[1]See the Annals ofBaronius, Anno 381. Sect. 6.[2]Populos Galliciæ.[3]Hormisd. Epist. 24. 26.[4]The words,sine auctoritate, seem wanting.[5]Vide Caroli a S. Paulo Geographiam sacram, p. 72, 73.[6]Greg. M. lib. 1. Indic. 9. Epist. 16.[7]Apud Gratianum de Mediolanensi & Aquileiensi Episcopis.[8]Greg. M. lib. 3. Epist. 26. & lib. 4. Epist. 1.[9]Greg. lib. 5. Epist. 4.[10]Greg. lib. 9. Epist. 10 & 67.[11]Greg. lib. 11. Epist. 3, 4.[12]Ambros l. 3. de sacramentis, c. 1.[13]Sigonius de Regno Italiæ, lib. 5.[14]SeeBaronius, Anno 433. Sect. 24.[15]Greg. M. lib. 3. Epist. 56, 57. & lib. 5. Epist. 25, 26, 56.[16]Epist. 25. apud Holstenium.[17]Dan. vii. 20.[18]Ver. 25.[19]Ver. 26.[20]Ver. 27.
[1]See the Annals ofBaronius, Anno 381. Sect. 6.
[2]Populos Galliciæ.
[3]Hormisd. Epist. 24. 26.
[4]The words,sine auctoritate, seem wanting.
[5]Vide Caroli a S. Paulo Geographiam sacram, p. 72, 73.
[6]Greg. M. lib. 1. Indic. 9. Epist. 16.
[7]Apud Gratianum de Mediolanensi & Aquileiensi Episcopis.
[8]Greg. M. lib. 3. Epist. 26. & lib. 4. Epist. 1.
[9]Greg. lib. 5. Epist. 4.
[10]Greg. lib. 9. Epist. 10 & 67.
[11]Greg. lib. 11. Epist. 3, 4.
[12]Ambros l. 3. de sacramentis, c. 1.
[13]Sigonius de Regno Italiæ, lib. 5.
[14]SeeBaronius, Anno 433. Sect. 24.
[15]Greg. M. lib. 3. Epist. 56, 57. & lib. 5. Epist. 25, 26, 56.
[16]Epist. 25. apud Holstenium.
[17]Dan. vii. 20.
[18]Ver. 25.
[19]Ver. 26.
[20]Ver. 27.
Of the kingdoms represented inDanielby the Ram and He-Goat.
The second and third Empires, represented by the Bear and Leopard, are again represented by the Ram and He-Goat; but with this difference, that the Ram represents the kingdoms of theMedesandPersiansfrom the beginning of the four Empires, and the Goat represents the kingdom of theGreeksto the end of them. By this means, under the type of the Ram and He-Goat, the times of all the four Empires are again described:I lifted up mine eyes, saith[1]Daniel,and saw,and behold there stood before the river[Ulai]a Ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.—And the Ram having two horns, are the kings ofMediaandPersia: not two persons but two kingdoms, the kingdoms ofMediaandPersia; and the kingdom ofPersiawas the higher horn and came up last. The kingdom ofPersiarose up, whenCyrushaving newly conqueredBabylon, revolted fromDariusKing of theMedes, and beat him atPasargadæ, and set up thePersiansabove theMedes. This was the horn which came up last. And the horn which came up first was the kingdom of theMedes, from the time thatCyaxaresandNebuchadnezzaroverthrewNineveh, and shared the Empire of theAssyriansbetween them. The Empires ofMediaandBabylonwere contemporary, and rose up together by the fall of theAssyrianEmpire; and the Prophecy of the four Beasts begins with one of them, and that of the Ram and He-Goat with the other. As the Ram represents the kingdom ofMediaandPersiafrom the beginning of the four Empires; so the He-Goat represents the Empire of theGreeksto the end of those Monarchies. In the reign of his great horn, and of the four horns which succeeded it, he represents this Empire during the reign of the Leopard: and in the reign of his little horn, which stood up in the latter time of the kingdom of the four, and after their fall became mighty but not by his own power, he represents it during the reign of the fourth Beast.
The rough Goat, saithDaniel, is the King ofGrecia, that is, the kingdom;and the great horn between his eyes is the first King: not the first Monarch, but the first kingdom, that which lasted during the reign ofAlexanderthe great, and his brotherAridæusand two young sons,AlexanderandHercules.[2]Now that[horn]being broken off, whereas four[horns]stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation[of theGreeks],but not in his[the first horn's]power. The four horns are therefore four kingdoms; and by consequence, the first great horn which they succeeded is the first great kingdom of theGreeks, that which was founded byAlexanderthe great,An. Nabonass.414, and lasted till the death of his sonHercules,An. Nabonass.441. And the four are those ofCassander,Lysimachus,Antigonus, andPtolemy, as above.
[3]And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a King[or new kingdom]of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up: and his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. This King was the last horn of the Goat, the little horn which came up out of one of the four horns, and waxed exceeding great. The latter time of their kingdom was when theRomansbegan to conquer them, that is, when they conqueredPerseusKing ofMacedonia, the fundamental kingdom of theGreeks. And at that time the transgressors came to the full: for then the High-priesthood was exposed to sale, the Vessels of the Temple were sold to pay for the purchase; and the High-priest, with some of theJews, procured a licence fromAntiochus Epiphanesto do after the ordinances of the heathen, and set up a school atJerusalemfor teaching those ordinances. ThenAntiochustookJerusalemwith an armed force, slew 4000Jews, took as many prisoners and sold them, spoiled the Temple, interdicted the worship, commanded the Law ofMosesto be burnt, and set up the worship of the heathen Gods in allJudea. In the very same year,An. Nabonass.580, theRomansconqueredMacedonia, the chief of the four horns. Hitherto the Goat was mighty by its own power, but henceforward began to be under theRomans.Danieldistinguishes the times, by describing very particularly the actions of the Kings of the north and south, those two of the four horns which bordered uponJudea, until theRomansconqueredMacedonia; and thenceforward only touching upon the main revolutions which happened within the compass of the nations represented by the Goat. In this latter period of time the little horn was to stand up and grow mighty, but not by his own power.
The three first ofDaniel's Beasts had their dominions taken away, each of them at the rise of the next Beast; but their lives were prolonged, and they are all of them still alive. The third Beast, or Leopard, reigned in his four heads, till the rise of the fourth Beast, or Empire of theLatins; and his life was prolonged under their power. This Leopard reigning in his four heads, signifies the same thing with the He-Goat reigning in his four horns: and therefore the He-Goat reigned in his four horns till the rise ofDaniel's fourth Beast, or Empire of theLatins: then its dominion was taken away by theLatins, but its life was prolonged under their power. TheLatinsare not comprehended among the nations represented by the He-Goat in this Prophecy: their power over theGreeksis only named in it, to distinguish the times in which the He-Goat was mighty by his own power, from the times in which he was mighty but not by his own power. He was mighty by his own power till his dominion was taken away by theLatins; after that, his life was prolonged under their dominion, and this prolonging of his life was in the days of his last horn: for in the days of this horn the Goat became mighty, but not by his own power.
Now because this horn was a horn of the Goat, we are to look for it among the nations which composed the body of the Goat. Among those nations he was to rise up and grow mighty: he grew mighty[4]towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the pleasant land; and therefore he was to rise up in the north-west parts of those nations, and extend his dominion towardsEgypt,SyriaandJudea. In the latter time of the kingdom of the four horns, it was to rise up out of one of them and subdue the rest, but not by its own power. It was to be assisted by a foreign power, a power superior to itself, the power which took away the dominion of the third Beast, the power of the fourth Beast. And such a little horn was the kingdom ofMacedonia, from the time that it became subject to theRomans. This kingdom, by the victory of theRomansoverPersiusKing ofMacedonia,Anno Nabonass.580, ceased to be one of the four horns of the Goat, and became a dominion of a new sort: not a horn of the fourth Beast, forMacedoniabelonged to the body of the third; but a horn of the third Beast of a new sort, a horn of the Goat which grew mighty but not by his own power, a horn which rose up and grew potent under a foreign power, the power of theRomans.
TheRomans, by the legacy ofAttalusthe last King ofPergamus,An. Nabonass.615, inherited that kingdom, including allAsia Minoron this side mountTaurus.An. Nabonass.684 and 685 they conqueredArmenia,SyriaandJudea;An. Nabonass.718, they subduedEgypt. And by these conquests the little horn[5]waxed exceeding great towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the pleasant land. And it waxed great even to the host of heaven; and cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them, that is, upon the people and great men of theJews.[6]Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the Host, theMessiah, the Prince of theJews, whom he put to death,An. Nabonass.780.And by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down,viz.in the wars which the armies of theEasternnations under the conduct of theRomansmade againstJudea, whenNeroandVespasianwere Emperors,An. Nabonass.816, 817, 818.[7]And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it practised and prospered. This transgression is in the next words calledthe transgression of desolation; and inDan.xi. 31.the abomination which maketh desolate; and inMatth.xxiv. 15.the abomination of desolation, spoken of byDanielthe prophet, standing in the holy place. It may relate chiefly to the worship ofJupiter Olympiusin his Temple built by the EmperorHadrian, in the place of the Temple of theJews, and to the revolt of theJewsunderBarchochaboccasioned thereby, and to the desolation ofJudeawhich followed thereupon; all theJews, being thenceforward banishedJudeaupon pain of death.Then I heard, saith[8]Daniel, one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.Daniel's days are years; and these years may perhaps be reckoned either from the destruction of the Temple by theRomansin the reign ofVespasian, or from the pollution of the Sanctuary by the worship ofJupiter Olympius, or from the desolation ofJudeamade in the end of theJewishwar by the banishment of all theJewsout of their own country, or from some other period which time will discover. Henceforward the last horn of the Goat continued mighty under theRomans, till the reign ofConstantinethe great and his sons: and then by the division of theRomanEmpire between theGreekandLatinEmperors, it separated from theLatins, and became theGreekEmpire alone, but yet under the dominion of aRomanfamily; and at present it is mighty under the dominion of theTurks.
This last horn is by some taken forAntiochus Epiphanes, but not very judiciously. A horn of a Beast is never taken for a single person: it always signifies a new kingdom, and the kingdom ofAntiochuswas an old one.Antiochusreigned over one of the four horns, and the little horn was a fifth under its proper kings. This horn was at first a little one, and waxed exceeding great, but so did notAntiochus. It is described great above all the former horns, and so was notAntiochus. His kingdom on the contrary was weak, and tributary to theRomans, and he did not enlarge it. The horn was aKing of fierce countenance, and destroyed wonderfully, and prospered and practised; that is, he prospered in his practises against the holy people: butAntiochuswas frighted out ofEgyptby a mere message of theRomans, and afterwards routed and baffled by theJews. The horn was mighty by another's power,Antiochusacted by his own. The horn stood up against the Prince of the Host of heaven, the Prince of Princes; and this is the character not ofAntiochusbut ofAntichrist. The horn cast down the Sanctuary to the ground, and so did notAntiochus; he left it standing. The Sanctuary and Host were trampled under foot 2300 days; and inDaniel's Prophecies days are put for years: but the profanation of the Temple in the reign ofAntiochusdid not last so many natural days. These were to last till the time of the end, till the last end of the indignation against theJews; and this indignation is not yet at an end. They were to last till the Sanctuary which had been cast down should be cleansed, and the Sanctuary is not yet cleansed.
This Prophecy of the Ram and He-Goat is repeated in the last Prophecy ofDaniel. There the Angel tellsDaniel, that[9]he stood up to strengthenDariustheMede, and that there should stand up yet three kings inPersia, [Cyrus,Cambyses, andDarius Hystaspis]and the fourth[Xerxes]should be far richer than they all; and by his wealth thro' his riches he should stir up all against the realm ofGrecia. This relates to the Ram, whose two horns were the kingdoms ofMediaandPersia. Then he goes on to describe the horns of the Goat by the[10]standing up of a mighty king, which should rule with great dominion, and do according to his will; and by the breaking of his kingdom into four smaller kingdoms, and not descending to his own posterity. Then he describes the actions of two of those kingdoms which bordered onJudea,viz.EgyptandSyria, calling them the Kings of theSouthandNorth, that is, in respect ofJudea; and he carries on the description till the latter end of the kingdoms of the four, and till the reign ofAntiochus Epiphanes, when transgressors were come to the full. In the eighth year ofAntiochus, the year in which he profaned the Temple and set up the heathen Gods in allJudea, and theRomansconquered the kingdom ofMacedon; the prophetic Angel leaves off describing the affairs of the kings of theSouthandNorth, and begins to describe those of theGreeksunder the dominion of theRomans, in these words:[11]And after him Arms[theRomans]shall stand up, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength. Asממלךsignifiesafter the king, Dan. xi. 8; so hereממנוmay signifyafter him: and soמן־האחתmay signifyafter one of them, Dan. viii. 9. Arms are every where in these Prophecies ofDanielput for the military power of a kingdom, and they stand up when they conquer and grow powerful. TheRomansconqueredIllyricum,EpirusandMacedonia, in the year ofNabonassar580; and thirty five years after, by the last will and testament ofAttalusthe last King ofPergamus, they inherited that rich and flourishing kingdom, that is, allAsiaon this side mountTaurus: and sixty nine years after, they conquered the kingdom ofSyria, and reduced it into a Province: and thirty four years after they did the like toEgypt. By all these steps theRomanarms stood up over theGreeks. And after 95 years more, by making war upon theJews, they polluted the sanctuary of strength, and took away the daily sacrifice, and, in its room soon after,placed the abomination which madethe Landdesolate: for this abomination was placed after the days of Christ,Matth.xxiv. 15. In the 16th year of the EmperorHadrian, A. C. 132, they placed this abomination by building a Temple toJupiter Capitolinus, where the Temple of God inJerusalemhad stood. Thereupon theJewsunder the conduct ofBarchochabrose up in arms against theRomans, and in that war had 50 cities demolished, 985 of their best towns destroyed, and 580000 men slain by the sword: and in the end of the war, A.C. 136, they were all banishedJudeaupon pain or death; and that time the land hath remained desolate of its old inhabitants.
Now that the prophetic Angel passes in this manner from the four kingdoms of theGreeksto theRomansreigning over theGreeks, is confirmed from hence, that in the next place he describes the affairs of theChristiansunto the time of the end, in these words:[12]And they that understand among the people shall instruct many, yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil many days. Now when they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help,viz. in the reign ofConstantinethe great;but many shall cleave to them with dissimulation. And some of them of understanding there shall fall to try them, and to purgethem from the dissemblers;and to make them white even to the time of the end. And a little after, the time of the end is said to bea time, times, and half a time: which is the duration of the reign of the last horn ofDaniel's fourth Beast, and of theWomanand herBeastin theApocalyps.
[1]Chap. viii. 3.[2]Ver. 22.[3]Ver. 23.[4]Chap. viii. 9.[5]Chap. viii. 9, 10.[6]Ver. 11.[7]Ver. 12.[8]Ver. 13, 14.[9]Dan. xi. 1, 2.[10]Ver. 3.[11]Dan xi. 31.[12]Chap. xi. 33, &c.
[1]Chap. viii. 3.
[2]Ver. 22.
[3]Ver. 23.
[4]Chap. viii. 9.
[5]Chap. viii. 9, 10.
[6]Ver. 11.
[7]Ver. 12.
[8]Ver. 13, 14.
[9]Dan. xi. 1, 2.
[10]Ver. 3.
[11]Dan xi. 31.
[12]Chap. xi. 33, &c.
Of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks.
The Vision of the Image composed of four Metals was given first toNebuchadnezzar, and then toDanielin a dream: andDanielbegan then to be celebrated for revealing of secrets,Ezek.xxviii. 3. The Vision of the four Beasts, and ofthe Son of mancoming in the clouds of heaven, was also given toDanielin a dream. That of the Ram and the He-Goat appeared to him in the day time, when he was by the bank of the riverUlay; and was explained to him by the prophetic AngelGabriel. It concerns thePrince of the host, and thePrince of Princes: and now in the first year ofDariustheMedeoverBabylon, the same prophetic Angel appears toDanielagain, and explains to him what is meant by theSon of man, by thePrince of the host, and thePrince of Princes. The Prophecy of theSon of mancoming in the clouds of heaven relates to the second coming ofChrist; that of thePrince of the hostrelates to his first coming: and this Prophecy of theMessiah, in explaining them, relates to both comings, and assigns the times thereof.
This Prophecy, like all the rest ofDaniel's, consists of two parts, an introductory Prophecy and an explanation thereof; the whole I thus translate and interpret.
[1]'Seventy weeks are[2]cut out upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and[3]to make an end of sins, to expiate iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, to consummate the Vision and[4]the Prophet, and to anoint the most Holy.
'Know also and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to cause to return and to buildJerusalem, unto[5]the Anointed the Prince, shall be seven weeks.
'Yet threescore and two weeks shall[6]it return, and the street be built and the wall; but in troublesome times: and after the threescore and two weeks, the Anointed shall be cut off, and[6]it shall not be his; but the people of a Prince to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary: and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war, desolations are determined.
'Yet shall he confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in half a week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease: and upon a wing of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that which is determined be poured upon the desolate.'
Seventy weeks are cut out upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, &c. Here, by putting a week for seven years, are reckoned 490 years from the time that the dispersedJewsshould be re-incorporated into[7]a people and a holy city, until the death and resurrection ofChrist; wherebytransgression should be finished, and sins ended, iniquity be expiated, and everlasting righteousness brought in, and this Vision be accomplished, and the Prophet consummated, that Prophet whom theJewsexpected; and wherebythe most Holyshould beanointed, he who is therefore in the next words called theAnointed, that is, theMessiah, or theChrist. For by joining the accomplishment of the vision with the expiation of sins, the 490 years are ended with the death ofChrist. Now the dispersedJewsbecame a people and city when they first returned into a polity or body politick; and this was in the seventh year ofArtaxerxes Longimanus, whenEzrareturned with a body ofJewsfrom captivity, and revived theJewishworship; and by the King's commission created Magistrates in all the land, to judge and govern the people according to the laws of God and the King,Ezravii. 25. There were but two returns from captivity,Zerubbabel's andEzra's; inZerubbabel's they had only commission to build the Temple, inEzra's they first became a polity or city by a government of their own. Now the years of thisArtaxerxesbegan about two or three months after the summer solstice, and his seventh year fell in with the third year of the eightiethOlympiad; and the latter part thereof, whereinEzrawent up toJerusalem, was in the year of theJulian Period4257. Count the time from thence to the death ofChrist, and you will find it just 490 years. If you count inJudaicyears commencing in autumn, and date the reckoning from the first autumn afterEzra's coming toJerusalem, when he put the King's decree in execution; the death ofChristwill fall on the year of theJulian Period4747,Anno Domini34; and the weeks will beJudaicweeks, ending with sabbatical years; and this I take to be the truth: but if you had rather place the death ofChristin the year before, as is commonly done, you may take the year ofEzra's journey into the reckoning.
Know also and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to cause to return and to buildJerusalem, unto the Anointed the Prince, shall be seven weeks. The former part of the Prophecy related to the first coming ofChrist, being dated to his coming as a Prophet; this being dated to his coming to be Prince or King, seems to relate to his second coming. There, the Prophet was consummate, and the most holy anointed: here, he that was anointed comes to be Prince and to reign. ForDaniel's Prophecies reach to the end of the world; and there is scarce a Prophecy in the Old Testament concerningChrist, which doth not in something or other relate to his second coming. If divers of the antients, as[8]Irenæus,[9]Julius Africanus,Hippolytusthe martyr, andApollinarisBishop ofLaodicea, applied the half week to the times ofAntichrist; why may not we, by the same liberty of interpretation, apply the seven weeks to the time whenAntichristshall be destroyed by the brightness ofChrist's coming?
TheIsraelitesin the days of the antient Prophets, when the ten Tribes were led into captivity, expected a double return; and that at the first theJewsshould build a new Temple inferior toSolomon's, until the time of that age should be fulfilled; and afterwards they should return from all places of their captivity, and buildJerusalemand the Temple gloriously,Tobitxiv. 4, 5, 6: and to express the glory and excellence of this city, it is figuratively said to be built of precious stones,Tobitxiii. 16, 17, 18.Isa.liv. 11, 12.Rev.xi. and called theNew Jerusalem, theHeavenly Jerusalem, theHoly City, theLamb's Wife, theCity of the Great King, theCity into which the Kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour.Nowwhile such a return from captivity was the expectation ofIsrael, even before the times ofDaniel, I know not whyDanielshould omit it in his Prophecy. This part of the Prophecy being therefore not yet fulfilled, I shall not attempt a particular interpretation of it, but content myself with observing, that as theseventyand thesixty two weekswereJewishweeks, ending with sabbatical years; so theseven weeksare the compass of aJubilee, and begin and end with actions proper for aJubilee, and of the highest nature for which aJubileecan be kept: and that sincethe commandment to return and to buildJerusalem, precedes theMessiah the Prince49 years; it may perhaps come forth not from theJewsthemselves, but from some other kingdom friendly to them, and precede their return from captivity, and give occasion to it; and lastly, that this rebuilding ofJerusalemand the waste places ofJudahis predicted inMicahvii. 11.Amosix. 11, 14.Ezek.xxxvi. 33, 35, 36, 38.Isa.liv. 3, 11, 12. lv. 12. lxi. 4. lxv. 18, 21,22. andTobitxiv. 5. and that the return from captivity and coming of theMessiahand his kingdom are described inDanielvii.Rev.xix.Actsi.Mat.xxiv.Joeliii.Ezek.xxxvi. xxxvii.Isa.lx. lxii. lxiii. lxv. and lxvi. and many other places of scripture. The manner I know not. Let time be the Interpreter.
Yet threescore and two weeks shall it return, and the street be built and the wall, but in troublesome times: and after the threescore and two weeks theMessiahshall be cut off, and it shall not be his; but the people of a Prince to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, &c. Having foretold both comings ofChrist, and dated the last from their returning and buildingJerusalem; to prevent the applying that to the buildingJerusalembyNehemiah, he distinguishes this from that, by saying that from this period to theAnointedshall be, not seven weeks, but threescore and two weeks, and this not in prosperous but in troublesome times; and at the end of these Weeks theMessiahshall not be the Prince of theJews, but be cut off; andJerusalemnot be his, but the city and sanctuary be destroyed. NowNehemiahcame toJerusalemin the 20th year of this sameArtaxerxes, whileEzrastill continued there,Nehem.xii. 36, and found the city lying waste, and the houses and wall unbuilt,Nehem.ii. 17. vii. 4, and finished the wall the 25th day of the monthElul,Nehem.vi. 15, in the 28th year of the King, that is, inSeptemberin the year of theJulian Period4278. Count now from this year threescore and two weeks of years, that is 434 years, and the reckoning will end inSeptemberin the year of theJulian Period4712 which is the year in whichChristwas born, according toClemens Alexandrinus,Irenæus,Eusebius,Epiphanius,Jerome,Orosius,Cassiodorus, and other antients; and this was the general opinion, tillDionysius Exiguusinvented the vulgar account, in whichChrist's birth is placed two years later. If with some you reckon thatChristwas born three or four years before the vulgar account, yet his birth will fall in the latter part of the last week, which is enough. How after these weeksChristwas cut off and the city and sanctuary destroyed by theRomans, is well known.
Yet shall he confirm the covenant with many for one week.He kept it, notwithstanding his death, till the rejection of theJews, and calling ofCorneliusand theGentilesin the seventh year after his passion.
And in half a week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease; that is, by the war of theRomansupon theJews: which war, after some commotions, began in the 13th year ofNero, A.D. 67, in the spring, whenVespasianwith an army invaded them; and ended in the second year ofVespasian, A.D. 70, in autumn,Sept.7, whenTitustook the city, having burnt the Temple 27 days before: so that it lasted three years and an half.
And upon a wing of abominations he shall cause desolation, even until the consummation, and that which is determined be poured upon the desolate.The Prophets, in representing kingdoms by Beasts and Birds, put their wings stretcht out over any country for their armies sent out to invade and rule over that country. Hence a wing of abominations is an army of false Gods: for an abomination is often put in scripture for a false God; as whereChemoshis called[10]the abomination ofMoab, andMolechthe abomination ofAmmon. The meaning therefore is, that the people of a Prince to come shall destroy the sanctuary, and abolish the daily worship of the true God, and overspread the land with an army of false gods; and by setting up their dominion and worship, cause desolation to theJews, until the times of theGentilesbe fulfilled. ForChristtells us, that the abomination of desolation spoken of byDanielwas to be set up in the times of theRoman Empire,Matth.xxiv. 15.
Thus have we in this short Prophecy, a prediction of all the main periods relating to the coming of theMessiah; the time of his birth, that of his death, that of the rejection of theJews, the duration of theJewishwar whereby he caused the city and sanctuary to be destroyed, and the time of his second coming: and so the interpretation here given is more full and complete and adequate to the design, than if we should restrain it to his first coming only, as Interpreters usually do. We avoid also the doing violence to the language ofDaniel, by taking theseven weeksandsixty two weeksfor one number. Had that beenDaniel's meaning, he would have saidsixty and nine weeks, and notseven weeksandsixty two weeks, a way of numbring used by no nation. In our way the years areJewish Luni-solar years,[11]as they ought to be; and theseventy weeks of yearsareJewish weeksending withsabbatical years, which is very remarkable. For they end either with the year of the birth ofChrist, two years before the vulgar account, or with the year of his death, or with the seventh year after it: all which aresabbatical years. Others either count by Lunar years, or by weeks notJudaic: and, which is worst, they ground their interpretations on erroneous Chronology, excepting the opinion ofFuncciusabout theseventy weeks, which is the same with ours. For they placeEzraandNehemiahin the reign ofArtaxerxes Mnemon, and the building of the Temple in the reign ofDarius Nothus, and date the weeks ofDanielfrom those two reigns.
The grounds of the Chronology here followed, I will now set down as briefly as I can.
ThePeloponnesianwar began in springAn.1Olymp.87, asDiodorus,Eusebius, and all other authors agree. It began two months beforePythodorusceased to beArchon,Thucyd.l.2. that is, inApril, two months before the end of theOlympicyear. Now the years of this war are most certainly determined by the 50 years distance of its first year from the transit ofXerxesinclusively,Thucyd.l.2. or 48 years exclusively,Eratosth. apud Clem. Alex.by the 69 years distance of its end, or 27th year, from the beginning ofAlexander's reign inGreece; by the acting of theOlympicgames in its 4th and 12th years,Thucyd.l.5; and by three eclipses of the sun, and one of the moon, mentioned byThucydidesandXenophon. NowThucydides, an unquestionable witness, tells us, that the news of the death ofArtaxerxes Longimanuswas brought toEphesus, and from thence by someAthenianstoAthens, in the 7th year of thisPeloponnesianwar, when the winter half year was running; and therefore he diedAn.4Olymp.88, in the end ofAn. J.P.4289, suppose a month or two before midwinter; for so long the news would be in coming. NowArtaxerxes Longimanusreigned 40 years, by the consent ofDiodorus,Eusebius,Jerome,Sulpitius; or 41, according toPtol. in can. Clem. Alexand.l.1.Strom. Chron. Alexandr.Abulpharagius,Nicephorus, including therein the reign of his successorsXerxesandSogdian, asAbulpharagiusinforms us. AfterArtaxerxesreigned his sonXerxestwo months, andSogdianseven months; but their reign is not reckoned apart in summing up the years of the Kings, but is included in the 40 or 41 years reign ofArtaxerxes: omit these nine months, and the precise reign ofArtaxerxeswill be thirty nine years and three months. And therefore since his reign ended in the beginning of winterAn. J.P.4289, it began between midsummer and autumn,An. J.P.4250.
The same thing I gather also thus.Cambysesbegan his reign in springAn. J.P.4185, and reigned eight years, including the five months ofSmerdes; and thenDarius Hystaspisbegan in springAn. J.P.4193, and reigned thirty six years, by the unanimous consent of all Chronologers. The reigns of these two Kings are determined by three eclipses of the moon observed atBabylon, and recorded byPtolemy; so that it cannot be disputed. One was in the seventh year ofCambyses,An. J.P.4191,Jul.16, at 11 at night; another in the 20th year ofDarius,An. J.P.4212,Nov.19, at 11h.45' at night; a third in the 31st year ofDarius,An. J.P.4223,Apr.25, at 11h.30 at night. By these eclipses, and the Prophecies ofHaggaiandZecharycompared together, it is manifest that his years began after the 24th day of the 11thJewishmonth, and before the 25th day ofApril, and by consequence aboutMarch.Xerxestherefore began in springAn. J.P.4229: forDariusdied in the fifth year after the battle atMarathon, asHerodotus,lib.7, andPlutarchmention; and that battle was inOctoberAn. J.P.4224, ten years before the battle atSalamis.Xerxestherefore began within less than a year afterOctoberAn. J.P.4228, suppose in the spring following: for he spent his first five years, and something more, in preparations for his expedition against theGreeks; and this expedition was in the time of theOlympicgames,An.1Olymp.75,Calliade Athenis Archonte, 28 years after theRegifuge, and Consulship of the first ConsulJunius Brutus,Anno Urbis conditæ273,Fabio & Furio Coss.The passage ofXerxes's army over theHellespontbegan in the end of the fourth year of the 74thOlympiad, that is, inJuneAn. J.P.4234, and took up one month: and in autumn, three months after, on the full moon, the 16th day of the monthMunychion, was the battle atSalamis, and a little after that an eclipse of the sun, which by the calculation fell onOctob.2. His sixth year therefore began a little beforeJune, suppose in springAn. J.P.4234, and his first year consequently in springAn. J.P.4229, as above. Now he reigned almost twenty one years, by the consent of all writers. Add the 7 months ofArtabanus, and the sum will be 21 years and about four or five months, which end between midsummer and autumnAn. J.P.4250. At this time therefore began the reign of his successorArtaxerxes, as was to be proved.
The same thing is also confirmed byJulius Africanus, who informs us out of former writers, that the 20th year of thisArtaxerxeswas the 115th year from the beginning of the reign ofCyrusinPersia,and fell in withAn.4Olymp.83. It began therefore with theOlympicyear, soon after the summer Solstice,An. J.P.4269. Subduct nineteen years, and his first year will begin at the same time of the yearAn. J.P.4250, as above.
His 7th year therefore began after midsummerAn. J.P.4256; and the Journey ofEzratoJerusalemin the spring following fell on the beginning ofAn. J.P.4257, as above.
[1]Chap. ix. 24, 25, 26, 27.[2]Cut upon. A phrase inHebrew, taken from the practise of numbring by cutting notches.[3]Heb.to seal, i.e. to finish or consummate: a metaphor taken from sealing what is finished. So theJewscompute,ad obsignatum Misna, ad obsignatum Talmud, that is,ad absolutum.[4]Heb.the Prophet, not the Prophecy.[5]Heb.the Messiah, that is, inGreek,the Christ; inEnglish,the Anointed. I use theEnglishword, that the relation of this clause to the former may appear.[6]Jerusalem.[7]SeeIsa.xxiii. 13.[8]Iren. l. 5. Hær. c. 25.[9]Apud Hieron. in h. l.[10]1 Kings xi. 7.[11]The antient solar years of the eastern nations consisted of 12 months, and every month of 30 days: and hence came the division of a circle into 360 degrees. This year seems to be used byMosesin his history of the Flood, and byJohnin theApocalypse, where a time, times and half a time, 42 months and 1260 days, are put equipollent. But in reckoning by many of these years together, an account is to be kept of the odd days which were added to the end of these years. For theEgyptiansadded five days to the end of this year; and so did theChaldeanslong before the times ofDaniel, as appears by theÆra, ofNabonassar: and thePersianMagi used the same year of 365 days, till the Empire of theArabians. The antientGreeksalso used the same solar year of 12 equal months, or 360 days; but every other year added an intercalary month, consisting of 10 and 11 days alternately.The year of theJews, even from their coming out ofEgypt, was Luni-solar. It was solar, for the harvest always followed the Passover, and the fruits of the land were always gathered before the feast of Tabernacles,Levit.xxiii. But the months were lunar, for the people were commanded byMosesin the beginning of every month to blow with trumpets, and offer burnt offerings with their drink offerings,Num.x. 10. xxviii. 11, 14. and this solemnity was kept on the new moons,Psal.lxxxi. 3,4,5. 1Chron.xxiii. 31. These months were called byMosesthe first, second, third, fourth month,&c.and the first month was also calledAbib, the secondZif, the seventhEthanim, the eighthBull,Exod.xiii. 4. 1Kingsvi. 37, 38. viii. 2. But in theBabyloniancaptivity theJewsused the names of theChaldeanmonths, and by those names understood the months of their own year; so that theJewishmonths then lost their old names, and are now called by those of theChaldeans.TheJewsbegan their civil year from the autumnal Equinox, and their sacred year from the vernal: and the first day of the first month was on the visible new moon, which was nearest the Equinox.WhetherDanielused theChaldaickorJewishyear, is not very material; the difference being but six hours in a year, and 4 months in 480 years. But I take his months to beJewish: first, becauseDanielwas aJew, and theJewseven by the names of theChaldeanmonths understood the months of their own year: secondly, because this Prophecy is grounded onJeremiah's concerning the 70 years captivity, and therefore must be understood of the same sort of years with the seventy; and those areJewish, since that Prophecy was given inJudeabefore the captivity: and lastly, becauseDanielreckons by weeks of years, which is a way of reckoning peculiar to theJewishyears. For as their days ran by sevens, and the last day of every seven was a sabbath; so their years ran by sevens, and the last year of every seven was a sabbatical year, and seven such weeks of years made aJubilee.
[1]Chap. ix. 24, 25, 26, 27.
[2]Cut upon. A phrase inHebrew, taken from the practise of numbring by cutting notches.
[3]Heb.to seal, i.e. to finish or consummate: a metaphor taken from sealing what is finished. So theJewscompute,ad obsignatum Misna, ad obsignatum Talmud, that is,ad absolutum.
[4]Heb.the Prophet, not the Prophecy.
[5]Heb.the Messiah, that is, inGreek,the Christ; inEnglish,the Anointed. I use theEnglishword, that the relation of this clause to the former may appear.
[6]Jerusalem.
[7]SeeIsa.xxiii. 13.
[8]Iren. l. 5. Hær. c. 25.
[9]Apud Hieron. in h. l.
[10]1 Kings xi. 7.
[11]The antient solar years of the eastern nations consisted of 12 months, and every month of 30 days: and hence came the division of a circle into 360 degrees. This year seems to be used byMosesin his history of the Flood, and byJohnin theApocalypse, where a time, times and half a time, 42 months and 1260 days, are put equipollent. But in reckoning by many of these years together, an account is to be kept of the odd days which were added to the end of these years. For theEgyptiansadded five days to the end of this year; and so did theChaldeanslong before the times ofDaniel, as appears by theÆra, ofNabonassar: and thePersianMagi used the same year of 365 days, till the Empire of theArabians. The antientGreeksalso used the same solar year of 12 equal months, or 360 days; but every other year added an intercalary month, consisting of 10 and 11 days alternately.
The year of theJews, even from their coming out ofEgypt, was Luni-solar. It was solar, for the harvest always followed the Passover, and the fruits of the land were always gathered before the feast of Tabernacles,Levit.xxiii. But the months were lunar, for the people were commanded byMosesin the beginning of every month to blow with trumpets, and offer burnt offerings with their drink offerings,Num.x. 10. xxviii. 11, 14. and this solemnity was kept on the new moons,Psal.lxxxi. 3,4,5. 1Chron.xxiii. 31. These months were called byMosesthe first, second, third, fourth month,&c.and the first month was also calledAbib, the secondZif, the seventhEthanim, the eighthBull,Exod.xiii. 4. 1Kingsvi. 37, 38. viii. 2. But in theBabyloniancaptivity theJewsused the names of theChaldeanmonths, and by those names understood the months of their own year; so that theJewishmonths then lost their old names, and are now called by those of theChaldeans.
TheJewsbegan their civil year from the autumnal Equinox, and their sacred year from the vernal: and the first day of the first month was on the visible new moon, which was nearest the Equinox.
WhetherDanielused theChaldaickorJewishyear, is not very material; the difference being but six hours in a year, and 4 months in 480 years. But I take his months to beJewish: first, becauseDanielwas aJew, and theJewseven by the names of theChaldeanmonths understood the months of their own year: secondly, because this Prophecy is grounded onJeremiah's concerning the 70 years captivity, and therefore must be understood of the same sort of years with the seventy; and those areJewish, since that Prophecy was given inJudeabefore the captivity: and lastly, becauseDanielreckons by weeks of years, which is a way of reckoning peculiar to theJewishyears. For as their days ran by sevens, and the last day of every seven was a sabbath; so their years ran by sevens, and the last year of every seven was a sabbatical year, and seven such weeks of years made aJubilee.