Page images
PDF
EPUB

32. This Images head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of filver, his belly and his thighs of brass.

33. His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34. Thou faweft till that a stone was cut out without bands, which fmote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

35. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the filver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the fummer-threfbing-floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the ftone that fmote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

36. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

37. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the god of hea ven hath given thee a kingdom, power, ftrength, and glory.

38. And wherefoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and fowls of the heaven hath be given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all: thou art this head of gold.

39. And after thee shall arife another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron forafmuch as iron breaketh in pieces, and fubdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all thefe, shall it break in pieces, and bruife.

41. And whereas thou faweft the feet and toes, part of potters clay, and part of iron; the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of iron, forafmuch as thou faweft the iron mixed with miry clay.

42. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay; fo the kingdom Jhall be partly strong, and partly brittle. 43. And whereas thou faweft iron mixt with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the feed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixt with clay.

44. And in the days of these kings shall the god of heaven Set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom fhall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces,

C 2

aad

Dan. vij.

and confume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45. Forafmuch as thou fawest that the stone was cut out of
the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron,
the brass, the clay, the filver, and the gold: the great god bath
made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter:
and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof fure.

Ver. 1. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel bad a dream, and visions of his head upon his bed then he wrote the dream, and told the fum of the matters.

2. Daniel Spake, and faid, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great. fea.

3. And four great beasts came up from the fea, diverfe one from another.

4. The firft was like a lion, and had eagles wings: and I beheld the wings thereof were pluckt, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made ftand upon the feet as a man, and amans heart was given to it.

5. And behold, another beast, a second like to a bear: andit raised up it felf on one fide, and had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

6. After this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl, and the beast had alfo four heads; and dominion was given to it.

7. After this I Saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beaft, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the refidue with the feet of it, and it was diverfe from all the beafts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

8. 1 confidered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the firft horns pluckt up by the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of aman, and a mouth speaking great things.

9. I beheld, till the thrones were fet, and the ancient of days did fit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wooll: his throne was like the fi ery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

10. A fiery fiream issued, and came forth from before him ; thousand thousands miniftred unto him; and ten thousand times ten thousand food before him: the judgment was fet, and the books were opened.

II. I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn Spake; I beheld even till the beast was flain, and his body deftroy'd, and given to the burning flame.

12. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a feason, and

a time.

13. I faw in the night Visions, 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.

14. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all People, Nations, and Languages, should ferve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away; and his kingdom that which shall not be destroy'd.

15. I Daniel was grieved in my Spirit, in the midst of my body; and the Vifions of my head troubled me.

16. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this: fo he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.

17. These great Beasts, which are four, are four Kings, which Shall arife out of the Earth.

18. But the Saints of the most High fhall take the Kingdom, and poffefs the Kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

19. Then I would know the truth of the fourth Beast, which was divers from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whofe teeth were of Iron, and his nails of Brass, which devoured, brake in pieces, and ftamped the refidue with his feet.

20. 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: whofe look was more flout than his fellows.

21. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the Saints, and prevailed against them.

22. Until the Ancient of Days came, and Judgment was gi ven to the Saints of the most High; and the time came that the Saints poffefs'd the Kingdom.

23. Thus

Dan. ij. 38.

23. Thus he faid, The fourth Beast shall be the fourth Kingdom upon Earth, which shall be divers from all Kingdoms, and fhall devour the whole Earth, and fall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

24. And the ten horns out of this Kingdom are ten Kings that fhall arife, and another shall arife after them; and he shall be diverse from the firft, and he shall fubdue three Kings.

25. And he shall Speak great words against the most High, and Thall wear out the Saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time, and times, and a divifion of time.

26. But the Fudgment shall fit; and they shall take away his dominion, to confume and to deftroy it unto the end.

27. And the Kingdom, and Dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven, shall be given to the People of the Saints of the most High; whofe Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all dominions shall ferve and obey him.

28. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me; and my countenance changed in me: But I kept the matter in my heart.

Thus having fet down the Prophecies themselves at large, I prove that the Fourth Kingdom is the Roman Empire by the following Arguments.

1. The plain Order and Series of the Kingdoms neceffarily implics, that the Fourth must be the Roman. The first is by all own'd to be the Babylonian; and the Prophet almost tells us fo much in exprefs words, Thou art this head of Gold, fays Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian Monarch. The fecond is by all own'd to be the Medo-Perfian. And the third is alfo with the fame Unanimity own'd to be the Grecian. Which therefore can we poffibly fuppofe to be the Fourth but the Roman? For as it came most certainly next after the Grecian; fo did it as certainly conquer the Grecian, and thereupon fucceed it just as the Grecian had conquered the Medo-Perfian, and thereupon fucceeded it: and as the dedo-Perfian had conquered the Babylonian, and thereupon fucceeded it. So that at first View the plain and dire& Series of the great Monarchies

of

of the World, fo well known in ancient History, neceffarily implies, that the Fourth must be the Roman Empire. And to be fure this Expofition is fo obvious and forcible, that nothing. lefs than fome ftrange prejudices, and deep prepoffeffions, could ever have prevail'd with any to recede from it: infomuch that Mr. Mede, the moft Judicious perfon that ever wrote upon Mede, p. 908. thefe Matters, ftiles this Series of the Four Monarchies the A, B, C, the very Alphabet or Fundamental Rudiments of the Prophecies contain'd in the Sacred Writings. And, I confefs, I think it to be fo much fo, that if once this Propofition be deny'd, I fhall never think it poffible for us to understand any Prophecies at all: there being no other Poftulata plainer than this to be ever expected in any Writings of this nature, nay indeed, not often in any Writings in the World. But to proceed.

2. The general Defcription of the Fourth Kingdom can agree to no other, but the Roman Empire. It is evident by all the Defcriptions of the Fourth Kingdom above, that it was to be more confiderable, ftrong, powerful, and victorious, than any of the three foregoing: which was exactly true, and notoriously known of the Roman Empire, but not of any other that can poffibly be fuppos'd to fucceed the Grecian, as the Fourth most certainly did. For as to the Succeffion of the Seleucide, which is the principal, or rather the only poffible pretender, it was moft undoubtedly a branch of the Gre cian Empire; and, as fuch, ever efteem'd in the Scripture- Dan.viij.7.&.c.. Prophecies, and in the ancient Hiftories: and fo can by no means be opposed to, or be faid to fucceed it. Nay, fo far was that Kingdom, if it had been bath different from and fucceffive to the Grecian, from the Greatnefs, and Power, and Succefs of all the former, that it can by no means compare it felf with any one of them; nor indeed did it ever conquer the former Monarchies, as the Fourth is defcrib'd to have done: and therefore, on all accounts, has no manner of claim to be the Fourth Kingdom in Daniel.

3. The Fourth Kingdom or Monarchy was to be of a different Kind and Form of Government from that of the three preceding. And fince they were all along.abfolute Monarchies, Dan. vij, 19,

and

« PreviousContinue »