ORDER OF EVENTS. After the last public discourse (chap. 23) our Lord did not at once leave the temple, but (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4) sat quietly in the court of the women, looking at those casting in their gifts, to find an opportunity for praising one act of real religion amidst all the hypocris... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:1. FROM THE TEMPLE, _i.e..,_ the exclusively Jewish part, inclosed from the court of the Gentiles. He never returned, and henceforth the temple was virtually desolate. The Apostles returned, holding out mercy still; the last rejection recorded is that of Paul (Acts 21:27 ff.), who was eve... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:2. ALL THESE THINGS? Mark 13:2: ‘these great buildings.' VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, etc. This prophecy was uttered in a time of profound peace, when the possibility of the destruction of such a magnificent work of art and sanctuary of religion seemed very unlikely; but was literally fulfill... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:3. THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. Opposite the temple. The siege of Jerusalem began from this place, and at the same season of the year. It was from the side of this mount, that our Lord two days before had prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 19:43-44). THE DISCIPLES. Mark (Mark 13:3):... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:4. SEE THAT NO MAN DECEIVE YOU _._ The admonition is prophetic, intimating the perplexity of the whole subject. A caution to Christians regarding specific teaching about these unfulfilled predictions.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:5. COME IN MY NAME, as the Messiah. The Messianic hopes of the Jews were at fever heat, as the destruction of their holy city drew near; many enthusiasts appeared as seducers of the people, and awakened false expectations. It is not known that they claimed the authority of the Christian M... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:6. OF WARS AND RUMOURS OF WARS. The primary reference is to the threats of war against the Jews before the campaign which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem. During this period there were unusual commotions among the Jews in all countries, and in Rome too. It is also a prediction of un... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:7. NATION SHALL RISE AGAINST NATION, etc. Primarily, national uprisings of the Jews ; then, wars of races, political revolutions, migrations, etc. Even the times preceding the dissolution of the Roman Empire have not exhausted this prediction. FAMINES, AND EARTHQUAKES IN DIVERS PLACES. A... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:8. THE BEGINNING OF TRAVAIL, _i.e._, birth pangs. The physical woes are the basis of the greater succeeding moral woes. ‘The death - throes of the Jewish state precede the” regeneration” of the universal Christian Church, as the death-throes of this world the new heavens and new earth' (A... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:9. Then, _i.e._, ‘during this time,' not ‘after this.' See Luke 21:12. THEY SHALL DELIVER YOU UP, etc. Soon literally fulfilled. But it may now be referred to the spirit of persecution, always latent in the world and to break out in the last times. HATED OF ALL THE NATIONS. (Mark and... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:10. THEN SHALL MANY BE OFFENDED, or ‘fall away.' The Apostles understood this of the first century; see the repeated warnings against apostasy in the Epistles. The fulfilment will culminate in the last days. DELIVER UP ONE ANOTHER, _i.e._, to tribunals, to heathen magistrates, as was th... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:11. MANY FALSE PROPHETS. In the Apostolic times such teachers appeared ; Judaizing first proclaiming strict adherence to the law, and afterwards a kind of antinomianism, or ‘lawlessness.' Comp. the later Epistles. The same moral phenomena will mark an analogous period.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:12. BECAUSE INIQUITY (or ‘lawlessness') SHALL BE MULTIPLIED. A horrible state of immorality prevailed in the first century, and the false teachers endeavored to join it with Christian profession ; the inevitable result was a coldness, a dying out of Christian love. THE LOVE OF THE MANY... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:13. UNTO THE END. The Christians were saved from the horrors attending the destruction of Jerusalem. But the principle is a general one. For the individual, ‘the end' is the day of his death ; for the Church, it is the Advent of Christ, the end of all things. The last sense is the more im... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:14. THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM, etc. The preaching of the gospel throughout the Roman world preceded the end of the Jewish state ; the promulgation of the gospel throughout the whole world will be the sign of the end of this world. FOR A TESTIMONY UNTO ALL THE NATIONS. _To_ them, if the... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:15. WHEN THEREFORE YE SEE. This direct address points to a speedy fulfilment, whatever may be the ulterior reference. ‘Therefore' takes Roman Standards up the thought of Matthew 24:9, where their personal persecution had been spoken of. THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION WHICH WAS SPOKEN OF B... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:15-22. These verses certainly refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. Another fulfilment is probable, in accordance with the parallel lines of prophecy we have traced in the preceding section (Matthew 24:5-14). But precisely because the details are so minute, we must be cautious in applyin... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:16. FLEE UNTO THE MOUNTAINS. The Christians in Judea accordingly fled to Pella, over the mountains in Perea, and were safe in all those days of horror.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:17. ON THE HOUSE-TOP. The flat roofs of eastern dwellings were a favorite place of resort. NOT GO DOWN. Some suppose this is a command to flee along the house-tops or to go down by the outer stairs as a quicker way. What is distinctly forbidden is to go down TO TAKE THE THINGS OUT OF HI... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:19. WOE UNTO THEM, etc. Natural affection is not forbidden, and this verse expresses compassion for mothers who were thus delayed.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:20. PRAY YE. The trying events were distinctly predicted, yet prayer is just as distinctly enjoined. NOT IN THE WINTER, which would not only make it more disagreeable, but might prevent their fleeing far enough. ON A SABBATH. On the Jewish Sabbath. On that day the gates of the cities... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:21. GREAT TRIBULATION, etc. Josephus, a Jew by birth and education, but a Roman in religion and sympathies, in describing the siege of Jerusalem, almost repeats the words of our Lord. From this ‘great tribulation' the Jewish Christians escaped by fleeing to Pella. The siege began at the t... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:22. EXCEPT THOSE DAYS HAD BEEN SHORTENED, etc. (A prophetic past tense.) Various causes did combine to shorten the siege of Jerusalem, so that the Christians in the neighboring place of refuge were not so much exposed. These causes were : (1) Herod Agrippa had begun to fortify the walls o... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:23. THEN. Sufficiently indefinite to favor any or all of the interpretations of the passage. During the subsequent period, is exact enough. IF ANY MAN SHALL SAY TO YOU, etc. This indicates that the disciples _then_ expected that the second Advent would immediately follow; and was first... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:24. FALSE CHRISTS. While this may refer to the impostors of the first century, it now points to ‘Antichrist,' or the many ‘antichrists' (1 John 2:18), constantly arising. False prophets. Such arose among the Jews, but have arisen ever since. SHOW GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS, in appearance p... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:25. TOLD YOU BEFORE HAND. (Mark 13:23, ‘But take ye heed.') A warning which can scarcely have been exhausted in the first century.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:26. BEHOLD, HE IS IN THE WILDERNESS, whither the impostors led their followers (Acts 21:38). BEHOLD, HE IS IN THE INNER CHAMBERS, teaching in private, proposing some scheme of deliverance. But Matthew 24:27 points so unmistakably to the last days also, that we understand this caution as... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:27. FOR AS THE LIGHTNING, etc. At this point we must accept a direct reference to the end of the world. The destruction of Jerusalem was sudden, but here the ulterior sense, which was never absent, becomes the prominent one. FROM THE EAST. A literal explanation of this phrase is forbidd... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:28. WHERESOEVER THE CARCASS IS, THERE WILL THE EAGLES BE GATHERED TOGETHER. In Luke 17:37, this figure is the answer to the question of the disciples : ‘Where Lord?' referring to the times of judgment. We therefore apply the metaphor to the necessity, inevitableness, and universality (‘wh... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:29. BUT IMMEDIATELY, suddenly after a slow development, rather than immediately following, or unexpectedly. Matthew 24:36 shows that our Lord did not intend to define the length of the interval, or to encourage us to define it. AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS, not the tribulation att... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:30. THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN IN HEAVEN. This points to some unmistakable appearance preceding the personal manifestation of Christ. Something like the Star of the wise men, some suppose ; the Fathers thought, a sign of the cross in the heavens; a luminous appearance visible to all, itse... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:31. Send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the angels and trumpets are distinguished, the latter coming first. The trumpet, used to call assemblies together, refers to some means employed in connection with the actual ‘angels' to gather C... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:32. NOW FROM THE FIG TREE LEARN THE PARABLE, NAMELY, WHAT FOLLOWS. PUTTETH FORTH LEAVES, or ‘its leaves.' The blossoms precede the leaves, and when the leaves come, the fruit season is near. Comp. chap. Matthew 21:19. The cursing of the barren fig tree may be in mind even here. Alford:... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:33. SO YE ALSO. Addressed to the disciples, as representing all Christians. It does not mean that they should live to see what He had predicted ; two of the four certainly died even before the destruction of Jerusalem. ALL THESE THINGS, _i.e._, the signs mentioned, culminating in these... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:34. THIS GENERATION. Explanations. (1.) ‘Generation' in the literal sense, the reference being to the destruction of Jerusalem. This is opposed by Matthew 24:36, nor is it allowable to accept a double sense in general, and confine this phrase to a single sense. (2.) ‘Generation' in the se... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:35. HEAVEN AND EARTH SHALL PASS AWAY. Not merely a strong asseveration (sooner shall heaven and earth pass away), but also a plain declaration that they shall pass away. Comp. Psalms 102:26; Isaiah 51:6. The time is not indicated. BUT MY WORDS SHALL NOT PASS AWAY. Scoffers imply: Heaven... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:36. BUT OF THAT DAY AND HOUR KNOWETH NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN. The best authorities add: neither the Son, as in Mark 13:32. This is implied also in the phrase: but the FATHER ONLY. Christ did not know the day and hour of His future coming since Matthew 24:37 shows that this i... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:37. BUT AS THE DAYS OF NOAH WERE. The second coming of Christ will be sudden and unexpected. Our Lord assumes, that there was a flood sent in judgment in the days of Noah. He endorses the history contained in the book of Genesis.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:38. THEY WERE EATING AND DRINKING, seeking their enjoyment, not expecting the catastrophe. (As they were ‘drinking,' it would seem that wine was made before the flood.) The verse does not at all imply that Christ's people are to cease their ordinary employments, in expectation of the comi... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:39. KNEW not. Even after Noah was in the ark, their unbelief continued ; so men will persist in unbelief, despite the fear mentioned in Luke 21:24-25 ; will at least go on as if unconcerned.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:40. THEN SHALL TWO MEN BE IN THE FIELD. Until that time Christ's people are to be in companionship with the world. ONE IS TAKEN, _i.e.,_ gathered as one of the elect (Matthew 24:31). The one ‘taken' is the blessed one. There is no direct allusion to death. This differs from the event re... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:41. TWO WOMEN SHALL BE GRINDING AT THE MILL. The employment of female slaves. Exodus 11:5; Isaiah 47:2, etc. Women in the East, one or two together, turn the handmills, having the upper millstone in their hands, and turning it round on the nether one, which is fixed.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:42. WATCH THEREFORE. In view of the suddenness and unexpectedness of this coming, ‘watch.' Mark: ‘watch and pray.' Not, be always expecting what will come unexpectedly, nor be seeking to know what cannot be known, but be always in the state of readiness, because of the uncertainty.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:43. IF THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE HAD KNOWN, etc. Comp. Obadiah 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 ; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 3:3; Revelation 16:15. The idea of surprise is the main one, as throughout these verses. Watchfulness under uncertainty is constant. The figure has a further application to... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:44. THEREFORE BE YE ALSO READY. Comp. Luke 21:34; Luke 21:36. To be ready at all is to be ready always. The caution of this passage is not a threatening for the Lord's people. He does not rule them by terror; those ready find Him a Friend ; only those not ready find His coming as uncomfor... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:45. WHO THEN IS! A personal question for every believer, but not a discouraging one. THE FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT. ‘Wise'(or prudent), because ‘faithful' in Christ's service. Faithfulness alone is success. WHOM HIS LORD SET OVER HIS HOUSEHOLD. Mark's account (Matthew 13:34) represents... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:45-51. A parable, though not distinctly marked as such in its form. Comp. the parallel account in Mark 13:34-36; and similar language on another occasion in Luke 12:35-46. Such repetitions are not unusual. This passage, closely connected with the second Advent, contains instruction for th... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:47. HE WILL SET HIM OVER ALL HIS GOODS. The servant, faithful up to the unexpected arrival of his lord, is rewarded, and is called ‘blessed' (Matthew 24:47). The reward is promotion to be possessor of the full inheritance. Comp. Romans 8:17; also chap. Matthew 25:21 ; Revelation 2:26; Rev... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:48. BUT IF THAT EVIL SERVANT. The form is changed from that in Matthew 24:45, as if to intimate that such cases would readily occur, without need of special inquiry. The verse is a caution to the faithful to persevere, and a warning to those who intrude into the ministry. SHALL SAY, not... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:49. BEAT HIS FELLOW-SERVANTS. The faithful ones, since the others would join with him. He plays the lord over God's heritage (1 Peter 5:3), abusing instead of nourishing the household (Matthew 24:45). Unfaithfulness to Christ, speedily manifests itself in such conduct: censure of others,... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:50. THE LORD OF THAT SERVANT. Christ is still ‘lord' of the unfaithful and sinful servant. SHALL COME. Doubt of His coming does not hinder it. IN A DAY, etc. The unexpected, sudden coming is again brought forward. To the unfaithful our Lord often comes suddenly in this world, to corre... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:51. AND SHALL OUT HIM ASUNDER. An ancient mode of punishment among the Israelites (1 Samuel 15:33; 2 Samuel 12:31). Extreme punishment is here meant, but the peculiar expression indicates something further, a fearful separating of the conscience and the conduct, so that the condemning pow... [ Continue Reading ]