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dealings with mankind, the rejection of Christ by the Jewish people, and the consequent destruction of their nation, typified the rejection of the Gospel by the great majority of mankind, and the judgments which will fall upon them in consequence. But within this general truth there is a deeper mystery, concerning the nominal and the true church; for the people heard Christ gladly, and would have chosen him for their king, but they were stirred up by the leaders of the church to crucify him: and "the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus" (Matt. xxvii. 20). And, on the other hand, the true church then stood represented in that little band of disciples who still believed in Jesus as the Christ, though terrified to that degree that the boldest of them, before the cock crew, denied him thrice. In the antitype of Jerusalem, therefore, which is the Christian church, we must expect to see the same things fulfilled: to see the great bulk of nominal Christians reject Jesus, and choose Barabbas; to see the multitude persuaded to do so, by the leaders of the church; and to see that very destruction overtake them which they had sought by their policy to avoid,-to see the Romans come and take away their place and nation.

Our Lord therefore so frames and orders his discourse in the Gospels as to give the necessary instruction to the true church then, and to the true church now; instructing them how to escape from the destruction of Jerusalem, and instructing us how we may escape in that day which as a snare shall come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth: commanding us to watch and pray always, that we may be accounted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man; and promising to each one who is faithful," There shall not an hair of your head perish.. In your patience possess ye your souls."

The whole tenor of the discourse is most readily gathered by referring to the three Gospels, either in Griesbach's Synopsis, White's Diatessaron, Newcome's, Sir M. Hale's, or Baxter's Harmony; or by opening three Bibles at Matt. xxiv. Mark xiii. Luke xxi. and Luke xvii. 20, for a few points. And we begin with this last passage, as establishing beyond contradiction the order of events for which we have so often contended: First, that the kingdom of God begun in the preaching of our Lord is wholly internal and spiritual; begun in the soul of man, and preparing for the kingdom of the Son of Man; but only the preparation, and not the kingdom itself. Secondly, that that generation should only witness the sufferings of Christ, and not the glory that should follow; for all the evils threatened against Israel by Moses and the Prophets should be brought upon that generation by their rejecting the Messiah: the temple should be destroyed, and themselves scattered into all corners of the earth.

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Thirdly, that even the true disciples should abide long without seeing the Son of Man, and desire to see his day before it would come; and by that desire be in danger of following deceivers, who should give signs, and say, "See here, or See there." And fourthly, that the Son of Man shall be revealed suddenly, while men are eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, as in the days of Noah; and that in His day all men shall see the Son of Man, as the lightning that lighteneth out of one part under heaven and shineth unto the other part thereof.

Be it carefully observed, that our Lord declares to the Pharisees that the kingdom of God which he was then preaching came "not with observation" (Luke xvii. 20). (Luke xvii. 20). Be it also remarked, that to the disciples he declares that "first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of that generation" (ver. 25). And be it further observed, that for this their rejection of Christ, the last of the Prophets, upon them came all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Jesus-all came upon that generation (Matt. xxiii. 36). And of that generation our Lord said, "These be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke xxi. 22). But these days of vengeance on the Jewish people are the opening of a new dispensation to the world; for while the Jews are cast off the Gospel is preached to the Gentiles: and at the conclusion of this dispensation the Jews shall be gathered from all countries to their own land, and the saints of the Gentile dispensation, with those Jews who are converted to Christ, shall be raised and translated at the same time to the fellowship of Christ's glory in the kingdom of heaven. For it immediately follows in the Gospel, "They (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captives into all nations and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke xxi. 24-28).

It is certain, therefore, that the days of vengeance on the Jews lie on them through the whole period of the times of the Gentiles; and that when the Gentile fulness shall have come in, the day of vengeance on those Gentiles who have rejected the Gospel shall begin with signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and at the appearance of these signs, all believers, whether Jews

or Gentiles, are exhorted to lift up their heads, in expectation of the glorious manifestation of the Son of Man from heaven, and of the coming deliverance.

The same truth may be drawn also from the Prophet Daniel's several visions of the abomination of desolation; the first setting up of which cannot precede the warning given concerning it: "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh" (Luke xxi. 20). But it is declared, that, after the city and the sanctuary shall be destroyed, desolations are determined unto the end of the war; and he shall make Jerusalem desolate, even until the consummation; and that determined shall be poured upon the desolator (Dan. ix. 26, 27). In the preceding vision it had been likewise declared that in the transgression of desolation both the sanctuary and the host should be trodden under foot for 2,300 years-then shall the sanctuary be cleansed-a period which, according to the best estimate we can form, will expire between 1843 and 1847. And in the two other passages of Daniel where the abomination of desolation is mentioned it is manifestly very near the time of the end, when Michael shall stand up to deliver the Jewish people, and to raise, the dead (Dan. xi. 31, 40; xii. 1); very near the time when Daniel, shall stand in his lot at the end of the days (Dan. xii. 11, 13). The mystery of the abomination of desolation is the counterpart of the mystery of Antichrist: the one and the other have been in operation from the Apostles' days, in the church and in the world; and both shall be brought to an end at the same time when the beast and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire.

The Jews being thus seen as a type of the Christian church, not only in their past history, but even at present; a standing type of the church now oppressed by the powers of the world; we may find in their coming glory a type of the glory of the church, which shall follow immediately after the destruction of that confederacy typified by Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the rulers of Israel (Acts iv. 27), which brought on the destruction of Jerusalem, the type of that destruction of the merely nominal church to which we have already pointed. The discourse of our Lord thus becomes perfectly clear in its application both to that generation and to the present; and we see at once why in so many points the same warning will apply to both, and wherein lies the distinction necessary to limit any of the warnings either to the one or to the other. The wars and rumours of wars are common to both; the warnings against false Christs are given to them and to us; we, like them, must preach the Gospel to all nations; we must expect persecution, such as theirs; and be ready to forsake all and flee out of Babylon, as they fled from Judea. But they were commanded to do all these things, and endure all these things, with the conviction that the day of Christ's

glory, and of their reward, was far distant, and that they should desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and should not see it (Luke xvii. 22); while we are called to lift up our heads with joy, knowing that our redemption draweth nigh; and do assuredly believe that our Lord cometh quickly, to give to every man according as his work shall be.

But when the Jewish church is found to typify the Christian church in these instances, and the condition and crisis of both are found thus united, a very large field of prophecy is made available to the Christian church, and a clear mark is given to distinguish between the fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecies, for their application to us.

All the prophecies concerning the Jews, without a single exception, conclude in promises of peace, prosperity, and glory, preceded by chastisement of them for their sins, and by the destruction of all their enemies; and this same ordeal the Christian church must go through, and this deliverance receive, before she shall attain to her eternal glory. The church is called to exercise patience and faith under all tribulations, that she may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which she also suffers: "seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble the church, and to such as are troubled rest with the people of God; when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."

In the prophecies concerning the Jews, no time is definitely assigned for their casting off, or for the continuance of their desolation, so as to appear to necessitate their continuance in unbelief for so long a period: we know that God is ever willing to return to them, whensoever they return to him. Nor is the Christian dispensation, which resulted from the unbelief of the Jews, ever so put as to necessitate their sin; nor does the delay of his promised coming proceed from any slackness concerning his promise; but in all cases the long-suffering of God is salvation, "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. iii. 9, 15).

And so in the discourses of our Lord no, time is given for the continuance of the tribulation, but it is only declared that immediately afterwards the Son of Man shall come; and it is moreover graciously promised that for the elect's sake those days of affliction and anguish shall be shortened, as an encouragement to our fervency in prayer, and as a support to our shrinking nature.

But though the time is concealed from all, there are signs given by our Lord, and in the Apostolic writings, by taking heed to which the church may know of the approach of that

day, may know that "it is near, even at the doors" (Matt. xxiv. 33): signs not only in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, but also upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth. And when these things begin to come to pass, then may we look up, and lift up our heads, for our redemption draweth nigh (Luke xxi. 28).

An attention to the signs of the times becomes, then, incumbent upon all who would enter the kingdom of heaven; who would obtain an interest in that redemption for which they profess to be waiting. It is incumbent, not as a speculation, not as an intellectual enjoyment, not as a stimulus to greater diligence merely, nor solely for increasing our watchfulness; but for salvation; for wisdom to enter in before the door is shut, and as we would escape condemnation with the hypocrites, "who could discern the face of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times" (Matt. xvi. 3).

The signs are threefold, to the world, to the nominal church, and to the true church; and all three have now their warnings; the signs of the approaching end are begun. The world acknowledges its signs: it acknowledges that a crisis is approaching, the like to which has never before been experienced. Its hopes and its fears were for some time balanced, and it felt little more than an instinctive dread of so total a change, without distinctly apprehending whether the crisis was for weal or for woe: but now the world itself is appalled at the signs of the times, and all its efforts, are directed to prolong at any sacrifice the hollow truce which subsists between the demons of anarchy and the powers that be; a truce during which not a moment is lost by the ministers of darkness in enlarging the mine under the very foundations of Christendom, and accumulating combustibles for a more tremendous explosion, which will not leave one stone upon another in the fabric of society that shall not be overthrown: while the waters of the great river Euphrates are now verily well nigh dried up, that the way of the kings of the East may be prepared. The Jews are near their home.

The signs to the nominal church are no less manifest, and have been long seen approaching by all impartial persons, by all but the slaves of system, and are now recognised even by them. Orthodox forms, establishments, the protection of Princes, have been the grounds of false confidence to the nominal church, which for a long time hoodwinked the church from beholding the manifest signs of an approaching storm. The heavens are now black over its head; the tempest already whistles in its ears; and it is dizzy, as he that lieth down in the

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