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LECTURE XIX.

MATTHEW xxiv.

THIS

HIS courfe of Lectures for the prefent year will begin with the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Matthew; which contains one of the clearest and most important prophecies that is to be found in the facred writings.

The prophecy is that which our blessed Lord delivered refpecting the deftruction of Jerufalem, to which, I apprehend, the whole of the chapter, in its primary acceptation, relates. At the fame time it must be admitted, that the forms of expreffion, and the images made ufe of, are for the most part applicable alfo to the day of judgment; and that an allufion to that great event, as a kind of fecondary object, runs through almost every part of the prophecy. This is a very common practice in the prophetic writings, where two fubjects are frequently carried on together, a principal and a fubordinate one. In Ifaiah there are no less than three subjects, the restoration of the Jews from the Babylonifh captivity, the call of the Gentiles to the Christian covenant, and the redemption of mankind by the Meffiah, which are frequently adumbrated under the fame figures and images, and are fo blended and interwoven together, that it is extremely difficult to feparate them from each other*. In the fame manner our Saviour, in the chapter before us, feems to hold out the deftruction of Jerufalem, which is his principal fubject, as a type of the diffolution of the world, which is the underpart of the reprefentation. By thus judiciously mingling together these two important catastrophes, he gives at the fame time (as he does in many other inftances) a most interesting admonition to his immediate hearers the Jews, and a most awful leffon to all his future difciples; and the

Bishop Lowth on Ifaiah. lii. 13.

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benefit of his predictions, inftead of being confined to one occafion, or to one people, is by this admirable management extended to every fubfequent period of time, and to the whole Christian world.

After this general remark, which is a fort of key to the whole prophecy, and will afford an eafy folution to feveral difficulties that occur in it, 1 fhall proceed to confider diftinctly the most material parts of it.

We are told in the first verse of this chapter, that " on our Saviour's departing from the temple his difciples came to him, to fhew him the buildings of it ;" that is, to draw his attention to the magnitude, the fplendour, the apparent folidity and stability of that magnificent ftructure. It is obfervable that they advert particularly to the ftones of which it was compoffed. In St. Mark their ex

preffion is, "See what manner of ftones, and what buildings are here;" and in St. Luke they speak of the goodly flones and gifts with which it was adorned. This feems at the first view a circumstance of little importance; but it shows in a very strong light with what perfect fidelity and minute accuracy every thing is difcribed in the facred writings. For it appears from the hiftorian Jofephus, that there was fcarce any thing more remarkable in this celebrated temple than the ftupendous fize of the stones with which it was conftructed. Thofe employed in the foundations were forty cubits, that is above fixty feet, in length; and the fuperftructure, as the fame hiftorian obferves, was worthy of fuch foundations, for there were ftones in it of the whiteft marble, upwards of fixty-feven feet long, more than seven feet high, and nine broad*.

It was therefore not without reafon that the disciples particularly noticed the uncommon magnitude of the stones of this fuperb temple, from which, and from the general folidity and strength of the building, they probably flattered themselves, and meant to infinuate to their divine Master, that this unrivalled edifice was built for eternity, was formed to stand the shock of ages, and to refift the utmoft efforts of human power to destroy it. How astonished.

• Jofephus de Bell. Jud. 1. x. c. 5.

then and difmayed must they have been at our Saviour's anfwer to these triumphant obfervations of theirs! Jefus faid unto them, "See ye not all those things? Verily I fay unto you, there shall not be left here one ftone upon another that shall not be thrown down." This is a proverbial expreffion, used on other occafions to denote entire deftruction; and therefore had the temple been reduced to ruins, in the usual way, the prophecy would have been fully accomplished. But it fo happened that this prediction was almost literally fulfilled, and that in reality scarce one stone was left upon another. For when the Romans had taken Jerufalem, Titus ordered his foldiers to dig up the foundations both of the city and the temple*. The Jewish writers also themselves acknowledge, that Terentius Rufus, who was left to command the army, did with a plough-fhare tear up the foundations of the templet; and thereby fulfilled that prophecy of Micaht. "Therefore fhall Zion for your fake be ploughed as a field." And in confirmation of this remarkable circumftance, Eufebius alfo affures us, that the temple was ploughed up by the Romans; and that he himself saw it lying in ruins§. The evangelist next informs us, that as Jefus fat on the mount of Olives, which was exactly oppofite to the hill on which the temple was built, and commanded a very fine view of it from the east, his difciples came unto him privately, faying, "Tell us when fhall these things be, and what shall be the fign of thy coming, and of the end of the world." The expreffions here made use of, the fign of thy coming, and the end of the world, at the first view naturally lead our thoughts to the coming of Christ at the day of judgment, and the final defolution of this earthly globe. But a dew attention to the parallel paffages in St. Mark and St. Luke, and a critical examination into the real import of those two phrafes in various parts of Scripture, will foon convince a careful inquirer, that by the coming of Chrift is here meant, not his coming to judge the world at the last day, but his coming to execute judgment upon Jerufalem; and that by the end of the world is to

Jof. de Bello Jud. 1. vii. c. i. p. 170. B.

See Whitby in Loc.

Chap. i 12.

S Eufeb. Dem. Evang. L. vi. 13.

See Mark xiii. 4. Luke xxi. 7. Matth. xxiv. 4, 5; xvi. 28.

John xxi 22.

be understood, not the final confummation of all things here below, but the end of that age, the end of the Jewish ftate and polity; the fubverfion of their city, temple, and government*.

The real questions therefore here put to our Lord by the disciples were these two:

1ft. At what time the deftruction of Jerufalem was to take place: "Tell us, when fhall these things be?”

2dly. What the figns were that were to precede it : "What shall be the fign of thy coming ""

Our Lord in his anfwer begins firft with the figns, of which he treats from the 4th to the 31ft verfe, inclufive.

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The first of thefe figns is fpecified in the 5th verfe, Many fhall come in my name, faying, I am Christ, and fhall deceive many."

This part of the prophecy began foon to be fulfilled; for we learn from the ancient writers, and particularly from Jofephus, that not long after our Lord's afcenfion feveral impoftors appeared, fome pretending to be the Meffiah, and others to foretel future events. The firft were those whom our Lord here fays should come in his name, and were therefore falfe Chrifts. The others are alluded to in the eleventh verfe, under the name of false prophets: "Many falfe prophets fhall arife, and fhall deceive many." Of the first fort were, as Origen informs ust, one Dofitheus, who faid that he was the Chrift foretold by Mofes; and Simon Magus, who faid he appeard among the Jews as the Son of God. Befides feveral others alluded to by Jofephust.

The fame hiftorian tells us, that there were many falfe prophets, particularly an Egyptian, who collected together

The word aion (here tranflated the world) frequently means nothing more than an age, a certain definite period of time. See Matth. xxiv. 6. 14. Mark xiii. 7. Luke xxi. 9, compared with ver. 20. Hebrews ix. 26.

+ Origen: Adv. Cels. 1. 1 and 6.

De Bell. Jud. 1. i. p. 705

above thirty thousand Jews, whom he had deceived*, and Theudas a magician, who faid he was a prophet, and de ceived many; and a multitude of others, who deluded the people even to the laft, with a promise of help from God. And in the reign of Nero, when Felix was procurator of Judæa, fuch a number of these impoftors made their appearance, that many of them were seized and put to death every dayt.

The next figns pointed out by our Lord are thefe that follow. "Ye fhall hear of wars and rumours of wars; fee that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet: for nation shall rife against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there fhall be famines and peftilences, and earthquakes in divers. places: all these are the beginning of forrows."

That there were in reality great disturbences and commotions in those times, that there were not only rumours of wars, but wars actually existing, and continued diffentions, infurrections, and massacres among the Jews, and other nations who dwelt in the fame cities with them, is fo fully attested by all the hiftorians of that period, but more particularly by Jofephus, that to produce all the dreadful events of that kind which he enumerates, would be to transcribe. a great part of his hiftory. It is equally certain, from the teftimony of the fame author, as well as from Eufebius, and feveral profane hiftorians, that there were famines, and peftilences, and earthquakes in divers places. It is added in the parallel place by St. Luket, "that fearful fights and great figns fhall there be from heaven." And accordingly Jofephus, in the preface to his history of the Jewish war, and in the history itself, enumerates a great variety of astonishing figns and prodigies, which he fays preceded the calamities that impended over the Jews, and which he exprefsly affirms, in perfect conformity to our Saviour's prediction, were figns manifeftly intended to forebode their approaching destructions. And these

Jof. Antiq. 1, 20. c. 6. and c. 4. f. 1. Ed. Huds. tib. c. 7. f. 5. p. 892. Luke xxi. II. Jof. Prom. fect. 11. p. 957. De Bell. Jud. 1. vi. c. §. f. 3. p. 1281-82. & l. 7. c. 30.

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