shall come after us) how to escape when he should come; when Jerusalem should be destroyed. Therefore, he adds, "Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

What does he mean by this generation? But one answer can be given to this question. He means the same as when he says, "There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." I know Mr. Miller says this generation means the Christian people; and that our Saviour meant, that the Christians should remain a distinct people, till the end of the material world. And in proof of this, we have been referred to two or three texts, where the word is applied to the Christians, and used to denote the excellency of their character.* But it is all assumption to say, that by this generation the Christians in particular are intended. There is no proof that such is the case. The proof is all against such an idea. He had just told his disciples how to conduct when he should come, and how they should know when to flee; and to show them that the event was not far future, he said, "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

By generation, then, he meant the people living in his time. And this, allow me to remark, is the general acceptation of the term, as you will see by the following examples. Joseph died, and all that generation." "Whereto shall I liken

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* See Lectures, p. 12. Our references are to the edition printed in Troy, N. Y., 1838.

this generation?" "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." The Son of man must be rejected of this generation." "Save you from this untoward generation." This general use of the phrase "this generation," caused the learned and orthodox Cruden to express as follows the sense of Matt. xvi. 27, 28: "All who are at present living, shall not be dead, when this shall come to pass. There are some at this day living, who shall be witnesses of the evils which I have foretold shall befall the Jews."

It will not answer to say, the questions of the disciples relate to different periods of time; that they inquire about the destruction of Jerusalem, and also about his coming at the destruction of the world; because there was nothing to elicit this last inquiry. Nothing had been said about the end of time. No allusion had been made to such an event. Christ had told them that Jerusalem should be destroyed. This caused their surprise, and this led to the question, When shall these things be? that is, when will your coming be? when will be the end of this dispensation? by what signs shall it be foretold?

That we are right is evident from the manner in which Mark and Luke record this matter. Mark says, "Tell us when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?" Now here is no inquiry made about the coming of Christ, and yet he goes on to say, he should come at the destruction of Jerusalem. Hear him "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light; and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see

the Son of man coming in the clouds, with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near; so ye, in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Mark xiii. 24-31. Thus does he assert, that he should come at the destruction of Jerusalem.

Luke records the questions of the disciples thus: "And they asked him saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass." Luke xxi. 7. Here all they ask about is the destruction of Jerusalem, and the sign which should foretell it; and yet in answering this, Jesus says, that his coming, and the end, and the destruction of Jerusalem, should all occur at the same time. He says, "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days; for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive 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. And he spake to them a parable: Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees ; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves, that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away." Luke xxi. 20–33.

These parallel passages prove incontrovertibly, that the only time about which the disciples inquired, was the time of Jerusalem's overthrow. This is the only time about which Jesus speaks in his reply. This was the time of his coming, and this was the end of the world, or age.

That I am right, is evident from the word rendered world. It is not xóouos, which is used to signify the material universe; but air, which signifies age or dispensation. It is so used in the following texts. "Now all these things happened

unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition on whom the ends of the world (ta tehŋ tov aiavor) have come." 1 Cor. x. 11. Again. "But now once in the end of the world (ai) hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Heb. ix. 26. Thus it was the end of the Jewish world, about which the disciples inquired. This was to end at the destruction of Jerusalem, or the coming of Christ. Hence Matthew says, "The end is not yet"; "he that shall endure unto the end"; "then shall the end come." But we ask, the end of what? The answer is plain. The end of the Jewish age, at which time their persecutions should be closed. Let us suppose that we are not right; and that one question refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the others to the destruction of the universe; how are we to know when the Saviour was speaking of the former, and when of the latter? The usual answer to this, is, that he first answers the question respecting the destruction of Jerusalem, and then respecting the destruction of the universe. We have asked those who give this answer, to put their finger on the text where the subject of discourse is changed. Some have said one text, and some another. The most general answer is, that the subject is changed at the commencement of the twenty-fifth chapter. This, however, is exceedingly unfortunate, for that commences thus: "Then shall the kingdom of heaven," &c. Now then is an adverb of time, and of course must refer to what preceded, which was the destruction of Jerusalem.

But the author of the Lectures under consideration is infinitely more unfortunate. According