a miserable death in unendurable agony. Contemplate the once proud king on his death-bed. His flatterers have forsaken him; his servants cannot endure to be near him. Day and night he is tormented; day and night he complains and laments — but there is no help for him! In the days of his health he had tormented many, and now he himself is tormented by bodily pain and remorse of conscience, “and indeed very justly, seeing he had tormented the bowels of others with many and new torments”. Let this story teach you to know and fear the justice of God. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebr. 10, 31). Another instance of God’s justice is given in the death of the Jewish soldiers. Judas Machabeus was convinced that the reason of their death lay in their secreting the idolatrous amulets; for he believed that God, on account of their sin, had withdrawn His protection from them, and punished them by death.
Repentance must be supernatural. Why did not Antiochus obtain mercy? Because he was not truly penitent. It is true that he did repent of his offences against God’s people, but his repentance was natural, not supernatural, and sprang not from fear or love of God, but from horror of his temporal punishment (i. e. his fearful disease), and from terror of approaching death. He wished to be well again, and to live and reign longer; this was the only reason why he repented of his cruelty. Such is not supernatural repentance. It is true that he also made good resolutions, but these were of no value in the sight of God, for they were as little supernatural as his repentance. It is only supernatural repentance, and supernatural purpose of amendment which make a man truly penitent; and, not possessing these, Antiochus failed to obtain pardon, and died impenitent. As he lived, so he died. “The death of the wicked is very evil” (Ps. 33, 22).
Death-bed conversions. For the same reasons that the conversion of Antiochus was not real or sincere, most death-bed conversions are very doubtful and untrustworthy, since, as a rule, they do not proceed from supernatural motives, but only from fear of death. Therefore sinners should never put off repentance till they are near death; because, firstly, they might be called away suddenly without any preparatory illness; and, secondly, it is very difficult for a sinner to be sincerely converted on his death-bed after a long life spent in resisting grace, and heaping sin upon sin. “Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day. For His wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance He will destroy thee” (Ecclus. 5, 7. 8).
The immortality of the soul. Judas and his companions believed that the souls of those who had died still lived, and therefore they prayed for them.
Purgatory. The Machabees and their followers believed that those who fell were not eternally lost in hell, seeing that they had fought and died for God’s honour. But, on the other hand, they did not
