity of the whole theory. This justly subjects the theory to all the animadversions of the 7th and 8th sec- tions of the present division of the chapter, which the reader is requested once more to read, if it is not already familiar to him. 11. Of the figurative theory of this coming of Christ, it may be truly said, that even the most learned and ingenious of men, singly or combined, can do nothing satisfactory with it. Their writings are full of contradictions, as has already been shown ; and they cannot explain the 30th verse without this refers to things past — " the punishment of their sin," &c. Then this is followed directly with the observation, " Thus it was befoee the destruction of Jerusalem." This is a troublesome theory. Great men act strangely in trying to maintain it. * Does he affirm this of " all the tribes of the earth ? " If he does not, he does injustice to his text. If he does, he does injustice to the facts in the case. How does it happen that these great masters in Israel are so careful not to interpret the Lord's words as he uttered them ? What is there about truth that requires such evasions and misrepresentations. This is character- istic of error, not of truth. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 287 utterly overthrowing their own explanation of the 27th and 29th verses. And, instead of examples from Scripture to justify such an application of the description of a scene, with its attending and subsequent results ; instead of historical proofs of the principal facts affirmed, we have nothing — ab- solutely nothing — but the bare assertions of men. The fact is, our leading divines have unfortunately been led to adopt an erroneous theory of interpretation ; and this occasions their embarrassment, indefiniteness, self-contradictions, and palpa- ble misconceptions of the words of our Lord. The author cannot better express himself on this point, than by quoting the observations of Dr. Tower, in his " Il- lustrations of Prophecy." And Dr. Tower, be it remembered, was an advocate of the figurative theory. But he was too penetrating and logical not to perceive the surprising incon sistencies of his fellow-laborers in the great work of meta phorizing this part of the Lord's prediction. In vol. 2., p. 160, he says, " That the prophecy of Jesus is of very difficult interpreta- tion, is very generally admitted. Grotius, and Lowth, Sykes, Benson, and Macknight, Bishop Watson, and the Taylors, have, Mr. Nisbitt acknowledges, (he ig here speaking of the Scripture doctrine of the coming of Christ,) ' all of them without exception, manifestly discovered their embarrassment, and the difficulties which they labored under, in considering the subject.'' " " Surely," resumes the Doctor, " this affords a strong presumption, that they have all failed of discovering the true import of Christ's celebrated prediction." 12. This part of the subject cannot be closed better than by quoting the words of this same Dr. Tower, who has mani- fested a candor, a comprehensiveness, and, generally speak- ing, a soundness, that render his work worthy of a wider cir- culation. Yol. 2, p. 192.* Quoting verse 30, the text under notice — "The expression translated, all the tribes of the * First American edition, Philadelphia, 1808. He had critically examined the •works of Joseph Mede, Vitringa, Dr. Thomas Goodwin, Dr. Henry Moore, Dr. Owen, Dr. Cressener, Peter Jurieu, Brenius, Bishop Chandler, Isaac Newton, Dr. Lowth, Fleming, Bengelius, &c. one Shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David,:): he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David, a pkestce among them : I the Lord have spoken it. 25. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land : and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.g 26. And I will make them and the pla- ces round about my hill a blessing ; and will cause the shower to come down in his season ; there shall be showers of bless- ings. 27. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord,] when I have * They are represented under the similitude of a flock ; hence the meaning of feeding them. \ " As a shepherd divide th his sheep from the goats." \ This can be no other than Christ. § "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain." \ In that day they will say, "This is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us : that is the Lord : [Jehovah] we have waited for him ; We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." Isa. xxv. 9. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 359 broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. 28. And they shall no more oe a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beasts of the land devour them ; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. 29. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown,* and they shall be no more consum- ed with hunger, neither bear the shame of the heathen any- more. 30. Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my peo- ple^ saith the Lord God. 31. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God." On this passage, the following conclusions must be consid- ered undeniable : 1. That it relates to literal Israel. 2. That it foretells a gathering that they have never yet realized. 3. That they will then dwell in their own country. 4. That Christ will then be their Prince and Shepherd. 5. That they will all be truly converted. 6. That their residence in Pales- tine will be free from sorrow, danger, disappointment, or in- terruption. The thirty-sixth chapter of Ezekiel will never cease to be regarded as teaching, as plainly as language can teach it, the final restoration and conversion of the whole house of Israel that shall remain until " the set time to favor Zion " shall come. And it all proceeds on the professed ground of God's regard for his own name, in view of his unchangeable covenant with their fathers. The chapter opens with an address to the mountains of Is- rael, and continues to the 15th verse. No possibility of fair interpretation can ever mistake the intention of God to define " the mountains of Israel " literally ; and no proof whatever can be drawn from history to show that the promised restora- tion of the Israelitish inhabitants has yet been effected. In the connections of the passage, it must be as impossible to * See Isa. xi. 1. f " For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name." Isa. xlv. 4. " Yet hear thou, O Jacob, my servant ; and Israel, whom I have chosen." Isa. xliv. 1. 360 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. misunderstand its literality, as to misunderstand the Scriptures that describe the exodus from Egypt, or the entrance into Canaan. Such language as this cannot reasonably be misin- terpreted : Terse 8 : " But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel ; for they are at hand to come. 9. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown : 10. And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it ; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded. 11. And I will multiply upon you man and beast ; and they shall increase and bring fruit : and 1 will settle you after your old estates, and will do letter unto you than at your beginnings : and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 12. Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel ; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shall no more hence- forth bereave them of men"* Yerse 16. " Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 17. Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings : their way was before me as the uncleanness of a re- moved woman. 18. Wherefore, I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it. And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries : according to their way and according to their do- ings I judged them. 20. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of Jehovah,f and are gone forth out of his land ! 21. But I had pity for my holy name,% which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen whither they went. 22. Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God : I do not this for * How strikingly the last seventeen hundred years of Jewish history, and Canaan's desolation, are alluded to in this chapter. f The heathen knew the God of the Jewish nation by this name. % See chap. xx. 9, 14. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 361 your sakes, house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake* which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them ; and the heathen shall know that I am Jehovah,! saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes4 24. For § I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own landP But, says an objector, we read that they will continue in blindness until the fullness of the Gentiles is come. How can wicked, spiritually blind, hard hearted Jews dwell in the re- newed inheritance ? Let God explain this matter. Yerse 25 : " Then || will 1 sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you ; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28. And ye shall dwell in the land that I oave to your fathers ; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses ; and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. 30. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. 31. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe your- selves in your own sight for your iniquities, and for your abominations. 32. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you : be ashamed and confound- * As men would say, out of respect for their own reputation for veracity. \ It is altogether more expressive to retain the original name, Jehovah, of the Lord God of Israel. \ Chap. xx. 41, and xxiii. 22. §This is the way his veracity will be displayed. \ For then there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. 362 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. ed * for your own ways, O house of Israel. 33. Thus saith the Lord God ; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. 34. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.f 35. And they shall say, This land that was des- olate is become like the garden of Eden ! and the waste and des- olate and ruined cities \ are become fenced, and are inhabited. 36. Then the heathen that are left round about you § shall know that I Jehovah build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate : I Jehovah have spoken it, and I will do it. 37. Thus saith the Lord God : I will yet be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them : I will increase them with men like a nock. 38. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts ; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men ; and they shall know that I am Jehovah." * See Zech. xii. f How distinctly the prophecy describes the history of Palestine for the last thousand years and more ! \ The ruins of cities overspread almost every portion of Palestine. § See Note N, in the Appendix. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 363 CHAPTER XVI. Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. Applied to the Restoration, of the Jews — Reasons for continuing the Subject— Ezekiel's Vision of the Dry Bones — Design, and Substance of the Vision- God's own Interpretation — Figurative Language not used to interpret Figurative — Final Union, Gathering, and Blessedness of Israel — A King- dom under the reign of Messiah — The Battle of Gog and Magog — Referred to in other parts of the Bible — Interpretation — Prophecy of Zechariah — The Great Battle — The Lord Revealed — The Victory — Prophecy of Amos — The Tabernacle of David raised up — Happy Condition of the Poople — Prophecy of Moses — The History and Prophecy blended — True conversion, and real Restoi'ation — St. Paul's Reasoning — Synopsis of the Argument — Twenty-nine Particulars in the Argument — The Conclusion — Angelic Agency in Gathering the Elect — Examples — How the present Dispensation will be terminated. Verse 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 WINDS, FROM ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER. The only apology — if any be needed — for extending this subject, in its application to the Jews, is (1.) The very great importance of a thorough understanding of the divine will in respect to this matter; and (2.) Because the subject has not generally been investigated by either the common reader of the Bible, or by the ministers of the gospel. The writer has conversed with a great many both of the membership and the ministry, who seemed, in too many instances, neither to know nor to care what the Scriptures teach in respect to the matter in question. And, even with many who are somewhat impressed with the importance of the subject, there have been manifested so much indefinite- ness and indecision, and so little personal acquaintance with the Scripture doctrine, that the writer. has been for several years painfully impressed, that the divine will in respect to the final destiny of the Jewish race has not received that prayerful attention by the churches, that has been directed to 36-i HARMONY AND EXPOSITION* other subjects of no greater, and probably of less, importance. Yet it requires but a moment's meditation to perceive that the final restoration of the Lord's ancient people, both to him- self and their fatherland, must be regarded as the great event of the closing dispensation. The vision of the resurrection of the dry bones is directly connected with the prophecy of Ezekiel, which was under discussion at the close of the preceding chapter. The reader is requested to keep open before him the thirty-seventh chap- ter of Ezekiel, that he may clearly perceive its connections with the preceding and subsequent portions of the prophecy. The design of the vision was evidently to illustrate and con- firm what God had just declared concerning the conversion and final gathering of the children of Israel and Judah. From verse 1 to 10, inclusive, we have the vision, which the reader will perceive has a direct connection with the preceding chapter. Yerses 11-14 contain GooVs own application and interpretation of the vision. Let this be distinctly consid- ered ; together with the fact, that the Lord does not give one vision or parable to explain another. There are many instan- ces of the Lord's explaining his own figurative language, and the visions of his prophets. But the writer has not in recol- lection an instance where one parable, metaphor, or vision was given to interpret another. In all cases where the inter- pretation and application of figurative language and visions have been examined, not figurative, but simple, literal lan- guage has been employed. The use of figurative language to explain figurative, would be a manifest impropriety ; for, in that case, the interpreta- tion itself would need to be interpreted. In other words, it would be no interpretation at all. Now, God's own interpretation of the vision of dry bones is this : Yerse 11 : " Then said he unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost ; we are cut off for our parts.* 12. Therefore prophecy and say unto them, *Does not this mean, We are cut off from our parts? i. e. ve are cut off from enjoying our parts of the everlasting possession promised to our fathers: Out hope is lost. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 365 Thus saith the Lord God : O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.* 13. And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves. 14. And shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land : then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." Then fol- lows (verses 15-19) a representation of the final gathering and complete union of all the children of Israel, under the simili- tude of uniting two sticks [rods or sceptres] into one. Yerses 16, 19, sufficiently prove the universality of its application to the literal posterity of Israel. "With verse 20 begins the statement of God's own explanation and purpose in the mat- ter : Yerse 20 : " And the sticks whereon thou writest (verse 16) shall be in thine hand before thine eyes. 21. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they he gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. 22. And I will make them one nation in THE LAND UPON THE MOUNTALNS OF ISRAEL ; and ONE KING SHALL be etng to them all : and they shall he no more two nations, neither shall they he divided into two kingdoms any more at all. 23. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions : but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them : so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24. And David my servant shall be king over them ; and they all shall have one shepherd : they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes ; and do them. 25. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacoh my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children forever : and my servant David shall he their prince FOREVER.f 26. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace *See Isa. xxvi. 19; Hos. xiii. 14. f It does seem inexcusable for any intelligent person to pretend that this passage, in its connections, is of doubtful application. How could the Lord &$$ HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. with them j it shall be an everlasting covenant with them* and I will place th learned men, as will be hereafter shown, have been of quite another opinion- 388 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. indeed, that Christ had more particular reference to his own and John's treatment by the persons then living ; but the ex- pression, " this generation,' 7 did not limit the character devel- oped to that age ; it had been developed in almost every age. That generation — that people — that race of people — had been accustomed to display the same character from the times of their fathers, who had " killed the prophets, and stoned those that were sent unto them." (2.) The next references are to Matt. xii. 42, 45 ; to these there should have been added verse 39, which introduces the subject. Terse 38 : " Then certain of the Scribes and Phari- sees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39. But he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be giv- en to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. 40. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly ; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Then follow three other instances of the use of the word generation, which will be considered in due time. In respect to that generation seeking a sign, though it was true of the people then living, they were not called a genera- tion because they were then alive ; but they were simply ad- dressed as an evil and adulterous people. ^Neither was this peculiar to those then living, nor can it be justly limited to those then alive. They were that sort of people. To seek for signs was a Jew- ish characteristic ; " For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom :" 1 Cor. i. 22. This was not to be restricted to those of any particular age ; it was characteristic of the races: the Greeks, as sl people, were thus characterized ; and the Jews, as a ysvsa, were so characterized from the be- ginning. Moses knew very well that some sign must be exhibited by him, in order to make the people believe ; and the Lord gave him power to exhibit several signs to convince the people. See Ex. iv. 1-9. The people living at the time of Christ were " evil and adulterous," just as their fathers had been before them. Being in covenant relation with God, under the simili- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 389 tude of a marriage contract, they were often charged with adultery on account of their evil conduct. But it is a ques- tion whether the people were in the time of Christ particu- larly distinguished on this account from their ancestors for many ages. A little acquaintance with Malachi and most of the other prophets, will suffice to show that the Saviour's ex- pression in respect to their being " evil and adulterous," and " seeking after a sign," must not be restricted to the men of that age. The men of that age did exhibit the national traits, but they were not called a generation because they were then living, but on account of being of a certain race, or lineage. This appears the more certain from an expression of the Sa- viour just previously ; verse 34 : " O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things ?" Dr. Clarke's note on a similar expression is impressive : Matt. iii. 7, (The words of John,) " O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ?" " A terribly expressive speech. A serpentine brood from a ser- pentine stock. As their fathers were, so were they, children of the wicked one." Our Lord uses the same expression in Matt, xxiii., and it seems that he bestowed the epithet upon the men of that age, not because they were living at that time, but on account of their descent. Yerse 31 : " Where- fore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell ?" The intention of the word " generation" here is too evident to need further elucidation ; unless it be simply to repeat, that they were not called a generation because they were living at that time, but because of their lineage and character. So in respect to verse 36 : " Yerily I say unto you, All these thing8 shall come upon this generation." ISTow to limit the term to the persons then living, will ne- cessarily lead to the following untenable conclusions : first, that the blood of all the martyrs from the beginning, should be visited upon the persons living at the same period of time. Now this is neither just, true, nor according to God's estab- 890 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. lislied system of governing the world. It would not be just: it would be isolating the people of a particular time, and ma- king them to bear the punishment for sins of which they of that time were not guilty. It would contradict all our con- victions of equity and wisdom in the administration of justice. Such a restriction of the term would not be in harmony with truth. It is not true that the men then living were pun- ished for all the blood shed by their fathers. Much of the previous sufferings of the Jews were on account of their treat- ment of their prophets ; and much of the after suffering should undoubtedly be attributed to the same source. The calamities that befell the Jews then living , were but a little more distressing than had befallen the Jews in previous ages ; and but a little more distressing than befell them under the Emperor Adrian, about fifty years after their overthrow by Titus. Now to suppose that the men of that age were punished for all the blood shed upon the earth from the beginning, in ad- dition to their own blood-guiltiness in murdering the Lord Jesus ; and yet suffered only a little more severely, in the same kind, than their fathers and descendents suffered, is, to say the least, speaking without demonstration. And it can- not help the matter by saying, that the overthrow and calam- ity of the Jews at that time lasted longer than any former desolation ; for if the generation upon whom the whole was to be visited, meant the men of that a-ge, then, of course, the eighteen centuries of continued affliction must be left out of the account. The restriction of the punishment of all the previous martyrdoms to the people that were then living, is not in accordance with truth. Neither is it in harmony with God's established principles of administration. He visits the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of them that hate him. But to concentrate the punishment of fifty generations — that is, fifty successions, or productions of men, reckoning from father to son, — to concentrate all upon those living at any one period of time, is directly at variance with this divine method of adminis- tration. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 391 There is no difficulty at all in understanding this matter, and keeping rigidly to the etymological meaning of the term generation. Indeed, this is the only possible method of rec- onciling the declaration of Christ with truth, justice, and the divine principles of government. It is according to truth, justice, and the divine procedure, to deal with races as races. And this was particularly and eminently true in respect to the Jewish ysved. — race, generation, or kind of people. As a ysvsd, they had shed all this blood of martyrdom ; as a yevsd, they should be punished for it ; not any part of it should be left out. What had not been before visited upon them, as a yevzd of people, should nevertheless be visited upon them. This is not only God's published method of dealing with men, but it is the historically and experimentally proved method of governing the world. Upon that ysvsd, thus scripturally and historically explained, there should indeed be visited all the iniquities that they, as a people, had committed. But did not the Lord — speaking to those then living — say, " That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth," &c ? He did, indeed. And did he not in the same connection — speaking of the death of Zecharias* — say, whom ye slew ? Did he not also say, Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord ? What can be more certain, than that he was not here speak- ing restrict! vely to those before him, but of them as a partic- ular ynea — race, ox family of men? As such, they had in- deed slain not only Zecharias, but many others ; as such, they possessed the house of the Lord : to them the temple should continue desolate, until they, as a people, shall be brought to say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. And this they, as a ysvsa — - shall certainly do ; for so it is written in the prophecies ; and in the same connection, in many pla- ces, it is as clearly predicted that Jerusalem shall be again * Commentators are obliged to refer this to a martyrdom several hundred years before the time of Christ. See Whitby, Clarke, Wesley, Christians in all ages — are liable to be overcome with these easily besetting, these carnally pleasing, these, alas! too common, too fashionable, and yet ruinous, customs of civilized as well as barbarous societies. " And cares of this UfeP Oh, how many Demases there are in the church, even, who turn away from the faith of the gospel, and make a god of this world ! Taking thought for the morrow,* and having but little heed for the kingdom of God, but anxiously inquiring, What shall we eat, what shall we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed, they cannot find time to attend to the things of the kingdom ; f and, alas ! alas ! the prophecies of our Lord and his servants have been so generally, and so (to many) hopelessly confused and con- founded, that the man of this world, whether in the church, or out of it, despairs of ever being able to comprehend what he thinks perhaps might have been originally intended in some measure to instruct and admonish the common mind in respect to these now inexplicable teachings of what appears to him to be the most inexplicable of books. Excusing him- self, then, from want of capacity to digest the milk of the word, his business and ambitious leadings are all earthward ; and with perpetual lookings and bendings downward, he has hardly strength or inclination to look heavenward. Even when these signs " begin to come to pass," he will be hardly * The -word thought formerly meant about what is now expressed by the word anxiety. f See Matt. vi. 31-34. 406 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. able to lift up his head, and look up, in expectation that his redemption is drawing nigh. Perhaps he has not even a distinct impression, or any well digested conviction, with respect to the fact or nature of the great day of the Lord. Perhaps he is still looking for an universal spread of purity and peace before the Lord's com- ing ; and cannot, of course, be impressed with the necessity of living in readiness to meet his Master at his coming to reckon with his servants. So he suffers himself to be over- charged with the cares of this life ; the thorns spring up and choke the good seed, and it becomes unfruitful. He, too, with the drunkard and the glutton, will be unready for the return of his Lord ; " and so that day will come upon him, [Luke : For as a snare shall it come upon all them that dwell upon rag FACE OF THE WHOLE EARTH.} It (the day) shall come upon the inhabitants of the earth everywhere suddenly, and unexpectedly, as a snare is sprung suddenly and unexpectedly upon the unsuspecting game that the hunter thus successfully entraps. Infidels will not expect it, for they deny the prophecy. Unwersalists will not expect it, for they misinterpret the prophecy. Heathen will not sxpect it, for they do not know the prophecy. Romanists will not expect it, for they will be still looking for the downfall of Protestantism, by gradual conquest. Protestants will not generally expect it, for they will be looking for the destruc- tion of Antichrist, not by a personal, but by a spiritual com- ing, to destroy the Man of Sin, not by judgment fires, but by gospel light And so, after all the Lord has said, either by a downright infidelity, or by a ruinous delusion ; either by not knowing the word of prophecy, or by misunderstanding it ; either by gluttony, or drunkenness, or by both together; either by earthly carefulness, or covetousness, or by both together ; in some way, by some effectual means of the prince of the power of the air, the ruler of the darkness of this world, the prophecies will be so unknown, so disbelieved, so misinter- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 407 preted or misapplied, that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, as a snare upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth. The Lord have mercy upon an infidel or heathen world! The Lord have mercy upon a worldly or slumbering church ! * CHAPTER XVIII. Principal subject — Preparation to meet the Son of man at his Coming. Ultimate Reason — The World before the Flood — Application — A time of general Separation — Illustrations — Two Men in the Field — Two Women at the Mill — Renewed Admonition — Illustration of the Unguarded House — Application — Illustration of the Master on a Journey — Duties of the Servants — The Porter — Application — A Model Servant — The Unan- swered Question — The Happy Servant — The Servant Exalted — The Evil Servant — His Belief and Conduct — The Reason — Application — The Un- expected Return — Reason — Result — Importance of Right Views — The Terrible Doom — The Cause — The Contrast — Renewed Admonition — The Final Charge — The 25th Chap, of Matthew — Its relation to the 24th — Design of the. Parable of the Ten Virgins — Parable of the Talents — Why the Description of the Judgment was deferred to the close of the Discourse — Conclusion. [Luke : Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.] The Lord had previously admonished his disciples to the same import. But having for a moment left the thread of his exhortation, for the purpose of adding a fact that was well calculated to deepen the impression which he desired to pro- duce, he now resumes his exhortation to watchfulness and prayer. But at this point he assigns the ultimate object of * See Note R., in the Appendix. 408 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. faithfulness : that we may be accounted worthy to escape the predicted evils, and to stand before the Son of man. Here several things should impress us : 1. That watchfulness and prayer are indispensable to a full preparation for the day of the Lord. A spirit of devotion and sobriety, carried into appropriate practice, is the great essen- tial in our present duty. And this should be secured in view of the fact, that we are all hastening to meet the day of the Lord Jesus. 2. It is only in this way that we can escape the calamities which, at the coming of Christ, shall be visited upon the un- prepared. What these will be, the Scriptures have sufficient- ly revealed. The previous predictions of Christ, and the parables following, set forth these calamities in a manner which would almost shake the world, if they had not been so generally Jerusalemized away, that they are read with little or no impression that they are intended for us, as well as for the ancients ; that our destiny is to be thus affected and de- termined. Who can calculate the tremendous consequences of stripping this portion of the divine word of all its direct, literal, and intended bearing upon the millions who are has- tening to meet the great day, with almost no conception of its nature and reality? 3. It is by obedience to these directions that we may ex- pect, through grace, to stand hefore the Son of man. " The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous." They shall be " punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that be- lieve in that day." * This will be the portion of the wicked ; and they will not " love his appearing." But the righteous shall " stand in the day of Judgment : " they shall receive " a crown of righteousness " at " that day." 2 Tim. iv. 8. Then the pious dead " shall behold his face in righteousness :" they " shall be satisfied when " they " awake in his likeness." Tor * 2 Thess. i. 9, 10, leaving out the parenthesis. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 409 in his presence is fullness of joy ; and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore. " "Wherefore, beloved, seeing ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless." It is esteemed a great privilege to stand before kings ; but it will be a still greater to " stand before the Son of man." For when he cometh, he will come as " King of kings, and Lord of lords." Verse 37. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son OF MAN BE. 38. Foe as in those days that were before the flood, they were EATING AND DRINKING, MARRYING AND GIVING IN MARRIAGE, UNTIL THE DAY THAT NOE ENTERED INTO THE ARK ; 39. AND KNEW NOT UNTIL THE FLOOD CAME AND TOOK THEM ALL AWAY J SO SHALL ALSO THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE. Terrible history ! Terrible prediction ! But the prophecy will prove to be as true as the history. The world had been duly warned of the threatened deluge ; but they heeded it not. They continued to live as they had lived ; contracting marriages, celebrating marriages, giving and enjoying festiv- ities, until the day that Noe entered into the ark. These things are not mentioned by the Saviour, on account of their being necessarily wrong ; but to show how little the doomed world heeded the warnings of " the preacher of righteousness," or anticipated so sad, so sudden and terrible a catastrophe as was long impending over them. The reason was, they knew not what was about to burst upon them, and forever terminate their plans and pleasures. The treasured up wrath that was to drown a teeming world gave no outward indications of either its nearness or severity. For aught that appears to the contrary, the sun that morning rose as smilingly, the winds breathed as refreshingly, the waters flowed as peacefully, the birds sung as cheerily, the dance led forth as merrily, as ever since the birth-day of sin. There were happy bridegrooms and brides ; there were proud fathers and mothers ; there were rejoicing sisters and brothers ; there were admiring lov- ers ; there were jealous rivals ; there were lords in state, and servants in waiting; there were rich, counting over their treasures ; there were thieves, intent on robbing ; there were lecherous, in search of victims. In a word, a world in wick- 410 HAEMONT AKD EXPOSITION; edness ; warned, but heedless ; doomed, but reckless ; rushing on to meet its ruin. So shall also the coming of the Son of man be. No alarm- ing premonitions will arouse the worldly church, or the wick- ed world. The day of God will come upon the unexpecting world, as a snare upon the unwary game, that knows not its danger until it is too late to escape. Therefore the wisdom of living always in readiness to meet the Lord, lest that day overtake us as a thief ; " Zest, coming suddenly, Tie find us sleeping" " Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope unto the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Je- sus Christ." 1 Pet. i. 13. Verse 40. Then shall two be in the field ; the one shall be taken and the OTHER LEFT. 41. TWO WOMEN SHALL BE GRINDING AT THE MILL J THE ONE SHALL BE TAKEN, AND THE OTHER LEFT. It is utterly impossible for any man to show a single fact, or a single reason, for applying this to the Jewish war. Nei- ther the connections of the passage, nor its teachings ; neither the Jewish historian, nor the circumstances of the case, can be legitimately used for that purpose. Besides, this is not intended for a few instances, merely ; but such will be the general result It will be a time of general separation be- tween the most intimate associates, who are of different char- acters. Lodging in the same bed, or working at the same mill, will not prevent the final separation of the good from the bad. The good fishes and the bad fishes, the wheat and the tares, shall be separated at the end of the world, when the Son of man shall come with all his holy angels. (Matt, xiii.) In the Roman war, where two were thus associated, one indeed might escape, and the other be taken. But, certainly, in such a war as that, they would not take one, and leave another. But when the Son of man shall come in the glory of the Father, he will separate the evil from the good, as a shepherd dwideth his sheep from the goats. No difficulty can impede' the work of severing the wicked from among the just; for. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 411 the eye of Omniscience cannot be deceived by any outward show or pretence. Verse 42. Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your lord doth OOME. The evident design of all this part of the Lord's discourse, is to incite his people to be always in readiness for the coming of the great day. Hence, in various ways, he labors to deep- en the impression he would make, returning always, after ev- ery illustration, or additional prediction, to the same leading theme of watchfulness, that we may be in readiness. Is this the present impression of the church ? Is this its present po- sition ? If the Lord should come suddenly, as a thief in the night, would he find us prepared for it % Verse 43. 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. But, alas ! instead of being alwags guarded, and always watchful, in an hour when he was not expecting it, the thief came upon him, and his house was broken up. He was ruined because he was off his guard. The very uncertainty of the time of the thief's coming should have kept him in constant Verse 44. Therefore, be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh. Do as the poor man, after he is robbed, is convinced he should have done. Let the uncertainty of my coming serve to keep you in constant readiness. [Mark : For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.] For a season the Lord intends to be absent from the world : he leaves his church, but he leaves it in the hands of his ser- vants. Each one has his appropriate authority, place, and work. The porter has charge of the gate ; the steward has charge of the provisions and treasures ; others have authority 412 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. and work in some other department. All are under obliga- tion ; all are responsible ; all are expected to be faithful. But the porter receives a special command to watch. The Master intends to return ; but when, he does not see fit to re- veal. Perhaps he does not at that time know. But return he will, at the appropriate time. Therefore let the porter keep a constant watch, that he may be prepared to receive him at any moment, either by day, or by night. Verse 45. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath MADE RULER OVER HIS HOUSEHOLD, TO GIVE THEM MEAT IN DUE SEASON? Let each ask himself. Who has anything to do in the gov- ernment of the church, or in the duty of feeding it with ap- propriate food, at appropriate seasons? Certainly the minis- ter must apply this to himself. He is the bishop to govern ; and the shepherd to feed. Is he then a faithful and wise ser- vant ? Is he faithful f Does he conscientiously act in view of all his responsibilities ? Does he keep in lively remembrance that his Lord will not only return ; but that he may return at the moment when he is least expected ? Is he faithful in in- structing, admonishing, encouraging? Does he act as in the sight of his absent Master ? Is he a wise servant ? Does he understand his duty? Does he know how to perform it? Does he know when and how to give food to the household under his stewardship ? Does he inform himself of the nature and design of his Master's departure and return ■? Does he act wisely in his wish and labor to secure his Master's com- mendation ? These are questions for each one to answer for himself. The Lord does not answer them ; he simply proposes them. How stands the matter, reader ? These are things to be duly considered. Verse 46. Blessed is that servant whom ms lord, when he cometh, shall FIND SO DOING. Yea, blessed indeed ; for his Lord cometh quickly, and his reward is with him. To be found of him in peace at his com- ing, will insure everlasting happiness. Faithfulness and hap- HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 413 piness will be as inseparably connected, as negligence and wretchedness. When the Master returneth may he find us so doing ! Verse 47. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler overall his goods. Those who improve their talents shall have additional ones given them, when the time of reckoning comes. Those who suffer with Christ shall finally reign with him. Those who are faithful in few things shall be made ruler over many things. The Master intends fully to reward his faithful ser- vants ; and if he exalts them to palaces and thrones, he has a right to do so ; for he has a right to do what he pleases with his own. Be encouraged, then, ye faithful and wise servants, for the Master will soon return, and bless you in your labors to please him. Verse 48. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming ; 49. And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken. No one will be as likely to say openly, My Lord delayeth his coming ; the evil servant will say it in his heart. Learn, hence, a distinguishing trait in the character of an evil ser- vant : there is so little evidence that the Lord will delay his coming ; or, rather, as there is no evidence, he will not choose to say so openly, lest he be reproved. But still he is an un- believer in the nearness of the time : * he says, in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming. Learn, also, that it will not be infidels, only, who will be taken unawares : this evil ser- vant did not scoff, and say, Where is the promise of his coming ? He was a believer, perhaps a firm believer, in his lord's re- turn. He did not, in respect to the great fact of his lord's coming, differ essentially from the good servants : he disagreed with them only on one point : the good servant said — said openly — My lord is coming, is coming soon : he may come * Our Lord evidently has reference in this part of his discourse to the state of things that will immediately precede his advent. See verses 37-39. 414 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. immediately* The evil servant said, said in his heart, My lord ddayeth his coming. Learn, also, the natural tendency of this saying in one's heart, My Lord delay eth his coming. (1.) He will begin to smite his fellow servants. He will be apt to become a tyrant in his Master's house. He will be likely to have ill feelings towards his brethren, and he will be apt to act them out / he will smite his fellow servants.* Our Lord must have meant somethiug in all this ; and he undoubtedly meant to describe the facts and tendencies that will characterise the times which immediately precede his advent. Would there be so much discord and bitterness among brethren ? Would there be so much impatience of contradiction, and so much disposition to personal revenge, if we believed the Judge was at the door, to punish and to re- ward ? How appropriate the apostle's advice ! " Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts ; and then shall every man have praise of God." 1 Cor. 4, 5. Would there be so much oppression, either in, or out of the church ; in either estab- lished or dissenting churches, if, conceptually, we beheld the Lord at hand ? There is a great deal implied in the evil servant's smiting his fellow servants, under the impression that his lord delayed his return. Another tendency of this conviction is, (2.) luxury and dissipation. He will be likely to eat and drink with the drunken. All the designed tendencies of the uncertainty of his Lord's return, are lost upon this evil servant ; and, self- persuaded that his Master is not at hand ; saying it to him- self, as he practices his wickedness, he gives himself up to feasting and carousal. Had he supposed his Master was at hand, he would have acted very differently ; but, under the influence of his belief, he conducts as he is represented. Would there be as much luxury in the church ? Would there * The reader must judge for himself whether the inferences are warranted by the Lord's illustration. There is no design to " HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 415 be as much dissipation and levity f Would it be so hard to collect a few shillings from our fashionable or covetous Chris- tians, for the purpose of doing a little more, or a great deal more good,* if all men were under the influence of the convic- tion, My Master, to whom I am accountable, is at hand ? Verse 50. The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh NOT FOR HTM, AND IN AN HOUR THAT HE IS NOT AWARE OF. Here we have still further light with respect both to the nature and manner of the second advent : it will not be a gradual diffusion of gospel light and happiness ; it will be a sudden and — to persons of the character here described — • an unexpected and terrible coming. The evil servant will be among those who shall " wail because of him," when they be- hold him coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. There is a peculiar significancy and importance in St. Paul's words, (Heb. ix. 28,) " And unto them that look for him, shall he appear the second time, without sin [sin-of- fering] unto salvation." This evil servant — representing a class — a large class — of professors — was not looking for the return of his master ; so that he came to him very unexpect- edly, not to save him, it seems, but to destroy. The coming of his master was not to this servant a matter of hope, but of surprise, and confusion. He was not looking for him : he was saying to the very last moment, My lord delayeth his coming. Now true believers are represented as being of a very differ- ent character, with respect both to their conduct and faith. And the difference of their conduct arises from the difference of their faith. Hence St. Paul speaks of believers in gen- eral, (Titus ii. 12, 13,) " Denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ ."f Learn from the subject, as now presented, that it is not a * See Note S, in the Appendix. f The appearing of God and Christ in connection is represented in the vis ion of Daniel, vii. 9-14. 416 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. matter of insignificance how we believe respecting the time and manner of the Lord's coming. Verse 51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the HYPOCRITES ; THERE SHALL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH. Here is the sad result of impropriety of conduct from im- propriety of belief. Had this man believed right, there is reason to suppose he would have acted right. But, alas, the coming in which he professed to believe, but for which he was not looking, was to him a coming of wrath and ruin. He is to be " cut asunder " — terribly destroyed by a punishment of un- surpassed severity : limb cut from limb ; head cut from body ; body cut in two. And then — after being cut asunder — his portion is to be with the hypocrites : with those who pretended to believe, and to be, what they did not believe, nor become. This illustrates the Lord's teaching elsewhere. Luke xii. 4, 5 : " And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and, after that, have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear : Fear him, which, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say unto you, Fear him." That state of punishment will be a state of consciousness and great anguish : " there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Anything but happiness is expressed in this terrible description. Whatever it may indicate, it is certainly some- thing to be earnestly deprecated and avoided. This, it should be remembered, will take place at the return of the servant's master. And in very many places in the Scriptures, the sec- ond coming of the Lord is thus represented as a time of great calamity to those who are not found prepared. It will be the time of " gathering out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity ; " that they may be cast " into a furnace of fire, where shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." See Matt. xiii. 36-43. The same period is alluded to in Luke xiii. 28. "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 417 kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God." From the whole representation thus far, learn the evil ten- dency, and — if yielded to — the evil consequences, of saying in the heart, My Lord delayeth his coming. [Mark: Watch ye, therefore, for ye know not when the master of the housk cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning. Lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.] The relevancy and importance of this admonition, are too evident to need extended remarks. The uncertainty of the Lord's return, and the suddenness of it, are here assigned as the reasons for constant watching and preparation. [Mark : And what I say unto YOU. I, say unto ALL, WATCH.] Here is the single exhortation, for the illustration and en- forcement of which, the previous parable was used. From the certainty of the Lord's second coming, from its connection with the decisions of final destiny, from the suddenness of the coming, from the uncertainty with respect to the time, there arises the great leading duty of watching. And this is a general duty : it belongs to all people, and to all times : " What I say unto you, I say unto all, WATCH." " Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing ! " An impression appears to have obtained, that the Lord's discourse ended with the twenty-fourth chapter. But it is evident that what is recorded in the twenty-fifth chapter was spoken at the same time. The reader need not be reminded, perhaps, that no importance whatever should be attached to the division of the discourse into chapters, for this is wholly a human and a modern work : originally the whole discourse stood just as it would now stand, if it was all included in a single chapter. The first word, Then, of the twenty-fifth chapter shows this connection quite apparently. But the whole reliance, 27 418 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. however, is not placed in the initiatory word ; it is evident from the whole chapter that it was spoken at the same time as the former. The parable of the wise and the foolish virgins was designed more particularly to apply the illustrations and admonitions which had been already given to the coming of the Lord. This not only appears from the nature and connection of the parable, but from the conclusion of it, verse 13 : " Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the horn* wherein the Son of man cometh." In this parable, as one principal truth, we learn that apart (in the parable it is one-half) of those who are professedly waiting for the coming of the Bridegroom, will, after all, he found unprepared to meet him j and will not he admitted to the marriage supper of the Lamb. See Rev. xix. 7-9. In the parable of the servants and the talents we have the same general truth illustrated, in connection with the final result of faithfulness and unfaithfulness, at the time of the Lord's re- turn from his journey into the " far country." The faithful is then made " ruler over many things ; " he then enters " into the joy of" his Lord. The unfaithful, who, at his Lord's "com- ing," (verse 27,) could not render a good account of his con- duct, is then cast into outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. From verse 31 to the end of the chapter, we have the closing up of the whole discourse, where our Lord takes occa- sion to explain still further the nature and results of his com- ing. It will be the time of general judgment to the nations then occupying the earth ; and the time of admitting the saints into the heavenly kingdom. Verse 34. Christ will then appear in his character as King (verse 34) to judge, (32) to punish, and reward (40, 46.) In the former part of the discourse, where his endeavor was to proceed through from beginning to end, with strict reference to the chronological order, it was not deemed expe- dient to interrupt the prophetic narrative by the details of the judgment. So, not to leave so important a matter out of the discourse, and, also, to identify the time and the event so that HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 419 the readers of the Old Testament prophecies might not be at a loss to understand the matter, he here dwells more particu- larly on the judgment which shall take place at his coming, and the eternal destinies which shall be decided. In this manner, the Lord clearly identifies his second advent with the coming and judgment predicted by Daniel, Zachariah, Joel, Isaiah, &c. These prophecies have already been sufficiently explained in former chapters of this Exposition. And the reader will perceive that the theory of interpretation adopted in this work, besides being a rigidly literal and easily under- stood theory, not only harmonizes all the different parts of the Lord's discourse at this time, but many of the parables and predictions which he delivered at other times. And, besides, it harmonizes the prophecies in other parts of the Old and "New Testaments, which, in many instances, have bewildered expositors, and been regarded as being wholly inexplicable to the common reader. Without trying to reconcile the learned and excellent Dr. Clarke with himself, the author takes the liberty of closing this Exposition by quoting the Doctor's very judicious and impressive observations on the parable of the servants whom the master left in the care of his house, when he journeyed into "a far country." See Mark xiii. 34-36, and Matt, xxiv. 45-51. " Our Lord shows us in this parable, 1. That himself, as- cended to heaven, is the man gone from home. 2. That believers collectively are his family. 3. That his servants are those who are employed in the work of faith and labor of love. 4. That the porter represents the ministers of the gos- pel, who should continually watch for the safety and welfare of the whole flock. 5. That every one has his own work, — that which belongs to himself, and to none other ; and for the accomplishment of which, he receives sufficient strength from his Lord. 6. That these servants and porters shall give an account to their Lord, how they have exercised themselves in their respective departments. 7. And that as the Master of the family will certainly come to require this account at a time when men are not aware, therefore they should be always 420 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. watchful and faithful. And, 8. That this is a duty incum- bent on every soul of man: What I say unto you, I say unto all, "Watch ! If after all these warnings, the followers of God be found careless, their misery and condemnation must be great." APPENDIX I. CONTAINING THE PRINCIPAL NOTES REFERRED TO IN THE EXPOSITION. NOTE A. (Page 81.) This Harmony "was prepared, and submitted to the inspection of several persons, several months previously to the publication of the excellent " Har- mony and Exposition " of Mr. James Strong, A. M. The fact is mentioned here for the purpose of noting the singular coincidence of two writers, entirely unknown to each other, being at the same time engaged in preparing an ori- ginal Harmony on substantially the same principle. The works do not wholly agree in the arrangement of the verses of the portion treated in this book ; nor are they similar in the method of exhibiting the references to other parts of the Scriptures. But in the plan of combining the several records, so as to present at one view all that the different evangelists have recorded on each distinct subject, the reader will find a substantial agreement. NOTE B. (Page 82.) Since writing this part of the Exposition, the following proof of what was merely supposed from the words of Christ, has come to view. It refers di- rectly to the coming of Impostors in the name of Christ. Euseb. Eccl. Hist, B. 3, c. 26. " Menander, who succeeded Simon Magus, exhibited himself in his conduct an -instrument of diabolical wickedness, not inferior to the former. He also was a Samaritan ; and having made no less progress in his imposture than his master, reveled in still more arrogant pretensions to miracles ; say- ing that he was in truth the Saviour once sent from the invisible worlds for the salvation of men." The historian adds, " This account may be easily confirm- ed from Irenius." NOTE C. (Page 159.) St Peter, speaking of these very characters that endeavored to corrupt the church, says, (2 Pet. ii. 18,) "For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error." NOTE D. (Page 235.) Since the foregoing was written, the author has providentially met with an old Treatise on Prophecy, by Rev. Joseph Towers, LL. D., which very unex- 422 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. pectedly sustains the view of the subject maintained in this Treatise. And, what is not a little remarkable, Dr. Towers, to some extent, adopts the very- system of interpretation which this Treatise opposes. .Referring to the passage under notice, he says, (vol. 2, p. 40,) " But I shall be asked, does this most illustrious of the prophets himself specify any time; and, if specified, does it correspond with what has before been gathered from Daniel and from John ? I answer, that it perfectly does. The sun shall be darkened, says our Lord, immediately after the tribulation of those days. Now what are those days, and when do they terminate.? The incomparable Mr. Mede, (I use the epithet of Bishops Hurd and Halifax,) in speaking of the Jews and of this passage, says, ' This great tribulation, such as never nation suffered, is not to be confined to their calamity at the destruction of Jerusalem, but extends to the whole time of their captivity and dispersion from that time unto this present not yet ended.' To the same purpose speaks that eminent Dutch divine, Episcopius, in his commentary on Matthew ; and in like manner Arch- bishop Ttllotson has observed, that the prophecy of Jesus respecting the suf- ferings of his countrymen, 'comprehends from the destruction of Jerusalem all the time of the captivity of the Jews among the Gentiles, which we see is not yet expired; and that when it is said, the sun shall be darkened, curable procedure, besides what they had already suffered." They prevailed with the multitude, and tranquility resulted. But "Florus was troubled that the disturbances were over, and endeavored to kindle that flame again." 31. His next attempt to provoke the Jews into war was so likely to succeed, that as the historian says, "At this time it was that every priest, and every servant of God, brought out the holy vessels, and the ornamental garments wherein they used to minister about sacred things. The harpers also, and the singers of hymns, came out with their instruments of music, and fell down before the multitude, [who were going to resist the Romans,] and begged of them that they would preserve those holy ornaments to them, and not provoke the Romans to carry off those sacred treasures. You might also see then the high priests themselves with dust sprinkled in great plenty upon their heads, with bosoms deprived of any covering but what was rent ; these besought every one of the eminent men by name, and the multitude in common, that they would not for a small offence betray their country to those that were desirous to have it laid waste." 32. A horrible tumult soon resulted, which was designed and effected by Florus and his soldiers, in order to drive the Jews into desperation and sedi- tion. This tumult did not result from any improper action on the part of the Jews ; all that they did was to make a complaint against the governor, when they saw that his soldiers would not return their civil salutation. The govern- or and his soldiers had fixed upon this as a signal to fall upon the Jews and kill them. 33. " However, Florus contrived another way to oblige the Jews to begin the war, and sent to Cestius, [the President of Syria,] and accused the Jews falsely of revolting from the Roman government, and imputed the beginning 452 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. of the former fight to them, and pretended that they had been the authors of that disturbance, wherein they were only the sufferers." The governors of Jerusalem also wrote to Cestius complaining of Florus, and Bernice did so like- wise. Whereupon, Cestms thought proper to send one of his tribunes up to Jerusalem to inquire into the matter. 34. The tribune, at Jamnia, had a consultation with King Agrippa, who was returning from Alexandria, The principal men of the Jews, also, met him at the same time, and besought Agrippa to aid them in their extremity. The multitude also came down from Jerusalem, together with the widows of those who had been killed ; and, with loud lamentations and complaints, besought the king to assist them. After inspecting their affairs, and commending them for their fidelity to the Romans, the tribune returned to Cestius. 35. King Agrippa perceiving that the Jews were on the point of breaking out into open rebellion against the Roman government, addressed the Jews with a long, eloquent, and powerful speech, the design of which was to dis- suade them from going to war with Rome, and to induce them to submit qui- etly to their fate. He did succeed in moving them to pay to the emperor the tribute which was due him, and also to restore the communication between the citadel and the temple, which, in some of the recent conflicts, had been destroyed by the Jews themselves, by burning a part of the cloister of the temple. He also exhorted them to obey their governor. But at this the mul- titude were so enraged, that they made an assault upon the king, and caused him to be put out of the city. So he returned to his own dominions, and left the Jews to their fate. 36. At this time some of the more turbulent of the Jews assaulted and took the fortress of Masada, and killed the Roman garrison. At the same time the officiating priests were persuaded to reject the sacrifice of the emperor, which it had been customary to offer. "This," says Josephus, "was the true begin- ning of our war with the Romans." The more prudent part of the Jews did everything they could to prevent the war; but the rest were fully determin- ed upon rebellion. The dispute among them on this point ripened into civil war, and they fought with one another seven days. This was about A. D. 64. 37. Things continued to grow worse and worse. The seditious among the Jews, and the robbers who abounded in the city, banded together and got possession of the temple. They also burnt the palace of the high priest, the palaces of Bernice and King Agrippa, and the place where the public records were kept. They then made an assault upon the citidel and took it, and killed the Roman garrison. They then assaulted and besieged the soldiers which Agrippa had sent to assist those Jews who were opposed to the war. 38. During these occurrences, one of the leading robbers led a party out to the fortress of Masada, and broke open Herod's armory, and supplied the des- titute with arms. The war continued to rage, and the rest of the Roman sol- diers were besieged. Upon the promise of having their lives spared, they were induced to surrender ; but as soon as the Jews got them into their pow- er they murdered the whole of them, in direct violation of the terms of capit- APPENDIX. 453 illation. This filled the more considerate Jews with alarm and grief. They knew what would evitably result ; and they " made public lamentations, when they saw that such occasions were afforded for a war as were incurable." 39. At precisely the same hour that the Jews at Jerusalem murdered the Roman garrison, the people in Cesarea fell upon the Jews and killed 20,000 of them ; and many that fled were overtaken, captured, and chained in the galleys. At this massacre, the whole Jewish nation were enraged, and terri- bly revenged themselves upon their enemies. "They divided themselves into several parties, and laid waste the villages of the Syrians, and their neighbor- ing cities, Philadelphia and Sebonitis, and Gerasa, and Pella, and Scythopo- lis ; and after them Gadara, and Hippo6. And falling upon Gaulonitis, some cities they destroyed there ; and some they set on fire ; and then went into Kedusa, belonging to the Tyrians, and to Ptolemais, and to Gaba, and to Ce- sarea. Nor was Sebaste, or Ascalon able to oppose the violence with which they were attacked." 40. "And when they had burnt these to the ground, they entirely demol- ished Anthedon and Gaza. Many also of the villages that were about every one of these cities were plundered ; and an immense slaughter was made of the men who were caught in them." " The Syrians were even with the Jews in the multitude of the men whom they slew." And the war raged furiously in every part of the land. Thus the great, and — to the Jews — fatal, war was fully begun ; for those whom the Jews destroyed were subjects of the empire. But all this took place before any of the great Roman armies were brought into the country. 41. The Jews in Alexandria in Egypt were also destroyed about this time. And in their destruction we, for the first time during the war, hear of a regular Roman army being sent to destroy them. There were two legions stationed in Alexandria, and to these were added 5,000 others who happened to come in from Lybia. This army fell upon the Jews in Alexandria and de- stroyed 50,000 of them, not sparing either age or sex. This may be regarded as the first flight of the Roman eagle, hastening to his prey ; it was not at Jerusalem, nor in Judea ; but in Alexandria in Egypt. Neither was it from east to west that the Romans marched ; but those who came to assist in the massacre, came from west to east ; from Lybia to Alexandria. 42. And now Cestius, the President of Syria, who had a general supervis- ion of the Jewish provinces, deemed it expedient to be doing something to put down the general revolt. His movements constituted the second flight of the Roman eagle during this war, but the first flight against Judea and its capital. We will now notice particularly the march and conquest of this first invasion during the war in question. 43. Cestius took out of Antioch one legion entire, together with 2,000 from <;ach of the others, and six cohorts of footmen, and four troops of horse. In addition to these, King Antiochus sent 2,000 horsemen, and 3,000 footmen, with 3,000 archers ; and King Agrippa sent 3,000 footmen, and 1,000 horse- men; and King Sohemus followed with about 3,000 footmen and archers, and 1,000 horsemen. And thus he marched from Antioch up along the coast in a 4:54 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. southerly direction to Ptolemais ; and other auxiliaries came to him from the free cities as he was on his march. This was in A. D. 66. 44. "We now find him at Ptolemais, in the north-western, portion of the Jew- ish country. To this rendezvous he came from the north From this position he began his further marches, and extended his conquests. It will be seen at a glance, that his future operations must be — not from east to west — but, in relation to these points, in a precisely opposite direction. The history will show us his subsequent marches and conquests, 45. From Ptolemais, going south-east, he went and destroyed the city of Zebulon. Then he overran all that part of the country, destroying the villages all around, and returned to Ptolemais. Thus the invasion was from the north; the first march to battle was south-east ; and the conquests began in the north' western section of the provinces. Every one can see the total erroneousness of the usual representation of this matter. 46. From Ptolemais, again, he departed, and went south to Cesarea. From thence he sent a part of his army still further south to Joppa. This city the army took by surprise, and burnt, killing 8,400 of the Jews. A part of the army was also sent into the " toparchy of Narbatene, adjoining Gesarea, who iestroyed the country, and slew a great multitude of its people ; they also blundered what they had, and burnt their villages." Another part of the w:my was sent to Sepphoris, the capital of Galilee, where they were received irith acclamations by the people, and the city was saved. A portion of the people, however, fled to the mountains in the middle of Galilee, but were pursued and destroyed. That portion of the army then returned to Cesarea. 4*7. Thus have we seen another of the expeditions of the army, after it had begun its conquests. It was three-fold in its nature ; but in no instance what- ever, was there a march to a battle or to a siege from east to west ; but in every instance it was in other directions. And this second stage of the conquests, so far from its being in the east, that it might extend westward, was confined to the western section of the country ; and in every instance, so far as east and west were concerned, it was directly opposite to the course affirmed by the commentators. 48. Now " Cestius moved with his whole army to Antipatris" In this movement he went a little east of south. From this place he sent a part of the army to fight against some Jews who had gotten together in the tower of Aphek. This was on the river Kishon, directly north of Antipatris. But the Jews were dispersed before coming to a battle ; and the Romans burnt their camp, and the villages that were about it. This took place in the northern section of the provinces, and a little further east from the coast than appears to have been visited previously ; for the conquest progressed southerly and easterly. 49. The next general march was to Lydda, south of Antipatris. But Ces- tius found the city empty, for the people had gone up to Jerusalem to the feast of tabernacles. A few were destroyed, the city burnt, and the army went on toward the capital. " Ascending by Bethoren, they pitched their camp at a certain place called Gabao, fifty furlongs distant from Jerusalem." APPENDIX. 455 50. This being the first approach to Jerusalem by this great army, it is important to notice that it was by no means sudden or unexpected. The Jews knew that Cestius was conquering his way gradually up the coast, and east- erly toward the heart of the country, — not in the direction the commenta- tors say, — but as nearly opposite as the nature of the country permitted. Thus far we have tracked the approach to the country, the invasion of it, the portions first conquered., the general and divisional marches, the final approach to Jerusalem, and we find nothing, absolutely nothing, either in unexpected- ness, suddenness, or direction of approach and conquest, that in the least fa- vors the popular fancy of the commentators; but, on the other hand, we do find everything as nearly opposite to the usual representation as the nature of the case admitted. 51. The army was now encamped a few miles to the north-west of Jerusa- lem, preparing to march against the city. The Jews in great numbers were assembled at the feast of tabernacles. But, seeing the war approaching to their metropolis, they abandoned their feasting, took to their arms, and sallied forth to attack the Romans in their encampment. This they did so effectual- ly, that they endangered the whole army ; and after killing 515 of the Ro- mans, and losing 22 of their own number, they returned to the city, and prepared for the coming of the Roman army. Cestius continued at Gabao three days after the battle : and the Jews improved the time by seizing upon the elevated parts of the city, and placing guards at the gates; "and appear- ed openly resolved not to rest, when once the Romans should begin to march." 52. The Jews were so thoroughly apprized of the coming of the Romans, and had made such preparations to resist them, not only in Jerusalem, but in the mountainous regions around, that King Agrippa began to be alarmed lest the Romans should meet with ill success ; and the Jews who seemed to con- trol the affairs in the city, were determined to resist the invaders. The state- ment of Josephus is : " And now when Agrippa observed that even the affairs of the Romans were likely to be in danger, while such an immense multitude of their enemies [the enemies of the Romans] had seized upon the mountains round about, he determined to try what the Jews would agree to by words, as thinking he should cause the sober part of them to separate themselves from the opposite party." So he sent to the Jews two men with whom the Jews were on terms of acquaintance, to make propositions of reconciliation to the Romans. But the seditious Jews immediately fell upon the ambassa- dors and killed one before he had said a word, and wounded the other so that he was only saved by flight. The other party among the Jews, however, were angry at this couduct of the seditious, and they immediately came to blows among themselves. 63. "But now Cestius, observing that the disturbances that were begun among the Jews, afforded him a proper opportunity to attack them, took his whole army along with him, and put the Jews to flight, and pursued them to Jerusalem. He then pitched his camp upon the elevation called Scopus, which was distant seven furlongs from the city ; yet did not he assault them in three days time, out of expectation that those within might, perhaps, yield a little." 4:56 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 54. Here we may pause again, and inquire how the popolar view of the commentators agrees with the facts thus far. The camp of the Romans is now less than a mile north of the city. Did they approach "from east to west? ' By no means: it was from north to south; and when they deviated from a due southerly direction, they invariably inclined from west to east. So much for this point : now for the other : "Was their coming unlooked for and sudden, like the lightning flashing from one end of the heavens to the other ? He who can show any — the least — foundation for such a comparison, must be equal to any undertaking, however difficult. We behold the army approach- ing from a position 300 miles to the north, moving so slowly as to permit all the footmen and cumbersome military machines to keep in company : halting regularly along the coast and among the mountains ; pausing to receive and arrange the constantly arriving auxiliaries ;' and finally establishing a general rendezvous in the north-western section of the invaded territory ; from thence going out to destroy and pillage, and returning again ; then slowly and regu- larly approaching the capital, pausing to conquer as they advance : finally approaching and encamping a few miles distant, and there being themselves first attacked by the Jerusalem Jews ; tarrying several days, and then advancing to their besieging encampment, seven furlongs north of the city ; and there continuing in plain sight of all the people until the fourth day ; then, in cool } lood, putting the vast army into regular battle array, and marching delib- erately into the unfortified suburbs of the city, burning a part, and then com- ing into the upper portion, and deliberately pitching his camp. He who can see in all of this anything to compare with the instantaneous flash of the lighining, filling a whole hemisphere in a moment of time, must be more quick to discover analogies than the common sort of people. 55. As remarked previously, on the fourth day of encamping on Mount Scopus, Cestius brought his army into the undefended suburbs of the city, and set them on fire. He then marched into the upper city, and pitched his camp, as it would appear, outside of the walls, opposite to the royal palace. He had not yet got into the city proper, where the palace, temple, and cita- del were. And Josephus thinks he might at that time have gotten with in the walls, if he had attempted it by force. But on account of many of his officers having been corrupted by Floras, he was diverted from beginning his attack on the walls, and deferred it from day to day, while the moderate party among the Jews were contriving and negotiating to get Cestius into the city without coming to battle. Josephus says, "Whence it was that he de layed the matter so long, that the seditious perceived the treachery" of the other party, and began an attack upon them, which appears to have been the signal for the Romans themselves to begin their assault upon the walls. Was there anything like the rapid lightning in all this? If there was, then what ordinary military movement may not be compared to the electric blaze ? 56. "Thus did the Romans make their attack against the wall for five days, but to no purpose." Then he changed his plan, and, selecting his choice men, attempted to break into the temple at the northern quarter of it; but the Jews beat them off from the cloisters, and repulsed them several times when they were gotten near to the wall. The Romans persevered, however, until APPENDIX. 4:57 they had undermined the walL and got all things ready for setting fire to the gate of the temple. 57. " And now it was that a horrible fear seized upon the seditious, inso- much that many of them ran out of the city, as though it were to be taken immediately ; but the people [of the other party] upon this took courage, and where the wicked part of the city gave ground, thither did they come, in order to set open the gates, and to admit Cestius as their benefactor, who, had he but continued the siege a little longer, had certainly taken the city ; but it was, I suppose, owing to the aversion God had already at the city and the sanctuary, that he was hindered from putting an end to the war that very day. It then happened that Cestius was not conscious either how the be- sieged despaired of success, nor how courageous the people were for him; and so he recalled his soldiers from the place, and by despairing of any ex- pectation of taking it, without having received any disgrace, he retired from the city, without any reason in the world." 58. "But when the robbers perceived this unexpected retreat of his, they resumed their courage, and ran after the hinder parts of his army, and destroy- ed a considerable number both of their horsemen and footmen." It appears now to have been evening. The army remained during the night in their entrenchments, and the next day they began their retreat. The retreat was soon changed into a flight; and the Jewish warriors, hanging upon the flanks and rear of the army, did them immense injury. The Romans finally succeed- ed in reaching their former camp at Gabao, and continued there two days in great alarm and distress. But as the Jews were continually increasing in all parts round about the Romans, Cestius perceived that he must fly from the country as soon as possible. So he commanded them to destroy and cast away everything that might hinder their flight, excepting their darts and maehines, which they retained for their own use. 59. Then the second retreat began, chased and harrassedby the Jews, until it became a disorderly, ruinous flight, and nothing but the coming of night saved the army from entire destruction. Cestius now despairing of any other method of getting away, selected four hundred of his most courageous men, and stationed them at the strongest of their fortifications, telling them to erect their ensigns in the morning, and make the Jews believe that the whole army was there. Then, under cover of the darkness of the night, with all possible silence und haste, the rest of the army fled for their lives, leaving the 400 to perish. 60. When the Jews perceived in the morning that the greater part of the army was gone, they first slew the 400 that remained, and continued the pur- suit, without overtaking them, as far as Antipatris. The Romans left their engines, and other instruments of war all along the way ; and thus succeeded in saving the most of their lives. But 5,300 footmen, and 380 horsemen per- ished. After spoiling the dead, and gathering up what the Romans had thrown away in their flight, the Jews, having lost but few of their men, re- turned running and singing to the city. Thus ended the first invasion and sie,ge. 458 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. SYNOPSIS CONTINUED. Part II. — Period — From the Flight of Cestius to the final Seige of Jerusalem by Titus. *■ 1. After his disastrous defeat and flight, " Cestius sent Saul and his friends, at their own desire, to Achaia, to Kero, to inform him of the great distress they were in, and to lay the blame of their kindling the war upon Florus, as ho- ping to alleviate his own danger, by provoking his indignation against Florus." 2. In the meantime, the people of Damascus, when they were informed of the destruction of the Romans, set about the slaughter of those Jews that were among them." They had already shut up the Jews in a place from which they could neither escape nor defend themselves ; and in one hour the people of Damascus fell upon them and cut the throats of 10,000 of them. i 3. The Jews at Jerusalem expected the Romans to return again, and made all possible preparation to repel them. The second Roman invasion was neither un- looJcedfor, nor unprepared for. The first effort of the Jews was to become united among themselves. So they overbore by violence such as would still favor the Romans, and others they persuaded by entreaties to join in the re- bellion, untiL as it would appear, they were wholly united in their purpose of resisting the Roman power. They then got together in great numbers in the temple, and made their preparations for the expected war. 4. They first chose " a great many generals " for the command of their for- ces. Then they appointed governors to take charge of all things in the city, " ipith a particular charge to repair the walls of the city ;" for the war was not unexpected. Then they appointed generals for all other portions of the coun- try. Two were appointed for Idumea, and the governor of that section was instructed to obey them. Another general was sent to command at Jericho ; another to Perea ; another to the toparchy of Thamna ; another had charge of the toparchies of Gofnitica and Acrabatene ; and Josephtjs, the author of the history, was appointed general of both the Galilees and the strong city of Gamala. 5. " So every one of the other commanders administered the affairs of his portion with what alacrity and prudence they were masters of." Every one seemed intent on doing his best to prepare for the expected contest. Josephus immediately went to his post in Galilee, took measures to secure the confi- dence and cooperation of the people, chose a great number of the most prudent and eminent among them to aid him in municipal and judicial affairs, and, as a prudent and enterprising governor, took every practicable measure to secure the peace, union, and efficiency of the people. 6. Having done this, to quote his own words, he "betook himself to make provision for their safety against external violence ; and as he knew the Romans APPENDIX. 459 would fall upon Galilee" he went busily to work to fortify the country; he built walls about the principal cities in upper and lower Galilee ; and about some of the cities in Gaulanitis ; besides fortifying some of the caves and other strong places of natural defence. Everywhere throughout the country the people were by many thousands at work preparing for the next invasion, by strengthening their places of dwelling and retreat. *7. Nor was this all: Josephus "also got together an army out of Galilee of more than a hundred thousand young men, all of which he armed with the old weapons which he had collected together and prepared for them. And when he considered that the Roman power became invincible, chiefly by thei* readiness in obeying orders, and the constant exercise of their arms, he des- paired of teaching these his men the use of their arms which was to be ob- tained by experience ; but observing that their readiness in obeying orders was owing to the multitude of their officers, he made his partitions in his army more after the Roman manner, and appointed a great many subalterns. He also distributed the soldiers into various classes, whom he put under cap tains of tens, and captains of hundreds, and then captains of thousands ; and, besides these, he had commanders of larger bodies of men. He also taught them to give the signals one to another, and to call and recall the soldiers by the trumpets ; how to expand the wings of an army, and make them wheel about ; and when one wing hath had success, to turn again and assist those that were hard set, and to join in the defence of what had most suffered. He also continually instructed them in what concerned the courage of the soul, and the hardiness of the body ; and, above all, he exercised them for war, by declaring to them distinctly the good order of the Romans, and that they were to fight with men who by the strength of their bodies, and courage of their souls, had conquered in a manner the whole habitable earth." 8. This long extract has been selected as a good specimen of the manner in which the Jews prepared themselves for the anticipated invasion. Out of the 100,000, Josephus chose for active service 60,000 footmen, and a body of horse- men, besides 4,500 mercenaries, and a body guard of 600. The rest of the so diers were employed in the cities, doing appropriate work, or in procuring provisions for those in actual service. 9. In Jerusalem, too, the same warlike preparations were going on. " They betook themselves to make preparations for the war with the Romans." " The high priest Ananus, and as many of the men of power as were not in the interest of the Romans, both repaired the walls, and made a great many war- like instruments, insomuch that in all parts of the city darts and all sorts of armor were upon the anvil." These preparations for war were a great grief to the more prudent part of the people, for they knew that the Romans would come again, and they expected nothing else but the overthrow and des- olation of the city. In the face of all the commentators previously quoted, the writer here boldly affirms, that the coming of the Romans was not, as the lightning, either sudden, unprepared for, or unexpected. 10. When the emperor Nero heard of the state of things in Judea he was greatly troubled, and scarcely knew what to do. He finally determined to send the veteran and successful general Vespasian into Judea, with such for- 4:60 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. ces and provisions for " so mighty a war," as "would be likely to insure success. Vespasian had succeeded in re-subjecting the Germans and Britons, and Nero did not misjudge in supposing him equal to the task of re-subjecting the Jews. The emperor, Vespasian, and Titus all appear to have been at this time in Achaia. 11. From this point both Vespasian and Titus started for Judea: Titus waa sent across the sea to Alexandria, "to bring back with him from thence the 5th and the 10th legions;" but Vespasian himself went by land into Syria. His course was first around the Egean sea, then across the Hellespont into Asia, then through Asia Minor, around the northeast corner of the Mediter- ranean ; thus coming by land into Syria, and halted at Antioch, 300 miles north of Jerusalem. Here he found King Agrippa with his forces waiting for him; and here he gathered together the Roman soldiers, with a considerable number of auxiliaries from the neighboring kings. This being the second invading army, we will from this point mark their advances and conquests, with the assertions of the commentators before us. 12. "And now Vespasian took along with him his army from Antioch, . . . and marched to Ptolemais." Thus we perceive that he came to the Jewish country — not from east to west — but up the coast from north to south. He is now ready to begin his conquests — not in the east, as the commentators say, but in the north-west. Here the citizens of Sepphoris, the largest city in Gal- ilee, met him in peace, and received a Roman garrison to protect them from the Jews who were determined on the war. Soon after this, Josephus made an attempt to get the city back into the hands of the Jews, but did not suc- ceed. "By this means he provoked the Romans to treat the country accord- ing to the law of war;" and they overran the country about, "so that Galilee was all over filled with fire and blood." Here in the north, beginning from the west, began this campaign of conquests. 13. "While Vespasian continued his headquarters at Ptolemais on the coast, Titus arrived from Alexandria in Egypt, bringing with him the 5th and 10th legions for which he had been sent, and the two armies were then united into one. Eighteen cohorts followed these legions ; some came also from Cesarea ; some from Syria ; some came from the Kings Antiochus, Agrippa, and Sohe- mus ; and 6,000 came from the King of Arabia. "The whole army, including the auxiliaries sent by the kings, as well horsemen as footmen, when all were united together, amounted to 60,000, besides the servants, who as they fol- lowed in vast numbers, so because they had been trained up in war with the rest, ought not to be distinguished from the fighting men." 14. Here, then, is the grand army, concentrated on the coast, in the north- west quarter of the Jewish territories. The larger portion of them came into the country from the north; two legions came from the south-west, and not one, bo far as the history shows, from the east ; for the Arabians who are spoken of, and the other auxiliaries, joined Vespasian at Antioch, as will appear from B. 3. c. 1, sec. 3, compared with c. 2, sec. 4, and c. 4, sec. 2. 15. The next expedition was against Jotapata, in the north part of Galilee. Only a part of the army was employed in this enterprise, and were led on by Placidus, He failed in his attempt, and retired. Vespasian then led his army APPENDIX. 461 into Galilee, the Jews everywhere flying before him into the cities which had not yet surrendered. First he went to Gadara, and destroyed it, and all the towns about it. This Gadara was not the Gadara on the east of Jordan ; we have an account of the subjection of that city in B. 4, c. 7, s. 3. There was another Gadara south of Cesarea, near the coast, as may be seen by consulting Smiley's " Scripture Geography," and also the map in Watson's Dictionary. But this Gadara appears to have been as much too far south, as the former was to the east, to have agreed with the present position and operations of the army, which was at this time in the region of Jotapata. The city in question was probably Gabara, which was not far from Jotapata, and in the region first invaded by the army at this time. 16. Vespasian then led the whole army against Jotapata, into which, after a few days, Josephus himself entered to aid in defending the place. This town was nearly impregnable, and withstood the whole force of the Komans for seven weeks. The city was then taken, and the inhabitants found in it destroy- ed. Josephus himself was taken prisoner at this time, and was kept with the Roman army during the war. During the siege of this city, a party was sent against the adjacent city of Japha, which was destroyed, with all its inhabi- tants. At the same time another party was sent against a multitude that had gotten together on Mount Gerizim, in Samaria. 17. Vespasian and the army then returned to Ptolemais. From thence they went up the coast south to Cesarea, where two legions were left for winter quar- ters. Two legions were also sent to winter in Sythopolis, in the south-eastern part of Galilee. About this time a party was sent up the coast as far as Joppa, which the Jews had repaired, and undertook to defend against the Ro- mans. The city was again taken, and the surrounding region laid waste. 18. Vespasian then took that portion of the army which had not already gone into winter quarters, and went to Cesarea Philippi, on the head waters of the Jordan, it being the capital of King Agrippa's dominions. There he was feasted by Agrippa, and his army refreshed for twenty days. Hearing then that Tiberias and Tarrichea, (both situated on the western coast of the sea of Galilee, and both belonging to Agrippa's kingdom,) had revolted, he undertook an expedition against them on Agrippa's account. So Titus was sent to Cesarea on the Mediterranean, to bring the two legions from thence to Sythopolis, which was "in the neighborhood of Tiberias," to which place Vespasian himself also came, and waited for Titus. "With three legions he then marched towards Tiberias, and pitched his camp thirty furlongs off, at a place called Sennabris. 19. After an act of treachery on the part of some of the Tiberians, the city was finally surrendered peaceably to the Romans, and the inhabitants spared. Tarrichea resisted the Romans ; but was at last taken, after a long and terri- ble struggle both on the land and on the lake. 6,500 were slain during the battles; 1,200 were killed after the city was taken ; 6,000 young men were sent to Nero, to be used in digging through the Corinthian isthmus ; 30,000 others were sold as slaves, besides some who were given to King Agrippa. 20. The next expedition was against Gamala, east of the Jordan, which seems to have been the first time any conquests were attempted east of the river* £62 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. But all the places in Galilee, excepting Gischala, and a fortification upon Mount Tabor, had already been subdued, or surrendered ; and the plan of Vespasian was to subdue all the north parts of the Jewish country, before going south towards Jerusalem. Therefore, haying subjected all the north- voest, he crosses the Jordan to subdue the north-east During the siege of Gamala a troop of six hundred horsemen were sent to destroy those that had seized upon Mount Tabor. If this party of horsemen went to Tabor from Gamala, as it -seems likely, then it must be admitted that in one instance, a party of six hundred marched from east to west in going from the siege of Gamala to de- stroy a company upon Mount Tabor. This instance is distinctly noticed and admitted, that the full benefit of it may be applied to the defence of the seve- ral commentators who have found it so important to apply the illustration of the flashing lightning to the march and conquests of the Romans. Perhaps our Saviour, overlooking all the general marches, and sweeping conquests of the main army, had this expedition of Placidu's 600 horsemen so distinctly in Tiew, as to make it the general characteristic of the whole war during the three general invasions I 21. After a long and bloody siege, Gamala was finally taken ; and the whole population perished, either by the Romans, or by self-destruction. This hap- pened on the 23d day of Tisri, answering to the latter part of our September, or the first part of October. Soon after this, Gischala, the last unsubdued place in Galilee, was surrendered to the Romans ; "And thus was all Galilee taken, but this not until after it had cost the Romans much pains before it could be taken by them." 22. About this time occurred some of the most terrible commotions among the Jews in Jerusalem, in consequence of the rival leaders, and conflicting parties. The Jews at Jerusalem, and in some other places in the country, seem to have suffered about as much from dissensions among themselves, as they did from the efforts of the Romans. This state of their affairs was known everywhere, for as many as could fled from the capital, and carried the news of the dreadful commotions among the desperate Jews. 23. "And now all the rest of the commanders of the Romans deemed this sedition among enemies to be of great advantage to them, and were very earnest to march to the city ; and they urged Vespasian, as their lord and general in all cases, to make haste ;" but Vespasian would not comply with their counsel, and purposely delay his march upon Jerusalem, for reasons which satisfied his army that he was wise in refusing their advice. 24. Many of those that fled from Jerusalem also urged Vespasian to pro- ceed at once to that city, and, by taking the place himself, prevent the total destruction of the people from conflicts among themselves. " Vespasian did, indeed, already pity the calamities these men were in, and arose, in appear- ance, as though he were going to besiege Jerusalem, but in reality to deliver them from a [worse] siege they were already under. However, he was obliged to overthrow what remained elsewhere, and to leave nothing out of Jerusalem behind him that might interrupt him in that siege." 25. The next general movement of the army was south to Gadara, the metropolis of Perea. This was on the 4th day of Adar, answering to our Feb* APPENDIX. 463 ruary and March ; and it -was nearly five months after the taking of Gamala, So slowly did the war proceed, and so resolutely did the Roman general gov- ern his operations by the counsels of prudence which often restrained the rage and zeal of his army. 26. Gadara was surrendered to Vespasian without resistance, and many of those who were anxious to continue the war fled from the place. To destroy these, the general sent Placidus with 500 horse and 3,000 foot, while the rest of the army returned to Cesarea. Placidus continued in Perea, on the east of Jordan, conquering his way up southward, until all east of Jordan as far south as the Dead Sea, was subdued. In a word, the Romans had now con- quered two portions of the Jewish provinces, — Galilee, in the north-west, and Perea, in the north-east. The commencement and progress of the conquests are as distinctly discoverable as the route of the invasion. They begun the conquests on the west side of the northern portion of the country. The gene- ral direction of the conquest of this portion was from west to east, precisely opposite to the direction so much insisted upon by many of the commentators. The general direction of the conquest of the next portion was from north to south, — from Gamala, on the sea of Galilee, to the Dead Sea. 27. While Vespasian was refreshing his army at Cesarea, he heard of the commotions of the Roman empire in other places, and of the revolt from Nero. This excited him to go on more briskly with the war, that he might finish his work in the eastern parts of the empire, and be ready to act elsewhere. But as the winter still hindered him from going into the field, he begun to repair and garrison the places which had been conquered, and in the beginning of the spring he resumed his conquests. 28. His first march was from Cesarea south to Antipatris. There he tarried two days, and on the third day proceeded onward toward Jerusalem, destroy- ing the country as he advanced. Laying waste the toparchy of Thamnas, he passed on to Lydda and to Jamnia. He has now conquered his way up the western border of the country, from north to south, and is now at Jamnia, on the coast west of Jerusalem. From this place he went directly toward Jeru- salem, and about half-way to the city, and stopped at Emmaus. [See Robin- son's Map.] This last march was from west to east, bearing a little to the south. Here' he seized upon the passages leading to the capital, fortified his camp, left the fifth legion for a garrison, and marched to the toparchy of Bethlephon. It is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the precise location of this topar- chy. It is quite certain, however, that it was on the route of Vespasian's progress from Emmaus up southerly into Idumea. This will be evident from the next sentence that follows the mention of this toparchy : " He then de- stroyed that place and the neighboring places by fire, and fortified at proper places the strongholds all about Idumea" 29. He then seized upon two villages that " were in the very midst of Idu- mea," and slew above 10,000, carried into captivity above 1,000, and drove the rest of the multitude away. Leaving there " no small part of his own forces," who overrun and laid waste the whole mountainous country, he returned with the rest of his army to Emmaus ; and from thence he passed down through Samaria, and pitched his camp near Sychem. The next day he went § 464 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. to Jericho. In this march he went south east, and we now find him nearly east of Jerusalem. 30. This was on the 3d day of Sivan, answering to our May and June. Thus two or three months had been occupied in the campaign of conquest on the west and south of Jerusalem. At Jericho Vespasian was joined by the forces that had subdued Perea, and the army was once more ready to begin another campaign. The country all " round about Jerusalem," as Josephus says, had been fortified ; and now Vespasian erected and garrisoned citadels in Jericho, and Adida, and sent a body of horse and foot against Gerasa, which was situ- ated to the north-east across the Jordan. That city and the neighboring villa- ges were all destroyed, and the detachment returned. 31. Josephus informs us of the state of the conquests at this juncture: "And now the war having gone through all the mountainous country, and all the plain country also, those that were at Jerusalem were deprived cf the lib- erty of going out of the city : for as to such as had a mind to desert, they were watched by the zealots ; and as to such as were not yet on the side of the Romans, their army kept them in, by encompassing the city round about on all sides." It is evident, however, that this does not mean that the city was besieged, but that the whole surrounding country was in the hands of the Romans, and that access to the city, and escape from it, were not possible, ex- cept by the permission of the Romans. 32. Instead of marching against the metropolis at this time, Vespasian went back to Cesarea, for the purpose, it would seem, of getting all his available forces together, and preparing them for the siege of Jerusalem. Then he heard of the death of Nero, and of the commotions in various parts of the empire. " "Wherefore Vespasian put off at first his expedition against Jeru- salem, and stood waiting whither the empire would be transferred after the death of Nero." The remainder of the summer and the autumn were spent in this suspense and delay. In the winter King Agrippa and Titus started for Rome to confer with the new emperor. B-ut while they were sailing along by the coasts of Achaia, they heard of the emperor's death ; and although King Agrippa thought best to proceed to Rome, Titus was induced to return to Vespasian at Cesarea. 33. "And now they were both in suspense about the public affairs, the Ro- man empire being then in a fluctuating condition, and did not go on with their expedition against the Jews, but thought that to make an attack upon foreign- ers was now unseasonable, on account of the solicitude they were in for their own country." Thus was the siege of Jerusalem delayed for a long time ; while the invaders are concentrated in Cesarea, waiting for orders from the emperor. 34. The first movement of the army in the next campaign, was on the 5th day of Sivan, just one year from the time Vespasian came to Cesarea to pre- pare to go against Jerusalem. And now, after this year's delay, Vespasian "marched against those places of Judea which were not yet overthrown." This was the march that was intended to lead to Jerusalem. We can plainly perceive the direction of the route : it was from Cesarea on the coast to the •' mountainous country," where they " took those two toparchies that were APPENDIX. 465 called the Gophnitich and Acrabattene." Acrabi, -which gave name to one to* parchy, was in the southern part of Samaria, a little east of north of Jerusa- lem; Gophna, which gave name to the other toparchy, was directly north of Jerusalem. Coming from Cesarea to these places, the army went in a southerly course, hearing to the east. 35. The next movements were to take and garrison Bethel and Ephraim, two small cities in the vicinity of Gophna, and of course directly north of Je- rusalem. And from this point, Vespasian " rode as far as Jerusalem, in which march he took many prisoners and many captives." The approach to the city, then, was from the north. At this time, one of the commanders was dispatched with a body of horse and foot to lay waste the part of the country that was called Upper Idumea. This appears to have been the hill country south of Jerusalem. In this expedition, Hebron was taken and destroyed. And now " all the places were taken, excepting Herodium, and Masada, and Macherus, which were in the possession of the robbers." Thus those very places which the Romans had not conquered were east, or easterly, from Jeru- salem, as may be seen by the maps. SoinuchfortheoKratfiowof this "lightning ! " 36. Nothing was done to subdue the metropolis at this time. It would seem as if Providence had determined to warn the people, and to show them their danger, time after time, and year after year, before inflicting the final blow. For now, after subduing the neighboring country, and marching to see the city, Vespasian led his armies once more back again to Cesarea. So much for the suddenness and unexpectedness of this "lightning!" If the matter were not too serious, it would be a beautiful subject for derision or jest. 37. Now the news came of another overturn of the imperial power, and that Vitellius was emperor. This exciting the indignation of Vespasian and the army, it was determined by the soldiers in Judea that Vespasian should be emperor himself. So they made the proclamation, and the general was induced to accept the title. The thoughts of Vespasian and the army were now for a time withdrawn from the Jewish war, and engaged with the affairs of the government of the empire. And at this time Vespasian removed to the city of Berytus, north of the Jewish provinces. After remaining for a time there, he removed to Antioch, the capital of Syria. It was now the " middle of winter," but little had been done in the Jewish war during the previous campaign ; and, indeed, comparatively little had been done for a year and a half. Thus ended the second invasion of the Jewish territories during this war; and Jerusalem was yet unconquered; and, except the abortive attempt of Cestius, the city had been unvisited by any direct infliction from the Ro- man power. 38. We are now to consider the third and final invasion of the Romans. The next spring, in the year of our Lord 70, after the imperial government had become somewhat settled, " Vespasian turned his thoughts to what remained unsubdued in Judea." He was then at Alexandria in Egypt. Finding it ex- pedient to go to Italy himself, he left the finishing of the war to his son Titus. Josephus has left us sufficient information of the marches and operations of this last invasion. "We can do no better than to quote his very particular account nf the. appro<»oh of the army. 4:66 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 39. Starting from Alexandria in Egypt, a little south of west from Jerusa- lem, we thus trace their progress : Vespasian " sent his son Titus, with a se- lect part of his army, to destroy Jerusalem. So Titus marched on foot as far as Nicopolis, which is distant twenty furlongs from Alexandria : there he put his army on board some long ships, and sailed upon the river along the Men- desian Nomus, as far as the city Thmuis : there he got out of the ships, and went on foot and lodged all night at a small city called Tanis. His second station was Heracleopolis, and his third, Pelusim. He then refreshed his army at that place for two days, and on the third,, passed over the mouths of the Nile at Pelusim. He then proceeded one station over the desert, and pitched his camp at the temple of the Casian Jupiter, and on the next at Ostracene. This station had no water, but the people of the country make use of water brought from other places. After this he rested at Rhinocolura, and from thence he went to Raphia, which was his fourth station. This city is the beginning of Syria." 40. The army has now reached the border of the Jewish country. By what course did they come ? Was it " from east to west" as so many have supposed? No ; but as nearly opposite to that course as the situation of the country per- mitted. We will now follow their marches in the Jewish territories. " For his fifth station, he pitched his camp at Gaza : after which he came to Asca- lon, and thence to Jamnia, and after that to Joppa, and from Joppa to Cesarea, having taken a resolution to gather all his other forces together at that place." They approached the country at its south-west border, and first marched north- east, then nearly due north, to reach the place of general rendezvous, to pre- pare for the siege of Jerusalem. 41. From Cesarea, then, on the western border of the country, and a little west of north of Jerusalem, the army is concentrated for its march upon the metropolis. Their approach to the city will not be exactly as one excellent divine has it, who only a little improved upon the fashion of saying that the route of the Romans was indicated by the lightning flashing from east to west : " — By the sudden and general meeting of the "Roman armies in march, from the east to the west, all hastening from the Mediterranean coasts on the east(!) toward Jerusalem on the west " ! ! 42. Titus, when he had gotten together part of his forces about him, and had ordered the rest to meet him at Jerusalem, marched out of Cesarea. He had with him those three legions that had accompanied his father when he laid r Judea waste, together with that twelfth legion which had been formerly beat- en with Cestius." In approaching Jerusalem, it was judged expedient not to go up all in a body, but to take the three principal routes from Cesarea to Je- rusalem. Titus, with the main body of the army, went up through Samaria to Gophna, where there was already a Roman garrison. After making a little detour to the east, in order to reach the main road through Samaria, the course of Titus in approaching the metropolis was from north to south. Reaching Gophna, directly north of the city, he halted for one night ; then he came to Gibeah of Saul, three or four miles north of Jerusalem, and made his encamp- ment. 43. The tenth legion he directed to go up through Jericho. Now it is cer- APPENDIX. 467 tain that Jericho was only a little north of east of Jerusalem. In going from Jericho to Jerusalem, it is admitted distinctly that this part of the army ap- proached the capital from the east. And, as in the case of the six hundred under Placidus, so in the case of these six thousand, the full benefit of this admission is offered to those whose whole force of exegesis of an important passage depends on the assumption that the Romans " invaded ." and "con- quered " from east to west. 44. But there are several things to be considered in connection with this approach of the tenth legion. (1.) It was neither an invasion nor a progressive conquest ; they were al- ready in the country, and the whole territory through which they marched had already been conquered. (2.) The starting point in this very march was west of north of Jerusalem ; and it was only by making a detour to an eastern road, leading from north to south, that they happened to finish the march by going about half as far from east to west, as they had previously gone from west to east ; so that, in fact, taking the whole march together, they went twice as far from west to east, as they did from east to west. (3.) This, after all, was not the Roman armies, nor the Roman army : it was only a part, and comparatively a small part. If the commentators had only this legion in view, and had notified us of the fact, it would have saved the world some trouble and some injury. But what kind of justice or sense is there in seizing upon the exception to a general truth, and making it the criterion of that truth ? If this method of reasoning should be generally adopted, we should have to bid farewell to all sense, and to all certainty. The reader will forgive this extended notice of what, it might be supposed, no man would be likely to consider worthy of notice, for the attention of the writer has been gravely called to this eastern detour in the march of this le- gion, as a confirmation of the justness of the comparison of the march of the Roman army to the lightning shining from east to west ! (4.) Finally, it would seem as if Providence had so directed, that any im- portance being attached to the march of this legion should be completely neg- atived, by the fact, that the 5th legion was directed to go up to Jerusalem by Emmaus. Now, by consulting almost any map, particularly Robinson's, it will be found that Emmaus is the same distance and direction westerly from Je- rusalem, that Jericho is easterly. Consequently, the legion coming through Emmaus approached Jerusalem just as much from west to east, as the legion coming through Jericho approached from east to west. And if any importance is to be attached to a slight detour in the march of a small part of an army in a course almost due south, then we will offset the Jericho detour by the detour of Emmaus. 45. The Jewish people knew, of course, the whole history and progress of the war, and were not unapprised of this renewed invasion, and approach to their metropolis. There is nothing in the whole history, which, properly understood, goes to show that they were taken by surprise, or that the Ro- mans were more than usually rapid and sudden in their conquests and march- es. The appearance of the Roman army before their walls Was what they 468 harmony and exposition. had long expected and fully prepared for. It is proper to say, that the prin- cipal encampment of the army was on Mount Scopus, on the north side of the city, and that the northern part of the city was the first assaulted and the first destroyed. And the progress of conquest in the city was either from north to south, or from west to east. 46. Candor requires the admission, that there is one paragraph in the his- tory which may seem to show that the approach of the Romans at this time was sudden and unlooked for. It is in B. 5, c. 2, s. 4: "Now, when hitherto the several parties in the city had been dashing one against another perpetu- ally, this foreign war, now suddenly come upon them after a violent manner, put the first stop to their contentions one against another ; and as the sedi- tious now saw with astonishment the Romans pitching three several camps, they began to think of an awkward sort of concord, and said one to another, " "What do we here, and what do we mean, when we 6uffer three fortified walls to be built to coop us in," &c, V^V * -^ ^S VVjaur** *♦ ^ - » SSI'S* «? *& VmS ^ <■. "*>T7f«' ^6* o„ '•. <* *' . ■o 1 . * « <£, " , " <* Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process « /p ">* . 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