It could hardly fail to strike us that the events and series of events which have been foretold as the general signs characteristic of the age preceding our Lord’s return, are such as must necessarily occupy a very considerable period of time. This supplies an answer to those who affirm that the apostle Paul expected that Return in his own lifetime, or in that of those then living—affirming this in order to make out that in writing as he did he wrote mistakenly. But he knew these words of the Lord, as well as did others: and when he wrote, “We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord” (1 Thess. 1:15), he could not but be using the word “we” as meaning we who form the body, the fellowship of believers, the Church, which, as a body, keeps on living, while individual members of it, generation after generation, pass away. The municipality of London, for example, as a municipality, keeps alive, though individual magistrates, century after century, pass away.

Further, it is to be noticed that while the end of the age shall not come till the Gospel of the Kingdom shall have been preached in all the world, this does not mean, as some have held and taught, that the end will not come till the truth of the Gospel shall have been so preached as to prevail in all lands, and so as that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God. The Gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and we have reason to believe that, by means of the testimony, God will take out of the Gentiles a people for His name, but the general prevalence of the Gospel shall not take place till after the Lord’s return. The expectation of an ever-increasing, progressive ascendancy of the truth of God over the minds and hearts of men, or of an ever-increasing, progressive subjection of the minds and wills of men to the revealed mind and will of Christ is groundless. While progress of a material, or social, or scientific, kind may be allowed for, there cannot be in this age a corresponding progress in the kingdom of God on the earth.

The general signs get narrowed down to one particular, determinable sign, or group of signs, which will mark the very end of the age. “Ye. . . shall see the abomination of desolation . . . stand in the holy place . . . then shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. . .then. . .there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:15-24). The recurring word “then” means strictly “at that time,” and not simply “thereafter,” and indicates that the events will take place either concurrently or in closest sequence.

The word “abomination” is the word repeatedly used in the Old Testament for idol; and this may be clearly understood to be the meaning of the word here. “The holy place” could only have one meaning for Jews. They could not possibly think of its being applicable to any place but the Sanctuary, or Temple proper, in Jerusalem. Thus, then, we read: “When ye shall see the idol of desolation stand in the temple in Jerusalem.” But did not the Lord say, only a few minutes before (Matthew 24:2), of the temple then standing: “Verily. . .there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down”? How, then, can there be an idol set in the temple unless there be first a new temple built again, on the old site, where, as at present, a mosque stands? This, then, we confidently expect, that the Jews, returning or returned, to their own land, shall acquire the power and the means to rebuild the temple, the house of the Lord. They shall there re-enter on the practice of their sacrificial worship, and, along with this, they shall re-enforce the observance of the seventh day Sabbath law.

We learn from the prophecy of Daniel that the setting up of the idol in the temple will be the act of one who will come to be ruler over the Jews, as well as over other nations, a man of very great power, which he will exercise oppressively and tyrannically against the Jews. He will outrage all their religious feelings and will otherwise trample upon them. His early connection with them will, we read, be friendly. He will enter into a covenant with them; but, later, will break the covenant. He will make a covenant for a “week” (Dan. 9:27). But the word is not really “week” but “heptad,” a word which stands for “a group of seven” as the word “dozen” stands for “a group of twelve.” The heptad is a seven of years, not of days. He will break the covenant in the middle of the heptad, that is, in three and a half years, and thereafter he will mightily oppress. He will be a desolator, one who will desolate or lay waste Israel, the nation of God, the temple service of God, and, as far as he can, Christian service and testimony. Is it not because of this that his image is called the idol of desolation ?

When this idol shall be set up in the temple there shall instantly begin great tribulation. We cannot but think of this infamous ruler setting up the idol in the spirit in which Nebuchadnezzar set up his great golden image in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. That first great head of Gentile ruling power said, “To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image.., and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Dan. 3:4-6). If the setting up of the idol in the temple shall be accompanied with some such sanctions, it can be well understood how tribulation for all in the land who believe in Christ, or in God, shall forthwith begin. It seems to be in view of this that the Lord Jesus said, centuries before the event to those of His disciples who shall then be in Jerusalem and Judaea, “Flee,” not delaying one instant, even to secure attire, “flee into the mountains,” and thus secure escape and shelter from the first outburst of the tyrant’s fury. It is a warning and direction of tender kindness and consideredness. We do not know what mountains they who heed the Lord’s words will fly to, but we call to mind how the prophet Elijah, when he found himself under the cruel threatening of the wicked, idolatrous queen, Jezebel, “went for his life, and came to Beersheba,” then “went a day’s journey into the wilderness,” then, later, “went forty days and forty nights unto Horeb, the mount of God.” In this way he escaped the deadly wrath of the woman-servant of Satan.

But the threatenings and persecutions of this future setter-up of the idol in the temple will reach many, many more than the dwellers in Jerusalem and in Judaea. For we know from the prophet Daniel that he will, in the last days of this present age, be the head of the federation of the ten kingdoms that will constitute the revived Roman empire; and as such, his commands as regards idol-worship, or as regards acknowledgment of his idol, will go forth over a widely extended dominion. He will proceed in direct hostility to God and to Christ. He will, with his associate kings, say of the Almighty and His Anointed, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Ps. 2:). Thus he shall make war with the saints, and shall prevail against them. It seems as if not a few of the people of Christ will seal their testimony with their blood. But those who remain will fully recognize the sign of the exceeding nearness of the end of the age, and therefore of the glorious Appearing. And as for those who will be slain, shall it not be well with them instantly? We, no doubt, remember the great multitude whom John, the New Testament seer, saw standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, of whom one of the elders said, “These are they which came out of (the) great tribulation and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among (spread His tabernacle over) them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on (strike upon) them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them (be their shepherd), and shall lead (guide) them unto living fountains of waters (fountains of waters of life), and God shall wipe away all tears (every tear) from their eyes” (Rev. 7:14-17).

We cannot adequately conceive of the unparalleled tribulation unless we take into account much more than the persecuting power and fury of the man of sin or lawlessness. We must take into account the righteous governmental action of God toward the earth. He who sent plagues on Pharaoh and his people in their rebellion against Him, shall vex in His sore displeasure this proud monarch and his associate rulers, who shall be taking counsel against Jehovah and His Anointed. For “the LORD is the true God. . .at His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation” (Jer. 10:10). The setting up of an idol in the temple that is called by the name of God, and the suppressing of Jewish worship that will be directed toward God, will constitute audacious profanity that might well provoke the Most High. But this will have associated with it widespread governmental disavowal of God, and rampant disregard of God’s Word and commandments, and an unequalled apostasy, or falling away from all confession or acknowledgment of the name of Christ and of God. Abounding godlessness and wickedness will call forth the judgments of the Almighty. By terrible things in righteousness God will vindicate Himself.

The words of John, the apostle, in the Book of the Revelation are these: “I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up (finished) the wrath of God” (Rev. 15:1). “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials (bowls) of the wrath of God upon the earth” (Rev. 16:1). That which is foretold as following thereupon could hardly be called less than unequalled tribulation. The vast populations on whom these plagues will fall are represented as not only not repenting, but as blaspheming the God of heaven. It will be a time when hosts of demon spirits will, in a very special way, be urging on the children of men, in hostility to God, and even in defiance of Him; and the hand of the Almighty will come with terrible weight on the dwellers on the earth. Through all these plagues those who are the people of Christ may be as were the Israelites in Egypt when the plagues fell on Pharaoh and his country. In any case they will know that it is not they against whom the wrath of God is directed, and will have assurance that the eye of the Lord is on the righteous and His ear open to their cry. They will, indeed, recognize the significance of the happenings as a sure sign of the imminent end of the age, and therefore, of the glorious Appearing.

This time of the tribulation will be a time when Satan will be allowed to exercise the most extraordinary delusive power. He will not only stir up in one place and another this one and that one, to say “I am Christ,” but he will be able to empower them to show great signs and wonders to substantiate, if it were possible, their false pretensions. It will be as it was when he empowered Jannes and Jambres to work miracles, corresponding with those which Moses wrought before Pharaoh, only on a larger scale. One characteristic of these false Christs will be that they will have to be sought and found in the wilderness or in some secret place. Powerful as they will be in deluding, they will not be able to delude the elect, the true believers in our Lord and Saviour. These will have this before their minds, that when Jesus comes, He will not need to be sought for as if His coming would be secret. His coming will be as the coming of the lightning: “every eye shall see him” (Rev. 1:7). It will be vividly visible from the east to the west: it will be in great glory. The lying declarations and works of the false Christs will be but the completing element in constituting the particular infallible sign of the speedily approaching end of the age.

In our Lord’s giving to His disciples this sign of His coming, a sign of the most pronounced character, He practically taught them (it seems to us) that they would not be warranted in expecting the coming until there had taken place that which should be the preliminary sign of it. If one, as at present, expects that the Lord may possibly come “at any moment,” although the sign of His coming has not taken place, how can he but suffer disappointment? On the other hand, while the sign will indicate the near approach, it will not make known the day nor the hour. There will still be occasion to watch or be wakeful, still occasion to have the loins girded and the lights burning; only the watching will be full of animation, and full of tense expectancy. They who go through the dark days of the sign will, while able to assure themselves that He hath said, “I will not fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee” (see Joshua 1:5 and Heb. 13:5), also be able to affirm, with an unqualified and even joyful emphasis, “Yet a (very) little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Heb. 10:37).

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