fwine upon them every day. This interpretation therefore might very well be admitted, if the other parts were equally applicable to Antiochus; but the difficulty, or rather impoffibility of applying them to Antiochus, or any of the Syrian kings his fucceffors, obliges us to look out for another interpretation. Jerome and the Christians of his time (6) contend, that all these things were a type of Antichrist, who is about to fit in the temple of God, and to make himfelf as God: but the fathers had very confused and imperfect notions of Antichrist, the prophecies relating to him having not then received their completion. All things duly confidered no interpretation of this paffage appears fo rational and convincing, as that proposed by Sir (7) Ifaac Newton. "In the fame year that Antio "chus by the command of the Romans retired out of Egypt, and fet up the worship of the "Greeks in Judea; the Romans conquered the "kingdom of Macedon, the fundamental king"dom of the empire of the Greeks, and reduced " it contendunt; qui feffurus eft in templo Dei, et fe facturus ut Deum. Hieron. ibid. ' ret; et cum fana ipforum oppidatim vicatimque extruxiflent et aras collocaffent, quotidie ibi immolare fues. Jofeph. Antiq. Lib. 12. Cap. 5. Sect. 4. P. 533. Edit. Hudfon. (6) Quæ univerfa in typo Antichrifti, noftri præceffiffe (7) Sir Ifaac Newton's Ob fervations on Daniel, Chap. 12. p. 188, &c. See alfo Chap. 9. p. 125, &c. "it into a Roman province; and thereby began "to put an end to the reign of Daniel's third "beaft. This is thus expreffed by Daniel. "And after him arms, that is the Romans, shall ftand up. As on fignifies (8) after the king, "Dan. XI. 8; fo o may fignify after him. "Arms are every were in this prophecy of Daniel put for the military power of a king"dom; and they stand up when they conquer "and grow powerful. Hitherto Daniel defcribed "the actions of the kings of the north and south; "but upon the conqueft of Macedon by the "Romans, he left off describing the actions of "the Greeks, and began to describe those of "the Romans in Greece. They conquered Macedon, Illyricum and Epirus, in the year “of Nabonaffar 580; 35 years after, by the "last will and teftament of Attalus the last king "of Pergamus, they inherited that rich and florishing kingdom, that is, all Afia weftward "of mount Taurus; 69 years after they conquered the kingdom of Syria, and reduced it "into a province, and 34 years after they did "the like to Egypt. By all these steps the "Roman in Noldius מן NeSee the particle מן העת ההיא So (3) hem. XIII. 21. is after that time or from that time forth. So likewife in this very chap. ver. 23. and Taylor's Concordance. -is tranilated tichrifto, fed de Romanis in מן התחברות אליו after the league made with him, telligi volunt, de quibus fupra, "Roman arms stood up over the Greeks: and "after 95 years more, by making war upon the 66 Jews, they polluted the fanctuary of strength, " and took away the daily facrifice, and then placed "the abomination of defolation. For this abomi"nation was placed after the days of Chrift, "Mat. XXIV. 15. In the 16th year of the em 66 peror Adrian, A. C. 132, they placed this "abomination by building a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus where the temple of God in Je"rufalem had ftood. Thereupon the Jews "under the conduct of Barchochab rofe up in "arms against the Romans, and in the war had fifty cities demolished, nine hundred and 66 66 66 eighty five of their best towns destroyed, and “ five hundred and eighty thousand men flain by the fword; and in the end of the war, "A. C. 136, were banished Judea upon pain "of death, and thenceforward the land re"mained defolate of its old inhabitants." In support of this interpretation it may be farther added, that the Jews themselves, as (9) Jerome informs us, ́ understood this paffage neither of 'Antiochus Epiphanes, nor of Antichrift, but of dictum eft, Et venient trieres, five Itali atque Romani, et humiliabitur. Poft multa, inquit, tempora de ipfis Romanis, qui Ptolemæo venere auxilio, et Antiocho comminati funt, con • the furget rex Vefpafianus, furgent brachia ejus et femina, Titus filius cum exercitu; et polluent fanctuarium, auferentque juge facrificium, et templum tradent æternæ folitudini. Hieron. ibid. (1) Mede's • the Romans, of whom it was faid above that the Ships of Chittim fhall come, and he shall be grieved. * After fome time, fays the prophet, out of the Romans themfelves, who came to affift Ptolemy, and menaced Antiochus, there fhall * arise the emperor Vefpafian, there shall arise * his arms and feed, his fon Titus with an army; and they fhall pollute the fanctuary, and take away the daily facrifice, and deliver the temple to eternal defolation.' Mr. Mede too (1) affigns the fame reason for the prophet's paffing from Antiochus Epiphanes to the Ro"We must know, fays he, that after "the death of Antiochus Epiphanes the third kingdom comes no more in the holy reckoning, none of the Greek kings after him mans. being at all prophefied of; yea Daniel him"felf calling the time of Antiochus his reign “the latter end of the Greek kingdom. (VIII. 23.) "The reason of this is, because during the reign (1) Mede's Works, B. 4. Epift. 41. p. 797. See too B. 3. p. 667, 672. Lucius Florus, Lib. 2. Cap. 7. Cedente Hannibale, præmium victoriæ Africa fuit, et fecutus Africam terrarum orbis. Poft Carthaginem vinci neminem puduit; fecutæ funt ftatim Africam Gentes, Macedonia, Græcia, Syria, cæterá que omnia, quodam quafi æftu et torrente fortunæ; fed primi "of omnium Macedones, affectator quondam imperii populus. Hannibal being worfted, Africa became the reward of the victory, and after Africa the whole world alfo. None thought it a fhame to be overcome, after Carthage was. Macedonia, Greece, Syria, and all other nations, as if carried with a certain current and torrent of fortune, did foon follow Africa: But the first who followed "of Antiochus, Macedonia (whence that king"dom sprung) with all the reft of Greece, came "under the Roman obedience. From thence "therefore the holy Ghost begins the rise of the "fourth kingdom, yea the Roman hiftorians "themselves mark out that time for the rife of "their empire." And for this purpose he alleges two quotations from Lucius Florus and Velleius Paterculus. Our Saviour himself making use of this fame phrafe the abomination of defolation in his prediction of the deftruction of Jerufalem, may convince us that this part of the prophecy refers to that event. What follows can be but in part applied to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes. And fuch as do wickedly against the covenant, shall be corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God, fhall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people, shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the fword, and by flame, followed were theMacedonians, a people that fometime affected the empire of the world. In Velleius Paterculus, Lib. 1. Cap. 6. is an annotation out of one Æmilius Sura in these words; Affyrii principes omnium gentium rerum potiti funt, deinde Medi, poftea Perfæ, deinde Macedones; exinde duobus regibus, Philippo et Antiocho, qui a Macedonibus oriundi erant, haud multo poft Carthaginem by fubactam, devictis, fumma imperii ad populum Romanum pervenit. The Affyrians had the fovereign dominion the first of all nations, then the Medes and Perfians; after them the Macedonians; afterwards those two kings, Philip and Antiochus, being overcome, and that a lit tle after that Carthage was fubdued, the imperial power came to the Romans. (2) Sunt |