e of prophecy, even as he anticipates the crowning gift of
the gospel, in this saying.

Note, further, the renewed prophecy of judgment. There is something very
solemn in the stern refrain at the end of each of three consecutive
verses,--'with fire.' The first and the third refer to the destructive
fire; the second, to the cleansing Spirit. But the fire that destroys is
not unconnected with that which purifies. And the very same divine
flame, if welcomed and yielded to, works purity, and if repelled and
scorned, consumes. The rustic simplicity of the figures of the
husbandman with his winnowing-shovel, the threshing-floor exposed to
every wind, the stored wheat, the rootless, lifeless, worthless chaff,
and the fierce fire in some corner of the autumn field where it is
utterly burned up--needs no comment. They add nothing but another vivid
picture to the thoughts already dealt with. But the question arises as
to the whole of the representation of judgment here: Does it look beyond
the present world? I see no reason for supposing that John was speaking
about anything but the sifting and destroying which would attend the
coming of the looked-for kingdom on earth. The principles which he laid
down are, no doubt, true for both worlds; but the application of them
which his prophetic mission embraced, lies on this side of the grave.

Note, further, the limitations in John's knowledge of the King. His
prophecy unites, as contemporaneous, events which, in fact, are widely
separate,--the coming of Christ, and the judgments which He executes,
whether on Israel or in the final 'great day of the Lord.' There is no
perspective in prophecy. The future is foreshortened, and great gulfs of
centuries are passed over, as, standing on a plain, we see it as
continuous, though it may really be cleft by deep ravines. He did not
know 'what manner of time' the spirit which was in him did 'signify.' No
doubt his expectations were correct, in so far as Christ's coming really
sifted and separated, and was the rising and the falling of many; but it
was not attended by such tokens as John inferred. Hence we can
understand his doubts when in prison, and learn that a prophet was often
mistaken as to the meaning of his message.

Again, while we have here a clear prediction of the Spirit as bestowed
by Christ, we find no hint of His work as the sacrifice for sin, through
whom the guilt which no repentance and no outward baptism could touch
was taken a