earth, to become univerfal, and to ftand for ever. As the fourth kingdom or the Roman empire was reprefented in a twofold state, first ftrong and florifhing with legs of iron, and then weakened and divided with feet and toes part of iron and part of clay; fo this fifth kingdom or the kingdom of Chrift is defcribed likewife in two ftates, which (9) Mr. Mede rightly diftinguifheth by the names of regnum lapidis the kingdom of the ftone, and regnum montis the kingdom of the mountain; the first when the fone was cut out of the mountain without hands, the fecond when it became itself a mountain, and filled the whole earth. The flone was cut out of the mountain without hands, the kingdom of Christ was first fet up, while the Roman empire was in its full ftrength with legs of iron. The Roman empire was afterwards divided into ten leffer kingdoms, the remains of which are fubfifting at prefent. The image is ftill standing upon his feet and toes of iron and clay; the kingdom of Chrift is yet a fione of Atumbling and a rock of offence: but the stone will one day fmite the image upon the feet and toes, and destroy it utterly, and will itself be (9) Mede's Works. B. 4. Epift. 8. p. 743. come (1) Waltoni Prolegom. XII. 10. Wolfii Biblioth, Hebr. Lib. 6. come a great mountain and fill the whole earth: or in other words (Rev. XI. 15.) the kingdoms of this world fall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Chrift, and he shall reign for ever and ever. We have therefore feen the kingdom of the ftone, but we have not yet seen the kingdom of the mountain. Some parts of this prophecy ftill remain to be fulfilled: but the exact completion of the other parts will not fuffer us to doubt of the accomplishment of the reft alfo in due feason. As we may presume to say that this is the only true and genuin interpretation of this paffage, fo likewife is it the most confonant to the sense of all ancient writers, both Jews and Chriftians; and its antiquity will be a farther recommendation and confirmation of its truth. Jonathan Ben Uzziel, who made the Chaldee Targum or paraphrafe upon the prophets, (1) lived a little before our Saviour. He made no Chaldee verfion of Daniel, the greater part of this book being originally written in Chaldee, or his verfion is loft: but however he applies the prophecies of Daniel in his interpretation of other prophets. Thus in his paraphrase upon Habakuk he fpeaketh of the four great king 6. Cap. 2. Sect. 2. Prideaux Herod. 1. Connect. Part 2. B. 8. Anno 27. doms (2) Habak. doms of the earth, (2) that they should in their turns be deftroyed, and be fucceeded by the kingdom of the Meffiah. For the king dom of Babylon fhall not continue, nor exercise dominion over Ifrael; the kings of Media fhall be flain, and the ftrong men of Greece fhall not profper; the Romans fhall be blotted out, nor collect tribute from Jerufalem. Therefore because of the fign and redemption which thou fhalt accomplish for thy Chrift and for the remnant of thy people, they who remain fhall praise thee • &c.' The fenfe of Jofephus we will give in the words of Bishop (3) Chandler together with his reflections upon it. "Jofephus's expofition of "this text is fo full in the point, that it ought ai εδήλωσε δε X004 wift T8 2108 (3) Defense of Chriflianity. 82 edože telo isopELY, Ta Chap. 2. Sect. 2. p. 104, &c. 3d Edit. και τα γεγενημένα συγγράφειν, ε τα μελλολα οφειλοντικά "not to be omitted. Jofephus was born while Jefus Chrift lived, and was, as he (4) fays, "fkilful in the knowlege of the facred books " of the prophets, being himself a priest, and "the fon of a priest, and exercised this way. "Hear then his fenfe of that part of the dream "we have been upon. Daniel foretold, (5) "that the second kingdom fhould be taken "out of the way, by one that should come " from the weft clothed with brazen arms: "and alfo that the ftrength of this (empire) "another should put an end to, that should be "like to iron, which from the nature of the "mineral is fuperior to gold, filver, and brass. "Daniel added his interpretation of the stone ; " but I don't think fit to relate that; my bu"finefs being only to give a hiftory of past and newly done things, not to write of future things: "Yet if there be any one that is eager after "truth, and will not give over inquiring, in "order to learn thefe obfcure events that are "to come, let him carefully read the book "itself, which he will find among our facred "(or canonical) books. Upon this paffage "obferve, that the fourth empire is the Roman, "in his judgment; because the third king"dom, which he begins in Alexander, was "destroyed, not by the Greek generals, but by the Romans. Again, the fourth empire "he reckons to be past, i. e. to be set up in "the room of the Greek, and therefore he gives an hiftorical explication of that, among "the past events. But the kingdom of the flone being future, he refuses to touch on "that. But he had a better reason than he σε gave: he feared to offend the power in being, "whofe protection he needed, and which, he "forefaw, must be offended, if he should publifh the hope of his captive nation, one day to fubdue their conquerors. We fee "however, in his excuse for stopping short, "his sense of the prophecy that is yet unfulfilled, "viz. that the kingdom of the God of heaven "fhould break in pieces the Roman; and "which he must confequently fuppofe will " continue |