referred to, that they "knew not.” It is perfectly obvious that the subject matter of our Saviour's dis course was the knowledge of definite time. "Of that day and hour knoweth no man;" "but as the days of Noe were, so shall the coming of the Son of man be; that is, as it was in the time of Noah, so shall it be at the revelation of the Son of God. The same relation, so far as the world is concerned, will exist on the subject of definite time, as is presented in the history of the antediluvians. The flood came, and they knew

not.

Knew not what? The time when the flood was coming. It came and took them all" (all that knew not) "away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." If this language teaches anything, it teaches that all who know not will be taken away at the appearing of Christ on the same ground, and for the same reason, that the antediluvians were. Jesus says, it "took them all away." All of whom? Plainly, all that did not know. Did any one know when the flood would come? Most certainly Noah and his family knew; for God had revealed it unto them. Were they taken away? Says Peter, "Wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." Why were they not taken away? Because having learned that a flood was to drown the world, and also being informed of the time of that event, they prepared for the emergency, agreeably to divine direction, an ark, by which they were saved. The antediluvians that were not connected with the family of Noah did not learn either time or event; they prepared no ark; the flood came; they "knew not,' and it "took them all away."

ing of the Son of man be."

"So shall also the comFrom the analogy of this

and other scriptures, we are led to believe that the Church, who live at the second Advent of our Lord, will understand as definitely the time of that event as Noah and his family did the fime when the flood was to come, (vs. 40, 41.) "Then shall two be in the field: the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left."

It may be objected, that if we were to know the definite time of the Saviour's coming, we should not be found laboring in the field at the time of that event. True; but we understand this separation is to take place prior to the scenes of the last day. In Luke xvii: 34-36, we read, "One will be seized, and the other will escape. ." In the latter clause of each of the three verses, the Greek word paralephthesetai, rendered in our version "taken," signifies "to take by force or treachery, to seize, get possession of." The word aphethesetai, rendered "left," signifies "to send forth, to discharge, to send away, to let go " Hence, we infer that the one who is "taken," or seized, is the one to be destroyed; while the one that is "left," is discharged, sent away, let go, or escapes.

That this is the idea, is evident from Luke xxi: 34-36: "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth,

*Camp. Translation.

Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."

"For as a snare shall it come," "as a net it shall enclose," or, according to the Syriac, "like a hunter's snare it will spring upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole land;" that is, they shall be taken or seized. "Watch ye, therefore, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape." Escape what? The snare. A practical faith in the truth of God will cause us to escape the evils of this last time; while those, who do not believe the truth, will be taken in the snare. That this separation is to take place antecedently to the coming of our Lord, is evident from Matt. xiii: 30; "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." This figure is borrowed from the oriental custom of binding the heads of the tares together, as they stood in the field, prior to reaping the grain. The idea is here distinctly presented, that a separation, in some sense, will take place before the actual appearing of the Lord; and this is synonymous with v. 49: “ So shall it be at the end of the world, the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just." Mark the order in this verse, the wicked are severed, gathered out from among the just, that is, they are bound in bundles, or taken in the snare, as referred to above. All this is to

*Camp. Translation.

be accomplished while men are eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage; their energies of body and mind being absorbed in earthly considerations, while thus engaged the net is sprung, and they are enclosed within its meshes. As the Saviour was addressing His disciples on this subject, and informing them there would be "two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other left," they inquire where Lord? that is, whither will they be taken? ' And He said unto them, wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together." Matt. reads, "wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together."

This is supposed to refer to the condition of the Jews. But such an application cannot be admitted; for their destruction was too early. Others have understood the carcass to represent Christ, and have explained the passage thus: Wheresoever Christ is, there will the saints be gathered together. Others thus: Wheresoever the Church is, there will the angels be gathered together. The view we take is somewhat different from either. 1. It is evident the Saviour is speaking of some event to transpire in the time of the end, or after the shortening of the days of tribulation. 2. A carcass is something destitute of life, and must be so interpreted, whether we refer it to the physical, political, or moral world. 3. What is Christ endeavoring to illustrate in this passage? or what truth does he enforce? We remark (a) in verse 24, He speaks of false Christs and false prophets, and (b) of the signs and miracles they perform to deceive the elect. Here these false teachers are represented

as putting forth every effort to deceive (destroy) the children of God. As the eagle pounces upon its prey and buries its talons in the body of its victim; so do these wolves in sheep's clothing make merchandise of those whom they deceive.

The same idea of deceiving by means of miracles, or signs, is presented in Rev. xvi, as occurring just before the Advent of the Son of God. "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth," (vs. 13. 14).

It is sometimes the case, that that which is devoted to destruction, is, in scripture, compared to a carcass. For example, in relation to Babylon, the prophet says: "But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet," (Is. xiv: 19).

In allusion to the battle of the great day, the prophet says; "Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood," (Is. xxxiv: 1-3).

These nations may well be compared to a carcass; for they, like Babylon of old, are devoted to destruc