in a very proper manner; and carries on the account
ofthings,i through the times of Christ, his apostles,
the first ages of Christianity under persecution, until
the rise of antichrist, ver. 36. and throws light upon
the text in Matt. xxiv. 15. the language of which seems
best to agree with._ ver. 31. and, if so, must respect
homething to be done, not in the times 'of Antiochus,
'but after the times of Christ. But many shall cleave
to them with flatteries; seeing Mattathias and his sons
succeed, some of those, who had been apostates from
their religion, or not heartily friends to it, joined them,
but not .sincerely; pretended to be on their side, and
commended their bravery and courage; and being
ambitious of honour and fame, took with them, in
order to share the glory of their actions; such were
Joseph the son of Zachariah, and Azarias, 1 Maccab.1
v. 56, 5'7. and those under whose clothes were found
idols, or what belonged to them, at JamuSa, when
'they were slain, 2 Maccab. xii. 40. and Rhodocus, a
soldier of the Jewish army, who betrayed their secrets,
2 Maccab. xiii. 21. Cocceius applies this to antichrist
and his followers pretending to be for Christ and his
church, but were not.
Ver. 35. And some of them of understanding shall
fall, &c.] Not into sin, or from the religion they pro-
less; and the doctrines they have an understanding of,
and have instructed others in; but into distresses and
calamities for their steadfast adherence to the word,
worship, and ordinances of God: to try them, and
purge and make them white; to try their faith, patience,
and other graces, and whether they would hold fast
thei.r profession, and persevere in the good ways of,
God; and to purge and separate them from others,
that were like chaff, hypocrites, that so they might be
manifest, both the one and the other; and these good
men appear to be sincere and upright: moreover, the
best of men have their dross, and chaff', and spots, to
be removed from them; and this is one way of doing
it, even by afflictions: the allusion, in the first word,
is to the melting, purifying, and refining of metals,
gold and silver; the second to the winnowing of a
corn-floor, and separating the chaff from the wheat;
and the third to the cleansing and whitening of cloths,
and taking the spots out of them by the fuller. Af-
flictions are the furnace in which the Lord refines and
purifies his people; the fan with which he purges his
floor; and the fuller s soap with which he makes his
people white; by all this the iniquity of Jacob is purged,
and the fruit of it is to take away sin, Isa. xxvii. 9. so
that afflictions are not hurtful, but beneficiai to the
saints, even those more violent ones, severe persecu-
tions. Even to the time of the end; because it is yet for
a time appointed; these distresses, calamities, and per-
secutions, would have an end, and the time for it was
appointed of God; as yet it was not come, but quickly
would, and then an end would be put to the third or
Grecian monarchy; a hint of the Roman power over
that being given, yet. 30. hence we have no further ac-
count of Antiochus or his sons. Very remarkable are
the words of JEmilius Sara {m}," the Assvrians first
"were possessors of monarchy; then the Medea; af-
"terwards the Persians; then the Macedoninns; from
"that time the kings, Philip and Antiochus, who
"sprung from the MacedonSans, being conquered, not
"long after Carthage was subdued, the supreme power
"of empire came to the Roman people;" of whom,
under one character or another, the following part of
the prophecy is chiefly to be understood. So another
historian says {n}, Antiochus being drove out of Asia,
the Romans first set footing there; and another ø ob-
serves, that Antiochus being defeated by L. Cornelius
Scipio, he took the name of Asiaticus, because he
hadconquered Asia; as his brother was called Afri-
canus, from Iris subduing Africa: wherefore Asia and
Africa being now in the hands of the Romans, the su-
preme power might well be said to be with them; and
therefore, henceforward, are only spoken of, and par-
ticularly the Roman antichrist.
Ver. 36. And the king shall do according to his will,
&c.] Not Antiochus, for he could not do as he
would, being curbed by the Romans, as has been ob-
served; and there are many things which follow that
cannot be applied to him; rather the Roman people,
under the name of a king or kingdom, rising up to
universal monarchy, upon the decline of the Grecian
empire, are meant; and who did what they would,
subdued kingdoms at pleasure, and gave laws to the
whole world; and particularly in the little horn, or
Rome Papal, antichrist, ch. vii. 8, 20, 24, 25. of which
Antiochus was a type, and is called by the same name,
ch. viii. 9. and the transition is easy from the type to
the antitype, with whom every thing said agrees.: for
the pope of Rome, claiming infallibility, does, or has
done, whatsoever he pleases; regarding neither the
laws of God nor man, but dispensing with both at his
pleasure; coining new doctrines; appointing new ordi-
nances; setting himself up above councils and princes;
taking upon him a power to depose kings and set them
.up as he pleases; with many other things done by him
m an arbitrary and despotic way, both civil and re-
ligious; and with none does the character agree as
with him, as well as what follows: and magnify him-
se.lf above every god; that is so called, whether angels
whom he commands, or the kings of the earth he
claims an authority over, those gods in heaven, and
gods on earth; which is the exact description of anti-
christ, as given by the apostle, who has manifestly a
reference to this passage, 2 Thess. iS. 4. see the note
there: and shah speak marvellous things against the
God of gods; the true God, to whom angels and civil
magistrates are subject, being his creatures, and acting
under him; but such is the arrogance of the man of
sin, that he takes upon him to speak against God, and
such things as are astonishing; and it may be extremely
wondered at that he should dare to speak them, as to
call himself God on earth; to take such things to him-
self, which only belong to God, as by claiming all
power in heaven, earth, and hell; power to bind the
consciences of men, and impose what he pleases on
them; to make new articles of faith; to pardon the
sins of men; to open and shut the gates of heaven
when he pleases; with other blasphemies against God,

{m} "De annis populi Romani apud Velleii Paterculi" Hist. Roman. I. 1.
{n} "Festi Breviarium, prope initium.
{o} Eutropii Hist. Rom. 1. 4. So Plutarch. in Vita Scipionis Africani.