is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall [a also] the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the Job xxxix. 30. eagles be gathered together.

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days "shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her domit.

enthusiasm or superstition, but seeing and looking for Him who is invisible. On the signs and wonders, see 2 Thess. ii. 9-12: Deut. xiii. 1—3. 27, 28.] The coming of the Lord in the end, even as that in the type was, shall be a plain unmistakeable fact, understood of all;-and like that also, sudden and all-pervading. But here again the full meaning of the words is only to be found in the final fulfilment of them. The lightning, lighting both ends of heaven at once, seen of all beneath it, can only find its full similitude in HIS Personal coming, Whom every eye shall see, Rev. i. 7. 28.] The stress is on wheresoever and there, pointing out the universality. In the similar discourse, Luke xvii. 37, before this saying, the disciples ask, 'Where, Lord? The answer is,-first, at Jerusalem: where the corrupting body lies, thither shall the vultures (see below) gather themselves together, coming as they do from far on the scent of prey. Secondly, in its final fulfilment,-over the whole world; for that is the carcase now, and the eagles the angels of vengeance. See Deut. xxviii. 49, which is probably here referred to; also Hosea viii. 1: Heb. i. 8. The interpretation which makes the carcase our Lord, and the eagles the elect, is

quite beside the purpose. Neither is any

allusion to the Roman eagles to be for a moment thought of. The birds meant by the original word are the vultures (vultur percnopterus, Linn.), usually reckoned by the ancients as belonging to the eagle kind.

29. Immediately] All the difficulty which this word has been supposed to involve has arisen from confounding the partial fulfilment of the prophecy with its ultimate one. The important insertion in Luke (xxi. 23, 24) shews us that the tribulation includes wrath upon this people, which is yet being inflicted: and the treading down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles, still going on (see note there): and immediately after that tribulation which shall happen when the cup of Gentile iniquity is full, and when the Gospel shall have been preached in all the world for a witness, and rejected by the Gentiles, (in Luke, "the

u Isa. xiii. 10. Ezek. xxxii. 7. Joel ii. 10,

31 iii. 15.

Amos v. 20:
Acts 20.

viii. 9.

Rev. vi. 12.

In

times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,") shall the
coming of the Lord Himself happen. On
the indefiniteness of this assigned period
in the prophecy, see note on ver. 3. (The
expression in Mark is equally indicative of
a considerable interval: "In those days,
after that tribulation.") The fact of His
coming, and its attendant circumstances,
being known to Him, but the exact time
unknown,-He speaks without regard to the
interval, which would be employed in His
waiting till all things are put under His
feet see Rev. i. 1; xxii. 6—20.
what follows, from this verse, the Lord
speaks mainly and directly of His great
second coming. Traces there are (as e. g.
in the literal meaning of ver. 34) of slight
and indirect allusions to the destruction
of Jerusalem;-as there were in the former
part to the great events of which that is a
foreshadowing:- but no direct mention.
The contents of the rest of the chapter
may be set forth as follows: (ver. 29)
signs which shall immediately precede
(ver. 30) the coming of the Lord to judg
ment, and (ver. 31) to bring salvation to
His elect. The certainty of the event,
and its intimate connexion with its pre-
monitory signs (vv. 32, 33); the endur-
ance (ver. 34) of the Jewish people till
the end-even till Heaven and Earth

Its

(ver. 35) pass away. But (ver. 36) of
the day and hour none knoweth.
suddenness (vv. 37-39) and decisiveness
(vv. 40, 41),—and exhortation (vv. 42—
44) to be ready for it. A parable setting
forth the blessedness of the watching, and
misery of the neglectful servant (vv. 45—
end), and forming a point of transition to
the parables in the next chapter.
shall the sun be darkened] The darkening
of the material lights of this world is used
in prophecy as a type of the occurrence
of trouble and danger in the fabric of
human societies, Isa. v. 30; xiii. 10;
xxxiv. 4: Jer. iv. 28: Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8:
Amos viii. 9, 10: Micah iii. 6. But the
type is not only in the words of the pro-
phecy, but also in the events themselves.
Such prophecies are to be understood lite-
rally, and indeed without such understand-

v Dan. vii. 13.

w Zech. xii. 12.

I ch. xvi. 27.
Rev. i. 7.

X

light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and ych great glory. 31 y And he shall send his angels with a great • sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his • render, voice.

1 Cor. xv. 52. 1 Thess. iv.

16.

render, the parable from the fig-tree: When now his branch becometh tender.

ing would lose their truth and significance.
The physical signs shall happen (see Joel
ii. 31: Hagg. ii. 6, 21, compared with
Heb. xii. 26, 27) as accompaniments and
intensifications of the awful state of things
which the description typifies. The Sun
of this world and the church (Mal. iv. 2:
Luke i. 78: John i. 9: Eph. v. 14: 2 Pet.
i. 19) is the Lord Jesus-the Light, is the
Knowledge of Him. The moon-human
knowledge and science, of which it is said
(Ps. xxxvi. 9), 'In thy light shall we see
light reflected from, and drinking the
beams of, the Light of Christ. The stars
-see Dan. viii. 10-are the leaders and
teachers of the Church. The Knowledge
of God shall be obscured-the Truth nigh
put out-worldly wisdom darkened-the
Church system demolished, and her teachers
cast down. And all this in the midst of
the fearful signs here (and in Luke, vv.
25, 26, more at large) recounted: not
setting aside, but accompanying, their
literal fulfilment. the powers of the
heavens] not the stars, just mentioned;
-nor the angels, spoken of by and by,
ver. 31: but most probably the greater
heavenly bodies, which rule the day and
night, Gen. i. 16, and are there also dis-
tinguished from the stars. See notes on
2 Pet. iii. 10-12, where the stars seem
to be included in the elements. Typically,
the influences which rule human society,
which make the political weather fair or
foul, bright or dark; and encourage the
fruits of peace, or inflict the blight and
desolation of war. 30.] This then, so
emphatically placed and repeated, is a
definite declaration of time,-not a mere
sign of sequence or coincidence, as e. g. in
ver. 23-when these things shall have
been somewhile filling men's hearts with
fear,-THEN shall &c.
It is quite
uncertain what the sign shall be :-plainly,

not the Son of Man Himself, as some explain it (even Bengel, generally so valuable in his explanations, says, "He Himself shall be the sign of Himself," and quotes Luke ii. 12 as confirming this view; but there the swaddling clothes and the manger were the 'sign,' not the Child), nor any outward marks on His body, as His wounds; for both these would confuse what the prophecy keeps distinct-the seeing of the sign of the Son of Man, and all tribes of the earth mourning, and afterwards seeing the Son of Man Himself. This is manifestly some sign in the Heavens, by which all shall know that the Son of Man is at hand. The Star of the Wise Men naturally occurs to our thoughts-but a star would not be a sign which all might read. On the whole

all

I think no sign completely answers the
conditions, but that of the Cross:-and
accordingly we find the Fathers mostly
thus explaining the passage. But as our
Lord Himself does not answer the question,
"What is the sign of thine appearing?"
we may safely leave the matter.
the tribes of the earth] See Zech. xii. 10—
14, where the mourning is confined to the
families of Israel:-here, it is universal:
see Rev. i. 7; also vi. 15-17. This com-
ing of the Son of Man is not that spoken
of ch. xxv. 31, but that in 1 Thess. iv. 16,
17, and Rev. xix. 11 ff.,-His coming at
the commencement of the millennial reign
to establish His Kingdom: see Dan. vii.
13, 14.
The power is the power of
this Kingdom, not, the host of heaven.
31.] This is not the great Trumpet
of the general Resurrection (1 Cor. xv.
52), except in so far as that may be spoken
of as including also the first resurrection:
see on this verse the remarkable opening
of Ps. 1., which is itself a prophecy of
these same times. 32, 33, 34.] The

33

a ch. xvi. 28:

Isa. li. 6. ch. v. 18. Heb. i. 11.

branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. z James v. 9. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 b Heaven and earth b P. cii. 20. words shall not pass away. pass away, but my 36 c But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not Acts 1.7. the angels of heaven, but i my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall [ also] the coming of the Son of man be. 38 d For as in the days that were before the d Gen. vi. 3, 4, flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving

shall

h

render, none.

8 render, shall happen. English version in ver. 32 is ambiguous, besides being unfaithful. By "of" is evidently meant from: but it seems as if it were only concerning. "Learn," says our Lord, "from the fig-tree the parable:" the natural phænomenon which may serve as a key to the meaning. This coming

of the Lord shall be as sure a sign that the Kingdom of Heaven is nigh, as the putting forth of the tender leaves of the fig-tree is a sign that summer is nigh. Observe all these things,-every one of these things, this coming of the Son of Man included, which will introduce the millennial Kingdom.

As regards

the parable, there is a reference to the withered fig-tree which the Lord cursed: and as that, in its judicial unfruitfulness, emblematized the Jewish people, so here the putting forth of the fig-tree from its state of winter dryness, symbolizes the future reviviscence of that race, which the Lord (ver. 34) declares shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. That this is the true meaning of that verse, must appear, when we recollect that it forms the conclusion of this parable, and is itself joined, by this generation passing away, to the verse following. We cannot, in seeking for its ultimate fulfilment, go back to the taking of Jerusalem and make the words apply to it. As this is one of the points on which the rationalizing interpreters lay most stress to shew that the prophecy has failed, I have taken pains to shew, in my Gr. Test., that the word here rendered generation has the meaning of a race or family of people. In all the places there cited, the word necessarily bears that signification: having it is true a more pregnant meaning, implying that the character of one generation stamps itself upon the race, as here in this verse also. The continued use of pass away (the

i or, the.

C

1 Thess. v. 2. 2 Pet. iii. 10.

5: vii. 5.
1 Pet. iii. 20.

komit.

word is the same in verses 34, 35) should
have saved the Commentators from the
blunder of imagining that the then living
generation was meant, seeing that the pro-
phecy is by the next verse carried on to
the end of all things: and that, as matter
of fact, the Apostles and ancient Christians
did continue to expect the Lord's coming,
after that generation had passed away.
But, as Stier well remarks, "there are men
foolish enough now to say, heaven and
earth will never pass away, but the words
of Christ pass away in course of time -;
of this, however, we wait the proof." ii.
505. all these things-all the signs
hitherto recounted-so that both these
words, and ye (in ver. 33), have their
partial, and their full meanings.
it is near-viz. the end. On ver. 35 see
Ps. cxix. 89: Isa. xl. 8; li. 6: Ps. cii. 26.
36.] that day, viz. of heaven and
earth passing away; or, perhaps referring
to ver. 30 ff. day and hour- the exact
time as we say, the hour and minute.'
The very important addition to this verse
in Mark, and in some ancient MSS. here,
neither the Son, is indeed included in
"but my Father only," but could hardly
have been inferred from it, had it not been
expressly stated: ch. xx. 23. All attempts
to soften or explain away this weighty
truth must be resisted: it will not do to
say with some Commentators, "He knows
it not as regards us," which, however well
meant, is a mere evasion:-in the course
of humiliation undertaken by the Son, in
which He increased in wisdom (Luke ii.
52), learned obedience (Heb. v. 8), uttered
desires in prayer (Luke vi. 12, &c.),—this
matter was hidden from Him: and as I
have already remarked, this is carefully to
be borne in mind, in explaining the pro-
phecy before us. 37-39.] This com-
parison also occurs in Luke xvii. 26, 27,

in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall [ also] the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one m shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one m shall be taken, and the other left.

42 e Watch therefore for ye know not what hour your The Lord doth come. 43 f But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered gch xxv. 13. his house to be broken up. 44 8 Therefore be ye also such an hour as ye think not the Son of 45 h Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give

them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, i Rev. xvi. 15. whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

k

23. Luke xxii. 29.

47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler kch. xxv. 21, over all his goods. 48 But [Pand] if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 and shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there 1ch. viii, 12: shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

1

XXV. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth

P not expressed in the original.

all that He had said to them. Who then is] A question asked that each one may put it to himself,-and to signify the high honour of such an one. faithful and wise] Prudence in a servant can be only the consequence of faithfulness to his

master.

This verse is especially addressed to the Apostles and Ministers of Christ. The give them (their) meat (= portion of meat, Luke xii. 42) answers to the description of the workman that need not be ashamed in 2 Tim. ii. 15. On ver. 47, compare ch. xxv. 21: 1 Tim. iii. 13: Rev. ii. 26; iii. 21, which last two passages answer to the promise here, that each faithful servant shall be over all his master's goods. That promotion shall not be like earthly promotion, wherein the eminence of one excludes that of another, -but rather like the diffusion of love, in which, the more each has, the more there is for all. 48-51.] The question is not here asked again, who is &c., but the transition made from the good to the bad servant, or even the good to the bad mind of the same servant, by the epithet evil. delayeth] then manifestly, a long delay is in the mind of the Lord: see above on ver. 29. Notice that this servant also is one set over the household-one who says my lord-and began well-but now begins to, &c.-falls away from his truth and faithfulness;-the sign of which is that he begins (lit. shall have begun) to lord it over the elect (1 Pet. v. 3), and to revel with the children of the world. consequence, though he have not lost his belief ("my lord"), he shall be placed with those who believed not, the hypocrites. 51.] The reference is to the punishment of cutting, or sawing asunder:

In

I read, shall.

XXV. 30.

see Dan. ii. 5; iii. 29: Sus. ver. 59: see also Heb. iv. 12; xi. 37. The expression here is perhaps not without a symbolical reference also to that dreadful sundering of the conscience and practice which shall be the reflective torment of the condemned and by the mingling and confounding of which only is the anomalous life of the wilful sinner made in this world tolerable.

ten

CHAP. XXV. 1-13.] PARABLE OF THE VIRGINS. Peculiar to Matthew. 1.] Then-at the period spoken of at the end of the last chapter, viz. the coming of the Lord to His personal reign-not His final coming to judgment. virgins] The subject of this parable is not, as of the last, the distinction between the faithful and unfaithful servants; no outward distinction here exists-all are virgins-all companions of the bride-all furnished with brightly-burning lamps-all, up to a certain time, fully ready to meet the Bridegroom-the difference consists in some having made a provision for feeding the lamps in case of delay, and the others none-and the moral of the parable is the blessedness of endurance unto the end.

The point of the parable consists," as Calvin remarks, in this, "that it is not enough to have been once girt and prepared for duty, unless we endure even to the end." There is no question here of apostasy, or unfaithfulness-but of the want of provision to keep the light bright against the coming of the bridegroom, however delayed.

Ten was a favourite number with the Jews-ten men formed a congregation in a synagogue. In a passage from Rabbi Salomo, cited by Wetstein, he mentions ten lamps or torches as the usual number