given; and the "Universalist Expositor," Vol. II. pp. .

65-68.

XIV. "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Matt. xii. 36.

For an explanation of this passage, see the remarks and references under Sect. VIII., on Matt. x. 15. See also Paige's "Selections," Sect. XXII.

XV. Matt. xii. 41, 42.

See the references in Sect. XII.

XVI. "He answered and said unto them, he that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom, all things that offend and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth, as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Matt. xiii. 37-43.

For a critical exposition of this passage, we refer the reader to "Notes and Illustrations of the Parables," pp. 94-104.

We offer only the following suggestions in this place: To what time did Jesus refer by "the harvest," which he declared was the “end of the world”? In the style of the sacred writers, any consummation, when men may be said to be ripe for any purpose, is called the harvest. (Thus Jer. viii. 20; Jael iii. 13;) "Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down, for the press is full, the fats overflow; for the wickedness is great," &c. (Matt. ix. 37, 38; also Rev. xiv. 15.)

By the answer to this question, it is settled whether the events of this parable refer to the future existence of mankind, or whether it had its proper fulfilment at the time of the destruction of the Jewish state. The

phrase rendered "end of the world" is ouvréhela tov alvos, and signifies literally, the conclusion of the age. The same expression occurs Heb. ix. 26, where we read that Jesus appeared, at the conclusion of the age, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. As Christianity may be said to have begun when the Jewish religion ended, so Christ is said to have appeared at the end of the Jewish age. The apostle Paul stated, that the end of the age had happened in his day, “Upon whom the ends of the ages (τα τέλη τῶν αἰώνων) are come." 1 Cor. x. 11. The same subject is again spoken of, Matt. xxiv. 3, where we are informed, that the disciples asked the Saviour, what should be the sign of his coming, and of the conclusion of the age, (συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος.) He speaks of the end of that age, in verses 6, 13, 14, of the same chapter, and after pointing them to such signs as would infallibly enable them to discern its approach, he adds, (ver. 34,) "Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." On the strength of this testimony, plain, clear, and incontrovertible, we say that the "harvest" took place at the conclusion of the Mosaic age; and we add, that there is not an instance in the New Testaînent, in which the Greek phrase, rendered "end of the world," in the passage on which we are remarking, has any other signification. It never should be forgotten, that "the end of the world," (vers. 39, 40,) at which the harvest was to take place, was not the end of xóσuos, the world said to be the field, but the end of air, the age, and unquestionably referred to the conclusion of the Jewish state.

"The reapers are the angels." What did Jesus intend by the angels? Familiar traditions have confined the application of this word almost exclusively to superhuman beings; but the attentive reader of the Bible needs not to be informed that the term angel is synonymous with messenger, and that it is applied not only to mankind, but even to inanimate objects. Jesus always represented himself, when coming to destroy the Jewish

state, as being attended by angels. "For the Son of. man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; ***** verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Matt. xvi. 27, 28; Mark viii. 38, and ix. 1; Luke ix. 26, 27. Here the coming of Christ, with his angels, is confined to that generation. On another occasion, Jesus said, "they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory; and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet; " to which he immediately adds, "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Matt. xxiv. 30, 31, 34. See also Matt. xxv. 31, and 2 Thess. i. 7. It is a circumstance which confirms our application of the passage, that the Son of man sends forth his angels to destroy his enemies, for this language is invariably applied in the New Testament, to the destruction of Jerusalem, whenever that event is described. In the passage before us, the angels, or messengers were to be the agents of destruction to the enemies of Christ; and by comparing this fact with what is stated Matt.. xxii. 7, we ascertain who the messengers of destruction were. "But when the king heard thereof he was wroth; and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city." Here it is certainly meant that the Roman armies were the messengers which God sent to destroy his rebellious people, the Jews.

We come now to consider another important question, viz. what did Jesus signify by the "furnace of fire," into which the wicked were cast by the angels of destruction, to whom God had given them up? We. know it has been the usual opinion, that this furnace of fire is a place of torment in the future world. But are there any who have yet to learn, that this figure was employed by the sacred writers to represent temporal destruction? The bondage Israel suffered under Pha raoh was described as furnace. "But the Lord

hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt." Deut. iv. 20. See also, 1 Kings yiii. 51; Isa. xlviii. 10; Jer. xi. 4. So the tremendous calamities, the "great tribulation" suffered by the Jews at the destruction of their favorite city, compared with which the afflictions suffered in Egypt were less than nothing, are represented by a "fur-. nace of fire"; and the application of the figure to the city of Jerusalem is made so directly and indisputably, that the most obtuse sense must perceive it. "The Lord's fire is in Zion, and his FURNACE in Jerusalem." Isa. xxxi. 9. A passage still more full, and more pointed, remains to be quoted. "And the word

of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross; all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem, as they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it, so will I gather you in mine anger, and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be. melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall. know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you." Ezek. xxii. 17-22. There cannot remain a lingering doubt, that the "furnace of fire" was the city of Jerusalem, into which God gathered the Jewish nation, and there melted them in the fire of his wrath.

To those who wish to examine this passage more fully, we commend Paige's "Selections," pp. 94-97. See also Balfour's "Second Inquiry," pp. 275–281. And I do direct the reader's attention very particularly to a Dissertation on the Phrases, End of the World, Last Days, Last Time, &c. as used in the

New Testament, published in the "Universalist Expositor," Vol. I. pp. 95-113. And those who desire to see the opinion of the very learned Dr. Lightfoot, on this subject, and others of a kindred nature, are referred to my "Notes and Illustrations of the Parables," pp. 316-318, note. The quotations from Lightfoot there given, are invaluablę.

XVII. 66 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind; which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world; the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matt. xiii. 47-50.

This passage is explained on precisely the same principles as the last we considered. The time of fulfilment is the same in both cases, and the same subject is illustrated in both. Let the reader study carefully what we have offered on the preceding passage, viz. Matt. xiii. 37-43, and he will fully comprehend the passage now before us. The end of the world," signifies the same in both cases, as does also the “fur-. nace of fire." The phrases are the same in.the Greek, and in the English. Balfour says, on Matt. xiii. 47.50, The same Greek phrase, as in Matt. xiii. 37 43, occurs here, and is rendered in the same way. As our Lord is only illustrating the same things, and uses the very same figure of a furnace of fire, we forbear. either transcribing it or remarking on it. The remarks made on the last passage are sufficient here." ond Inquiry," p. 281.

"Sec

XVIII. "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matt. xvi. 25, 26.

The parallel passages are Mark viii. 35-37, and Luke ix. 24, 25. See also Matt. x. 39.

The above passage is one of the principal proof