beast should prevail against the faints, until judgement was given to the faints, and the time came that the faints poffeffed the kingdom, y 22.; which is explained, y 27. by the univerfal converfion of the nations, there mentioned as following upon the fall of that little horn. The fecond character is in 25. which fhews that the power of that horn should continue time, times, and the dividing of time, which will be explained afterwards; it is fufficient at prefent to obferve, that the conclufion of these myfterious times is here made cotemporary with the time of the end, fo oft mentioned in this book, or the time of the univerfal converfion; which is confirmed by the words immediately following the mention of that converfion, and the fall of the horn, that was the great obstacle to it, 28. "Hitherto is the end of the matter, or of the chief fubject-matter of prophecy, as we may reasonably understand the words. Thus the fecond as well as the firft prophecy in this book, relating to the four empires, reaches down below the end of the Roman empire, and to the univerfal empire of the Meffiah, as the great end. 3. That the fame thing may be faid likewife of the third general prophecy, which is that in the 8th chapter, appears from y 17. & 19. where it is no lefs than thrice declared, that the vision fhould reach to the time of the end, or that the remoteft events pointed at in it fhould happen toward that period: which remotest events, as appears from the close of the prediction and chapter, relate to an extraordinary adverfary, who is faid to deftroy, or, as that word alfo fignifies, to corrupt wonderfully; and is reprefented as eminent for policy and craft, y 25. and deftroying many by peace or profperity; as craft feems the more neceffary to his becoming mighty, because when he is faid to be fo, it is added, but not by his own power; which feems to hint, that by craft 1 craft and policy he would cause others make a furrender of their power to him: and whereas in y 9. he is faid to wax exceeding great toward the fouth and the east, this feems to imply, that his rife would be from the north-weft *. 4. As to the fubfequent prophecies in this book, the remarkable prediction in Daniel ix. concerning the death of the Meffiah, and the defolation of the Jews following upon it, exprefsly carries down to the time called the confummation, which appears to be the fame with the time of the end, fo oft mentioned elfewhere in this book; especially when this part of Dan. ix. is compared with Dan. xii. 7. And as to the long prophecy that takes up the last three chapters of this book, that it reaches to the time of the end, is evident from fome expreffions in every one of these chapters; as particularly chap. x. 14. about the latter days, chap. xi. 35. about the time of the end, and chap. xii. 4. where Daniel is commanded to feal the book, even to the time of the end; which fhews, that the events foretold would not be all fulfilled till that time; and the fequel of that chapter speaks of the end of the wonders foretold in this prophecy, as cotemporary with the end of time, times, and an half, which appears from chap. vii. 25. 26. 27. to be the time of the univerfal converfion, and of the end of the difperfion of the holy people, and the end of defolating abomination. II. After proving that the feveral general prophe cies in this book reach to the time of the end, the objections that have been made against the true interpretation of thefe prophecies make it needful to prove, that the little horn of the fourth beaft was to arife after the divifion of the Roman monarchy; for which proof it is fufficient to make out these two points: first, That the fourth beaft reprefents * See Newton on this chapter. that that monarchy; and, 2. that the time of the rife of the ten kings, reprefented by the ten horns of that beaft, must be the time of the fall and divifion of that monarchy. 1. That the fourth beaft represents the Roman monarchy, may be made out by many clear proofs; feeing the four beasts in chap. 7. as well as the four parts of the image in chap. 2. are exprefsly faid to reprefent four kingdoms or monarchies, reckoning from the Babylonian as the firft, (as is clearly declared chap. 2.), the Roman must neceffarily be the fourth. If the third beaft is the Greek empire, the Roman must be the fourth: and that this is the cafe, is evident from chap. vii. 6. where the third beaft is faid to have not only four wings of a fowl, but also four heads, implying that the empire reprefented by that beaft would be divided into four parts; which fhews it to be the Greek empire, though we had no other argument for this but the manifeft conformity of the description with known hiftory; but we have befides this the prophet's own explication of the emblem in view, chap. viii. 8. compared with y 20. 21. where the beaft with four notable horns is exprefsly declared to be the king of Grecia, who conquered and fucceeded the Medo-Perfians, and whofe kingdom, after the death of the firft king, viz. of Alexander himself, and his firft fucceffors, in whofe time the empire was kept entire, was divided into four parts. It is evident alfo, that the fourth beast muft reprefent the Roman monarchy, because it represents the laft great or univerfal tem poral monarchy, the monarchy that fhould be divi. ded into ten parts, and that should not be broken by another fifth univerfal temporal monarchy like itself, but by that divifion into fo many parts * when conquered nations would fhake off the yoke, * Dant ii. 41. "And whereas thou faweft the feet and toes, the kingdom fhall be divided.” and and recover their fovereignty; and these parts are represented as continuing divided till the time of the end, when the ftone, chap. 2. would fmite the image upon his feet: and it may be proper to obferve, that feeing the ten horns of the fourth beast manifeftly correspond with the ten toes of the feet of the image, this fhews that it is not abfolutely neceffary to be very precife in determining all the ten horns, or the ten kingdoms into which the fourth empire was divided. 2. That the time of the rise of the ten horns, is the time of the fall and divifion of the Roman empire, is evident, because it is faid, y 24." And the "ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that "fhall arife," &c.; and the name either of horns or of kings is not given in this prophecy to fubordinate governors, but to fovereigns; and as the four horns of the third beaft are explained chap. viii. 20. 21. &c. to be four parts into which the third empire was to be divided, the 2d chapter speaks ex• prefsly of the divifion of the fourth empire, y 41. 42. and of the weakening of it, in fpeaking of the feet, or of the lower and later times of that empire: all which things, compared with uncontested facts relating to the fall and divifion of that empire, fhew that the time of that divifion is the time of the rife of the ten horns or ten kings mentioned in the prophecy. Seeing it is faid, y 24. that the little horn would arife after the ten kings, and would fubdue three kings; these things give the following general characters of the time of the rife of the little horn, (without fixing the precise year), namely, that it fhould be fome time after the fall of the Roman empire, and the divifion of it into ten principal parts; and fome time before, or at least about the time that three kings fhould be fubdued by a little prince, to whom the characters in the context may be found fingularly applicable. III. In III. In afcertaining what is meant by the little horn, a variety of circumstances in the description of it must be confidered.. 1. That by the little horn we are to understand, not one individual ruler, but a fucceffion of rulers, enjoying the fame power and authority, is evident from the prophetic ftyle all along; the four parts of the image in chap. 2. and the four beafts, or four kings, as they are called, chap. vii. 17. fignifying fucceffions of many kings, whofe hiftory, taken all together, reaches to the time of the end. In the vifion explained chap. 8. y 20. & 21. though there is but one ram and one he-goat, yet it is faid, "The "ram which thou faweft having two horns, are "the kings of Media and Perfia; and the rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn "that is between his eyes is the first king;" implying, that the he-goat itself represents others befides the first king; as y 22. fhews that the other four horns of that he-goat reprefent, not four particular perfons, but four kingdoms. But befides all this, the great things faid to be done by the little horn of the fourth beaft, and the continuance of his power to the time of the univerfal converfion of the nations, puts it beyond all question, that it is not one particular perfon that is meant, but a very long fucceffion. 2. As to the place of the little horn's rife and reign, though the particular city or country is not named, yet feeing he is faid to come up among the ten horns or kings who would fhare the old Roman empire among them, this thews, that the feat of that little horn fhould be within the bounds of that empire. That it would be in the western parts, may be convincingly made out from this one remark, that the eattern or Greek emperor cannot be that horn: for, 1ft, He could not be called little among the ten; nor, 2dly, could he be faid to come up among them, and after them, both which are |