NOTES. NOTE I. The kingdom of Babylon ceased on the night that Belshazzar was slain in the gate of his palace, cir. 1670 years from the days of its founder. After the fall of the Persians, Alexander designed to make Babylon the capital of his dominions, but it proved his dying place. Seleucus, who acquired the government of the eastern provinces after the death of the conqueror, with a design of opposition, built a city about 45 miles south, and called it Seleucia. This city is said to have been" the first and principal cause of the destruction of Babylon." She sank to entire desolation; and, from the declaration of the prophet, (Isa. xiii. 20,)" It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation, neither shall the Arabian pitch his tent there, neither shall the shepherds make their fold there," &c., we are forbidden ever to expect a government there to be organized. But history informs us that the Turks, after the wars of the Saracens and Crusades, "established four independent kingdoms," in western Asia, whose capitals were Iconium, Bagdat, Aleppo, and Jerusalem," or, otherwise, Damascus. These are on the head waters and borders of the Euphrates; and the second, Bagdat, is the modern name of Seleucia, built by Seleucus as we have before noticed. These four sultanies subsisted for many years, though declining, and their remains were included in the government of Othman, who united the Turkish clans and established their monarchy about the close of the 13th century. (A. L. 1350. N. P. vol. ii. p. 211.) The Persians stand forth distinct, and it is remarked of them, that they "alone of the ancient empires in the west of Asia, have preserved and perpetuated their existence as an independent nation." (W. C. 139.) Greece we have seen arise from oppression in our own day. Rome has never passed away. (See also "Signs of the Times," Vol. v. No. 10, p. 80.) (p. 30) NOTE II. Birds or fowl, in prophetic imagery, indicate conquerors. See Isa. xlvi. 11. Man's heart, indicates pride, hauteur, vanity. See Danl. iv. 10, 13-14, 16, 22, 24-25, and vii. 4, and compare this last with Danl. iv. 30-31. (p. 54.) NOTE III. "Time of the end," seems to be a phrase in Daniel to designate the period extending from the close of the "time and times and dividing of time," unto the consummation. (See vii. 25-26.) That it does not indicate the end itself, is evident enough from the 40th and following verses of the eleventh chapter; where, within that time things are represented as occurring, which, not to say that they have already occurred, or to trouble ourselves at all with the question whether they have occurred or not, must have their fulfilment in this world while in a temporal state. (See Disq. iv. p. 84; Disq. v. pp. 128, and 147; Appendix xi. 35th verse, and chap. xii. 4th verse.) NOTE IV. The Holy Spirit, having followed the succession of the Persian kings from Cyrus unto Xerxes, who was the principal author of the long wars and inveterate hatred between the Greeks and Persians, and who, also, was the last of the Persian kings to invade Greece, passes over the nine kings following, and also from the Persian kingdom, to Alexander, the first Grecian king, who, in retaliation of the designs of Xerxes, invaded Persia. Bishop Newton here has this remark: "Xerxes's expedition being the most memorable on one side, as Alexander's was on the other, the reigns of these two are not im properly connected." (Verse 3, p. 129.) NOTE V. In the continuation of this prophecy, but two of the four divisions, into which Alexander's kingdom was broken, appear to be noticed: viz., Egypt, "The king of the south," and Syria," one of his princes, i. e. one of Alexander's princes, "The king of the north." This, probably, is on account of the connection which these had with the Jews, they being located between the two, and their government often passing from the one to the other; and also, because at one time Lysimachus having conquered Macedon and annexed it to Thrace, and Seleucus having conquered Lysimachus and annexed both Macedon and Thrace to Syria, these were the only remaining divisions of the four. Macedon and Thrace, also, were conquered by the Romans, before Syria and Egypt. (Verse 5, p. 130.) The authorities consulted in making up the Appendix, are shown in the following table; being noted immediately after the numeral of that verse to which they apply. A. L. indicates" Anthon's Lempriere's Classical Dictionary," edition of A. D. 1833: N. P. "Newton on the Prophecies," Perth edition of A. D. 1790: S. B. "Scott's Bible": J. A. "Josephus's Antiquities," and J. W. "Josephus's Wars" : R. A. H. "Rollin's Ancient History." 1. A. L. p. 431. 2. A. L. pp. 443, (Darius, alias Cyaxerxes.) 3. A. L. p. 129. N. P. vol. i. p. 326. 4. A. L. p. 130. J. A. b. xii. c. 1. s. 1. 5. J. A. xii. 2. A. L. p. 1351. N. P. vol. i. p. 328. 6. A. L. pp. 169, 1261. 7. A. L. p. 1261. 8. N. P. vol. i. p. 333. A. L p. 1351. 9. A. L. p. 1261. N. P. vol. i. pp. 333, 334. 10. A. L. p. 1351. N. P. vol. i. p. 335. S. B. Danl. xi. 10. 11. S. B. Danl. xi. 11. 12. S. B. Danl. xi. 12. 13. S. B. Danl. xi. 13. 14. S. B. Danl. xi. 14. N. P. vol. i. pp. 336, 337. A. L. p. 1262. N. P. vol. i. p. 338. N. P. vol. i. pp. 339, 341. A. L. pp. 1173, 652, 169. N. P. vol. i. pp. 338,* 339.* 15. A. L. pp. 1262, 1263, 1264, 200. J. A. xiv. 6, 2. 16. A. L. 1264, 415. R. A. H. vol. viii. pp. 113, 114. Do. do. do. vol. vii. p. 292. J. A. xiv. 7, 1. 17. A. L. pp. 300, 1264, 380. J. A. xiv. 8. 18. A. L. pp. 287, 331, 300. 19. A. L. p. 300. 20. A. L. p. 258. 21 and 22. A. L. pp. 1492, 1493, 1495. 23. J. A. xii. 10, 6. 1 Macc. viii. 17-19. 24. J. A. xiii. 11 and 16, and xiv. 1-4. 25. J. A. xv. 4, 1. J. W. i. 8. A. L. pp. 258, 178. 26. A. L. p. 178. 27. A. L. pp. 178, 258. 28. A. L. p. 1007. J. W. vii. 5, 3. 29. A. L. pp. 621, 377, 259, 1437, 1251, 391. 30. A. L. pp. 391, 1522, 117, 253, 254, 1045, 678, 621, 1525, 565, 225, 782, 783. |