Isaac Newton, Observations Upon The Prophecies Of Daniel and The Apocalypse Of St. John

Then shall he return into his land with great riches, and his heart shall be against the holy covenant, and he shall act, against it by spoiling the Temple, and return into his own land.

The Egyptians of Alexandria seeing Philometor first educated in luxury by the Eunuch Aulaeus, and now in the hands of Antiochus, gave the kingdom to Euergetes, the younger brother of Philometor. Whereupon Antiochus pretending to restore Philometor, made war upon Euergetes; beat him at sea, and besieged him and his sister Cleopatra in Alexandria: while the besieged Princes sent to Rome to implore the assistance of the Senate.

Antiochus finding himself unable to take the city that year, returned into Syria, leaving Philometor at Memphis to govern Egypt in his absence. But Philometor made friendship with his brother that winter; and Antiochus, returning the next spring An. Nabonass. 580, to besiege both the brothers in Alexandria, was met in the way by the Roman Ambassadors, Popilius Laena, C. Decimius, and C. Hostilius: he offered them his hand to kiss, but Popilius delivering to him the tables wherein the message of the Senate was written, bade him read those first. When he had read them, he replied that he would consider with his friends what was fit to be done; but Popilius drawing a circle about him, bade him answer before he went out of it: Antiochus, astonished at this blunt and unusual imperiousness, made answer he would do what the Romans demanded; and then Popilius gave the King his hand to kiss, and he returned out of Egypt. The same year, An. Nabonass. 580, his captains by his order spoiled and slaughtered the Jews, profaned the Temple, set up the worship of the heathen Gods in all Judea, and began to persecute and make war upon those who would not worship them: which actions are thus described by Daniel. At the time appointed he shall come again towards the South, but the latter shall not be as the former. For the ships of Chittim shall come, with an embassy from Rome, against him. Therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant. So shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

In the same year that Antiochus by the command of the Romans retired out of Egypt, and set up the worship of the Greeks in Judea; the Romans conquered the kingdom of Macedon, the fundamental kingdom of the Empire of the Greeks, and reduced it into a Roman Province; and thereby began to put an end to the reign of Daniel’s third Beast. This is thus expressed by Daniel. And after him Arms, that is the Romans, shall stand up. As * signifies after the King, Daniel 11:8; so * may signify after him.

Arms are every where in this Prophecy of Daniel put for the military power of a kingdom: and they stand up when they conquer and grow powerful.

Hitherto Daniel described the actions of the Kings of the North and South; but upon the conquest of Macedon by the Romans, he left off describing the actions of the Greeks, and began to describe those of the Romans in Greece. They conquered Macedon, Illyricum and Epirus, in the year of Nabonassar 580. 35 years after, by the last will and testament of Attalus the last King of Pergamus, they inherited that rich and flourishing kingdom, that is, all Asia westward of mount Taurus; 69 years after they conquered the kingdom of Syria, and reduced it into a Province, and 34 years after they did the like to Egypt. By all these steps the Roman Arms stood up over the Greeks: and after 95 years more, by making war upon the Jews, they polluted the sanctuary of strength, and took away the daily sacrifice, and then placed the abomination of desolation. For this abomination was placed after the days of Christ, Math 24:15. In the 16th year of the Emperor Adrian, A.C. 132, they placed this abomination by building a Temple to Jupiter Capitolinus, where the Temple of God in Jerusalem had stood. Thereupon the Jews under the conduct of Barchochab rose up in arms against the Romans, and in the war had 50 cities demolished, 985 of their best towns destroyed, and 580000 men slain by the sword; and in the end of the war, A.C. 136, were banished Judea upon pain of death, and thenceforward the land remained desolate of its old inhabitants.