Matthew 24:1-22. Prediction of the Fall of Jerusalem Mark 13:1 end. Luke 21:5-36 This chapter opens with the great discourse of Jesus, which is continued to the end of ch. 25. That discourse contains (1) a prediction of the fall of Jerusalem, (2) a prediction of the end of the world, (3) Parables... [ Continue Reading ]
_went out, and departed from the temple_ Read, on the highest MS. authority, "went out from the temple, and was going on his way." On leaving the Temple Jesus would descend into the valley of Kedron and ascend the opposite slope of the Mount of Olives. Then full in view the Temple would rise with it... [ Continue Reading ]
_There shall not be left here one stone upon another_ Compare with the complete ruin of the Temple at Jerusalem, the still magnificent remains of temples at Karnak and Luxor, Baalbec, and Athens. The Temple was destroyed by fire, notwithstanding every effort made to save it by Titus. For a vivid des... [ Continue Reading ]
_when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming_ The twofold question points to the nearer and the more distant event. See note at beginning of chapter. _thy coming_ Rather, THY PRESENCE (_parousia_). The precise word "coming," or "advent," which the Church has adopted in refe... [ Continue Reading ]
_saying, I am Christ_ Rather, THE Christ, the Messiah. The appearance of false Messiahs shall be the first sign. St John bears witness to the fulfilment of this sign: "Even now are there many antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time," 1 John 2:18.... [ Continue Reading ]
_wars and rumours of wars_ The second sign. Philo and Josephus describe the disturbed state of Judæa from this date to the siege of Jerusalem. Massacres of the Jews were perpetrated at Cæsarea, at Alexandria, in Babylonia and in Syria. See Milman's _History of the Jews_, Bks. xii. xv. Tacitus, chara... [ Continue Reading ]
_famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes_ The commentators enumerate instances of all these calamities recorded by the contemporary historians.... [ Continue Reading ]
_sorrows_ Literally, PAINS OF TRAVAIL, that preceded the birth of a new order of things, a fresh _æon_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_offended_ Disappointed hopes will bring about a disruption of Christian unity and love.... [ Continue Reading ]
_false prophets_ At the siege of Jerusalem "false prophets suborned by the Zealots kept the people in a state of feverish excitement, as though the appointed Deliverer would still appear." Milman's _History of the Jews_, ii. 371.... [ Continue Reading ]
_iniquity_ Literally, LAWLESSNESS. _shall abound_ Translate, HATH ABOUNDED. _the love of many_ Rather, OF THE MANY, i. e. of "the majority." Love or _agapé_became the leading virtue and grace of the Christian life, yet this is the only instance of the word in the Synoptic Gospels, except Luke 11:42... [ Continue Reading ]
_he that shall endure_ Cp. "In your patience possess ye your souls," (rather, "by patience ye shall win your lives,") Luke 21:19.... [ Continue Reading ]
_preached in all the world_ Cp. ch. Matthew 10:23 and Colossians 1:5-6, "the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world." The principle is at last established that the Gospel may be preached to Jew and Gentile alike.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the abomination of desolation_ i. e. "the abomination that maketh desolate," "the act of sacrilege, which is a sign and a cause of desolation." What special act of sacrilege is referred to cannot be determined for certain. The expression may refer (1) to the besieging army; cp. the parallel passage... [ Continue Reading ]
_let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains_ Many Christians, warned by this prediction (according to Euseblus, _H.E._iii. 5, "by a certain oracle"), took refuge at Pella in Peræa during the siege of Jerusalem.... [ Continue Reading ]
_not come down to take any thing out of his house_ i. e. either (1) pass from the roof to the entrance, and thence to the street, without entering any apartments, or (2) escape along the flat roofs from house to house.... [ Continue Reading ]
_return back to take his clothes_ The Greek word signifies the outer garment, which the field labourer would throw off while at work, wearing the tunic only. Cp. "Nudus ara, sere nudus." _Georg._i. 299.... [ Continue Reading ]
_not in the winter_ when swollen streams, bitter cold and long nights would increase the misery and danger of the fugitives. _on the sabbath day_ when religious scruples might delay the flight. The extent of a Sabbath day's journey was 2000 cubits. Here, however, the question meets us, how far Jewi... [ Continue Reading ]
_great tribulation_ "Jerusalem, a city that had been liable to so many miseries during the siege, that had it enjoyed as much happiness from its first foundation, it would certainly have been the envy of the world." Josephus, _B. J._vii. 6. 5. No words can describe the unequalled horrors of this si... [ Continue Reading ]
_those days should be shortened_ Several circumstances concurred to shorten the duration of the siege, such as the scanty supply of provisions, the crowded state of the city, the internal dissensions, and the abandonment of important defences. So strong did the place seem to Titus that he exclaimed,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then_ The transition is marked by this word, it was possibly also marked by a pause in the Saviour's discourse.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Second Coming of Christ Mark 13:21-27; Luke 21:24-28 The following scheme, intended to shew a parallelism between the two Predictions, is borrowed from an interesting monograph by the Rev. W. Sherlock, who argues for the division of the prophecy at Matthew 24:22: the fall of jerusalem (Matthe... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the desert … in the secret chambers_ i. e. whether the false Christ shall go forth into the desert and draw men to him by an ascetic life, or shall influence by teaching in the "schools" of the synagogues, be not deceived. _secret chambers_ one word in the original. The same word is translated... [ Continue Reading ]
_as the lightning_ All-pervading, swift, sudden and of dazzling brightness; such shall be the coming of the Son of man. _shineth_ Translate, APPEARETH. The flash is instantly visible in the remotest quarter.... [ Continue Reading ]
_wheresoever the carcase is_ The spiritual perception will discern when the Lord comes and where, by a subtle sense like that by which the vulture is cognisant of his distant prey. Another interpretation fixes upon the idea of corruption in the body, and taking the "eagles" to mean the eagles of th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Immediately after the tribulation of those days_ i. e. the tribulation which shall precede the second advent of Christ. _shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light_ Such figurative language is frequent with the Hebrew prophets; it implies (1) the perplexity and confusion of a... [ Continue Reading ]
_the sign of the Son of man in heaven_ What this shall be it is vain to conjecture, but when it appears its import will be instantly recognised by the faithful. _in the clouds_ Translate, ON THE CLOUDS.... [ Continue Reading ]
_with a great sound of a trumpet_ Omit "sound" on high MS. authority, translate WITH A GREAT TRUMPET. The image would be suggestive to the Jews, who were called together in the camp by silver trumpets (Numbers 10:2 foll.). Moreover, the great festivals, the commencement of the year, and other celebr... [ Continue Reading ]
The Parable of the Fig Tree Mark 13:28-31; Luke 21:29-33 32. _learn a parable of the fig tree_ More accurately, LEARN FROM THE FIG-TREE ITS PARABLE, the lesson that the fig-tree teaches. The parable relates to the siege of Jerusalem and the ruin of the Jewish nationality, illustrating Matthew 24:4... [ Continue Reading ]
_know that it is near it_=the harvest time of God the end of this _æon_or period at the fall of Jerusalem.... [ Continue Reading ]
_This generation_ See note, ch. Matthew 16:28.... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse was originally omitted in the Sinaitic MS., but is inserted by a later hand.... [ Continue Reading ]
End of Ch. 25. Parables and Teachings concerning the Second Advent 36 51. The Coming of Christ; the Need of Watchfulness More briefly reported in Mark 13:32-37; Luke 21:34-36. 36. _But of that day and hour_ the Day of Judgment. The discourse turns from the type the fall of Jerusalem to the antity... [ Continue Reading ]
_Noe_ This, the Greek form of the name, appears in E. V., Luke 17:26; "Noah" is read in the other passages where the name occurs, 1Pe 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5; Hebrews 11:7. The Last Day will surprise men occupied in their pleasures and their business, as the Flood or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall be taken_ Properly, IS TAKEN or withdrawn. For this present for future of certainty see ch. Matthew 27:63.... [ Continue Reading ]
Instances like these serve to bring out the reflection that the world's work will be going on then as now; there is also the thought of a real separation in this life beneath an external sameness.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Two women shall be grinding at the mill_ In southern Palestine, where there are no mill-streams, hand-mills are to be seen and heard in every village. "Two women sit at the mill facing each other; both having hold of the handle by which the upper is turned round on the nether mill-stone." _Land and... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord cometh as a Thief in the Night Luke 12:39-40 43. _know this_ The same word as in Matthew 24:33, see note. The word is probably indicative, "ye know this," not imperative. _the goodman of the house_ "The master of the house." "Goodman" is probably a corruption for _gummann_or A. S. _guma_... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who then is a faithful and wise servant_ The steward was generally a slave whom his master had chosen on account of his trustworthiness and intelligence to be the steward of his estate, his _villicus_or _dispensator_. The word "_dispensation_," in such expressions as "the present dispensation," "th... [ Continue Reading ]
The Stewards of God Luke 12:41-48, where this parable is joined on to the preceding one by a question of St Peter, "Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?" Mark 13:37 has "what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Here, and throughout the discourse, the disciples are specially... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall cut him asunder_ See Daniel 2:5; Daniel 3:29. "The angel of God waiteth with the sword to cut thee in two," (Susanna, 59.) Comp. also "Multos honesti ordinis aut ad bestias condemnavit, aut serra dissecuit." Sueton. _Calig._17, quoted by Wetstein, who gives other instances. _his portion with... [ Continue Reading ]