Up to now, Porphyry, despite his self-assuredness, has had an influence on the uninformed among our ranks and the naïve among his own. Yet, what will he articulate regarding this passage that speaks of the resurrection of the dead—some rising to everlasting life and others to everlasting condemnation? Furthermore, he cannot identify who those were under Antiochus, of whom some shine like the brilliance of the heavens and others like stars for eternity. Yet, what resilience can accomplish! Like a beaten serpent, he raises his head and in his dying moments spreads venom against those destined to perish.
He relates this to Antiochus, who, while heading to Persia, left an army under Lysias in charge of Antioch and Phoenicia, intending to wage war against the Jews and raze Jerusalem. Josephus, the historian, notes that the anguish experienced during this time was unmatched—an overwhelming tribulation, unlike anything seen since the beginning of nations. However, after victory was achieved, with Antiochus’s forces defeated and Antiochus himself perishing in Persia, the people of Israel were saved—those whose names were recorded in God's book. This signifies those who valiantly upheld the law, in contrast to the transgressors who aligned with Antiochus and were erased from this book.
In that moment, those who appeared to be in a state of slumber in the dust, burdened by hardships and entombed by calamities, rose to unanticipated triumph. The guardians of the law emerged to eternal life, while the transgressors faced everlasting disgrace. Educators and leaders well-versed in the law will shine like the sky, and those who encouraged the faithful to observe divine precepts will gleam like stars eternally. He further references the accounts from the books of Maccabees, depicting how many Jews under Mattathias—Judas Maccabeus—fled into the wilderness, hiding in caves and rocky crevices, only to emerge victorious thereafter.
This can be seen as a metaphorical foreshadowing of the resurrection of the dead. More accurately, it portrays the trials during the reign of Antichrist, which will be unprecedented since the origins of nations. Consider that had Lysias suffered total defeat, it would have resulted in tribulation equivalent to that experienced during Jerusalem’s conquest by the Babylonians—the temple's destruction and the people taken captive. Therefore, after the downfall of Antichrist and his demise through the Savior’s Spirit, those inscribed in God’s book will find salvation, with some rising to everlasting life and others facing eternal damnation.
Teachers will shine like the heavens, and those who imparted knowledge to others will shine like the stars in their brilliance. Simply possessing wisdom is insufficient if it isn’t shared; a teaching that bears no fruit to others cannot grasp the reward of labor. Theodotion and the common edition have conveyed this passage as the prudent shining as the brilliance of the firmament, and many of the righteous as stars forever.
Some frequently ponder whether the wise saint and the simple saint will receive equal rewards and share the same abode in heaven. According to Theodotion, it is indicated that the wise will be likened to the heavens, while the righteous without education will be compared to the radiance of the stars, highlighting the distinction between educated holiness and simple sanctity as being akin to the difference between heaven and a star.
THEOSIS