Paraphrase of the Hard Texts of Scripture, Scripture 36 · Chapter 24 – Chapter 25
CAP. XXIV.
TEll us these two secrets;3 Tell us when shall these things be, and what shall be the signe of thy comming, and of the end of the world. When the time sh… of this miserable destruction of the the Temple … thou foreshewest us: and what signes shall goe … thy comming to judgement, and the end of the wor…
Both before the time of the destruction of Jerusa…,5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. and before my second comming (wich yee ignorantly imagine shall be together, and at once) there shall arise many impostors, who shall give out themselves for the Messias, and shall deceive many.
14 And this Gospell of the kingdome shall be preached in all the world, for a witnesse unto all nations, and then shall the end come:This Gospell, whereby the kingdome of Christ is both gathered, & erected, and governed, shall before my last comming, and the end of the world, be preached to all the nations of the habitable world: so as they shall have no excuse from their ignorance, but shall be fully convinced of the truth thereof.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, stand in the holy place, (who so readeth let him understand:)When ye shall see the abominable pollution of the Temple (which is the just cause of the utter desolation thereof;) yea, when yee shall see the heathenish armies (consisting of idolatrous Pagans) according to the prophesie of Daniel (which I would have you diligently to peruse and consider) taking possession of the holy Temple:
16 Then let them which be in Iudea, flee into the mountaines.Then, it is time for every one in Judea, to shift for himselfe, and to betake himselfe into the deserts, and mountaines for safety.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give sucke in those dayes.Their case shall be very miserable and desperate, whose necessary burdens forceth their stay, or hindereth their speed of escape, namely those that are with child, or those who giving such to their little infants must needs carry their deare charge in their armes.
20 But pray yee that your flight bee not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.But pray ye that this flight of yours, for your owne preservation, be not cast upon such a time, and season, as may be to the disadvantage, either of your life, or your conscience: that it fall not out in the deep of winter, when through the foulenesse of the way, or extremitie of weather ye cannot passe, to save your selves, or upon the Sabbath day, when (as men are informed and affected) the scruples of enthralled consciences forbid them to take laborious journeyes for their escape.21 For then shall bee great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this time, no nor ever shall be.
Except it should please God so to contrive it, that this siege and misery of Jerusalem, should receive a quick dispatch, it would make an end of all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;23 And except those dayes should be shortned, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect sake those dayes shall be shortened. so as not so much as a remnant of them should escape; but God shall so order it for his elects sake (who are therein) that this their extremitie (though very grievous) yet shall be short.
24 And shall shew great signes and wonders insomuch that (if it were possible) they shall deceive the very elect.The delusions of their signes and wonders shall be so strong, that the world shall be utterly carried away therewith: and (if it were possible that the very elect of God could be miscarried by them) they should also be deceived; were it not more of the grace and merciemercy of that powerfull God, who sustaineth them, and that infallible decree, whereby they are ordained unto life, than of any power or wisedome of their owne, they could not stand against these strong deceptions.
Wherefore if the disciples of these vaine impostors shall say, Behold the Messias is now comne,26 Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold he is in the desert, goe not forth. Behold he is in the secret chambers, beleeve it not. and hee is in the desert, gathering of troupes for the restoring of his kingdome: or, he is in this or that secret roome plotting his affaires, beleeve it not.
For the returne of the Sonne of man shall be without observation, so as no man can fore-appoint,27 For as the lightning commeth out of the East, and shineth even unto the West; so shall also the comming of the Sonne of man be. or fore-expect the day; but shall bee suddaine and unlookt for; even as the lightning gives no warning when it comes, but suddenly flashes from the East to the West; so shall also the second comming of the Sonne of man be.
Wheresoever the Sonne of man shall please to present himselfe,28 For wheresoever the Carkeise is, there will the Eagles bee gathered together. thither will he call unto him all men to be judged by him; so as all mankind shall flocke unto his judgement seate, even as the Eagles resort to the place, and subject of their repast.
When as my Church shall have endured that full proportion of affliction, which I have set forth for it,29 Immediately after the tribulation of those daies, shall the Sunne bee darkened. immediately thereupon shall my last comming be in glory and majestie, and dreadfulnesse; for then the Sunne shall be darkened, &c.
Then shall appeare those glorious and bright beames of sight, and heavenly splendour,30 And then shall appeare the signe of the Son of man in heaven. which shall shine forth upon the very act of the appearance of the Sonne of man, as it were the opening of Heaven for his descent, &c.
And he by his almighty power shall send his holy Angells,31 And hee shall send his Angells with a great sound of a trumpet, & they shall gather together his elect from the foure winds from one end of heaven to the other. who with a mighty sound shall summon together his elect (whose bodies have beene vanished into all the elements) and they shall from all the coasts of the earth be assembled together before him.
Take and learne this similitude of the fig-tree; looke as when yee see the branches of it, to put forth leaves,32 Now learne a parable of the fig-tree: when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. ye know that summer is comming on, & that the winter which kept in that juice and sap, is now past: so likewise when ye see the signes accomplished, which I have now premonished you of, know yee that the kingdome of God is neare to the full accomplishment thereof.
Doe not imagine that I have told you of things which are long hence to bee done; no, I assure you,34 Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not passe; till all these things be fulfilled. that all these things which I have foretold, concerning the destruction of the Temple, and Jerusalem, and all the appendances thereof, shall bee effected in your very time and sight; so as this present generation shall bee the witnesses of the fulfilling of every word that I have spoken concerning these matters.
35 Heaven and earth shall passe away, but my words shall not passe away.Know that my word can not faile & disappoint you; the heaven and the earth have their time set, when they shall passe away, but the truth of my word is everlasting; and shall continue when this frame of the world shall be dissolved.
36 But of that day & houre knoweth no man, no not the Angells of heaven, but my Father onelyonly.But, as for the day and houre of my second comming, I would not have you to be curiously inquisitive into it; that is a secret, which is not disclosed to the very Angels of heaven, but reserved onelyonly in the hidden counsell of my Father which is in heaven.
37 But as the dayes of Noah were, so shall also the comming of the Son of man be.But I give you this generall intimation of the condition of the time; wherein it shall bee, that as it was in the daies of Noah, before the universall deluge swept away mankinde, so shall it bee in that time, wherein the Sonne of man shall come to judge the world in fire.
So verse 38.39.
40 Then shall two bee in the field, the one shall bee taken, and the other left.This dreadfull comming of Christ shall not have the like issue unto all; to some it shall be terrible, to others happy; It shall make a perfect distinction betweene them whom the world made no difference betweene. Two shall be found in the field, about the same worke; one of them shall bee taken up to glory, the other shall bee (as a reprobate) left to everlasting confusion.
So Verse 41.
43 But know this, that if the good man of the house had knowen in what watch the theefe would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to bee broken up.Yee are forewarned, and therefore faile not to watch: if the goodman of the house be informed before hand in what watch the theefe will come, (though hee bee not told of the houre wherein he is like to come) he will bee sure to stand upon his guard all that part of the night, and not suffer himselfe to bee surprised, and his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore bee also ready: for in such an houre as you thinke not, the Son of man commeth.So doe yee therefore, though the houre bee not designed to you, yet you heare that the Sonne of man will both surely, and suddainely come to judgement; be yee therefore ever ready to receive him, whensoever hee comes.
45 Who then is a faithfull & wise servant whom his Lord hath made ruler over his houshold to give them meate in due season.Whosoever therefore shall approve himselfe a faithfull officer in the family of God; distributing to every one that measure of allowance which his master hath ordained; improving all his gifts and oportunities to the best service of God.
Blessed and happy is he, for being found so doing;46 Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when hee commeth shall finde so doing. so he shall bee sure that his industry, and justice, and fidelity shall be recompenced with eternall glory.
Verily I say unto you;47 Verily I say unto you, that hee shall make him ruler over all his goods. as an earthly master remunerates such a servant with preferment and honour in his houshold, committing the rest unto his over-sight and government; so will the God of heaven toward him that is thus spiritually just, and faithfull, with an everlasting weight of glory.
By the contrary expound verse 48, 49, 50, 51.
CAP. XXV.
WHiles men are here indifferently mingled together,1 Then shall the kingdome of heaven bee likened unto tenne Virgins, which tooke their lampes, and went forth to meete the bridegroome. their state seemes all alike; all would bee thought to be as wise Virgins; but at the end of the world, it shall appeare what every one is. As the manner is that virgins meet the Bridegroome, and attend upon him till hee bee brought into the Bride chamber; So all that take upon them to professe the Name of Christ, make shew of a ready and forward attendance upon his person and ordinances.2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
But indeed many of them are but false and hypocriticall, which will appeare in the issue.
For as those virgins are foolish,3, 5, 6, 8. They that were foolish, tooke their lampes, & tooke no oile with them: while the Bridegroome tarried, they all slumbred, and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroome commeth, goe yee out to meet him. And the foolish said unto the wise; give us of your oyle, for our lamps are gone out. who doe not furnish their lampes with store of oyle, which may continue their light, according to the occasion of their attendance: so those men are spiritually sottish, who doe not labour for true faith, and all other sound graces of the Spirit, which may enable them to persevere unto the end, and may make them capable of the glory of the heavenly Bridegroome.
So verse 9, 10, 11, 12.
Unto one, the great master of the family, the God of heaven, hath given greater gifts, faculties, opportunities;51 And unto one hee gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to every man according to his severall abilitie. to another lesse; but to all some; with an intention that they should bee imployed to the honour and advantage of his name, who is the owner, and bestower of them, &c.
18 But he that had received one, went and digged in the earth, & hid his Lords money.But hee that had received the least measure and proportion of stocke from the hand of God; was carelesse in the improving it, and made no use at all of it, for the profit of his master.
24, 25. Then he which had receiued the one talēt, came & said, Lord, I knew thee, that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sowen, & gathering where thou hast not strawed; & I was afraid, & went & hid thy talent in the earth: loe there thou hast that is thine.As the idle and negligent servant, when his businesse succeeds not, is ready to cast the blame upon his master, pretending his hardnesse, and straitnesse, and morosity; so is the unfaithfull and indiligent man apt to lay the fault upon his maker, when hee hath omitted his good services, and runne himselfe into judgement.
26, 27. His Lord answered & said unto him, Thou wicked & slothfull servāt, thou knewest that I reape where I sowed not, & gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my mony to the exchangers, & then at my comming I should have received mine owne with usury.I have given good proofes of my bounty to all my creatures; but if I were such as thou standerest mee, one that would bee willing to receive more than I give; Why didst thou not the rather take a course to increase that stocke which I committed unto thee; that so I might have received the advantage of mine owne gifts.
Whosoever, through the effectual inoperation of Gods Spirit, shall improve those graces, and helpes which hee hath received, to the further honour of God; hee shall receive a further accession both of grace, and glory; and he that quencheth the Spirit, and suppresseth the good motions thereof,29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, & he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away, even that which he hath. and rejects those good meanes which are offered him, shall bee stripped of all those common favours which hee hath, and lose the hope of all that he might have attained.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into utter darkenesse, there shall bee weeping and gnashing of teeth.As that earthly Master would justly cast such an unprofitable servant out of doores, into the darknesse and cold, there to miscarrie, whiles himselfe and his thriftie followers are entertained with good cheere, and light within; So shall the just God cast out such evill and unfaithfull servants from his presence, and thrust them downe into the darke pit of hell, where there is nothing but wayling and horrour.
33 And he shall set the sheepe on his right hand, but the Goates on the left.And he shall set his elect and holy ones, as sheepe on the right hand: and the wicked and reprobate, as Goates on the left.
35 For I was an hungred, & ye gave me meat.For ye have manifested the truth of your faith (which only can give you just claime to heaven) by the fruits of your good and charitable workes; when I, in my poore members upon earth, was hungred, ye gave me meat, &c.