of the little horn might be given them for the fame reafon, that the great perfecutor and oppreffor of the faints in the western empire is also called the little horn. is the fame kind of power, and therefore might be fig nified by the fame name. It It will appear too, that the time agrees better with the Romans. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the tranfgreffors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark fentences, jhall ftand up. Antiochus Epiphanes might be faid indeed to ftand up in the latter time of their kingdom; because Mace donia, the firft of the four kingdoms, was conquered and reduced into a Roman province, during his reign. But when he ftood up, the tranfgreffors in the Jewish nation were not come to the full; for when he began to reign, (1) Onias was high-prieft of the Jews, and the temporal as well as ecclefiaftical government was at this time in the hands of the high-prieft, and this Onias was a moft worthy good magiftrate, as well as a moft venerable pious prieft. As the author of the fecond book of Maccabees faith, (2 Mac. III. 1.) the holy city was inhabited with all peace, and the laws were kept very well, because of the godliness of Onias the high-priest, and his hatred of wickedness. It was after this time, that the great corruptions were introduced into the Jewish church and nation; and they were introduced chiefly through the means of Antiochus, by his direction, or under his authority. The Romans might much better be faid to ftand up in the latter time of their kingdom, who faw the end not only of one kingdom, but of all the four; who firft fubdued the kingdom of Macedon and Greece, and then inherited by the will of Attalus the kingdom of Pergamus, which was the remains of the kingdom of Lyfimachus, and afterwards made a province of the kingdom of Syria, and lastly of the kingdom of Egypt. When the Romans ftood up too, the tranfgreffons were come to the full; for the high-priesthood was expofed to fale; good Onias was ejected for a fum (1) For thefe and many particulars which follow, the two books of Mac cabees, and Jofephus his Antiquities of the Jews must be confulted. of of money to make room for wicked Jason, and Jafon was again fupplanted for a greater fum of money by a worfe man (if poffible) than himself, his brother Menelaus; and the golden veffels of the temple were fold to pay for the facrilegious purchase. At the fame time the cuftoms of the heathen nations were introduced among the Jews; the youth were trained up and exercised after the manner of the Greeks; the people apoftatized from the true religion, and even the priests (2 Mac. IV. 14.) had no courage to ferve any more at the altar, but defpifing the temple, and neglecting the facrifices, they haftened to be partakers of unlawful diverfions. Nay Jerufalem was taken by Antiochus; forty thousand Jews were slain, and as many more were fold into slavery; the temple was profaned even under the conduct of, the high-prieft Menelaus, was defiled with fwines blood, and plundered of every thing valuable; and in (2) the fame year, that Paulus Emilius the Roman conful vanquished Perfeus the laft king of Macedonia, and thereby put an end to that kingdom, the Jewish religion was put down, and the heathen worship was fet up in the cities of Judea, and in Jerufalem; and the temple itself was confecrated to Jupiter Olympius, and his image was erected upon the very altar. Then indeed the tranfgreffors were come to the full, and then, as we see, the Romans stood up, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences. A king in the prophetic ftile is the fame as a kingdom, and a kingdom, as we before obferved, is any state or government. A king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark fentences. The latter expreffion in the (3) Syriac is tranflated skilful in ruling, and in the Arabic kilful of difputations. We may fuppofe the meaning to be, that this should be a politic and artful, as well as a formidable power; which is not fo properly the character of Antiochus, as of the Romans. They were reprefented in the former vifion by a beaft dreadful and terrible; and for the fame reason they are here denominated a king of fierce countenance. He cannot fo well be faid to be a king of fierce countenance, who was even frightened out of Egypt (2) See Prideaux Connect. Part 2. (3) Regnandi peritus. Syr. Difpu3. Ann. 168. tationum peritus," Arab. by by a meffage from the Romans. The (4) ftory is worthy of memory. Antiochus Epiphanes was making war upon Egypt, and was in a fair way of becoming mafter of the whole kingdom. The Romans therefore fearing left he fhould grow too powerful by annexing Egypt to the crown of Syria, fent an embaffy to him, to require him to defift from his enterprife, or to declare war against him. He was drawing near to befiege Alexandria, when he was met by the three ambaffadors from Rome. Popillius, the chief of them, had formerly been his friend and acquaintance, while he was an hostage at Rome: and the king at their firft meeting graciously offered him his hand in remembrance of their former friendship. But Popillius declined the compliment by faying, that private friendship muft give place to the public welfare, and he must first know whether the king was a friend to the Roman ftate, before he could acknowledge him as a friend to himself: and fo faying he prefented to him the tables which contained the decree of the fenate, and defired an immediate anfwer. Antiochus opened and perufed them, and replied that he would confider the matter with his friends, and return his anfwer very fpeedily. But Popillius with a wand that he carried in his hand drew a circle in the fand round the king, and infifted upon his anfwer, before he ftirred out of that circle. The king aftonished at this peremptory and imperious manner of proceeding, after fome hefitation, faid that he would obey the commands of the fenate: and then at length Popillius reached forth his hand to him as a friend and confederate. This incident happened very foon after the conqueft of Macedonia, which as it dismayed Antiochus, fo it emboldened the Romans to act in this manner: and this being their first memorable action as foon as they became a horn or kingdom of the goat, it is very fitly faid of them, more fitly than of Antiochus, a king of fierce countenance shall Stand up. (4) Polyb. Legat. 92. p. 916. Edit. Cafaubon. Appian. de Bellis Syriacis. P. 131. Edit. Steph. p. 212. Edit. Tollii. Livius, Lib. 45. Cap. 12. VOL. I. Y Valerius Maximus, Lib. 6. Cap. 4. The The other actions likewife of the little horn accord better with the Romans. This horn, tho' little at first, yet waxed exceeding great toward the fouth, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. This horn therefore, as Sir Ifaac Newton (5) juftly obferves, was to rife up in the north-weft parts of thofe nations, which compofed the body of the goat; and from thence was to extend his dominion towards Egypt, Syria, and Judea. Obferve the particulars. He wared exceeding great: and fo did the Roman empire even within the territories of the goat, but not fo did Antiochus Epiphanes: for he was fo far from enlarging the kingdom of Syria, that it was lefs in his time than under moft of his predeceffors, and he (6) left it as he found it, tributary to the Romans.-Toward the fouth: Antiochus indeed did feveral times invade Egypt, and gained great advantages over Ptolemy Philometor king of Egypt: but he was never able to make himfelf abfolute mafter of the country, and annex it to the kingdom of Syria; as the Romans made it a province of their empire, and kept poffeffion of it for feveral centuries. His defigns were fruftrated, as we have feen, by an embaffy from the Romans; and he went out of Egypt baffled and difgraced, a word from them being as effectual as an army.-Toward the caft: the Romans did grow very powerful toward the eaft; they conquered and made a province of Syria, which was the eaftern kingdom of the goat: but Antiochus was feated in the eaft himfelf, and did not extend his dominions farther eastward. On the contrary the Parthians had withdrawn their obedience from the kings of Syria, and had erected a growing kingdom in the eaft. Antiochus did indeed (7) vanquifh Artaxias, the tributary king of Armenia, who had revolted from him: but this was rather in the north than in the east. He had not the like fuccefs among the Perfians, who were alfo dilatory in paying their (5) Sir Ifaac Newton's Obferv. on Daniel. Chap. 9. p. 119. 120. (6) 2 Macc. VIII. 10. et 131. Edit. Steph. p. 187 et 212. Edit. Tollii. Porphyrius apud Hieron. in Dan. 11. Col. 1133. Edit. (7) Appian. de Bell. Syr. p. 117 Benedict. tribute; tribute; for (8) having heard much of the tribes of Elymais, and particularly of the temple there, he went thither with a design of feizing the treasures of the city and temple; but the inhabitants rofe upon him, repelled and routed him and his army, fo that he was forced to fly with difappointment and difgrace out of the country; and foon after he fickened and died.-And toward the pleafant land, that is Judea; for fo it is called in the Pfalms (CVI. 24.) the pleafant land; and in Jeremiah (III. 19.) a pleafant land, a goodly heritage; and fo twice again afterwards in Daniel. (XI. 16, 41.) Antiochus did indeed take Jerufalem, and miferably harrafs and opprefs the Jews, as it has been above related: but the Jews in a little time, under the conduct of the Maccabees, recovered their liberties, and established their religion and government in greater fplendor and fecurity than before. The Romans more effectually conquered and fubdued them, first made a province of their country, and then destroyed their city and temple, and dif perfed the people, fo that after fo fatal a fall they have never from that time to this been able to rife again. Another remarkable property, that eminently distinguished the little horn from all others, was that his power Jhould be mighty, but not by his own power; which commentators are much at a lofs to explain. Some fay (9) that he fhould be mighty not fo much by his own industry, as by the gift of God: but fo are all horns or kingdoms whatever. Others fay, (1) that God thould give him this power for the punishment of his people; and others again, (2) that he fhould obtain it by the factions and perfidy and bafenefs of the Jews, who fhould betray their country to him: but thefe limit and reftrain the meaning to a particular fubject, to his power over the Jews, whereas it is faid in the general, that his power fhould be mighty, but not by his own power. His |