Thus all the characters of the Passion agree to the year 34; and that is the only year to which they all agree.
Notes to Chap. XI.
[1] I observe, that Christ and his forerunner John in their parabolical discourses were wont to allude to things present. The old Prophets, when they would describe things emphatically, did not only draw parables from things which offered themselves, as from the rent of a garment, 1 Sam. xv. from the sabbatic year, Isa. xxxvii. from the vessels of a Potter, Jer. xviii, &c. but also when such fit objects were wanting, they supplied them by their own actions, as by rending a garment, 1 Kings xi. by shooting, 2 Kings xiii. by making bare their body, Isa. xx. by imposing significant names to their sons, Isa. viii. Hos. i. by hiding a girdle in the bank of Euphrates, Jer. xiii. by breaking a potter's vessel, Jer. xix. by putting on fetters and yokes, Jer. xxvii. by binding a book to a stone, and casting them both into Euphrates, Jer. li. by besieging a painted city, Ezek. iv. by dividing hair into three parts, Ezek. v. by making a chain, Ezek. vii. by carrying out houshold stuff like a captive and trembling, Ezek. xii, &c. By such kind of types the Prophets loved to speak. And Christ being endued with a nobler prophetic spirit than the rest, excelled also in this kind of speaking, yet so as not to speak by his own actions, that was less grave and decent, but to turn into parables such things as offered themselves. On occasion of the harvest approaching, he admonishes his disciples once and again of the spiritual harvest, John iv. 35. Matth. ix. 37. Seeing the lilies of the field, he admonishes his disciples about gay clothing, Matth. vi. 28. In allusion to the present season of fruits, he admonishes his disciples about knowing men by their fruits, Matth. vii. 16. In the time of the Passover, when trees put forth leaves, he bids his disciples learn a parable from the fig tree: when its branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh, &c. Matth. xxiv. 32. Luke xxi. 29. The same day, alluding both to the season of the year and to his passion, which was to be two days after, he formed a parable of the time of fruits approaching, and the murdering of the heir, Matth. xxi. 33. Alluding at the same time, both to the money-changers whom he had newly driven out of the Temple, and to his passion at hand; he made a parable of a Noble-man going into a far country to receive a kingdom and return, and delivering his goods to his servants, and at his return condemning the slothful servant because he put not his money to the exchangers, Matth. xxv. 14. Luke xix. 12. Being near the Temple where sheep were kept in folds to be sold for the sacrifices, he spake many things parabolically of sheep, of the shepherd, and of the door of the sheepfold; and discovers that he alluded to the sheepfolds which were to be hired in the market-place, by speaking of such folds as a thief could not enter by the door, nor the shepherd himself open, but a porter opened to the shepherd, John x. 1, 3. Being in the mount of Olives, Matth. xxxvi. 30. John xiv. 31. a place so fertile that it could not want vines, he spake many things mystically of the Husbandman, and of the vine and its branches, John xv. Meeting a blind man, he admonished of spiritual blindness, John ix. 39. At the sight of little children, he described once and again the innocence of the elect, Matth. xviii. 2. xix. 13. Knowing that Lazarus was dead and should be raised again, he discoursed of the resurrection and life eternal, John xi. 25, 26. Hearing of the slaughter of some whom Pilate had slain, he admonished of eternal death, Luke xiii. 1. To his fishermen he spake of fishers of men, Matth. iv. 10. and composed another parable about fishes. Matth. xiii. 47. Being by the Temple, he spake of the Temple of his body, John ii. 19. At supper he spake a parable about the mystical supper to come in the kingdom of heaven, Luke xiv. On occasion of temporal food, he admonished his disciples of spiritual food, and of eating his flesh and drinking his blood mystically, John vi. 27, 53. When his disciples wanted bread, he bad them beware of the leven of the Pharisees, Matth. xvi. 6. Being desired to eat, he answered that he had other meat, John iv. 31. In the great day of the feast of Tabernacles, when the Jews, as their custom was, brought a great quantity of waters from the river Shiloah into the Temple, Christ stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth in me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, John vii. 37. The next day, in allusion to the servants who by reason of the sabbatical year were newly set free, he said, If ye continue in my word, the truth shall make you free. Which the Jews understanding literally with respect to the present manumission of servants, answered, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayeth thou, ye shall be made free? John viii. They assert their freedom by a double argument: first, because they were the seed of Abraham, and therefore newly made free, had they been ever in bondage; and then, because they never were in bondage. In the last Passover, when Herod led his army thro' Judea against Aretas King of Arabia, because Aretas was aggressor and the stronger in military forces, as appeared by the event; Christ alluding to that state of things, composed the parable of a weaker King leading his army against a stronger who made war upon him, Luke xiv. 31. And I doubt not but divers other parables were formed upon other occasions, the history of which we have not.
[2] Joseph. Antiq. lib. 3. c. 10.
[CHAP. XII].
Of the Prophecy of the Scripture of Truth.
The kingdoms represented by the second and third Beasts, or the Bear and Leopard, are again described 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.
Behold, saith [[1]] he, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, [Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius Hystaspes] and the fourth [Xerxes] shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength thro' his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king [Alexander the great] shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided towards 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 pluckt up, even 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 disturbed in his understanding; 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 Æra, which they called the Æra 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 being left big with child, and about three or four months after brought to bed of a son, they called him Alexander, saluted him King, and joined him with Philip, whom they had before placed in 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 then was slain with his Queen Eurydice in September by the command of Olympias the mother of Alexander the great. The Greeks being disgusted at the cruelties of Olympias, revolted to Cassander the son and successor of Antipater. Cassander affecting the dominion of Greece, slew 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, form'd 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 till Alexander the son of Roxana came to age; and that Lysimachus should govern Thrace, Ptolemy Egypt and Lybia, and Antigonus all Asia. Seleucus had possest 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; then was expelled by Antigonus; but now he recovered and enlarged his government over a great part of the East: which gave occasion to a new Æra, called Æra Seleucidarum. Not long after the peace made with Antigonus, Diodorus saith the same Olympic year; Cassander, seeing that Alexander the son of Roxana grew up, and that it was discoursed thro'out Macedonia that it was fit he should be set at liberty, and take upon him 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 sollicitation of Cassander, caused him to be slain. Soon after that, upon a great victory at sea got 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. After his example, Seleucus, Cassander, Lysimachus and Ptolemy, took upon themselves the title and dignity of kings, having abstained from this honour 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 to 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 which were beyond Euphrates, and belonged to the bodies of the two first Beasts; but after six years he conquered Antigonus, and thereby became possest of one of the four kingdoms. For Cassander being afraid of the power of Antigonus, combined with Lysimachus, Ptolemy and Seleucus, against him: and while Lysimachus invaded the parts of Asia next the Hellespont, Ptolemy subdued Phœnicia and Cœlosyria, with the sea-coasts of Asia.