THE

CHRISTIAN SPECTATOR.

No. 7.)

JULY.

[1826.

EXEGESIS OF MATTHEW XXIV.

29-31.

olate."*

Beligious.
For the Christian Spectator. unto thee, how often would I have

gathered thy children together even
as a hen gathereth her chickens

under her wings ; but ye would “ IMMEDIATELY after those days of

not! Behold, therefore, your house

is left unto you affliction, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall withhold her

After thus alluding to the ca

lamities which awaited the Jews, light; and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the heavenly powers ives, an eminence from which Je

Christ retired to the Mount of Ol. shall be shaken. Then shall ap- rusalem could be seen in all its pear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven ; and all the tribes of the beauty and magnificence. Pointland shall mourn, when they shall ing to its splendid edifices, he said

to his disciples, " there shall not see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with great ma

be left one stone upon another." jesty and power. And he will This alarming prediction led them send his messengers with a loud

to inquire when it should be ful.

filled, and what signs would presounding trumpet, who shall as

cede its fulfilment. As precursors semble his elect from the four

of the event Christ bade them ex. quarters of the earth, from one extremity of the world to the other.” pect false teachers and pretended

Messiahs ; war, famine, pestilence, --Campbell's Translation.

and earthquakes ; the apostacy of The circumstances in which this many Christians, the spread of his prophecy was uttered, will serve to gospel, and a great variety of perexplain its import. After reprov.secutions. When they should see ing the Pharisees for their pride Jerusalem encompassed with arand hypocrisy, their attachment to mies, he assured them its destruchuman traditions, and their oppo

tion would be nigh, and exhorted sition to his cause, Christ declared its inhabitants to flee for refuge to that God was about to punish them the mountains. After repeating for their sins, and avenge on that some of these watnings, he progeneration “all the righteous blood ceeds to describe, in the glowing shed upon the earth from the blood language of prophecy, the destrucof Abel to the blood of Zacha

tion of that devoted city. To this terrible denuncia mediately after those days of afflic. tion he added the pathetic apos- tion, the sun shall be darkened, trophe—“ 0 Jerusalem, Jerusa- and the moon shall withhold her lem! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent

* Matt. xxiii. 37, 38. + Matt. xxiv.

1-3. # Matt. xxiv. 4—14. Matt. * Matt. xxiv. 1-33.

xxiv. 15--22. Luke xxi. 26. 1826. No. 7.

42

" Im

rias."*

a

light ; and the stars shall fall from " And then shall appear the sign heaven, and the heavenly powers of the Son of Man in hearen.” shall be shaken. Then shall ap. Those who were appointed by pear the sign of the Son of Man in God to publish his will, proved heaven ; and all the tribes of the their divine commission by uttering land shall mourn when they shall predictions, and performing mirasee the Son of Man coming in the cles. The Jews expected the adclouds of heaven with great majes- vent of their Messiah to be attendty and power. And he will send ed with supernatural events, pecuhis messengers with a loud-sound- liarly grand and awful, which they ing trumpet, who shall gather his called signs from heaven ;* and elect from the four quarters of the they frequently demanded such earth, from one extremity of the signs of Christ in support of his world to the other."

claims to the office of Messiah.f To one who is familiar with the Such proofs he threatens, in this nature of prophetic language, the verse, to give them. The word general import of this passage is translated signs, denotes any thing too obvious to require minute and which proves a divine commission ; elaborate criticism. The phrase, it here refers to the prodigies immediately after the tribulation of which attended the destruction of those days, and the corresponding Jerusalem, and means simply proof, expression in Mark,* in those days or evidence. A sign in heaven is after that tribulation—EV EXEIDIS TAIS a conspicuous sign; a sign of the ημέραις μετα την θλιψιν εκεινην-mean Son of Man in heaven is conspicusimply, that soon after the events ous proof of his being the Messiah ; mentioned as preceding the de- and the whole phrase, therefore, struction of Jerusalem, “ the sun means that Christ, in destroying should be darkened, and the moon Jerusalem, should vindicate his withhold her light ; the stars claims to the character of Messiah, should fall from heaven, and the and give awful displays of his maheavenly powers should be sha- jesty and power." And then shall ken.” These are the expressions all the tribes of the earth mourn used in Hebrew poetry to denote when they shall see the Son of Man the celestial bodies. The lan- coming in the clouds of heaven guage, though bold and striking, with power and great glory.” The corresponds with the ordinary phrase, all the tribes of the earth, style of Jewish prophets, who em- Kaơ ai ở QuÀai TS Yns,—though ofploy changes in the natural world ten used to denote the whole huto represent changes in the moral man family, is occasionally applied, and political world. Isaiah_thus by way of eminence, to the inhabidescribes the overthrow of Baby- tants of Palestine. This strong lon :

language, therefore, means simply,

that the inhabitants of Judea "The Rtars of heaven, and the constella

should mourn when they saw the tions thereof, Shall not send forth their light:

Saviour coming in all the terrors The sun is darkened in his going forth,

of an avenging God, amid the And the moon shall not cause her light clouds of heaven. This figure is to shine.

movements of the Almighty ; for the destruction of Jerusalem. The when Jehovah came to deliver disciples asked when Jerusalem David, he is said “to bow the should be overthrown ; and Christ heavens and come down—to ride in reply, mentioned some signs upon a cherub, and fly on the which should precede this event, wings of the wind."*—“ And he and added, that these signs of woe shall send his messengers with a should be immediately followed by loud-sounding trumpet.” Angels the destruction of ihat devoted are messengers of God. The word city. There is no intimation, that is used by the sacred writers lite- the subject of discourse is changrally to designate the instruments ed; and the passage itself bears of Providence, or figuratively to every mark of being a continuation represent signal interpositions of of the prophecy which all refer to Providence without specifying the the fall of Jerusalem. agents employed.t A trumpet was II. The context seems to decide the usual instrument for sounding the point. To show how closely an alarm, and summoning the peo- the signs he had mentioned would ple to resist invasion. The an- be connected with the destruction gels, therefore, blowing their trum- of Jerusalem, Christ adds, in the pets, and gathering the elect into very next verse, a parable drawn places of safety “from the four from the fig-tree. 6. When his winds, from one end of heaven to branch is yet tender, and putteth the other,” represent the special forth leaves, ye know that summer interposition of Providence to de- is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye liver Christians from those calami. shall see all these things--the ties which awaited the unbelieving signs which I have specified as Jews.

precursors of this event,-know The whole passage, divested of that it is near, even at the doors. its poetic costume, may be thus Verily I say unto you, this genparaphrased :-Immediately after eration shall not pass till all these the events mentioned as signs pre- things be fulfilled.*

The men ceding the fulfilment of this proph- of that generation, then, were ecy, Jerusalem shall be destroyed to witness the fulfilment of this with a terrible overthrow. The prophecy. This language is uneJews, when they see these calami- quivoca!, and fixes the reference ties coming upon them, shall deep- of this passage to the calamities ly mourn their fate ; but Chris- which overwhelmed the Jews, tians, in every part of the land, when the Romans, about seventy shall by the merciful providence of years after the birth of Christ, took God be delivered from these evils. ihe city of their solemnities, burned

We come, then, to the conclu- its temple, and spread devastation sion, that this passage refers ex- through the land.f clusively to the fall of Jerusalem, III. If we examine the pecuand the consequent calamities liarities of Hebrew poetry, and which befel the Jewish nation. prophetic language, we shall find This may be confirmed by the fol. additional reasons for acquiescing lowing considerations :

in the conclusion to which we have I. The passage forms a part of a arrived. To the writers of the prophecy which is supposed by all New Testament the sacred poems judicious commentators to foretell of their nation were as “familiar

ever simple their ordinary style, The prophet then represents the they always dressed their predic. Jews as chanting a song of triumph tions in the splendid costume of over the fallen monarch of Babyprophetic poetry.

Simeon had lon. The earth, smiling in peacedisplayed no peculiar ardor of feel- ful repose, breaks forth in acclaing, or vigor of fancy ; but when mations of gladness; the trees of he clasped the infant Saviour in the forest clap their hands for joy ; his arms, he kindled into a blaze of the ghosts of departed kings meet enthusiasm, and painted the pro- the tyrant with the bitterest rephetic visions which burst on his proaches, as he enters the world of eye, in colours so bright and vivid spirits ; and the song closes with that the genius of Isaiah seemed to fearful imprecations on his poster. have risen from the slumber of ity, and on the city where he had centuries.* The prose style of swayed his sceptre of oppression

* John has all the simplicity of na- and blood.* As the fallen despot ture ; but when he comes to de- enters the world of departed spiscribe the future glories of the ritschurch, he dips his pen in the radi

“ Hades from beneath is moved because ance of heaven, and transfers to of thee, to meet thee at thy coming, the Apocalypse all the bold and He moveth for thee the mighty dead, all beautiful imagery of the prophets.

the great chiefs of the earth; Examples of the poetic and pro

He maketh to rise up from their thrones

all the kings of the nations. phetic style of the sacred writers All of them shall accost thee, and shall might be multiplied without num

say unto theeber ; but I will add only one from Art thou, even thou too, become weak as the prophecy of Isaiah, respecting

we? art thou made like unto us? the fall of Babylon. Jehovah

Is then thy pride brought down to the lifting a standard, musters the Me

grave; the sound of thy sprightly in

struments ? dian army, and leads “his conse. Is the vermin become thy couch, and the crated warriors" forth to attack earth-worm thy covering? the devoted city. Its inhabitants How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Luare smitten with terror and amaze

cifer, son of the morning!

Those that see thee shall look attentively ment; its warriors are trampled

at thee, they shall well consider thee; down like mire, its children dash- Is this the man that made the earth to ed on the pavements, and its streets tremble, that shook kingdoms : I drenched with blood. At this scene

Lowth. of war, the earth is shaken from This magnificent description was her place, and the luminaries of designed to represent that series of heaven are veiled in darkness. I calamities which terminated in the Babylon is never more to be inhab- total destruction of Babylon. But ited ;

what were these calamities ? His.

tory must inform us ; and from it * But there shall the wild beasts of the we learn, that Cyrus took the cideserts lodge;

ty, but spared its inhabitants, and And howling monsters shall fill their left its walls standing ; that Darius

houses ; And there shall the daughters of the os

demolished its gates to prevent its trich dwell;

*

the capital of his empire ; that it The commotions, which are said gradually declined from its pristine to pervade all nature, are the symmagnificence, till, in the fifth cen- bols commonly employed by the tury of the Christian era, it was prophets to represent great revoluconverted by the kings of Persia, tions. The Son of Man riding in into a park for wild beasts, and ul- awful majesty through the heavens, timately became a heap of almost and his angels sent forth to gather undistinguishable ruins.* The his chosen people beneath the banprophecy must, therefore, have ner of his love, are emblems of that been at least seven, and probably deliverance which the Christians in more than ten centuries in receiv- Judea actually obtained from the ing its complete fulfilment. calamities that put an end to the

To the construction we have put Jewish nation. upon the prophecy of Christ re- I am aware, that various opin. specting Jerusalem, it has been ob- ions have been adopted respecting jected that its language is too strong the import of the passage under to be applied to the destruction of consideration.* Some refer it sole. a city, or a nation. But if image- ly to the day of judgment; while ry so grand and awful as that which others suppose it to relate, in its we have been examining, was used plain and primary signification, to to describe events of less impor- the overthrow of Jerusalem, but in tance, is it strange that Christ em- its mystical and secondary sense, ployed language equally bold to to the day of judgment. The sepredict an event the most disastrous cond opinion involves the long disthat the Jewish annals ever record- puted doctrine of a double sense ; ed ?

a principle in sacred hermaneutics We shall more readily admit this which has been adopted by most conclusion, if we consider prophe- commentators since the time of cy as a symbolical representation. Origen, and which is still retained The parables of Christ are sym- by the greater part of English critbols, and might be represented by ics, though it has long since been a series of historical paintings.- discarded by the ablest scholars on Suppose a painter to employ his the continent. All these points art in teaching the moral lesson deserve a thorough examination ; contained in the parable of the pro- but each topic would require a sepdigal son. He might represent, arate article and my limits, therein the first picture, the prodigal re- fore, force me to omit not only ceiving his patrimony ; in the se- these, but the well known fulfilcond, wasting it in scenes of dissi- ment of this prophecy, and a vas pation; in the third, feeding on riety of interesting topics which it husks, and famishing among swine ; suggests.

R. NAMAN. in the last, restored to the arms of his father, and the bosom of his

* See an enumeration of these in Kuia family. Thus a battle, the destruc- noel Com. in loc.; Wolfii Curac h. I.

+ See a very candid and ingenious detion of a city, and the peculiarities fence of this principle in Lowth's Lecturo of different nations are to be por- on Hebrew Poetry, Sec. XI., and a brief trayed.

refutation in the notes by Rosenmuller Let us apply this principle to the