16:10-19

16:10. “…and his kingdom was full of darkness….”

 

                “…darkness, is the devil among the allegorists….”  [3:209]

 

16:13. “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.”

 

                “…The Jews distinguish between spirits, and devils, and good angels.  ‘All things do subserve to the glory of the King of kings, the holy blessed One…even spiritsalso devilsalso ministering angels.’

 

                “The difficulty is in what sense they take spirits, as they are distinguished from angels and devils ….

 

                “They distinguish betwixt … an evil spirit, and … an unclean spirit.  Not but they accounted an unclean spirit ill enough, and  an evil spirit to be unclean enough; but that they might distinguish the various operations of the devil, as also concerning the various persons possessed and afflicted by him….’They call all kind of melancholy an evil spirit.’  And elsewhere: … an evil spirit, i.e. a disease.

 

                “…the unclean spirit amongst them was chiefly and more peculiarly that devil that haunted places of burial, and such-like, that were most unclean.  the unclean spirit, i.e. the devil that haunts burying-places.  ‘Thither the necromancer betook himself’ … ‘and when he had macerated himself with fasting, he lodgeth amongst the tombs, to the end that he might be the more inspired by the unclean spirit.’  Nor is it much otherwise… with … the python, or prophesying spirit.  ‘For … the python is he that speaks within the parts.’  The Gloss is, ‘He that raiseth a dead person, and sits between the parts of the bones,’ &c….

 

                “There were therefore two sorts of men whom they accounted under the possession of an unclean spirit, … those especially who sought and were ambitious to be inspired of the devil amongst tombs and unclean places: and those also, who, being involuntarily possessed by the devils, betook themselves amongst tombs and such places of uncleanness….”  [3:140-2]

 

16:13-14. “…For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles….”

 

                “…Power of unclean spirits…That is, ‘over, or upon unclean spirits:’ which therefore are called…unclean spirits, that by a clearer antithesis they might be opposed to …The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of purity.

 

                “More particularly…the unclean spirit, Zech. xiii.2; and …unclean spirits, Rev. xvi. 13, 14, are diabolical spirits in false prophets, deceiving Pythons.

 

                “By a more particular name yet, according to the Talmudists concerning this business: ‘There shall not be with thee…a necromancer, Deut.xviii.11.  He is …a necromancer who mortifies himself with hunger, and goes and lodges a-nights among the burying-places for that end, that…the unclean spirit may dwell upon him.  When R. Akibah read that verse he wept.  Does the unclean spirit, saith he, come upon him that fasts for that very end, that the unclean spirit may come upon him?  Much more would the Holy Spirit come upon him that fasts for that end, that the Holy Spirit might come upon him.  But what shall I do, when our sins have brought that on us which is said, ‘Your sins separate between you and your God?’  Where the Gloss thus…’That the unclean spirit dwell upon him:  that is, that the demon of the burial-place may love him, and may help him in his enchantments.’

 

                When I consider with myself that numberless number of demoniacs which the evangelists mention, the like to which no history affords, and the Old Testament produceth hardly one or two examples, I cannot but suspect these two things especially for the cause of it:-

 

                “First, That the Jewish people, now arriving to the very top of impiety, now also arrived to the very top of those curses which are recited, Levit. xxvi. and Deut. xxviii.

 

                “Secondly, That the nation, beyond measure addicted to magical arts, did even affect devils and invited them to dwell with them.”  [2:176-7]

 

                Speaking of the phylacteries which were worn by the pious Pharisees, they wereobservatories because they were to put them in mind of the law; and perhaps they were also called preservatories, because they were supposed to have some virtue in them to drive away devils: ‘It is necessary that the phylacteries should be repeated at home a-nights,…to drive away devils.'”  [2:291]

 

                Of the Jewish religion in the time of Christ, Lightfoot says: “…So skilful were they in conjurings, enchantments, and sorceries, that they wrought…great signs, many villanies, and more wonders….

 

                “You will wonder…at these two things, in order to the speaking of their magical exploits; and thence you will conjecture at the very common practice of these evil arts among that people: 1. That ‘the senior who is chosen into the council ought to be skilled in the arts of astrologers, jugglers, diviners, sorcerers, &c., that he may be able to judge of those who are guilty of the same.  2. The Masters tell us, that a certain chamber was built by a magician in the Temple itself: ‘The chamber of Happarva was built by a certain magician, whose name was Parvah, by art-magic.’ ….R. Joshua outdoes a magician in magic, and drowns him in the sea….’and the women of Israel (saith the Gloss) had generally fallen to the practice of sorceries:’….It is related of abundance of Rabbies [sic], that they were…skilful in working miracles:….[many Rabbi] of which R. Chanina Ben Dusa there is almost an infinite number of stories concerning the miracles he wrought, which savour enough and too much of magic.”  [2:316-17]

 

16:15. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”

 

                “The Captain of the Temple … called “the ruler of the mountain of the Temple takes his walks through every watch with torches lighted before him: and if he found any upon the watch that might not be standing on his feet, he said, ”Peace be with thee!” But if he found him sleeping, he struck him with a stick; and it was warrantable for him to burn the garments of such a one.  And when it was said by others, ”What is that noise in the court?” the answer was made, ”It is the noise of a Levite under correction, and whose garments are burning, for that he slept upon the watch.’  R. Eliezer Ben Jacob said, ”They once found my mother’s son asleep, and they burnt his clothes.” Compare this passage with Rev.xvi.15: ”Behold I come as a thief; blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.””  [3:200-1]

 

                “‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. … These are the men of Barbary, and the men of Mauritania, that walk naked in the streets.  Nor is there any thing more loathsome and execrable before God than he that goes naked in the streets?'”  [4:149-50]

 

                Davies, [301]  “…. it is significant that, as proof of the reality of the belief that the dead were raised as they were buried, in some quarters great expense was often incurred to ensure that the dead were buried in appropriate clothes.  So much was this the case that R. Gamaliel II (A.D.80-120) thought it necessary to introduce the custom of burying the dead in cotton shrouds in order to counteract extravagance.”

 

                Davies, [312]  “… two elements in 2 Cor.5.1f, that are essentially Jewish, namely the horror of ‘nakedness’5 at death, which is implied, and the retention of the judgement.” [Note 5: “Cf. M.Ber.3.5.]

 

16:14-16. “…to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty….And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”  (See also 20:8, “Valley of Hinnom.”)

 

                “What is to be resolved concerning the ‘valley of Jehoshaphat,’ he himself (Kimchi) doubts, and leaves undetermined: ‘For either Jehoshaphat (saith he) here erected some building, or did some work, or it is called ‘the valley of Jehoshaphat’ because of judgment.’….(Quoting Jarchi on Joel 3:2, 12): …’Jehoshaphat means all one with the ‘judgments of the Lord.'” [1:86]

 

                [Joel 3:2:  I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, (That is to say, ‘the valley of judgments) and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.” 

 

                Joel 3:12:  Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.”

 

                These Scriptures in Joel are in the context of the harvest and the winepress of God’s wrath: Joel 3:13 as is also the passage in Revelation: Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great.”]

 

                The gathering of the Jews who rejected Christ was for slaughter at armageddon.

 

                “The greatest work of the Messiah, according to the expectation of the Jews was, … the reduction or gathering together the captivities.  The high priest despairs that ever Jesus should he live, could do this.  For all that he either did or taught seemed to have a contrary tendency, viz. to seduce the people from their religion, rather than recover them from their servile state of bondage…. 

 

                “Thus miserably are the great masters of wisdom deceived in almost all their surmises; they expect the gathering together of the children of God in one by the life of the Messiah, which was to be accomplished by his death.  They believe their traditional religion was the establishment of that nation; whereas it became its overthrow.  They think to secure themselves by the death of Christ, when by that very death of his their expected security was chiefly shaken.  O blind and stupid madness!”  [3:372-3]

 

16:19. “…the wine of the fierceness of his wrath….”

 

                The Nazarite was not to drink wine, neither new or old.  “Whether the vine might not be the tree in paradise that had been forbidden to Adam, by the tasting of which he sinned.  The Jewish doctors positively affirm this without any scruple.”  [3:19]

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