Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 11 · Questions · Question 43
Quest. 43. Of Antiochus pride, and the exalting of himselfe against God.
v. 36. And the king shall doe what him list, &c. In this second persecution which Antiochus mooued against the Iewes, which consisteth of three parts, first it hath beene shewed what ministers and instruments he should vse: secondly, what the faithfull should endure and suffer: now followeth the third part, what Antiochus himselfe should doe: And his acts are either concerning religion, in abrogating all religion both true and false, v. 36. 37. and in establishing a newe religion of his owne, v. 38. or such as concerne ciuill and politike matters, vers. 39.
But interpreters doe much differ in the exposition of this Scripture, of whom it should be vnderstood. 1. The Hebrewes take this king to be Constantine the great: of whom Ab. Ezra is not ashamed to tell these lies, that there were but 318. which receiued the Christian religion, which afterward he cōpelled all Princes and people to embrace: But all this is false: he thinketh there were no more Christians but onelyonly those 318. Bishops which were assembled in the Nicen Councel: neither did Constantine cōpell any to receiue the Christian faith, but forbad the worship of Idols, and protected the Christian religion: but he was so farre from lifting himselfe vp against God, that euerie where he commanded Churches to be erected to the honour of Christ, in whose name he ouercame his enemies. Some of the Iewes vnderstand this king to be Vespasian; some an Emperour, that should rise vp after Iulian, who seemed to fauour them: so well they agree together.
2. Oecolampadius and Melancthon, will hauehave this king to be the Pope and Turke, who both are blasphemous against God: but the Prophet speaketh but of one king: neither is it like that the Angell breaking off at the persecution vnderunder Antiochus, would immediately ioyne the historie of such things, as should come to passe aboue a thousand yeare after: for so many yeares and more came betweene Antiochus persecution, and the beginning of the Monarchie of the Turke, and of the tyrannie of the Pope.
3. M. Calvin thinketh this place not to be vnderstood of any one king, but of a continued gouernement: which he referreth to the Monarchie of the Romanes, not beginning at Iulius Caesar, but at such time as they beganne to oppresse Iudea: as first Pompey tooke the citie, though he spared the Temple: after him Crassus spoiled and robbed the Temple: whose insatiable couetousnesse was such in those countries, that he was hated of all: in so much that when he was slaine they filled his skull full of gold, and carried it vp and downe in derision. The Romanes exalted themselues against God: for they tooke vponupon them to determine who should be counted Gods: and Cicero in his oration pro Flacco, speaketh basely of the God of the Iewes, not holding him worthie to be compared with Bacchus or Venus: and that Iudea beeing so often ouercome, was hated of all the gods: T…us M. Calv. But although diuerse of these things here prophecied of may by way of analogie be applyed to the Romanes, whose pride was into lerable, and their superstitious religion, a verie prophanesse: yet they cannot well be vnderstood here: seeing at that time there was no king among the Romanes: but here the Angel directly speaketh of a king: and the inuading of the citie by Pompey was an 100. yeare and more after this: which distance of time, the continuance and coherence of this storie will not admit.
4. Lyranius, with other writers of that side, Pererius, with the rest, and before him Hugo Card. doe vnderstand this prophesie directly of that Antichrist whom they suppose shall come in the end of the world, and raigne but 3. yeares and an halfe: and so Hugo a little before expounded that little helpe of Henoch and Elias, which shall stand vp against Antichrist. And to this purpose Pererius alleadgeth out of Hyppolitus, how Antichrist shall send his mandates through the world, to call together people and nations to come to worshippe him: who shall cause to be proclaimed in their hearing: quis Deus magnus praeter me, quis potentiae meae resistet? who i… so great a God as I, who is able to resist my power? &c. But that this deuise of some singular man, which shall stand vp in the ende of the world to be Antichrist, is but a meere fiction, is afterward more at large declared among the controuersies handled out of this chapter: And beside it is not like that the Angel would ioyne together two stories so farre asunder.
5. Some other writers doe so vnderstand this of the verie Antichrist the Pope, as that they apply it not to Antiochus at all: but thinke that Antichrist is properly described from hence to the ende of the prophesie of Daniel, Osiander, Pappus. But it is one thing historically to interpret a prophesie, an other typically to apply it.
6. Now then that all these things were historically performed by Antiochus, and are in the intendement of the prophesie specially meant of him, thus it may be shewed:
1. The time, when all these things should be fulfilled, is expressed, c. 12. 11. the dayes are summed to a 1290. dayes, that is, 3. yeares, 7. moneths, and about 13. dayes: therefore this prophesie could not be put off so long.
2. The word hamelech, this king, hath reference to the former historie: and the article ha, is a note of demonstration, pointing out the king before spoken of:
3. All the other expositions bring vsus to a time farre distant and remoote, from the former historie of Antiochus; but these things here described followe, as the next in the consequent of time.
4. Beside, the Angel in this propheticall narration satisfieth Daniels desire, which was to knowe, what should befall his people: but these things as the other expound them, do nothing concerne the Iewes: neither came they so much as into Daniels thought to enquire.
5. The sequele of the storie answeareth to the prophesie: for Antiochus did all this: he aduanced himselfe aboue God, and spake blasphemous things against him, in defiling his Temple, abrogating the sacrifices, burning the bookes of the lawe: he wrote also his letters, that they should forbid the offrings and sacrifices, and defile the Sabbaths and feasts, and pollute the Sanctuarie and the holy men, and to set vp altars, and groues, and chappels of idols, and to offer vp swines flesh and strange beasts, 1. Mac. 1. v. 47. to 51. and v. 57. 58. Thus ti is euident that Antiochus magnified himselfe against God: see further Appendix following, exercis. 2. argum. 3.