Roman beast under his last head, the false papal prophet, and the vassal kings of the whole Ecumenè or Bestial empire. Hence the Jewish Rabbies (and with great justice) have constantly pronounced, that the downfall of Rome would be the rise of Israel*. In short, as Hosea assures us, that the "children " of Israel should tarry many days, without king, "and without ruler, and without sacrifice, and "without statue, and without ephod and teraphim; " and should afterwards return, and seek Jehovah "their God and David their king, and should adore "Jehovah and his goodness, in the futurity of

.

days t:" so does Daniel here predict, that, through the instrumentality of the desolating abomination, the sacrifice should indeed be abolished; but that it should only continue to be so, until a full end should be poured out upon the desolator.

It is the very interpretation of the passage, unless I greatly mistake, which is given by our Lord himself. Part of his prophecy, as delivered by St. Luke, evidently appears to be a sort of paraphrastical exposition and application of the latter part of Daniel's prophecy. "When ye shall see Jerusa"lem compassed with armies, then know that the

* See these matters discussed at large in my work on the restoration of the Jews.

+ Hos. iii. 4,

C c

"deso

"desolation thereof is nigh-For these be the days

of vengeance, that all things which are written

may be fulfilled-For there shall be great distress "in the land, and wrath upon this people. And "they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall "be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem

shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times "of the Gentiles be fulfilled *." Here we have a solemn denunciation of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans; a reference to the previous declarations of former prophets, particularly Dariel, as we are expressly informed both by St. Matthew and St. Mark; a prediction of the scattering of the Jews among all nations, and the treading of Jerusa lem under foot, which necessarily involve the abolition of the temple service; and a promise, that matters should not always remain in this state, but only unto a certain appointed time, until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled, the expiration of which times is universally allowed to synchronize with the expiration of the three times and a half. Now, according to the interpretation here proposed, our Lord's prophecy exactly corresponds with that of Daniel, to which he refers: but, according to any other interpretation, it does not correspond with it. In place of the compassing of Jerusalem with armies,

* Luke xxi. 20, 22, 23, 24.

we

we have the appearance of the desolating abomination on the border. In place of the great distress throughout the land and the falling of the people by the edge of the sword, we have desolations unto the end of a predetermined war and the end of the people with a flood. In place of the scattering of the Jews among all nations and the treading of Jerusalem under foot by the Gentiles, we have the abolition of the sacrifice and meat-offering. And, in place of the predicted period of desolation, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, we have a similarly predicted period of desolation, which is destined to con◄ tinue until an utter end shall be poured upon the de solator. So accurate a correspondence between the prophecy of our Lord and the prophecy of Daniel, provided the present exposition be adopted, certainly gives us reason to suppose, that the last clause in the prediction of the Jewish prophet was understood by Christ in the sense in which I contend it ought to be understood.

Lastly, this interpretation sufficiently removes certain objections (built on the connection of the prophecy with Daniel's previous supplication) to the general opinion which has been entertained relative to the seventy weeks, however commentators may vary in subordinate points.

It has been urged, that the prophecy, having been delivered to Daniel in answer to his prayer and by CC 2

way

way of consolation to him, might be expected to contain matter of a favourable nature, whereas it concludes with the most tremendous threats of utter desolation*

This objection is not altogether without weight; but, by the interpretation here proposed, it seems to me to be in a great measure removed. As comfortable an answer to Daniel's petition is given, as could be given consistently with the truth. The Jewish polity, both ecclesiastical and civil, was broken by the Babylonian captivity. In the prophecy, a promise of its speedy restoration is held out, and the coming of the Messiah is definitively announced by the actual specificatien of a term of years. Both these particulars are comfortable in themselves: and, if the latter did not eventually produce comfort to the people of the prophet, the fault was their own; but the circumstance could not. therefore be dissembled. Their rejection of the Messiah brought on their destruction. This doubtless is not comfortable intelligence: yet, that it constitutes a part of the prophecy, we have been explicitly taught on the highest possible authority, that of Christ himself. Nevertheless, though the abomination of desolation should appear on their border, though their polity was to be a second time dissolv

Dr. Blayney's Dissert. p. 59.

ed,

ed, and though the daily sacrifices of the temple service were to be abolished; yet this state of things was not to continue for ever; it was only to remain for a certain defined period, already treated of in a former prediction of Daniel; it was only to be "until an "utter end, and that firmly decided upon, should "be poured upon the desolator." Here the prophecy closes after a comfortable manner. Rejected and almost exterminated as the Jews should be, yet God would not make a full end of them, as he would of their enemies. In due time, at the close of the appointed term of 1260 years, they should be restored and converted; their great enemy the Roman empire, that had made their country desolate, should, in its last form, be utterly destroyed; sacrifices, far better and more spiritual, than the ancient Levitical sacrifices, should be offered up in Jerusalem; and the latter end of the people should be better than their beginning. Thus it appears, that the sum of the prophecy is of a consolatory nature and it may be added, that, even if it had been otherwise, it could not reasonably have been expected, that God should reverse the order of his decrees, or even withhold the foreknowledge of the afflictive part of them, merely on account of the piety of Daniel,

But it has been further urged, that, although we might not be bound to expect a consolatory revelation in answer to the prophet's supplication, we