Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John | Page 9

and the gold._
Notes to Chap. III.
[1] Chap. ii. 41, &c.
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CHAP. IV.
_Of the vision of the four Beasts._
In the next vision, which is of the four Beasts, the Prophecy of the four Empires is repeated, with several new additions; such as are the two wings of the Lion, the three ribs in the mouth of the Bear, the four wings and four heads of the Leopard, the eleven horns of the fourth Beast, and the son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven, to the Antient of Days sitting in judgment.
The first Beast was like a lion, and had eagle's wings, to denote the kingdoms of Babylonia and Media, which overthrew the Assyrian Empire, and divided it between them, and thereby became considerable, and grew into great Empires. In the former Prophecy, the Empire of Babylonia was represented by the head of gold; in this both Empires are represented together by the two wings of the lion. _And I beheld,_ saith [1] Daniel, _till the wings thereof were pluckt, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it_; that is, till it was humbled and subdued, and made to know its human state.
The second Beast was like a bear, and represents the Empire which reigned next after the Babylonians, that is, the Empire of the Persians. Thy kingdom is divided, or broken, saith Daniel to the last King of Babylon, _and given to the Medes and _Persians__, _Dan._ v. 28. This Beast _raised itself up on one side_; the Persians being under the Medes at the fall of Babylon, but presently rising up above them. [2] _And it had three ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth of it_, to signify the kingdoms of Sardes, Babylon, and Egypt, which were conquered by it, but did not belong to its proper body. And it devoured much flesh, the riches of those three kingdoms.
The third Beast was the kingdom which succeeded the _Persian_; and this was the empire of the Greeks, _Dan._ viii. 6, 7, 20, 21. It was like a Leopard, to signify its fierceness; and had four heads and four wings, to signify that it should become divided into four kingdoms, _Dan._ viii 22. for it continued in a monarchical form during the reign of Alexander the great, and his brother _Arid?us_, and young sons Alexander and _Hercules_; and then brake into four kingdoms, by the governors of provinces putting crowns on their own heads, and by mutual consent reigning over their provinces. Cassander reigned over Macedon, Greece, and _Epirus_; Lysimachus over Thrace and _Bithynia_; Ptolemy over Egypt, Lybia, Arabia, Coelosyria, and _Palestine_; and Seleucus over Syria.
The fourth Beast was the empire which succeeded that of the Greeks, and this was the Roman. This beast was exceeding dreadful and terrible, and had great iron teeth, and devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; and such was the Roman empire. It was larger, stronger, and more formidable and lasting than any of the former. It conquered the kingdom of Macedon, with Illyricum and Epirus, in the eighth year of Antiochus Epiphanes, _Anno Nabonass._. 580; and inherited that of Pergamus, _Anno Nabonass._ 615; and conquered that of Syria, _Anno Nabonass._ 679, and that of Egypt, _Anno Nabonass._ 718. And by these and other conquests it became greater and more terrible than any of the three former Beasts. This Empire continued in its greatness till the reign of Theodosius the great; and then brake into ten kingdoms, represented by the ten horns of this Beast; and continued in a broken form, till the Antient of days sat in a throne like fiery flame, and _the judgment was set, and the books were opened, and the Beast was slain and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flames; and one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Antient of days_ [3], and received dominion over all nations, and judgment was given to the saints of the most high, and the time came that they possessed the kingdom.
_I beheld,_ saith [4] Daniel, _till the Beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flames. As concerning the rest of the Beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time_. And therefore all the four Beasts are still alive, tho the dominion of the three first be taken away. The nations of Chaldea and Assyria are still the first Beast. Those of Media and Persia are still the second Beast. Those of Macedon, Greece and Thrace, Asia minor, Syria and Egypt, are still the third. And those