19. THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW
THE sermon on the Mount of Olives, as it appears in the Gospel of Matthew, is closely connected with the preceding chapter, the contents of which are, therefore, included in the question, "Tell us, when shall these things be?" We must understand the disciples to be asking, How shall the Jews fill up the measure of their fathers? When will prophets and wise men and scribes be sent, and be persecuted to the death? At what time will all the righteous blood shed upon the earth come upon this generation? When will the Temple be destroyed, and Jerusalem left desolate? And when will the people be willing to cry, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord"? These questions are all Jewish; we may, therefore, be sure that the answer will also point to Jews.
THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW. 243
But the disciples go on to ask, "And what shall be the sign of Thy presence, and of the end of the age?" Now the taking up of the Church will be the sign that Christ is present in the air; while His judgment of the living Gentile nations will be the closing act of the age. Hence the answer to the three questions involves the fate of the Jews, the Church, and the Gentiles, respectively; and the Lord accordingly proceeds to unfold the manner in which the present state of things will end to each of these three great divisions of the world.¹
Beginning with the Jews, He shows, in response to the first question, that these things shall not be finally accomplished until the last Week, just before His appearing;² and adds that, when He appears, He will send forth His angels to gather together His elect of the Jews.³
We will, then, attempt a slight sketch of this part
¹ The whole discourse may be simply divided into three parts, corresponding to the three questions asked by the disciples. The first part (xxiv. 4-35) concerns the Jews, and answers the question, "When shall these things be?" The second (xxiv. 36-xxv. 30) discloses the sign which will make known the presence of Christ in the air; and since it is to be the sudden removal of those who are looking for Him, He adds some instructions and warnings respecting this solemn subject. The concluding section (xxv. 31-16) is a response to the inquiry, "What will be the sign of the consummation of the age?" And the Lord replies that His last act in regard to it will be the judgment of the quick, of those nations which, being without the circle of Christendom, have not heard His fame nor seen His glory (Isa. lxvi. 19), and which will, therefore, be judged with regard to the way in which they have obeyed the law of mercy written upon their hearts in their treatment of the dispersed Jews.
² Matt. xxiv. 4-30.
³ Matt. xxiv. 31. The remnant of the Church will have been previously removed at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. On this subject the reader will find a chapter in Part III.
of our Lord's discourse, which wholly belongs to our present subject.
The first words, to the close of the sixth verse, refer to the immediate future. There would shortly be events and signs and troubles in connection with Judæa, similar, on a small scale, to those which shall precede the close of the age. False Christs would arise—and we have historical proof that this was the case—and would deceive many, though they would be unable to support their pretensions by miraculous power, such as Antichrist and the False Prophet will exhibit hereafter. Again, there would be wars and rumours of wars in Judæa, commotions which would result in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Nevertheless, the disciples were not to be troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end would not be yet.
By the significant words, "the end is not yet," the Lord indicates the interval so invariably marked in Jewish prophecy, and then passes on to the Seventieth Week. He had spoken of the signs which would make some think that the end had come, when God's purpose was merely the dispersion of the Jews, that they might undergo a long sifting among the nations: now He reveals what will be the beginning of the actual end,¹ the throes or birth-pangs—for so the
¹ The following paraphrase may, perhaps, explain the connecting force of "for" at the commencement of the seventh verse. "These disturbances, caused by false Messiahs in Judæa and local wars and troubles, must happen, but will not be signs of the end; for before that can come there must be general wars and famines, pestilences and earthquakes in many quarters of the world. Such will be the character of the events which will herald the time of the end."
THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW. 245 word translated "sorrows" should be rendered—of earth just before the appearing of the King.¹
At this time the Jews will, of course, be again in possession of their own land, having been restored, it may be, by Antichrist, or, perhaps, by some other power. Or, possibly, they will return gradually, and fill their country as they are driven out from among the nations by a hatred which seems to have already commenced in Russia, Germany, Austria, the independent States between Russia and Turkey, Italy, and along the north coast of Africa. But by whatever means they re-occupy Palestine, they will certainly be found there at the commencement of the last Week, and will be in league with Antichrist by the provisions of the seven years' covenant. Then the signs foretold by the Lord will begin to appear, following each other in rapid succession.
The first birth-pang is war; but war universal, and no longer local: for "nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."² This corresponds to the opening of the second seal in the Apocalypse, when the red horse went forth, "and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another; and there was given unto him a great sword."³ While our Lord deals solely with the visible events, John appears to have seen the spiritual agency which will cause them. And who that considers the present state of the world, teeming as it is with ever-increasing hosts of armed millions, can fail to see on all sides a preparation for this beginning of sorrows?
The second sign will manifest itself in local famines.
¹ Matt. xxiv. 8.
² Matt. xxiv. 7.
³ Rev. vi. 4.
This corresponds to the black horse of the third seal, whose rider causes scarcity in the necessaries of life, the wheat and the barley; but not in its luxuries, the oil and the wine.¹ Do we not seem to have already had a rehearsal of this sorrow in the late severe famines in various parts of the world—famines which have impoverished many countries, and rendered them less able to face the severer troubles which may be close at hand?
The third sign is pestilence, which is also the woe inflicted by the rider on the livid horse, who appears when the fourth seal is broken, and whose name is Death.² This would most certainly be the result of universal war and local famines: and indeed all these earlier throes are troubles which have frequently occurred in the world's previous history; but they will shortly be repeated with unusual and appalling severity.
Then follow earthquakes, the most terrible of which will doubtless be the great shock at the opening of the sixth seal.³ The increasing frequency and ubiquity of earthquakes during the last few years must have been noticed by every one. And although thus far the majority of the shocks have been comparatively slight,⁴ yet their great number has caused many to suppose that we are entering on a period of terrestrial commotion, a time, possibly, of terrific physical con-
¹ Rev. vi. 5, 6.
² Rev. vi. 7, 8.
³ Rev. vi. 12.
⁴ We have remarked in a previous note that this was written before the occurrence of the earthquakes at Agram, Casamicciola, Chios, Ischia, Java, Colchester, and Andalusia. For the Scriptural theory of earthquakes, see Moses' description of the subterranean fire kindled in God's anger (Deut. xxxii. 22).
THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW.
vulsions similar to those which by their traces seem to have ended some of the geological ages.
The succeeding verses, to the end of the thirteenth, describe to us the condition of God's people during these times of wrath and trouble. Probably the faithful Jews, who will be afflicted and killed by their own people, and hated of all nations, will be, in great part, those who have been roused by the preaching of the Two Witnesses; and if so, this would account for their persecution. For the world will regard the Witnesses as its tormentors, and, in its anger and excitement against them, will be likely to show but little love to their followers.
This persecution is doubtless the same as that which is indicated at the opening of the fifth seal.¹ And the martyrs there mentioned are clearly distinguished as belonging to the last Week, and not to the present time: for, in the spirit of the old dispensation, they cry for vengeance, a thing which no Christian of this age may dare to do.
The effects of the persecution will not, however, be confined to the true worshippers; it will also bring the whole Jewish nation to the test. Those who are not sincere will be offended by it, and will hate and betray their faithful relations and friends: for to this time belongs the counsel of Micah;—"Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom."²
And in the midst of the prevailing excitement, while the pure worship of Jehovah is hated, many false prophets will arise, and by their lying suggestions lead
Rev. vi. 9-11.
² Micah vii. 5.
multitudes astray. Nor will this be all: for, owing to the dreadful immorality and lawlessness which will everywhere abound, the love of many, who bid fair to run well, will gradually lose its light and warmth, and grow cold even as that of other men. These, however, will not be the elect: for only he who is enabled to withstand all the trials and temptations, and to endure till the end, shall be saved.
But by what means will faith be nourished and strengthened during this time of terror, so that it shall finally overcome? Evidently in that way in which it always is both manifested and sustained, by works. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His; but he that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit, and is, therefore, constrained, in however humble a way, to co-operate with his Saviour in letting the new light which is placed in him shine before men, and in offering salvation to the world. That which avails is the faith which worketh by love, and the command to all believers is, "Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord."
Accordingly, in the present passage, the mention of those who shall endure to the end, and be saved, is at once followed by an account of their work. "This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations." What zeal and energy, what a spending and being spent, do these words imply! But the servants of Christ will all learn to be earnest when they know by the promised sign that He has come out of His place, that His presence is an actual fact, that human society has assumed its last form of evil, and that the pillars of the world are trembling for their fall. Happy are
THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW. 249 those who, through the favour of the Lord, will not require the stimulus of that fearful time, but whose simple faith is sufficient to rouse them from sloth, so that they shall be accounted worthy to escape all the things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. To them in a special sense do those words apply;—"Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
The Gospel of the Kingdom is not, of course, the same as the Gospel of grace; for, while the latter is the good news that Christ Jesus has died for sinners, the former is the glad tidings that His Kingdom of peace and joy is just about to be manifested upon earth, so that His servants will no longer need to pray, "Thy Kingdom come." Such a Gospel could, therefore, be preached only on the eve of the Lord's appearing.
But not even this thrilling proclamation will draw men to God. It will, indeed, be made known throughout the habitable, or at least the civilized, world; but will for the most part serve only as a witness to the nations, and vindicate God's righteousness in the judgments which must immediately follow.
Possibly the Two Witnesses will be the leaders of this preaching; and, from the next sentence of our Lord's discourse, it seems not unlikely that Antichrist will strive to wrest it to his own advantage by giving out that he is the great King Who is to sit on the throne of His father David.
For the Lord seems to suggest some such connection by immediately passing on to speak of the setting up of the Abomination of Desolation in the Holy Place. The meaning of these terms is readily discovered by
Hebrew usage: for the Jew recognized no holy place save the Temple;¹ and the word "abomination" was commonly used to signify an idol, or false god.² And in regard to their application, the Lord bids us search the writings of Daniel the prophet, who has thrice spoken of "the Abomination of Desolation," or "Abomination that causeth desolation."
In his eleventh chapter,³ it had been declared that "the Abomination that maketh desolate" should be set up in the Sanctuary by Antiochus Epiphanes, and the fulfilment of the prophecy may be found in the first book of Maccabees,⁴ and in the history of Josephus.⁵ For Antiochus himself entered into the Sanctuary, and, after carrying away the sacred furniture and treasures, built an idol altar upon the altar of God—doubtless setting up the idol also in its proper place—and sacrificed swine upon it. This gives us a hint of what the future Abomination of Desolation will be.
Whose image will then be set up we may learn from the second passage of Daniel, which we have already considered, and in which it is said of Antichrist, that "upon the wing of abominations shall be the Desolator."⁶
Lastly, in the twelfth chapter,⁷ the taking away of the daily sacrifice, and the setting up of the Abomination that maketh desolate, are mentioned as marking the commencement of the Great Tribulation.
Subsequent utterances of Paul and John throw a stronger light upon our Lord's words, and confirm
¹ Acts vi. 13; xxi. 28.
² 1 Kings xi. 5-7; 2 Kings xxiii. 13.
³ Dan. xi. 31.
⁴ 1 Macc. i. 54.
⁵ Joseph. Antiq. xii. 5. 4.
⁶ Dan. ix. 27. See pp. 206-7.
⁷ Dan. xii. 11.
THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW. 251 their allusion to the placing of the image of the Beast in the Temple, to the middle of the last Week, when the Lawless One shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, and publicly deny the Father and the Son by exalting himself "above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God."$^{1}$
It is possible, as we have already remarked, that this new era will be inaugurated by a travesty of the return of the Cherubim as foretold by Ezekiel, and that the prophecy in the ninth of Daniel refers to the blasphemous scene. If so, the pretended descent from heaven would explain the fact that the sign will be seen from the housetops and the fields.
But, however this may be, the people of God who are in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem will be able to recognize the signal, and will know that it is a warning to betake themselves to instant flight. For an imperial edict will be quickly issued, compelling all men on pain of death to worship the Beast and his image. And this will be Satan's scheme for the destruction of the elect, the Dragon's endeavour to devour the Woman, after her Child has been transported far beyond his reach.
Without a moment's delay, then, all those inhabitants of Judæa who are at the time guided by God's word must fly in circumstances of great anxiety and suffering. Woe to the pregnant, and to the mother with infant in arms! Yet the distress may be mitigated if those who are to endure it will only pray before the time come. And this the Lord exhorts them to do, that their troubles may be aggravated, neither by natural causes,
$^{1}$ 2 Thess. ii. 4.
nor by human arrangements. They are directed to entreat that their flight may not be in the winter; for then the days would be short, the weather inclement, the ground, on which they must often lie, damp and cold, and they would find no food either upon the trees or in the fields. They must pray, too, that it may not be on the Sabbath day; for, if it were, they could not, as conscientious but unenlightened Jews, travel more than the Sabbath day's journey, and would, therefore, certainly be overtaken. For they will doubtless be pursued; the figure of the Dragon casting out of his mouth, after the Woman, water as a river, would seem to indicate an expedition sent forth in hot haste. And, possibly, what follows, the earth helping the Woman by opening its mouth and swallowing up the river, may point to the destruction of the pursuing column by an earthquake, just, perhaps, as they are in sight of their intended victims.
This flight will be the commencement of the Great Tribulation, in which judgment must begin at the house of God, and will then fall upon the renegade Jews, who have consented to worship the Beast and his image, and upon the world. It is described as "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." These words show that there can be but one such time of distress; therefore, it must be the same as that which is also mentioned in the last chapter of Daniel, where the prophet says;—"There shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."¹
¹ Dan. xii. 1.
THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW.
Since, then, both the prophet and the evangelist must be speaking of the same tribulation, the latter clause of the verse from Daniel proves that we are right in referring the passage under our consideration to the times of Antichrist, and not to the overthrow of Jerusalem by Titus. For the prophet adds, "And at that time thy people shall be delivered," a statement which would be notoriously untrue were we to apply the prophecy to the past siege, but which exactly agrees with what Zechariah tells us of that which is still to come.
And it is remarkable that Luke, in describing the trouble of the immediate future, avoids the stronger expressions of Matthew and Daniel, and merely says, "There shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people."¹ For the tribulation of which he speaks, though great, was not unparalleled, and was only local; but this which is to come will be universal, and more terrible than any which ever has been, or ever shall be; so that, unless its days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. Its details may be found in many a passage of the prophets and in the Apocalypse, and should be carefully studied, that we may learn what shall be the end of this present age and all who cast in their lot with it.
In times of distress which baffle their own powers of foresight and calculation, men have ever been prone to turn to the supernatural. It was so with the polished Athenians, and other Greeks, at the commencement of the Peloponnesian war, when, as Thucydides tells us;—
"Many prophecies were being continually repeated,
¹ Luke xxi. 23 and oracle-mongers ceased not to recite them, both in those states which were on the point of engaging in war and in the others."¹
And so, in our own days of uncertainty, perplexity, and fear, when all old faiths are disappearing, and not merely one kingdom, but the whole world is filled with rumours of war, and seems to be on the eve of a revolutionary explosion, the result of which no one can forecast—at this time of excitement, a craving for the supernatural is once more returning in the forms of Spiritualism and Theosophy, and in the revival of what was supposed to be an ancient superstition, the art of astrology.²
These movements will probably continue to spread and extend their influence, and from the twenty-fourth verse we find that they will powerfully affect the Jews in the Great Tribulation, when their minds have become excited by the general distress, the strange plagues, and the fear of what may be coming next.³ Perhaps, too, they will by that time have begun to distrust the prince with whom they made their covenant, and to
¹ Thuc. ii. 8.
² There are at the present time millions of Spiritualists who, with the aid of a copious literature, are everywhere influencing society, and preparing it for the leadership of an avowed spirit from the dead. Of their apostasy, important as it is, but little is said in this volume, since it is very fully discussed in another of the author's works, "Earth's Earliest Ages, and Their Connection with Modern Spiritualism and Theosophy," published by Messrs. Hodder and Stoughton. As to astrologers, letters from and concerning them frequently appear in the daily newspapers, and Zadkiel is fast becoming an authority.
³ Hence we may understand the meaning of Zech. xiii. 2;—
"And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land."
THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW.
feel his tyrannous oppression. And so they will be longing for deliverance; not, however, in a spirit of meekness and submission toward God, but that they may be avenged of their enemies, and be exalted in the world. Satan will not fail to take advantage of this temper, and will raise up false Messiahs to deceive still further the miserable people who would not have the Lord Jesus to reign over them.
But there will be a notable difference between the false Christs of the last days and those which clustered around the first advent. The latter were supported only by their own testimony, and could display no supernatural marvels; but the former will have their prophets to testify to them, be filled with Satanic power, and show forth great signs and wonders; so great, indeed, that, were it not for the special grace of God, the very elect themselves would be deceived.
Their adherents will be vigorous in their endeavours to make disciples, and will be continually saying, "Christ is in the wilderness," or, "He is in the chambers"; that is, He is in the solitary wastes, in the secret places far away from the haunts of men; or, He is hidden somewhere in the great cities where only His disciples may see Him. But neither of these statements can ever be true of the Lord Jesus. For instead of appearing in secret to a few, the manifestation of His presence will be as the lightning flash which in a moment sweeps the heavens from East to West. Nor will He seek the desert places; but wherever the great crowd of them which are corrupting the earth is to be found, thither will He descend with the ministers of His vengeance, even as the eagles swoop down from the sky upon the fallen carcase.
Immediately following upon the Great Tribulation
—toward the close of which, if not earlier, all nations will come up against Jerusalem and besiege it—there will be convulsions of nature premonitory of the approaching end. The sun, moon, and stars, hitherto used chiefly for light, and for seasons, and days, and years, will now be made to serve the first-mentioned purpose of their creation, and be for “signs” that the Lord is at hand.
The word “immediately” contrasts strongly with what follows the account of the days of trouble in
Luke. There, after the destruction of Jerusalem, we are told that the holy city “shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
And only at the close of these times, which have already continued for more than eighteen hundred years, will there be “signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars.” Even if there were no other proof that the Evangelists refer to different tribulations, this in itself would be decisive.
The sun, then, shall be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars shall fall from heaven, and all the celestial machinery be deranged: and at this awful moment the sign of the Son of man will appear.¹ What this sign will be does not seem to be distinctly revealed; nor is much light thrown upon the obscurity by the conjecture of a flaming cross, in which ancient and modern writers have delighted.
Apparently our only Scriptural basis lies in the Lord’s previous saying, that the manifestation of His presence will be as the lightning which flashes from the one end of heaven to the other. It may be that this will
¹ Matt. xxiv. 30
THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW occur while men are horrified with the unnatural darkness, and that it will be caused by a sudden and momentary cleaving of the black heavens, so that the glory of the Lord will break through, and He will for an instant be revealed in close proximity to earth. Thus the Jew may at last receive his sign from heaven.
That which follows, and which should be rendered, "Then shall all the tribes of the land mourn," points to the connection of this verse with Zechariah's prophecy;—"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."¹
And again; the manner in which Zechariah's prophecy is quoted in the Apocalypse may, perhaps, afford some slight argument in favour of the explanation suggested above, that the sign of the Son of Man is Christ Himself seen for a moment through a rift in the clouds. For John says;—"Behold He cometh with the clouds: and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all the tribes of the land shall mourn because of Him."²
Thus the Jews, although they may not as yet understand all, will at least know that it was the Messenger of Jehovah Whom they slew, and that in so doing they pierced Himself. And they will mourn with no feigned lamentation, but as one mourns for his first-born, nay, his only son. All their pride will have
¹ Zech. xii. 10.
² Rev. i. 7.
broken down; for the word will then have been fulfilled, "I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of My holy mountain. I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord."¹
And so God will look down upon the stiff-necked and rebellious people, whom long centuries of chastisement could not subdue, and lo! a remnant, broken-hearted and contrite, humbly confessing that they are all as an unclean thing, that all their righteousnesses are as filthy rags, that they are all fading as a leaf, and that their iniquities like the wind have carried them away. They long for the personal interposition of God their Father, and cry, "Oh that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down!" They are ready at last for their Messiah. Christ has become precious to them: there is no need that He should longer refrain Himself. He had indeed said, "Ye shall not see Me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord."² But that word withholds Him no longer; for now their eyes are waiting for the Lord their God, until that He have mercy upon them: their souls are watching for Him more than they that watch for the morning. And, as we find from the last chapter of Zechariah, they are also in evil plight, and are all but swallowed up by their enemies.
At this crisis He will suddenly come forth from His pavilion of clouds, the whole earth will be lighted with His glory, and the sons of Abraham, looking up, will behold the despised Jesus of Nazareth descending
¹ Zeph. iii. 11, 12.
² Matt. xxiii. 39.
THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW. 259 toward Jerusalem, with power and great glory, for the utter destruction of their enemies.
The manner in which He will preserve the Jews, while He is destroying the myriads of Antichrist, is foretold by the prophets. Isaiah gives a hint of it in the words, "Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain."¹ Zephaniah, again, says, "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the land which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger."² And by comparing Zech. xiv. 4, 5, with Mal. iv. 1-3, we may, perhaps, see what these mysterious utterances mean. For in the former passage we find that, when the Lord descends, the Mount of Olives will be cloven into two mountains with a very great valley between them, and that into the valley the Jews will flee with haste out of the all but captured city. Such will be the chamber, the hiding place in which they will be safely sheltered while the lightnings of the Lord are doing their work of destruction.³ And at the close of this day, "which shall burn as an oven," they shall "go forth, and skip"—not "grow up," a meaning which does not belong to the Hebrew root—"as calves of the stall."⁴ That is, just as calves come forth skipping with glee from the dark winter stalls into the pleasant meadows of
¹ Isa. xxvi. 20, 21.
² Zeph. ii. 3.
³ Rev. xix. 20, 21.
⁴ Mal. iv. 2.
THE JEWS spring, so shall the Jews issue from their gloomy shelter into the fair Millennial morning; the Sun of Righteousness will arise upon them with healing in His wings; and they will find the innumerable armies of the dreaded foe reduced to ashes beneath their feet.
So will He preserve the people that remain in the all but captured city. And then, with a great sound of a trumpet, He will send forth His angels, and they will gather to Him at Jerusalem the elect of Israel¹ from all places whither they have been scattered; and He will make Himself known to them, as Joseph made himself known to his brethren, forgive them, comfort them, and say;—"God sent Me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance."²
It is probably at this time that the Throne of Glory will be set up, before which the angels will gather the nations for the judgment of the sheep and the goats, while the Lord's Jewish brethren stand by.
Then will follow the establishment of the Kingdom at Jerusalem, and the Lord's feast to all peoples on Mount Zion. And so at length the enemy and the avenger shall be stilled, and the great King shall rule in righteousness. The feverish dreams of men shall vanish; the restlessness, the strifes, the agonies, the universal suffering, of this age be over, and the glorious words realized, "The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they
¹ The elect will probably be those Israelites who will at the time have turned to Christ, so far as to be expecting Him as the Deliverer. Possibly the formation of this body has already commenced in the wonderful movement in South Russia, under Joseph Rabinowitch. But the scattered ones who are still alienated from Christ will be subsequently gathered and conveyed to their land by the Gentiles. See Isa. lxvi. 20.
² Gen. xlv. 7.
PRESENT CONDITION OF THE JEWISH NATION. 261 break forth into singing."¹ And in that day the Lord will destroy "the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it."² And "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."³
XI.