yet adds: "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. neither on the sabbath day." The Lord did not tell them to pray that the tribulation should be averted; prayer could no more stay the wrath, because that people's measure of sin was full; but for this they were to pray that their flight occur not in winter, because then it might be hindered by the inclemency of the season; and not on the Sabbath, because on that day the gates of the cities were closed making egress difficult, and because one fleeing on the Sabbath was liable to be apprehended as a Sabbath-breaker. They were to pray that their flight come not to pass at an unfavorable time when it might be hindered and perhaps prevented, but at a favorable time, that they might make sure their escape.

Why did the Lord so urgently bid the disciples to flee and so minutely describe, how and when they should flee? He Himself gives the reason, saying: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." There was to be such misery and distress in Jerusalem, as never had been on earth since the world began, and as never will be any more until the stars shall drop from the heavens. Josephus, an eye-witness of those woeful days, in his history of the Jewish war writes: "If all the misery since the creation of the world be compared with the misery of the Jews, I do not doubt that the misery which befell the Jews is by far the greatest."

These are remarkable words; for Josephus was not a Christian, but he describes the calamity of the Jews almost with the very words with which Christ had predicted it forty years before it came to pass. Nations have perished from the earth, but no other nation ever knew such heartrending misery as that which befell the Jews. The Lord gives the reason for this, saying: "That servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." Luke 12, 47. To the Jews much was given. "He sheweth his word unto

Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments they have not known them," and then the Psalmist adds: "Praise ye the Lord." Ps. 147, 19. Of old they did praise the Lord. The Israelites were once a noble nation, a praise unto the Lord; but they degenerated, they began to kill His prophets, and when He sent them His Son they thrust Him out of their city. So God thrust them out of His sanctuary that they should be His people no more, and He beat them with many stripes, more than any nation before or after.

We know that a great and dreadful day is coming, the day when God will judge the world in righteousness, and that day must be drawing on, because the signs are fulfilled and the world is ripe for the harvest. And though we die before that day, yet we know that, as man dies, so he must appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. Neither is the time hidden from us when we are to flee from the wrath to come; for thus says the Lord: "I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee; behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Cor. 6, 2. Now, while you live upon earth, is the time to escape from the kingdom of darkness to the mountains of salvation in Jesus Christ. Now turn from sin and the world; now seek safety under the cross of Christ, and be not tardy in so doing, lest while you tarry destruction be upon you.

And we, who are called Lutherans, have special reason to lay to heart the words of the Lord in this text. Unto us, too, much is given. We must indeed speak similar as the Psalmist did of Israel: The Lord has shown us His Word, He has given us His statutes, He has granted us the full and pure truth of His Gospel; so has He, in these latter days of the world, not dealt with any others, save alone with our Evangelical Lutheran Zion. Unto others He has granted rivulets of His truth, but unto us the full limpid stream. And since He has so dealt with us when we deserved it not and were not worthy of it, let us prepare ourselves to meet Him, lest the judgment be pronounced upon us, that we must be beaten with many stripes.

Concerning the destruction of Jerusalem the Lord goes on to say: "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Those days, for the Jews so terrible, were shortened; the whole war did not last long; and this was done not for the sake of the wicked, but for the elect's sake. How are we to understand this? History gives a plain commentary. The Jews have remained a wicked nation unto this day. They have the Scriptures of the prophets, they have all the means to know the true Messiah, yet they hate Christ with such bitter hatred that they will not even pronounce His name. But even at the destruction of Jerusalem there were doubtless some living who thereafter were converted unto Christ, and since that time many individual souls out of Israel have come to the knowledge of Christ and have been saved. For the sake of these elect ones the days of that tribulation were shortened, otherwise no one out of Israel could have been saved any more, because, if the war had lasted longer, all the Jews would have perished and there would no more be a house of Israel out of which a remnant could be saved. Behold the faithfulness, the unspeakable mercy of the Lord! That nation which had slain the Son of God, which despised the multitude of signs and miracles which were performed in its midst, which cursed the Gospel of its own Messiah as a damnable heresy, which persecuted the servants of the Lord unto the death; that nation had surely deserved that it be extirpated from the face of the earth with root, stem and branches, yet for the sake of the little remnant out of Israel which would yet hear His voice and come to Him, for their sake God spared that evil generation. What greater testimony for the grace and mercy of God could we desire?

Are you sometimes afraid the Lord might cut you off? He might cast you away? Do you sometimes tremble for your salvation, thinking: Should the Lord receive such an one as I am? If the devil and the flesh awaken such thoughts within you, call to remembrance the words: "For the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." What does this mean? It certainly

means, God still had in Israel a little remnant of such who would hear the voice of His Son and would love His Gospel, and for the sake of these He spared the murderers of His Son and refrained from totally cutting off the most wicked generation on earth. How dearly, how tenderly must He love them that love Him, since His love to them sets bounds to His wrath against the wicked! And do you fear that this God might cast you away, you who love His Word, who call on His name, who desire to be His own? Do you think that God who spared that generation of vipers, because a few would yet be born of it who would fear Him, do you think that God could cast any single one away who comes to Him hungering and thirsting after righteousness? I tell you, sooner than to cast one single soul away that loves His word, sooner would He spare the whole wicked world. Hold it up to Satan, if he would vex you with thoughts of perhaps being a castaway.

II.

Applying ourselves to flee from the wrath to come we must set about it wisely to make our escape sure. The Christians at Jerusalem were to be governed by the words of the Lord recorded in this text. By these words they knew that they were not out of danger when they had passed out of the city gates. The Lord had bidden them flee to the mountains and to the mountains east of Jordan was a long way, beset with many dangers; for the country was overrun by robbers, and both Jews and Romans were their enemies. To escape those Christians had to be swift and wise.

It is not enough, if we have become Christians, we must also remain Christians and in our pilgrimage to our heavenly Pella we must walk circumspectly as wise. Spiritually we are beset by the very dangers of which the Lord here speaks, and He says: "Whoso readeth, let him understand." Now, too, there is an abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. From many a pulpit doctrines are preached which must undermine all faith and promote infidelity. The world is brought into the Church and Legion is the name of those who say that

they are Christians and walk like worldlings; and Christendom is rent into many sects each crying: Here is Christ; here is the right way. What shall we make our light to guide us when seductions are so strong, that we may not fall into ambush or be seduced to err from the way? There is only one trusty guide, the Word of Him who speaks to us in this text. And there is here a precious word which it is well to call to mind often. It is the word: "Behold, I have told you before."

Jesus Christ told us the things which belong to our salvation, and He foretold many things which should come to pass in the last days. Have these things come to pass? They have. He said: "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there: believe it not. If they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not." They did say: You shall find Him in the desert, and many thousands went to become hermits and to build their lonely hut in desolate places. They do say: To find Christ you must go to a convent and must dwell in a cell. These things were fulfilled long ago, but it was reserved for the nineteenth century to witness the literal fulfillment of the words: "There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Not until the century which has just ended did men arise who set up the claim of being Jesus Christ personally and bodily returned into the flesh, and that these false Christs pretend to perform miracles as great and greater than those of Christ is necessarily implied in their very pretense. These things I can see with my eyes and can hear them with my ears, and by them I know that the words of Jesus Christ are words of divine truth; for God alone can know the future. In the Word let us abide. It affords a safe anchor. And the more delusions multiply the more let us bear in mind the concluding words of this text: "As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresover the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together."