INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 7 This chapter contains Daniel's vision of the four beasts, The time, place, manner, writing, and declaration of the vision, Daniel 7:1, the rise of the beasts, and the description of them, Daniel 7:2, the judgment of God upon them, especially the last, and the delivery of un... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE FIRST YEAR OF BELSHAZZAR KING OF BABYLON,.... Daniel having finished the historical part of his book, and committed to writing what was necessary concerning himself and his three companions, and concerning Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius the Mede, proceeds to the prophetic part, and go... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL SPAKE AND SAID, I SAW IN MY VISION BY NIGHT,.... He declared he had had a vision by night, and this was the substance of it: AND, BEHOLD, THE FOUR WINDS OF THE HEAVEN STROVE UPON THE GREAT SEA: the east, west, north, and south winds, broke out from each of their quarters, and rushed in upon... [ Continue Reading ]
AND FOUR GREAT BEASTS CAME UP FROM THE SEA,.... Which are afterwards interpreted of four kings or kingdoms, Daniel 7:17, which rose up in the world, not at once, but successively, and out of the sea or world, through the commotions and agitations of it; and these are the four monarchies, Babylonian,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FIRST WAS LIKE A LION,.... That which rose up first, the kingdom of the Babylonians, as the Syriac version expresses it; or the Assyrian monarchy, founded by Nimrod, increased by the Assyrians, and brought to its height under Nebuchadnezzar by the Babylonians and Chaldeans; this is said to be li... [ Continue Reading ]
AND, BEHOLD, ANOTHER BEAST, A SECOND, LIKE TO A BEAR,.... Another monarchy, and which succeeded the former, and rose up upon the ruins of it, the Medo-Persian monarchy; and so the Syriac version prefixes to this verse, by way of explanation, "the kingdom of the Medes'' like to a bear, less generou... [ Continue Reading ]
AFTER THIS I BEHELD, AND, LO ANOTHER, LIKE A LEOPARD,.... Another beast, another monarchy, a third monarchy succeeding the Persian monarchy, and which rose up on the ruins of that; Darius king of the Persians being beaten by Alexander king of Macedon, who was the instrument of setting up the Grecian... [ Continue Reading ]
AFTER THIS I SAW IN THE NIGHT VISIONS, AND BEHOLD A FOURTH BEAST,.... Not in another night, as Jarchi; but in the same night, and in the same visions of it; only after he had seen the other three successively, then last of all he saw this fourth beast; and more being said of this than of the rest, s... [ Continue Reading ]
I CONSIDERED THE HORNS,.... The ten horns of the fourth beast; these the prophet particularly looked at, took special notice of them, carefully observed them, their number, form, and situation, and pondered in his mind what should be the meaning of them: AND, BEHOLD; while he was attentive to these... [ Continue Reading ]
I BEHELD TILL THE THRONES WERE CAST DOWN,.... On which the governors of the above monarchies sat; and those of the ten kings, signified by the ten horns; and also that of the little horn. The prophet kept looking on the objects before him, till he in his dream, and the visions of the night, saw all... [ Continue Reading ]
A FIERY STREAM ISSUED AND CAME FORTH FROM BEFORE HIM,.... Or, "a river of fire" s; which denotes the copious judgments of God, the abundance of them; the full flow of his wrath, and the fierceness of it; and also its rapidity, which cannot be resisted and stopped: THOUSAND THOUSANDS MINISTERED UNTO... [ Continue Reading ]
I BEHELD THEN BECAUSE OF THE VOICE OF THE GREAT WORDS WHICH THE HORN SPAKE,.... Or, "from the voice" t; from the time it was heard, the prophet continued looking to see what would be the issue of all this; especially from the time he heard the little horn speak such blasphemous things against God, a... [ Continue Reading ]
AS CONCERNING THE REST OF THE BEASTS..... The other three which represent the Babylonian, Persian and Grecian monarchies: THEY HAD THEIR DOMINION TAKEN AWAY; not at this time when the fourth beast, or Roman empire, is destroyed, but long ago; and not together, but successively; the dominion was tak... [ Continue Reading ]
I SAW IN THE NIGHT VISIONS,.... Very probably the same night in which he had the dream and vision of the four beasts; but this that follows, being a new object presented, is introduced and prefaced after this manner; as well as, being something wonderful and worthy of attention, has a "behold" prefi... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THERE WAS GIVEN HIM DOMINION, AND GLORY, AND A KINGDOM,.... That is, a large, powerful, and glorious kingdom; not but that he had a kingdom before, but now it will be more extensive, and appear in greater glory: this will be fulfilled when the kingdoms of this world shall become his, and all nat... [ Continue Reading ]
I DANIEL WAS GRIEVED IN MY SPIRIT IN THE MIDST OF MY BODY,.... Or "sheath" a; the soul being in the body as a sword in its scabbard; where it was "cut" b and pierced, as the word signifies; and was wounded, distressed, and grieved at the vision seen; not at the sight of the Son of man, and the glori... [ Continue Reading ]
I CAME NEAR UNTO ONE OF THEM THAT STOOD BY,.... To one of the angels that attended, either the throne of judgment, or, the Son of man in his approach to his divine Father: AND ASKED HIM THE TRUTH OF ALL THIS; the substance of these visions; what these images, presented to his view, were shadows and... [ Continue Reading ]
THESE GREAT BEASTS, WHICH ARE FOUR, ARE FOUR KINGS,.... Or kingdoms, as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions; and so Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Saadiah; so the fourth beast is called the fourth kingdom, Daniel 7:23 or a succession of kings in four kingdoms or monarchies, comparable to beas... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH,.... Or, "of the most high Ones" d, Father, Son, and Spirit, separated by God the Father in election, and in that sense his servants, or sanctified ones, Judges 1:1, and redeemed by the Son, and sanctified with his blood, or their sins atoned by it, and to whom he is... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN I WOULD KNOW THE TRUTH OF THE FOURTH BEAST;.... What it represented, what kingdom or monarchy was meant by it; for, by the above answer of the angel, he understood the four beasts signified four kings or kingdoms; the three first he pretty well understood; at least he was not so solicitous abou... [ Continue Reading ]
AND OF THE TEN HORNS,.... That is, Daniel desired to know the truth of the ten horns, or the meaning of them what they signified, and who they pointed at, of which in Daniel 7:7, here it is added, THAT WERE IN HIS HEAD; observing the situation of them; thought the horns of a beast could hardly be t... [ Continue Reading ]
I BEHELD, AND THE SAME HORN MADE WAR WITH THE SAINTS,.... The same little horn before described; not Antiochus Epiphanes, who made war with the Jews, as many think; or the Roman Caesars, that persecuted the church of Christ, as others; nor Titus Vespasian, who fought against Israel, as Saadiah; but... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTIL THE ANCIENT OF DAYS CAME,.... Not locally, by change of place, he being the omnipresent God; but in a providential way, to check and put a stop to the power and prevalency of the little horn over the saints; for this is the terminus or end of that; which puts a period to it; for when the Ancie... [ Continue Reading ]
THUS HE SAID,.... The person that stood by, the angel, of whom Daniel made his inquiries, and who answered him, as follows: THE FOURTH BEAST SHALL BE THE FOURTH KINGDOM ON EARTH; which shows that the angel, by four kings, Daniel 7:17, meant four kingdoms, that should successively arise in the earth... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE TEN HORNS OUT OF THIS KINGDOM ARE TEN KINGS THAT SHALL ARISE,..... Or ten kingdoms which sprung out of the Roman empire, or into which it was broken and divided upon the dissolution of it, about A.D. 476; which, according to Mr. Mede k, were thus divided, A.D. 456, 1. Britons; 2. Saxons; 3.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SHALL SPEAK GREAT WORDS AGAINST THE MOST HIGH,.... Or, "at the side of the most High" p; setting himself up as a rival, and upon an equality with him; taking the names and characters of holiness, infallibility, yea, of deity itself, unto him; claiming a power to forgive sin, which is peculiar... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE JUDGMENT SHALL SIT,.... As in Daniel 7:10, the court shall sit, the Judge shall take the bench, and all things be prepared for the arraignment, trial, condemnation, and punishment, of the little horn or antichrist, when the above time is up; God the Father, the Ancient of days, and Christ, s... [ Continue Reading ]
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,.... Not only the dominion that shall be taken away from the little horn or antichrist, and from all the antichristian states, but the dominion of all ot... [ Continue Reading ]
HITHERTO IS THE END OF THE MATTER,.... Of the angel's words, and of the interpretation of those things Daniel was desirous of being informed about, and of the whole dream and vision Daniel had; and indeed this is the end and issue of all events in Providence, the kingdom and glory of Christ with his... [ Continue Reading ]