1Christ foretelleth the destruction of the temple: 3he showeth what signs and calamities shall go before it; and what shall happen at the time of his coming. 32By a parable of the fig tree he marketh the certainty of the prediction. 36No man knoweth the day and hour, which shall come suddenly. 42We ought therefore to watch, like good servants who expect their master's coming.
1AND Jesusa went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for 1to shew him 2the buildings of the temple.
a Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5.
1 Seeing Christ had foretold in the previous chapter, verse 38, the desolation of the city and temple, therefore it seems that the disciples showed Him these buildings, giving thereby to understand, that they thought it either impossible or pity that such a glorious building would be laid waste.
2 Of the greatness, strength and magnificence of these buildings, see the historian Josephus, Antiq. lib. 15, cap. 14.
2And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, Thereb shall 3not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not 4be thrown down.
b 1 Kings 9:7, 8; Micah 3:12; Luke 19:44.
3 Gr. not be left stone upon stone.
4 Gr. loosened.
3¶Andc as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Telld us, when shall 5these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
c Mark 13:1, 3; Luke 21:7.
d Acts 1:6.
5 Namely, which Thou hast said here, and at the end of the previous chapter, of the desolation of the city and the temple of Jerusalem, as well as of Thy return to judgment.
4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Takee heed that no man deceive you.
e Jer. 29:8; Eph. 5:6; Col. 2:18; 2 Thes. 2:3; 1 John 4:1.
5Forf many shall come 6in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
f Jer. 14:14; 23:25; John 5:43.
6 Or, under, on My Name, that is, giving themselves out for the promised Messiah, as several did arise about that time and afterwards. See Acts 5:36, 37 and Josephus, Antiq. lib.18, cap. 12 and lib. 20, cap. 2, etc. and de bello Jud. lib. 2, cap. 12.
6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not 7yet.
7 Namely, of all the miseries and extreme punishments which would come upon the Jews.
7Forg8nation shall rise against nation, and 9kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
g Isa. 19:2.
8 Gr. people against people. Or, nation against nation.
9 Or, the one kingdom against another kingdom.
8All these are the beginning of 10sorrows.
10 Gr. pangs, like those of women who are in travail. Of all these wars and miseries, see Josephus, Antiq. lib. 20 and de bello Jud. lib. 3, etc.
9Thenh shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
h Mat. 10:17; Luke 21:11, 12; John 15:20; 16:2; Rev. 2:10.
10And then shall many be 11offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 That is, depart from Me in fear of persecution.
11Andi many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
i 2 Peter 2:1.
12And becausej12iniquity shall abound, the 13love of many shall wax cold.
j 2 Tim. 3:1, etc.
12 Gr. transgression of the law.
13 Namely, to the truth of the Gospel as well as to their neighbor.
13Butk he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
k Mat. 10:22; Mark 13:13; Luke 21:19; Rev. 2:7, 10; 3:10.
14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in 14all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall 15the end come.
14 Gr. inhabited world. See the fulfillment hereof in Rom. 10:18; Col. 1:6.
15 Namely, of the city of Jerusalem, and of the Jewish government.
15Whenl ye therefore shall see the 16abomination of desolation, spoken of by Danielm the prophet, stand in the 17holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
l Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20.
16 That is, the terrible destructive army of the Romans, as is explained in Luke 21:20.
m Dan. 9:27.
17 That is, in the holy land of the Jews, round about Jerusalem.
16Then let them which be in Judæa flee 18into the mountains:
18 Namely, to hide themselves there from the punishment.
17Let him which is on the 19housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
19 The Jews were much on the top of their houses, because they were flat above. See Mat. 10:27.
18Neither let him which is in the field 20return back to take his clothes.
20 That is, let him loose no time to flee away.
19And 21woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
21 Namely, because they will be unsuited to flee away speedily, being burdened with her pregnancy or little children.
20But pray ye that your flight be not 22in the winter, neither onn the sabbath day:
22 Because the winter is unsuitable for escape, and the Jews were not permitted to travel far on the Sabbath, see Acts 1:12, nor provide themselves of things needful for a journey.
n Acts 1:12.
21Foro then shall be great tribulation, 23such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
o Dan. 12:1.
23 For as Josephus testifies, de bello Jud. lib. 4, 5, 6 and 7, cap. 17, there perished by the sword, famine and pestilence, within Jerusalem only, eleven hundred thousand people, and above ninety seven thousand were sold as slaves. Similar desolation is not read in any histories.
22And except 24those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but 25for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
24 That is, were it not that God had caused the plagues of those times to cease, though the Jews had deserved much heavier, there would not one have remained out of the Jewish nation.
25 Namely, which God had amongst the Jewish people and would always preserve.
2326Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, herepis Christ, or 27there; believe it not.
26 Namely, after the desolation of Jerusalem till the end of the world, of which He begins to speak at the 29th verse.
p Mark 13:21; Luke 21:8.
27 Gr. here.
24Forq there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great 28signs and wonders; insomuch that, 29if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
q Deut. 13:1; 2 Thes. 2:11.
28 As is testified of the antichrist, 2 Thes. 2:9; Rev. 13:11, etc.
29 This is said to be impossible, not in respect of the will or power of the elect in themselves, but in respect of the immutability of God’s decree concerning them, and of His powerful preservation of them against deception, according to His promises, of which He cannot repent. See John 10:28; Rom. 8:29, 30; 1 Peter 1:5.
25Behold, I have told you before.
26Whereforer if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
r Luke 17:23.
27For as the lightning cometh out 30of the east, and shineth even 31unto the west; 32so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
30 Gr. from the rising, namely, of the sun.
31 Gr. the setting.
32 Namely, with considerable speed and clarity.
28Fors33wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
s Job 39:30; Luke 17:37.
33 Of this proverb, customary with the Hebrews, see Job 39:30, and hereby is taught that where Christ with His passion and death is rightly preached, there the faithful will gather together, as likewise in the last judgment they will be gathered together unto Christ to abide with Him always, John 17:24; 1 Thes. 4:16, 17. Some understand the proverb of the desolation of the Jewish people, which would be understood by the dead carcass and the Romans by the eagles; as the Chaldeans at Hab. 1:8.
29¶Immediatelyt after 34the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and 35the powers of the heavens shall be 36shaken:
t Isa. 13:10; Ezek. 32:7; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25.
34 Namely, whom the tyrants and the antichrist shall have brought upon the church of God.
35 That is, the powerful or strong heavens.
36 Namely, as the sea is moved up and down.
30Andu then shall appear 37the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth 38mourn,v and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
u Dan. 7:10; Mat. 16:27; 25:31; 26:64; Mark 13:26; 14:62; Luke 21:27; Acts 1:11; 2 Thes. 1:10; Rev. 1:7.
37 That is, the signs of His glory, wherewith He shall appear in the clouds. See Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27.
38 Or, lament. Gr. for anguish strike upon the breast.
v Rev. 1:7.
31And he shall send his angels with aw great 39sound of a trumpet, and they shall 40gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
w 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16.
39 Gr. voice. Other, with a trumpet and a great sound.
40 That is, bring them together from all the four corners or quarters of the world, whom they shall recognize by their glorified bodies and otherwise.
32Nowx learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet 41tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
x Mark 13:28; Luke 21:29.
41 Or, sappy, when the sap or growth comes into it.
33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that 42it is near, even at the doors.
42 Or, He, namely, Christ and His coming.
34Verily I say unto you, 43This generation shall not 44pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
43 Namely, of the people of the Jews; or, this age.
44 Or, perish.
35Heaveny and earth shall 45pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
y Psalm 102:26; Isa. 51:6; Mark 13:31; Heb. 1:11.
45 Or, perish. How this shall happen, is declared in 2 Peter 3:10.
36¶Butz of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
z Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7.
37Butaa as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
aa Gen. 6:2; Luke 17:26; 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5.
38For as in the days that were before the flood they were 46eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, untilab the day that Noe entered into the ark,
46 That is, living carelessly and carnally without the fear of God, Jude verse 12.
ab Gen. 7:7.
39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40Thenac shall two be in the field; the one shall be 47taken, and the 48other 49left.
ac Luke 17:34; 1 Thes. 4:17.
47 Namely, by God, amongst His elect.
48 Gr. the one.
49 Namely, with the reprobates in everlasting damnation.
41Two women shall be 50grinding at the mill; the one shall be 51taken, and the other left.
50 Or, grind in the mill-house. Grinding and baking in those countries used to be done much by the women, or female slaves, who used querns or hand mills for this purpose.
51 Namely, by God, amongst His elect.
42¶Watchad therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
ad Mat. 25:13; Mark 13:33; Luke 12:40; 21:36.
43Butae know this, that if the 52goodman of the house had known 53in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
ae Luke 12:39; 1 Thes. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10; Rev. 3:3; 16:15.
52 Or, father of the house.
53 That is, in what part of the night, which was divided into four watches, see Mat. 14:25.
44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45Whoaf then is a faithful and wise 54servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
af Mat. 25:21; Luke 12:42.
54 To this servant the apostles and ministers of the Gospel are principally compared, who dispense the spiritual food for the soul.
46Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find 55so doing.
55 Namely, as he has commanded him.
47Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler 56over all his goods.
56 Or, over all that he has.
48But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49And shall begin to 57smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
57 That is, to do them wrong.
50The 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,
51And shall 58cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with 59the hypocrites: thereag shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
58 Other, cut him in two. Some think that here is alluded to such grievous punishments, as we read of in 1 Sam. 15:33 and Dan. 3:29. But by what follows it seems to be understood of the separation of him from his family, to be punished afterwards.
59 That is, they who seem to acquit themselves well before the eyes of their masters, but in their absence do the contrary.
ag Mat. 8:12. 13:42; 22:13; 25:30; Luke 13:28.