CHAPTER XIV THE HISTORY OF GREECE (Chapter 11:3-13)

“The Greeks Seek after Wisdom.” 1 Corinthians 1:22

The first two verses of the eleventh chapter of Daniel outline the history of the second kingdom, Medo-Persia. That portion of the chapter included in verses three to thirteen records the history of the third kingdom, Greece. Those things which are “noted in the Scripture of truth” concerning Greece are the things which Gabriel made known to Daniel. The prophet had found it difficult to grasp the full significance of the symbols used in previous visions to represent the kingdoms of the world, and so in this last interview between the servant of God and the angel of prophecy, symbols are laid aside, and the history is repeated in plain language.SDP 179.1

Notwithstanding the fact that Gabriel gives a plain narrative, the very words he uses, and the facts which he selects from the multitude of events which actually transpired, have a significance. In reading God’s Word in any of its parts there is first to be found the story which lies on the surface, and secondly the deeper meaning which is just as truly there, but which must be sought for as with a lighted candle. It is hoped that the reader may at least catch a glimpse of the deep spiritual lessons while reading the plain narrative of events.SDP 179.2

God had a purpose when he gave the history ^{MarginAnd in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall
Daniel 11:14.
And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Habakkuk 2:2, 3.
Isaiah 8:1.
Isaiah 30:8.
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Proverbs 30:5.
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:1-5.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Isaiah 45:22.} of the four kingdoms, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. There is an incentive to understand these prophecies in the very fact that each nation is represented in a variety of ways, revealing different characteristics. And since Daniel is a prophet for the latter days, there is an increased desire to read not only the history but God’s purpose in tracing the history with such unerring accuracy. Babylon, as a nation, as has been seen from the study of Daniel in connection with Revelation, represents a condition of things which will exist in the church of the last days. Great was the splendor of that kingdom, but she was a harlot, and a mother of harlots. Above the city Heaven saw the words, “Mystery of iniquity,” for she made all nations drunk with the wine of her fornication.SDP 179.3

Medo-Persia was a daughter of Babylon, and she played the harlot also; that is, she partook of the sins of Babylon, and departed from the living God. The principles of the religion of Babylon were carried out by the daughter, though the wickedness was in a measure checked by the constant presence of angels in the court, who labored in behalf of the chosen people of God; but the constant tendency toward tyranny and oppression in the government are revealed in the decree of Ahasuerus in the days of Esther.SDP 180.1

As Medo-Persia had an important part to play in connection with God’s people, and while her part differed from the dealings of Babylon with that same people, so the Greek nation was called of God to do a work-a specific work. She, too, was a daughter of Babylon, partaking of her sins; but these sins, while the same, led to different ^{MarginFor the prophecy came not in old time [margin, at any time] by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2 Peter 1:21.
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end.
Daniel 12:4
For thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Daniel 12:13.
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Revelation 17:5.
Revelation 18:2.
Ezekiel 23:17.
Jeremiah 50:42.
For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her.
Revelation 18:3.
And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
Isaiah 57, 9.
Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Daniel 10:13.
And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.
Esther 3:13.
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isaiah 1:4.} outward manifestations than in Medo-Persia. Like children of the same family, each reproducing the character of the parents, yet differing widely from one another, so Greece, Medo-Persia, and Rome are three sisters, daughters of the same mother, but each endowed with special features and strong peculiarities.SDP 180.2

Greece spans the gulf between the Old and the New Testament. Its telling work as a nation was done during the time when there was no prophet in Israel, the period between Malachi and Christ, hence the book of Daniel is the only portion of the Bible which deals with this nation. The history of Greece can be traced to Javan of the family of Japheth, who, with his sons, settled in the islands of the Mediterranean. The natural divisions of the country by the bays and mountains developed many independent or semi-independent tribes, but they had one common language and one religion.SDP 181.1

It would seem that the principles of the worship of Jehovah, as known to the sons of Noah, were carried into the isles of Greece, for throughout the entire system is traceable a close resemblance to the ceremonial law with its types and shadows, as carried on in Jerusalem in the days of Solomon. Again, when it is remembered that the kingdom of the Jews, in the days of its prosperity, was visited by representatives from all nations, it is easy to understand how the forms and ceremonies of the worship of Jehovah were adopted by the Greeks. Even the architecture of Palestine, especially the temple of Solomon, became a model to the Greeks, who were lovers of the beautiful. Everything that is good and beautiful in the world has its origin in the mind of God. ^{MarginBut draw near hither, ye sons of the sorcerers, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood.
Isaiah 57:3, 4.
Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the Lord.
Lamentations 2:9.
The history of God’s people during this period is given in the two books of Maccabees in the Apocrapha, and marginal references will be made in some instances from the Apocrapha.
Genesis 10:2, 4.
Isaiah 65:19.
Hebrews 9:9.
Hebrews 10:1.
At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah.
Isaiah 39:1, 2.
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 9:1.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17.} The gross idolatry of Babylon and Egypt was replaced in Greece by a more refined worship, if there can be said to be degrees of refinement in licentiousness. At any rate, Greek customs were less revolting on the surface, and hence more subtile and ensnaring. The æsthetic taste of the Greeks was developed by being in close contact with nature. They studied nature, and not having God’s Word as an interpreter, they worshiped the forms instead of the Creator. They recognized the power of life, but not knowing the source of life, they were led into licentious practices, known as “the mysteries,” where things which are sacred were defiled with drinking and passionate indulgence.SDP 181.2

There is a pathetic strain throughout their history. They came so close to the God of nature, and yet not knowing him, they wandered in such utter darkness. Theirs is a constant reminder of the fate of those students of to-day who seek to understand natural phenomena, but do not interpret nature by the word of its Creator. They, too, worship Zeus and Demeter, Pluto, or Poseidon, instead of the Christ. The fact is that the children of to-day are fed upon the myths and traditions of this very people, who were groping in darkness, worshiping the gods of Olympus, and ignorant of the God whose voice shook the mountains in every storm, whose smile was in every sunbeam, and whose rivers watered the fields.SDP 182.1

The Greeks offered sacrifices, but of what value were they when they accepted not the sacrifice of the slain Lamb of God? The spirit of prophecy was cherished, but while God’s prophets mingled with the people, the Greek ^{MarginEvery man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.
Jeremiah 10:14-16.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts.
Romans 1:21-30.
Avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so-called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith.
1 Timothy 6:20, 21.
Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith.
1 Timothy 1:4.
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
Psalm 77:18.
He watereth the hills from his chambers.
Psalm 104:17
Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Acts 14:11-13.
2 Kings 4:8, 9.
1 Samuel 7:15, 16.
2 Kings 22:14.} prophetess was a maiden of questionable character, secluded from the people, who received her inspiration from a vapor which poured from a rent in a rock over which the temple of Delphi was built.SDP 182.2

There was a priesthood, the duties of whose members were to reveal the will of the gods. The sacred feasts of Jehovah’s people were replaced by the national games of the Greeks. As the passover and the feast of tabernacles called the Hebrew race together, and promoted unity and a love of God, so the Greek games gathered that people together, promoting one common language, religion, and law. God’s people met for spiritual worship; the Greeks for physical or intellectual enjoyment.SDP 183.1

The history of Greece is the history of physical and intellectual culture. The people admired grace and beauty, and her literary minds worshiped the intellect. Plato, the greatest of Greek philosophers, lived four hundred years before Christ, and his teachings have led the thoughts of writers in every age since then. The Jews mingled the teachings of the Bible with the philosophy of Plato, and that formed the traditions of men, against which Christ so often warned his followers. The false philosophy, and the “science falsely so called” of Paul’s time, was Greek teaching, which breathed the spirit of Plato and his students.SDP 183.2

Plato’s writings have replaced the Bible with many, and a large number of modern writers, both of prose and poetry, recognize him as their intellectual leader. The philosophy of this man was often good, and he admired truth; but the error lay in admiring or assenting to truth, and ^{MarginJudges 4:4-9.
Leviticus 23:1-44.
Exodus 12:3-10.
Leviticus 23:39-43.
Deuteronomy 16:16.
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
1 Timothy 4:8.
Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? ...But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? ...Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Matthew 15:2, 3, 6.
Ezekiel 43:8.
1 Timothy 6:20.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Colossians 2:8.} failing to live it out. His followers came under the condemnation of Christ, together with the Pharisees, of whom he said, “They say, but do not.”SDP 183.3

Here, in Greek religion and Greek learning, was the most subtile form of that mixture of truth and error which Satan offered at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which existed from the days of Eden to the time of Greece. Babylon enslaved the bodies of God’s people, Medo-Persia made laws to slay them, but Greece captured their minds, and enslaved them to her ideas. She counterfeited so neatly, so adroitly, the spiritual teachings of the Old Testament; and so quietly, yet so surely, wound her tendrils about God’s people, that her slavery was far worse than that of Egypt or Babylon. It is this influence which must be taken into consideration while following the history of the Greeks as given by Gabriel.SDP 184.1

The angel had said, “When I am gone forth [from Persia], lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.” And of Greece, he says, “A mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.” It is in this language that Alexander is introduced in the divine records. He was not a Greek, but a Macedonian, the son of Philip of Macedon. He stands in history as one of those strong characters whom God uses in spite of the fact that they are unacquainted with him, and know not his manner of working. Alexander, in Greek history, corresponds in some ways to Cyrus, the Persian.SDP 184.2

Alexander, as a boy, showed an indomitable will, and as he grew to manhood the trait ^{MarginAll therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
Matthew 23:3.
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:17.
Genesis 3:1-7.
Jeremiah 51:34.
Esther 3:13
Then certain of the people were so forward herein, that they went to the king, who gave them license to do after the ordinances of the heathen: whereupon they build a place of exercises at Jerusalem according to the customs of the heathen: and made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathen, and were sold to do mischief.
1 Maccabees 1:13-15.
Israel’s departure from the Lord during the period of Greek influence was so great that they were not intrusted with the spirit of prophecy as aforetime.
Daniel 10:20.
Daniel 11:3.
Vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.
Colossians 2:18.
Genesis 49:5, 6.
I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.
Isaiah 45:5.
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
Proverbs 20:11.} strengthened. He was educated by Aristotle, the illustrious pupil of Plato, in the wisdom of the Greeks. When twenty years of age, Philip, king of Macedon, died, leaving the government to Alexander. This was the year 336 B. C. Alexander united the independent states of Greece, and placed himself at the head of their amphictyonic council. The Greeks were ambitious, and the new general organized an army for foreign conquest.SDP 184.3

The third kingdom was represented by a leopard with four wings on its back. This symbol covered the time not only when Alexander was king, but during its divided state, as well. The swiftness of conquest is well represented by the wings of a fowl; the cunning, insinuating nature by the lithe form of the leopard, and the mingling together of truth and error in its doctrines and practices by the spots. “Can the leopard change his spots?” No more could Greece give truth without a portion of the false; no more can truth and error be separated in that system of education founded upon the wisdom of the Greeks-her philosophy, her myths, and her nature teaching.SDP 185.1

Again Daniel saw the progress of this third nation, as a rough goat coming from the west without touching the earth. This marks the rapidity of the conquests carried on by Alexander. It was Granicus, Asia Minor, Issus, Tyre, Gaza, with the surrender of all Egypt; Arbela, Babylon, Susa, Bactria, and India-all in the space of eight short years. Having conquered those who opposed him, he planned to unite the extensive territory over which he bore sway. He was an organizer and diplomat as well as a general. ^{MarginTherefore the he goat waxed very great.
Daniel 8:8.
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wing of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
Daniel 7:6.
A leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces.
Jeremiah 5:6.
A leopard by the way will I observe them.
Hosea 13:7.
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
Jeremiah 13:23.
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
Ecclesiastes 2:12, 13.
And as I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and none touched him in the earth. And the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
Daniel 8:5 [margin].
And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
Daniel 2:39.} By marrying a princess of Babylon, and giving several members of the royal family of Persia in marriage to his generals, he sought to win the favor of the conquered races. It was while in Babylon, directing affairs in that ancient Eastern capital, that Alexander died, probably as a result of intemperance and excess. He was still a young man, but the nations of the world bowed at his feet.SDP 185.2

In following the rapid conquests of Alexander,-symbolized by the goat which touched not the ground,-no mention has yet been made of the Jews. As God brought Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus in direct contact with his people, that they might know the God of heaven, so he permitted Alexander to learn of him. While that conqueror was passing from Tyre, after its surrender, toward Gaza, which guards the entrance into Egypt, he stopped at Jerusalem. Josephus states that great consternation filled the city when it was known that the Greek warrior was coming. But the high priest, Juddas, had a dream in which he was bidden to go out to meet Alexander, arrayed in his priestly garments, and accompanied by the temple officers clad in white.SDP 186.1

When Alexander met this company, much to the surprise of his army and generals, he bowed to the ground to worship the God whose name was on the miter worn by the high priest. He then accompanied the priest to the temple at Jerusalem, where the sacrifices were explained. Moreover, the prophecies of Daniel concerning the rise and fall of Babylon, the conquests of Medo-Persia, and its subsequent fall and the rise of a third empire were explained. Daniel, who had witnessed before Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus, ^{MarginTherefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken.
Daniel 8:8.
He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Proverbs 25:28.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Proverbs 20:1.
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Isaiah 60:3.
Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword; from men which are thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou tillest with thy hid treasure.
Psalm 17:13, 14.
And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron, thy brother for glory and for beauty.
Exodus 28:2.
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Isaiah 49:23.
Daniel 2:31-39.
Daniel 8:3-8.
Daniel 8:20, 21.} was then quoted to Alexander. The mighty conqueror was in the presence of the Spirit of God, and was given the message that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Would he bow in submission, and let God conquer for him? This was the opportune moment in his life.SDP 186.2

Alexander acknowledged God, but left Jerusalem and pushed forward in battle. Gaza fell. Egypt was entered, and there, in order to gratify a selfish pride, he had himself proclaimed son of Jupiter Ammon. He who might have become a son of God chose rather to be called the son of Jupiter. The result of Greek education and learning is fully exemplified in this one act. The outcome of such a choice—a fit consummation of all Greek teaching—was met at Babylon when the king, at his very prime, laid down and died with no hope for the future. It is sad but impressive commentary for those who seek the ways of the world in preference to the truths of God.SDP 187.1

One thing which the inspired historian notes, is, that he would do “according to his will.” When man makes such a resolution, it means that he has been offered a choice between God and Satan, and has chosen the latter. There are but two minds in the universe, and he who rejects God may claim that he exercises his own mind, but it means that he is swayed by the mind of the enemy of God. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” for it brings liberty. The spirit which wishes to exalt self is imitating the philosophy of the Greeks, and its result is death; for Greek philosophy is but a continuation of the philosophy used to deceive <sup>MarginDaniel 11:2-4.
He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead.
Job 34:24.
Daniel 4:32.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3:20.
Acts 14:11-13.
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.
1 John 3:1, 2.
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 1:25.
All are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Ecclesiastes 3:18-20.
He that is of the earth is earthly.
John 3:31.
3. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will
Daniel 11:3.
Choose you this day whom ye will serve.
Joshua 24:15.
2 Corinthians 4:4.
Ephesians 2:2, 3.
Philippians 2:5.
Matthew 12:30.
If the son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
John 8:36.</sup> Adam and Eve in Eden at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.SDP 187.2

Alexander left no heirs to the throne who could hold the reins of government. His eldest son was a child of five. A number of strong men had acted as generals of the army during the march through Asia, and on the death of the emperor eight of these contended for supremacy. None, however, were strong enough to subdue all the others. For about twenty years there was war and contention. Finally in 302 B. C. it was settled that Ptolemy should hold Egypt; Seleucus should take Syria and the east; Lysimachus had Thrace and Asia Minor, and Cassander was located in Greece. The territory of Alexander was divided, but “not to his posterity;” neither was the strength of these four equal to that of Alexander, and the four partitions lasted but a few years. Greece, which was under the rule of Cassander, was taken by Lysimachus, thus uniting the western and northern divisions.SDP 188.1

In 281 B. C., after intrigues too numerous to mention, Seleucus met Lysimachus and slew him in battle. This reduced the four divisions to two, the rulers of which were afterward distinguished as kings of the north and the south. Seleucus, the king of the north, now held territory which had formerly belonged to three generals, while Ptolemy retained the southern division. This agrees with the words of Gabriel to Daniel. The fifth verse, according to Spurrell, reads: “Then shall the king of the south, even one of his [Alexander’s] princes be strong; yet shall another exceed him in strength and have dominion; a grand dominion shall be his dominion.” <sup>MarginBut I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3.
Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth.
Amos 9:8.
4. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
Daniel 11:4.
Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
Daniel 8:8.
5. And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
Daniel 11:5.
Habakkuk 2:5-7.</sup> The Ptolemy who gained Egypt was surnamed Soter, or Saviour, and on his death he was succeeded by his son, Ptolemy Philadelphus. The Seleucus who gained the three divisions was succeeded by his son Antiochus Soter, who was killed by the Gauls in Asia Minor. The third in the line of Greco-Syriac kings was Antiochus Theos, who was reigning in Syria while Ptolemy Philadelphus was on the Egyptian throne.SDP 188.2

There is, however, something aside from the mere succession of kings which is worthy of notice. Gabriel gave Daniel the framework of the history of Greece. We have in the inspired record something which corresponds to the skeleton in the human body, and the flesh and organs of life need to be put in. These nations which were then in existence were a shelter, perhaps, a scaffolding, built about God’s people, offering them another opportunity to work. The Spirit of God was working in the courts of monarchs as faithfully as ever. At the same time the controversy between truth and error never for a moment abated.SDP 189.1

It might seem to the casual observer that Greece was not in reality a ruling power in the sense that Babylon and Medo-Persia were universal monarchies. Let us see: From the first it has been noted that Greece was an intellectual ruler rather than a power which held the bodies of men in slavery. If we may personify Greek intellect in an abstract way, we may say that Alexander was the tool in its hand for building up a kingdom where it might hold sway. He did this work well; and while he individually fell, the Greek language, learning, and customs were introduced into all countries where his arms had ^{MarginHe leadeth counselors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.
Job 12:17-19.
He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.
Job 41:34.
When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, he suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes.
Psalm 105:13, 14.
God is known in her palaces for a refuge. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; they were troubled, and hasted away.
Psalm 48:3-5.
And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
Daniel 2:39.
1 Maccabees 1:28.
1 Maccabees 1:39-46.} opened the way. The Greek religion, with its mysteries, was accepted in Syria and Asia Minor; Greek games were celebrated in the eastern provinces. But Greek education took a position ahead even of her religion, and Greek teachers and scholars followed in the wake of the conqueror. Greek was the language most used, and Greek books were in demand. The city of Alexandria in Egypt was founded by Alexander, and it became the center of Greek learning. Egyptian idolatry and Greek philosophy sat enthroned beside each other. As the Encyclopedia Britannica states it, “In Egypt a Greek aristocracy of office, birth, and intellect existed side by side with a distinct native life.”SDP 189.2

Israel had once been miraculously delivered from physical bondage in Egypt. They had been warned against fleeing to Egypt for protection in the days of Nebuchadnezzar at the siege of Jerusalem. They may have escaped the bondage of those earlier times, but they were captured by the learning of the Greeks. In the days of Ptolemy Soter, many Jews flocked into Egypt, and those who remained in Jerusalem and Palestine imbibed many of the ideas of the Greeks.SDP 190.1

It has been stated that the history of Greece fills the time between the prophecy of Malachi and John the Baptist. We are now ready to appreciate the reason why Israel was so long without the sound of the prophet’s voice. God gave Israel a system of education, separate and distinct from the system of all other nations; a system which, if followed, would forever make it impossible for the people to go into captivity. But Israel often gave up her God-given system for the teaching of heathen nations. ^{MarginThe daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north. The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him.
Jeremiah 46:24, 25.
He went to the king, not to be an accuser of his countrymen, but seeking the good of all, both public and private: for he saw that it was impossible that the state should continue quiet, and Simon leave his folly, unless the king did look thereunto. But after the death of Seleucus, when Antiochus, called Epiphanes, took the kingdom, Jason, the brother of Onias labored underhand to be high priest, promising unto the king by intercession three hundred and threescore talents of silver, and of another revenue eighty talents: beside this, he promised to assign a hundred and fifty more, if he might have license to set him up a place for exercise, and for the training up of youth in the fashions of the heathen, and to write them of Jerusalem by the name of Antiochians. Which when the king had granted, and he had gotten into his hand the rule, he forthwith brought his own nation to the Greekish fashion.... For he built gladly a place of exercise under the tower itself, and brought the chief young men under his subjection, and made them wear a hat. Now such was the height of Greek fashions, and increase of heathenish manners, through the exceeding profaneness of Jason, that ungodly wretch, and no high priest, that the priests had no courage to serve any more at the altar; but despising the temple, and neglecting the sacrifices, hastened to be partakers of the unlawful allowance in the place of exercise, after the game of Discus called them forth; not setting by the honors of their fathers, but liking the glory of the Grecians best of all. By reason whereof sore calamity came upon them: for they had them to be their enemies and} When the Jews returned from Babylon, they were strongly tinctured with Babylonian ideas of education and religion. This prepared them to accept with readiness the teachings of the Greeks. The rabbis of Jerusalem mingled the principles of Greek philosophy so thoroughly with the statutes of Jehovah, which they were commanded to teach the children, that from the death of Malachi to the birth of John the Baptist, there was not a family in Judah to whom the education of a prophet could be intrusted.SDP 190.2

The Greek games were performed in Jerusalem itself, and Jewish youth, dressed only in the scarf and broad hat in imitation of the god Hermes, wrestled like the Athenian athletes. It is stated by Dr. Mears that the priests, when the signal was given for the sports, left their work in the temple to watch the games. Greek names replaced the Jewish in many instances, and even priests intermarried with the Greeks. It is no wonder that Gabriel gave specific instruction concerning the name to be given the babe of Zacharias and Elizabeth, for although there was once a time when every child in Israel was named under the inspiration of the Spirit, the Israelites had now chosen Greece in place of God.SDP 191.1

The whole Jewish teaching was Hellenized; and when John the Baptist was born, his mother and father were commanded to leave the city of Jerusalem, and educate the child in the desert, away from the influence of the schools and society of the Jews. Christ himself never entered the schools of his day because of the mixture of the truth of God with heathen philosophy. Greek teaching exalted nature; but the Son of God could not hear the voice of the Father in ^{Marginavengers, whose custom they followed so earnestly, and unto whom they desired to be like in all things.
2 Maccabees 4:5-16.
Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor shall be upon rumor; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.
Ezekiel 7:26.
Not long after this the king sent an old man of Athens to compel the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers, and not to live after the laws of God: and to pollute also the temple in Jerusalem, and to call it the temple of Jupiter Olympus: the coming in of this mischief was sore and grievous to the people: for the temple was filled with riot and reveling by the Gentiles, who dallied with harlots, and had to do with women within the circuit of the holy places, and besides that brought in things that were not lawful.
2 Maccabees 6:1-4.
Thou shalt call his name John.
Luke 1:13, 15, 63.
And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.
Luke 1:80.
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea.
Matthew 3:1.
And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
John 7:15, 16.} the teachings of the schools, and he wandered through the woods alone, or in company with his mother. Then it was that nature, the great object lesson of the Creator, was opened to his expanding mind. Other Jewish youth sat at the feet of the rabbis, learning what the spirit of the Greeks taught, and they crucified the Lord of life.SDP 191.2

It is a wonderful thing to man, who is so limited in means, to watch the workings of God, who is so limitless in resources. When the Jews fled to Egypt, then God took advantage of their presence there, and turned it to his glory. Ptolemy Philadelphus founded the Alexandrian Library, and it was he who encouraged the translation of the Old Testament into Greek. It was thus that the prophecies concerning the promised Messiah were put into the universal language nearly three hundred years before the birth of Christ. The world might become intoxicated with Greek philosophy, but God left man without excuse by placing the word of life in the household tongue of the nations. Satan may scheme, and his agents on earth may be wise, but they can do nothing against the truth without in that very act promoting the truth. While the dark wings of paganism were drawing closer and closer about the world, to shut out if possible the very light of heaven, the word of God, as a lighted candle, a torch among the sheaves, was shining under that darkness, and proclaiming the advent of the Desire of all ages.SDP 192.1

The first verses in the history of Greece (Daniel 11:3-5) bring the student face to face with that country as an intellectual power, and reveal the secret of her strength to be in her language and ^{MarginThen stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space.
Acts 5:34.
I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
Acts 22:3.
Exodus 14:13.
Even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
Romans 1:20-22.
But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places.
Philippians 1:12, 13.
2 Corinthians 10:4, 5.
I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Isaiah 49:6.
(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
Acts 17:21.} philosophy. She conquered the world by bringing all minds under her control. It was the plan of the enemy of truth to subjugate minds to a false philosophy; and since this was the scheme upon which he worked in Greece, it was under this same national influence that the truth which frees the mind was given to the world. How far-reaching then were the purposes of God.SDP 192.2

Another great principle lies side by side with the one given in those first verses. This second, which is hidden in verses six to thirteen, has to do with the working out of those same principles through the government as a channel. The kingdom of Alexander resolved itself into two divisions, a northern and a southern. Both were Hellenized, but the northern represented more truly Greek principles, while the southern division was strongly tinctured with the old Egyptian ideas both of government and religion. It was the northern division which carried forward the work of the prophecy as symbolized by the leopard and the rough goat, and it was from the northern division that the little horn of Daniel 8 proceeded. Consequently it must be right to conclude that it is the Greco-Syriac division, rather than the Egyptian division, which will do the work of which Alexander was the forerunner. Nevertheless there will be throughout the ages until the end of time a strength rising from the south and opposing the northern power. This will again be seen in the Mohammedan work of the Middle Ages during the supremacy of the fourth beast. But we must watch the working out of the principle during the life of the third kingdom, as that is introductory in itself to the future work. ^{MarginFor the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1 Corinthians 1:22-25.
Daniel 11:6-13.
And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
Daniel 11:5.
Out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south; and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
Daniel 8:9.
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
Habakkuk 1:13-15.
Revelation 9:1-21.} History reveals the fact that the greatest strength in government is found in those powers whose territory extends from east to west, and that nations which try to govern territory extending far to the north and the south have trouble. It is in recognition of this fact that each universal empire has progressed mainly from east to west, and each succeeding kingdom has gone farther to the west than the preceding ones. This continues until the globe is encircled, and all the kings of the earth finally meet in the great battle of Armageddon.SDP 193.1

In spite of this controlling principle among nations, and in face of the decree of the Holy Watcher, the north and the south attempted to unite. Worldly policy of intermarriage was followed, and as Spurrell renders verse 6, “After some years they [the kings of the north and the south] shall be associated; for the daughter of the king of the south [Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus] shall come to the king of the north [Antiochus Theos] to make agreements.” Antiochus put away his lawful wife, Laodice, in order to marry Berenice, and the results of this transgression of God’s law are given by the pen of inspiration. “The arm shall not retain its strength, neither shall their offspring be established; but she shall be given up, and her attendants, and her child, and her supporters at those times.” Human pen can not make the history any plainer than did Gabriel in relating it to Daniel nearly two hundred years before it occurred. Berenice lost favor in the eyes of Antiochus Theos, who thereupon recalled Laodice. The jealous wife then caused Antiochus to be poisoned, and placed her own son on the <sup>MarginAnd I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 8:11.
Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north.... Fair weather cometh out of the north.
Job 37:9, 22.
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Revelation 19:19.
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Revelation 16:16.
6. And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of the arm: neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.
Daniel 11:6.
They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with miry clay.
Daniel 2:43.
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Matthew 19:9.
The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
Proverbs 3:33.
Jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Song of Solomon 8:6.</sup> throne. Through her influence, also, Berenice, her child by Antiochus, and her Egyptian attendants and supporters, were all murdered.SDP 194.1

This aroused the royal house of Egypt, and a brother of Berenice, a shoot from her roots, advanced into the territory of Antiochus with a large army. “He shall rule within the fortifications of the kings of the north, and shall war against them and shall prevail.” Ptolemy Euergetes, son of Ptolemy Philadelphus, is here described. He not only invaded Syria, but went to Babylon, where he found some of the Egyptian gods and molten images which Cambyses had captured during his war in Egypt. These Ptolemy returned, and for this was named Euergetes (benefactor) by his grateful people. It is said that he carried to Egypt forty thousand talents of silver and many vessels of silver and gold. Ptolemy Euergetes then returned to his own kingdom, where he outlived Antiochus Callinicus, the son of Laodice.SDP 195.1

But trouble did not cease then. There was a natural jealousy and antipathy between the north and the south. Ptolemy Euergetes held much of Syria on the death of Antiochus Callinicus. Two sons of Callinicus undertook to regain the lost territory, and redeem the honor of their father. The first was weak and inefficient; the younger, Antiochus Magnus, who took the throne in the course of a few years, was stronger. He is the “one” who advanced speedily, regaining much of the lost territory.SDP 195.2

About the time of the accession of Antiochus Magnus to the Syrian throne, Ptolemy Philopater took the throne in Egypt. He manifested no disposition to invade the territory of the king of <sup>Margin7. But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail.
8. And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.
Daniel 11:7, 8.
Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no Saviour beside me.
Hosea 13:4.
9. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.
Proverbs 27:4.
Amos 3:9, 10.
10. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.
11. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
12. And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.
Daniel 11:9-12.</sup> the north, being indolent, and a great lover of luxury and ease, but he was aroused by the prospects of an invasion of Egypt, his own throne being threatened by Antiochus Magnus. Antiochus was supported by an immense army, which fell into the hands of Ptolemy Philopater, who, elated by his victory, returned to his capital to feast. Although he had cast down ten thousand soldiers, yet he did not profit by the victory. Nothing was gained; it was but a merciless slaughter of human beings; a contest for brute supremacy which is hateful in the sight of God and man. The difference is striking between such warfare and the progress of mighty generals whom God used to establish kingdoms and punish kings.SDP 195.3

Ptolemy Philopater did even worse things, for in self-esteem he entered Jerusalem, and attempted to profane the temple by himself offering sacrifice. The restraint offered by the priests so incensed him that he began war against them, and history states that between forty and sixty thousand Jews, who then lived in Egypt, fell by the sword. Those Jews who sought Egypt, either for protection or for the advantages of her schools and libraries, withdrew from the sheltering hand of their God, and the time came sooner or later when they felt the wrath of the enemy. Through all these struggles the nation whom God had chosen might have stood as a beacon on a hill, instead of being trampled upon by every army in its marches between Egypt and Syria. Nay, more, the location of the Jews in Palestine and her capital was by divine appointment. They were at the gateway of the nations, and might have held the balance of power. Had ^{MarginWoe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:20.
Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.
Isaiah 31:3.
Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Jeremiah 51:17, 18.
2 Chronicles 26:16-23.
Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: that walk to go down into Egypt, ...therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
Isaiah 30:1-3.
Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord! Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.
Isaiah 31:1, 2.
And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.
Deuteronomy 28:13.} they held aloft the sword of the Spirit, all nations would have bowed before their kings and paid tribute into their treasury. It was so in the days of Solomon; it might have been repeated in the days of Greek history.SDP 196.1

Alexander’s act of reverence when he met the company of priests at Jerusalem should have been an object lesson to all Judea of what God by his Spirit would cause all nations to do. But so blinded by Greek teaching were those Jewish leaders, even at that time, that they failed to see this. Instead of flocking to Alexandria for the wisdom of Greece, nations should have sent their youth to schools of the prophets at Jerusalem, and scholars of the world should have sought wisdom from those who knew the God of wisdom. But it was not so. Israel then was as the church of to-day. Instead of leading by virtue of the spiritual life, she sought the wisdom of Egypt and Greece. Such things bring sadness to the angels of God.SDP 197.1

Peace was finally concluded between Philopater and Antiochus Magnus, which lasted fourteen years, until the death of Ptolemy. Ptolemy Philopater was succeeded by his son Ptolemy Epiphanes, who was in his minority. Antiochus Magnus took advantage of this seeming weakness in Egyptian affairs, and made extensive preparations to invade Egypt with the design of swallowing the entire dominion of the Ptolemies, But the Most High ruleth in the kingdoms of men, and Antiochus was brought to realize that there was another power on earth as well as in heaven.SDP 197.2

In verse 14 the voice of the fourth beast is heard; Rome placed itself on the side of the helpless <sup>MarginNevertheless God did not choose the people for the place’s sake, but the place for the people’s sake.
2 Maccabees 5:19.
Deuteronomy 28:11, 12.
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
1 Kings 4:29-34.
2 Timothy 4:3, 4.
13. For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.
Daniel 11:13.
And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.
Daniel 11:14.</sup> king, and Antiochus found his ambition thwarted. The life of the Greek kingdom is spent. There were still many years of struggle, but it was a struggle for existence, not for added territory. But what Greece would not gain in territory she did gain as a teacher of nations, and although she finally lost all territorial supremacy, though like the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, the tree was cut down, yet the roots remain unto this day. More than once as an intellectual power Greece has arisen. Throughout the intellectual world she has votaries bowing before her shrine-the mind of man. Her philosophy is to-day studied under the guise of modern writers; her ideas are instilled into the minds of children, from the kindergarten to the universities, and students graduate from the schools of the land knowing much more of the mythology of Greece than they do of the religion of Jesus Christ; better acquainted with Greek heroes than with the Man of Calvary. Greek learning still rules the world, and it will until the setting up of the everlasting kingdom of God-till the stone cut out without hands shall fill the earth.SDP 197.3

As the Jews during the days of Alexander and his successors were without excuse, so the Israel of to-day has set before it the wisdom of the Eternal in contrast with the wisdom of Greece. And the message is, “Choose ye this day” at which shrine thou wilt bow. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, learning of him, taking his word as the authentic history of the world, his truth as the interpreter of nature, will insure eternal life. Accepting the writings of men, human speculations regarding the history of the world, its creation, its age, placing a human interpretation upon ^{MarginJeremiah 46:17.
Daniel 5:27.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2 Timothy 4:3, 4.
As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
Daniel 7:12.
Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.
Isaiah 30:8-10.
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5.
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 3:15-17.
For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
1 Corinthians 14:8.
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Hebrews 4:1.
And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.
Luke 10:39.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Hebrews 11:3.} the works of nature, and seeking to find out by experiment and speculation what must be known by faith,-this brings death; for it leads away from Christ, the center of the universe, the source of all wisdom-the great drawing power of creation. The first is the system of God, of which faith is the motive power; the second is the Greek system, which exalts human reasoning. One may not bow down to the idols of Egypt, nor drink of the wines of Babylon, but if he is entrapped by the more pleasing sophistries of Greece, his fate is the same in the end.SDP 198.1

For this reason Eternal Truth has shone along the pathway of men in all ages to guard against the enemy. In these last days, when all the evil of the past is renewed and presented to man in all its varied forms, then it is that Greek philosophy and skepticism come forth in full force. A heart filled with truth is the only safeguard against error. ^{MarginBut without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:6.
Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Romans 14:23.
It is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 6:63.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17:17.}SDP 199.1