Messengers should be sent to assemble his elect, moon shall not give her 245 SECT. clxi. Luke most, an interruption in the government for a 29 MAT. XXIV. 29. Immediately after the For immediately after the affliction of those days, Mat. tribulation of those which I have now been describing", the sun shall XXIV. days, shall the sun be as it were be darkened, and the moon shall not darkened, and the seem to give her usual light; and the stars shall light; and the stars fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens, shall fall from heaven all the mighty machines and strong movements and the powers of the above, shall be shaken and broken in pieces; ken. [MARK XIII. 24, that is, according to the sublimity of that pro25. LUKE XXI.—26.1 phetic language to which you have been accus heavens shall be sha Son of man in hea tomed, the whole civil and ecclesiastical constitution of the nation shall not only be shocked, 30 And then shall but totally dissolved. And then shall there evi- 30 appear the sign of the dently appear such a remarkable hand of proviven: and then shall dence in avenging my quarrel upon this sinful all the tribes of the people, that it shall be like the sign of the Son of earth mourn, and they man in heaven at the last day; and all the tribes man coming in the of the land shall then mourn, and they shall see the clouds of heaven, with Son of man coming as it were in the clouds of heapower and great glo- vend, with power and great glory; for that cery. [MARK XIII. 26. LUKE XXI. 27.] lestial army which shall appear in the air mar shalled round the city, shall be a sure token to shall see the Son of b Immediately after the affliction of those days.] Archbishop Tillotson, and Brennius, with many other learned interpreters, imagine that our Lord here makes the transition from the destruction of Jerusalem, which had been the subject of his discourse thus far, to the general judgment: but I think, as it would, on the one hand, be very harsh to suppose all the sufferings of the Jewish nation, in all ages, to be called the tribulation of those days; so it would, on the other hand, be equally so to say that the general judgment, which probably will not commence till at least a thousand years after their restoration, will happen immediately after their sufferings; nor can I find any one instance in which wg is used in such a strange latitude-What is said below (in Mat. xxiv. 34; Mark xiii. 30; and Luke xxi. 32; p. 247) seems also an unanswerable objection against such an interpretation.I am obliged therefore to explain this section as in the paraphrase; though I acknowledge many of the figures used may with more literal propriety be applied to the last day, to which there them may be a remate, though not an imme- c The sun shall be darkened, &c.] It was d Coming in the clouds of heaven.] Sudden and irresistible destruction, in which much of the hand of God evidently appears, is (as Dr. Whitby justly observes) often expressed by God's coming in the clouds: (compare Psal. xviii. 9; 1. 3, 4; xcvii. 2, 3; civ. 3; Isa. xix. 1; xxvi. 21; lxvi. 15.) But I think the celestial appearances described by Josephus (as above, note b, on Luke xxi. 11, p. 232) lead us into the exacteat interpretation of this text, and greatly illustrate the propriety of these expressions here. 216 91 And [then] he shall send his angels, with a great sound of a trumpet, and they his elect from the four uttermost part of hea ven. [MARK XIII. He delivers the parable of the fig-tree. SECT. them that the angels of God, and the great Lord clxii. of those heavenly hosts, are set as it were in arMat. ray against them. And, to pursue the allusion, XXIV. as at the great day the angels shall in a literal 31 sense assemble all his saints together, so also he shall then send forth his messengers with the shall gather together great sound of his gospel, as of a loud trumpet, winds, from one end and they shall assemble his elect from the four of heaven to the other, winds, even from one end of the heavens to the [from the uttermost other, or from the utmost part of the earth one part of the earth, to the way to those climates which lie under the uttermost part of heaven the other way; and multi- 27.] tudes of all nations shall obey the summons, though the Jews have ungratefully and foolishly despised it; and the Son of man shall be honoured and trusted by millions now unborn, when this wicked and perverse nation is perished in their rebellion and infidelity. And when Luke these things begin to come to pass, be not you gin to come to pass, XXI. 28. terrified and dismayed, but rather cheerfully then look up, and lift look upwards, and lift up your heads with joy up your heads; for your and assurance; for whatever happens, you will redemption be secure; and as soon as you see the first appearance of these signs, you may comfortably conclude that your complete redemption and deliverance draws nigh; for many of you will be safely brought home to the haven of eternal peace before these storms are ended, and the rest of you will not long survive them. 29 LUKE XXI. 28. And when these things be nigh. draweth 29 And he spake And, further to illustrate what he had been saying, he spake to them a very easy and familiar to them a parable, [Now] behold [and parable, saying, Behold now, [and] learn a para- learn a parable of the e Send forth his messengers.] Most translations, as well as our own, greatly obscure this text, by rendering the word ayλs angels; for though it generally signify those celestial spirits who are on great occasions the messengers of God to our world, it is well known that the word refers not to their nature but to their office; and is often applied to men, and rendered messengers. See Mark i. 2; Luke vii. 24, 47; ix. 52; 2 Cor. viii. 23; Phil. ii. 25; and Jam. ii. 25. In some of which places it signifies, as here, preachers of the gospel, who were sent sorth to carry on God's great design of uniting all his chosen people in one society under Christ, as their common head. Eph. i. 10. f Look upwards: avaval.] This is an expression which admirably suits the load of labour and sufferings under which the apostles would be depressed in this af ble fig. flicted state. See Raphel. Annot, ex Herod. p. 270. g Your redemption draws nigh.] As the resurrection is the time when we shall in fact be fully redeemed, or delivered from all the sad consequences of sin, and therefore is called the redemption of our bodies, (Rom. viii. 23; compare Eph. iv. 30, and Hos. xiii. 14): so in a less proper sense the deliverance from all the toils and sorrows, temptations and infirmities, of this sinful and calamitous life, may, on the like principles, be called redemption. And if we may judge of the length of the apostles' lives by the extent of their labours, though we know not the time when many of them died, there is reason to conjecture it was not till about this period; which, by the way, would be an argument they were now most of them young men. The generation shall not pass till all wore fulfilled. 32- -MARK XIII. 23-] they now shoot forth selves, that summer is 217 clxii. -tree, and all the ble from the example of the fig-tree, and all the SECT. trees: [MAT. XXIV. other trees that drop their leaves in the winter: When buds appear upon the fig-tree, and its Luke 30 When This branch branch is now become tender, and the sap rising XX1.30. is yet tender, and in the other trees, they shoot forth their young [leaves,] ye see and leaves, and begin to open and spread, you see know of your own- and know of your ownselves, by the observation now nigh at hand; you have often made, that summer is now near [MAT. XXIV. 32. at hand, as these are certain prognostications of MARK XII.-28.] it: So likewise you, when you shall see all these 31 31 So likewise ye, things come to pass, may assuredly know that the when ye [shall] see [all] these things come destruction of the Jewish state, and the adto pass, know ye that vancement of the kingdom of God in all its glory, the kingdom of God is just at hand, [exen] at the doors; or that the at the doors.] [MAT. time is coming when the desolation I have been XXIV. 35. MARK Speaking of shall come upon Jerusalem, and the gospel shall be propagated all abroad, and take such root in the world, that you may assure yourselves it shall never be destroyed. is nigh at hand, [even XIII. 29. shall not pass away, 32 Verily I say un- And verily I say unto you, and urge you to ob- 32 to you, This generation serve it, as absolutely necessary in order to undertill all these things] stand what I have been saying, That this generabe fulfilled. [MAT. tion of men now living shall not pass away until 34. MARK all these things be fulfilled"; for what I have fore XXIV. 33 Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. XXIV. 35. XIII. 31.] told concerning the destruction of the Jewish MARK XIII.32. But hour, XIII. 32 But though Jerusalem shall be destroyed be- Mark of that day, and that fore the generation disappear, yet of that great decisive day which is appointed for the dissolution and the judgment of the world, and of the h This generation shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled.] Though Brennius, and Mede (in his Works, p. 752), have here the honour to be followed by so great an authority as Dr. Sykes (of Christianity, p. 60), yet I must beg leave to say that I cannot think the texts they collect sufficient to prove that by this generation [ yma auln] we are here to understand the Jewish nation through all ages; as if hour 248 clxii. Mark Reflections on the day of Christ's coming to judgment. SECT. hour or season when it shall open upon men, hour, knoweth no man, not the angels and shall bring on their final sentence, there is no which are in heaven, no one who knows the precise time, neither the neither the Son, (but XIII.32. angels in heaven, nor even the Son of man him- my Father only.][Ma XXIV. 36.] self, with respect to his human nature, or as a part of what he is commissioned to reveal; for though it be determinded by the Divine decree, it is not known to any but my Father alone, or the indwelling Godhead, from whom nothing can be concealed: and, as he does not think fit to disclose it, let it be your care to improve this uncertainty as an engagement to the most diligent and constant preparation for its coming. Mat. IMPROVEMENT. LET us now raise our contemplations to that awful day when all that was figuratively spoken of the destruction of Jerusalem shall be literally accomplished; and let us consider our own intimate concern in it. Where will our hope and comfort, our light, and our safety be, when the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, when the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers xxiv. 29 of the heavens shall be shaken? where, indeed, unless the almighty God, the everlasting Jehovah, by whose voice they were created, and by whose hand they shall be dashed in pieces again, shall condescend to be our light, and our salvation? (Psal. xxviii. 1.) And if he indeed be so, then we may lift up our heads with joy; as knowing that our complete redemption draweth nigh, even that long expected day which, with all its solemn horrors, has still been the brightest object of our faith and our hopes. Luke xxi. 28 Of that day and hour no one knows.] I cannot agree with Dr. Clarke in referring this verse to the destruction of Jerusalem, the particular day of which was not a matter of great importance; and as for the season of it, I see not how it could properly be said to be entirely unknown after such an express declaration that it should be in that generation; and yet at some considerable distance, for otherwise there would not have been room for the gradual accomplishment of the many predictions uttered above. It seems therefore much fitter, with Dr. Whitby (after Grotius), to explain it of the last day, when heaven and earth shall pass away, which is sometimes called that day with a peculiar emphasis; a phrase answering to the great or remarkable day, Compare 2 Tim. i. 12, 18, and iv. 8. *Nor even the Son of man himself.] Then There is not any thing in this assertion of our Lord, if we consider the two natures in him, that is inconsistent with his true divinity. For what is applicable only to one nature is frequently expressed in terms inclusive of his whole person. Thus, as the endowments of his human nature were communicated in a gradual manner to him, Jesus is said to have increased in wisdom (Luke ii. 52.) and even while he was ca earth, as he was present every where with respect, to his Divine nature, he speaks of himself as the Son of man who is in heaven. (John iii. 13.) Nor is it at all more strange that he should here be said not to know the day appointed for the final judgment, than that it should be elsewhere said that the Lord of glory was crucified (1 Cor. ii. 5), and that God purchased the church with his own blood. (Acts xx. 28.) a They 249 SECT. clxii. The coming of the Son of man shall be as the days of Noah. Then shall the Son of man indeed come in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, and send his angels to summon his. elect, and to assemble them from one end of heaven to the other: for Mat. the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the xxiv. 30, 31 voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. (1 Thess. iv. 16.) May we hear the summons with joy, and stand in our lot among his chosen ones! What though the day and season be un- Mark known? It is enough for us that we know that all these interposing days and years, be they ever so numerous, will at length be past; for the promise of the great Redeemer is our security, and he will hasten it in its time. (Isa. lx. 22.) xiii. 32 These visible heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the earth shall be removed out of its place; but the sure word of his 31 promise shall never pass away; even that promise which is engaged for the salvation of his people. Let us often review it; let us firmly realize it to our souls, and, seeing we look for such things, let us seriously consider what manner of persons we ought to be in holy conversation and godliness. (2 Pet. iii. 11, 14.) SECT. CLXIII. Our Lord urges the suddenness of his appearance as an engagement to constant watchfulness, repeating several things which he had formerly said on that subject. Mat. XXIV. 37, to the end. Mark XIII. 33, to the end. Luke XXI. 34-36. MAT. XXIV. 37. Noe were, so shall also the coming of the son of man be, MAT. XXIV. 37. clxiii. BUT as the days of OUR Lord having told them in the preceding SECT words, that though the time of his appearance to the general judgment was uncertain, yet Mat. the destruction of Jerusalem should happen be- XXIV. fore that generation of men was passed away, 37 went on with his discourse, and added, But this I will in general inform you, that, as sudden and unthought-of as the deluge was which came upon the world in the days of Noah, so unexpected and surprising also shall the coming of the Son of 38 For as in the man, to execute his vengeance, be. For as 38 days that were before in the days which were before the universal deeating and drinking, luge, they were so inconsiderate and secure, that marrying and giving they went on with all their usual business, and in marriage, until the day that Noe entered spent their time in entertainments, eating and drinking, marrying wives, and giving their daughters in marriage, thinking of nothing but present indulgence and future settlements in the the flood, they were into the ark, world; |