of which a largo portion is unfulfilled — prophecy which ought to be deeply interesting to all true Christians. It is a subject to which the Holy Ghost says, we "do well to take heed.'' (2 Peter i.)
All portions of Scripture like this, ought to be ap- proached with deep humility, and earnest prayer for the teaching of the Spirit. On no point have good men so entirely disagreed as on the interpretation of prophecy. On no point have the prejudices of one class, the dogma- tism of a second, and the extravagance of a third, done so much to rob the church of truths, which God intended to be a blessing. Well says Olshausen, " What does not man see, or fail to see, when it serves to establish his own favorite opinions T'
To understand the drift of the whole chapter, we must carefully keep in view the question which gave rise to our Lord's discourse. On leaving the temple for the last time, the disciples, with the natural feeling of Jews, had called their Master's attention to the splendid build- ings of which it was comjDosed. To their surprise and amazement, He tells them that the whole was about to be destroyed. These words appear to have sunk deeply into the minds of the disciples. They came to Him, as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, and asked Him with evident anxiety, " Tell us when shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world V — In these words we see the clue to the subject of the prophecy now before us. It em- braces three points — one, the destruction of Jerusalem; ■ — another, the second personal advent of Christ ; — and a third, the end of the world. These three points are un-