HOMILETICS
SECTION XXXIX.—ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES; OR, THE VILE PERSON. (Chaps. Daniel 11:21-35.)
The next part of the prophecy is occupied with a person who has been already the subject of divine revelation as the Little Horn of the Third or Grecian Empire (chap. Daniel 8:9-12; Daniel 8:23-25). This is Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, or the Illustrious. The present prediction concerning him is a considerable enlargement of the former one. The prominence given to this Syrian king arises in the first instance from his being the great enemy and persecutor of the Jewish people; and secondly, from his being made the type of another persecuting power to arise under the New Testament dispensation, and to continue in one form or other to the time of the end. [309] The prophecy regarding him would seem to make way for and to melt into predictions concerning that other power or powers of which he was to be the forerunner and type. We have—
[309] Jerome says, at Daniel 11:19: “Thus far the order of history is followed, and between Porphyry and our interpreters there is no dispute. The rest that follows, to the end of the book, he (Porphyry) interprets of Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes.… And while much that we shall afterwards read and expound agrees with the person of Antiochus, they (the Christian interpreters) will have him to be the type of Antichrist; and the things which had their first fulfilment in him, they will have to be accomplished in Antichrist.… Our people interpret it all of Antichrist who is to arise in the last time.” Chrysostom, however, as Dr. Rule observes, writing a book against the Jews about the same time, in which he gives a brief account of this latter part of Daniel’s prophecies, applies the whole exclusively to Antiochus.
I. His rise. “And in his estate (or stead, viz., that of Seleucus Philopator, the ‘raiser of taxes,’ Daniel 11:20) shall stand up a vile person, [310] to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries” (Daniel 11:21). The vileness of this Antiochus the Illustrious appears, from what profane historians relate of him, as conducting himself much below his dignity, consorting and drinking with people of the lowest rank, frequenting public brothels and places of revelry and dissipation, jesting and dancing with low and frivolous persons, and such like. His vileness such that his reckless conduct earned for him the title of Epimanes the Madman, rather than Epiphanes the Illustrious, even buffoons in the theatre being ashamed of him. The rightful heir to the throne was not Antiochus, but his nephew Demetrius, the son of the late king, Philopator, who at the death of his father was on his way to Rome as a hostage. The right to the Syrian throne, which had immediately been seized by Heliodorus, the murderer of Philopator, was also disputed by Ptolemy Philometor, king of Egypt, who claimed it as the son of Cleopatra, sister of the late king and daughter of Antiochus the Great. Antiochus did not thus receive the honour of the kingdom as the rightful heir, but coining in “peaceably,” softly, and by stealth, or unexpectedly, [311] obtained the kingdom “by flatteries;” first flattering Eumenes, king of Pergamus, and his brother Attalus, to gain their assistance; then the Syrians themselves, by a promise of clemency and less taxation; and, finally, the Romans, to whom he sent ambassadors to court their favour with a rich present and the payment of the arrears of tribute, desiring them to make the same alliance with him which they had made with his father, Antiochus the Great, and promising constant submission to whatever the senate should require.
[310] “A vile person” (Daniel 11:21). נִבְזֶה (nibhzeh), “one despised;” that is, says Keil, such a one as by reason of birth has no just claim to the throne, and therefore appears as an intruder; also one who finds no recognition: not bad or unworthy, but supposing unworthiness. The honour of the kingdom, or that which men give to the king, was denied to the despised one on account of his character.
[311] “Peaceably” (Daniel 11:21). בְּשַׁלְוָה (beshalvah), “in quietness” or security, i.e., says Keil, unexpectedly. “When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh.”
II. His success. “And with the arms of a flood shall they (his opposers) be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant (the Jewish high priest). And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for (rather ‘and’) he shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places (or, shall enter the quiet and plentiful cities) of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches; and he shall forecast his devices against the strongholds, even for a time. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army; and the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow, and many shall fall down slain. And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed” (Daniel 11:22-45). The following is the historical verification:—The armies of the opposers of Antiochus were vanquished by the king of Pergamus, while his own presence disconcerted all their measures. Onias III., the Jewish high priest, he removed from his office, and appointed his brother Jason in his stead, in return for a large sum of money which he offered him. This league with Jason, “the prince of the covenant,” [312] he broke, and deposed him in favour of Menelaus, who offered a larger price for the priesthood. [313] Having come from Rome, where he had been kept as a hostage, with only a few attendants, he soon received a great increase of followers, and entered the quiet and plentiful cities of Judea, now a province of Syria, as it had previously been of Persia, and then of Egypt. His lavish bestowment of gifts from the spoils he took is referred to in the first book of the Maccabees, where he fears he should no longer have such gifts to bestow as he had done before, “for he had abounded above the kings that were before him” (1Ma. 3:30). His object in this liberality was to secure the possession of the provinces of Judea, Phenicia, and Cœle-Syria, which were claimed by the king of Egypt. For the same object he put Joppa and the frontier towns in a state of defence, “forecasting devices against (or concerning) the strongholds” (or, as the Septuagiut reads it, against Egypt). A few years after he marched against Egypt with a large army; and although Ptolemy’s generale made great preparations to resist him, they were unable to defeat his “fraudulent counsels.” The author of the second book of Maccabees says, “When the kingdom was established before Antiochus, he thought to reign over Egypt, that he might have dominion over two realms. Wherefore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a great army; and made war against Ptolemy, king of Egypt; but Ptolemy was afraid of him and fled; and many were wounded to death. Thus they got the strong cities in the land of Egypt; and he took the spoils thereof.” Porphyry, an apostate Jew, who, after he became a heathen, wrote a book on Daniel in the latter part of the third century, says that the battle was fought between Pelusium and Mount Casius. Some of Ptolemy’s servants at the same time proved unfaithful to him, while the Alexandrians revolted and made his brother Euergetes, or Physcon, king in his stead. Partly, it is thought, by his humanity after the victory, he gained not only Pelusium but all Egypt; after which he entered into an outward friendship with the young king, Philometor, and took upon him to order the affairs of the kingdom; Antiochus pretending, as Jerome says, “to consult for his nephew’s interest and to recover him the crown, although only plotting his ruin; while Ptolemy on his part was resolving to take the first opportunity of breaking the league and seeking a reconciliation with his brother. Bishop Newton thinks the mischief they plotted was against the Jews; but which did not take effect, as the time appointed by God was not yet.”
[312] “The prince of the covenant” (Daniel 11:22). נְגִיד בְּרִית (neghidh berith) Keil considers analogous to בַּעֲלֵי בְּרִית (ba’ale berith), “persons in covenant” with another, and, from the absence of the article, to be taken in a general sense, as, according to Kranichfeld, “covenant princes” in general. Calvin understands Ptolemy Philopator, who took the part of his young relative Ptolemy Philometor against Antiochus. According to others, the king of Egypt himself is meant by “the prince of the covenant.”
[313] “The holy covenant” (Daniel 11:28). This Dr. Rule understands of the Jewish religion, the term “covenant” being often used in Scripture to denote both the religion of the Israelites and that of the Christians, the former depending on the covenant made with Abraham, the latter on that made with Christ; Christian faith consisting of trust in Him who fulfilled the conditions of the covenant by dying for our sins. Keil understands the expression, not of the holy people in covenant with God, but the divine institution of the old covenant, the Jewish theocracy, of which the Jews were only members; and approves of Calvin’s view that Antiochus carried on war against God, his undertaking being an outrage against the kingdom of God which was established in Israel.
III. His persecutions. “Then shall he return into his own land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; [314] and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the South; but it shall not be as the former nor as the latter (or, ‘as the former so the latter,’—the latter shall not be as the former). For the ships of Chittim [315] shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant. And arms [316] shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall be corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days” (Daniel 11:28-33). History relates that after his success in Egypt, Antiochus returned to Syria; but in doing so, as he had heard while in Egypt that the Jews, from a false report of his death, had revolted, he resolved in his indignation to go up to Jerusalem and chastise his fickle subjects there. He there spoiled the temple of its treasures to the value of eighteen hundred talents, and massacred forty thousand of the people, while be sold as many for slaves. “After that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again, … and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude; and entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, &c. And when he had taken all away, he went unto his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly. Therefore there was great mourning in Israel, in every place where they were” (1Ma. 1:20, &c.) The second book relates: “Now when this that was done came to the king’s ear, he thought that Judea had revolted: whereupon removing out of Egypt with a furious mind, he took the city by force of arms, and commanded his men of war not to spare such as they met, and to slay such as went up upon the houses. Then there was killing of young and old, making away of men, women, and children, slaying of virgins and infants. And there were destroyed within the space of three whole days, fourscore thousand, whereof forty thousand were slain in the conflict, and no fewer sold than slain. Yet was he not content with this, but presumed to go into the most holy temple of all the world” (2Ma. 5:11-21). Two years after this, having heard that the two brothers, Philometor and Euergetes, or Physcon, had become reconciled and come to an amicable arrangement about the kingdom, Antiochus returned to Egypt, marching through Cæle-Syria, while he despatched a fleet to Cyprus. He had, however, only got within four miles of Alexandria when he was met by Roman legates, headed by Popilius, who showed him their written tablets, and demanded that he should immediately quit Egypt. He was thus very reluctantly obliged at once to return to Syria. His hatred against the Jews and their religion now broke forth afresh with greater violence. “After two years had fully expired, the king sent his chief collector of tribute into the cities of Judea, who came into Jerusalem with a great multitude.… Then builded they the city of David with a great and strong wall and with mighty towers, and made it a stronghold for them; and they put therein a sinful nation, wicked men, and fortified themselves therein. Thus they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it.… Moreover, King Antiuchus wrote to the whole kingdom that all should be one people, and every one should have his laws. So all the heathen agreed, according to the commandment of the king. Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his religion, and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the Sabbath. For the king had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Judea, that they should follow the strange laws of the land, and forbid burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and drink-offerings in the temple; and that they should profane the Sabhaths and festival days, and pollute the sanctuary and holy people; set up altars, and groves, and chapels of idols; and sacrifice swines’ flesh and unclean beasts; that they should also leave their children uncircumcised, and make their souls abominable with all manner of uncleanness and abomination; to the end they might forget the law and change all the ordinances. And whoever would not do according to the commandment of the king, he said, he should die. In the selfsame manner wrote he to his whole kingdom, and appointed overseers over all the people, commanding the cities of Judea to sacrifice, city by city. Then many of the people were gathered unto them, to wit, every one that forsook the law; and so they committed evil in the land.… They set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol-altars throughout the cities of Judea on every side.… And when they had rent in pieces the books of the law which they found, they burned them with fire. And wheresoever any was found with the book of the Testament, or if any consented to the law, the king’s commandment was that they should put him to death. Thus did they, by their authority, unto the Israelites every month, to as many as were found in the cities. Now the five and twentieth day of the month they did sacrifice upon the idol-altar which was upon the altar of God” (1Ma. 1:29-59). There were those however who “knew their God,” and, strengthened by His grace, “did exploits.” Through faith, they “out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Hebrews 11:34). “Howbeit,” says the historian, “many in Israel were fully resolved and confirmed in themselves not to eat any unclean thing. Wherefore they chose rather to die, that they might not be defiled with meats, and that they might not profane the holy covenant.” Such was the aged scribe Eleazar, and the mother with her seven sons, who, after refusing to eat swine’s flesh, were first “tormented with scourges and whips,” and then cruelly put to death. “It is good,” said the fourth of the seven sons, when mangled and ready to die, “being put to death by men, to look for hope from God to be raised up again by Him.” Such also were the noble Mattathias and his five sons, the Maccabees, and those who followed him to the mountains. “Whosoever is zealous of the law,” said he, “and maintaineth the covenaut, let him follow me. So he and his sons fled into the mountains, and left whatever they had in the city. Then many that sought after justice and judgment, went down into the wilderness to dwell there, both they, and their children, and their wives, and their cattle; because affliction increased sore upon them” (1Ma. 1:27-38). There they “lay hid in the caves and secret places of the wilderness;” a thousand of them being on one occasion discovered and put to death. The second book of Maccabees relates that Nicanor, one of the great officers of Antiochus, “undertook to make so much more money by the captive Jews as should defray the tribute of two thousand talents which the king was to pay to the Romans. Wherefore immediately he sent to the cities upon the sea-coast, proclaiming a sale of the captive Jews, and promising that they should have fourscore and ten bodies for one talent” (2MMalachi 3:10-11).
[314] “The holy covenant” (Daniel 11:28). This Dr. Rule understands of the Jewish religion, the term “covenant” being often used in Scripture to denote both the religion of the Israelites and that of the Christians, the former depending on the covenant made with Abraham, the latter on that made with Christ; Christian faith consisting of trust in Him who fulfilled the conditions of the covenant by dying for our sins. Keil understands the expression, not of the holy people in covenant with God, but the divine institution of the old covenant, the Jewish theocracy, of which the Jews were only members; and approves of Calvin’s view that Antiochus carried on war against God, his undertaking being an outrage against the kingdom of God which was established in Israel.
[315] “Ships of Chittim” (Daniel 11:30). צִיִּים כִּתִּים (tsiyim Chittim), literally “ships, the Chittim.” The Septuagint has “the Chittim (or Kitians) going forth.” The expression derived from Numbers 24:24. Chittim is Cyprus, with its chief city Chittion, now Chieti or Chitti (Genesis 10:4). Ships coming from Cyprus, observes Keil, are ships coming from the west, from the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean.
[316] “Arms shall stand” (Daniel 11:31). זְרֹעִים (zero’im), arms (of the body), a figurative term for exertion, or the means of making it. It is disputed, says Keil, whether these “arms” denote military forces, troops of the hostile king, according to Hävernick, or his accomplices of the apostate party of the Jews, like those in Daniel 11:30, as Calvin, Hengstenberg, and others think. Keil himself understands the word to mean “help,” warlike forces, as in Daniel 11:15; Daniel 11:22. Dr. Cox thinks the term may be rendered mighty forces or powers, “standing up” being the phrase already employed to denote the rise of the Macedonian and other empires or potentates. He accordingly believes that there appears here a sudden transition to another power, and to other scenes than those which have been previously introduced; these “arms” or powers referring to the military dominion which spread on the side of Greece, when Paulus Æmilius subdued Macedon, and the remaining states came under the power of Rome; the angel now informing Daniel of what should befall the Jews on the dissolution of their state by the Romans.
The angel adds: “Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help; [317] but many shall cleave to them with flatteries: and some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: [318] because it is yet for a time appointed” (Daniel 11:34-35). In the persecutions of Antiochus, the faithful Jews were “holpen with a little help” by the noble efforts made by Mattathias and his five sons. On their side, however, were found those who only clave to them while fortune seemed to smile upon their cause, and who only weakened their ranks. The result however was, like all the troubles of the faithful, their own purification; and it had its appointed end. After a continuance of somewhere about three years and six months, their sufferings terminated with the decisive victories which God gave to their arms, and soon after with the death of their great persecutor, Antiochus himself. His end is not here predicted unless it should be in the last verse of the chapter, where it is said, “He shall come to his end and none shall help’ him;” which, as it seems to be spoken in relation to another hostile power of which Antiochus was the type and forerunner, may be intended to predict at the same time the destruction of all the world-powers that have set themselves in opposition to God’s covenant people, whether in Old or New Testament times. According to chap. Daniel 8:25, Antiochus was to be “broken without hand;” and the commentary on the passage shows how remarkably this was fulfilled.
[317] “Holpen with a little help” (Daniel 11:34). The “little help” naturally understood of the victories gained by the Jews under Mattathias and his sons over the armies of Antiochus. This “little help,” says Keil, consists in this, that by the rising up and the wars of those that had understanding among the people the theocracy was preserved, the destruction of the service of Jehovah and of the Church of God, which was aimed at by the hostile king, was prevented, and the purifying of the people of God, the design intended, is brought about; the attaining of this end being only a “little help” in comparison with the complete victory over the arch enemy in the time of the end.
[318] “The time of the end” (Daniel 11:35). Keil understands by the “time of the end,” which in chap. Daniel 12:4 is the time of the resurrection of the dead, the end of the present course of the world, with which all the opposition against the people of God ceases, and which comes out “at the appointed time,” viz., that which God has determined for the purifying of His people.
The section suggestive of the following reflections:—
1. The prophecy regarding Antiochus, together with its exact fulfilment, may serve as a confirmation of our faith in God’s constant superintendence of the world, and His watchful care over the interests of His Church and people. Everything pertaining to this furious adversary of His people and cause, all the steps that conducted to his elevation, as well as his bitter hostility and cruel proceedings after he reached it, were foreseen and foretold centuries before his appearance. Like Pharaoh, he was raised up for an important purpose in the all-wise providence of God; and that purpose being served, he is brought to his predicted end.
2. God’s Church and people never long without suffering. Afflictions, in one shape or other, their appointed lot in this world. “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” “Through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom.” So long as the world lies in wickedness (or “in the wicked one”), so long they are in an enemy’s country, where hostility seldom sleeps, and where they must either conform and sin, or say No and suffer. It was against the holy covenant that Antiochus was filled with such enmity; and that covenant still exists wherever God has His people, to whom it is all their salvation and all their desire, while it must still provoke the enmity of the world who are without God. Besides, so long as God’s people are in the world, so long they will require chastening, and all the more likely after seasons of quiet and prosperity.
3. Grace is able to sustain the people of God under the severest trial and hottest persecution. The furnace may be heated seven times more than usual, but One is with them who has all power in heaven and in earth, and who is able to make His grace sufficient for them, so that they shall even glory in tribulation and be made more than conquerors in all their persecutions. The lamp which God has kindled is constantly guarded and fed, so that no wind of persecution can extinguish it. Many professors may fall in times of trial, but true grace is fast colours. Believers are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.”
4. The godly ultimately delivered out of trouble. The persecution may be hot and the sufferings severe, but they have their appointed end. The trouble is weighed and measured. The Refiner sits over the gold in the fire. The ten days’ or ten years’ tribulation comes to an end. The storm may rage and the boat appear in danger of sinking; but in the fourth watch of the night the Master will appear and say, “Peace, be still;” and there shall be a great calm. Patience is first to have her perfect work; and in due time “He that shall come, will come and will not tarry.” Weeping may endure for a night during the Bridegroom’s absence; joy cometh in the morning, when all tears shall be wiped away.
SECT. XL.—THE ROMANS. (Chap. Daniel 11:31-35.)
In these verses, it is believed by many, a transition is made by the angel from Antiochus to that power which was to succeed the Grecian as the fourth great empire of the world, and which we know is brought upon the stage in Daniel 11:30, as “the ships of Chittim.” Daniel 11:31 may be the place referred to by the Saviour in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, which would be decisive as to the application of the passage. But it might also be chap. Daniel 9:27, as read in the Greek version. The section before us may indeed still have its primary reference to Antiochus, while it may also point to a second enemy of God and His truth of whom Antiochus was a type. The Old Testament “little horn” of the Third Empire might be, and possibly was intended to be, a type of the New Testament “little horn” of the Fourth or Roman Empire, now again to be introduced to the prophet’s view as the Wilful King. It is certain that much that took place under the persecution of Antiochus, as detailed in these verses, had its counterpart in the calamities afterwards suffered under the Romans; while much that is predicted of Antiochus was verified in that mysterious power into whose hands the saints of the New Testament were for a lengthened period to be delivered. “All that has passed,” says Calvin, “is in some sense typical of all that is to come.” “The saints of the Most High,” says his translator, “are always the special objects of Jehovah’s regard: they ever meet with an oppressor as fierce as Antiochus and as hateful as the ‘Man of Sin;’ but still, whatever their sufferings under a Guise or an Alva, they shall ultimately ‘take the kingdom,’ and possess it for ever. Strongholds of Mahuzzim there always will be, under either the successors of the Medici or the descendants of Mahomet.… It may be safely asserted that every social and political change from the time of Nebuchadnezzar to those of Constantine have had their historic parallel from the days of Charlemagne to those of Napoleon. Hence predictions which originally related to the empires of the East might be naturally transferred to the transactions of Western Christendom.” In this section we shall trace the passage before us in its application to the Fourth Empire, or to the Romans who succeeded the Greeks as rulers of the world.
I. The proceedings of this power against religion. “And arms shall stand on his part,” [319]—“some will help by their exertions,”—“and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength,”—the temple which had been held inviolable as a place of refuge, and was strongly fortified,—“shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate” (Daniel 11:31). We have seen how, in accordance with this part of the prophecy, Antiochus was aided by apostate Jews as well as by his own military forces in the mischief he did at Jerusalem, placing an idol altar on the altar of Jehovah, changing the very name of the temple to that of Jupiter Olympius, and filling it with the riot and revelry of the Gentiles. Sir Isaac Newton, in applying the passage to the Romans, observes: “By various ways the Roman arms ‘stood up’ over the Greeks; and after ninety-five years more, by making war upon the Jews, they ‘polluted the sanctuary of strength,’ ” &c. He remarks that the “abomination that maketh desolate” was placed there after the days of the Saviour, according to Matthew 24:15; adding that in the year of the emperor Adrian, A.D. 132, the Romans “placed” this abomination by building a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus where the temple of God in Jerusalem had stood, and that from the end of the war which ensued upon this in A.D. 137, the land thenceforward “remained desolate of its inhabitants.” [320] Bishop Newton agrees with his illustrious namesake, thinking no interpretation so rational and convincing as that which he proposes. Mr. Birks observes that the first pollution of the “sanctuary of strength” by the Romans took place on the siege and capture of Jerusalem by Pompey the Great, when, according to Josephus, “no small enormities were committed about the temple itself, which in former ages had been inaccessible and seen by none; for Pompey went into it, and not a few of them that were with him, and saw all that was unlawful for any to see but the high priest.” The next signal act of Roman profanation, he observes, was under Crassus; and the third on the accession of Herod, B.C. 38, when Sosius took the city by storm. The cessation of the daily sacrifice during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus is thus referred to by Josephus: “On that very day, the seventeenth of Panemus, the sacrifice, called the daily sacrifice, had failed, and had not been offered to God for want of men to offer it.” It had thus ceased even before the destruction of the temple, which, of course, would of itself have terminated it. [321]
[319] “Arms shall stand” (Daniel 11:31). In Keil’s opinion, the reference is here to what Antiochus accomplished by the help of apostate Jews. Mr. Birks, who views this and the following verses as referring primarily to Antiochus, and typically to the Romans, says: “These words serve to describe very accurately the character and course of the Romans, from the days of Antiochus to the conquest of Judea. ‘Arms’ (brachia) are used throughout these prophecies to denote military forces or power. They are said to ‘stand up’ when they manifest themselves in vigorous action. After the defeat of Antiochus the Great by the Romans, and the repulse of Epiphanes himself by their ambassadors in the ships from Chittim, which have been already announced, it is natural that their formidable power should be next predicted. The word rendered ‘on his part’ may, as in Daniel 11:23, denote simply a succession in time. And even if it be thought to require a still closer connection between Antiochus and the arms here mentioned, this existed in the case of the Romans no less really than in that of Apollonius and his forces who ravaged Jerusalem. The Romans not only received tribute from Antiochus, but were virtually his successors in the kingdom.”
[320] “The abomination that maketh desolate” (Daniel 11:31). It is to this place, in the view of many, that the words of the Saviour in Matthew 24:15 refer, which must therefore have its fulfilment in the times of Vespasian and the Romans. According to others, the reference is to the words in chap. Daniel 9:27. Mr. Birks inclines to the former view, and thinks that the phrase in Matthew 24 occurs only in this place in Daniel. But see under chap. Daniel 9:27. The prophecy received its fulfilment, Mr. Birksremarks, first when the Roman forces under Cestius assailed the temple; secondly, when Titus pitched his camp on the Mount of Olives, and when, after the temple was set on fire, the Romans, as Josephus relates, brought ensigns into the temple and placed them over against the eastern gate, and there offered sacrifice to them; and finally when, in the time of Adrian, a temple was built and consecrated to Jupiter Capitolinus, on the very site of the sanctuary of God. Hengstenberg, who refers the present passage to the time of Antiochus rather than to that of the Romans, translates the words, “and shall give the abomination as one that lays waste;” observing that by the “abomination” is designated idolatry in its whole compass and extent, and that thus the passage entirely coincides with that in chap. Daniel 9:27, both making the abomination one that draws after it the train of devastation, as sin draws after it punishment; the abominations being considered as “the antecedent sin, which by means of the supervening destroyer is avenged by the righteous judgment of God.”
[321] “Shall take away the daily sacrifice” (Daniel 11:31). Hengstenberg translates the words, “they shall take away that which is constant;” and observes that most interpreters erroneously refer this exclusively to the daily sacrifices; the word תָּמִיד (tamidh), as it stands here, never occurring of one particular object, but with the adjuncts, not only of the daily sacrifice, but also of the fire of the altar, of the sacrificial lamps, of the shewbread, &c. Keil regards the words as denoting the removal of the stated worship of Jehovah.
II. Their effects. “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, and by captivity, and by spoil, many days” (Daniel 11:32-33). Bishop Newton thinks the former of these verses might be applied to the times of Antiochus, but not so properly the latter; as it does not appear that the Maccabees instructed the people, though they led them to battle and to victory. Neither could it so well be said that the sufferings of the Jews under Antiochus were for “many days,” or years, according to the prophetic import of the expression; that persecution having lasted only a few years. “All these things,” he says, “are much more truly applicable to the Christian Jews; for now the daily sacrifice was taken away, the temple was given to desolation, and the Christian Church had succeeded to the place of the Jewish, and the New Covenant in the room of the Old.” In reference to the clause, “such as do wickedly he shall corrupt by flatteries,” he observes: “The Roman magistrates and officers, it is well known made use of the most alluring promises, as well as the most terrible threatenings, to prevail upon the primitive Christians to renounce their religion, and offer incense to the statues of the emperors and images of the gods.” He quotes an old commentator, who says: “There are some who think that the prophet here had respect to the Christians whom the wicked idolaters endeavoured, from the beginning of the rising Church, to seduce by flatteries; but the persecution of tyrants raged chiefly against the apostles and holy teachers.” Times of persecution will doubtless have much in common; and Christians, suffering as they did, and so long and often so severely under the Roman emperors and magistrates, would naturally find much in the description of the times of Antiochus applicable to their own. The word of prophecy was intended to be a “light shining in a dark place,” in the New as it had been in the Old Testament dispensation. “These things happened unto them (the Old Testament Church) for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). The bishop adds: “It may, too, with the strictest truth and propriety be said of the primitive Christians that, being dispersed everywhere, and preaching the Gospel in all the parts of the Roman empire, they ‘instructed many,’ and gained a great number of proselytes to their religion: yet they fell by the sword, &c., ‘many days;’ for they were exposed to the malice and fury of ten general persecutions, and suffered all manner of injuries, afflictions, and tortures, with little intermission, for the space of three hundred years.”
III. The relief. “Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall; to try them, and to purge, and to make them white; even to the time of the end; because it is yet for a time appointed” (Daniel 11:34-35). According to Sir Isaac Newton, the “little help” was that afforded to the Christians in the time of Constantine the Great; the result of which was that many of the heathen, on account of the favour shown them by the emperor, and especially when Christianity was made the religion of the empire, as is well known, joined the Church without any real change of heart or faith in Jesus as a Saviour. While the edict of Diocletian, as Dr. Cox observes, was nearly fatal to the Christian cause, the elevation of Constantine to the imperial throne in the year 306 produced a period of external prosperity and peace to the Church. Bishop Newton remarks: “Here Porphyry hath many followers besides Grotius, supposing that by the ‘little help’ was meant Mattathias of Modin, who with his five sons rebelled against the generals of Antiochus, and endeavoured to preserve the worship of the true God. But Mattathias died of old age; and his son Judas Maccabæus several times vanquished the generals of Antiochus, and after recovering the holy city, cleansing the sanctuary and restoring the worship of God, survived Antiochus some years; while the united dignity of the high priesthood and the sovereignty descended to his brother Simon’s son, and continued in the family for many generations: which was much more than being ‘holpen with a little help;’ while the Jews were so far from falling again by persecution, that their religion and government were established upon a firmer basis than before.” He quotes Jerome, who says that some of the Jewish doctors understood these things of the Roman emperors Severus and Antoninus, who greatly loved the Jews; and others, of the Emperor Julian, who pretended to love them, and promised to sacrifice in their temple. The bishop, however, thinks the most natural way of interpretation is to follow the course and series of events; and thus to understand the “little help” of the entire suppression of the protracted persecutions of the Church by Constantine, when instead of being persecuted it was protected and favoured by the civil power; called, however, only a “little help,” first, because while it added much to the temporal prosperity of the Church, it contributed little to its spiritual welfare, proving, on the contrary, the means of corrupting its doctrine and relaxing its discipline, while it caused many to “cleave to them by flatteries,” simply because Christianity was made the religion of the empire; and, further, because this help lasted but a little while, the spirit of persecution soon after reviving, especially under the Arians. “And such,” he adds, “more or less has been the face and condition of the Church ever since.” Calvin remarks on the latter part of the verse, that “in these days (the latter part of the sixteenth century) the very counterpart of this prophecy is exhibited before our eyes. The whole Papacy is called the Church of God, and we the Protestants are but few in number; and yet what a mixture exists even among us! How many in these days profess attachment to the Gospel, in whom there is nothing either solid or sincere.” Mr. Birks, on the passage before us, remarks: “The afflictions of the Maccabees were indeed a brief rehearsal of a longer series of changes, which serve, in the prophecy, to conduct us into a fresh dispensation, and down to the rise of a more dangerous and powerful persecutor than Antiochus, to prevail afterwards in the latter days.” And again, in regard to the words of the prophecy, he observes: “They answer exactly to the troubles of the Jews under Antiochus; but they correspond also with no less accuracy, on a wider scale, to the whole course of Providence towards the Jews and the Christian Church, from the time of the Maccabees far into the present dispensation.” He thinks that the very place which these verses occupy may prove of itself that they form a transition from Antiochus to the time of the end; and that the leading events of that interval, here portrayed in their natural order, are “the gradual encroachment of the Romans in Judea, till at length they destroyed the city and temple, and brought on the desolation which has now for ages brooded over Jerusalem; the preaching of the apostles; the spread of the Gospel through the Roman empire; the pagan persecutions; the triumph of the faith when the whole empire nominally received it; the corruption of the visible Church; renewed troubles and persecutions; and the growth of an apostate tyranny without example in the history of the world. Some of the followers of Jesus, like these men of understanding in the days of Antiochus, were to “fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white.” After the elevation of Christianity as the religion of the empire, “Christians themselves,” says Dr. Cox, “became miserably disunited, and the character of the Church of Christ awfully corrupted. An unholy hierarchy gradually rose to distinction and dominion; and ‘men of understanding,’ or those who obeyed the dictates of conscience, combining with sober inquiry unto the truth,—in fact, multitudes of the faithful followers of the Saviour, became the victims of papal intolerance—a trying indeed, but still a whitening or purifying process.” This was to be “to the time of the end,”—the time when the purposes of God regarding the “scattering” of Israel on account of their sin should be accomplished, and the promised period for their restoration, and the visible and universal establishment of the kingdom of God under the Messiah, should arrive. “Because it is yet for an appointed time.” The time for the fulfilment of the prophecy was fixed in the purpose of God. “The vision is yet for an appointed time; but in the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Habakkuk 2:3).
It is our comfort to know that the promises of God, the troubles of His people, and the triumphs of His enemies, have all their appointed time. “It is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you that are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-8). In the meantime it is comforting to know that these troubles and persecutions have for believers a gracious mission and a blessed result. Their object on the part of Him who permits them, is to prove and to purify them. The will of God is the sanctification of His people; and afflictions and persecutions are but the fire which He employs for their purification. “This is all the fruit, to take away their sin.”