We pick it up in the 19th century:

“Verse 9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted] Rather, Then they will deliver you up to affliction… By a bold figure of speech, affliction is here personified. They are to be delivered into affliction’s own hand, to be harassed by all the modes of inventive torture. 

“Ye shall be hated of all nations] Both Jew and Gentile will unite in persecuting and tormenting you. Perhaps canton ton ethnon means all the Gentiles, as in the parallel places in Mark xiii. 9-11, and in Luke xxi. 12-15, the Jewish persecution is mentioned distinctly.” 

⁹But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver your up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. ¹⁰And the gospel must first be published among all nations.   
(Mark 13:9,10; KJV)

¹²But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. ¹³And it shall turn to you for a testimony.     
(Luke 21:12,13; KJV)

I agree that all non-believers will be, and have been, potential persecutors, but certainly not all have been up to now. This will probably change in the future.

The Greek phrase: canton ton ethnon means literally “of all nations”. The word “nations” does generally mean Gentile nations; if used in the singular, then it can mean Israel. The quote makes it sound like “the parallel places” of Mark and Luke are obviously saying “Gentile nations”; well, that’s not true. Especially notice that Luke doesn’t even use the word “nations.”

Then there is the statement: “Jewish persecution is mentioned distinctly”. It is not. The Greek word that has been translated as “synagogue” is “synagoge;” obviously the English word is from the Greek. So what does the Greek word “synagoge” mean? It’s derived from the verb “synagein,” which means “to bring together” or “to gather.” So, a “synagoge” is “a place of assembly,” with no attachment to any religion at all. The town hall could be called a “synagoge.”  There are some English Bible translations that translate it as “assemblies” or “houses of assembly,” which is more accurate. The Green Interlinear Bible, which provides a very literal translation, says “houses of assembly.” Now, this does not mean that the Jews were not part of the persecution; but, Jesus did not single them out because the persecution is from the non-believers, whoever they are.

“Verse 12. The love of many shall wax cold.] By reason of these trials and persecutions from without, and those apostasies and false prophets from within, the love of many to Christ and his doctrine, and to one another, shall grow cold. Some openly deserting the faith, as ver. 10; others corrupting it, as ver. 11; and others growing indifferent about it, as verse 12. Even at this early period there seems to have been a very considerable defection in several Christian Churches; see Gal. iii. 1-4; 2 Thess. iii. 1, &c.; 2 Tim. i. 15.“

¹O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? ²This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ³Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? ⁴Have ye suffered so many things in vain? If it be yet in vain.  
(Galatians 3:1-4; KJV)

¹Finally, brethren pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you…⁶Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.   
(2 Thessalonians 3:1,6; KJV)

This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.  
(2 Timothy 1:15; KJV)

Again, Jesus did not say that the love of the believers would grow cold. Yes, there will be apostasy, but not of true believers. Looking ahead to Matthew 24:24,25 we are reminded that the elect will not be mislead, and that Christ is telling us in advance to help prepare us against deceit.

²⁴For false Christs, and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.  ²⁵Behold, I have told you in advance. 
(Matthew 24:24,25; NASB)

As for the “defection” of the early church, I don’t think it was that bad when Paul was still there to correct them. You can see that he really came down on the Galatians. As for the 2 Thessalonians and the 2 Timothy quotes, what is there was all there was; they were more after thoughts than the main message. In reading the commentaries that I use for this blog, it becomes obvious that the apostasy started after John, the last apostle, died. It was well underway by the second century. It was very subtle at the beginning; just slight twists in belief at first. I try to point them out when I see them. 

By now the revisions are big and obvious; yet many still do not see them. I have lost friends who have moved ahead with the culture, and while claiming to be Christian, openly choose to ignore certain parts of the Bible that they consider “intolerant” or “offensive.” They do not see anything wrong with what they are doing, and they are offended by attempts at correction. I can no longer trust that they are really Christian…or maybe ever were.

“Verse 13. But he that shall endure] The persecutions that shall come — unto the end; to the destruction of the Jewish polity, without growing cold or apostatizing — shall be saved, shall be delivered in all imminent dangers, and have his soul at last brought to an eternal glory. It is very remarkable that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, though there were many there when Cestius Gallus invested the city; and, had he persevered in the siege, he would soon have rendered himself master of it; but, when he unexpectedly and unaccountably raised the siege, the Christians took that opportunity to escape. See Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. iii c. 5…

“Verse 14. And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world] But, notwithstanding these persecutions, there should be a universal publication of the glad tidings of the kingdom, for a testimony to all nations. God would have the iniquity of the Jews published every where, before the heavy stroke of his judgments should fall upon them ; that all mankind, as it were, might be brought as witnesses against their cruelty and obstinacy in crucifying and rejecting the Lord Jesus.”

We are, again, being told that God’s reason for wanting the Gospel published “in all the world” is to vilify the Jews before destroying them. As if all the Jews denied Christ. As if God was surprised that Judaism did not accept Christ. As if all the Jews were killed by the Romans. As if the destruction of Jerusalem and the diaspora weren’t punishment enough. As if God told the Christians to witness against the Jews, and put them in charge of punishing them. Not.

“In all the world, en oli ti oikoumeni ]. Perhaps no more is meant here than the Roman empire; for it is beyond controversy that padan tin oikoumeni, Luke ii. 1, means no more than the whole Roman empire: as a decree for taxation or enrollment from Augustus Caesar could have no influence but in the Roman dominions; but see on Luke ii. 1.“

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.   
(Luke 2:1; KJV)   

The use of the word “oikoumeni” is interesting. When the Greeks were in power, it meant “the world inhabited by the Greeks.” When the Romans took over, it came to mean “the world inhabited by the Romans.” Now, it just means “world” or “inhabited world.” Google translate says that “en oli ti oikoumeni” means “all over the world”; while “padan tin oikoumeni” means “all over the place.” So, yes, in Luke it was probably referring to the Roman Empire. But we really have to think about the meaning here in Matthew. Did Jesus just mean that the Gospel should only be spread in the Roman Empire? I doubt that. I’m pretty sure that Matthew was originally written in Hebrew, and Hebrew Matthew is translated “all over the world”; not “inhabited world”, and not “Roman Empire.” I don’t believe that Jesus meant something less than “the world.”

“Tacitus informs us, Annal 1.XV., that, as early as the reign of Nero, the Christians were grown so numerous at Rome as to excite the jealousy of the government;  and in other parts they were in proportion. However, we are under no necessity to restrain the phrase to the Roman empire, as, previously to the destruction of Jerusalem, the Gospel was not only preached in the lesser Asia, and Greece, and Italy, the greatest theaters of action then in the world; but was likewise propagated as far north as Scvthia; as far south as Ethiopia; as far east as Parthia and India;  and as far west as Spain and Britain…”

The author says “we are under no necessity to restrain the phrase to the Roman empire”, but then goes on to name places, most of which were in the Roman empire or near neighbors. There is no way around this if you insist on believing that the Great Commission was accomplished before 70 AD.

“Then shall the end come.] When this general publication of the Gospel shall have taken place, then a period shall be put to the whole Jewish economy, by the utter destruction of their city and temple.”         [from THE NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, VOL 1 — MATTHEW TO THE ACTS, by Adam Clarke, 1846]

Putting “a period” on the “whole Jewish economy” is pretty angry and vicious sounding. I’m guessing that Clarke did not believe in the future rebirth of Israel.

“Christ begins here to foretell what should happen to his apostles and disciples, and to others before the destruction of Jerusalem; the troubles and persecutions which should come upon them, both from their enemies and seeming friends, and what event these persecutions should have on some unsound and temporizing Christians, and what deliverance would be vouchsafed to those who persevered to the end: and that all these things exactly came to pass, we learn from scripture and church history. For, 

“First, They suffered  ‘a great fight of afflictions,’ Heb. x.32,33, being persecuted by those of their own nation,1 Thess. ii. 14, 15, and suffering ‘fiery trials’ from them, 1 Pet. iv. 12, ‘I persecuted them,’ saith St. Paul, ‘to strange cities,’ Acts xxvi. 11.

³²But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; ³³Partly, whilst ye were made a gazing-stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.   
(Hebrews 10:32,33; KJV)

¹⁴For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: ¹⁵Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men   
1 Thessalonians 2:14,15; KJV)

¹¹…that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ¹²Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: ¹³But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.  
(1 Peter 4:11-13; KJV)

And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.   
(Acts 26:11; KJV)

“Secondly, They were imprisoned; Peter, Acts iv. 3, Paul and Silas, Acts xvi. 23, 2 Cor. vi. 23 ; ‘I delivered up to prison men and women,’ Acts xxii. 4, ‘I shut up many of the saints in prison,’ saith St. Paul, Acts xxvi. 10. 

And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.   
(Acts 4:3; KJV)

And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely    (Acts 16:23; KJV)

  [there is no verse 23 in 2 Cor. 6 or 1 Corinthians 6]

And I persecuted this way unto death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.    (Acts 22:4; KJV)

Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.   
(Acts 26:10; KJV)

“Thirdly, They were ‘beaten in the synagogue;’ St. Paul and Silas, Acts xvi. 23, 2 Cor. vi 23-25, Peter and John, Acts V. 18…

¹⁹And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers…And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely   
(Acts 16:19,23; KJV)
     
    [2 Corinthians 6 only has 18 verses in it; I checked 1 Corinthians 6, but it only has 20 verses]

And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.    
(Acts 5:18; KJV)

“Fourthly, They were ‘brought before councils and Sanhedrins;’ Peter and John, Acts iv. 3. 6, the disciples, Acts viii. 3 : ‘before kings ;’ James and Peter before Herod, Acts xii. 1, 2, Paul and Peter ‘before Nero:’  ‘before rulers;’ Paul before Gallio, Felix, and Festus, Acts xviii. 12, xxiii. 33, xxv. 6. 

³And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide…⁶And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 
(Acts 4:3,6; KJV)

As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.  
(Acts 8:3; KJV)

¹Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. ²And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. ³And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)   
(Acts 12: 1-4; KJV)

And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat 
(Acts 18:12; KJV)

Who, when they came to Caesarea and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.   (Acts 23:33; KJV)

And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought.   
(Acts 25:6; KJV)

“Fifthly, They were killed; Stephen by the judgment of the council, Acts vii. 59: James the Greater by Herod; Acts xii. 1; the Less, by Ananus the high-priest; yea, multitudes of Christians were persecuted to the death by Saul, Acts xxii. 4, by Nero, Tacit. Annal. 15, p. 363, by the Jews, Justin. Mart. Dial, cum Tryph. p. 234, 235. 

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.    
(Acts 7:59; KJV)

Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 
(Acts 12:1; KJV)

And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.  
(Acts 22:4; KJV)

“Sixthly, As we learn from the Jewish Talmud, That in the days of the Messiah,  ‘the son should afflict the father, and a man’s enemies should be those of his own house;’ so do we learn from Tacitus, in the place forecited, that  ‘Christians were delivered up by their parents, brethren, kinsfolk, friends:’ from Josephus, that ‘contention sprang up in their very houses;’ and that the ‘Idumeans slew many of their own kindred;’and from the scripture, that the ‘Jews persecuted those of their own country’ (1 Thess. ii. 14). 

For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews  
(1 Thessalonians 2:14; KJV)

“Seventhly, That upon occasion of these persecutions,  ‘the love of many waxed cold,’ and many Jews revolted from the Christian faith… 

“And, Lastly, Of the care of God in preserving his faithful servants in this time of imminent danger, Eusebius informs us, saying that ‘before the war all the faithful of the church of Jerusalem were astonished, by an oracle delivered by revelation to men approved there, to depart from the city, and to get over Jordan, and go to Pella;’ and Epiphanius, declaring that ‘they were forewarned by an angel to depart from the city, as being now ready to perish.’ The occasion of this departure was, saith Dr.Hammond, wonderful: for Cestius Gallus then besieged the city; and if he would, saith Josephus, ‘he might easily have taken it, and put an end to the war; but he without cause raising the siege, and going from it, many eminent Jews fled from the city, as from a sinking ship;’  among whom doubtless, were those Christians who remained, saith Epiphanius, after the destruction of Jerusalem.”         [from A CRITICAL COMMENTARY AND PARAPHRASE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT AND APOCRYPHA, VOL. 4, by Patrick, Lowth, Arnald, Whitby and Lowman, 1846]

This was fairly well put together, but that doesn’t make it true. I’m not saying that the authors here are lying; but in reading through this with the Bible references, it becomes plain that some of the references are not appropriate (and a few don’t even exist), and that some are used more than once to ‘prove’ different things. For example, we see the passage 1 Thessalonians 2:14 used twice, the first time appropriately (talking about persecution by “countrymen”), but the second time as a proof of Jews being persecutory: which they were to Jews who converted, but not to Gentiles like the Thessalonians.

It’s pretty clear that this was put together to prove that the prophecies of Jesus from Matthew 24 have already been totally fulfilled. My impression of previously fulfilled prophecies is that no one has to “make a case” for fulfillment: everyone knows. When the Babylonians took Jerusalem, everyone knew the prophecies had been fulfilled, no one had to “prove” it.

Jesus did tell them that they would be persecuted, hated and killed. We all know that this happened; it doesn’t need to be proved. We also know that it continues to happen, and will continue.

I find the last paragraph telling. There are other places where the authors slightly twisted things, but this last paragraph is the most obvious. This paragraph was under the Verse 13 heading, because they could not put it under the Verse 15 heading or their subterfuge might be detected. They are describing in this passage “oracles” and “angels” that were warning people to leave the city before the siege. Most people realize that in Luke it says: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.” (Luke 21:20). And, that Luke really is talking about the 70 AD destruction of the Temple, and that is why the Christians left. But here in Matthew, that is not the case. In Matthew 24:15 he talks about the “abomination of desolation…as described by Daniel…standing in the holy place” and that’s the trigger for leaving the city: not “oracles” or “angels.” And it isn’t about the 70 AD destruction of the Temple or the city, but some future event. By sticking these stories into the chapter on Matthew, the authors were trying to make it sound like Matthew was also about the 70 AD destruction of the Temple. We’ll see a bit later what they say about Verse 15, but I’ll tell you now, they avoid the idea that the people were warned by Verse 15 to leave the city, and, they make Verse 15 about the 70 AD destruction of the city, connecting it to 70th week of Daniel, while ducking the fact that the Second Coming is MIA in that scenario.

“14 And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the World for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 

“’The end,’ namely, of Jerusalem,—already referred to in ver. 6. When He declared that ‘the Gospel must first be published among all nations,’ our Lord’s words are not to be narrowed to suit our notions of what may be effected by ordinary human exertions. ‘Of the labors and success of the Apostolic body, what may we not infer, when St. Paul alone fully preached the Gospel almost throughout the Roman Empire, from Arabia to Damascus, from Jerusalem to Illyricum, in Italy and in Spain? …From his Epistle to the Colossians, we learn that already had the Gospel been ‘preached to the whole Creation which is under Heaven:’ that it had presented itself to the Colossians, as to ‘all the World.’  ‘Have they not heard?’ (he asks;) ‘Yes verily, their sound’ —(meaning the voices of the Apostles, and thus interpreting a Prophecy)— ‘their sound went into all the Earth, and their words unto the ends of the World.  And even such a world-wide commission did their Divine Master give them, before His Ascension.”             [from A PLAIN COMMENTARY ON THE FOUR GOSPELS, VOL 1, MATTHEW-MARK, by John William Burgon, 1855]

So, more of the same. Everything happened before 70 AD. He lands heavily on Colossians 1:23 (without naming it), which, as we saw in the last post, has two very different translations. The KJV translations says “which was preached to every creature”, along with: KJ21, AMPC, BRG, CEV, ERV, EASY, EXB, GNV, GW, GNT, ICB, ISV, PHILLIPS, JUB, AKJV, TLB, MSG, MEV, MOUNCE, NOG, NABRE, NCB, NCV, NET, NIRV, NIV, NIVUK, NKJV, NLV, NLT, NMB, NRSVA, NRSVACE, NRSVCE, NRSVUE, NTFE, OJB, RGT, RSV, RSVCE,TLV, VOICE, and WE.  While the NASB says “which was proclaimed in all creation”, along with: ASV, AMP, CSB, CEB, CJB, DARBY, DLNT, DRA, EHV, ESV, ESVUK, HCSB, LSB, LEB, NASB1995, WEB, WYC, and YLT. I think I was wrong last time in thinking that it was a ‘newer” translation that was going with “in” instead of “to.”  For instance, the YLT (Young’s Literal Translation), using “in,” is from 1898; while the RGT (Revised Geneva Translation), using “to,” was last updated in 2019 (information was gathered from biblegateway.com ). 

We’ll continue with the nineteenth century next time.