His Glorious Appearing: An Exposition of Matthew Twenty-Four

by James White

When Shall These Things Be?

Verses 15-20: “When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand); then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains; let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.”

Our Lord having in verses 5-14, passed over the important events in the Christian age down to the end, goes back and introduces in verse 15 the destruction of Jerusalem, in answer to the inquiry, “When shall these things be?” Luke's version of this language is, “When ye shall see Jerusalem encompassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.” Luke 21:20. By this we know that the term “abomination of desolation” refers to the Roman army. This desolating power is spoken of by Daniel as follows:—

“And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.... And for the over-spreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”Margin, “desolator.” Dan. 9:26, 27.

Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus

Here is a clear prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies. Our Lord referred to the book of Daniel, and taught his disciples to read and understand it; and when they should see take place what was there predicted, they must make their escape.

It would seem to be impracticable to flee from a city after it was encompassed with armies; but our Saviour did not speak at random. Josephus tells us that Cestius, the Roman general who first led the attack upon Jerusalem, became dismayed at the apparent forces and strength of the city, and after having surrounded the city raised the siege. The historian says: “He retired from the city, without any reason in the world.”—“Wars,” book ii, chap. xix. And in the first words of the succeeding chapter he further states: “After this calamity had befallen Cestius, many of the most eminent Jews swam away from the city, as from a ship when it was going to sink.”

Dr. A. Clarke, commenting on verse 16, says:—

“This counsel was remembered and wisely followed by the Christians afterwards. Eusebius and Epiphanius say, that at this juncture, after Cestius Gallus had raised the siege, all who believed in Christ left Jerusalem and fled to Pella, and other places beyond Jordan.”

The flight of the Christians of Judea to the mountains would be attended with difficulties. And their subsequent condition would be that of hardship and suffering. The Lord knew this, and gave them the instructions and warnings necessary. The statement of verse 19 was given to save them from the sorrows of unnecessary woe. That was a time of trouble.

Jesus recognizes the existence of the Sabbath, in verse 20, as late as the destruction of Jerusalem, as verily as he does the seasons of the year. The Sabbath, is the uniform [pg 034] term of both Testaments to designate the very day on which Jehovah rested after the creation, the day upon which he put his blessing, and which he set apart for man. Not only in this instance does our Saviour show his regard for the sacred day of rest, but in his life he kept it (see Luke 4:16); in his teaching he upheld it, and taught its true character (Matt. 12:12); and when he lay in the tomb, the devout women reverently rested “according to the commandment.” He himself is Lord of the Sabbath, and he declares that it was made for man. Mark 2:27, 28. Jesus does not speak of the Sabbath as being only a seventh part of time, or one day in seven, and no day in particular. The Sabbath is the term used, referring to the last day of the first week of time, and to the last day of each subsequent week.

It is thus that Jesus answered the question, “When shall these things be?” He now proceeds to answer the second great question.

What Shall Be The Sign Of Thy Coming?

Verse 21: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

It is not surprising, perhaps, that upon a casual reading some should conclude that this verse had its fulfillment at the siege of Jerusalem by Titus. It was a time of great suffering, and the verse follows so closely those which relate to the destruction of the city, that this explanation suggests itself readily enough. But for good reasons we cannot accept that application of this verse. Jesus is giving a [pg 035] continuous prophecy. The narrative proceeds from verse to verse along the line of the entire dispensation.

The “great tribulation” mentioned in verse 21 is that of the church of Christ, and not the tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem. We offer the following reasons for so deciding:—

1. It is a fact that the tribulation of the Christian church, especially under the reign of the papacy, was greater than God's people had suffered before “since the beginning of the world.” The tribulation of the Christian church has been greater than it will ever be again. True, a time of trouble “such as never was,” spoken of in Dan. 12:1, is coming upon the wicked; but we find in the same verse this blessed promise, “And at that time thy people shall be delivered.” The tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem was not greater than the world will ever witness. The vials of Jehovah's unmingled wrath are yet to be poured out, not upon the people of one nation only, but upon the guilty people of all nations.

“The slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried.” Jer. 25:33.

2. If the tribulation be applied to the Jews, or to any other class of unbelieving men, it cannot be harmonized with Dan. 12:1, which speaks of the time of trouble such as never was, when Michael shall stand up. Certainly there cannot be two times of trouble at different periods, greater than ever was or ever would be. Therefore the “tribulation” spoken of in Matt. 24:21, 29, applies not to the Jews, but to the church of Christ, extending through the 1260 years of papal persecution; and the “trouble” mentioned in Dan. 12:1, to the unbelieving world, to be experienced by them in the future.

St. Bartholomew Massacre.

3. The period of tribulation was shortened for the elect's sake. This cannot refer to the Jews, for their house had been pronounced desolate. They were left of God in their hardness of heart and blindness of mind. Says Paul, “Lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” The elect were the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. And where were they when tribulation was upon the Jews?—They had fled to the mountains. It is absurd, then, to say that the days of tribulation of the Jews in the city of Jerusalem, were shortened for the sake of the elect, who had fled from the place of tribulation. Moreover the tribulation that came upon Jerusalem was not restrained or modified, but continued until the city was destroyed and its people were given to the sword and to captivity.

4. The connection between verses 20 and 21 shows that the tribulation was to commence with those Christians who were to flee out of the city. “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day; for then shall be great tribulation.” Our Lord here speaks of the tribulation which his people would suffer from the time of their flight onward. We follow them in their flight to the mountains, and then pass along down through the noted persecutions of the church of God under pagan Rome, and we see, indeed, tribulation. And when we come to the period of papal persecutions, we see them suffering the most cruel tortures, and dying the most dreadful deaths that wicked men and demons could inflict. This last period is especially noted in prophecy.

The prophet Daniel saw the papacy, its blasphemy, its ignorance, its work of death on the saints, and its duration as a persecuting power, under the symbol of the little horn.

Taking the Pope Prisoner. 1798.

“And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Dan. 7:25.

It is generally admitted that “a time and times and the dividing of time” is 1260 years. The proof of it may readily be seen by comparing Rev. 12:14, 6; 13:5, with the scripture just quoted. In these passages we learn that “time, times, and the dividing of time” is equivalent to a thousand two hundred and threescore days, which equals three and one half Biblical years, or “forty and two months.” Applying the scriptural rule of interpretation, a day for a year (Eze. 4:6), we have 1260 years.

This period is to cover the supremacy of the papacy. The beginning of it will be the point of the establishment of the power of the papacy. This was the year 538 a. d. Justinian, emperor of Rome, with his capital at Constantinople, espoused the cause of the bishop of Rome; and in 533 a. d. issued a decree which constituted that prelate head of all the churches. But the Arian Ostrogoths had possession of Rome, and it was not until they had been rooted up that the city was accessible to the bishop. This was accomplished in 538, by Belisarius, Justinian's celebrated general. For a concise and clear account of this occurrence we refer the reader to the “Two Republics,” by A. T. Jones, pp. 551-553.

Commencing the 1260 years a. d. 538, they reach to a. d. 1798, when Berthier, a French general, took possession of Rome. The pope was made a prisoner and carried with violence away from his palace and out of Italy. The papacy was stripped of its civil power. Here ended the days of tribulation spoken of by our Lord, which were—

Shortened For The Elect's Sake.

Verse 22: “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”

The papacy was clothed with civil power to punish heretics, which it held for 1260 years; and had not the period of tribulation of the elect in the providence of God been shortened, the martyrdom of the church would have continued to 1798, in which event, no flesh of the elect would have been saved. But the Reformation under Martin Luther, and those associated with this great reformer, modified this tribulation, and continued to restrain the rage and power of the papacy until the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773, since which time, there has been no general persecution waged against the church. Thus we are brought in this prophetic discourse of our Lord, down into the eighteenth century, very near the present time. We would naturally expect, then, that the instructions and warnings which follow would be applicable to this generation.