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preceding vision. Cassander held Macedon and Greece; Lysimachus had Thrace and Bithynia; Ptolemy made himself master of Egypt; and Seleucus obtained Syria and the East. Thus exactly, was fulfilled the prophecy, that four kingdoms should arise out of Alexander's empire, governed by princes of his own nation, though neither of his own family, nor with power equal to that which he had possessed." (Faber.)

"And out of one of them (the four horns] came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 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." Dan. viii. 9-12.

In the foregoing verses, Mr. Faber supposes the Mahominedan apostasy to be described as rising in the east, and continuing "the transgression of desolation," at the very time, when by the Pope's being acknowledged universal bishop, and obtaining spiritual supremacy, he became the little horn of the fourth beast in the west, A. D. 606, into whose hands the saints were to be delivered for the space of 1260 years. See his Dissertations, vol. i. ch. 5. The different interpretations furnished by other commentators, have been already noticed; for a full account of them, see Bishop Newton, vol. i. Dis. 15. Hales's Anal. vol. ii. p. 551, &c.

"Then I heard 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

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thousand three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Dan. viii. 13, 14.

This number is generally considered as describing the period of time to be occupied by the events predicted in the vision, and reaching to the end of the period of 1260 years; but it must be observed that there are other readings of this number, viz. that of the Septuagint, which gives 2400, and that of some copies mentioned by Jerome 2200; the latter reading is adopted by Mr. Faber, who dates the commencement of the prophecy B. C. 334; by the reading of our own version, it would be placed in the reign of Darius Ochus. Bishop Newton observes, that when these years shall be expired, then their end will clearly show from whence their beginning is to be dated."

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IV. THE PROPHECY OF THE SEVENTY WEEKS, ch. ix. 21-27. It relates solely to the Jewish nation, and was revealed to Daniel in the first year of Darius the Mede, "over the realm of Chaldeans (Dan. ix. 1), the same year that Babylon was taken by Cyrus, and B. C. 539. The time from which the accomplishment of the vision commences, is a disputed point, but there are two standard theories, the one or the other of which being, in the grand outline, generally followed by commentators, both are inserted in this work, in order, that the reader, being made acquainted with the foundation, may the more easily comprehend the superstructure built upon it by different authors; and first,

The opinion of Dean Prideaux (to which the tables accompanying this little treatise will be accommodated,) assigns the year B. C. 459 for the date of the commencement of the seventy weeks of years. With respect to the prophecy itself, he observes, that the whole of it, as delivered to us in the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th verses of the ninth chapter of Daniel, contains three branches or parts : the first foretells events to be accomplished within seventy

weeks in general, and to be fully completed and brought to pass at the end of them; the second, events to be accom plished precisely at three particular periods, into which the said general number of seventy weeks is divided; and the third, events to be brought to pass after the expiration of the said seventy weeks, in the times immediately following thereupon.

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"I. The first branch, or part of this prophecy, is that which is contained in the 24th verse, and foretells the six events above mentioned viz. (to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for ini-· quity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy; (ver. 24.) which were to be accomplished within the said seventy weeks in general, and to be fully completed and brought to pass at the end of them.

II. The second branch or part of this prophecy, is that which is contained in the 25th verse, and in the former part of the 26th, and former part of the 27th verses. This divides the general number of seventy weeks into three particular periods, and assigns particular events to be precisely accomplished at the end of each of them. These three particular periods are seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and one week, that is, 49 years, 434 years, and 7 years; and the particular events to be accomplished at the end of each of them are, 1st, the restoring and building of the street and ditch of Jerusalem în troublous times; 2nd, The coming of the Messiah; and, 3rd, His confirming of the covenant of the Gospel, with many of the Jews for one week, his causing sacrifice and oblation to cease in the half of that week, and his being cut off at the end thereof. And, therefore, applying these particular events to their proper periods, the pro+ phecy will be clearly thus: that, numbering the said seventy going forth of the commandment or decree

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Jerusalem (that is, to restore and estastate of the Jews at Jerusalem,) there

should be first seven weeks of that number, that is, fortynine years; and then the said church and state (here figuratively expressed by the streets of the city,) should be thoroughly reformed and restored, and all such good constitutions and establishments (here figuratively expressed by the ditch) should be made and settled, as should be necessary, for the fortifying and preserving of the same; and that all this should be done in troublous times, and amidst, great opposition from enemies: That, after sixty two weeks from the end of the said seven weeks, that is, 434 years, the Messiah should come: and that, after this, having for one week, the last of the said seventy weeks (that is, for the space of seven years,) confirmed the covenant of the Gospel with many of the Jews, he should, in the half part of that week (that is in the latter half part of it, cause the sacrifices and oblations of the temple to cease; and, in the conclusion of the whole, that is, in the precise ending of the said seventy weeks, be cut off and die. And, accordingly, all this was exactly fulfilled and brought to pass.

"1st. As to the period of seven weeks, it must be acknowledged, that the particular event of restoring and building of Jerusalem, with its streets and ditch, in troublous times, (by which I understand the restoring and settling the church and state of the Jews,) is not distinctly applied thereto in the prophecy: for, in the end of the 25th verse, both the two first periods being mentioned together, i. e. that of the seven weeks, and that of sixty-two weeks, the event of restoring and building of Jerusalem, with its street and ditch, is subjoined to both of them, without any distinct application to either; but the words immediately following in the next verse, appropriating the time of the Messiah to the period of sixty-two weeks, this necessarily leaves the other, that is, the restoring and building of Jerusalem, with its streets and ditch, to be appropriated to the period of seven weeks. And, accordingly, within the compass of the

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said period of seven weeks, or forty nine years, this event was accomplished, in the full restoring and establishing of the church and state of the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem, after the Babylonish captivity: for this was begun by Ezra, by virtue of that commandment or decree, which was granted to him for it in the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus, king of Persia, B. C. 458, and afterwards. carried on by Nehemiah, by virtue of another decree granted to him, for this purpose, by the same Artaxerxes, in the twentieth year of his reign. And, from the beginning of this restoration of the church and state of the Jews, by Ezra, to the ending and perfection of it by Nehemiah, B. C. 409, in that last act of this reformation, which is spoken of in the 13th of Nehemiah (that is, from the 23d verse to the end of the chapter,) were forty-nine years, as will be clearly made out, in its proper place, in the sequel of this history. For, during all that time this work was a carrying on, and the great opposition which these two good. men met with herein, not only from the Samaritans, and other enemies abroad, but also from false brethren, and wicked men at home, who hated all reformation, was the true cause that it was so long a doing; that there were such oppositions in the doing of it, this sufficiently verifieth, the prophecy in its prediction, that it was to be done in troublous times. And, it is observable, that, at the same junc-. ture of time, where the restoration of the Jewish church and state ended, there the holy scriptures of the Old Testament do end also; for, this last reformation of Nehemiah which I have mentioned, and where I place the full completion of the said restoration, is the last act which is recorded therein; and, therefore, this ending of the period, is of sufficient remark, for this reason, as well as the other, to be taken notice of in the prophecy; which can scarce be said of any other that can be assigned for it. And,

"2dly, From these seven weeks, or forty-nine years, reckoning sixty-two weeks, or four hundred and thirtyfour years more (which is the term of the second period,)

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