tuary and host." By sanctuary, we must understand the temple at Jerusalem, and those who worship therein, which was trodden under foot by the Pagan kingdoms of the world, since the days of Daniel, the writer of our text; then by the Chaldeans; afterwards by the Medes and Persians; next by the Grecians; and lastly by the Romans, who destroyed the city and sanctuary, levelled the temple with the ground, and caused the plough to pass over the place. The people of the Jews, too, were led into captivity and persecuted by all these kingdoms successively, and finally by the Romans were taken away and destroyed as a nation. And as the prophet Isaiah, Ixiii. 18, says, "The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary." Jeremiah, also, in Lam. i. 10, "The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things; for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation." The word host is applied to the people who worship in the outer court, and fitly represents the Christian church, who are said to be strangers and pilgrims on the earth, having no continuing places, but looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. Jeremiah, speaking of the gospel church, says, iii. 19, "But I said, How shall put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the host of nations?" evidently meaning the church from the Gentiles. "Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed or justified," means the true sanctuary which God has built of lively stones to his own acceptance, through Christ, of which the temple at Jerusalem was but a type, the shadows having long since fled away, and that temple and people now destroyed, and all included in unbelief. So whosoever looks for the worldly sanctuary to be built again, will find themselves as much mistaken as the unbelieving Jews were, "when they looked for a temporal prince in the Messiah. For there is not a word in the prophets or apostles, after Zerubbabel built the second temple, that a third one would ever be built; except the one which cometh down from heaven, which is a spiritual one, and which is the

mother of us all, (Jew and Gentile,) and which is free and when that New Jerusalem is perfected, then shall we be cleansed and justified; for Paul says to the Phillippians, iii. 20, 21, "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself;" that is, "they that are his at his coming." We see by these texts - and many more might be quoted -that the spiritual sanctuary will not be cleansed until Christ's second coming; and then all Israel shall be raised, judged, and justified in his sight.

11. We shall now try to understand what is meant by the "vision," in the text.

The vision, spoken of in the text, alludes to three separate times in which God revealed unto Daniel all that may be considered a prophecy in the book of Daniel, which vision was explained to Daniel by a heavenly messenger, called Gabriel, at three separate times, the last of which closes the book of Daniel; which last instruction will be the subject of a future lecture.

Daniel's first vision was the dream which Nebuchadnezzar had, and which troubled him; but when he awoke, the dream was gone from him. He then called for the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men of Chaldea, to show him his dream, and the interpretation thereof; but they could not. The king, being angry, commanded that all the wise men of Babylon should be destroyed. Then Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, went forth to execute the king's decree; and among the rest he sought for Daniel and his three friends, young captive Jews, to execute the purpose of king Nebuchadnezzar upon them also. Daniel then, for the first time, being made acquainted with the decree, went in unto the king, and desired time, and promised that he would make known the dream, and the interpre tation thereof. Time being granted, he and his three Hebrew friends held a prayer-meeting, (not a cold and formal one, as we may reasonably suppose,) for their

lives and the lives of their fellow-creatures were in danger. They cried for mercies from the God of heaven God heard and answered their prayers, and revealed to Daniel the dream and interpretation. After rendering suitable thanksgiving, Daniel went in unto the king and told the dream and visions of the king. "As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what should come to pass; but as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold, a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee, and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth," Daniel ii. 29-35.

This was the dream, and the interpretation was clear as given by Daniel; and the history of the world proves it to be true, a large share having already been fulfilled. All that remains to be accomplished is for the stone to smite the image upon his feet, and to become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth. "The head of gold" represented the Chaldean kingdom; "the breast and arms of silver" represented the Medes and Persians; "the belly and thighs of brass, which were to bear rule over all the earth," the Grecian. Alexander, a Grecian king, conquered the world; the legs of iron, and the feet part of iron and part of clay," fitly represent the Roman kingdom, which still exists, although in a broken state,

like iron and clay. This kingdom has been divided be tween Pagan Rome, the head wounded to death, and Papal Rome, the deadly wound healed, both " mixing themselves with the seed of men," that is, uniting church and state, ecclesiastical and civil, in the government. The stone denotes Christ, the God of heaven; and the mountain the kingdom of God. His breaking the image to pieces, shows that all the kingdoms of this world are to be utterly destroyed and carried away, so that no place can be found for them. And the kingdom of God filling the whole earth teaches us that the beloved city, the New Jerusalem, will fill the world, and God will dwell with his people on the earth. Read Dan. ii. 37— 45. This dream was in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, 603 B. C. Forty-eight years afterwards, in the first year of Belshazzar's reign and 555 B. C., Daniel had another dream, yet the same in substance. "Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven strove upon the great sea, and four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagles' wings; I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, 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. And behold, another beast, a second, like unto a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it; and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this 1 beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful, and terrible, and strong exceedingly, and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. I beheld

till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery streain issued and came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened I beheld, then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake. I beheld, even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed," Daniel vii. 1—14. This ends Daniel's night vision, except the instruction he received from some one standing by. "So he told me, and made me know the truth of all this,' or the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most high shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever." We see in this instruction that this vision and Nebuchadnezzar's dream agree in the most prom inent parts; the four beasts representing the four kingdoms, and the saints possessing the kingdom, the same as the stone becoming a great mountain and filling the whole earth; "forever and ever" shows us that it is an immortal state in everlasting life; "the saints" evidently includes all saints, "for they shall live and reign with him on the earth," Revelation v. 10, 20. iv. 6. "Then," Daniel says, vii. 19, 20, “I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass, which devoured, brake in pieces, and