Eph 3 :21 Unto him be glory in the Church
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages
World Without End Amen

Inquiry into the Nature, Progress, and End of Prophecy
"the period for the fulfillment of all prophecy has long ago passed away"

Dr. Samuel Lee
(1849)

Table of Contents

Preface

In Three Books

  1. One The Covenants
  2. An Exposition of the Vision of the Prophet Daniel
  3. An Exposition of the Revelation of St. John

Book One: One The Covenants

Book Two: An Exposition of the Vision of the Prophet Daniel

Book Three: AN EXPOSITION OF THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

 

 

BOOK II.

AN EXPOSITION OF THE VISIONS OF DANIEL
AS FAR AS THEY RELATE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM ON EARTH.

Chapter I.

ON THE PERIODS OF THE FOUR GREAT MONARCHIES.

Sect. I.—On Daniel's period of Seventy Weeks.

WE now come to the Prophet Daniel, the most precise and specific of all those who have foretold the coming of the Just One, and the glory that should follow: and, to such an extent of particularity is this carried, that some have affirmed his Book to be history, rather than prophecy1 ; which has however, in every case, resulted from the adoption of false principles, as we shall presently have sufficient reason for believing. We may remark here, that hard indeed would be the fate of the Prophets, were they generally to be judged of as some would have them to be. If, for example, they seem to be obscure, and require much thought for their interpretation, and hence have often been

1 So the late Dr. Arnold after Porphyry, with the Neologians of Germany generally. Dr. Arnold's chief reason for this was, because he could not make Daniel to agree with his theory about prophetical interpretation; which, does not speak much either for his sagacity, or his modesty. The thing, however is absurd: for, if it be allowed that real prophecy abounds in this book, which cannot be denied; it must be absurd and foolish to deny, on conjectural grounds, that any particular place is adscititious or spurious. We shall presently see, that there is not the least necessity for any such thing. As to Porphyry and the German Rationalists, to deny prediction to Revelation, because of its precision and particularity, is to deny to the claim of prediction, that, without which, it could not be prediction at all! as already remarked (p. 17 above).

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misunderstood, then are they no prophets2! but, if they are precise, particular,-and clear, then are they affirmed to have acted as historians, and to have written after the events treated of had come to pass! We shall find nevertheless, that how obscure soever they may seem to be, they are when rightly understood, as obvious, clear, and precise, as they could have been; and that, in no case, have they written after the events had come to pass, of which they severally treat.

In considering the Visions of Daniel, it is my intention to commence with his Ninth Chapter; because, first, It is in no way so connected with the others, as to require for its elucidation any thing contained in them. And secondly, because every one of them stands in need of the limits prescribed and established in this. The great events indeed, had in view in them all, are too well known and determined, to admit of doubt: while in this, we have not only the limiting points of all foretold by Daniel, but also of all foretold by every other Prophet. I have therefore, given this chapter the lead here; and because, it will in this place stand most convenient for reference.

The portion here intended to be considered,—and which is sufficient for us,—is that which extends from verse 24 to the end of the chapter. The angel tells us here then, in answer to Daniel's prayer, that " Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression3, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision* and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.''' In this

2 Which is the tacit conclusion of Gibbon, and the ground of some of his keenest sneers, because, forsooth, the prophets hare been misunderstood !

3 Auth. Vers. "The transgression," which is inaccurate: there being no definite article in the original; the place is more general, and better without it.

4 Not "the vision" as in our Auth. Version,—the original has no definite article here, but Vision and Prophecy, i.e. generally; and, as the circumstances of this case evidently require. The reading of the Hebrew text here is, And to seal sins, [Heb]. The keri, or marginal reading, is, [Heb] and to finish, complete. It is of little consequence which we adopt; the exegetical sense in each case being the same: and hence to seal vision and prophecy, as necessarily signifies, to complete or fulfil it. And so the corresponding Arabic verb, [Ara] signavit, coronide clausit, finivit, &c.: the seal applied to an Arabic letter, shewing that the letter is complete, and vested with tho authority of its author. The term up is superfluous here.

 

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appears to be comprehended the close of the shadowy services of the Law, and the establishment of that everlasting system of righteousness, which it had been the business of vision, prophecy, and type, from the beginning to foretell, should take place under the New Covenant in fulfilment of the promises made to the fathers.

By "finishing transgression" and "making an end of sins" must likewise imply the establishing of that system, by means of which the finishing of transgression should be effected; and which the sacrifices offered under the Law,— together with all its rites and ceremonies,—had typified; that is, by the complete reconciliation made for sin, by the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and in virtue of. which alone, iniquity should be for ever cancelled (comp. Heb. x. 14, &c.). By " everlasting righteousness" being now brought in, should seem to be implied, the introducing of that system which should give place to no other, but should endure so long as fallen man should exist to stand in need of it, in contradistinction to the temporary system of the Law. "To seal vision and prophecy,'1'' i. e. to complete, fulfil, and finish, all that Vision and Prophecy had previously enounced : and " to anoint the most holy" i e. to consecrate that New Holy of Holies, or Church of the New Testament, by the visible appearance of the Holy Ghost,—which was given on the day of Pentecost;—just as the Tabernacle and Temple, in which stood the ancient Holy of Holies, had also been consecrated5; so that the Church should be excelled in no respect, by the system established under Moses. This, I say, appears to be the intention of this place. It contains a full enouncement at once, of the efficacy of the one great sacrifice for sin, which

5 The term Holy of Holies here used, is never applied in the Hebrew Scriptures to any person whatsoever, but only to the most sacred place of the Tabernacle or Temple. What we have before us therefore, must of necessity apply to the consecration of the Church of the New Covenant.

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was to be the antitype of all others, and the entire remission of sins by virtue of this; and hence also, of the fulfilment of all vision and prophecy given on this important subject: and lastly, of the ministration of the Holy Ghost, the Sanctifier of the New Church and the Comforter of its people, even to the end of time, as a system everlastingly insuring righteousness to all "the seed."

Let us now then, endeavour to ascertain the period here spoken of: "Seventy weeks" it is said, "are determined," &c. Daniel, we are told (ver. 2), " understood by both the number of the years, whereof the word of the lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem? This perhaps suggested the number seventy in the answer of the angel; not for the purpose of implying, as it should seem, that these seventy weeks were to be considered as chronological in any sense6, but only to name an indefinite period, the events of which,—as in most similar cases,—should make all sufficiently clear: and this we shall find is really the case.

The angel continues: " Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks," &c. It is sufficiently evident here, that—whatever these weeks may be, as to the duration of each—within the first sixty-nine of these Messiah, the Prince, should come. This, I say, is certain: and it is quite sufficient for our purpose. Let the reader therefore, know and understand this here, once for all. The other particular, as to the rebuilding of the city in troublous times, need not engage our attention now, as it is of no importance to our question.

The next particular given by the angel is (ver. 26), "After threescore and two weeks"1 (i. e. together with the preceding seven already mentioned, making sixty-nine as before},

6 We have seen above, that no chronological period could have been intimated here by Daniel, respecting the times and events had in view by him. The same is true of all the prophets, otherwise it would have been sufficiently well known when Jerusalem and its temple should fall, which, as already noticed, our Lord declares was known only to the Father.


DANIEL, CHAP. IX. 141

"shall Messiah be cut off."" But " after'" must be taken here in the sense of " within," as in the case, " After three days I mil rise again" (Matth. xxvii. 63), that is, within three days: and so the chief priests understood this ; for their request was, that " the sepulchre be made sure until the third day;" not until the fourth and after the third should have passed: and it was accordingly, early on the third day that our Lord arose. Similar to this also is the place, " When eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus," &c. But this circumcision necessarily took place within the eighth day. The cutting off of the Messiah therefore, mentioned above, must take place, according to Daniel, within his sixty-ninth week, and before the seventieth had commenced: which will be evident enough from what follows, viz.—

"And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary"1:" which, according to this context, should take place after the cutting off of the Messiah, and after the sixty-ninth week of this prediction should have passed. And of this again, the next verse affords sufficient proof in saying, " And He shall confirm'''' (lit. magnify) " the

1 This, it should be observed, is said in anticipation, and generally, of -what is given more particularly in the next verse (27). In like manner, verse 24, generally anticipates what is more specifically said in all the subsequent verses. This is very commonly done by Oriental writers: the first and second chapters of Genesis will supply good examples.—The event here before us, may well be recommended to the consideration of the Jews: e. g. The Messiah was to come, and to be cut off during Daniel's sixty-ninth week: in his seventieth, the City and Sanctuary were to fall. These have fallen. The Messiah must therefore, have come, and suffered. To say, as they sometimes do, that the time has been protracted on account of their sins, is to contradict directly the declarations of another prophet, who has said: " The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end" (Heb. If J57j i. e. the end of the Theocracy, as shewn above), "it shall speak... it will surely come, it will not tarry. See also Mic. v. 7. Besides, "to suppose the appointed time and events so often foretold, would be delayed on account of the sins of an unbelieving and sinful people, is the height of absurdity; and especially when it is as obvious as the sun at noonday, that all has come to pass, even to the judgments resting upon them themselves.

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covenant with" the9 "many for one week. And" it is added, " in the midst of the week" (i. e. as iust now referred to) '' He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease," &c. Now this cessation could, and did, take place, only upon the fall of the Temple. The Jews persevered in their usual services of course, and they would have continued to do so, had not God caused these to cease in this way. It was accordingly so done, and it was done by the people of the Prince, i. e. the Romans, who should so come: and, be it observed here, this takes place in the one week, which is over and above the sixty-nine just mentioned. It was in this seventieth week of Daniel therefore, that this was to come to pass: and this again, in the midst of the said week. And the fact of the case sufficiently informs us, when this happened. It shews us too, at the same time, that one half9 of Daniel's seventieth week, must now have past, and that another half was still to come.

The angel accordingly further tells us (ver, 26), that "the end thereof shall be" (as) "with a flood." That is, the events of the end of the once holy city and sanctuary should be thus overwhelming. He adds, "And unto the end of the war10" (i. e. still farther on) "desolations are determined." The next verse informs us, after speaking of the cessation of sacrifice and oblation, that "for the overspreading of abominations He shall make it" (i. e. Jerusalem) " desolate." It is added, "Even until the consummation'1'' (i.e. complete end), " and" (until) "that determined shall be poured upon the desolate," rather " Desolator.11" We now have therefore, a fur-

8 The definite article is certainly to be understood here, as given in the combination [Heb] intended most likely to signify mankind universally.

9 Let it be remembered, all is here indefinite. No mathematical measure of time, or portion of time, is therefore to be thought of. The occurrence of the several events will supply the only measures of time, now to be had recourse to.

10 Or it may be read, And even to the end, (shall there be) war; decided (are) desolations. The term signifying the end is here yp, as in Ezekiel, Ch. vii. 6, &c. noticed above.

11 [Heb] which, from its form, should be the participle, or noun of agency: and so our translators have given it in the margin. The circumstances of the context moreover, make this absolutely necessary, in order to make this accord with the other predictions of Daniel, as we shall presently see.

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ther consummation to be effected within this seventieth week: it is a determined judgment to be executed upon the desolator himself; that is, upon the people of the prince who should come as a Desolator, and destroy the city and the sanctuary. We are also told, that even until this consummation, Jerusalem should be made desolate : which is the same thing with " Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled'' (Luke xxi. 24, Sic.). The end of this seventieth week therefore, exhibits the overthrow of this Prince, and of his power: it also places Jerusalem in a state of desolation, and brings us, of necessity, to our Lord's prediction (Luke xxi. 20), "When ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh."

We now know therefore,—and let us bear it carefully in mind—that, during these seventy weeks four great events should take place: I. The rebuilding of Jerusalem and its temple, i. e. after the Babylonian Captivity, within the first seven of these mystical weeks (ver. 25). II. Within the next succeeding sixty-two, Messiah should come, and be cut off. III. Within the last, or seventieth week, both the City and its Sanctuary should fall; and IV., that the power of this Desolator should now terminate with it. But we also know, when all these things actually took place. We are now therefore, fully in possession of the mind of the angel, as developed in the instruction here given to Daniel, as far as it can be necessary to our purpose.

It should be borne in mind, as noticed above, that if this had been given as a strictly chronological period of any sort whatsoever, then could it have been calculated with the greatest precision and ease; and it would have been known when the City and Sanctuary should fall: contrary to the declaration of our Lord himself, that not even the angels in heaven, nay, none but the Father, could know it: His words are (Matth. xxiv. SO, &c.), " But of that day and hour know-eth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

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He accordingly gives His disciples certain signs, whereby they should know its approach, its beginning, and also its end: and, among other things, He particularly recommends to their consideration this very prophecy of Daniel. Let this be well considered, and then all the difficulty, usually experienced on this subject, will vanish.

We have here therefore, an outline as to the close of the whole scheme of vision and prophecy, with certain marks given, by which its various periods may be known. Some of these we have already pointed out, others we shall determine hereafter. It will be enough now to observe, that the period of the end is so fully determined, as to leave no reasonable doubt on the mind of any one, that an end to these things was intended to be inculcated. We shall hereafter enter more particularly on the question as to its portions, and the events of each.

If then the end of all these things was so determined, it is likely we should also find intimations of this in other places of the Scriptures. And the fact is, a very great abundance of them is found, as already shewn under the terms " the last days" " the end" and their equivalents (see p. 90, seq. above). Suffice it now to say, that all those places in which it is said, that the heritage of the heathen should be given to Christ, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession12;—that His dominion should be from sea to sea, and from the river to the world's end13; that Kings and their Queens should become the nursing fathers and nursing mothers of the Church14; and that in Abraham (as the father of many nations) all the nations of the earth should be blessed15,—necessarily intimate the full and complete end, and consummation of the Theocracy, of heathen domination, and of all prophecy: and of this we shall give abundant proof in the sequel. We may now proceed therefore, to the other predictions of this Prophet, in which the same 'things are also foretold.

12 Ps. ii. 8.
13 pg. Lxx;;. 8.
14 Isai. xlix. 23.
15 Gen. xii. 3 ; xviii. 18, &c.

DANIEL, CHAP. II. 145

Sect. II.—On the Four Great Monarchies of Daniel, as given in Ms Second Chapter.

the prediction of these we shall, for brevity's sake, give in Daniel's interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, which will be sufficient for us at present. But first,—The Prophet says in verse 28, " There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the Icing Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days." The period meant by the term " the latter days," has been shewn above. We may now remark, that the "hereafter,'' mentioned in the next verse, is equivalent to a passage in Joel16, as already noticed, and which has been shewn by St. Peter, to mean the period generally of the first preaching of the Gospel.

The Prophet's interpretation of this Vision is (verse 37, seq.) this: " Thou, 0 King, art a King of kings, for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom... And wheresoever the children of men dwell...He hath made thee ruler over them all:" that is, thy kingdom is an universal one. "Thou," adds he, " art this head of gold17. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth." We have here therefore, an interpretation of the particulars of this vision, stating, that the " breast and arms" of the image seen, were "of silver, and his belly and thighs of brass." (ver. 32.)

16 The Chaldee here is, [Chal] answering literally to the Hebrew, [Heb], Is. ii. 2. In' ver. 29. ib. Dan. the expression is, [Heb] which answers well to the [Heb] cf. Joel ii. 28. (iii. 1. in some of the Hebrew Bibles), which is interpreted by St. Peter, Acts ii. 17, by [Grk]. David Kimkhi tells us on Is. ii. 2, and in this the Jewish Commentators generally agree,— that wherever this phrase is used, the times of the Messiah are meant.

17 Babylon has been styled golden by writers both sacred and profane, on account, no doubt, of its great wealth. "How," says Is. xiy. 4, speaking of Babylon," hath the golden city cea-sed.'" and Jer. Li. 7, "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the lord's hand;" Rev. xvii. 4, manifestly alluding to this place of Isaiah, " The woman," mystically termed Babylon is in the next verse represented as " having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations." AEschylus among profane authors, says of Babylon, " [Grk]" Babylon vero auro dives." Stanley says in his notes on this place, " Adi sis Herodotum i. 192. et Strabonem xv. p. 735," &c. Rome was perhaps, in its latter state, not less wealthy (Persse, 1. 52).

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The Prophet proceeds (ver. 40), " And the fourth18 kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.'1'' Where we have an interpretation given, particularly suitable to the " legs of iron" (ver. 33). Then follow other intimations as to the feet (ver. 41), " And whereas," it is said, " thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; and there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken19...

According to Saadias Haggaon and Aben Ezra, the third kingdom here is that of Greece and Rome, taken as one, contrary to the obvious meaning of the prophet; the fourth, that of the Saracens (Ishmaelites, [Heb]) which they say is as strong as iron; and the fourth is that of the Messiah. Saadias tells us too, that tho stone which struck the image is the kingdom of the Messiah, the Son of David, as it is written of him (Is. xi. 4.) "He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked." He goes on to tell us, that the kingdom of Gog is, generally, that of wicked Greece, and that it shall strengthen itself with the fourth, or kingdom of Ishmael. The nature of the case however, makes these last particulars impossible.

i' Aben Ezra cannot see here, as Saadias does, how Gog and Ishmael can be the same kingdom: and, to mend the matter, he couples Greece and Rome together as one dynasty! He then cites Daniel xi. 30, "ships of Chittim," &c., and proceeds to shew, that Chittim was descended from Javan (Gen. x. 4, &c.), which is true. But, how wide is all this of the mark!

19 Saadias Haggaon tells us rather strangely here (of this fourth kingdom) that, from the times of the rule of Titus to those of Hera-clius, the kingdom was strong, and took that of the whole world; and that, with this, Ishmael also ruled; and that the kingdom of Ishmael was broken and feeble. His words are: [Heb] which, as it will appear hereafter, cannot possibly apply to any one of the visions of Daniel.

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they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay."

This latter part, represented by the feet and toes of the Image, exhibits a weak and corrupt state, as compared with its earlier one represented by the legs of iron, such, that weakness and disunion,—having nevertheless some remaining strength,—should be its characteristic. The Prophet adds, "And in the days of these kings,"—which must necessarily mean the latter state of this fourth kingdom, as symbolized by the toes,—" shall the God of heaven set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." Daniel continues (ver. 45), " Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain™ without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter : and," he concludes, " the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."

We have here therefore, four great Kingdoms, i.e. systems op universal rule, which were destined to fall, and to be succeeded by a fifth, which should " stand for ever." We are then told as to the fall of these, and particularly of the fourth (ver. 35), that " Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and, the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." Where it must be as certain as language can make it, that, after these four kingdoms should have fallen, and the fifth have been raised and have filled the whole earth, there should remain no por-

20 This mountain, as Saadias tells us, was Abraham. He then cites Gen. xhx. 24 : " Thence is the Shepherd," &c. and says, the stone cut out without hands, was not by man, but by the power of our God. [Heb] He also tells us, that the stone which smote and broke the image, is the kingdom of the Messiah the Son of David. [Heb] - And he is clearly right in this last instance.

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tion whatsoever of either of these, and that its sole existence should be endless: "a kingdom which shall never be destroyed." Be this carefully remembered. And, if our fourth kingdom represents the heathen Roman Empire;—which must, of necessity, be the case;—then neither can popery, as forming a remaining part of this fourth kingdom, nor any remaining fraction whatsoever of any of the three preceding ones, continue in existence during the times of our last fifth, according to the mind of this Prophet.. This must be certain: as it also must that, in each case here, we have a perfectly finished work, and END 21. We shall shew hereafter, that Christianity did accordingly fill every place under heaven.

Again, if this fifth kingdom is, according to Daniel, to stand for ever, " the latter days" of our Prophet (ver. 28), as well as the hereafter (verr. 29, 45. Chald.) cannot refer, according to any known principles of interpretation, to any period whatsoever included within that of the full establishment of this fifth Empire: much less to that of its close, or to itself as a final and closing system ; because that which is to have no end, can, as already remarked, have within it no latter days: and to this the interpretation of Daniel affords ample confirmation; for the secrets here revealed and specified by him, refer to nothing whatever which was to take place within the times of this fifth kingdom, but only up to its erection; on the contrary, they all end with its establishment, as we shall see more particularly hereafter: while its establishment excludes, from its very terms and nature, all and every thing like a remnant of any of the preceding ones. These latter days therefore, and this hereafter, must, of necessity, happen after the times of Nebuchadnezzar, and before those of the full establishment of this our fifth kingdom.

Again, when it is said, "In the days of these kings"

21 It is not meant to be affirmed here, that no part, parcel, or person, whatever, of these prior monarchies should remain; but only, that they should not as monarchies, or as Powers, such, as to affect in any way the universal rule and power of the fifth and last.

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(ver. 44), " shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom?*" &c., the "latter days'" of our Prophet must have been meant. For, if we are to suppose,—which I think we must,— that by these kings is meant what is represented in the vision by the toes of the image (see ver. 42); then, by " these kings" will be meant,—for the reasons stated above,—the series of Rule, generally, of the lower Roman Empire, commencing perhaps with Augustus, when the iron, and unyielding, character of this people appears to have first received its mixture of miry clay in the effeminacy, weakness, and disunion, which then appeared among them. Some time after this, the Baptist declared, that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Its sun had now begun to arise upon the world; and, during the times of this declining Roman Rule, the beams of its light spread far and wide; and again, upon the fall of this power, as we shall presently see, Christianity was so established over the whole earth, that Kings actually became its nursing fathers, and their Queens its nursing mothers.

We now come to the concluding and main part of this vision: viz. ver. 34, "A stone was cut out without hands, which smote the Image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces." In verse 45 it is said, " that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands," sec. i.e. by Divine Power. And again, ver. 35, " The stone that smote the Image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." That is, it fully, wholly, and exclusively, occupied the entire place of our fourth universal Kingdom. Let us now endeavour to ascertain what is meant by the Mountain, out of which this stone was so cut.

Some,—both Jews and Christian writers,—hold that Abraham is meant by this term. Jerome, with others, sup-

22 Aben Ezra tells us here, that this is the kingdom of the Messiah ([Heb])- And so also Rashi; and, that this should be done while the Roman kingdom was yet standing. His words are [Heb] is remarkable, Saadias Haggaon cites the place, but offers no remark upon it.—I use the Rabbinic Bible of Buxtorf.

 

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poses that the Virgin Mary is. The former take Isaiah Li. 1 as a parallel place, where Abraham is said to be the rock out of which the Israelites had been hewn. (Heb.) Chald. Dan. ii. 45, which may be taken as the same word, and as implying the same thing.) The latter suppose the miraculous conception of our blessed Lord to be meant: and indeed, either of these acceptations of the place will afford a tolerably good sense. I cannot help thinking nevertheless, that both fall beneath its intention.

Abraham may be considered as a rock, from the immoveable character of his faith; and, as the father (under God) of an invincible nation, he may be viewed as the quarry out of which the Jews had been hewn, or, to use the figure of St. Peter, had, as stones, been built up into a spiritual house. But then, all this must be ultimately referred to God as the Author, the Rock, and the Mountain23. In our context moreover, this stone becomes a great mountain (Chald.), and it fills, as a reigning and invincible Power, the whole earth. It cannot be said of Abraham, that either he, or any of his natural offspring, ever filled such a situation as this. The mountain moreover (Chald.), in the first place, and the great mountain in the second, ought probably to be considered as signifying the same thing: it having been an integral part of " the mountain;" and in the second, sustaining its station and dignity.

Abraham did indeed, in his spiritual seed, become " Heir of the world;" but then this was under Christ, who is properly so called (Gal. iii. 16), "He saith not of seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.'1'' And, in this sense, and even as '"God of the whole earth,"1"1 it was foretold that He should have the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession (Ps. ii. 8, &c.): that is, to rule them as their King; to make atonement and intercession for them as their Priest; to teach them as their Prophet; and, generally, to be to them a God (Is. l!v. 5, comp. xxv. 9). Although therefore, Abraham and his believing seed, generally, were to be heirs of the world, and even "joint-heirs with Christ"

23 And so Saadias Haggaon understands the place.

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(Rom. viii. 17), yet all this was to be in a subordinate and inferior sense; while Christ was, in the highest acceptation, —as opposed to these other four earthly kingdoms,—to rule and reign for ever, in His own proper power and person.

I believe therefore, that we are to understand by the mountain (Heb) here, in the first instance, the Godhead, considered in the abstract: or, as in the language of the Old Testament, " The Ancient of days'" (Dan. vii. 13, 22) : and in that of the New, " The Father." (Comp. Matth. iii. 17, and its parallels, with Ps. ii. 7—12 inclus.) By "the Rock," and Stone moreover, God is often meant in the Old Testament, as is also Christ. The Divinity of Christ must therefore, be here had in view.

For the same reasons, the Virgin Mary cannot be primarily meant. But, if the miraculous conception is,—which I would not dispute,—then, I think, must this be understood of the operation of the Holy Ghost, as recorded by the Evangelists (Matth. i. 20; Luke i. 35), in order to fulfil the promises made to the Fathers. The stone too, we are told, was cut out without hands: so also (chap. viii. 25) the king of fierce countenance was to be broken without hand: i. e. not by human hand, but by God. The operation of God appears therefore, to be had in view in both these places; which is indeed necessary, in order to preserve unity in the whole.

That the kingdom of Christ is meant by the Stone's filling the whole earth, I shall shew more particularly under the remaining Visions of this Prophet. I will only remark now, that if this has actually taken place,—which I shall also shew is the fact,—it will be difficult to say where we are to look for the earthly Canaan, of which,—as many are tempted to believe,—the Jews are, as a peculiar people, to be again the possessors. The truth appears to be, this Stone will no more admit of a joint Jewish occupation, than it will of a heathenish one.

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Sect. III.—On the Seventh and Eighth Chapters of Daniel, and particularly on the Little Horn, as predicted by him.

we now come to the seventh Chapter of this Prophet, where we are told (ver. 2, seq.) that " the four winds™ of the heaven strove upon the great Sea, and four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion...and," it is added, "behold another beast, a second, like to a bear."..." After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard...the beast had also four heads ; and dominion was given to it. After this 1 saw in the night-visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron 25 teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten HORNS 26. I considered the

M. Rashi tells us here (w. 8. seq.) that these ten kings represent Rome, prior to the times of Vespasian who destroyed the Temple, and that this little horn which spake great things was Titus, who reproached, blasphemed, and entered it. His words are, [Heb] Jerome shews here, that Porphyry was wrong in supposing that this little horn meant Antiochus Epiphanes: he himself tells us, that all the Ecclesiastical writers make this the Antichrist, who shall at the end of the world destroy the Roman Empire. He then favours us with a few of the very wild notions then prevailing on the person of Antichrist. That both he, and they, were generally right in referring this to Antichrist, there can, I think, be no doubt; and that the same is St. Paul's " man of sin." In like manner, Rashi would have been correct in making this little horn that part of the Roman Empire generally, which should succeed the ten Kings so mentioned; and in saying that this little horn, or power, should destroy the Temple: but, in the particulars, neither of them is hero to be relied on.

25 Intended to imply its strength, no doubt, and so to identify it with the legs of iron in our first vision.

26 As remarked above, when speaking of the toes of the image, although the identically same portion of this power is not meant here, as we shall presently see: and, in each case, no particle whatsoever can remain.

DANIEL, CHAP,' VII. 153

horns" continues the Prophet, "and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots" (i. e. so that neither root nor branch of them remained): " and, behold, in this Horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things...I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake : I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame" 27." " I saw in the night visions," it is added, " and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

It should seem that,—as in the particulars of our first vision,—four Empires are here also had in view; and these were, in like manner, to succeed each other; the last, or fifth, of which was likewise to be both universal and perpetual. This the Prophet virtually affirms by saying (verr. 17, 18), " These great beasts, which are four, are four kings' 28, which shall arise out of the earth" i. e. they shall be entirely earthly in character. " But," it is added, " the

27 Observing the order here, with regard to the first vision, this Little Horn comes in the place of the toes, which were partly of iron, and partly of miry clay. And if these toes, or kings, represented in that vision the lower Roman Empire, so also must this Little Horn here. We are further told, that it was because of the great words spoken by this Little Horn, that the body of the beast which bore it was given to the burning flame. This brings us, as before, to the lower Roman Empire, and to which the fifth, or Messiah's, Kingdom should succeed. It will also follow, that the times of this Little Horn must also be those of Daniel's last days, as noted above: they were the last, both of the Jewish polity, and of this heathenish domination throughout the world.

28 We have here " kings" corresponding to the "kingdoms" of the first vision. From the nature of the case there, Icings merely as persons could not be meant; the same is true here. It is a series of kings; each series constituting an universal empire for the time being.

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saints 29 of the Most High" (i. e. a people of a totally different character) "shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever."

In our first vision, the stone cut out of the mountain, and filling the whole earth, upon the fall of Daniel's fourth kingdom, is thus interpreted (chap. ii. verr. 44, 45), " In the days of these kings" (i. e. as represented by the toes, for we have no other antecedent here) " shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed,.,it shall break in PIECES 30 and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." In our second vision, it is said (ver. 9, seq.), that " the thrones were cast down31" (i. e. of these four preceding kingdoms), " and the Ancient of days did sit,...and the books" (i.e. containing, as it should seem, God's decrees as revealed by His prophets) " were opened;" and that now (verr. 13, 14) an universal and everlasting kingdom was given to one like the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven. This last, or fifth kingdom, must there-

29 This title has now passed away from the Jewish people generally : the saints henceforward are another people; even those whom St. Peter terms, "a holy priesthood," and "nation," 1 Pet. ii. 5, 9.

30 This, according to Saadias Haggaon, is the Messiah, our Righteousness. Is it not written, adds he, of the Messiah, that he is meek and riding upon an ass!  Shall he not come in meekness? For he shall not come upon horses in pomp. And, as to what is written (viz.) " with the clouds of heaven,". . . these are the angels of the heavenly host. This, adds the Rabbi, is that great multitude which the Creator shall give to the Messiah: even as it is written, " with the clouds of heaven," then is he to be great in rule. " To the Ancient of days," as it is written, " it is the saying of Jehovah to my Lord, Sit on my right hand" &c. (Ps. ex. 1). He then cites Ps. ii. 6 and 1 Sam. ii. 10, as applying to the Messiah, and tells us, that no kingdom is to succeed that of Ishmael, as it is written, "In the days of those kings," &c. implying that then Israel is to be delivered from his troubles. Where we have some truth, with much that is weak and extremely puerile: the term Israel too, is misapplied, as constantly done by Jews and Judaizers.

31 In Haggai, chap. ii. 22, we have this in the words, " And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms:" i. e. the throne of the universal rule then prevailing. The context shews us, that this must take place after the erection of the second Temple, and as a consequence of the coming of the Messiah.

DANIEL, CHAP. VII. 155

fore, be in each of these cases the same, whether it be said to be possessed by the saints of the Most High, by one like the Son of man, or that it should break in pieces and consume all these others. In each case it must stand, and rule alone, and this it must do universally, and for ever. The same Rule must therefore, be had in view in each of these cases.

For the like reasons, the fourth Kingdom, or Empire, must be the same in each of these visions; and it must, as such, in each case wholly disappear, even as the chaff of the summer threshingfloors, or, which amounts to the same thing, as given to the burning flame to be wholly consumed. And if so, it is probable that these will, in other respects also, afford similar analogies: let us inquire.—

"Then" (ib. ver. 19, seq.) " I would know," says Daniel, "the truth" (particular properties) " ofthe fourth beast:"— which was indeed, by far the most important and interesting part of this vision. It " was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass: it devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look" (appearance) " was more stout than his fellows" (i. e. than the ten preceding ones32). " I beheld," it is added, " and the same horn made war with the saints33, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time" (i. e. appointed by God) " came that the saints possessed the" (fifth) " kingdom." Where we are necessarily brought to the great and main result just adverted to, with the additional particulars, that from among the ten horns of this fourth beast, another Horn should arise, here named " a Little Horn;" and we are told that this Horn should make war with the saints, or, which is essentially the same thing, with "one like the Son

32 As in verr. 7, 8, ib.

33 I. e. as before, in the latter times of this heathenish Roman rule.

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of man 34" and should prevail for a time, until the period should arrive, in which the saints, in other words, " the Son of Man," should possess the kingdom under the whole heavens. As therefore, the legs of iron in the first vision, symbolized the strength of the earlier period of this fourth Empire, and the feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay, its last and weaker one: so also here, the Ten horns, the iron teeth, and brazen nails, seen by the Prophet, will likewise symbolize its earlier and more vigorous state: the Little Horn, its last, dissolute, and weaker one.

Let us now approach the other particulars respecting this fourth Empire, as given here by our Prophet. He proceeds (ver. 23), " The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall arise after them" (i. e. in succession); " and he shall be diverse" (i. e. sustaining a different character, as in the toes, part iron, part clay) "from the first" (i. e. the first rule represented by these ten), " and he shall subdue three kings." It is added, " He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High'" (i. e. of the son op man mentioned above), " and think to change times and laws 35; and they shall be given into his hand, until a time and times and the dividing of time. But? the Prophet goes on, " the judgment shall sit, and they shall

34 We have here moreover, "the Son of Man" so connected with the saints as to shew, that he was to be considered as their King: for (ver. 14) the fifth and everlasting empire is given to this Son of Man, so that all nations should serve him: but, in ver. 27, this kingdom is "given to the people of the Saints of the Most High." And it must be to Him alone, that all nations should so render their service; and to none, except Jehovah, is it said again and again, as already remarked, does the kingdom and the glory appertain. How then, is this Son of Man to be considered generally as a Being different from Him? These saints are therefore, the saints and servants of this Son of Man, as they also are of the Most High.

35 That is, he shall assume to himself the powers of Deity, see chap. ii. 21.

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take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And," then it is said, as before, " the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the Saints of the most high, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve Him." "Hitherto" adds the Prophet, "is the END OF THE MATTER."

We have here some further particulars; I. as to the period during which this Little Horn should prevail. It is said to be during " a time and times and the dividing of time." That is, If we suppose the term " times," to signify twice the amount of the preceding one time, and the dividing of time, to stand for one half of this; we shall then have a period, designated by three times and a half, given as the amount of that, during which this Little Horn should wear out the Saints of the Most High. We shall see presently, to what particular period this must of necessity belong. We learn secondly, from this place, that the dominion of this fourth beast should, upon the judgment's having sat, be taken away by consumption (utter wasting away) and destruction, and that these should continue to waste it until the time, or period, should have arrived which is here named " the end." And thirdly, that then both the whole matter should be concluded, and henceforth, and for ever, all people, nations, and languages, should be subject to the dominion of the Saints of the Most High; in other words, of the son of man, their King.

We have one remarkable particular more here, given in these words: " / considered the horns," says the Prophet (ver. 8), " and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things." And again (ver. 24), " The ten horns out of this" (fourth) " kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall arise after them : and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."

It has been observed, that by these ten horns might well be symbolized the earlier period of the Roman people, just as by the legs of iron, in the first vision; and that, so also

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might by this Little Horn, its latter period under the Emperors. Let us now endeavour to ascertain what is meant by the Little Horn's coming up among these ten, and by the three kings which should fall before it. If then, in the first place, this Little Horn was to grow up among these ten, it should seem, that he was to be one growing up, in some sense, as part of the same dynasty or people; otherwise he could hardly have been said to grow up among them. And again, if he was to be after them in point of time, which is expressly affirmed here, it could not be any three of these ten horns, or kings, that should so fall before him, or be subdued by him, no more than the feet and toes could, in the first vision, be at all instrumental in affecting the legs of iron. We must therefore, look elsewhere for the solution of this. We have seen however^ so far, what power generally this "Little Horn" represents.

It should be observed before we quit this Chapter, that an important addition is made at the close of it in the terms, " Hitherto is the end of the matter." We have already seen, that Daniel's seventy weeks also bring us to a period termed the end, and this at the commencement of another, which shall never end; and that this necessarily comprehended the sealing or fulfilling of vision, and prophecy generally, together with the finished establishment of a system of everlasting righteousness. The nature of the case required this. The Prophet here however, tells us, that upon the consumption by flame of the Power symbolized by the Little Horn, and the delivering up of the kingdom to the Son of Man, "the matter" at issue is at its end. This end too, presents us with the establishment of the Kingdom of the Son of Man: and, of no other end or conclusion have the Scriptures of the Prophets so much as a word of intimation. This end must therefore, be identical with Daniel's end, or consummation, as we find it at the close of his seventieth week; and of this we shall have abundant proof.

We are here taught moreover, that the series of rule represented by this Little Horn, should so eradicate some preceding one, termed three Kings,—i. e. systems of Rule as before,—that not a fragment of them should remain: and further, that he should so far assume the character of Deity,

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as to magnify himself even against the person of the Most High, and, for a certain period, destroy His saints and servants. We have also seen, that this horn, or power, must necessarily be distinguished from the Ten, which should precede it, as it also must from some other three, who should fall before it. Let us now endeavour to ascertain who these three Kings, Horns, or Powers are.

We are told (chap. vii. 6) that the third beast seen had four heads. As this third beast must necessarily represent the rule of Alexander the Great,—which indeed all allow,—these four heads will signify either his universal rule extending to the four winds of heaven, or his four Generals,—of whom more presently,—among whom his Empire was divided at his death. If this latter be taken, then we shall have just what we have in Chap. viii. 8, where it is said, " For it," i. e. instead of the great Horn, or Power, of Alexander, " came up four notable ones," i. e. Horns, " toward the four winds of heaven." These four horns will therefore, now represent the four heads just mentioned: which may also be termed Horns, i. e. Powers. These then, must necessarily be in existence before our fourth Beast could be vested with universal Rule. They succeeded immediately to the power of Alexander; and it was to their rule that the fourth Beast, i. e. imperial Rome, did succeed.

We have seen, that the Little Horn here grows up among, and after, the ten others mentioned : i. e. its growth was to be among them, i. e. in their locality, but after them in point of time. In chap. viii. 9, A little horn,—which from the circumstances of the case must be the same,—comes forth out of one of the four, which succeeded to the Rule, or Horn, of Alexander. This vision, be it observed from its date (ver. 1 compared with ver. 1, chap, vii.), comes some time after the preceding one. It accordingly places this Little Horn, i. e. some time after,—as the case indeed was,—in the locality of one of those who should succeed Alexander. It is now therefore, to all intents and purposes, one of these; for, out of one of them it became so situated. In the next place (ver. 9), it is made to wax exceeding great toward the South, the East, and the pleasant land. It has now therefore, become great, having located itself in the

160 DANIEL, CHAP. VIII.

territories of some three others: that is, of the other three Horns, or Powers, which succeeded to that of Alexander. These therefore, must of necessity be the three Horns, which should be plucked up before it, as also the three Kings, or Powers, which should fall before it (vii. 8, 24). The precision of this place is truly marvellous, and cannot possibly be made to suit any one Power, but that of heathen Rome in the period of its decline.

Our context here, omits some things found in that which precedes it, because perhaps, sufficiently well known; while it adds others, the object of which evidently is, to supply a still greater certainty to the events connected with the last Rule, spoken of in the previous visions. But, in order to shorten our inquiry as much as we conveniently may, we will, first of all, come to the explanations given by the Angel, and then, secondly, proceed to the particulars themselves so explained.

It is said then, at verse 19 here, " Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall BE 36." Whence .we may infer, that the end of these visions was intended to form a very important consideration here ; that is to say, in the events which should take place whenever that period of time should arrive: and we are here assured, that this had been "appointed" Our first Vision has, as we have seen, particular reference to " the latter days" (chap. ii. 28, 44, 45): and here " the last end of the indignation''' to be poured out, cannot but strike us as of paramount importance, and as intended to mark distinctly the time of the End, and of these latter, or last, days of both Judaism and Heathenism, as defined in Daniel ix. 27.

36 The last end here, must, of necessity, mean the same event as " the end of the matter" just noticed, as also of our Prophet's seventy weeks, and must be the close of the period generally named the end, ends of the world, latter day, or days, &c. as noticed above, Chap. ii. Sect. 1, seq. It is truly extraordinary that, notwithstanding the almost endless repetition of the enouncement of this appointed and determined end, it should never have received the notice that it deserved. Let this be recommended particularly to the Jews.

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From what has been said on the Ninth Chapter of this Prophet, it should seem that the seventieth week there developed, must constitute this period generally. It was then that the indignation was to be poured out, even to the time of the consummation, and upon the Desolator. The stone cut out of the mountain, and striking the great Image on the feet, dispersing its fragments to the winds, and then filling the whole earth, must necessarily have in view the same period, as also must the body of the beast given to the burning flame, and the Son of Man taking possession of the Kingdom under the whole heaven. We have in all these cases, clear intimations of a mighty indignation to be poured out at the end of the then existing state of things, and at the commencement of another which should never end. Of all this there can indeed be no doubt; nor can there, that all this actually took place within the period had in view :— of which more hereafter.

We need not dwell on the Kings, or rather Rule, of the Persians and Medes (ver. 20), nor on that of Grecia, which can, from the nature of the case, be none but that of Alexander the Great. We come now therefore, to the four kingdoms, which should stand up out of his (Alexander's) nation, but not of his power: that is, out of the Greek nation, arid by no influence, will, or command of his, but under the superior ordinance of God Himself. These then, were Aridoeus the brother of Alexander in Macedon, or the West, Seleucus Nicator in the East, Lysimachus 37 in the North, and Ptolemy the son of Lagus in the South. It is not affirmed here, that the empire of Alexander did not supply more kingdoms than these; it certainly did, and of this we shall take some notice when we come to consider the eleventh chapter of this book. The four here mentioned, be it observed, arose out of the Greek nation ; and, what is quite to our purpose, they are intimately connected with the events which concern us; which cannot be said of those others. That four such kingdoms existed, is too well known to admit of doubt: and this is sufficient for us at present.

37 Jerome however, places Antigonus here, erroneously as I think, because neither Antigonus, nor his descendants, ever obtained a firm footing in this locality.


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The angel proceeds (ver. 23), "In the latter time of their'1'' (i. e. Alexander's successors) " kingdom,'' or Rule, " when the transgressors" (i. e. among the Jews) " are come to the full 39, a King," or Rule, " of fierce countenance*9," or aspect, " and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And," continues he, " his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and holy people."" That is to say, the people now to be so called, for they shall be given into his hands, (chap. vii. 25) for a certain period. This was therefore,, by the power of the Almighty, not by his. It is added, " And through hi» policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace 40 shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand."

There can be no doubt perhaps, that we are here brought to the fate of the Image broken, as in our first vision,— which was also done without human hand, or power, in any shape,—as we also are to the indignation poured out upon the Desolator (of chap. ix. 27), even to the time of the end ; and likewise, to the consumption of the body of the beast by the burning flame, as stated in our second vision (chap. vii. 11). This King, or Rule, of fierce aspect then, can, as it should seem, be no other than the Little Horn of our second Vision, which should also magnify himself even to the Prince of the Host; and whose dominion should be taken away by consuming and destroying it, even to " the end " (chap, vii, 27), and where the Prophet informs us, that " the whole matter" ends. We know, I say, of no other end but that of which Daniel informs us in the close of his seventieth

38 On this, see the Note at p. 165, below.

39 It is remarkable enough, that Moses, foretelling the power that should destroy Jerusalem (Deut. xxviii. 50) uses an expression very nearly identical with this: viz. "a nation of fierce countenance."  [Heb.] Herein Dan.  [Heb.] i-e. "king," or "Rule," of fierce countenance:" intending, no doubt, to intimate the same Rule or Dynasty, as indeed the context of both Testaments absolutely requires.

40 Heb.  [Heb.]. On this word see the Note on Dan. xi. 32, below.

 

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week i nor of any other Desolator, or Power, except that which should make war upon the saints, destroy the City and the Sanctuary, and upon whom judgment should thus be finally passed. He was moreover, to succeed in his rule to that generally of Alexander, and particularly to that of his successors. He was then to prosper and practise within the period, in which the Transgressors (i. e. among the Jews, camp. Deut. xxxii. to ver. 30) should have filled up the measure of their iniquity, and this he was to do until the Divine Power should consume and destroy him. We have therefore here, as before, that part of the latter Roman Rule which should destroy both the City and Sanctuary of the Jews.

It is now said (ver. 8), " The he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn" (explained below to signify Grecia's  first universal king, i. e. Alexander) " was broken; and for it" (lit. in its place) " came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven." Let be it here borne in mind, that by these Horns is more particularly meant—as before — the Powers or Dynasties, situate in these several localities. It is true indeed, that in the case of Alexander (ver. 21), both the Goat and the great Horn are said to be the King, and the first King, of Grecia. But, in each of these cases, Rule, Kingdom, or the like, is all that is meant. Alexander was not the first king of Grecia. It was in his time, and through his exploits, that Grecia; first became an universal Empire: and this is evidently what is here had in view. It is this fact that identifies the person of Alexander, and not the term king, or Rule, in this place. In his death too, this great Power, or Horn, was broken; and, in its place, four others started up. It is therefore, with the series of these Powers, or Dynasties, that we are now principally concerned, not so much with the persons of those who held them.

We can now conceive these four Dynasties to continue until the period termed above (ver. 23), " the latter times of their kingdom 41,'''' or Rule; and, until the fourth Beast

41 I. e. immediately preceding the period termed " the last days," and the like: and here, "the latter time of their kingdom," must mean the period, which should close their domination and rule in their several localities.

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of our Prophet should be called into action, for the purpose of erecting its dominion and executing the will of the Most High. We are then told (ver. 9), that " out of one of them " (i.e. these four) "came forth a Little Horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land." That is, out of one of these Powers, situate somewhere in the west, arose a little Horn, or Power, and waxed exceeding great, i. e. so grew as to become a great Horn, such as Alexander's rule had been, and was vested like it with universal Empire. This growth too, took its course in the directions of the East, the Pleasant land, and the South. Come we therefore to the latter times of these Dynasties, and What Power do we now find occupying this western division of the Rule of Grecia's first king? History tells us, that it was the Roman42: and, although this Power may fairly be allowed, even at this time, to be a great Horn in consideration of its great western possessions, yet with regard to the preceding universal Empires of Daniel, and their localities, it could be considered but as little; and especially until it came in contact with Daniel's Holy City and people. Be it what it might, in other respects, it could have no claim as great to his notice, until it had come to this.

There is also another consideration of great importance to this question: it is this. We are told that this Little Horn extended itself into the territories of three others: viz. those of the East, the North, and the South,

42 The Romans took possession of the kingdom of Macedon, and added it to the Empire, about 160 years before our era. This power would be now therefore, so situated as to have Egypt to the south, and Judaea, Babylon and its dependencies generally, to the East. But, as Asia Minor was more exactly to the East of Greece, this seems here to be meant by " the East" together with its dependencies to the northward. By " the pleasant land" will then be meant Canaan, Syria, Babylonia, and its more Eastern and Northern kingdoms: all of which fell to the share of Seleucus. By the South, must be meant Egypt, with its dependencies, Lybia, &c. As to the periods when these several places became provinces of the empire, Macedon we have mentioned; Pontus, and the East, were so attached in the times of Pompey; Egypt, in those of Augustus. Thus Rome waxed great, and thus also three of the horns, in the successors of Alexander, were actually plucked up from the very root before it.

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as noticed above. These, as we have seen, had been assigned to Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Ptolemy. We have seen top, that the Little Horn, i. e. the latter Rule of the Roman power, grew up among, and in point of time after, Rome's first series of Rule; that it was to subdue three kings, or Dynasties; and that hence, these could not be any belonging to the earlier Roman series: the circumstances of the case make this impossible. By the three former kings, or kingdoms, there named, must therefore, necessarily be meant the three just now mentioned, and which existed as Horns, or Powers, before Rome became one of them, and hence they are termed, three of the first Horns (chap. vii. 8); and again, by its thus growing great towards these quarters, it must have become a legitimate successor to the universal Empires which, according to Daniel in his two first visions, should precede it. This Little Horn must therefore, be identical with the Little Horn of Daniel's seventh chapter : and, what must put this out of all doubt, is the consideration, that to it is assigned here, what is everywhere else assigned to the Rule of the lower Roman Empire: for "By him," it is said, " the daily sacrifice was'''' (to be) " taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was" (to be) " cast down." " And " (that) " an army was" (to be) " given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression" (i. e. because the transgressors had now come to the full 43): " and," it is added, " it cast the truth to the ground; and it practised and prospered." It is then asked (ver. 13), "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and

43 This expression is important here. For it cannot be said with any propriety, that "transgressors" had, among the Jews, come to the full in the days of Antiochus. The Jewish nation was perhaps never in a more virtuous condition than in those times. In the days of our Lord the case is quite different. He says to them (Mat. xxiii. 32.) " Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers... that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth ... Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." Transgressors had now therefore, come to the full: and, upon them the judgments so often denounced by Him, and by all His prophets, did come to the uttermost. See also Lev. xviii. 28, where this is indirectly .denounced against the Jews, in their ejection from Canaan, upon their transgressing as the Canaanites had before them.

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the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?" The answer is, " Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."

Now, whatever be the extent of this period, it cannot, with any show of authority, exceed that of Daniel's seventieth week. The wording of the Hebrew is peculiar here, and highly deserving of remark. It stands literally thus: Until (the) evening (and) morning, or, it may be, Until the evening of (the) morning, two thousand and three hundred, and the sanctuary (lit. holiness) shall be sanctified. Evening and morning, 1 take here to be a mere periphrasis for a day; and so our Translators have taken it; as in the form, " the evening and the morning were the first day" (Gen. i. 5). If then, we substitute day for this, and supply the same term {day} to the numerals, we shall have, Until (the) day, (shall be) two thousand and three hundred days; and the sanctuary shall be sanctified: i. e. made holy, or consecrated. And if this may be so taken, then have we but an echo of Daniel's, " to anoint the most Holy;" more literally, "the Holy of holies;" i. e. the sanctuary, as shewn above (chap. ix. 24): and accordingly, the day here had in view, must mark the period of Daniel's seventieth week, which is occasionally styled that day, the day of the Lord, the great and dreadful day of the loud, and the like. And, if this be the case, the numbers given above must be understood indefinitely, and as intended to designate a considerable length of time; extending, as it should seem, from the time in which this vision was seen, to the day so designated.

In verse 26 here we have a reference to this, which we shall now notice ; it is thus given : " And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true : wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.'' Which is perhaps, the best interpretation that can be given of the " two thousand and three hundred days," just noticed: that is, it is an indefinite period of considerable length, and it extends to the day of the Lord. It should be observed moreover, that, as Daniel's seventieth week is divided into two parts by the point of time assigned for the fall of the City and Sanctuary, so also is this into " the evening and morning;" of which the evening is the beginning of

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the first half, the morning, of the second. And again, when this period is given under the term of a year, it is divided into "summer and winter," as in the following prediction :—

In Zechariah (chap. xiv. 1—11), it is said: "Behold, the day of the lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee;" i. e. The great day in which Jerusalem should fall, as the next verse abundantly testifies: while, be it observed, the Residue, i. e. the holy Remnant, " shall not be cut off from the city." A little lower down we have, " And the lord thy God shall come, and all the saints with thee." (Comp. Jude 14, Sec., as noticed above, p. 115.) The Prophet adds, " It shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark 44: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the lord, not day nor night" (i. e. not a mere natural day or night) : " but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem...in summer and in winter shall it be. And the lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name shall be one" (or, as St. Paul has paraphrased it, " One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all," &c. Eph. iv. 5, 6). There can be no doubt, surely, as to what day is meant here. The " Evening time" should seem, from the context following, to mark the close of this period; the evening., of necessity, closing one day when it commences another. The Lord's being King over all the earth, implies the same thing in the victory won: which brings us necessarily to the Empire of the Son of man under the whole heavens, as already noticed. St. Peter's day of the Lord as a thousand years, must imply the same period of necessity, as it also does an indefinite period of duration (2 Ep. iii. 8), as already shewn.

We may now return to our Prophet. We are told then, virtually, that this period is that in which both the sanctuary and the host should be trodden under foot: the place probably, which our blessed Lord had in his eye when he said (Luke xxi. 24, adverted to by St. Paul, Rom. xi. 25), " Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the

44 See my Heb. Lex. under [Heb.] P- 533.
 

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times of the Gentiles be fulfilled:" i. e. until this great day of the Lord should have come to its close. But, what is to be the fate of Jerusalem after this, we are nowhere told. It has now lost its peculiarity, and is no longer the subject of prophecy. We have seen already, that this treading down of Jerusalem was to be effected by the Roman Power, and by that part of it termed in Scripture the Little Horn; for by him both the sanctuary and the host should be, and was literally, trodden under foot; by him too, was the daily sacrifice to be taken away, and the place of His sanctuary to be cast down: and this also has been fulfilled to the very letter. This consummation could not be effected by Antiochus Epiphanes; nor was it, because he lived not within the period to which it had been assigned: nor did he, in fact, do any such thing. He only suspended the service of the Temple for about three years and a half. No other Power waxed great as this Little Horn did, either in any prior, or past, time : nor did any so practise and prosper even to the time of the end: nor, lastly, to the Rule of any other did the universal Empire of the Son of Man succeed. To this it did succeed. By every consideration therefore, it is evident that the Little Horn of Daniel's seventh and eighth chapters, is identically the same, and that this symbolized that system of Roman Rule, which ruined Jerusalem, and then made war upon the sainted servants and followers of the Son of Man; and in this he prospered and practised, until he in his turn fell, as did his predecessors, to rise no more at all.

CHAPTER II.

ON DANIEL'S FOURTH VISION, AS GIVEN IN CHAPTERS X. XI. XII. OF HIS BOOK.

Sect. I.—On the Successors of Alexander the Great, Antiochus, Ptolemy, &c.

WE have to premise here, as elsewhere, that it is not our intention to enter upon all the details of this Vision, but only upon so much of it as concerns the fourth and fifth, or last Empires of this Prophet as before; and particularly, as others have, generally discussed these details (Sufficiently well. Where we differ from them in matters connected with our particular enquiry, we shall shew with our reasons for so doing.

Commencing then, with Chap. x. 1, it is said, that the thing so revealed " was true, but the time appointed'''' i. e. until the end, " was long;" and again (ver. 14), " / am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days : for yet the vision is for many days."" We are informed so far as before, that, from the revelation of this vision until its fulfilment, the time should be long, i. e. many days ; and, that within the period termed the latter days, (comp. chap. ii. 28), it should develop the events which should concern Daniel's people. The time appointed therefore for these events, is identical with that of those of our former visions ; namely, the latter days, i. e. that great and notable day of the Lord, as are the events themselves: of this we shall presently have proof. And accordingly, this vision is but a repetition of the preceding ones; with this difference, that it is much more particular in its details.— As to the Person making this Revelation (verr. 5—7), He is evidently the same with Him, who gives the Revelation to St. John, chap. i. 14. 15, viz. God Himself, in the Person of the Son, as we shall see hereafter

We may now proceed to chap. xi. as nothing more |,hat is necessary to our question, occurs in the tenth. We may observe here then, that no mention of Babylon,—

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Daniel's first empire in the former series,—is made. We commence with that of Persia, and then pass on to those of Greece and Rome, as before. It is said then, (ver. 2), " Now will I shew thee the truth ; Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be richer than than they all:...and...he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia." This was,—as the case required, and indeed as the Commentators hold,—that Xerxes who invaded Greece, but suffered a most signal defeat.

We next come to Alexander (ver. 3 seq.), " And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven" (so ch. viii. 8) ; " and not to hit posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled; for his Kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those1." We have the counterpart to this (ch. viii. 21. seq), viz. " The rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king." That is, the great or universal Rule of Grecia: which can be no other than that of Alexander the Great. It is added: " Now, that" (horn) " being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the" (Greek) " nation, but not m his" (Alexander's) '"power." We have here therefore, of necessity, the fall of Alexander, and the rise of his four generals,—as shewn above,—who divided his empire among themselves. This division fell not accordingly, to his posterity ; nor was it according to the dominion with which he ruled. We have therefore, as in chap, viii., the quadripartite Rule, which should immediately precede that of the Little

1 Jerome's Comment on this place is: "Praeter regna quatuor Macedonia, Asiae, Syrise, AEgypti, etiam in alios obscuriores et minores reges Macedonum regnuin laceratum est. Signiflcat autem Perdicam et Crateron, et Lysimachum. Nam Cappadocia, et Armenia, et Bithynia, et Heraclia, Bosphorusque, et aliae provincise de potestate Macedonum recedentes, diversos sibi reges constituerunt." All these however, were but small states; they had moreover, no influence whatever on the great question before us. They may be considered therefore as unimportant, on the principle of the Orientals, viz. What is rare, is as nothing. [Arab.] although the prophet has, for the sake of precision, noticed them.

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Horn (ver. 9), or " King of a fierce countenance (ver. 23). See also chap. vii. 6, 24, &c.

We may now pass over all that is said on the wars between Egypt and Antioch, as not bearing immediately on our question : but, as this may create a considerable chasm here, I will insert some notes, given by the authors of The Universal History, sufficiently explanatory of the text of our Prophet. Those who desire a more extended inquiry into these matters, may consult the work of Sir Isaac Newton on the Books of Daniel and the Revelation, with the Commentators generally on this place.

Our authors then, say, (Vol. ix. p. 197. Ed. 1747), " The particulars of the marriage of Antiochus with the daughter of Ptolemy" (Dan. xi. 6), and the fatal consequences that attended it, with the greatest events in the history we are now writing, were evidently foretold by the Prophet Daniel. The words of the Prophet are" (ver. 2. seq.) ; ' And now I will shew thee the truth; Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia,1 viz. Cyrus, who was then upon the throne; his son Camlyses, and Darius the son of Ilystaspes; ' and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.' The monarch here mentioned was Xerxes, who invaded Greece with a formidable army. ' And a mighty Icing shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided towards the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity, nor according to Ms dominion which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up for others besides these.''

"This part of the prophecy," continue our authors, " evidently alludes to Alexander the Great, whose vast kingdom we have already seen broken by his death, and parcelled out into four great kingdoms, and, besides these, divided into a great many petty kingdoms, namely, Cappadocia, Armenia, Bithynia, &c. The Prophet then proceeds to the treaty of peace and the marriage...'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. And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's

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daughter of the South shall come to the King of the North to make an agreement; but he 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.'

" We must observe," continue our authors, " that Daniel, in this passage, and through all the remaining part of the chapter before us, confines himself to the kings of Egypt and Syria, these being the only princes who engaged in wars against the people of God."—But here our authors are wrong, as we shall presently see. Rome also engaged itself in wars against this people, and an account of this is found in this very chapter. But of this, more presently.—-"The King of the South shall be strong. This King of the South," continue our historians, " was Ptolemy the son of Lagus, the first who reigned in Egypt after Alexander: and that he was strong all historians testify, for he was master of Egypt, Lybia, Cyrene, Arabia, Palestine, Coele-Syria, and most of the maritime provinces of Asia Minor, together with the island of Cyprus, with several isles of the AEgean sea; and even possessed the cities of Sicyon and Corinth in Greece. The King of the North was Seleucus Nicator, of whom the Prophet says, that he shall be more powerful than, the King of the South, and his dominion more extensive; for such is the import of the Prophet's expression; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion. And that he had a more extensive dominion, is plain from the large territories he possessed; for he had under him all the countries of the East, from mount Taurus to the river Indus, several provinces of Asia Minor between mount Taurus and the AEgean sea, and a little before his death the kingdoms of Thrace and Macedon.

"The Prophet, in the next place, tells us of the coming of the daughter of the King of the South, and the agreement, or treaty of peace, which should thereon be made between these two kings. This," our historians add, " plainly points out the marriage of Berenice the daughter of Ptolemy king of Egypt, with Antiochus Theus king of Syria, and the peace which, in consequence of that marriage, was made between them; every particular of which was exactly fulfilled, according to the holy Prophet's prediction.

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"Daniel," it is added, " afterwards informs us of the fatal consequences attending this marriage ; that is, neither he, viz. Antiochus king of the north, nor she, that is, Berenice daughter of Ptolemy king of the South, should continue in their power; but that he, viz. king Antiochus, should fall, and that she, viz. Berenice, being deprived of him that strengthened her, that is, of her father, who died a little before, should be given up with those that brought her, that is, who came with her out of Egypt, to be cut off and destroyed; and so it happened to her and her attendants who came with her out of Egypt, as we have related. The King of Egypt is called by the Prophet, King of the South, and the King of Syria styled the King of the North, which must be understood with respect to Judea, that country having Syria to the North, and Egypt to the South."

On verses 7—9 here, our authors say, " All this was likewise accomplished exactly as the Prophet Daniel had foretold it. For in the prophecy he tells us, that, after the daughter of the King of the South should, with her attendants, be cut off, and he that strengthened her in those times (that is, her father, who was her chief support) should be dead, there shall one arise out of a branch of her roots in his estate, that is, Ptolemy Euergetes, who springing from the same root with her, as being her brother, did stand up in the room or estate of Ptolemy Philadelphus his father, "whom he succeeded in his kingdom. And he shall come with an army, continues the Prophet, and shall enter into the fortress of the King of the North (who was Seleucus Callinicus), and shall deal against them, and shall prevail; and shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the King of the North. So the King of the South shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. How exactly all this was fulfilled, what we have related above" (i. e. in the text of the history) " sufficiently shews. As to the last part, viz. that the King of the South, on his return into his kingdom, should continue more years than the King of the North, this likewise happened as foretold by the Prophet, for Ptolemy Euergetes outlived Seleucus Callinicus four years."

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Our authors too, give as good, and perhaps as short, an exposition of some of the remaining parts of this chapter, as can be had. It is as follows (Univer. Hist. Vol. ix. p. 271, seq. note) : " The prophecies of Daniel, from the tenth verse of the llth chapter to the nineteenth inclusive, relate to the actions of this prince" (Antidchus the Great), " and were all fully accomplished. But his sons, says the Prophet, speaking of the King of Syria, or the King of the North, shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces; and one (Antiochus the Great) shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress,

"This King of the North was Seleucus Callinicus, who left behind him two sons, Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus, afterwards surnamed the Great. The former reigned but three years, and was succeeded by Antiochus his brother. The latter, after having quelled the troubles of his kingdom, waged war with Ptolemy Philopator king of the South, that is, of -Egypt, dispossessed him of Coele-Syria, which was delivered