doubtedly ia some parts of the cliapter so entwined together, that it is difficult to separate and disentangle them. But all these points appear distinctly in the chapter, and without them it cannot be fairly explained.
The first fourteen verses of the proj^hecy are taken up with general lessons of wide range and application. They seem to apply with equal force to the close of both Jewish and Christian dispensations, the one event being strikingly typical of the other. They certainly demand special notice from us, on whom the latter ends of the world are come. Let us now see what those lessons are.
The first general lesson before us, is a warning against deception. The very first words of the discourse are, " Take heed that no man deceive you."
A more needful warning than this cannot be conceived . Satan knows well the value of prophecy, and has ever labored to bring the subject into contempt. How many false Christs and false prophets arose before the de- struction of Jerusalem, the works of Josephus abundantly prove. In how many ways the eyes of man are con- tinually blinded in the present day, as to things to come, it might easily be shown. Irvingism and Mormon- ism have been only too successfully used as arguments for rejecting the whole doctrine of the second advent of Christ. Let us watch, and be on our guard.
Let no man deceive us as to the leading/acfs of unful- filled prophecy, by telling us they are impossible, — or as to the manner in which they will be brought to pass, by telling us it is improbable and contrary to past experi- ence. Let no man deceive us as to the time when
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