Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible · Matthew Capítulo 24

Matthew 24:1. And Jesus—departed, &c.— Our Saviour was in the temple, speaking to a mixed audience of his disciples and the multitude, when he uttered that pathetic lamentation at the close of the preceding chapter; wherein he has left to his disciples a generous and amiable pattern of a patriot spirit; and whence we see how contrary to truth is the insinuation of a noble writer, that there is nothing in the Gospels to recommend and encourage the love of one's country. Such a resolution as that mentioned by our Lord, Mat 24:38-39 appeared very strange to his disciples, and affected them much; for which reason they stopped him, as he was departing out of the temple, and desired him to observe what a magnificent structure it was; insinuating, that they were surprized to hear him talk of leaving it desolate; that so rich and glorious a fabric was not to be deserted rashly; and that they should all be very happy when he, as Messiah, took possession of it, with the other palaces which of right belonged to him. They were going to the mount of Olives, which stood eastward from the city. It was the eastern wall, therefore, of the temple, fronting that mountain, which the disciples desired their Master to look at, and which being built from the bottom of the valley to a prodigious height with stones of an incredible bulk, firmly compacted together, made a very grand appearance at a distance. The stones employed in the foundations were in magnitude forty cubits, that is to say, sixty feet; and the superstructure was worthy of such foundations. There were some stones of the whitest marble, forty-five cubits long, five cubits high, and six cubits broad, as a priest of the temple has described them. In Mr. Mede's opinion, the eastern wall was the only part of Solomon's structure which remained after the Chaldeans burned the temple. Hence the portico built on the top of it, obtained the name of Solomon's porch or portico. See Joseph. Antiq. lib. 15: 100: 14. War, lib. 6. 100: 6. The magnificence of the fabric, however, was not the only topic they descanted upon. They spake also of the precious utensils with which it was furnished, and of the gifts wherewith the treasury was enriched; for there the gifts of ages were deposited, the presents of kings and emperors, as well as the offerings of the Jews. Hanging up such αναθηματα, or consecrated gifts, was common in most of the ancient temples. Tacitus, Histor. lib. 5 speaks of the immense opulence of the temple at Jerusalem. Amongst other of its treasures there was a golden table given by Pompey, and several golden vines of exquisite workmanship, as well as immense size; for Josephus tells us, that they had clusters as tall as a man, which some have thought referred to God's representing the Jewish nation under the emblem of a vine. Josephus likewise affects, in the place above quoted, that the marble of the temple was so white that it appeared at a distance like a mountain of snow; and the gilding of several of its external parts, which he there mentions, must, especially when the sun shone upon it, render it a most splendid and beautiful spectacle. See Luk 21:5 and Mark 13:0 chapters which the reader will please to keep in view while we go through the present; and we would refer him by all means to Josephus's History of this event. Christian writers have always, with great reason, represented his History of the Jewish War as the best commentary on this chapter; and many have justly remarked it, as a wonderful instance of the care of Providence for the Christian church, that this writer, an eye-witness, and in thesethings of so great credit, should be preserved, and especially in so extraordinary a manner preserved, to transmit to us a collection of important tracts, which so exactly illustrate this noble prophesy in almost every circumst

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Matthew 24:2. There shall not be left here one stone— No impostor, Bishop Chandler very justly observes, would have attempted to foretel an event at once so disagreeable, and so improbable as it seemed at present, considering the peace of the Jews with the Romans, and the strength of their citadel;which forced Titus himself to acknowledge, that it was the singular hand of God which compelled them to relinquish fortifications unconquerable by human power. The worthy Bishop of Bristol (to whose accuracyand learning we shall be particularlyobliged in the course of our annotations on this chapter, as we have already enriched a former part of this commentary from his valuable Dissertations on the Prophesies) observes, that our Saviour in his prophesies frequently alludes to phrases and expressions used by the ancient prophets; and as Hag 2:15 expresses the building of the temple, by a stone being laid upon a stone, so Christ expresses the destruction of it by one stone not being left upon another. See Luke 19:44. It is a proverbial expression to denote an utter destruction; and the prophesy would have been amply fulfilled, if the city and temple had been entirely ruined, though every single stone had not been overturned. But it happened in this case that the words were almost literally fulfilled, and scarcely one stone was left upon another. For when the Romans had taken Jerusalem, Titus ordered his soldiers to dig up the foundations both of all the city, and also of the temple, after it was burnt. The temple was a building of such strength and grandeur, of such splendor and beauty, that it was likely to be preserved for a monument of the victory and glory of the Roman empire: Titus was accordingly very desirous of preserving it; and protestedto the Jews who had fortified themselves within it, that he would preserve it even against their will. He had expressed the like desire of preserving the city too, and sent Josephus and other Jews, again and again, to their countrymen, to persuade them to surrender; but one greater than Titus had determined it otherwise. The Jews themselves first set fire to the porticos of the temple, and then the Romans. One of the soldiers neither waiting for any command, nor trembling at such an attempt, but urged by a certain divine impulse, says Josephus, mounted the shoulder of his companion, thrust a burning brand in at the golden window, and thereby set fire to the building of the temple itself. Titus ran immediatelyto the temple, and commanded his soldiers to extinguish the flame; but neither exhortations nor threatenings could restrain their violence; they either could not or would not hear; those behind encouraging those before to set fire to the temple. Titus was still for preserving the holy place: he commanded his soldiers even to be beaten for disobeying him. But their anger and hatred of the Jews, and a certain warlike vehement fury, overcame their reverence for their general, and their dread of his commands. A soldier in the dark set fire to the doors; and thus, as Josephus says, the temple was burned against the will of Caesar. Afterwards, as we read in the Jewish Talmud, and in Maimonides, Terentius Rufus, who was left to command the army at Jerusalem, did with a ploughshare tear up the foundation of the temple, and therebysignally fulfilled Micah 3:12. Eusebius too affirms that it was ploughed up by the Romans, and that he saw it lying in ruins. The city also shared the same fate, and was burned and destroyed as well as the temple. The Romans burned the extremest parts of the city, and demolished the walls. Three towers only, and some part of the wall were left standing, for the better encamping of the soldiers, and to shew to posterity what a city, and how fortified, the valour of the Romans had taken. All the rest of the city was so demolished and levelled with the ground, that they who came to see it, could not believe that it was ever inhabited. After the city was thus taken and destroyed, great riches were found among the ruins; and the Romans dug them up, in search of the treasures which had been concealed and buried in the earth. So literallywere our Saviour's words accomplished, in theruin both of the city and of the temple; and well might Eleazer say, "That God had delivered his most holy city to be burned and subverted by their enemies;"—and "wish that they had all died, before they saw that holy city demolished by the hands of their enemies, and the sacred temple so wickedly dug up from the foundations." See Bishop Newton's 18th Dissertation, and Josephus's War, lib. 6: and 7:

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Matthew 24:3. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives— When the disciples heard their Master affirm, that not so much as one of those stones, which had mocked the fury of Nebuchadnezzar's army, and survived the envy of time, was to be left upon another, but that they were all to be thrown down, they perceived that the temple was to be demolished; but at this time none of our Lord's followers had the least apprehension that he was to take away the sacrifice, and make such a change in religion as would render the temple of no use: and therefore, hearing him speak of its demolition, they no doubt supposed, that the fabric then standing was too small for the numerous worshippers who should come, when all nations were subjected to Messiah; and that it was for that reason to be pulled down, in order to be erected on a more magnificent plan, suitable to the idea which they had conceived of the greatness of his future kingdom. Entertaining these imaginations, they received the news with pleasure, and fancied to themselves very glorious things as they travelled along.—Accordingly, when Jesus was come to the mount of Olives, and had taken a seat on some eminence, whence the temple and part of the city were to be seen, they drew near, and expressed their joy by desiring to know when the demolition of the old structure was to happen, and what were to be the signs of his coming, and of the end of the world. The sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world, are only different expressions to denote the same period with the destruction of Jerusalem; for they conceived, that when Jerusalem should be destroyed, then would be the coming of Christ; and when the coming of Christ, then the end of the world; or rather, as it should be rendered, the conclusion of the age, u931?υντελεια του αιωνος . The conclusion of the age is the same period with the destruction of Jerusalem; for there being two ages, as they were called among the Jews, the one under the law, the other under the Messiah, when the city and temple were destroyed, and the Jewish polity in church and state was dissolved, the former age must of course be concluded, and the age under the Messiah commence. The phrase appears to be used in the same manner as in Hebrews 9:26. But now once, in the end of the world—[επι Συντελεια των αιωνων,— in the conclusion of the Jewish age or ages] hath he appeared, to put away sin. See Ephesians 2:7. 1 Corinthians 10:11. The coming of Christ is also the same period with the destruction of Jerusalem, as may appear from several places in the Gospel, but particularly from ch. Mat 16:28 and John 21:22. The latter part of the question our Saviour answers first, treating of the signs of his coming, and of the destruction of Jerusalem, from the 4th to the 31st verse, and then passes on to the other part of the question, concerning the time of his coming. By signs are meant the circumstances and incidents which should forerun, usher in, and attend this great event; and we may venture to affirm, that the whole compass of historycannot furnish us with a prophesy more exactly fulfilled in all points than this has been, "Our Lord (says Dr. Doddridge upon this subject) with perfect integrity and consummate wisdom, answers the question of the disciples by giving them an account of the prognosticating and concomitant signs of the destruction of Jerusalem; and then, without saying one word of any temporal kingdom to be erected, which was the strongest idea then in their minds, raises their thoughts to the final judgment, to which the figures used in the former description might many of them be literally applied; and sets before them a heavenly kingdom, and eternal life, as the great object of their pursuit." See ch. Matthew 25:34-46. This I take to be the key to this whole discourse. As the things which befel the Jewish nation, says Dr. Macknight,—their bondage in Egypt, their deliverance from that bondage, their passage through the Red Sea, abode in the wilderness, entrance into Canaan, &c. &c. were all typical, representing the methods by which God delivers mankind from the bondage of sin, and conducts them to heaven; so the destruction of the nations here set forth may prefigure the destruction of the world, though the prophesy certainly cannot be interpreted primarily of that destruction.

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Matthew 24:6. And ye shall hear of wars, &c.— To relate the particulars of wars and rumours of wars, which happened at the period here referred to, would be to transcribe a great part of Josephus's History. There were more especially rumours of wars, when Caligula the Roman emperor ordered his statue to be set up in the temple at Jerusalem, which the Jews refused to suffer, and persisted in their refusal; and, having therefore reason to apprehend a war from the Romans, were in such a consternation, that they omitted even the tilling of their lands. But this storm was soon blown over, and their fear dissipated by the timely death of that emperor. But be ye not troubled, says our Lord, at the prospect of these calamities, for all these things must first come to pass: they must come to pass a considerable time before the destruction of the nation; but the end is not yet. The end of the age, or Jewish dispensation, and the demolition of the temple, will not be immediately on the back of these things. See on Matthew 24:8.

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Matthew 24:7. For nation shall rise, &c.— Here, as Grotius observes, Christ declares, that greater disturbances than those which happened under Caligula should fall out in the latter times of Claudius, and in the reign of Nero. The rising of nation against nation portended the dissensions, insurrections, and mutual slaughters of the Jews, and those of other nations, who dwelt in the same cities together; as particularly at Caesarea, where the Jews and Syrians contended about the right of the city; which contention at length proceeded so far, that above twenty thousand Jews were slain, and the city was cleared of the inhabitants. At this blow the whole nation of the Jews was exasperated, and, dividing themselves into parties, they burned and plundered the neighbouring cities and villages of the Syrians, and made an immense slaughter of the people. The Syrians, in revenge, destroyed not a less number of Jews; and every city, as Josephus expresses it, was "divided into two armies." At Scythopolis the inhabitants compelled the Jews who resided among them to fight against their own countrymen, and after the victory, basely setting upon them by night, murdered above thirteen thousand of them, and spoiled their goods. At Ascalon, they killed two thousand five hundred; at Ptolemais, two thousand and made not a few prisoners. The Tyrians put many 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 Alexandriathe old enmity was revived between the Jews and Heathens, and many fell on both sides, but of the Jews to the number of fifty thousand. The people of Damascus too conspired against the Jews of the same city, and, assaulting them unarmed, killed ten thousand of them. The rising of kingdom against kingdom portended the open wars of different tetrarchies and provinces against one another; as that of the Jews who dwelt in Peraea against the people of Philadelphia concerning their bounds, while Caspius Fadus was procurator; that of the Jews and Galileans against the Samaritans, for the murder of some Galileans going up to the feast at Jerusalem, while Cumanus was procurator; and that of the whole nation of the Jews against the Romans and Agrippa, and other allies of the Roman empire, which began while Gessius Florus was procurator. But, as Josephus says, there was not only sedition and civil war throughout Judea, but likewise in Italy, Otho and Vitellius contending for the empire. It is farther added, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. There were famines, as particularly that prophesied of by Agabus, and mentioned, Act 11:28 and by Suetonius, and other prophane historians referred to by Eusebius, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar, and was so severe at Jerusalem, that, as Josephus says, many perished for want of visuals:—andpestilences, for these are the usual attendants upon famines. Scarcity and badness of provisions almost always end in some epidemical distemper. We see that many died by reason of the famine in the reign of Claudius; and Josephus farther informs us, that when Niger was killed by the Jewish zealots, he imprecated, besides other cruelties, famine and pestilence upon them (λιμοντε και λοιμον, the very words used by the Evangelist,) all which, says he, God ratified and brought to pass against the ungodly:—And earthquakes in divers places; as particularlythat in Crete, in the reign of Claudius, mentioned by Philostratus in the life of Apollonius; those also mentioned by Philostratus at Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos, in all which places some Jews inhabited; those at Rome mentioned by Tacitus; that at Laodicea, in the reign of Nero, mentioned also by Tacitus; which city was overwhelmed, as were likewise Hierapolis and Colosse; that in Campania, mentioned by Seneca; that at Rome, in the reign of Galba, mentioned by Suetonius; and that in Judea, mentioned by Josephus: for by night there broke out a most dreadful tempest, and violent strong winds, with the most vehement showers, and continual lightnings, and horrid thunderings, and prodigious bellowings of the shaken earth; so that it was manifest, as he observes, that the constitution of the universe was confounded for the destruction of men; and any one might easily conjecture, that these things portended no common calamity.

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Matthew 24:8. All these are the beginning of sorrows— αρχη ωδινων, the beginning of throes, or pangs. Great troubles and calamities are often expressed in Scripture language metaphorically, by the pangs of travailing women: "All these are only the first pangs and throes, and are nothing to that hard labour which shall succeed." See on Matthew 24:6.

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Matthew 24:9. Then shall they deliver you up, &c.— Had Jesus been an impostor, he would, like all other impostors, have fed his followers with fair hopes and promises; but on the contrary, we see that he denounces persecution to be the lot of his disciples; he pointeth out to them the difficulties they must encounter, the fiery trials they must undergo, and yet they did not stagger in their faith; did not therefore, like faint-hearted soldiers, forsake their colours, and desert his service. One hardly knows whom to admire most, him for dealing so plainly, or them for adhering so steadily to him.

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Matthew 24:10. Then shall many be offended, &c.— By reason of persecution and of the universal hatred which all nations bore against theChristian name, many were indeed offended, and apostatized from the faith; as particularly Phygellus and Hermogenes, and many others in Asia, 2Ti 1:15 and Demas,—Matthew 9:10. But they would not only apostatize from the faith, but also betray and hate one another. To illustrate which point, we need only cite a sentence out of Tacitus, speaking of the persecution under Nero: "At first, (says he) several were seized, who confessed, and then, by their discovery, a great multitude of others were convicted and executed."

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Matthew 24:11. Many false prophets shall rise— Such particularly were Simon Magus, and his very numerous followers, the Gnostics. Such also were the Judaizing teachers, mentioned 2 Corinthians 11:13. Such also were Hymeneus and Philetus, of whom the apostle, 2Ti 2:17 complains, that they affirmed the resurrection to be past already, and overthrew the faith of some.

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Matthew 24:12. Because iniquity, &c.— The genuine fruit and effect of all these evils was the lukewarmness and coolness among Christians. By reason of these trials and persecutions from without, and these apostasies and false prophets from within, the love of many to Christ and his doctrine, and also their love to each other, shall wax cold. Some shall openly desert the faith; some shall corrupt it, as Mat 24:11 and others again, as here, shall grow indifferent to it; and not to mention other instances, who can hear St. Paul complaining at Rome, 2 Timothy 4:16 that at his first answer all men forsook him; who can hear the divine author of the Epistle to the Hebrews exhorting them, Hebrews 10:25 not to forsake the assembling of themselves together, as the manner of some is, and not conclude the event to have sufficiently justified our Saviour's prediction?

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Matthew 24:13. But he that shall endure— "He who shall not be terrified by these trials and persecutions; he who shall neither apostatize from the faith of himself, nor be seduced by others; he who shall not be ashamed to profess his faith in Christ, and his love to the brethren; the same shall be saved, both here and hereafter." And indeed it is very remarkable, and was certainly a most signal act of Providence, that none of the Christians perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. See Luke 21:18. 2Pe 2:9 and Bishop Newton.

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Matthew 24:14. This Gospel—shall be preached in all the world—and then, &c.— Then shall the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the Jewish polity, come to pass; when all nations shall be, or may be, convinced of the crying sin of the Jews in crucifying the Lord of glory, and of the justice of God's judgments upon them. Some imagine that by all the world is meant only the whole land of Judea, the very words of the text being used bythe Septuagint and by Josephus himself in this sense. But that something more than this must be meant will appear, if we consider, that though the Acts of the Apostles contains only a small part of the history of a few of the apostles, yet even in that history we see the Gospel was disseminated, and had taken root in the most considerable parts of the Roman empire. As early as the reign of Nero the Christians were grown so numerous at Rome, as to raise the jealousy of the government; and the first general persecution commenced against them under pretence of their having set the city on fire. The Gospel was preached by St. Paul in Arabia, and through the vast tract from Jerusalem to Iconium, in Lycaonia, and in Galatia, through all Asia Minor, in Greece, round about to Illyricum, in Crete, Italy, Spain, and Gaul. Clement, who was his cotemporary and fellow-labourer, says of him in particular, "that he was a preacher both in the East and West; and that he taught the whole world righteousness, and travelled as far as the utmost borders of the West." And if such were the labours of one apostle, what must have been the united labours of them all? We have still remaining the Epistles of St. Peter to the converted Jews in Pontus, Asia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia. The Ethiopian eunuch converted by Philip probably carried the Gospel into his own country. It appears, indeed, 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, the great theatres of action then in the world, but was likewise propagated 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. Our ancestors of this Island, though as remote from the scene of our Saviour's actions as almost any nation, probably heard the preaching of St. Simon: there is indeed much more probability that the Gospel was preached here by St. Paul; and there is absolute certainty that Christianity was planted in this country in the days of the apostles, before the destruction of Jerusalem. The evidence of Eusebius and Theodoret abundantly prove itto have been a fact; and St. Paul himself, Colossians 1:6; Col 1:23 speaks of the Gospel's being come into all the world, and preached to every creature under heaven. See also Romans 10:18. Though the success of the apostles was so great, yet the difficulties which they had to encounter were no less than the superstition, the prejudices, and the vices of the whole world. From a view of the Jewish and Gentile world it is evident, that every thing which most strongly influences and tyrannizes over the mind of man, religion, custom, law, policy, pride, interest, vice, and even philosophy, was united against the Gospel; enemies in their own nature very formidable and difficult to be subdued, had they even suffered themselves, to be attacked upon even ground, and come to a fair engagement; but, not relying upon their own strength only, they intrenched themselves behind that power of which they were in possession, and rendered themselves inaccessible, as they imagined, to Christianity, by planting round them, not only all kinds of civil discouragements, but even torments, chains, and death. These were the difficulties which Christianity had to struggle with, and over which she at length so prevailed, as to change the whole scene of things, overturn the temples and altars of the gods, silence the oracles, humble the impious pride of the emperors, confound the presumptuous wisdom of the philosophers, and introduce into the greatest part of the known world a new principle of religion, holiness, and virtue. But what were the instruments of so stupendous a work! a few illiterate persons, many of whom were fishermen! The state of the first preachers of the Gospel, and of their opposers, was this: the latter were possessed of all the wisdom, authority, and power of the world; the former were ignorant of human science, contemptible, and weak. Which of them then, according to the natural course of human affairs, ought to have prevailed? The latter, without all doubt! and yet not St. Paul only, but all history, and our own experience assure us, that the ignorant, the contemptible, and the weak, gained the victory over the wise, the mighty, and the noble. See Bishop Newton, West on the Resurrection, and Dr. Young on Idolatry, vol. 2.

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Matthew 24:17. Let him which is on the house-top— The houses of the Jews, and of the present inhabitants of the East, as well as those of the ancient Greeks and Romans, were flat on the top for them to walk on, and had usually two pair of stairs, one on the inside, and the other on the out, by the latter of which they could ascend and descend, without coming into the house. In the Eastern walled cities these flat-roofed houses usuallyformed continued terraces from one end of the cityto the other, which terraces terminated at the gates. He, therefore, who is walking and regaling himself upon the house-top, let him not come down to take any thing out of his house; but let him instantly pursue his course along the tops of the houses, and escape out at the city-gate as fast as he possibly can. See Bishop Newton.

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Matthew 24:18. Neither let him which is in the field return— Our Saviour makes use of these expressions to intimate, that their flight must be as sudden and hasty as Lot's was out of Sodom; and the Christians escaping just as they did, was the more providential, because afterwards all egress out of the city was prevented. These are as strong expressions as one can imagine, to urge the speediest retreat. It is indeed observable that this whole discourse abounds with very lively figures of oratory, and is heightened with the noblest beauties of description. See Bishop Newton, and Elsner's Observations, vol. 1.

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Matthew 24:19. Woe unto them that are with child, &c.— For neither will such persons be in a condition to fly, nor will they be able to endure the distress and hardships of a siege. This woe was sufficiently fulfilled in the cruel slaughters which were made both of the women and children, and particularly in that grievous famine which so miserably afflicted Jerusalem during the siege. For mothers, as Josephus reports, snatched the food from the very mouths of their infants; and the houses were full of women and children who perished by famine. See the note on Deu 28:53-56 and Bishop Newton.

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Matthew 24:20. But pray ye that your flight be not, &c.— "Pray that these evils be not further aggravated by the concurrence of other natural and moral evils, such as the inclemencies of the seasons, and your own scruples: Pray that your flight be not in the winter; for the hardness of the season, the badness of the roads, and the shortness of the days, will all be great impediments to your flight; neither on the Sabbath-day; that you may not raise the indignation of the Jews by travelling on that day, nor be hindered from doing it by your own scruples." This seems to be spoken a good deal in condescension to the Jewish scruples, a Sabbath-day's journey among the Jews being but abouta mile; and consequently insufficient for the security of their lives who fled. It has been observed, (on Psa 147:16 and Ezra 10:9.) that the winters are very cold in the Holy Land. St. Jerome speaks of the cold of that country, as frequently too severe to be borne by those who might be glad to secrete themselves for fear of their lives; and, in his letter to Algasia, he thus understands, as to the literal sense, the direction of our Lord here given to his disciples; the severity of the cold being such, as would not permit them toconceal themselves in the deserts. Agreeable to this, and at the same time a lively comment on these words of our Lord, is the account which William of Tyre gives of the state of Saladine's troops after their defeat in the neighbourhood of Ascalon. "They for haste threw away their armour and cloaths, [vestium genera quaelibet; that is to say, their hykes and burnooses, described by Dr. Shaw, p. 226 which they found entangled them, and retarded their flight] but so sunk under the cold, with want of food, tediousness of the ways, and greatness of the fatigue, that they were daily taken captives in the woods, mountains, and wilderness; and sometimes threw themselves in the way of their enemies, rather than perish with cold and hunger." See the Observations on Sacred Scripture, p. 15. As our Saviour cautioned his disciples to fly when they should see Jerusalem encompassed with armies; so was it very providentiallyordered that Jerusalem should be compassed with armies, and yet that they should have such favourable opportunities of making their escape. In the 12th year of Nero, Cestius Gallus came against Jerusalem with a powerful army; and though, if he had assaulted the city, he might have taken it, and have put an end to the war; yet, without any apparent reason, and contrary to every one's expectation, he raised the siege. Vespasian, who succeeded him in the command, invested the city on all sides; but the news of Nero's death, and soon after of Galba's, caused him to suspend his operations against Jerusalem; and the city was not actually besieged in form, till Vespasian was confirmed in the empire, and Titus was sent to command the forces in Judea. These incidental delays were very opportune for the Christians, and those who had thoughts of retreating and providing for their safety. See Bishop Newton.

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Matthew 24:21. Then shall be great tribulation— In the preceding verses our Saviour warned his disciples to fly as soon as ever they saw Jerusalem besieged by the Romans, and now he assigns a reason for his giving them this caution. The words used in this verse seem to be a proverbial form of expression, as in Exodus 10:14. Joel 2 :1Ma 9:27. Our Lord, therefore, might fitly apply the same manner of speaking upon the present occasion: but he does not make use of proverbial expressions without a proper meaning; and this may be understood even literally. For indeed all history cannot furnish us with a parallel to the calamities and miseries of the Jews; rapine and murder, famine and pestilence within, fire and sword, and all the terrors of war without. Our Saviour wept at the foresight of these calamities; and it is almost impossible for persons of any humanity to read the relation of them without weeping too. The Jewish historian might well say, as he does in the preface to his history: "If the misfortunes of all, from the beginning of the world, were compared with those of the Jews, they would appear much inferior upon comparison. In short, no other city ever suffered such things, as no other generation from the beginning of the world was ever more fruitful of wickedness." See Luke 21:22; Luk 21:38 and Bishop Newton

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Matthew 24:22. Except those days should be shortened— "If those wars and desolations were to continue, no flesh—none of the Jews, would escape destruction." The number of those who perished in the siege were about eleven hundred thousand, besides those who were slain in other places; and, if the Romans had gone on destroying in this manner, the whole nation of the Jews would certainly, in a little time, have been extirpated. But, for the elects' sake, those days shall be shortened. The elect is a well-known appellation in Scripture and antiquity for the Christians; and the Christian Jews, partly through the fury of the zealots on the one hand, and the hatred of the Romans on the other, and partly through the difficulty of subsisting in the mountains, without houses or provisions, would, in all probability, have been almost all destroyed either by the sword or by famine, if the days had not been shortened; but providentially the days were shortened. Vespasian, who was advanced in years, and therefore could not carry on the siege with that vigour which might cause the city soon to fall into hishands, transferred the command to Titus; who, having Rome, and the riches and pleasures there, before his eyes, took every measure which might render his expedition successful, and contribute to his glory, by the shortness of the time which he employed to effect it. The besieged too helped to shorten the days by their divisions and mutual slaughters, by burning their provisions, which would have sufficed for many years, and by fatally destroying their strong-holds, where they could never have been taken by force, but by famine alone. By these means the days were shortened; and indeed otherwise Jerusalem could never have been taken in so short a time, so well fortified as it was, and so well fitted to sustain a longer siege. The enemycould hardly ever have prevailed, but for the factions and seditions within. Titus himself could not but ascribe his success to God, as he was viewing the fortifications after the city was taken. His words to his friends are very remarkable: "We have fought with God on our side, and it is God who has pulled the Jews out of their strong-holds; for what could the hands of men or machines do against these towers!" God, therefore, in the opinion of Titus, shortened these days. After the destruction of Jerusalem too, God inclined the heart of Titus to take some pity upon the remnant of the Jews, and to refrain the nations from effecting the cruelty that they would have exercised against them. At Antioch particularly, the senate importuned him to expel the Jews from the city; but he answered, that their country being laid waste, there was no place to receive them. They then requested him to deprive the Jews of their former privileges; but those he permitted them to enjoy as before. See Bishop Newton, and Dr. Jackson's Credibility of the Scriptures.

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Matthew 24:27. As the lightning—shall also the coming of the Son of man be— His coming will not be in this or that particular place, but, like the lightning, sudden and universal. The appearance of the true Christ will be as distinguishable fromthat of the false Christ, 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; as if not only the extensiveness of the ruin, but the very route which the army should take, was intended in the comparison of the lightning coming out of the east and shining even unto the west." See Pearce's Dissert. on the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Bishop Newton.

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Matthew 24:28. Wheresoever the carcase is, &c.— By the word carcase is meant the Jewish nation, which was morally and judicially dead, and whose destruction was pronounced in the decrees of heaven. Our Saviour, after his usual manner, applies a proverbial expression with a particular meaning: for as, according to the old proverb, wheresoever, &c. so wheresoever the Jews are, there will Christ be taking vengeance upon them by the Romans, who are properly compared to eagles, as the fiercest beasts of prey, and whose ensign was an eagle, to which also probably our Saviour in this passage alluded. And as it was said, so it was done; for the victories of the Romans were not confined to this or that place, but, like a flood, over-ran the whole land. There was no part of Judea that did not partake of the calamities of the captivity. At Antioch many were burnt in the theatre, and others were slain; the Romans slew them every where; at Jardes not fewer than three thousand were put to death. Being on the point of being taken at Masade, they first murdered their wives and children, and then themselves, to the number of nine hundred and sixty, to avoid falling into the enemies' hands. In Cyrene, the followers of Jonathan the weaver were most of them slain; he himself was taken prisoner, and, by his accusation, three thousand of the richest Jews were put to death. See Bishop Newton.

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Matthew 24:29. Immediately after the tribulation, &c.— Commentators generally understand this and what follows, of the end of the world, and of Christ's coming to judgment; but the words evidently shew that he is not speaking of any distant event, but of something consequent upon the tribulation before-mentioned,and that must be the destruction of Jerusalem. It is true, his figures are very strong; but no stronger than are used by the ancient prophets on similar occasions. See Isaiah 13:0. Bishop Warburton observes upon the subject, that this prophesy of Jesus concerning the approachingdestruction of Jerusalem by Titus, is conceived in such high and swelling terms, that not only the modern interpreters, but the ancient likewise, have supposed, that our Lord interweaves into it a direct prediction of his coming to judgment: but if we consider the nature of the two dispensations, and the necessity of abolishing the former before the introduction of the latter,it will then appear, that this prophesy does not respect Christ's second coming to judgment, but his first, in the abolition of the Jewish polity, and the establishment of the Christian; that kingdom of Christ which commenced on the total ceasing of the theocracy. This was the true establishment of Christianity, not that effected by the donations or conversions of Constantine. This therefore being one of the most important aeras in the economy of grace, and the most awful revolution in all God's religious dispensations, we see the elegance and propriety of the terms in question, to denote so great an event, together with the destruction of Jerusalem, by which it was effected: for in the old prophetic language, thechangeandfallof principalities and powers, whether spiritual or civil, are signified by the shaking of heaven and earth,—the darkening the sun,—and moon,—and the falling of the stars; as the rise and establishment of new ones are by processions in the clouds of heaven, by the sound of trumpets, and the assembling together of hosts and congregations. See Bishop Newton, Bishop Warburton's Julian, b. 1 Chronicles 1:0 p. 21 and the next note.

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Matthew 24:30. And then shall appear the sign, &c.— The plain meaning of this is, that the destruction 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 thence led to acknowledge Christ and the Christian religion. In the ancient prophets God is frequently described as coming in the clouds, upon anyremarkableinterpositionandmanifestationofhispower;andthesamedescription is here applied to Christ. See Bishop Newton, and Gerhard's Dissertations, p. 200, &c. and John 6:30. Dr. Clarke says, that the sign here mentioned means the figure given by the prophet Daniel, the signal of that Son of man there described. Instead of the tribes of the earth, some read the tribes of the land.

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Matthew 24:31. And he shall send his angels— This is all in the style and phraseology of the prophets, and, stripped of its figures, means, that after the destruction of Jerusalem, Christ, by his angels or ministers, will gather to himself a glorious church out of all the nations under heaven. No one ever so little versed in history needs to be told, that the Christian religion spread and prevailed mightily after this period, and hardly any one thing contributed more to this success of the Gospel than the destruction of Jerusalem falling out in thevery manner, and in the very circumstances so particularly foretold by our blessed Saviour. See Bishop Newton. Most translations, as well as our own, have greatly obscured this text, by rendering the word αγγελους, angels; for though it generally signifies 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 it is often applied to men, and rendered messengers. See Mark 1:2.Luke 7:24; Luke 7:24; Luk 9:52. 2 Corinthians 8:23. Php 2:25 and Jam 2:25 in some of which places it signifies, as here, preachers of the Gospel, who were sent forth to carry on God's great designs of uniting all his believing people in one society, under Christ under their common head. See Ephesians 1:10

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Matthew 24:34. This generation shall not pass, &c.— Our Lord proceeds to declare, that the time of his coming was at no very great distance; and to shew that he has been speaking all the while of the destruction of Jerusalem, he affirms with his usual asseveration, Verily, I say unto you, &c. It is therefore matter of wonder how any man can refer part of the foregoing discourse to the destruction of Jerusalem, and part of it to the end of the world, or any other distant event, when it is said so positively here, all these things shall be fulfilled in this generation. See Bishop Newton, and Mark 9:1.

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Matthew 24:35. Heaven and earth shall pass away— It seems as if our Saviour had been aware of some such misapplication of his words, as is intimated in the preceding note, by adding yet greater force and emphasis to his affirmation; heaven and earth shall pass, &c. It is a common figure of speech in the oriental languages, to say of two things, that the one shall be, and the other shall not be, when the meaning is only, that the one shall happen sooner or more early than the other,—as in this instance of our Saviour: the meaning therefore is, "Heaven and earth shall sooner or more easily pass away, than my words shall pass away: the frame of the universe shall sooner or more easily be dissolved, than my words shall fail of being fulfilled." See Luke, xvi

One would be ready to think it next to impossible, that any man should duly consider these prophesies, and the exact completion of them; and if he be a believer, not be still more confirmed in the faith; or if he be an infidel, not be converted to the faith. Can any stronger proof be given of a divine revelation than the spirit of prophesy? And can any stronger proof be given of the spirit of prophesy, than the example now before us? in which so many contingencies, and we might say improbabilities, which human wisdom or prudence could never foresee, are so particularly foretold, and so punctually accomplished! At the time when Christ pronounced these prophesies, the Roman governor resided at Jerusalem, and had a force sufficient to keep the people in obedience; and could human prudence foresee, that the city as well as the country would revolt and rebel against the Romans? Could any human prudence foresee famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places? Could human prudence foresee the speedy propagation of the Gospel, so contrary to all human probability? Could human prudence foresee such an utter destructionofJerusalem,withallthecircumstancespreceding and following it? It was never the custom of the Romans absolutely to ruin any of their provinces; it was improbable therefore that such a thing should happen at all, and still more improbable that it should happen under the humane and generous Titus, who was indeed, as he was called, the love and delight of mankind. Yet, however improbable this was, it has happened, and it was foreseen and foretold by Christ. But how was it possible for him to do it, unless his foresight was divine, and his prediction theinfallible oracle of God? See Bishop Newton, and Dr. Macknight.—Eusebius observes well upon this place, that whoever shall compare the words of our Saviour with the history of the war which Josephus has written, cannot but admire the wisdom of Christ, and acknowledge his prediction to be divine.

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Matthew 24:36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man— The word Ωρα, is of a larger signification than hour; and besides, it seems somewhat improper to say, of that day and hour knoweth no man; for if the day was not known, certainly the hour was not; and it was superfluousto make such an addition. The passage therefore might be rendered, "of the day and season," &c. as the word is frequently used in the best authors, both sacred and prophane. It is true our Saviour declares, all these things shall be fulfilled in this generation; it is true, the prophet Daniel has given some intimation of the time in his famous prophesy of the seventy weeks: but though this great revolution was to happen in that generation; though it was to happen at the conclusion of seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, to be computed from a certain date that is not easy to be fixed; yet the particular day, the particular season in which it was to happen, might still remain a secret to men and angels: and our Saviour had before (Matthew 24:20.) advised his disciples to pray, that their flight might not be in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day. The DAY not being known, they might pray that their flight might not be on the Sabbath day: the season not being known, they might pray that their flight might not be in the winter. We shall enlarge on this subject, when we come to Mark 13:32. See Bishop Newton.

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Matthew 24:43. But know this, that, &c.— But consider that if, &c. Heylin.

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Matthew 24:44. Therefore, be ye also ready— As the miseries which men were to undergo at the destruction of Jerusalem, the reasons of that destruction, the passions which its approach would raise in their minds, together with the suddenness and unexpectedness of it, nearly resembled what shall happen at the destruction of the world and the general judgment; it was natural for our Lord, on this occasion, to put the disciples in mind of that judgment, and to exhort them to the faithful discharge of their duty, from the uncertainty of the time of his coming to call every particular person to an account at death. Concerning the form and structure of the parable in the next verses, we shall enlarge, when we come to Luke 12:42., &c.

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