For Jesus to tell his disciples and the Jewish nation what would be the signs of his second coming, before they under-stood what his object was in coming the first time, must appear very strange. From the particular account which Jesus gave of his second coming, the Jews must have understood him to mean, that although he professed to be the true Messiah, yet his stay was but short with them. As yet, his time for operation was not come. The discourses of Jesus to his countrymen, were all calculated to mislead and confound them. In his sermon on the Mount, he claims an authority of his own superior to the law of Moses. Matthew, chapter v., verse 33--"_Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, thou shalt not forswear thyself but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you, swear not at all_" Verse 38--"_Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheeky turn to him the other also._" What could the Jewish rulers think of a man, who, without any ceremony, set up laws in direct opposition to the laws of Moses, when, at other times, he declared himself a follower of Moses, and that he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it? Such inconsistent teaching as this, will not admit of Infinite Wisdom's being the author.
In Matthew, chapter xiii., 10, it reads--"_And the disciples came and said unto him, Why speaketh thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." Verse 13--"Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing, see not; and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand." Verse 14--"And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive." Verse 15--"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted and I should heal them_"