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Mark xiii, 1.

And as he went out of the temple, one of his Jerusalem, disciples

still dispersed over every part of the known world. "Among us, but not of us,"
they wander over the earth, banished from their holy city, from that city which
was the joy of the whole earth, the residence of their prophets, the seat of the
greatness of their kings, the home, and the capital, as they fondly believed, of
their expected Messiah. From the contemplation of the former splendour, and
present depression of the house of Israel, I would request the modern Jew, who
believes in the truth of those sacred books which have been transmitted to him
from his illustrious ancestors, to propose to himself this question, Whether it is
probable that the God of their fathers should thus consign the peculiarly favoured
family of Abraham to exile and misery the most intolerable, for so long a space
of time, without some adequate cause? Is it probable that Jerusalem, the holy
city, the city of the great king, should be burnt with fire, and be trodden under
foot of the Gentiles, and no warning voice be given, either by miracle, or by pro-
phecy? When the Chaldeans polluted the sacred territory, and destroyed the
carved work of the first temple, Ezekiel denounced the coming vengeance; and
Jeremiah wept night and day for the transgression of the daughter of his people.
When a greater and more lasting punishment was about to be inflicted, was it
not to be expected that a prophet should arise among the people of God, to ap-
peal to them, with the stern dignity of Ezekiel, or the tender, yet majestic, elo-
quence of Jeremiah?
The books of the Christian Scriptures alone solve this
difficulty, and assure them that this expectation was not unreasonable. They
tell them that the greatest of all prophets appealed to them; the Son of David
addressed them, but they would none of his reproof; He foretold, in his very
last prediction, with sympathizing energy, the fearful destruction that awaited
their beloved city, and its unbelieving inhabitants; offering at the same time the
means of salvation to the faithful few.

At this time the Jews, through all ranks and classes, were zealous for the law of their fathers; so that they were willing to persecute every one, even of their own nation, who spoke but with indifference of its sanctions. Must not, then, some unacknowledged and proportionate crime have been committed, which could thus call down the just judgment of the God of their fathers? The Christian Scriptures alone can solve the mystery, and vindicate the unchangeableness of the God of Israel. Here is related the hitherto unrepented and proportionate crime. They rejected their long promised Messiah; they crucified the Lord of life; they nailed him to the cross; they clamoured for his blood. For this their holy city is left unto them desolate; for this they have been for so many centuries the scorn, and outcasts of mankind. The fall of Jerusalem, the miseries of its inhabitants, and the evils that have so long pursued the sons of Israel, have been uniformly regarded as monuments of the truth of Christianity, and the most undeniable and solemn appeal to the Jewish nation. And as this prediction of our Lord is the most remarkable in the New Testament; so also are the destruction it predicts, and the present condition of the Jews, without any exception whatever, the most calamitous, and the most striking, and, on all known principles of action, the most unlooked for, unaccountable events in history.

Let us now consider the occasion on which the predictions were spoken. When our Saviour pronounced his pathetic lamentation over Jerusalem, he was

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Jerusalem,

(his disciples) came to him for to shew him the Matt. xxiv. I. buildings of the temple;

in the temple, surrounded by the multitude and his own disciples; when he left it, "his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts." They seemed, by this action, to infer that such a magnificent edifice could not be destroyed. But, as our Saviour had prophesied its total ruin and desolation, they were anxious to know more of these things, and, as soon as he bad disengaged himself from the multitude, they come unto him privately, as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives; and entreat Him to tell them, when will these things be, and what the sign of thy coming, and (rns ovvteλelag tov aiwvoc) of the end of the world? From this question, it appears evident that the disciples viewed the coming of Christ and the end of the world or age, as events nearly related, and which would indisputably take place together: they had no idea of the dissolution of the Jewish polity, with its attendant miseries, as really signified by, or included in, either of these events. They imagined, perhaps, a great and awful change in the physical constitution of the universe, which they probably expected would occur within the term of their own lives; but they could have no conception of what was really meant by the expression which they employed, the coming of Christ. "From their very childhood," says a judicious and penetrating commentator, they imagined that the temple would stand to the end of time: and this notion was so deeply fixed in their minds, that they regarded it as impossible for the temple to be overthrown, while the structure of the universe remained. As soon therefore as Christ told them that the temple would be destroyed, their thoughts instantly ran to the consummation of all things. Thus they connect with the destruction of the temple, as things inseparable, the coming of Christ and the end of the world." Rosenmüller observes on this passage, “ it is certain that the phrase ἡ συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος, is understood in the New Testament (Matt. xiii. 39, 40. 49. xxviii. 20.) of the end of the world. The disciples spoke according to the opinions of their countrymen, and believed that the end of this world, and the beginning of a new one, would follow immediately upon the destruction of the temple (a)."

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The coming of Christ, and the end of the world, being therefore only different expressions to denote the same period as the destruction of Jerusalem, the purport of the disciples' question plainly is, When shall the destruction of Jerusalem be-and what shall be the signs of it? The latter part of the question is

(a) Discipuli communi Juædorum occupati errore arbitrabantur, Messiam præsentem Gentium victorem extiturum, atque triumphorum suorum celebritate universum, qua patet, orbem esse impleturum; porro ex ejus victoriis profundissimam pacem regni ejus esse extituram, in qua felicissima futura esset eorum, qui in partes regni ejus venirent, apostolorum et discipulorum conditio: tum denique unam veram religionem, sublato omni dissensu, idololatriâ et falsâ prophetia submotâ, orbem terrarum esse occupaturam. Hanc vero Taperíav illustratura esse signa quædam luculenta, vel extraordinarios quosdam eventus, quibus adesse jam eum ad regnum ejusmodi capessendum constet, recepta tum fuit et hodie adhuc est Judæorum opinio, &c. Rosenmüller Scholia. in Matt. vol. 1. p. 469-70. Rosenmüller refers in this last sentence to the custom said to be observed among the Jews of opening their windows in a thunder storm, in expectation of their Messiah.

Luke xxi. 5. how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, Jerusalem. Mark xiii. 1. and saith unto him, Master, see what manner of

stones and what buildings are here!

the first answered, and our Saviour foretells, in the clearest manner, the signs of his coming, and the destruction of Jerusalem. He then passes on to the other part of the question, concerning the time of his coming. History is the only certain interpreter of prophecy; and by a comparison of the two, we shall see with what stupendous accuracy the latter has been accomplished. Our blessed Saviour foretells, as the first sign of his coming, that there should be false prophets, (Matt. xxiv. 4, 5.) adding (Luke xxi. 8.) “the time draweth near;" and we find, in a very short time, this prophecy began to be realized. Very soon after our Lord's decease, Simon Magus appeared, and bewitched the people of Samaria, &c. (Acts viii. 9, 10.) See also Acts xxi. 38.

Of the same stamp and character was also Dositheus, the Samaritan, who pretended that he was the Christ foretold by Moses.

About twelve years after the death of our Lord, when Cuspius Fadus was procurator of Judæa, arose an impostor of the name of Theudas, who said he was a prophet, and persuaded a great multitude to follow him with their best effects to the river Jordan, which he promised to divide for their passage; "and, saying these things," says Josephus, "he deceived many :" almost the very words of our Lord.

A few years afterwards, under the reign of Nero, while Felix was procurator of Judæa, impostors of this stamp were so frequent, that some were taken and killed almost every day. Jos. Ant. b. xx. c. 4. and 7. It was a just judgment for God to deliver up that people into the hands of false Christs, who had so wilfully rejected the true one.

The next signs given by our Lord, are, "Wars and rumours of wars," &c. These may be seen in Josephus, (b. xviii. c. 9. War. b. xi. c. 10.) especially as the rumours of wars, when Caligula ordered his statue to be set up in the temple of God, which the Jews having refused, had every reason to expect a war with the Romans; and were in such consternation on the occasion, that they even neglected to till the ground: but their fears were soon dissipated by the timely death of that emperor.

"Nation shall rise up against nation." This portended greater disturbances than those which took place under Caligula, in the latter times of Claudius, and in the reign of Nero. It foretold the dissension, insurrections, and mutual slaughter of the Jews, and those of other nations, who dwelt in the same cities together; as particularly at Cesarea, where the Jews and Syrians contended about the right of the city, which ended in the total expulsion of the Jews, above 20,000 of whom were slain. The whole Jewish nation, being exasperated at this, flew to arms, and burnt and plundered the neighbouring cities and villages of the Syrians, making an immense slaughter of the people. The Syrians, in return, destroyed not a less number of the Jews. At Scythopolis they murdered upwards of 13,000; at Ascalon they killed 2500; at Ptolemais they slew 2000, and made many prisoners. The Tyrians also put many Jews to death, and imprisoned more: the people of Gadara did likewise; and all the other cities of Syria, in proportion as they hated or feared the Jews. At Alexandria the Jews and Heathens fought, and 50,000 of the former were slain. The people of

Jerusalem.

And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest Mark xiii. 2. thou these great buildings?

Damascus conspired against the Jews of that city, and assaulting them unarmed, killed 10,000 of them.

"Kingdom against kingdom." This portended the open wars of different tetrarchies and provinces against each other. That of Jews and Galileans against the Samaritans, for the murder of some Galileans going up to the feast of Jerusalem, while Cumanus was procurator. That of the whole nation of Jews against the Romans and Agrippa, and other allies of the Roman empire; which began when Gessius Florus was procurator; and that of the civil war in Italy, when Otho and Vitellius were contending for the empire. It is worthy of remark, that the Jews themselves say, "In the time of the Messiah, wars shall be stirred up in the world; nation shall rise against nation, and city against city." Sohar Kadash. Again, Rab. Eleasar, the son of Abina, said, "When ye see kingdom rising against kingdom, then expect the immediate appearance of the Messiah." Berashith Rabba, sect. 42.

"There shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places." And we find a famine foretold by Agabus, (Acts xi. 28.) which is mentioned by Suetonius, Tacitus, and Eusebius, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Cesar; and was so severe at Jerusalem, that Josephus says, (Ant. b. xx. c. 2.) many died for lack of food. Pestilences are the usual attendants of famines; as the scarcity and badness of provisions generally produce epidemic disorders. There were several earthquakes likewise in those times to which our Lord refers; particularly one at Crete, in the reign of Claudius; one at Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, and Samos; one at Rome, mentioned by Tacitus; and one at Laodicea, in the reign of Nero, in which the city was overthrown, as were like wise Hierapolis and Colosse; one at Campania, mentioned by Seneca; and one at Rome, in the reign of Galba, mentioned by Suetonius, in the life of that emperor. Add to to all these a dreadful one in Judæa, mentioned by Josephus, (War, b. iv. c. 4.) accompanied by a dreadful tempest, violent winds, vehement showers, and continual lightnings and thunders; which led many to believe that these things portended some uncommon calamity.

"That there shall be fearful sights and great signs from heaven." (chap. xxi. 11.) Josephus, in his preface to the Jewish war, mentions, that a star hung over the city like a sword; and a comet continued a whole year. The people being assembled at the feast of unleavened bread, at the ninth hour of the night, a great light shone about the altar and the temple, and this continued for half an hour. The eastern gate of the temple, which was of solid brass, and could hardly be shut by twenty men, and was fastened by strong bars and bolts, was seen at the sixth hour of the night to open of its own accord! Before sunsetting there was seen, over all the country, chariots and armies fighting in the clouds, and besieging cities. At the feast of Pentecost, when the priests were going into the inner temple by night, to attend their service, they heard first a motion and noise, and then a voice as of a multitude, saying, "Let us depart hence." What Josephus reckons one of the most terrible signs of all was, that one Jesus, a country fellow, four years before the war began, and when the city was in peace and plenty, came to the feast of tabernacles, and ran crying up and down the streets, day and night: "A voice from the East, a voice from the West! a

Matt. xxiv. 2. See ye not all these things?

Jerusalem.

Luke xxi. 6.

As for these things which ye behold,

voice from the four winds! a voice against Jerusalem and the temple! a voice against the bridegroom and the bride! and a voice against all the people!" Though the magistrates endeavoured, by stripes and tortures, to interrogate him, they could obtain no answer but the mournful cry of," Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" and this he continued to do for several years together, going about the walls, and crying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe to the city, and to the people, and to the temple!" and, as he added, " Woe, woe to myself," a stone from some sling or engine struck him dead on the spot!

These were indeed fearful signs and wonders; and there is not a more credible historian than the one who relates them, who appeals to the testimony of those who saw and heard them. But an additional evidence is given to his relation by the Roman historian Tacitus, who presents us with a summary account of the same occurrences; and as "the testimonies of Josephus and Tacitus confirm the predictions of Christ, so the predictions of Christ confirm the wonders recorded by these historians (b)." But these were only the beginnings of sorrows, (Matt. xxiv. 8.) and from the calamities of the nation in general, Christ passes to those of the Christians in particular, (xxiv. 9. Mark xiii. 9. 11. Luke xxi. 13, 14, 15.) We need look no further than the Acts of the Apostles for a melancholy proof of the truth of their predictions. But although the followers of Christ's religion were persecuted beyond measure, it is a remarkable fact, and a signal act of Divine Providence, that none of the Christians perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. So literally was that assertion fulfilled, "There shall not an hair of your head perish." And, notwithstanding the persecutions and calamities of the Christians, it was prophesied, "This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come." And accordingly we find, from the writers of the history of the Church, that before the destruction of Jerusalem the Gospel was not only preached in the Lesser Asia, and Greece, and Italy, but as far northward as Scythia, as far southward as Ethiopia, as far eastward as Parthia and India, and as far westward as Spain and Britain. Agreeably to this, Eusebius (c) informs us that the Apostles preached the Gospel in all the world, and some of them (probably either St. Simon or St. Paul,) passed beyond the ocean to the Britannic Isles. Theoderet likewise affirms, that the Apostles had induced every nation and kind of men to embrace the Gospel, among whom he reckons particularly the Britons; and St. Paul himself declares, the Gospel "is come into all the world, and preached to every creature under heaven;" and (in Rom. x. 18.) he elegantly applies to the lights of the Church these words of the Psalmist, "Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." And all this was fulfilled to convince every nation of the crying sin of the Jews, in crucifying the Lord of glory, and of the justice of God's judgment upon them. And then came the end, the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, and of the Jewish polity, when the abomination of desolation stood in the holy place. The verses (15 and 16 of Matt. xxiv.) are explained by the parallel pas

(b) Jortin. (c) Demonst. Evang. lib. iii. cap. 5. sect. 112. edit. Paris, 1628. and Theodor. serm. ix. tom. iv, p. 610. edit. Paris, 1642, ap. Jortin.

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