Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John · Isaac Newton
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 _Aridæus_, 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.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.