Foreword:

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On the Light That the Olympic Years and Olympic Games Can Shed on the Holy Word

COMPOSED BY

ALBERTUS VOGET

Doctor and Professor of Sacred Theology

§ I.

The Usefulness of Antiquity for the Elucidation of the BIBLE.

Secular sciences, and among them pagan antiquities, are best utilized when they are employed to enhance the splendor of the majesty of the sublime divine revelation. For all noble and refined arts must pay tribute to that queen of sciences, which has its foundation and seat in the Scriptures inspired by God, and yield its core, marrow, and best fruits to adorn its sanctuary: just as the finest jewels, most precious metals and goods, and all the plundered treasures of Egypt, once had to serve to enhance the splendor and magnificence of the tabernacle.

§ II.

Applied to the Olympic Games.

The section on Greek antiquities, carried out in this current

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book, namely: the Olympic Games, which were held repeatedly every four years in the Peloponnesian field of OLYMPIA, located in the area of ​​PISA, in honor of JUPITER, can be used to shed some light on the BIBLE in a twofold way. On the one hand, there is the OLYMPIC ERA, which originated from the Olympic Games. On the other hand, the CUSTOMS OF THESE GAMES themselves are useful for this purpose. They are therefore useful in two respects.

§ III.

FIRST, by an era, the oldest among the Greeks, which originated from the Olympic Games. The true and universal beginning of the Olympic calendar.

Regarding the first: the first era or division of time known among the Greeks was called that of the OLYMPIADS; Each of these was a cycle of four not entirely equal years, with the first Olympiad beginning with the full moon nearest the longest day of the 3938th year of the Julian calendar, or from the year 3208 after the creation of the world according to PETAVIUS, approximately 776 years before the birth of the Savior. I reckon this according to the general reckoning of the Olympic years, not from the first institution of the Olympic Games by IPHITUS, LYCURGUS, and CLEOSTHENES, but 108 years later, from the time when Coroebus the Eliean had triumphed in the race, after the passage of 27 Olympic four-year periods. (See the fragments of PHLEGON OF TRALLES on the Olympiads, edited by J. MEURSIUS).

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For the beginning of the twenty-eighth Olympic four-year period is now generally accepted by chronologists as the beginning of the Olympic years.

§ IV.

Uncertainty of pagan history before that time.

Until then, Greek history was generally confused and imperfect. Varro called that period fabulous. There was no certainty in any pagan story or history book. What is surprising about that? Because all things were written by the Greeks, without distinction or chronological division. This is demonstrated by Eusebius from the annals of Africanus in the 10th book of his Evangelical Preparation, chapter 10, pages 487 et seq.

§ V.

Biblical chronology much earlier.

Now let us compare the sacred writers of the Bible with this, and their history and chronology; it will give us no little LIGHT to recognize the divine authority and respect for those who are the most ancient! The first writer of sacred history books, MOSES, was almost 800 years older than the beginning of the first year of the first Olympiad. He begins his story with the origin of created things, and his chronology from the first instant of time. In his account, and that of the following sacred historians, certain characteristics and traces can be discovered and traced, allowing a continuous chronological division of events over three thousand two hundred years, before the first accounting, the Olympic one, began among the Greeks.

§ VI.

Division of time by Olympic years very late.

Yes, what do I say, begun? The Olympic years were only used for time division late, after the time of Alexander the Great. The first writer known to us to do so is POLYBIUS. Before him, Timaeus Locros, possibly the first of all, measured time by Olympic years. (See the excerpts from POLYBIUS, published by Valesius, p. 50).

§ VII.

Olympic years, useful for recognizing the punctual fulfillment of prophecies. I will mention another reason why the Olympic years can be of great service to the recognition of the truth and respect for the divine book. How important is it to our faith that it be assured of the true, actual fulfillment of the divine predictions? And not only in the things that were to happen, but in the especially regarding the exact time at which these would occur. Take, for example, the punctual fulfillment, at the correct time, within seventy weeks of years, of every element foretold by Daniel, Chapter 9, Verses 24-27.

But how, since the description of the sacred history of the Old Testament ends and the Bible provides insufficient or no light on the counting of the years after Israel's return

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from the Babylonian captivity, can one determine the fulfillment of the correct number of those years? For this, among other aids, the Olympic calendar is again useful.

§ VIII.

How long did that calendar last?

We have mentioned its beginning. It also lasted quite a long time. The scholar Joachim Langius states in his Church History of the Old Testament, page 756, that the Olympiad calendar lasted until the year 312 AD, when, on the authority of Constantine the Great, the Indictions were replaced. However, I don't know whether it can be proven that the Olympic calendar had already fallen into disuse by then. In any case, the Chronicle of Hieronymus Eusebian still uses Olympic year reckoning after the year 312 AD.

§ IX.

How to compare with the time indications in the Bible and other sources.

By recounting the Olympiads, the number of years that have elapsed since the beginning of those Olympiads can be determined. The biblical time indications in Daniel, compared with the Olympic years, and also the time divisions from the Books of Maccabees, considered alongside the same Olympic calendar, have provided much light to scholars investigating these matters. One sees only the work of the excellent

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PRIDEAUX, called "The Old and New Covenants Linked Together."

§ X.

Ptolemy's Canon.

This observation will be further reinforced by PTOLEMY'S RULE OF TIME (which is a HISTORICAL BEACON), because the truth of the chronological division of this rule, or canon, is also confirmed by the Olympian era.

§ XI.

Its history.

CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY, an Egyptian from Pelusium, a renowned astronomer and geographer, who flourished in the second century AD under the emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, left among his works a MATHEMATICAL RULE, or CANON. Ancient writers often mention this. But this work was so corrupted and corrupted by astrologers (horoscope-readers) that the ecclesiastical writers Anianus and Panodorus attempted to revise and improve it, but with unfortunate results. It was better restored and reformed by the great Scaliger (in his Canon Isagogica, book III, chapter 2), though not without conjecture, guesswork, and surmises. Divine Providence permitted Doctor Overall, dean of St. Paul's Church in London, in 1613, to find in the library there an uncorrupted and unadulterated copy of the Canon of Ptolemy, which, after being handed over by Abrahamus Sculptus to Sethus Calvisius, was inserted by the latter into his "Introduction to Chronology," chapter 10. Likewise, PETAVIUS later discovered an old manuscript of PTOLEMY'S chronology in the royal book collection in Paris, very similar to the London one, which he placed behind his "arithmetic book of time." JOHANNES MARSHAM also devoted their diligence to this Ptolemaic canon in his "Chronological Canon," and especially HENRICUS DODWELLUS in his "Appendix to the Cyprian Treatises."

§ XII.

Intimacy.

That Ptolemy's mathematical chronology, on which renowned chronologists still rely so much today, was truly created by that author and, as is common among us, is incorruptible, is evident from the similarity of this chronology to other works by Ptolemy, particularly to his ALMAGEST, or great mathematical summary. Consider four chronological tables from Ptolemy's canon, according to the London copy, compared with the ALMAGEST by the same author, in JUNGMANNUS on Daniel, vol. 1, pp. 678-682, and one will be delighted to see the most accurate correspondence.

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§ XIII.

Contents.

This chronological table by Ptolemy first outlines the Babylonian kings, from the first year of Nabonassar to the last of Nabonidus, which amounts to 209 years. Second, the years of the Persian kings, from the first year of Cyrus to the fourth of Darius Codomannus, a total of 207 years. Third, 27 years of three Greek kings, Alexander the Great, Philippus Aridaeus, and Alexander Aegus, combined. Fourthly, the years of the Lagidian or Egyptian kings, from the first year of Ptolemy Lagi to the last of Cleopatra, being 275. Lastly, the years of the Roman kings, from the consummation of the victory won at m was fought, when Alexandria was conquered, until the last year of Antoninus, which amounts to 189 years. And thus our Ptolemy has preserved for us, from the first year of Nabonassar to the death of Antoninus, a time series of 907 years, which is of very necessary and useful use for connecting ancient, profane history with the sacred. It should be noted, however, that Ptolemy always counts full years of 360 days and gives the remaining months to the predecessor or successor; and in the transition to a new empire in Cyrus, Alexander, and Augustus, he does not count the years from the beginning of their reign, but from the end of the last in the preceding empire.

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§ XIV.

Truth and Respect, also through the Olympian Years. This mathematical rule of PTOLEMY has been frequently confirmed not only by the records of solar and lunar eclipses and other phenomena of the heavenly bodies, which are of great authority to chronologists, but also by our OLYMPIC COUNT. The learned Jungmannus provides examples of this in his previously cited book. On pages 712-723, he proves, by comparing with the Olympic yearbook, the truth and soundness of nine different distances or intervals of time, which are supported by Ptolemy's rule of time, also incorporating the objections raised by POLYBIUS. See p. 723 et seq.

§ XV.

Therefore, the Olympic years provide light for the Holy Word.

If the Olympic years, which originated with the Olympic Games, thus give weight to Ptolemy's rule of time, and it aids in the division of the years in Daniel and other prophets, ensuring their punctual and correct fulfillment; Then the Olympic years shed some light on the Holy Word, to recognize and honor its truth and esteem, which I wished to demonstrate.

§ XVI.

SECONDLY, the customs of the Olympic Games illuminate many passages in the New Testament. A closer examination of the passage in Revelation 2:17 concerning the WHITE CHOCOLATE and the NEW NAME THEREIN.

No less can the Olympic Games themselves shed further light on several passages in the New Testament that allude to their customs. Several instructive examples of this have been learnedly presented in this present book,

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especially in the notes printed at the bottom of the pages. It pleases me now only to direct my attention and research to one passage from the Revelation of JOHN, chapter 2, verse 17, which is cited by the learned author himself in this work on p. 366. His Reverence's conjecture is that the WHITE CHESTER STONE mentioned there might allude to the white stone given to the Olympic victor. I will gather together the various thoughts of the commentators on THAT WHITE STONE. The modest reader, who tries everything, may retain the best.

§ XVII.

Opinions on the allusion to the WHITE CHESTER STONE. Two entirely implausible. Three kinds worth investigating. I. Those who believed that Jewish customs were being referred to. These are of four different opinions.

There are two opinions hardly worth advancing regarding the allusion to that white stone. Some ancients, PRIMASIUS, HAYMO, RUPERTUS, and after them VEGA and ALCASAR, who understood the "stone" to refer to Christ himself, translate it as a ruby ​​or some other precious stone: this is as inappropriate to the actual meaning and use of the word as to the subject itself. The foolish pretext of the alchemists is that the "philosopher's stone" is meant here. The opinions that deserve comment and investigation consider I. whether Jewish, II. or Christian,

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III. or pagan antiquities are meant and alluded to. Those who would have Jewish customs and ceremonies alluded to here are of four different opinions.

§ XVIII.

That of MORUS, who alludes to a circumcision stone called ψῆφον by the Septuagint. ALEXANDER MORUS, in his notes on the New Testament (in which many observations which he had collected in the Medici collection at Florence have been brought together, and which have been republished with the observations of Ramirez de Prado and Possinus on the New Testament by the excellent Mr. FABRICIUS at Hamburg in 1712), proposes an objection on pp. 217-218, which GUIL. SALDENUS in his 'Theologische Vrijetijdsoefeningen', VIII, § 8, pp. 151-152, has sharply contradicted, but which JO. JAC. QUANDT in his treatise 'on the circumcision and sacrificial knives of the Hebrews' § XII, pp. 41-44, wishes to embellish and defend. Namely: the Septuagint uses the word ψῆφον, translated as 'white stone', for a stone circumcision knife in Exodus 4:25, compare Joshua 5:2. So then the overcomer would be given the spiritual circumcision. A niche of the heart is promised, with the sharpness of God's word, and with it a new name written in the heart, that of a child of God: just as a name-giving also took place at circumcision. This seems all the more fitting to MORUS, since John is accustomed to combining water and blood.

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Baptism and the Lord's Supper (1 John 5:8); thus, the hidden manna in our passage could refer to the Holy Supper, and the white stone to Holy Baptism, as a new circumcision and taking the place of circumcision; in which baptism a new name, the name of Christ, is given: as AUGUSTINE says in his Confessions, book 6, chapter 4: "The only church is the body of your only church, in which, as a child, the name of Christ was given to me."

§ XIX.

Reasons against this. Let the reader judge whether this sentiment is commended by an equally concise judgment as it is charmingly witty. 1. ψῆφος generally means a smaller stone. The Septuagint uses this general word to describe the special stone, which would not have been large, that Zipporah used for her son's circumcision. Does this conclusion hold true: which word, which generally denotes a smaller stone, was once used to express a small stone with which circumcision was performed, that this word must therefore be specifically translated in another passage as "circumcision stone," while in that other passage a "circumcision stone" neither fits nor suits? 2. When and among which people was it ever customary to shamefully circumcise conquerors as a reward, after having refreshed them with food?

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3. In which language in the world does "I will give you a circumcision stone" mean the same as "I will circumcise you"? How do I know that the circumcision stone might not perhaps have been given to the overcomer, with the intention of circumcising one or more of the defeated, as punishment for their cowardice? 4. Supposing, but not admitting, that a circumcision stone was meant, how is baptism relevant? After all, it is not literally done with a stone. Where is there any example in the entire Bible of a certain word meaning something that has taken the place of the thing it denotes? 5. How can the MANNA, first mentioned as given to the overcomer, point to the Holy Communion, and then the white circumcision stone to baptism, since one receives Holy Baptism before the administration of the Holy Communion? 6. A spiritual overcomer, who after the victory has eaten of the hidden manna, has already progressed so far in grace that after victory and satisfaction, he does not first need the spiritual circumcision of the heart, the first work of grace of the Holy Spirit. 7. Mr. SALDENUS also notes that no name was written on the circumcision knife. However, the Greek words ἐπὶ τὴν ψῆφον may allow for a translation other than this: "a new name written on the stone." For ἐπὶ can be rendered

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as "still at that stone," "moreover," "besides that stone," and so on, as will become clear in the following.

§ XX.

Judgment of J. VLAK, that the white stone tablets of the law were examined.

The scholar JOHANNES VLAK, in the dedication of his book "White Stone," offers a different conjecture: that the aforementioned hidden manna leads us further to the stone tablets of the covenant, which lay next to it in the ark. God had GIVEN the tablets to Moses with the inscription of his NAME at the head: I AM JEHOVAH YOUR GOD. This was a NEW NAME, which had not been as familiar to the fathers (in the fulfillment) as under the New Testament. Exodus 6:2. Furthermore, Mr. VLAK concludes from Deuteronomy 27:2-8, where God commands to set up large stones and plaster them with plaster (thus making them WHITE), and to write on them all the words of the law, that therefore the tablets of the law that lay within the ark were also white; at least that they were written on white stones in Canaan. The spiritual meaning of our words would then be: I will collect not only the covenant goods, THE HIDDEN MANNA, but also the covenant obligations of the LAW in the heart of an overcomer, which has become a covenant ark of Jehovah's glory. HOWEVER, 1. The tablets of the law were two; here we are talking about ONE stone. 2. ψῆφος means a small stone, not a large stone tablet.

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3. That the two stone tablets placed in the ark were white does not necessarily follow from the fact that the law was written on whitened stones in the land of Canaan. Those white stones in Canaan were not given to anyone, much less to conquerors.

D. VAK offers another suggestion in the aforementioned passage, as to whether it could be referring to Aaron's staff, on which his name was written (Numbers 17:3), which was placed with the hidden manna and, green and tender, with almond fruit, was given to him when he conquered. had become in his case against Korah. BUT a staff or rod is not a white stone, and Aaron's name written on it was not a new name, among other less fitting inequalities.

§ XXI.

Is the STONE OF THE FOUNDATION being considered? A brief overview of the stories about it.

From Jewish antiquity, others cite THE STONE OF THE SETTING, OF THE FOUNDATION, or, as some translate it, OF THE DRINKING, which is supposedly referred to in the text of Revelation. Jewish writings report this STONE: that it was a piece of that rock struck by Moses, from which water flowed, by which the people in the desert were watered (Exodus 17); that this piece of rock was cut out and carried through the desert to Canaan; that PAUL meant this...

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lt in 1 Corinthians 10:4, where he reports that this rock followed; that on this stone the ark, whenever it was set down after its wandering, always rested; that the memorial name of God, JEHOVAH, was supposedly engraved on this same stone; that it was laid in the ground in the Holy of Holies of Solomon's temple, so that it rose three fingers high above it, and the ark of the covenant was placed on it; that this stone, when the Chaldeans demolished the first temple, remained undamaged under the ruins; that this stone, still lying in the same place in the second temple, was a memorial of where, in the first temple, the ark of the Lord had stood, and on which the high priest placed the censer on the Day of Atonement, which, while the first temple was still standing, he placed between the two poles of the ark; that this foundation stone, which remained in place during the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, was shown by the Patriarch Sophia to Omar, son of Alchittab, who captured Jerusalem in the year 636 after a two-year siege. A temple was erected over it, in which this stone still lies today, and which is treated with particular attention by Mohammedans, according to the account of George Elmacinus in his History of the Saracens, Book 1, Chapter 3; that the Turks still maintain such a stone in all their mosques; that the slander with which the Jews are...

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sword, the veneration of a donkey's head in the holiest inner chamber of their temple, would have been prompted by this foundation stone, on which the name JEHOVAH was engraved, which the Jews did not pronounce, but called Him Hashem or Schema, or, after the Chaldean, Syrian, and Samaritan inflection, Aschima and Asima, from which the blasphemous Romans would have rendered ASINUS (donkey); that finally, the following ten Bible passages are clarified by allusion to this STONE: Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 8:14, 28:16, Zechariah 4:7, 10, 1 Corinthians 3:11, Ephesians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:19, 1 Peter 2:4, Hebrews 1:3, Revelation 2:17. (For Jewish accounts of this stone, see SHERINGHAM on the Book of Joma, or of the Day of Atonement, chap. 5, number 2, in SURENHUSIUS: MISHNA, vol. II, p. 233; JO. BUXTORF: History of the Ark of the Covenant, chap. 22, pp. 186 ff.; LE MOYNE, notes on Varia Sacra, pp. 564 ff.; JO. BEN. CARPZOVIUS, treatise on the question of the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant, § 10-12, in his collected treatises, pp. 81-87.) But with special purpose my learned compatriot and old friend, Mr. THEODORUS HASAEUS, has, in a quarto book, treated at length of this STONE, which was unfortunately withdrawn too early from the Church and the learned world. An excerpt from this work, compiled (by the authors visible therein)

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by the very excellent Mr. LAMPE, can be found by the inquisitive reader in the 'Bibliotheca Bremensis', class I, issue IV, pp. 560-571.

§ XXII.

The allusion to THE STONE in this passage is rejected with reasons.

That THE STONE serves to clarify our passage is surmised by ALEX MORUS here and JO. JAC. QUANDT in his work on the sacrificial and circumcising knives of the Jews, § XI. Mr. HASAEUS, although he attempts to shed light on nine antiquity passages from Scripture concerning the stone in the aforementioned treatise, does not say a word about this text from Revelation. Furthermore, MORUS and QUANDT do not clearly indicate what meaning should be given to the text, with its allusion to the stone of its setting. In my view, it would fit best as follows: the Lord Jesus wanted to give Himself not only as spiritual manna for food to victorious spiritual Israel, but also as the Rock of salvation, in whose midst is the name Jehovah, to fulfill His promises in a new way in the New Testament, and as the fountain of living waters to give drink to souls seeking salvation.

My objection to this view is: 1. that the literal truth of the stories about this stone has not yet been established. At least, the Bible and Josephus do not mention it at all. And even if s one could not deny credence to the Jewish reports on this matter: 2. Such a large piece, hewn from the rock, cannot be called a small stone. 3.

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How does it appear that this stone was WHITE? 4. This stone was not given to anyone, but was (supposedly) placed in the ground in the Holy of Holies, and only rose three fingers high above it. Giving someone a stone, or water from the stone, would make a great difference to a thirsty person.

§ XXIII.

The opinion of Mr. SCHEURMAN, that the reference is to the two onyx stones, has been examined.

The investigation of another opinion is finished, concerning the allusion to the WHITE STONE in view of ancient Jewish customs, which the Very Reverend JOH. JAC. SCHEURMAN, minister of the Gospel in Cleves, cherishes. This learned man judges in his explanation of Revelation (A. 1722, published in High German at Lippstadt, p. 148) that Christ, who spoke nothing except through Moses and the prophets, meant by that white stone the two onyx stones from Exodus 28:9 et seq., whose base is WHITE, like fingernails, and their surface red, like bloody flesh. See BRAUNIUS, 'On the Garments of the Hebrew Priests', Book II, Chapter XVIII, p. 736. These two stones were set on the shoulder straps of the high priest's ephod, and on each stone were engraved SIX NAMES of the sons of Israel, so that Aaron bore their NAMES on both his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.

But I don't see how this fits here. There

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There were two onyx stones; here we speak of one stone. The onyx stones were given to the high priest on his shoulders, who was a type of Christ, the great priest over God's house and high priest of our confession. Here, the white stone is given to the overcoming believer. These onyx stones represented the BELIEVERS THEMSELVES, who, transformed into the image of the glory of JESUS, who is WHITE and RED (Song of Songs 5:10), display the power of his red blood with its white, shining holiness. They are the true reflection of the 12 tribes of Israel, 144,000 redeemed from all people, as firstfruits to God and the Lamb (Revelation 14:1, 4).

How? Can or will Christ then give believers to themselves? Will anyone resort to this excuse (for I know of no other way): Christ promises to make His image, white and red, whose colors sweetly compete in the onyx stone, truly appear gracefully in spiritual victors, to assure them that they are indeed the spiritual Israel of the Lord, a kingdom of that king and priest on His throne, whose rule is on His shoulder? I answer: 1. One stone is not the reflection of two onyx stones. 2. "I will give you a stone" cannot possibly mean "I will give you qualities that are depicted by the colors of stones." 3. Those two stones were given to the high priest, the example of Christ, not to the ordinary priests who represented the faithful.

§ XXIV.

The custom of the early Christian church to elect bishops by a VOTE. From the ancient Jewish practices, which have literally been abolished and disappeared, we turn to see if anything can be found in the customs of the Christian church that reveals to us the peculiarity of the sacred imagery concerning this white stone. Regarding our passage, JO. BEN. CARPZOVIUS wants us to look at the election of bishops in the early Christian church, because the electoral votes given to them were called ψῆφοι by ancient ecclesiastical writers. GELASIUS CYCICENUS writes in the Acts of the Council of Nicaea, Part II, Chapter XXXIII, fol. 171, that after the Arian bishops were expelled from this council, others were appointed in their place by the vote of the same synod, and of both the clergy and the people in each parish. Of Athanasius, it is stated in his biography, Part II, Appendix, fol. 29, that he accepted his bishopric after the vote of the entire people. From these ψῆφοι and the voting stones, the votes received the name ψῆφοι; as John Antiochene relates this institution in the Nomocanon (from Novella CXXXVII, fol. 364):

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It is fitting that the VOTING for the bishops to be elected be done by the clergy and the leading men in the cities. Accordingly, the Savior promised the victor that through his voting, He would confess him before His Father. However: 1. This custom is of later origin than what the Savior in John's time would have alluded to. (This is also not applicable here.) 2. No selection for an office or work, but a gracious reward of labor is promised here to the victor.

§ XXV.

Pagan customs.

Therefore, we are compelled to turn to customs that were practiced among the pagans in ancient times, to learn the literal meaning of the promised WHITE STONE from it. I will present the various ideas of learned men, as they come to me in my collected writings. The BLACK STONE in the temple of Mars, located in Smyrna, where worship and vows were performed, which APOLLONIUS RHODIUS describes in Book II of the Argonautica: (Black STONE in the temple of Mars.)

But inside was laid a black sacred stone, by which all the Amazons once made vows.

This cannot be meant here by contrast, because, in addition to other conflicting (and not intended here) ineligibility, this vow is not made to the angel of the church in Smyrna, but to the angel of Pergamos.

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§ XXVI.

Or is this referring to the marking of days of prosperity with a white stone? Among the Thracians and Cretans, it was an ancient custom to mark fortunate days with white stones, but to distinguish days of disaster and misfortune with black stones. See ALEXANDER AB ALEXANDRO, 'Days of Genius', Book IV, Chapter 20, p. 1145. TIRAQUELLUS mentions the manner of this custom there in his observations, from PLINY. Among the Romans, too, the days of triumph and victory were engraved in the state registers and general year tables and marked with a white stone, as distinct from days of misfortune, which were not marked with a white mark, but with black coal. These customs are often pleasantly alluded to by the ancient Latin poets. PERSIUS, Sat. II:

Count this day, Macrinus, with a better stone,

which will mark the fleeting years for you in white.

MARTIALIS, Book VIII, ep. 45:

Let a milky-white gemstone mark this light.

and Book X, ep. 38:

O night, and every hour marked

with precious stones from the Indian coast.

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HORATIUS, Book 1, Carm. od. 36:

Let not the beautiful day be without a mark of Chalk.

A 'Cretan mark' is a mark that was customary among the Cretans; according to ACRON and PORPHYRION, ancient short commentators (scholiasts) on Horace. Others read 'Thressa' in that place of Horace, so that the custom among the Thracians would be referred to. See MEURSIUS in 'Crete', Book IV, ch. 9. PAULINUS gives more passages by poets who play on this antiquity in 'On Whiteness', pp. 10-12. If God's Spirit saw in the words we seek to explain this custom, as Sixtus Senensis believes in Book II of his 'Holy Library', p. 55, then the promise to the victor would be that good and mercy would follow him all the days of his life (Psalm 23:6). Yes, that the Lord would grant him mercy to find in the Lord on THAT DAY. The meaning is not forced. Only, with regard to the ancient solemnity of the Romans: their days were already marked and distinguished in advance, in which they fought with courage and fervor, hoping to fight for victory and gain the victory.

§ XXVII.

Or, on the electoral votes for honorary offices?

Another common practice of the ancient Romans is cited. In their Comitia, or political assemblies, each person wrote the name of the person they voted for mayor.

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or any other significant dignity, on a white stone. These stones were thrown into a lottery box (urna), in which an olive leaf had previously been placed with the name of Mercury, to whom they assigned authority and favoritism over the lot. Whoever then had the most white stones was elected to the honorary office. Abundant reports of this ceremony can be found in all the well-known writers of Roman antiquity. The method used today in Venice to confer the most important offices is not very different from this. See GODOFREDI'S 'Archontologia Cosmica', fol. 483, and the method of electing a POPE 'per scrutinium' (by vote), about which J. FR. MAYER wrote 'On Papal Election'. According to this view, Christ would honor our conquerors (1 Samuel 2:30) and make them kings and priests (Revelation 1:6).

§ XXVIII.

Or, white stones of acquittal?

When someone was to be acquitted among those same ancient Romans, this was done with a white pebble, like a ballot. Everyone who voted threw their pebble into a box (urna), and it was then counted whether there were more white than black stones. The same was true among the Greeks, especially in Athens on the Areopagus. Hence a stone of death and a stone of salvation, furthermore acquitting and condemning in Plato, Plutarch, Demosthenes, Ulpian, and other Greek writers.

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Paul, recounting how he had once helped condemn Christians, said: "I also threw in my little stone" (Acts 26:10). Ovid, Metamorphoses, book XV, verses 40-41, writes about this custom as follows:

It was an ancient custom to use white and black pebbles to

condemn some and acquit others. The white stone once served to praise innocents n;

Black, to condemn the guilty.

From which also originated the proverb among both the Greeks and the Latins: "throw in a white pebble" when one agrees and approves of a matter. This would indicate the acquittal of gracious justification.

§ XXIX.

Or both of the latter customs simultaneously?

Others argue that the quoted words refer to two specific customs. "I will give him a white pebble" would refer to the pebbles that, white or black, were the Romans' acquitting or condemning votes. But "I will give him a new name written on the pebble" would refer to the pebbles that were thrown into a box, marked with the names of the candidates for high state offices, to give a vote to whom one chose. Thus, MARTINUS MAURITIUS writes in "On the Valor of the Ancient Hebrews," ch. XI,

Preface - p. 27

§ VII, p. 145, and MAJUS in his treatise "On the White Stone." Indeed, Mr. BIERMAN notes in his "Key to Prophetic Revelation," p. 103, (according to Bierman's opinion) that in some courts it was customary to write down the names of all those who came before the court to be judged; these names, if someone was declared innocent, were changed to new and excellent ones, while the guilty retained their names.

§ XXX.

Rebuttals from others.

But however sweet and meaningful these and similar allusions may be, others object: something is promised to victors in a spiritual war. Therefore, if an ancient ceremony could be brought forward in which victors were given a white stone, and a new name written on that same stone, it would be certain that, despite all reservations, this would be the most proper allusion intended by God's Spirit.

§ XXXI.

Custom of giving white stones to victors in combat games.

This requirement can be met by the view of the ancient Greek teacher Aretas Caesariensis, followed by Samuel Petitus (Book I, 'Variae Lectiones', ch. 8), Guil. CANTERUS ('Novarum Lectionum', Book V, ch. 21, in J. GRUTERI's 'Thesaurus Criticus', vol. V, p. 633), as well as GROTIUS, HAMMONDUS, QUISTORPIUS, and also somewhat from the great VITRINGA, on this point, namely that it derives light from that custom of the Greeks at their contests, who entertained the victors at common expense and, in order to prove that they had been granted such a treat, gave them a certain sign, or tessera, to indicate it. On this subject, one can also consult LIPSIUS, Book I, 'Electorum', ch. 8; compare also J. H. URSINI's 'Analecta Sacra', vol. II, Book 3, place 3, p. 133. Our learned author, Mr. ANTONIDES, also wants to address this on p. 366-367, but he speculates that perhaps such a white pebble, with his name on it, might have been given to the Olympic victor as sure proof that the judges had awarded him the vote of victory, allowing him to prove this at any time, as if by seal and letter, before the whole world. However, his Reverence rightly expresses doubt about this. On the other hand, ancient writers report that such a pebble was given to the contestants three times. Before the fight, they had to draw from a silver box, and two who had seized similarly marked pebbles were declared as fellow combatants by the agonothetes (competitor). After the fight and the victory achieved, the victors were entertained at a dinner in the most prominent place in the castle or town hall (Prytaneum) at the expense of the general state. No one was admitted to this meal except those who brought a certain sign or mark that they...

Preface - p. 29

The victors were among those who had to be fed there (SEE PICTET, "On the White Stone," § 5), which mark was a white pebble with the victor's name on it. Sometimes these victors also received a new name, which they had not previously borne, and were called Hieronici, Callinici, or Paradoxi, etc. Victory badges were also hung from their necks, from the upper parts of the armor captured from the vanquished. Again, according to VITRUVIUS (Preface, Book IX), those who had achieved victory in the combats were given a certain portion of grains and a supply of food as a reward, necessary for their annual maintenance. As a sign of their victory and right to this portion, they also received a stone as a pledge, on which the amount they would receive was engraved. Our passage would refer to the middle use and the giving of the white stone. The spiritually valiant heroes and triumphant conquerors in the good fight of faith, should be a badge of their right to the joyful meal in which the spiritual man After being served, a white stone with a new name inscribed on it is received. This is a beautiful thought.

§ XXXII.

White stone of Aesculapius given.

But nothing comes closer, in relation to the angel of the church at Pergamos, to whom this promise is made, than the astute observation of the highly learned, widely renowned Mr. M. ROSSAL, light and adornment of our flourishing academy. His Honor notes in his treatise "On the Kingdom of Pergamum," p. 34, that the Pergamenians believed that everyone who was well-done by Aesculapius received a stone or sign from him. As proof, suitable passages from Aristides are cited, who, healed by the god at Pergamos, the Savior, boasted of belonging to the number of those blessed who had received stones, which he would not exchange for any happiness ever estimated among men. This may have been a stone inscribed with the name Serapis, frequently venerated on the coins of the Pergamenians, being the same god as Aesculapius (see "Explained Antiquities," in Latin and French side by side, by M. A. V. N., f. 87). On the stones of the Gnostics, nothing more common than the name of Serapis, along with some unspeakable things inscribed by them on these white stones, the interpretation of which was known to none but those initiated into these supposed religious mysteries. The highly learned Mr. Elsner ("Observations on the New Testament," vol. II, pp. 443-444) judges that the gift given by Aesculapius was his appearance in dreams when he prescribed medicines; and also his presence in speeches, of which he expressed his approval, to...

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Such joy among the orators, which no one but an initiate of Aesculapius could recognize and feel.

§ XXXIII.

Marks of Hospitality.

I will add my reservation to all the opinions listed. Since the preceding words spoke of a reception with the hidden manna, would the marks of hospitality (tesserae hospitalitatis) also be appropriate here, which someone, if they wanted to be recognized, hosted, and welcomed as a friend, had to bring with them? JAC. PHIL. THOMASINUS wrote about this in a work published in 1670. The title of this book would have been more fitting: "On the Customs of Hospitality" than "On the Marks of Hospitality." For, although the book consists of 32 chapters, only the 16th chapter discusses the hallmarks of hospitality, while all the others discuss the customs of hospitality among the Romans, Greeks, and other peoples.

More than Thomasfinus, JOH. MOEBIUS provides information on these hallmarks of hospitality in his philological dissertation "On the Various Kinds of Hallmarks Used by the Ancients," published in Leipzig in 1688. A round bone, or pastern, was split in half into two equal parts. The host kept one for himself, and gave the other to his guest.

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Inside, each part contained a name: one that of the host, the other that of the guest. Whenever one of these two wished to lodge with the other again, each presented his half bone with his name written on it, and thus they renewed the right to hospitality. This was also inherited by the children. In his aforementioned book, Thomasphinus shows an old illustration of two such half-socks, from the library of John Baptist Casalius. Regarding these hallmarks, see also PLAUTUS, 'Poenulus', Act V, Scene 1, verses 25 et seq., and TAUBMAN in the notes there. Some believe that this custom was also passed on from the pagans to the early Christians. See CASAUBONUS, 'Exercitationes Anti-Baronianae', 16, no. 35, p. 374; CORN. À LAPIDE on Hebrews 13:2. Perhaps the passage in 2 John, verse 10, will shed some light on this.

§ XXXIV.

Judgment on the choice from the cited sentiments. There you have it, inquisitive reader, all the sentiments, as far as I know them, regarding the allusion to the WHITE CHEST STONE and the NEW NAME GIVEN THEREON, brought together. Judge lawfully and choose freely. In my view, more than one custom can be alluded to simultaneously, because several customs essentially agree. The white stones of acquittal, I think, do not at all constitute such an inappropriate allusion as some consider.

Foreword - p. 32

Mr. ELSNER claims in the passage cited above, from good Greek authors, that the accused was said to overcome, to win the case, if he received the stones. See the words of His Highness, quoted from Theophrastus. After all, whoever threw a white stone gave it to and for the benefit of the accused, in order to OVERCOME his accusers. It is also not so incongruous that the following words, "a new name written on the stone," are in another custom. for the purpose; namely, on a white stone, inscribed with the name of the one to whom the stone was given for a considerable dignity. This removes the difficulty that the name of the acquitted defendant was not written on the white stones; and ἐπὶ can be translated as "besides and besides that stone," "moreover." This meaning of the preposition ἐπὶ, with reference to the word ψῆφον, is asserted by CLAUD. SALMASIUS ("On Lending Money," p. 800) and BALTH. STOLBERG ("Treatise on Bread," ch. II, § IV and VI). In this way, the two parts of justification are promised in the spiritual sense: acquittal from guilt, by the giving of the white stone; and the right to the inheritance of life, by virtue of sonship, through the giving (there and above) of the new name. The overcomer would, before eating of

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the hidden manna (being the culmination of the experiential sweet fellowship with the Lord Jesus in the sealing, which is enjoyed here on earth), and then receive the white stone, and moreover, the new name. Therefore, I bring these two final promises to the more perfect stage of acquittal with its consequence: the inheritance and glory of the children of God in heaven, to be enjoyed in the Lord immediately after their blessed death.

§ XXXV.

Further remarks on the passage Revelation 2:17.

I will touch upon a few more remarks about these promises. There is no pleonasm or redundancy in the words "to him who overcomes, I will give." The emphasis is: ONLY to the overcomer, and to no others; and to HIM I will SURELY give. The excellence of that STONE, expressed by the word ψῆφος, can also be recognized from the fact that ψῆφος sometimes means a precious stone on a ring. See KIRCHMAN, 'On Rings', ch. III, p. 12. In the spiritual sense, that stone is given as a seal. A new name can also mean an excellent name, such as 'new song', 'new people', etc. Among the Romans, servants who were granted freedom received a new name from their lords. See ALEX. AB ALEX., book II, p. 437.

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Orientals also adopted a new name upon acquiring great dignity. See BORREMANSIUS in 'Vesperae Gorinchemenses'. The word "written" can be translated as "deeply engraved," so that it is not easily erased by time and years. See KIPPING, "On the Cross and the Crucified," p. 182, for this meaning of γράφω. "Which no one knows" can also be translated as "which no one values ​​highly or esteems," except those who have obtained it with great difficulty, through much hard struggle, tremendous struggle, and great effort. "To know" means to know with affect, or the emotion of esteem and love. Lydius asserted in "Agonistica Sacra" that "to receive" indicates "to endeavor with all one's might to reach the end of the race" or "to obtain with difficulty." See these and similar comments more broadly in Theoph. AMELIUS on this passage.

§ XXXVI.

Transition to this book by Mr. Antonides. We were prompted to these considerations by the current publication on THE OLYMPIC GAMES, through whose usages many other BIBLE TEXTS alluding to them are elucidated. Therefore, I hope and expect that this work will be approved by the modest readers who are fond of antiquity and Scripture. After all, the renowned author who left behind this fruit of his diligence in his leisure hours

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, Mr. THEODORUS ANTONIDES, in his venerable life a worthy and esteemed minister of the Holy Gospel in Westerwijtwerd and Menkeweer, a student of the eminent men and great luminaries, BRAUNIUS and MENSINGA, has long since earned well-deserved fame in God's church for his learned and thorough writings, some of which have also been translated into High German. The testimony that Mr. VITRINGA has given to His Honor in approving his work on the First Epistle of Peter is highly commendable. A certain learned Lutheran, G. WAGNER, mentions him in a treatise published in Leipzig in 1703, in which he examines Mr. Antonides's opinion on the secret meaning of the story of Job, on p. 6: "A man of no superficial experience in sacred letters and historical monuments, which he has proven to the learned order with his exegetical works published in the Dutch language." Even regarding his book on Job, Mr. WAGNER offers this assessment on p. 28: "And here we confess unfeignedly that exceptional scholarship and acumen of understanding shine through in the entire structure and thread of the explanation." Although His Honor will subsequently contradict the allegorical meaning of the Book of Job, according to the thoughts of Mr. Antonides, with gentle wisdom.

§ XXXVII.

Necessary Messages.

The dA copy of this work on the Olympic Games was prepared by the Reverend Mr. M. ANTONIDES, minister in Onderwierum and Westerdijkshorn, son of the author. A distinguished gentleman in our city, a great lover and connoisseur of all kinds of learning, took the trouble to review and compare the cited texts from ancient authors. The theological comments and accurate indexes are the work of the reverend and learned Mr. CONRADUS KLUGXIST, minister of the Holy Gospel in Zuidbroek, my much-respected friend. Due to the printer's death, no illustrations were included with the work, which would otherwise have added beauty and convenience to the work.

Conclusion.

Farewell, esteemed reader. Use this work with edifying pleasure. Above all, FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT of faith, and direct your steps so well that your Judge and Surety, immediately...

Preface - p. 37

Partly after your death—the Lord knows how near it is!—graciously grants you THE WHITE STONE of liberation.

Thus completed in

Groningen, February 16, 1732.