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the kingdom of God is come."-Neither the first spiritual kingdom which began under the Gospel, nor the second glorious kingdom which shall begin at the second advent, were intended by God to be ushered in by such clear unmistakeable signs, that no one could fail to see them, and no room be left for unbelief.

Those who maintain that all prophecies in the book of Revelation, were meant to be fulfilled so manifestly that no one could doubt their fulfilment,-and that Revelation is therefore entirely unfulfilled as yet, because interpreters of it have hitherto not explained it satisfactorily, would do well to mark our Lord's language in this verse. It appears somewhat damaging to their theory.

[The kingdom of God is within you.] This expression again is interpreted two ways. Some hold with our translators, that the word "within" means, "in your hearts and consciences. The kingdom of God is an inward and spiritual thing, and not an external and visible thing."-Others hold with our marginal reading, that "within," means 'among you." The kingdom has already begun in the midst of your nation. My disciples have already joined it and become its first subjects. While you are waiting, my spiritual kingdom has already been set up. decidedly adhere to this last view.

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22.—[He said unto His disciples.] Let it be noted that our Lord here turns away from the Pharisees and addresses His own disciples.

[The days will come, &c.] This expression is somewhat obscure. Stella thinks it refers to the time of our Lord's second advent, and that it describes the misery of the unconverted in that day, desiring to have one day of Gospel offers granted to them, when it is too late.-I rather regard it as describing the whole state of the believing church, during the interval between the first and second advents of Christ, and specially the state of the apostles, and our Lord's immediate followers after His ascension. How much they would long for one of the happy days, when they had their Master visibly among them, we can easily conceive. The expression is like that in Matthew, “The days shall come when the bridegroom shall be taken away, and then shall they fast." (Matt. ix. 15.)

23. [They shall say, see here, &c.] This verse contains a warning to the disciples not to be moved by rumours of Messiah having come in glory, and the kingdom having been set up. Such rumours we know from history, abounded from the time of our Lord's ascension till the taking of Jerusalem. False christs and false prophets were continually arising. The warning is unquestionably meant to apply to the times immediately preceding the second advent. False christs, false prophets, and pretenders to divine commission may be expected in the latter days, and believers must be on their guard against them.

24.-[For as the lightning, &c.] In this verse our Lord declares distinctly that His second advent, when it does take place, will be so sudden, so clearly-marked, and so unmistakeable, that true believers shall at once recognize it as the coming of their King. It will not be a slow, gradual event. It will come on men in a moment.

That our Lord in this verse meant nothing more than the march of the Roman armies to destroy Jerusalem, is, to my mind, an unsatisfactory and improbable interpretation.

25.-[First must he suffer.] Our Lord here asserts that great truth which His disciples and all the Jews were so exceedingly slow to see. He must first suffer and afterwards reign. He must first endure the cross, and afterwards, at His second advent, wear the

crown.

[Rejected of this generation.] I am strongly disposed to think, that both here and in Luke xxi. 32, Mark xiii. 30, and Matt. xxiv. 34, the word translated, "generation," means this nation or people of the Jews, and not merely the men who were living when our Lord spoke. Those who wish to see this view, and the quotations in favour of it, will find it set forth in Ravanelli Thesaurus, under the word "generatio."

LUKE XVII. 26-37.

26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32 Remember Lot's wife.

33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered to

31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down together.

THE subject of these verses is one of peculiar solemnity.

It is the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. That great event, and the things immediately connected with it, are here described by our Lord's own lips.

We should observe, for one thing, in these verses, what a fearful picture our Lord gives of the state of the professing Church at His second coming. We are told that as it was in the "days of Noah," and in the "days of Lot," "so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." The character of those days we are not left to conjecture. We are told distinctly, that men were entirely taken up with eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, building,-and would attend to nothing else. The flood came at last in Noah's day, and drowned all except those who were in the ark. The fire fell from heaven at last in Lot's day, and destroyed all except Lot, his wife, and his daughters. And our Lord declares most plainly that like things will happen when He comes again at the end of the world. "When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them." (1 Thess. v. 3.)

It is hard to imagine a passage of Scripture which more completely overthrows the common notions that prevail among men about Christ's return. The world will not be converted when Jesus comes again. The earth will not be full of the knowledge of the Lord. The reign of peace will not have been established. The millennium will not have begun. These glorious things will come to pass after the second advent, but not before. If words have any meaning, the verses before us show that the earth will be found full of wickedness and worldliness in the day of Christ's appearing. The unbelievers

and the unconverted will be found very many. The believers and the godly, as in the days of Noah and Lot, will be found very few.

Let us take heed to ourselves, and beware of the spirit of the world. It is not enough to do as others, and buy, and sell, and plant, and build, and eat, and drink, and marry, as if we were born for nothing else. Exclusive attention to these things may ruin us as thoroughly as open sin. We must come out from the world and be separate. We must dare to be peculiar. We must escape for our lives like Lot. We must flee to the ark like Noah. This alone is safety. Then, and then only, we shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger, and avoid destruction when the Son of man is revealed. (Zeph. ii. 3.)

We should observe, for another thing, in these verses, what a solemn warning our Lord gives us against unsound profession. He says to us, in immediate connection with the description of His second advent, "Remember Lot's wife."

Lot's wife went far in religious profession. She was the wife of a "righteous man." She was connected through him with Abraham, the father of the faithful. She fled with her husband from Sodom in the day when he escaped for his life by God's command. But Lot's wife was not really like her husband. Though she fled with him, she had left her heart behind her. She wilfully disobeyed the strict injunction which the angel had laid upon her. She looked back towards Sodom, and was at once struck dead. She was turned into a pillar of salt, and perished in her sins. "Remember" her, says our Lord,-"Remember Lot's wife."

Lot's wife is meant to be a beacon and a warning to all professing Christians. It may be feared that many will be found like her in the day of Christ's second advent. There are many in the present day who go a certain length in religion. They conform to the outward ways of Christian relatives and friends. They speak the "language of Canaan." They use all the outward ordinances of religion. But all this time their souls are not right in the sight of God. The world is in their hearts, and their hearts are in the world. And by and bye, in the day of sifting, their unsoundness will be exposed to all the world. Their Christianity will prove rotten at the The case of Lot's wife will not stand alone.

core.

Let us remember Lot's wife, and resolve to be real in our religion. Let us not profess to serve Christ for no higher motive than to please husbands, or wives, or masters, or ministers. A mere lean-to religion like this will never save our souls. Let us serve Christ for His own sake. Let us never rest till we have the true grace of God in our hearts, and have no desire to look back to the world.

We should observe, lastly, in these verses, what an awful separation there will be in the professing Church when Christ comes again. Our Lord describes this separation by a very striking picture. He says, "In that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left."

The meaning of these expressions is clear and plain. The day of Christ's second advent shall be the day when

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