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But the judgment shall fit, and they shall take
away his dominion, to confume and to de-
ftroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom.
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the
people of the faints of the most High, whofe
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
dominions shall serve and obey him. Hitherto
is the end of the matter. - The angel's in-
terpretation of this vifion plainly extends to
the end of the world. This account of the
little horn I confider then as an epitome of the
whole hiftory of Antichrift. — Keeping this
idea in view, let us proceed to the next vifion,
which fele&is the fecond and third kingdoms,
i. e. the Perfian and the Grecian, and a
"little horn which came forth out of one of
the four horns of the He-goat," or
"the

f Daniel vii. 23-28.

King

% It may be obferved, that the account of the little horn. precisely resembles an epifode in an epic poem - the hiftory of the four kingdoms was given without it in the image; but here it is defcribed as rifing out of the laft, and contributing to the catastrophe,

The fource of this figure, of horns for kingdoms, as Spanheim obferves, must be derived from the Oriental languages, in which the fame word fignifies a born, and a crown, and power, ftrength, and Splendour. A horn was an emblem of royalty among the Phoenicians, and the Chaldee

King of Grecia," to form a distinct picture of a particular train of events, which we are thus naturally led to fuppofe will take place in the eastern part of the world.

Third Vifion-The RAM and the HE-GOAT, including "the LITTLE HORN" of the Eaft.

In the former vifion, which was a general hiftory of the four kingdoms, Perfia was defcribed as a bear, to mark its character for cruelty and oppreffion. In this, which fhews only the rife, progrefs, and decline of two of the kingdoms, apparently with a view to the principal fubject of it-the little horn, which was to arife after them-Perfia is defignated by its common fymbol, a rami.

• Be

Chaldee Paraphrafts explain the Hebrew word keren, a horn, by the term malchutha, which fignifies a kingdom. Newton, c. xv.

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i It was usual for the kings of Perfia to wear a ram's head made of gold, and adorned with precious stones, instead of a diadem; for fo Ammianus Marcellinus describes them. Bishop Chandler and others farther observe, that

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"Behold there ftood before the river, a ram which had two horns, [Media and Perfia] and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher [Perfia] came up laft. I saw the ram pushing weftward, and northward, and fouthward, [it had poffeffion of the Eaft] fo that no beast might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great, [as in the time of Xerxes and Darius.] And as I was confidering, behold, an hegoat came from the weft [the king, or rather kingdom of Grecia] on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: [he came with fuch bounding rapidity, that he seemed not to touch the ground] and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. [Alexander king of Macedon, who had firft fubdued Greece.] And he came to the ram that had

rams heads with horns, one higher and the other lower, are still to be seen on the pillars at Perfepolis. Newton.

The goat is made the type of the Grecian or Macedonian Empire, because the Macedonians were denominated Egeada, or the goat's people, 200 years before the time of Daniel. It is also remarkable, that Alexander's fon by Roxana was named Alexander Egos, or the fon of the goat and fome of Alexander's fucceffors are represented in their coins with goat's horns. Newton.

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* Daniel viii. 3, &c.

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two horns

power.

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and ran unto him in the fury of And I faw him come clofe unto

the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and fmote the ram, and brake his two horns, and there was no power in the ram to ftand before him, but he caft him down to the ground, and ftamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram

out of his hand. Therefore the he-goat waxed very great; and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; [Alexander died at the height of conqueft, and in the prime of life] and for it (or, inftead of it) came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. [Alexander's four Captains, who divided his kingdom; Caffander held Macedon, and Greece, and the western parts. Lyfimachus had Thrace and Bithynia, and the northern regions Ptolemy poffeffed Egypt and the Southern countries Seleucus obtained Syria and the eastern provinces.] And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the fouth, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed' great, even to the host of heaven; and it caft down fome of the host, and of the ftars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified

himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily facrifice was taken away, and the place of his fanctuary was caft down. And an host was given him against the daily facrifice by reason of tranfgreffion, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practifed, (or wrought) and profpered." To this defcription I fubjoin the explanation given by the angel previous to any obfervations upon it" And in the latter time of their kingdoms, [that is, of the four kingdoms which fucceeded Alexander's kingdom] when the tranfgreffors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark fentences, fhall ftand up. And his power fhall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he fhall deftroy wonderfully, and shall profper, and practise, and fhall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy alfo he fhall caufe craft to profper in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace fhall destroy many : he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without hand. And the vifion of the evening and the morning [an Hebraifm fignifying a day] is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision, for it shall be for many days.”

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