Earlier text: LAST TALK WITH THE DISCIPLESTHE BIBLICAL INSTITUTE.
By Uriah Smith
HELD IN OAKLAND, CAL., APRIL 1-17, 1877. "THEN answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Matt. 19:27, 28. The question here raised by Peter is a very common one. What shall we have? What shall be the reward or inheritance hereafter of the people of God? Christ points them forward as the time of their reward to the regeneration or the regenesis brought to view in the Scriptures. In harmony with this, we find prophecies of a new heaven and a new earth to succeed the present. Isa. 65:17. "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." Peter in his second epistle, third chapter, describes the destruction of the present earth by fire in the great day of the Lord when the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up; but he adds: "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." The promise to which he refers is the one just quoted from the prophecy of Isaiah. This certainly is no figure; and it points plainly to the future of our earth. In Isa. 45:18, we find this purpose expressed by the Lord in the formation of the earth. "For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord; and there is none else." He certainly did not form it to be inhabited by a wicked race of beings that now dwell upon it. It must be inhabited by those who are in harmony with his own will, and this purpose will be carried out. Accordingly we find promises made to the righteous that they shall inherit the land. Ps. 37:11. "The meek shall inherit the earth." Prov. 2:21, 22. "For the upright which dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it." So says our Lord himself in his first recorded sermon: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," Matt. 5:5. This is not fulfilled in this world, nor can it be till a new dispensation shall be ushered in. The promises made to the ancient worthies, bring to view the same thing. Heb. 11:13. "These all died in faith, not having received the promises. Heb. 6:12. "That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." Then Paul refers to the promise made to Abraham; and he shows our connection with it; for he says that it was given that we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us." The promise to Abraham is recorded in Gen. 12:1-3. "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blest." Gen. 22:18. "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blest." This promise must be universal, and it must reach through all time; otherwise, all the nations of the earth would not be blessed in him. Rom. 4:13, shows that this is the view to be taken of the promise to Abraham. "For the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." By the promise Abraham is therefore made heir of the world; and yet we are told that he died, not having received the promise. How then can the promise be fulfilled? Answer: Only by a resurrection of the dead. Paul says in Acts 26:6, 7: "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?" Here the whole promise rests upon the future resurrection of the dead. Paul in Gal. 3:8 calls this promise to Abraham the Gospel. "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." He says farther in verse 16, that the promise to the seed is to Christ; and in verse 29, that we become Abraham's seed, and heirs to the promise by becoming connected with Christ. "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Heirs of what? We have just seen that Abraham is heir of the world, and if we become heirs with him, then our heirship embraces the world. This is in harmony with the scriptures already quoted affirming that the meek shall inherit the earth. The promises then embrace all that Christ has undertaken in our behalf. They include the whole plan of salvation. By coming to Christ and accepting of him we become Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. And this plan of salvation can be carried out only by a resurrection of the dead, when eternal life shall be given to all God's people, and by the regeneration of this earth, when a new heavens and a new earth shall be created and given to the saints as their everlasting possession. Then the meek shall inherit the earth, then the promise of Peter as quoted can be fulfilled. Then the saints shall take the kingdom under the whole heaven to possess it forever and ever as described by Daniel in his interpretation of the great Image of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2, and in his vision of the four beasts in Chapter 7: "And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to28 the people of the saints of the most High." The stone cut out of the mountain representing the kingdom of Christ, became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This new heaven and a new earth, the everlasting abode of the saints is described by John in Revelation 21. The new Jerusalem which comes down from heaven, the city of beauty and glory is its grand metropolis. All tears are wiped away. There is no more death, sorrow or care. Pain never enters, and the former things are passed away. All things are made new. The Son of God and the Lamb is the light of it and the nations of the saved bring their honor and glory into it. There will be no night there! Nothing ever enters in to defile or to destroy, and they only possess it who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Isaiah describes it as the place where the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped, and the lame man shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; in the wilderness waters break forth and streams in the desert. The parched ground becomes a pool, the thirsty ground springs of water; and the ransomed of the Lord come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon their heads. There is the river of life; that stream which make glad the city of God, and the tree of life which is for the service of the nations. Then God's original purpose concerning the earth will be carried out. His glory will fill the earth as the waves fill the sea. And then the wicked, having all been destroyed, the universal song of jubilee heard by John in vision on Patmos will rise to God, when every creature which is in heaven; and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them will be heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13. The Little Horn of Daniel Eight
5. He magnified himself even to the Prince of the host. Thus did Rome, when both Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired against Jesus. 6. He shall destroy, wonderfully, the mighty and the holy people. Let from 50 to 100 millions of martyrs make good this charge against persecuting Rome. See Religious Encyclopedia. 7. It was the only power that succeeded the four kingdoms which waxed EXCEEDING GREAT. 8. In this vision Grecia succeeds Medo-Persia, just as it had been seen twice before; and it is absurd to suppose that the power which follows them in this vision is a different power from the one which twice before had been seen succeeding them, in chapters 2 and 7; and that power was Rome. 9. He shall be broken without hand. How clear a reference to the stone cut out without hand, which smites the image upon its feet. Chap. 2:34. Besides the symbols of governments contained in Dan. 8, there is a definite period of time brought to view, which claims attention. As recorded in verse 13, Daniel heard one saint ask another the question, how long the vision should be concerning the daily [sacrifice] and the transgression of desolation to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot. The angel then addressed himself to Daniel and said, "Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Waiving for the present the question as to what may constitute the sanctuary, we wish to ascertain if possible the nature, the commencement, and termination of this period of time. There are two kinds of time to be met with in the Bible; literal and symbolic. In symbolic time, a day signifies a year. Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6. To which class do the 2300 days belong? Being brought in connection with acknowledged symbols, it would be both easy and natural to infer that they partook of the nature of the rest of the vision and were symbolic, presenting us with a period of 2300 years. And that such is the case is further evident from the fact, as is shown in the investigation of Dan. 8, that the field of the prophet's vision, was the empires of Persia, Greece and Rome. The 2300 days there given cannot therefore be literal days; for literal days (scarcely six years and a half) would by no means cover the duration of any one of these empires, singly, much less embrace so nearly the whole of their existence put together, as they evidently do. They must consequently denote 2300 years. Can we now ascertain the commencement of this period? We answer, Yes, the key to the matter being in the ninth chapter of Daniel, between which and the eighth there is an unmistakable connection, as we shall now endeavor to show. After their mention in verse 14, the 2300 days are not again spoken of in chapter 8. All the other parts of the vision are there fully explained; it must have been, therefore, this point concerning the time, that troubled the mind of the prophet, and in reference to which, solely, that he exclaims at the end of the chapter, I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. It was in the third year of Belshazzar, B. C. 553, that Daniel had this vision of chapter 8. Fifty-three years previous to this time, Jerusalem had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar, and the seventy years' captivity commenced; and thirty-five years before this, the Chaldeans had utterly demolished the city, broken down its walls and burnt the house of God with fire. 2 Chron. 36:19. Daniel had learned from the prophecy of Jeremiah, [chapter 25], that the seventy years of captivity were drawing near their close, in the first year of Darius, B. C. 538, as we read in the first verses of Daniel 9; and it is evident that he so far misunderstood the period of the 2300 days as to suppose that they ended with the seventy years of Israel's servitude; therefore, turning his face toward the prostrate city and the ruined temple of his fathers, he prays God to cause his face to shine upon his sanctuary which is desolate. Verse 17. "While I was speaking in prayer," says he, [chapter 9:20-23], "even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me and talked with me, and said, O, Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved; therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city." That this is a continuation of the explanation of the vision of chapter 8, would seem sufficiently evident without the aid of any special argument to prove it so. But there is a vital point that hinges upon this fact, we will offer a few reasons which place it beyond the limits of contradiction. 1. Gabriel had received a charge [chapter 8:16], to make Daniel understand the vision; but at the end of that chapter, Daniel says he was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. Gabriel therefore did not complete his mission in chapter 8; The Order of Events in the Judgment.
By John Nevins Andrews
WE have seen that the resurrection of the saints to immortal life is declarative of their final acceptance before God. Whatever of investigation is requisite for the final decision of their cases, must take place before the Saviour in mid-heaven utters the word of command to his angels, "Gather my saints together to me." Ps. 1 : 5 ; Matt. 24 : 31. The act of accounting them worthy must precede all this. The saints alone are to be caught up to meet Christ in the air. 1 Thess. 4 : 17. But the decision who these saints are, who shall thus be caught up, rests not with the angels who execute the work, but with the Judge who gives them their commission. We cannot, therefore, avoid the conclusion that the investigation in the cases of the righteous precedes the coming of the Saviour. Let us now consider an important proposition. 1. This period of investigative judgment is ushered in by a solemn proclamation to the inhabitants of the earth; and this investigative work embraces the closing years of human probation. This is a very important statement. But it is susceptible of being clearly proved. Rev. 16 : 6, 7: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." The gospel of Christ is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Rom. 1 : 16. No other gospel than this can be preached, not even by an angel from Heaven. Gal. 1 : 8. Whence it follows that the angel of Rev. 14 : 6, 7, preaching the everlasting gospel, represents some part of the great gospel proclamation. It is a part of that preaching which is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. This fact alone is decisive that this proclamation concerning the hour of God's judgment must be made while human probation still lasts. Two other solemn announcements follow. And it is evident that the human family are still upon probation when the third angel declares that "If any man worship the beast . . . the same shall drink the wine of the wrath of God. . . . Here is the patience of the saints." This is a consecutive prophecy, as several expressions plainly indicate. And it is to be observed that the Son of man is seen upon the white cloud after all these solemn proclamations have been made. That this announcement of the hour of God's judgment precedes the advent of Christ, and is addressed to men while yet in probation, the fourteenth chapter of Revelation clearly proves. That this is not some local judgment is proved by the fact that "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people," are concerned in it. It is evidently that part of the judgment work which precedes the coming of Christ, and as has been already shown, this is the work of determining who shall be accounted worthy to have part in the resurrection to immortal life, and, we may add, who also of the living shall be accounted worthy to escape the troubles that shall come in the conclusion of this state of things, and to stand before the Son of man. Luke 20 : 35 ; 21 : 36. 2. When the sins of the righteous are blotted out they can be no more remembered. They are blotted out before Christ comes. There can be, therefore, no act of calling them to account for their sins after the advent of Christ. Thus we read:— Acts 3 : 19, 20: "Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you." Mr. Wesley, in his "Notes on the New Testament," gives a different translation, which may be more accurate:— "Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and he may send to you Jesus Christ, who was before appointed." Albert Barnes, in his "Notes on the Acts," speaking of these two translations, says: "The grammatical construction will admit of either." Page 67. One of these represents the blotting out to be when the times of refreshing arrive; the other makes it the cause of that refreshing. But neither of them gives the idea that this blotting out takes place when the sinner turns to God. Both of them throw it into the future. Each of them represent it as preceding the second coming of the Lord. But this is especially true of the latter translation, which follows the original in using a conditional verb respecting Christ's advent; not as though that were a doubtful event, but rather as if his coming to the personal salvation of the ones addressed, depended upon their having part in the refreshing; and as if that refreshing was to come in consequence of the blotting out of sins. The sins of the righteous are blotted out before the coming of Christ. They cannot be called to give account of their sins after they have been blotted out; whence it follows that whatever account the righteous render to God for their sins must be before the advent of the Saviour, and not at, or after, that event. 3. The sins of men are written in the books of God's remembrance. The blotting out of the sins of men does therefore involve the examination of these books for this very purpose. That the sins of men are thus written is plainly revealed in the Scriptures. Jer. 2 : 22: "For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God." And thus Moses speaks of the guilt of Israel: "Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?" Deut. 32 : 34. And Paul speaks in the same manner: "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds." Rom. 2 : 5, 6. These statements of wrath being treasured up can have reference only to the fact that God takes notice of men's sins and that every sin is marked before him. To this fact all the texts which speak of the blotting out of sins must have reference. Thus David prays that God would blot out his transgressions. Ps. 51 : 1, 9. And Nehemiah, and David, and Jeremiah, pray respecting certain persons, that their sin may not be blotted out. Neh. 4 : 5; Ps. 109 : 14; Jer. 18 : 23. And Isaiah, in prophetic language, speaks of this blotting out as if it were a past event, just as in the next verse he speaks of the new creation, and the final redemption. Isa. 44 : 22, 23. And in the previous chapter he speaks in a similar manner of this blotting out as necessary in order that the sins of the people of God be no more remembered. Isa. 43 : 25. These texts plainly imply that the sins of men are upon record, and that there is a time when these are blotted out of the record of the righteous. But the existence of these books and their use in the judgment is plainly revealed. Thus Daniel says: "The judgment was set, and the books were opened." Dan. 7 : 10. And John says: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Rev. 20 : 12. It is evident that the utmost importance is attached to the blotting out of the sins of the righteous from these books. When they are blotted out they can never rise up in the judgment against those who committed them; for men give account to God only for those things contained in the books. It is therefore certain that no individual can have his sins blotted out until the close of his probation. But when this work is wrought there must be an examination of the books for this very purpose. 4. The book of life is to be examined before the resurrection of the just. The words of Daniel render this point perfectly clear: Dan. 12 : 1: "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." We have seen from other texts that the investigation and decision of the judgment in the cases of the righteous precedes the advent of the Saviour. We have also seen that there is a time before the coming of Jesus when the sins of the righteous are blotted out from the books of God's remembrance. This is decisive proof that these books are subjected to examination before the Saviour comes again. But we have now another important fact. The book of life is examined before the deliverance of the saints. Daniel says: "At that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." The book must, therefore, be examined before the resurrection of the righteous to immortal life. This is a convincing proof that the investigation of the cases of the righteous precedes the first resurrection. This book is referred to in the following passages: Ex. 32 : 32, 33; Ps. 69 : 28; 87 : 6; Isa. 4 : 3; Eze. 13 : 9; Dan. 12 : 1; Luke 10 : 20; Phil. 4 : 3; Heb. 12 : 23; Rev. 3 : 5; 13 : 8; 17 : 8; 20 : 12, 15; 21 : 27; 22 : 19. The book of life is the final means of determining the cases of the righteous in the judgment; for all are delivered who are at the time of deliverance found written in it. But before this book is made the final source of appeal, it is itself to be tested by the books of God's record. For all the names which are entered in this book of life, of those who fail to overcome, are to be blotted out. Yet it is the record of these persons' lives that is to cause their names to be stricken from the book of life. Ex. 32 : 32, 33; Ps. 69 : 28; Rev. 3 : 5. We must, therefore, conclude that before the final examination of the book of life in the case of the righteous, there is a prior examination of the books of God's record to determine, (1) Whose record of repentance and of overcoming is such that their sins shall be blotted out; and, (2) To ascertain from this book who have failed in the attempt to overcome, and to strike the names of all such from the book of life. When the books of God's remembrance are thus examined, and the sins of the overcomers blotted out, and the names of those who have not succeeded to overcome are removed from the book of life, that book becomes the final test, and an examination of its pages concludes the work of investigation preparatory to the deliverance of the saints. J. N. A. Thoughts on the Book of Daniel.
By Uriah Smith
VERSE 6. And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. There were frequent wars between the kings of Egypt and Syria. Especially was this the case with Ptolemy Philadelphus, the second king of Egypt, and Antiochus Theus, third king of Syria. They at length agreed to make peace upon condition that Antiochus Theus should put away his former wife, Laodice, and her two sons, and should marry Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Ptolemy accordingly brought his daughter to Antiochus, bestowing with her an immense treasure as a dowry. "But she shall not retain the power of the arm;" that is, her interest and power with Antiochus. And so it proved; for some time shortly after, in a fit of love, Antiochus brought back his former wife, Laodice, and her children, to court again. Then says the prophecy, "Neither shall he [Antiochus] stand, nor his arm," or seed. Laodice, being restored to favor and power, feared lest, in the fickleness of his temper, Antiochus should again disgrace her, and recall Berenice; and conceiving that nothing short of his death would be an effectual safeguard against such a contingency, she caused him to be poisoned shortly after. Neither did his seed by Berenice succeed him in the kingdom; for Laodice so managed affairs as to secure the throne for her eldest son, Seleucus Callinicus. "But she [Berenice] shall be given up." Laodice, not content with poisoning her husband, Antiochus, caused Berenice to be murdered. "And they that brought her." Her Egyptian women and attendants, in endeavoring to defend her, were many of them slain with her. "And he that begat her," margin, "whom she brought forth;" that is, her son, who was murdered at the same time by order of Laodice. "And he that strengthened her in these times;" her husband, Antiochus, as Jerome supposes, or those who took her part and defended her. But such wickedness could not long remain unpunished, as the prophecy further predicts, and history further proves. Verses 7-9. But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail; and shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. This branch out of the same root with Berenice, was her brother, Ptolemy Euergetes. He had no sooner succeeded his father, Ptolemy Philadelphus, in the kingdom of Egypt, than, burning to avenge the death of his sister, Berenice, he raised an immense army and invaded the territory of the king of the north, that is, of Seleucus Callinicus, who, with his mother, Laodice, reigned in Syria. And he prevailed against them, even to the conquering of Syria, Cilicia, the upper parts beyond the Euphrates, and almost all Asia. But hearing that a sedition was raised in Egypt, requiring his return, he plundered the kingdom of Seleucus, took forty thousand talents of silver and precious vessels, and two thousand five hundred images of the gods. Among these were the images which Cambyses had formerly taken from Egypt and carried into Persia. The Egyptians being wholly given to idolatry, bestowed upon Ptolemy the title of Euergetes, or the Benefactor, as a compliment for his having thus, after many years, restored their captive gods. This, according to Bishop Newton, is Jerome's account, extracted from ancient historians; but there are authors still extant, he says, who confirm several of the same particulars. Appian informs us that Laodice, having killed Antiochus, and after him both Berenice and her child, Ptolemy, the son of Philadelphus, to revenge those murderers, invaded Syria, slew Laodice, and proceeded as far as to Babylon. From Polybius we learn that Ptolemy, surnamed Euergetes, being greatly incensed at the cruel treatment of his sister, Berenice, marched with an army into Syria, and took the city of Seleucia, which he kept for some years afterwards by the garrisons of the kings of Egypt. Thus did he enter into the fortress of the king of the north. Polyœnus affirms that Ptolemy made himself master of all the country from Mount Taurus as far to India, without war or battle; but he ascribes it by mistake to the father instead of the son. Justin asserts that if Ptolemy had not been recalled, by a domestic sedition, into Egypt, he would have possessed the whole kingdom of Seleucus. The king of the south thus came into the dominion of the king of the north, and returned to his own land, as the prophet had foretold. And he continued more years than the king of the north; for Seleucus Callinicus died in exile, of a fall from his horse; and Ptolemy Euergetes survived him for four or five years.29 Verse 10. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. The first part of this verse speaks of sons, in the plural; the last part, of one, in the singular. The sons of Seleucus Callinicus, were Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus Magnus. These both entered with zeal upon the work of vindicating and avenging the cause of their father and their country. The elder of these, Seleucus, first took the throne. He assembled a great multitude to recover his father's dominions; but being a weak and pusillanimous prince, both in body and estate, destitute of money and unable to keep his army in obedience, he was poisoned by two of his generals after an inglorious reign of two or three years. His more capable brother, Magnus, was thereupon proclaimed king, who, taking charge of the army, retook Seleucia, and recovered Syria, making himself master of some places by treaty, and of others, by force of arms. A truce followed, wherein both sides treated for peace, yet prepared for war; after which Antiochus returned and overcame Nicolaus, the Egyptian general, and had thoughts of invading Egypt itself. Here is the "one" who should certainly overflow and pass through. Verse 11. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand. Ptolemy Philopater succeeded his father, Euergetes, in the kingdom of Egypt, being advanced to the crown not long after Antiochus Magnus had succeeded his brother in the throne of Syria. He was a most luxurious and vicious prince, but was at length roused at the prospect of an invasion of Egypt by Antiochus. He was indeed "moved with choler" for the losses he had sustained, and the danger which threatened him; and he came forth out of Egypt with a numerous army to check the progress of the Syrian king. The king of the north was also to set forth a great multitude. The army of Antiochus, according to Polybius, amounted on this occasion to sixty-two thousand foot, six thousand horse, and one hundred and two elephants. In the battle, Antiochus was defeated, and his army, according to the prophecy, was given into the hands of the king of the south. Ten thousand foot and three thousand horse were slain; and over four thousand men were taken prisoners; while of Ptolemy's army, there were slain only seven hundred horse, and about twice that number of infantry. Verse 12. And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands; but he shall not be strengthened by it. Ptolemy lacked the prudence to make a good use of his victory. Had he followed up his success, he would probably have become master of the whole kingdom of Antiochus; but contenting himself with a few menaces and a few threats, he made peace that he might be able to give himself up to the uninterrupted and uncontrolled indulgence of his brutal passions. Thus, having conquered his enemies, he was overcome by his vices, and, forgetful of the great name which he might have established, he spent his time in feasting and lewdness. His heart was lifted up by his success, but he was far from being strengthened by it; for the inglorious use he made of it caused his own subjects to rebel against him. But the lifting up of his heart was more especially manifested in his transactions with the Jews. Coming to Jerusalem, he there offered sacrifices, and was very desirous of entering into the most holy place of the temple, contrary to the law and religion of that place; but being, though with great difficulty, restrained, he left the place, burning with anger against the whole nation of the Jews, and immediately commenced against them a terrible and relentless persecution. In Alexandria, where Jews had resided since the days of Alexander, and enjoyed the privileges of the most favored citizens, forty thousand, according to Eusebius, sixty, according to Jerome, were slain in this persecution. The rebellion of the Egyptians, and this massacre of the Jews, certainly was not calculated to strengthen him in his kingdom, but was sufficient rather to almost totally ruin it.