Part I, Chapter 12, 1

Of the Prophecy of the Scripture of Truth.

The kingdoms represented by the second and third Beasts, or the Bear and Leopard, are described once more by Daniel in his last Prophecy, written in the third year of Cyrus over Babylon, the year in which he conquered Persia. For this Prophecy is a commentary upon the Vision of the Ram and He-Goat.

1 "Look," he says, "three kings shall yet stand up in Persia, [Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius Hystaspes] and the fourth [Xerxes] shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king [Alexander the great] shall stand up, who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will. And when he stands up, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity [but after their death,] nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, for others besides those."

Alexander the great, having conquered all the Persian Empire and some part of India, died at Babylon a month before the summer solstice, in the year of Nabonassar 425; and his captains gave the monarchy to his bastard brother Philip Aridæus, a man whose understanding was disturbed, and made Perdiccas administrator of the kingdom. Perdiccas, with their consent, made Meleager commander of the army, Seleucus master of the horse, Craterus treasurer of the kingdom, Antipater governor of Macedon and Greece, Ptolemy governor of Egypt; Antigonus governor of Pamphylia, Lycia, Lycaonia, and Phrygia major; Lysimachus governor of Thrace; and other captains governors of other provinces; as many as had been so before in the days of Alexander the great. The Babylonians began now to count by a new era, which they called the era of Philip, using the years of Nabonassar, and reckoning the 425th year of Nabonassar to be the first year of Philip. Roxana, the wife of Alexander, was left pregnant, and three or four months later gave birth to a son; they called him Alexander, saluted him King, and joined him with Philip, whom they had already placed on the throne. Philip reigned three years under the administratorship of Perdiccas, two years more under the administratorship of Antipater, and above a year more under that of Polyperchon; in all six years and four months; and was then killed, with his Queen Eurydice, in September, by the command of Olympias the mother of Alexander the great. The Greeks, disgusted by the cruelties of Olympias, revolted to Cassander the son and successor of Antipater. Cassander, seeking the dominion of Greece, killed Olympias; and soon after shut up the young king Alexander, with his mother Roxana, in the castle of Amphipolis, under the charge of Glaucias, An. Nabonass. 432. The next year Ptolemy, Cassander and Lysimachus, by means of Seleucus, formed a league against Antigonus; and after certain wars made peace with him, An. Nabonass. 438, upon these conditions: that Cassander should command the forces of Europe until Alexander the son of Roxana came of age; and that Lysimachus should govern Thrace, Ptolemy Egypt and Lybia, and Antigonus all Asia. Seleucus had possessed himself of Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Sustana and Media, the year before. About three years after Alexander's death he was made governor of Babylon by Antipater; was then expelled by Antigonus; but now he recovered and enlarged his government over a great part of the East: which gave occasion to a new era, called the Era Seleucidarum. Not long after the peace made with Antigonus, which Diodorus places in the same Olympic year, Cassander, seeing that Alexander the son of Roxana was growing up, and that it was discussed throughout Macedonia that it was fitting he should be set at liberty and take upon himself the government of his father's kingdom, commanded Glaucias the governor of the castle to kill Roxana and the young king Alexander her son, and conceal their deaths. Then Polyperchon set up Hercules, the son of Alexander the great by Barsinè, to be king; and soon after, at the solicitation of Cassander, caused him to be killed. Soon after that, upon a great victory at sea won by Demetrius the son of Antigonus over Ptolemy, Antigonus took upon himself the title of king, and gave the same title to his son. This was An. Nabonass. 441. Following his example, Seleucus, Cassander, Lysimachus and Ptolemy took upon themselves the title and dignity of kings, having abstained from this honor while there remained any of Alexander's race to inherit the crown. Thus the monarchy of the Greeks, for want of an heir, was broken into several kingdoms; four of which, seated toward the four winds of heaven, were very eminent. For Ptolemy reigned over Egypt, Lybia and Ethiopia; Antigonus over Syria and the lesser Asia; Lysimachus over Thrace; and Cassander over Macedon, Greece and Epirus, as above.

Seleucus at this time reigned over the nations beyond the Euphrates, which belonged to the bodies of the two first Beasts; but after six years he conquered Antigonus, and by that became possessed of one of the four kingdoms. For Cassander, afraid of the power of Antigonus, combined with Lysimachus, Ptolemy and Seleucus against him: and while Lysimachus invaded the parts of Asia nearest the Hellespont, Ptolemy subdued Phoenicia and Coelosyria, with the sea coasts of Asia.

Seleucus came down with a powerful army into Cappadocia, and joining the confederate forces, fought Antigonus in Phrygia and killed him, and seized his kingdom, An. Nabonass. 447. After which Seleucus built Antioch, Seleucia, Laodicea, Apamea, Berrhæa, Edessa, and other cities in Syria and Asia; and in them granted the Jews equal privileges with the Greeks.

Demetrius the son of Antigonus retained only a small part of his father's dominions, and at length lost Cyprus to Ptolemy; but afterwards killing Alexander, the son and successor of Cassander king of Macedon, he seized his kingdom, An. Nabonass. 454. Sometime after, while he was preparing a very great army to recover his father's dominions in Asia, Seleucus, Ptolemy, Lysimachus and Pyrrhus king of Epirus combined against him; and Pyrrhus invading Macedon, corrupted the army of Demetrius, put him to flight, seized his kingdom, and shared it with Lysimachus. After seven months, Lysimachus beating Pyrrhus took Macedon from him, and held it five years and a half, uniting the kingdoms of Macedon and Thrace. Lysimachus in his wars with Antigonus and Demetrius had taken from them Caria, Lydia, and Phrygia; and had a treasury in Pergamus, and a castle on the top of a conical hill in Phrygia, by the river Caicus, the custody of which he had committed to one Philetærus, who was at first faithful to him, but in the last year of his reign revolted. For Lysimachus, having at the instigation of his wife Arsinoe killed first his own son Agathocles, and then several of those who lamented him, the wife of Agathocles fled with her children and brothers, and some others of their friends, and solicited Seleucus to make war upon Lysimachus; after which Philetærus also, who grieved at the death of Agathocles and was accused of it by Arsinoe, took up arms and sided with Seleucus. On this occasion Seleucus and Lysimachus met and fought in Phrygia; and Lysimachus, being killed in the battle, lost his kingdom to Seleucus, An. Nabonass. 465. Thus the Empire of the Greeks, which at first broke into four kingdoms, was now reduced to two notable ones, henceforward called by Daniel the kings of the South and North. For Ptolemy now reigned over Egypt, Lybia, Ethiopia, Arabia, Phoenicia, Coelosyria, and Cyprus; and Seleucus, having united three of the four kingdoms, had a dominion scarcely inferior to that of the Persian Empire conquered by Alexander the great. All of which is thus represented by Daniel:² "And the king of the South [Ptolemy] shall be strong, and one of his Princes [Seleucus, one of Alexander's Princes] shall be strong above him and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion."

After Seleucus had reigned seven months over Macedon, Greece, Thrace, Asia, Syria, Babylonia, Media, and all the East as far as India, Ptolemy Ceraunus, the younger brother of Ptolemy Philadelphus king of Egypt, killed him treacherously, and seized his dominions in Europe; while Antiochus Soter, the son of Seleucus, succeeded his father in Asia, Syria, and most of the East; and after nineteen or twenty years was succeeded by his son Antiochus Theos, who, having a lasting war with Ptolemy Philadelphus, at last settled it by marrying Berenice the daughter of Philadelphus; but after a reign of fifteen years his first wife Laodice poisoned him, and set her son Seleucus Callinicus upon the throne. Callinicus in the beginning of his reign, at the urging of his mother Laodice, besieged Berenice in Daphne near Antioch, and killed her with her young son and many of her women. After which Ptolemy Euergetes, the son and successor of Philadelphus, made war upon Callinicus; took from him Phoenicia, Syria, Cilicia, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Sustana, and some other regions; and carried back into Egypt 40000 talents of silver, and 2500 images of the Gods, among which were the Gods of Egypt carried away by Cambyses. Antiochus Hierax at first assisted his brother Callinicus, but afterwards contended with him for Asia. In the meantime Eumenes governor of Pergamus beat Antiochus, and took from them both all Asia westward of mount Taurus. This was in the fifth year of Callinicus, who after an inglorious reign of 20 years was succeeded by his son Seleucus Ceraunus; and Euergetes after four years more, An. Nabonass. 527, was succeeded by his son Ptolemy Philopator. All of which is thus signified by Daniel:³ "And at the end of years they [the kings of the South and North] shall join themselves together: for the king's daughter of the South [Berenice] shall come to the king of the North to make an agreement, but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall she stand, nor her seed, but she shall be delivered up, with him [Callinicus] who brought her, and him whom she brought forth, and those who strengthened her in [those] times, [or defended her in the siege of Daphne.] But out of a branch of her roots one shall stand up in his seat [her brother Euergetes], who shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress [or fenced cities] of the king of the North, and shall act against them and prevail; and shall carry captives into Egypt, their Gods with their Princes and precious vessels of silver and gold; and he shall continue some years after the king of the North."

Seleucus Ceraunus, inheriting the remains of his father's kingdom, and thinking to recover the rest, raised a great army against the governor of Pergamus, now King of it, but died in the third year of his reign. His brother and successor, Antiochus Magnus, carrying on the war, took from the King of Pergamus almost all the lesser Asia, recovering also the provinces of Media, Persia and Babylonia, from the governors who had revolted; and in the fifth year of his reign invading Coelosyria, he possessed himself of a good part of it with little opposition; and the next year returning to invade the rest of Coelosyria and Phoenicia, beat the army of Ptolemy Philopator near Berytus; he then invaded Pafor fear thatine and the neighboring parts of Arabia, and the third year returned with an army of 78000: but Ptolemy coming out of Egypt with an army of 75000, fought and routed him at Raphia near Gaza, between Pafor fear thatine and Egypt; and recovered all Phoenicia and Coelosyria, Ann. Nabonass. 532. Being puffed up with this victory, and living in all manner of luxury, the Egyptians revolted, and had wars with him, but were overcome; and in the disorders sixty thousand Egyptian Jews were killed. All of which is thus described by Daniel:⁴ "But his sons [Seleucus Ceraunus, and Antiochus Magnus, the sons of Callinicus] shall be stirred up, and shall gather a great army; and he [Antiochus Magnus] shall come effectually and overflow, and pass through and return, and [again the next year] be stirred up [marching even] to his fortress, [the frontier towns of Egypt;] and the King of the South shall be moved with anger, and come forth [the third year] and fight with him, even with the King of the North; and he [the King of the North] shall lead forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand. And the multitude being taken away, his heart shall be lifted up, and he shall cast down many ten thousands; but he shall not be strengthened by it: for the king of the North shall return, and so on."

About twelve years after the battle between Philopator and Antiochus, Philopator died, and left his kingdom to his young son Ptolemy Epiphanes, a child five years old. Thereupon Antiochus Magnus confederated with Philip king of Macedon, that they should each invade the dominions of Epiphanes which lay next to them. Hence arose a war of changing fortune between Antiochus and Epiphanes, each of them seizing Phoenicia and Coelosyria by turns; by which those countries were much afflicted by both parties. First Antiochus seized them; then one Scopas, sent with the army of Egypt, recovered them from Antiochus; the next year, An. Nabonass. 550, Antiochus fought and routed Scopas near the fountains of Jordan, besieged him in Sidon, took the city, and recovered Syria and Phoenicia from Egypt, the Jews coming over to him voluntarily. But about three years after, preparing for a war against the Romans, he came to Raphia on the borders of Egypt; made peace with Epiphanes, and gave him his daughter Cleopatra; next autumn he passed the Hellespont to invade the cities of Greece under Roman protection, and took some of them; but was beaten by the Romans the summer following, and forced to return with his army into Asia. Before the end of the year the fleet of Antiochus was beaten by the fleet of the Romans near Phocæa; and at the same time Epiphanes and Cleopatra sent an embassy to Rome to congratulate the Romans on their success against their father Antiochus, and to exhort them to prosecute the war against him into Asia. The Romans beat Antiochus again at sea near Ephesus, passed their army over the Hellespont, and obtained a great victory over him by land, took from him all Asia westward of mount Taurus, gave it to the King of Pergamus who assisted them in the war; and imposed a large tribute upon Antiochus. Thus the King of Pergamus, by the power of the Romans, recovered what Antiochus had taken from him; and Antiochus, retiring into the remainder of his kingdom, was killed two years after by the Persians, as he was robbing the Temple of Jupiter Belus in Elymais, to raise money for the Romans. All of which is thus described by Daniel.⁵ "For the King of the North [Antiochus] shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and shall certainly come, after certain years, with a great army and with much riches. And in those times many shall stand up against the King of the South, [particularly the Macedonians;] also the robbers of your people [the Samaritans, and others] shall exalt themselves to establish the vision, but they shall fall. So the King of the North shall come, and build a ramp, and take the most strongly fortified cities; and the arms of the South shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which shall fail in his hand. He shall also set his face to go with the strength [or army] of all his kingdom, and make an agreement with him [at Raphia;] and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her; but she shall not stand on his side, nor be for him. After this he shall turn his face toward the Isles, and shall take many: but a Prince on his own behalf [the Romans] shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found."