_In the first year of Belshazzar_, &c. The prophet, having related some remarkable passages concerning himself and his brethren in captivity, and having given proof of his supernatural illumination in interpreting other men's dreams, proceeds to give an account of his own visions; and thereupon goes... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, the four winds strove upon the great sea_ This denotes those commotions in the world, and that troublesome state of affairs, out of which empires and kingdoms commonly take their rise. _And four great beasts came up from the sea_ Signifying the four great monarchies, or kingdoms, that shoul... [ Continue Reading ]
_The first was like a lion_ The Chaldean or Babylonian empire: compared to the head of gold, the chief of metals, in the image represented to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream, Daniel 2:32; Daniel 2:37, is here represented as a lion, the king of beasts. Instead of _a lion_, the Vulgate, Greek, and Arabic... [ Continue Reading ]
_And behold another beast like a bear_ This is the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, who, for their cruelty and greediness after blood, are compared to a bear, which is a most voracious and cruel animal. Bochart recounts several particulars wherein the Persians resembled bears; but the chief likene... [ Continue Reading ]
_After this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard_ “This third kingdom is that of the Macedonians, or Grecians, who, under the command of Alexander the Great, overcame the Persians, and reigned next after them: and it is fitly compared to a _leopard_ upon several accounts. The leopard is remarkab... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold a fourth beast_ This _fourth kingdom_ can be no other than the Roman empire, which answers this emphatical description better than any of the former kingdoms. _Dreadful, and terrible, and strong exceedingly_ And therefore compared to iron, Daniel 2:40. _It devoured and brake in pieces_ It sp... [ Continue Reading ]
_I considered the horns_ Viewed and observed them exactly, otherwise he could not have observed the little horn, whose rise was scarce discernible at first; _and behold there came up among them_ Much about the same time, Revelation 17:12; _another little horn_ Distinct from the ten horns, and of a d... [ Continue Reading ]
_I beheld till the thrones were cast down_ Till all these earthly kingdoms were brought to an end, and all enemies and opposite powers were destroyed. But the word רמיו, here used, maybe rendered, _were pitched_, or placed, namely, for the reception of God, and his assessors in judgment, the saints... [ Continue Reading ]
_I beheld then_ Chaldee, חזה הוית, _I was attentive, spectabam attentus, I beheld attentively_, as Grotius renders it; _because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake_ See on Daniel 7:25. I was desirous of knowing, and looked carefully to see what would be the end of this matter, more... [ Continue Reading ]
_I saw in the night visions_, &c. Here is described by what means these changes were to be brought about; _behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven_ One in the shape and likeness of a man, but clothed with such ensigns of majesty and honour, (signified here by _the clouds of he... [ Continue Reading ]
_There was given him dominion_, &c. “All these kingdoms shall in their turns be destroyed, but the kingdom of the Messiah shall stand for ever. It was in allusion to this prophecy that the angel said of Jesus, before he was conceived in the womb, Luke 1:33, _He shall reign over the house of Jacob fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_I Daniel was grieved in my spirit_ Upon account of the extraordinary changes which seemed to be signified by the vision, the particulars of which troubled me, though I had not a perfect apprehension of their meaning. _I came near unto one of them that stood by_ Namely, to one of the angels who were... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast_ Namely, what was intended to be signified by it. _And of the ten horns that were in his head_ Of what they were emblems; _and of the other which came up,_ &c. See Daniel 7:8; _whose look was more stout than his fellows_ Or more great and magnificent;... [ Continue Reading ]
_The fourth beast shall be diverse from all kingdoms_ As being managed under different forms of government; having a form of commonwealth at the beginning of its greatness, and afterward governed by kings and emperors; and in process of time being divided into ten kingdoms, or principalities; and al... [ Continue Reading ]
_He shall speak great words against the Most High_ Symmachus reads, _He shall speak great words, as the Most High;_ “setting himself above all laws, divine and human: arrogating to himself godlike attributes, and titles of _holiness_ and _infallibility;_ exacting obedience to his ordinances and decr... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the judgment shall sit_, &c. God, in the course of his providence, will sit (speaking after the manner of men) in judgment on this usurping, tyrannical, and persecuting power, which shall be judged, condemned, degraded, consumed, and destroyed, and his authority never more revived, to the end o... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hitherto is the end of the matter_ Here the angel that spoke to me concerning these matters finished his discourse. _As for me, my cogitations much troubled me_ The extraordinary circumstances of the vision made a great impression upon my mind; and it was matter of great trouble to me, to foresee t... [ Continue Reading ]