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and far -reaching line of witnesses, is of necessity liable to lead its
exponents into tremendous mistakes.
The Coming of the Lord
The New Testament Fulfilment
The sunteleia.
The times of refreshing.
The presence of the Lord.
The passages we have looked at in Matthew's Gospel, while adding their
quota to the teaching of the New Testament concerning the Second Coming of
the Lord, are nevertheless isolated and fragmentary in character. Matthew
24, on the other hand, is a discourse wholly devoted to the subject. This
notable discourse is introduced by the closing verses of Matthew 23:
'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest
them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say,
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord' (Matt 23:37 -39).
We have here a quotation from Psalm 118:25,26:
'Save now (Hosannah), I beseech Thee, O Lord ... Blessed be He that
cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of
the Lord'.
The Hosannah quotation is found in Matthew 21:9. It is important to
notice that the cry, 'Blessed be He that cometh', is closely associated with
'the house of the Lord'. This adds point to the Lord's words 'your house is
left unto you desolate', and also provides a reason for the disciples'
remarks concerning the building of the temple. When the Lord told them that
there should not be left one stone upon another, it is evident by their
threefold question that this desolation was connected in their minds with the
Coming of the Lord.
The threefold question
This threefold question and its answer occupies the whole of Matthew 24
from verse 3:
'And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him
privately, saying, Tell us: --
(1)
When shall these things be?
(2)
And what shall be the sign of Thy Coming,
(3)
And the end of the world (age)?'
In answering the disciples' questions, the Lord deals with them in the
reverse order: