Thoughts on the Book of Daniel.
By Uriah Smith
VERSE 24. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches; yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strongholds, even for a time. The usual manner in which nations had, before the days of Rome, entered upon valuable provinces and rich territory, was by war and conquest. Rome was now to do what had not been done by the fathers, or the fathers' fathers, namely, receive these acquisitions through peaceful means. The custom, before unheard of, was now inaugurated, of kings' leaving by legacy their kingdoms to the Romans. Rome came into possession of a large portion of its tributaries in this manner. And those who thus came under the dominion of Rome derived no small advantage therefrom. They were treated with kindness and leniency. It was like having the prey and spoil distributed among them. They were protected from their enemies, and rested in peace and safety under the ægis of the Roman power. To the latter portion of this verse, Bp. Newton gives the idea of forecasting devices from strongholds, instead of against them. This the Romans did from the strong fortress of their seven-hilled city. "Even for a time," doubtless a prophetic time, 360 years. From what point are they to date? Probably from the event brought to view in the next verse. Verse 25. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand; for they shall forecast devices against him. By verses 23 and 24, we are brought down this side of the league between the Jews and the Romans, B. C. 161, to the time when Rome had acquired universal dominion. The verse now before us brings to view a vigorous campaign against the king of the south, Egypt, and the occurrence of a notable battle between great and mighty armies. Did such events as these transpire in the history of Rome about this time? They did. The war was the war between Egypt and Rome; and the battle was the battle of Actium. Let us take a brief glance at the circumstances that led to this conflict. Mark Antony, Augustus Cæsar, and Lepidus, constituted the triumvirate which had sworn to avenge the death of Julius Cæsar. This Antony became the brother-in-law of Augustus, by marrying his sister Octavia. Antony was sent into Egypt on government business, but fell a victim to the arts and charms of Cleopatra, Egypt's dissolute queen. So strong was the passion he conceived for her, that he finally espoused the Egyptian interests, rejected his wife Octavia to please Cleopatra, bestowed province after province upon the latter to gratify her avarice, celebrated a triumph at Alexandria instead of Rome, and otherwise so affronted the Roman people, that Augustus had no difficulty in leading them to engage heartily in a war against this enemy of their country. The war was ostensibly against Egypt and Cleopatra; but it was really against Antony, who now stood at the head of Egyptian affairs. And the true cause of their controversy was, says Prideaux, that neither of them could be content with only half the Roman Empire; for Lepidus having been deposed from the triumvirate, it now lay between them, and each being determined to possess the whole, they cast the die of war for its possession. The battle was fought, September 2, B. C. 31, at the mouth of the gulf of Ambracia, near the city of Actium. The stake was the world for which these stern warriors, Antony and Cæsar, now played. The contest, long doubtful, was at length decided by the course which Cleopatra pursued. For she, frightened at the din of battle, took to flight when there was no danger, and drew after her the whole Egyptian fleet. Antony, beholding this movement, and lost to everything but his blind passion for her, precipitately followed, and yielded a victory to Cæsar, which, had his Egyptian forces proved true to him, and had he proved true to his own manhood, he might have gained. This battle doubtless marks the commencement of the "time" mentioned in verse 24. And as during this "time," devices were to be forecast from the stronghold, or Rome, we should conclude that at the end of that period, western supremacy would cease, or such a change take place in the empire, that that city would no longer be considered the seat of government. From B. C. 31, a prophetic time, or 360 years, would bring us to A. D. 330. What took place in that year! The seat of empire was removed from Rome to Constantinople, by Constantine the Great. See Encyclopedia Americana, Art., Constantinople. U. S.