the context demanded.  If, when the smaller letters were introduced, the word

aute had remained unaspirated, we should read Matthew 24:34: 'Verily I say

unto you, That generation shall not pass, till all these things be

fulfilled'.  There would have then been no 'problem', it would have been the

announcement of a fact that has a bearing upon the length of time that will

elapse from the beginning of the signs given in Matthew 24:32,33 until the

Coming of the Son of Man.  That generation which sees the commencement, will

see the close, for the days shall be 'shortened' for the elect's sake.

'In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.  And

the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the

vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar

to the house of his god' (Dan. 1:1,2).

With these words the book of Daniel opens, and it may not be too much

to say that they are only paralleled by the words of Acts 28 in their burden

of crisis and dispensational change.  With such vast issues hanging upon

these momentous words, vast because they cover the whole sweep of Gentile

dominion, and vaster still because they lead steadily on to that kingdom of

Christ which is to last for ever; with such issues and such a burden, no

pains should be spared in acquainting ourselves with all that God has written

for our learning in relation to this crisis in the history of man.  Space

will not permit of the full quotation of Jeremiah 25:1 -26.  We can but point

out one or two features that connect this passage with the opening words of

The reader will be struck by the fact that whereas Daniel 1:1 speaks of

the 'third' year of Jehoiakim, Jeremiah 25:1 speaks of the 'fourth' year of

that same king in connection with the coming of Nebuchadnezzar against

Jerusalem.  This apparent discrepancy has not passed unnoticed by the critic,

and is one of his many 'proofs' of the untrustworthiness of the book of

The Hebrew word translated 'came' in Daniel 1:1 is bo, and it

frequently has the sense of 'went' or 'marched'.  This, however, has been

denied.  Dr. Samuel Davidson says: 'The verb bo does not mean to set out ...

but to arrive at' (Introduction to the Old Testament, Vol. III, page 181),

and, when men of such standing and authority speak thus, who are we to oppose

them?  Humility is indeed a grace to seek and to preserve, but while

Galatians 2 remains for our encouragement, we may still dare to bring all

statements to the touchstone of the Word.  Dr. Davidson's statement but

illustrates the uncritical character of so -called 'higher criticism', for it

has been computed that the Hebrew word bo is used in the sense of 'to set

out' in each of the five books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel,

Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah,

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and six out of the twelve minor prophets!

Let us look at Jonah 1:3 and translate it as Dr. Davidson would have

it: 'And Jonah ... went down to Joppa, and he found a ship arriving at

Tarshish'!  If this could be sense, then in some miraculous way Jonah would

no sooner have set foot on board at Joppa than he would have 'arrived' at