Preterism, Heterodoxy and the Wesminster Confession | Meet the Real Last Days Scoffers

JL ON

CHURCH HISTORIAN EUSEBIUS PAMPHILIUS
Demonstratio Evangelica (c. 319)

Lightfoot "probably the most important apologetic work of the Early Church." "So that everything compels us to agree that the fulfilment has only been in the way I have described, and at no other time than that of the appearance of Jesus our Saviour, in Whose day I have proved that the things aforesaid were fulfilled." (Demonstratio Evangelica is "probably the most important apologetic work of the Early Church." (D.C.B. ii.331.)

"In fact, one of the finest intellects of the Westminster Assembly was a strong preterist: John Lightfoot." 
Kenneth Gentry

AND THOUGH HE SAW A FINAL "GREAT ASSIZE" , MATTHEW 24 WAS FULFILLED IN FIRST CENTURY

"Was not the judgment and sad conflagration of Jerusalem, and destruction of the Jewish church and nation, an assurance of the judgment to come ; when the expressions whereby it is described are such as, you think, meant nothing else but that final judgment?   As, ' Christ's coming: coming in clouds, in his glory, in his kingdom : — the day of the Lord; the great and terrible day of the Lord : — the end of the world ; the end of all things : — the sun darkened ; the moon not giving light: — the stars falling from heaven, and the powers of heaven shaken: —the sign of the Son of man appearing in heaven: — heaven departing as a scroll rolled together, and every mountain and hill removed out of its place,' &c. You would think, they meant nothing but the last and universal judgment; whereas their meaning, indeed, is Christ's coming in judgment and vengeance against the Jewish city and nation; but a fore-signification also of the last judgment."— Works, Vol. vi., p. 354.

(On Daniel 9:24-27 - "Weeks Prophecy")
"Daniel knowing from Jeremies Prophecie, that the seventy years of Captivity were now fully expired, addresseth himself to God by prayer for their return: he receiveth not only a gracious answer to his desire, but a Prediction of what times should pass over his people till the death of Christ; namely, seventy weeks, or seventy times seven years, or four hundred and ninety.  This space of time the Angel divideth into three unequal parts.

1. Seven sevens, or forty nine years, to the finishing of  Jerusalems Walls.
2. Sixty two sevens, or four hundred thirty four years, from that time, till the last seven.
3. The last seven in the latter half of which Christ Preacheth, viz. three years and a half, and then dieth, &c.

The twenty seventh Verse therefore is to be read thus:  He shall confirm the covenant with many in the one week, and in half that week he shall cause Sacrifice and Oblation to cease, &c.  So that from this year to the death of Christ are four hundred ninety years; and there is no cause, because of doubtful Records among the Heathen, to make a doubt of the fixedness of this time, which an Angel of the Lord hath pointed out with so much exactness."  (Works, 1st. Ed., Vol. 1; Chronology, p. 136)

"[C]hrist now hath three years and a half to live, and to be a publick Minister of the Gospel, as the angel Gabriel had told, Dan. 9.27. that in half of the last sevens of the years there named, he should confirm the Covenant:  R. Jochanan saith, Three years and an half the Divine Glory stood upon the Mount of Olives and cried, Seek the Lord while he may be found. Midr. Till. fol. 10. col. 4." ([1654] Works, 1st. Ed., Vol. 1; Harmony, p. 10)

(On Matthew 3:9)
"To fly from the wrath to come. These words respect the very last words in the Old Testament, lest I come, and smite the earth with a curse, (Mal. iv. 6,) and denote the most miserable destruction of the nation, and now almost ready to fall upon them. The receiving of John's baptism signed, and fenced those that received it from the ruin that was just coming. To this belongs that of St. Peter, (1 Epis. iii. 20, 21,) in that manner as Noah and his sons were by water delivered from the flood, so also baptism now, the antitype of that type, saveth us from the deluge of divine indignation, which in a short time is to overthrow the Jewish nation. Those that are baptized are said to fly from the wrath to come; i. e. the wrath of God, that was not long hence to destroy the nation by a most sad overthrow.' Heb. et Talm. Exerc. in toe.. ' Baptism was, beside other tendencies of it, as a badge, whereby those that received it and stuck to it were marked out for safety and preservation against that destruction that was to come upon that nation for unbelief. Therefore John construes their coming to be baptized, their " fleeing from the wrath to come ; " and Peter, (1 Epis. iii. 21,) in the same sense, doth say that " baptism doth now save : " as the ark hath done in the destruction of the old world, so this from the destruction now coming: and to his admonition to "repent and be baptized," he addeth, "save yourselves from this untoward generation." (Acts ii. 40.)" (Harm. Evan. sec ix.)

(On Matthew 3:10)
"These words seem to be taken from Isa. x. 33, 34. The destruction of the nation was to proceed from the Romans, who had now a great while held them under the yoke. The axe now laid to the root of the tree shall certainly cut it down, if, from this last dressing by the gospel, it bears not fruit. In the Talmud, those words of Isaiah are applied to the destruction of the city.' Heb. et Talm. Exerc. in loc. Again, the same writer says, ' This phrase may be understood as comparing the ruin of the Jews here threatened, with those desolations they had felt before ; for then, as at the captivity of Babylon, for example, they were not utterly cut off from their land forever, but had a promise of returning, and returned, and were planted there again; but now, the vengeance threatened must strike at the very root, and quite destroy them from being a nation forever, and from all hope of returning to their country any more. By the axe being now laid to the root of the trees, may fitly be understood, — 1. The certainty of their desolation; and, 2. The nearness ; in that the instrument of their destruction was already prepared, and brought close to them, the Romans, that should ruin their city and nation, being already masters and rulers over them." (Harm. of Evan. sec. ix.)

(On Matthew 3:12)
"Seeing that the main intent of the verse is to show forth the destruction of Jerusalem, as is proved before, by these words might well be understood the care and charge that God took of his faithful ones in that ruin, when, by the warning of a voice in the temple, that said, migremus hinc, let us flit hence, he removed them to Pella, a place far enough distant from the danger ; —- but that our Saviour hath taught us to understand it of the rest in heaven, in his parable of the wheat and tares." (Harm. Evan. sec. ix.)

(On Matthew 4:17)
"Nor doth this manner of arguing, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," suit only with the Jews' own maxim and opinion, and so might convince and win them the sooner ; but it also agrees, most properly, with the nature of the "kingdom of heaven" itself. For, 1. If by the term, be understood the coming and appearing of the Messiah, (as that, indeed, is the first sense of it,) what fitter entertainment of his appearing than repentance ? For men, when he came to save them from their sins, (Matt. i. 21,) to repent of their sins,— and when he came as the true light, to forsake their dark ways, — and when the Lord, by the appearance of Christ for man's redemption, did show, as it were, that he repented of evil against man ; — how fit was it for man to meet this great mercy, by repenting of his own evil! And, 2. If the term "kingdom of heaven" be taken for the state of the church and religion, under the appearance of Christ and the gospel, in comparison of what it was under the ceremonious administrations in the law, — there could be no fitter entertainment of it than by repentance ; namely, by washing, purifying or sacrificing, the heart, when there was no other washing, purifying or sacrificing, in religion to be had, and such external ceremonies should be gone out of date. 3. And, lastly, if, by this phrase, be meant the " kingdom of Christ among the Gentiles, and their calling by the gospel," (as it also reacheth that sense,) it was a proper kind of arguing used to the Jews, to move them to repentance, — by minding them of the calling of the Gentiles, whose calling in they knew would be their own casting off, if they repented not." (Harm. Evan. part iii. sect. xix.)

(On Matthew 12:36)
"In Matt. xii. 36, the rema argon, or idle word, for every one of which our Saviour saith men shall give an account, (he doth not say shall be condemned or punished,) may perhaps be of the same importance with that which the Talmudists and Rabbins call, " the talk of those who are idle," at leisure, have little to do ; sueh as is used among people in ordinary conversation, when they meet together: as What news? how doth such a person?-or the like. Even this may be well or ill done, prudently or foolishly : and therefore even of this an account will be required." (Works (8vo. Ed.) vol. i. pp. 27, 28.)

(On Matthew 16:28)
"Our Saviour saith, Matt. xvi. 28, "There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom:" — which must not be understood of his coming to the last judgment; for there was not one standing there, that could live till that time:—nor ought it to be understood of the resurrection, as some would have it; for probably not only some, but, in a manner, all that stood there, lived till that time. His coming, therefore, in this place must be understood of his coming to take vengeance against those enemies of his, which would not have him to rule over them, as Luke xix. 12, 27. '

Perhaps it will not repent him that reads the Holy Scriptures, to observe these few things : '

1. That the destruction of Jerusalem and the whole Jewish state, is described as if the whole frame of this world were to be dissolved. Nor is it strange, when God destroyed his habitation and city, places once so dear to him, with so direful and sad an overthrow ; his own people, whom he accounted of as much or more, than the whole world beside,— by so dreadful and amazing plagues. Matt. xxiv. 29, 30 ; "The sun shall be darkened, &c. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man," &c.; which yet are said to fall out, within that generation, ver. 34.—2 Pet. iii. 10; " The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat," &c. Compare with this, Deut. xxxii. 22 ; Heb. xii. 26 : and observe, that, by elements, are understood the Mosaic elements, Gal. iv. 9 ; Col. ii. 20 : and you will not doubt, that St.~ Peter speaks only of the conflagration of Jerusalem, the destruction of the nation and the abolishing the dispensation of Moses. '

Rev. vi. 12, 13 ; " The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, &c., and the heavens departed as a scroll, when it is rolled together," &c. Where, if we take notice of the foregoing plagues, by which, according to the most frequent threatenings, he destroyed that people, viz. the sword, ver. 4,—famine, vs. 5, 6,— and the plague, ver. 8 ; — withal comparing those words, " They say to the mountains, Fall on us and cover us," with Luke xxiii. 30 ;—it will sufficiently appear, that, by those phrases, is understood the dreadful judgment and overthrow of that nation and city. With these also agrees that of Jer. iv. from ver. 22 to 28, and clearly enough explains this phrase. To this appertain those and other expressions, as we meet with, 1 Cor. x. 11, " On us the ends of the world are come:" — and 1 Pet. iv. 7, " The end of all things is at hand." 2. With reference to this, and under this notion, the times, immediately preceding this ruin, are called the " last days," and the "last times," that is, the last times of the Jewish city, nation, economy. This manner of speaking frequently occurs; which let our St. John himself interpret, 1 John ii. 13 ; " There are many antichrists, whereby we know it is the last time : " and that this nation is upon the very verge of destruction, when as it hath already arrived at the utmost pitch of infidelity, apostasy, and wickedness. '

3. With the same reference it is, that the times and state of things, immediately following the destruction of Jerusalem, are called, a " new creation," " new heavens," and a " new earth " — Isa. lxv.l7; "Behold I create a new heaven and a new earth." When should that be ? Read the whole chapter; and you will find the Jews rejected and cut off; and from that time is that new creation of the evangelical world among the Gentiles. Compare 2 Cor. v. 17, and Rev. xxi. 1,2: where, the old Jerusalem being cut off and destroyed, a new one succeeds ; and new heavens and a new earth are created. '

2 Pet. iii. 13; "We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth ;" — The heavens and the earth of the Jewish church and commonwealth must be all on fire, and the Mosaic elements burnt up : but we, according to the promise made to us by Isaiah the prophet, when all these are consumed, look for the new creation of the evangelical state. '

4. The day, the time, and the manner, of the execution of this vengeance upon this people, are called, "The day of the Lord," " The day of Christ," "His coming in the clouds, in his glory, in his kingdom." Nor is this without reason ; for from hence doth this form and mode of speaking take its rise : — ' Christ had not as yet appeared but in a state of humility; contemned, blasphemed, and at length murdered by the Jews : his gospel rejected, laughed at, and trampled under foot: his followers pursued with extreme hatred, persecution, and death itself. At length, therefore, he displays himself in his glory, his kingdom, and power; and calls for those cruel enemies of his that they may be slain before him. ' Acts ii. 20 : " Before that great and notable day of the Lord come." Let us take notice, how St. Peter applies that prophecy of Joel to those very times ; and it will be clear enough, without any commentary, what that " day of the Lord " is. ' 2 Thess. ii. 2: "As if the day of Christ was at hand," &c. To this, also, do those passages belong, Heb. x. 37, " Yet a little while, — and he, that shall come, will come: " — James v. 9 ; " Behold, the judge is at the door:" — Rev. i. 7; "He cometh in the clouds : " — and xxii. 12 ; " Behold, I come quickly." With many other passages of that nature, all which must be understood of Christ's coming in judgment and vengeance against that wicked nation : and in this very sense must the words, now before us, be taken, and no otherwise, " I will, that he tarry till I come:"—"For thy part, Peter, thou shalt suffer death by thy countrymen the Jews ; but as for him, I will that he shall tarry till I come and avenge myself upon this generation : and if I will so, what is that to thee ? " The story that is told of both these apostles, confirms this exposition ; for it is taken for granted by all, that St. Peter had his crown of martyrdom, before Jerusalem fell; and St. John survived the ruins of it.' (Exerc. in John xxi. 22.)

(On Matthew 24:14)
"[And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world.] Jerusalem was not to be destroyed before the gospel was spread over all the world: God so ordering and designing it that the world, being first a catechumen in the doctrine of Christ, might have at length an eminent and undeniable testimony of Christ presented to it; when all men, as many as ever heard the history of Christ, should understand that dreadful wrath and severe vengeance which was poured out upon that city and nation by which he was crucified." (John Lightfoot’s Hebrew and Talmudical Exercitations)

(On Matthew 24:27 ; The Nature of Christ's Return)
27. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  [For as the lightning, &c.] To discover clearly the sense of this and the following clauses, those two things must be observed which we have formerly given notice of:--

(On Matthew 24:28)
"for wheresoever the carcase is, &c. I wonder any can understand these words of pious men flying to Christ, when the discourse here is of quite a different thing: they are thus connected to the foregoing: Christ shall be revealed with a sudden vengeance; for when God shall cast off the city and people, grown ripe for destruction, like a carcase thrown out, the Roman soldiers, like eagles, shall straight fly to it with their eagles (ensigns) to tear and devour it. And to this also agrees the answer of Christ, Luke xvii. 37; when, after the same words that are spoken here in this chapter, it was inquired, 'Where, Lord?' he answered, 'Wheresoever the body is: &c.; silently hinting thus much, that Jerusalem, and that wicked nation which he described through the whole chapter, would be the carcase, to which the greedy and devouring eagles would fly to prey upon it" (John Lightfoot, vol. 2, p. 319).

(On Matthew 24:30)
"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man. Then shall the Son of man give a proof of himself, who they would not before acknowledge: a proof, indeed, not in any visible figure, but in vengeance and judgment so visible, that all the tribes of the earth shall be forced to acknowledge him the avenger. The Jews would not know him: now they shall know him, whether they will or no, Isa. xxvi. II. Many times they asked of him a sign: now a sign shall appear, that he is the true Messiah, whom they despised, derided, and crucified, namely, his signal vengeance and fury, such as never any nation felt from the first foundations of the world" (Lightfoot, vol. 2, p. 320)

(On Matthew 24:34)
"This generation shall not pass, &c. Hence it appears plain enough, that the foregoing verses are not to be understood of the last judgment but, as we said, of the destruction of Jerusalem. There were some among the disciples (particularly John), who lived to see these things come to pass. With Matt. xvi.28, compare John xxi.22. And there were some Rabbins alive at the time when Christ spoke these things, that lived till the city was destroyed, viz. Rabban Simeon, who perished with the city, R. Jochanan Ben Zaccai, who outlived it, R. Zadoch, R. Ishmael, and others." (vol 2., p. 320).

(On Mark 9:1)
"The kingdom of God coming in power. In Matthew it is the Son of man coming in his kingdom. The coming of Christ in his vengeance and power, to destroy the unbelieving and most wicked nation of the Jews, is expressed in these forms of speech. Hence this is the sense of the present place : our Saviour had said, in the last verse of the former chapter, " Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this  adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in the glory of his Father, with his holy angels, to take punishment of that adulterous and sinful generation." And he suggests, with good reason, that his coming in glory should be in the life-time of some that stood there." (Heb. and Talm. Exerc. in Mark ix. 1.)

(On Mark 13:32)
"Of what day and hour? That the discourse is of the day of the destruction of Jerusalem is so evident, both by the disciples' questions, and by the whole thread of Christ's discourse, that it is a wonder any should understand these words of the day and hour of the last judgment.

Two things are demanded of our Saviour, verse 4: the one is, "When shall these things be, that one stone shall not be left upon another?" And the second is, "What shall be the sign of this consummation?" To the latter he answereth throughout the whole chapter hitherto: to the former in the present words. He had said, indeed, in the verse before, "Heaven and earth shall pass away," &c.; not for resolution to the question propounded (for there was no inquiry at all concerning the dissolution of heaven and earth), but for confirmation of the truth of the thing which he had related. As though he had said, "Ye ask when such an overthrow of the Temple shall happen; when it shall be, and what shall be the signs of it. I answer, These and those, and the other signs shall go before it; and these my words of the thing itself to come to pass, and of the signs going before, are firmer than heaven and earth itself. But whereas ye inquire of the precise time, that is not to be inquired after; for of that day and hour knoweth no man."  (vol. 2, p.442)

(On Luke 16:19)
"Whoever believes this not to be a parable, but a true story, let him believe also those little friars, whose trade it is to show the monuments at Jerusalem to pilgrims, and point exactly to the place where the house of the "rich glutton" stood. Most accurate keepers of antiquity indeed ! who, after so many hundreds of years, such overthrows of Jerusalem, such devastations and changes, can rake out of the rubbish the place of so private a house, and such a one too, that never had any being, but merely in parable. And that it was a parable, not only the consent of all expositors may assure us, but the thing itself speaks it. '

The main scope and design of it seems this — to hint the destruction of the unbelieving Jews, who, though they had Moses and the prophets, did not believe them — nay, would not believe, though one (even Jesus) rose from the dead. For that conclusion of the parable abundantly evidenceth what it aimed at: If they hear not Hoses and the prophets, &c." (Heb. and Talm. Exerc. in Luke xvi. 19.)

(On Luke 21:24)
24. 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. [Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.] "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled": and what then? in what sense is this word until to be understood? Let every one have his conjecture, and let me be allowed mine. I am well assured our Saviour is discoursing about the fall and overthrow of Jerusalem; but I doubt, whether he touches upon the restoration of it: nor can I see any great reason to affirm, that the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled before the end of the world itself. But as to this controversy, I shall not at present meddle with it. And yet, in the mean time, I cannot but wonder that the disciples, having so plainly heard these things from the mouth of their master, what concerned the destruction both of the place and nation, should be so quickly asking, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" Nor do I less wonder to find the learned Beza expounding the very following verse after this manner: "Then shall there be the signs in the sun, &c.; that is, after those times are fulfilled, which were allotted for the salvation of the Gentiles, and vengeance upon the Jews, concerning which St. Paul discourses copiously." Romans 11:25, &c: when, indeed, nothing could be said clearer for the confutation of that exposition, than that of verse 32; "Verily, I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled." It is strange this should be no more observed, as it ought to have been, by himself and divers others, when, in truth, these very words are as a gnomon to the whole chapter. All the other passages of the chapter fall in with Matthew 24 and Mark 13, where we have placed those notes that were proper; and shall repeat nothing here. Which method I have taken in several places in this evangelist, where he relates passages that have been related before, and which I have had occasion to handle as I met with them. " (in loc.)

(On John 21:22)
"The destruction of Jerusalem and the whole Jewish state is described as if the whole frame of this world were to be dissolved. Nor is it strange, when God destroyed his habitation and city — places once so dear to him, with so direful and sad an overthrow ; his own people, whom he accounted of as much, or more than the whole world beside, by so dreadful and amazing plagues.' He notices Matt. xxiv. 29, 30, and 2 Peter iii. 10, and then continues thus: —' Rev. vi. 12, 13, The sun became black, &c. Where, if we take notice of the foregoing plagues, by which, according to the most frequent threatenings, he destroyed that people—-viz., the sword, verse 4, the famine, verses 5, 6, and the plague, verse 8 — withal comparing those words, "They say to the mountains, fall on us, and cover us," with Luke xxiii. 30 ; it will sufficiently appear, that by those phrases is understood the dreadful judgment and overthrow of that nation and city. With these also agrees that of Jer. iv. 22—28, and clearly enough explains this phrase." (Heb. and Talm. Exerc. in John xxi. 22.)

(On Acts 1:11)
"Then shall the Son of man give proof of himself, whom they would not before acknowledge: a proof, indeed, not in any visible figure, but in vengeance and judgment so visible, that all the tribes of the earth shall be forced to acknowledge him the avenger. The Jews would not know him: now they shall know him, whether they will or no, Isa. 26:11. Many times they asked of him a sign: now a sign shall appear, that this is the true Messiah, whom they despised, derided, and crucified, namely, his signal vengeance and fury, such as never any nation felt from the first foundations of the world." (A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, 4 vols. Oxford University Press, 1859; reprinted by Hendrickson, Peabody, Mass., 1979. Vol. 2, p. 320)

(On Acts 3:19)
"19. When the times of refreshing shall come. The apostle Ptter taketh his speech from Isa. xxviii. 12; where the prophet at once prophesieth of the gift of tongues, ver. 11 ; of the preaching of the gospel, ver. 12 ; and the infidelity and obduration of the Jews, ver. 13; and speaketh of these very times and occasions that are now in hand. And accordingly is the apostle to be understood, that speaketh, from him, concerning the present refreshing by the gospel, and God's present sending Christ among them in the power and ministry of that, — and not of a refreshing at the calling of the Jews, which is yet to come ; and God's sending Christ personally, to come and reign among them, as some have dreamed ; and it is but a dream. For let but this text be seriously weighed in that sense, that opinion would make of it;—" Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come," as meaning this : " Repent ye now, that your sins may be blotted out, two thousand, or 1 know not how many hundred years hence, when the calling of the Jews shall come." If this be not the sense that they make of this text, that produce it to assert Christ's personal reign on earth for a thousand years, I know not why they should then produce it; and if this be the sense, I must confess I see no sense in it. The words are facile and clear, and have no intricacy at all in them, if the Scripture may be suffered to go upon its own wheels ; and they may be taken up in this plain and undeniable paraphrase : " Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out; so that the times of refreshing by the gospel may come upon you from the presence of the Lord ; and he may send Jesus Christ in the preaching of the gospel to you, to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." '

Ver. 20. And he shall send Jesus Christ. As verse 26 : " God, having raised his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you." Now this cannot possibly be understood of Christ's personally and visibly coming among them; for who, of this audience, ever saw him after his resurrection ? but of his coming among them now in this means and offer of salvation. And in the same sense is this clause in hand to be understood ; and so the twenty-second verse interpreteth it of the sending of Christ as the great Prophet, to whom whosoever will not hearken must be cut off: —- not at the end of the world, when he shall come as a judge ; but in the gospel, which is his voice ; and which to refuse to hearken to is condemnation. Peter's exhortation, therefore, is to repentance, that their sins might be blotted out: so that refreshing times might come upon them, and Christ in the gospel might be sent among them, according as Moses had foretold, that he should be the great instructor of the people." (Com. in loc. )

(On I Corinthians 3:13)
"Two things shall discover every man's work, the day and the fire. Both which you may not understand amiss of the word of God manifesting and proving all things. For the light of the gospel is very frequently called the day, and the law of God called fire. (Deut. xxxiii. 2.) ' But I had rather in this place understand by the day, the day of the Lord, that was shortly coming, and by fire, the fire of divine indignation to be poured out upon the Jewish nation. And I am the more inclined to this interpretation because there is so frequent remembrance of that day and fire in the Holy Scriptures." (Heb. et Talm. Exerc. in 1 Cor. iii. 13.)

(On I Corinthians 7:29)
"Behold men prepared and sworn almost to perpetual abstinence from  marriage by reason of calamiti4es.  From the like cause, also, I suspect some Christian might be in doubt in the times of the apostles.  Our Saviour had foretold that those times should be very rough that went before the destruction of Jerusalem, Matt. xxiv : and that not within the bounds of Judea only, but that "judgment should begin from the Temple of God," everywhere, 1 Pet. iv. 17; and "a day of temptation should come upon the whole world," Rev. iii.20.  So that that prediction being known to the churches , and the times now inclining towards those calamities, it is no wonder if concern and care about those straits invaded the Christians, and deterred very many single persons from marriage." (CTH, p. 217)

(On 1 Corinthians 16:22)
"The words Maran-atha are held by some to be of the form of the highest excommunication : — but this is utterly without the warrant of any Jewish antiquity (whose language it is) at all. I believe it is impossible to show Maran-alha for a form of excommunication, or execration, in any of their writings ; nay, very hard, if not next impossible, to show the words Maranatha in their writings at all, in any sense. The phrase in the apostle refers, first, to Christ's coming in vengeance against Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, as the execration is first to be pitched upon them : Maran-atha, "our Lord cometh." Many and dreadful things are spoken of this his coming in the Scripture, of which we have spoken in several places, as we have come along. So that in this sentence he doth both justly doom this unbelieving and wretched nation to their deserved curse, and doth withal, in this phrase, intimate that the doomed curse was near approaching, in the Lord's coming in vengeance against them. Now, though we construe the words in such an application to the Jews, it is not exclusively, but that their sense reacheth also to every one that loveth not the Lord Jesus, of what nation soever, and the Lord will come in time to make him an anathema." (Harm. N. Test. in loc.)

(On 2 Thessalonians 2:8)
"The phrase, the man of sin and child of perdition, is plainly taken from that place, Isa. xi. 4— "With the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked one ;" and the apostle makes it clear that he referreth to that place, by using the very words of the prophet at verse 8 — " Whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth." The Jews put an emphasis upon that word in the prophet, the wicked one, as it appeareth by the Chaldee paraphrast, who hath uttered it, "He shall destroy the wicked Ro- mans," and so the apostle puts an emphasis upon it, and translates it " the man of sin ;" and in that Christ is introduced in the prophet, as having a special quarrel and vengeance against him ; he is called the " son of perdition," or he that is so certainly and remarkably to be destroyed. It is true this meaneth the Roman, as the Chaldee, and our Protestant divines, by the warrant of John, in the Revelation, do interpret it: but, in the first place and sense, it meaneth the Jewish nation, which proved antichrist, as well as Rome ever did, and as far as Rome ever did, and before Rome ever did, and as long and longer than Rome hath yet done. As Jews and Rome joined in the murder of Christ, so are they joined in this character of antichrist; but the Jews to be understood first, see verse 7 — The mystery of iniquity was already working, when the apostle wrote this epistle, which cannot possibly be understood but of the Jewish nation ; and so it is explained again and again." (Harm. New Test. in 2 Thess.)

(On Hebrews 10:39)
"As Christ's pouring down his vengeance, in the destruction of that city and people, is called his " coming in his glory," and his " coming in judgment;" and as the destruction of that city and nation is charactered, in Scripture, as the destruction of the whole world — so there are several passages that speak of the nearness of that destruction, that are suited according to such characters. Such is that in 1 Cor. x. 11, "Upon us the ends of the world are come ;" Heb. x. 37, " Yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come, and will not tarry.'" (Sermon on James v. 9. )

(On Hebrews 12:25-29)
"The following figures are in the same style ; 2 Pet. iii. 10 — "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up." How many have no doubt that this passage is descriptive of the conflagration of the world at the day of judgment. But compare Deut. xxxii. 22— "A fire is kindled in mine anger, and it shall burn unto the lowest hell; and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains." Hag. ii. 6 — " Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens. and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land." Heb. xii. 26 — "Ishake not the earth only, but also heaven." Observe, by the elements, the Mosaic institutions are to be understood, Gal. iv. 9; Col. ii. 20 ; as also the apostle has spoken at sundry times ; and then you will not doubt that he has here spoken of the conflagration of Jerusalem, the subversion of the nation, and of the Mosaic economy.' (Tract. de Spir. Proph. § v.)

(On 1 Peter 3:20,21)
"The receiving of John's baptism signed and fenced those that received it from the ruin that was just coming.  To this belongs that of St. Peter, Epist. 1. ch. 3:20,12 :in that manner as Noah and his sons were by water delivered from the flood, 'so as baptism now, the antitype of the type, saveth us' from THE DELUGE OF DIVINE INDIGNATION, which in a short time is to overflow the Jewish nation.  Think here, if those that came to baptism brought not their little ones with them to baptism: when, by the plain words of the Baptist, those that are baptized are said to 'fly from the wrath to come!' that is, 'the wrath of God,' that was not long hence to destroy the nation by a most sad overthrow" (Vol. 2, Page 78)

(On 1 Peter 4:17)
"Then they shall deliver you up to lie afflicted. To this relate those words of Peter, 1 Ep. iv. I7, "The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God;" that is, the time foretold by our Saviour is now at hand, in which we are to be delivered up to persecution, &c. These words denote that persecution which the Jews, now near their ruin, stirred up, almost every where, against the professors of the gospel.' Heb. and Talm. Exerc. on Matt. xxiv. 9.

(On II Peter 3)
"He sets forth the destruction of that cursed Nation and their City in those terms that Christ had done, Matt. 24. and that the Scripture doth elsewhere, Deut. 32.22,23.24. Jer. 4.23. namely as the destruction of the whole world, The heavens passing away, the elements melting, and the earth burnt up, &c.  And accordingly speaks of a new heaven and a new earth, from Isa. 65.17. a new state of the Church under the Gospel among the Gentiles, when this old world of the Jews state should be dissolved."

(On 2 Peter 3:7-10)
"Thus Peter placeth as parallels, the ruin of the old world, and the ruin of Jerusalem, 1 Pet. iii. 19—21, and by such a comparison his words will be best understood. For. 1. See how he skips from the mention of the death of Christ to the times before the flood, in the eighteenth and nineteenth verses, passing over all the time between. Did not the spirit of Christ preach all along in the times under the law ? Why then doth he take an example only from the times before the flood ? namely, that he might fit the matter to his case, and show that the present state of the Jews was like theirs in the times of Noah, and that their ruin should be like also. So also, in his second epistle, chap. iii. vs. 6" (Exerc. in Matt. xxiv. 37.)

(On the New Heavens and Earth)
"That the destruction of Jerusalem is very frequently expressed in Scripture as if it were the destruction of the whole world, Deut. 32:22; "A fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.' Jer. 4:23; 'I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light,' &c. The discourse there also is concerning the destruction of that nation, Isa. 65:17; 'Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered,' &c. And more passages of this sort among the prophets. According to this sens, Christ speaks in this place; and Peter speaks in his Second Epistle, third chapter; and John, in the sixth of the Revelation; and Paul, 2 Cor. 5:17, &c. (vol. 2, pp. 18-19)

"With the same reference it is, that the times and state of things immediately following the destruction of Jerusalem are called 'a new creation,' new heavens,' and 'a new earth.' When should that be? Read the whole chapter; and you will find the Jews rejected and cut off; and from that time is that new creation of the evangelical world among the Gentiles.

Compare 2 Cor. 5:17 and Rev. 21:1,2; where, the old Jerusalem being cut off and destroyed, a new one succeeds; and new heavens and a new earth are created.

2 Peter 3:13: 'We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth.' The heaven and the earth of the Jewish church and commonwealth must be all on fire, and the Mosaic elements burnt up; but we, according to the promise made to us by Isaiah the prophet, when all these are consumed, look for the new creation of the evangelical state" (vol. 3, p.453)

"That the destruction of Jerusalem and the whole Jewish state is described as if the whole frame of the world were to be dissolved. Nor is it strange, when God destroyed his habitation and city, places once so dear to him, with so direful and sad an overthrow; his own people, whom he accounted of as much or more than the whole world beside, by so dreadful and amazing plagues. Matt. 24:29,30, 'The sun shall be darkened &c. Then shall appear the 'sign of the Son of man,' &c; which yet are said to fall out within that generation, ver. 34. 2 Pet. 3:10, 'The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,' &c. Compare with this Deut. 32:22, Heb. 12:26: and observe that by elements are understood the Mosaic elements, Gal 4:9, Coloss. 2:20: and you will not doubt that St. Peter speaks only of the conflagration of Jerusalem, the destruction of the nation, and the abolishing the dispensation of Moses" (vol. 3, p. 452).

(On Rome as the Chittim/Kittim)
"A Decree of Augustus given out at Rome, becomes an occasion of accomplishing a Decree of the Lords, namely of the Birth of the Messias at Bethlehem.  He is born under a Roman taxation, and now that Prophecie of Chittim or Italy afflicting Heber, Numb. 24.24. beginneth livelily to take place." (Works, 1st. Ed., Vol. 1; Harmony, p. 4)

(On Forty Years From Cross to Eschaton)
"The Jews speaks of divers ominous things that occurred fourty years before the destruction of the City; As it is a tradition that fourty years before the Sanctuary was destroyed the Western Lamp went out, and the scarlet list kept its redness, and the Lords lot came up on the left hand.  And they locked up the Temple doors at even, yet when they rose in the morning they found them open.  Jerus. in Joma fol.43.col.3. And, Sanhedr. fol.18.col.1.  Fourty years before the Temple was destroyed, power of judging in capital matters was taken away from Israel: Now there are some that reckon but thirty eight years between the death of Christ and the destruction of the City; and if that be so, then these ominous presages occurred this year that we are upon.   It being just fourty years, by that account, from this Passover at which Christ healeth the diseased man at Bethesda, to the time of Titus his pitching him Camp and siege about Jerusalem, which was at Passover."  (Works, 1st. Ed., Vol. 1; Harmony, p. 21)

WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID

Kenneth Gentry
"In fact, one of the finest intellects of the Westminster Assembly was a strong preterist: John Lightfoot (1601-1675). In his Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica (1674; rep. 1989) Lightfoot offered a fine preterist exposition of Matthew 24 (2:308-321), with allusions to 2 Thessalonians 2. Of the Thessalonian passage he argued that the "restrainer" therein "is to be understood of the emperor Claudius enraged at and curbing in the Jews" (2:312).
 
Lightfoot even adopted the view that Revelation 1:7 speaks of "Christ's taking vengeance on that exceeding wicked nation" of Israel (2:319 and 422). There he interpreted Christ's coming as a providential judgment upon "those who pierced him" (the Jews) from among "all the tribes of the land literally" (Israel). This committed Lightfoot so strongly to preterism that he suggested Revelation's overall theme is Israel's judgment: "I may further add, that perhaps this observation might not a little help (if my eyes fail me not) in discovering the method of the author of the Book of the Revelation" (3:210). This led him to conclude that the "judiciary scene set up in Rev. 4 and 5, and those thrones Rev. 20:1" speak of "the throne of glory" and "is to be understood of the judgment of Christ to be brought upon the treacherous, rebellious, wicked, Jewish people. We meet with very frequent mention of the coming of Christ in his glory in this sense" (2:266)." (Back to the Future)

C. Jonathan Seraiah
"It is true that the "eschatology" of the New Testament is predominantly preterist. For those unfamiliar with the preterist perspective, it is the ancient view that many of the eschatological passages of the New Testament were fulfilled (completely) in the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. This view may sound novel, but in reality there have been orthodox adherents to it throughout church history (e.g., Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, John Lightfoot, John Owen, Milton Terry, Jay Adams). This interpretation does not deny the Final Coming of Christ; it merely finds that not all "coming" passages refer to that event. The preterist interpretation is actually the most faithful to the biblical text because it recognizes that Old Testament prophetic terminology was used by the New Testament authors. This recognition is helpful in distinguishing the prophecies of Christ's coming that were near, in the first century (Matt. 10:23; 16:28; 24:30; 26:64; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 1:7; James 5:7-9; 1 Pet. 4:7; Rev. 1:3, 7; etc.) and thus fulfilled in a.d. 70, from those that were far (John 5:28-29; Acts 1:11; 17:31; 1 Cor. 15:23-24; 1 Thess. 4:16; 1 Jn. 3:2; etc.) and thus not yet fulfilled even in our day. It also helps to distinguish between a spiritual "coming" (invisible for temporal judgment, as in a.d. 70) and a physical coming (visible for eternal judgment)." (End of All Things)

Bishop J. Lightfoot's Works; 2 vol.'s; 1684,1st Ed.

ALL the friends of Bishop Lightfoot must be grateful to Mr. Murray for allowing the striking sketch of the Bishop's character and work which appeared in the Quarterly Review in January, 1893, to be republished separately. Though the writer has not thought fit to reveal himself, it is clear that he had exceptional advantages for fulfilling the task which he undertook; and the description of the life in Durham shows throughout personal and intimate knowledge. Though my own intercourse with the Bishop during this period was necessarily less close and continuous than during earlier years, I recognise the student, the colleague, the friend whom I knew at Cambridge in every trait, but presented, so to speak, on a larger scale; and I can well believe that while Dr. Lightfoot loved his College and his University with perfect devotion, the busy episcopate, full of great designs and great achievements, was his happiest time. Cambridge, as I often said to him, seemed to be forgotten, and wisely forgotten, in the new interests of Durham; and even I, who was the chief loser, felt that I could rejoice in a greater gain.

In Bishop Lightfoot's case the works were the man. What he did was a true expression of himself; and if I may venture to speak from my experience during the last three years, I believe that his greatest work was the brotherhood of clergy whom he called to labour with him in the Diocese, and bear his spirit to another generation--greater than his masterpieces of interpretation and criticism, greater than his masterpieces of masculine and yet passionate eloquence. I could wish indeed that there was some adequate record of his part in University affairs. When I returned to Cambridge in 1870 I found him possessed of commanding influence, trusted and revered alike by all. But from that time he withdrew more and more from public business, though his authority was never found to be less when he was pleased to use it. If he could persuade another to take up what he had prepared, that seemed to be his chief delight.

I have often spoken of the circumstances which attended my own recall to Cambridge; and perhaps I may repeat the story here, for I think that it reveals the man. As soon as it was known that the Regius Professorship of Divinity would shortly become vacant, he bade me lose no time in arranging for my candidature. I naturally replied that the office was his by right: that his past work led up to it by universal consent: that I might then aspire to be his successor as Hulsean Professor. He acknowledged the force of what I said, "but" he added, "I could not retain my fellowship with it, and that consideration is decisive: I must not give up my place on the Governing Body of the College." I could not resist the argument, so in due time I was appointed. About three months after Dr. Lightfoot came to my rooms and put in my hands a very remarkable letter from Mr. Gladstone containing the offer of the Canonry at St. Paul's. "What could be better," I said, "if it were possible? But, unhappily you cannot hold your fellowship with it." "Ah," he replied, and I can see now his merry smile at my discomfiture, "I have done all I can for the College."

Bishop Lightfoot's works, I have said, show what he was, and this sketch seems to me to add just those touches of life which give to his writings a personal interest. It tells a stranger how he grew and moved among his fellows and won them, and, from a stranger, makes him also in some sense a friend.

B. F. DUNELM.
AUCKLAND CASTLE,
October 11, 1893.

 

BISHOP LIGHTFOOT

"+ IN MEMORIAM JOSEPHI BARBER LIGHTFOOT S.T.P. EPISCOPI DUNELMENSIS NATUS A.D. MDCCCXXVIII. OBIIT A.D. MDCCCLXXXIX. QUALIS FUERIT ANTIQUITATIS INVESTIGATOR EVANGELII INTERPRES ECCLESLE RECTOR TESTANTUR OPERA UT AEQUALIBUS ITA POSTERIS PROFUTURA + AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM. AM. PON. CVR. + "

SUCH is the inscription encircling the monument which was disclosed to view in the Cathedral Church of Durham on Thursday, the twentieth day of October, 1892, when, in the presence of the Lord Chancellor of England, the Archbishop of the Province, the Bishop of the Diocese, the Speaker of the House of Commons, and a large congregation of dignitaries and commoners of all classes, lay as well as clerical, the Lord-Lieutenant of the county unveiled the effigy of the late Bishop Lightfoot. The monument itself is said to be in every way worthy of the place near the sanctuary which has been assigned to it, of the great prelate whom it commemorates, and of the great artists who devoted to it of their best. Sir Edgar Boehm is known to have worked at the model in the last hours of his life, and Mr. Gilbert has generously completed the unfinished task with a result which reflects honour alike on his master and on himself. It is not, however, with the monument but with the thoughts which the inscription suggests that we propose to deal. It is said to have come from the hand of Bishop Lightfoot's friend and successor, and may be intended to indicate that, as while he was with us so now that he has been taken from us, the retiring man is to be known only by his works. We have seen no announcement of any forthcoming biography, but we cannot help thinking that to a large circle of readers some presentation of the main facts of this great life would be welcome; and in the absence of a fuller record we believe that such a brief sketch as the limits of an article can afford will not be unacceptable. We shall find the chief lines of this sketch in the Bishop's works; but let us look for a moment at the boy who was father to the man. Joseph Barber Lightfoot was the younger son of Mr. John Jackson Lightfoot, a Liverpool accountant, and was born at his father's house, 84 Duke Street, in that city, on April 13th, 1828. His mother was a sister of Mr. Joseph Vincent Barber, a Birmingham artist of considerable repute, who had married the only daughter of Zaccheus Walker, eldest son of the "wonderful" Walker of Seathwaite, who is immortalised in Wordsworth's Excursion. Of the three other children an elder brother became a good Cambridge scholar, and was for many years Master of the Grammar School at Basingstoke. The younger brother was indebted to him for many acts of kindness which removed difficulties from his early course. One sister was married to the Rev. William Harrison, of Pontesbury, and left an only son, who is a curate in the Diocese of Durham. The other survives, and is the only Lightfoot of this branch now remaining. It has been not unnatural to seek to establish a connexion between this family and that of Dr. John Lightfoot, the seventeenth-century theologian and Hebraist, but there is, we believe, no true ground for doing so. The young ' Joe,' as he was familiarly called at home and at school, was a delicate lad, and was privately educated until he was about thirteen. His first year of school life was under the care of Dr. Iliff, at the Royal Institution in Liverpool, which claims also among its distinguished pupils Dr. Sylvester the mathematician and the present Bishop of Ripon. He soon found his way to the "First Class," which consisted of boys far beyond his own years, and among the more or less legendary stories which have gathered around the early boyhood--such as "How is Joe getting on with his German?" "Oh! he has finished German! he is now doing Anglo-Saxon"--one stands out on clear evidence. The boy's health gave way, and under medical advice the anxious and now widowed mother had all books removed from his room. The little patient grew rapidly worse, and pleaded so earnestly for his books that the mother's heart could not refuse to grant them. They naturally proved the best tonic for the restless mind, and the lad grew as rapidly better.

But the chief step in the boy's education was taken in 1844, when the mother, attracted by the advantages of the Birmingh