Daniel’s vision of the four beasts, signifying four kingdoms: of God sitting on his throne: and of the opposite kingdoms of Christ and Antichrist.
Daniel seeth foure windes fighting, and foure terrible beastes rising from the sea: 9. God sitting in a throne, and serued by innumerable Angels. 11. The greatest beast is slaine, and the powre of the rest diminished. 13. The Sonne of man receiueth eternal powre of God. 15. The prophet much terrified, is instructed that the foure beastes signifie foure kingdoms. 19. The greatest shal preuaile for a while, 26. but shortly perish.
1In the first year of Baltasar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream: and the vision of his head was upon his bed: and writing the dream, he comprehended it in a few words: and relating the sum of it in short, he said:L'anno primo di Baltassar re di Babilonia, Daniele ebbe visione in sogno, e la visione la ebbe essendo nel suo letto, e scrisse, e registrò in brevi note questo sogno, e compendiosamente riferendolo, disse:IN the first yeare of Baltassar the king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dreame: & the vision of his head in his bed: and writing the dreame, he comprehended it in a short speach: and in summe comprising it, he said:Anno primo Baltassar regis Babylonis, Daniel somnium vidit: visio autem capitis ejus in cubili suo: et somnium scribens, brevi sermone comprehendit: summatimque perstringens, ait: 2I saw in my vision by night, and behold the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.Io ebbi una notte questa visione: i quattro venti dell'aria combattevano nel gran mare;I saw in my vision by night, and behold the foure windes of heauen fought in the great sea.Videbam in visione mea nocte: et ecce quatuor venti cæli pugnabant in mari magno. 3And four great beasts, different one from another, came up out of the sea.E quattro grandi bestie uscivan dal mare tra lor diverse.And foure great beasts came vp, out of the sea diuerse one from an other.Et quatuor bestiæ grandes ascendebant de mari diversæ inter se. 4The first was like a lioness, and had the wings of an eagle: I beheld till her wings were plucked off, and she was lifted up from the earth, and stood upon her feet as a man, and the heart of a man was given to her.La prima come una lionessa, e aveva le ali di aquila. Io la riguardava, ed ecco che le furon svelte le ali: ed ella fu alzata da terra, e su pie' suoi si stette come un uomo, e le fu dato un cuore di uomo.The first as it were alyonesse, & she had the wings of an eagle: I beheld til her winges were plucked of, and she was lifted vp from the earth, & she stood vpon the fete as a man, & the hart of a man was geuen to her.Prima quasi leæna, et alas habebat aquilæ: aspiciebam donec evulsæ sunt alæ ejus, et sublata est de terra, et super pedes quasi homo stetit; et cor hominis datum est ei. 5And behold another beast, like a bear, stood up on one side: and there were three rows in the mouth thereof, and in the teeth thereof, and thus they said to it: Arise, devour much flesh.Ed ecco un'altra bestia le stette al lato simile ad un orso, e avea nella sua bocca tre palchi di denti, e dicevano a lei così; Sorgi, mangia delle carni in abbondanza.And behold an other beast like a beare stood a side: and there were three rewes in the mouth therof, and in the teeth therof, & thus they said to it: Arise, eate very much flesh.Et ecce bestia alia similis urso in parte stetit: et tres ordines erant in ore ejus, et in dentibus ejus, et sic dicebant ei: Surge, comede carnes plurimas.
6After this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, and it had upon it four wings, as of a fowl, and the beast had four heads, and power was given to it.Dopo di ciò io guardava, ed eccone un'altra come un leopardo, e avea nella parte sua superiore quattro ali come di uccello, e la bestia aveva quattro capi, e fu data a lei la possanza.After this I beheld, and loe an other as it were a leopard, and it had winges as of a bird, foure vpon it, & there were foure heades in the beast, and powre was geuen to it.Post hæc aspiciebam, et ecce alia quasi pardus, et alas habebat quasi avis, quatuor super se: et quatuor capita erant in bestia, et potestas data est ei. 7After this I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo, a fourth beast, terrible and wonderful, and exceeding strong, it had great iron teeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with its feet: and it was unlike to the other beasts which I had seen before it, and had ten horns.Dopo tali cose io stava osservando nella notturna visione, ed ecco una quarta bestia, terribile, e prodigiosa, e forte straordinariamente: ella aveva grandi denti di ferro, mangiava, e sbranava, e quel, che restava, lo calpestava co' piedi: ma ella era dissimile dalle altre bestie, che lo avea vedute prima di questa, e avea dieci corna.After this I beheld in the vision of the night, and loe g a fourth beast terrible and meruelous, and strong excedingly, it had great yron teeth, eating and breaking, and treading the rest with her fete: and it was vnlike to the other beasts, which I had sene before it, and it had tenne hornes.Post hæc aspiciebam in visione noctis, et ecce bestia quarta terribilis atque mirabilis, et fortis nimis: dentes ferreos habebat magnos, comedens atque comminuens, et reliqua pedibus suis conculcans: dissimilis autem erat ceteris bestiis quas videram ante eam, et habebat cornua decem. 8I considered the horns, and behold another little horn sprung out of the midst of them: and three of the first horns were plucked up at the presence thereof: and behold eyes like the eyes of a man were in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.Io considerava le corna, quand'ecco che un altro piccolo corno spuntò in mezzo a queste, e tre delle prime corna le furono svelte all'apparire di questo, ed ecco che in questo corno erano occhi quasi occhi di uomo, e una bocca, che spacciava cose grandi.I considered the hornes, and behold an other h litle horne sprang out of the middes of them: and three of the first hornes were plucked of at the presence therof, and loe eyes as it were the eyes of a man were in this horne, & a mouth speaking great wordes.Considerabam cornua, et ecce cornu aliud parvulum ortum est de medio eorum: et tria de cornibus primis evulsa sunt a facie ejus: et ecce oculi, quasi oculi hominis erant in cornu isto, et os loquens ingentia. 9I beheld till thrones were placed, and the ancient of days sat: his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool: his throne like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire.Io mi stava osservando fino a tanto che furono alzati dei troni, e l'antico de' giorni si assise: le sue vestimenta candide come neve, e i capelli della sua testa come lana lavata. Il trono di lui fiamme infuocate: le ruote del trono erano vivo fuoco.I beheld til thrones were set, and i the ancient of dayes sate: his vesture white as snow, and the heares of his head as cleane wool: his throne flames of fire: his wheeles fire kindled.Aspiciebam donec throni positi sunt, et antiquus dierum sedit. Vestimentum ejus candidum quasi nix, et capilli capitis ejus quasi lana munda: thronus ejus flammæ ignis: rotæ ejus ignis accensus.
10A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him: the judgment sat, and the books were opened.Rapido fiume di fuoco usciva dalla sua faccia: i suoi ministri erano migliaia di migliaia, e i suoi assistenti dieci mila volte cento mila. S'assise il giudizio, e i libri furono aperti.A fire & swieft streame came forth from his face k thousandes of thousands ministred to him, & l tenne thousand hundred thousands assisted him: iudgement sate, and the bookes were opened.Fluvius igneus rapidusque egrediebatur a facie ejus. Millia millium ministrabant ei, et decies millies centena millia assistebant ei: judicium sedit, et libri aperti sunt. 11I beheld, because of the voice of the great words which that horn spoke: and I saw that the beast was slain, and the body thereof was destroyed, and given to the fire to be burnt:Io stava osservando a motivo del rumore di quelle grandi cose, che quel corno spacciava: ma vidi, che questa bestia era stata uccisa, ed era perito il corpo di lei, ed era stato gettato ad ardere nel fuoco;I beheld because of the voice of the great wordes, which that horne spake: and I saw that the beast was slaine, and the bodie therof was perished, and was committed to the fyre to be burnt.Aspiciebam propter vocem sermonum grandium, quos cornu illud loquebatur: et vidi quoniam interfecta esset bestia, et perisset corpus ejus, et traditum esset ad comburendum igni: 12And that the power of the other beasts was taken away: and that times of life were appointed them for a time, and a time.Come anche alle altre bestie era stato tolto il potere, e fissato lo spazio della lor vita per un tempo, ed un tempo.The power of the other beasts also was taken away: and times of life were appointed them vntil time, and time.aliarum quoque bestiarum ablata esset potestas, et tempora vitæ constituta essent eis usque ad tempus et tempus. 13I beheld, therefore, in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the ancient of days: and they presented him before him.Io stava adunque osservando nella visione notturna, ed ecco colle nubi del cielo venire come il Figliuolo dell'uomo, ed ei si avanzò fino all'antico de' giorni: e lo presentarono al cospetto di lui.I beheld therfore in the vision of the night, and loe with the clowdes of heauen there came in, as it were m the sonne of man, and he came euen to the ancient of dayes: and in his sight they offered him.Aspiciebam ergo in visione noctis, et ecce cum nubibus cæli quasi filius hominis veniebat, et usque ad antiquum dierum pervenit: et in conspectu ejus obtulerunt eum.
14And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom: and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve him: his power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away: and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed.Ed ei gli diede potestà, onore, e regno; e tutti i popoli, tribù, e lingue a lui serviranno: la potestà di lui è potestà eterna, che non gli sarà tolta, e il regno di lui è incorruttibile.And he gaue him powre, and honour, and kingdom: and al peoples, tribes, & tongues shal serue him: his powre, an eternal power, that shal not be taken away: and his kingdom, that shal not be corrupted.Et dedit ei potestatem, et honorem, et regnum: et omnes populi, tribus, et linguæ ipsi servient: potestas ejus, potestas æterna, quæ non auferetur: et regnum ejus, quod non corrumpetur. 15My spirit trembled; I, Daniel, was affrighted at these things, and the visions of my head troubled me.L'orrore mi prese: io Daniele rimasi atterrito per tali cose, e le mie visioni mi conturbarono.My spirit trembled, I Daniel was made sore afrayd at these thinges, and the visions of my head trubled me.Horruit spiritus meus: ego Daniel territus sum in his, et visiones capitis mei conturbaverunt me. 16I went near to one of them that stood by, and asked the truth of him concerning all these things, and he told me the interpretation of the words, and instructed me:Mi appressai ad uno degli assistenti, e a lui domandava la verità di tutte queste cose: e questi mi diede la spiegazione delle cose, e m'istruì:I came to one of the assistants, and I asked the truth of him concerning al these thinges, who told me the interpretation of the wordes, and taught me:Accessi ad unum de assistentibus, et veritatem quærebam ab eo de omnibus his. Qui dixit mihi interpretationem sermonum, et docuit me: 17These four great beasts, are four kingdoms, which shall arise out of the earth.Queste quattro bestie grandi son quattro reami, che si alzeranno dalla terra.These foure great beasts, are foure kingdoms, which shal rise vp out of the earth.Hæ quatuor bestiæ magnæ, quatuor sunt regna, quæ consurgent de terra. 18But the saints of the most high God shall take the kingdom: and they shall possess the kingdom for ever and ever.Poi riceveranno il regno i santi di Dio altissimo, e regneranno sino al fine del secolo, e pe' secoli de' secoli.And they shal take the kingdom of the holie God most high: & they shal obteine the kingdom euen to world, & world of worldes.Suscipient autem regnum sancti Dei altissimi, et obtinebunt regnum usque in sæculum, et sæculum sæculorum.
19After this I would diligently learn concerning the fourth beast, which was very different from all, and exceeding terrible: his teeth and claws were of iron: he devoured and broke in pieces, and the rest he stamped upon with his feet:Io bramai dipoi di essere informato minutamente della quarta bestia, che era molto dissimile da tutte le altre, e fuor di modo terribile: i denti suoi, e le unghie di ferro: mangiava, e sbranava, e quel, che restava, lo calpestava co' piedi suoi:After this I would diligently lerne of the fourth beast, which was very vnlike from al, and exceding terrible: his teeth and clawes of yron: he did eate, and breake in peeces, & the rest he stamped with his feete:Post hoc volui diligenter discere de bestia quarta, quæ erat dissimilis valde ab omnibus, et terribilis nimis: dentes et ungues ejus ferrei: comedebat, et comminuebat, et reliqua pedibus suis conculcabat: 20And concerning the ten horns that he had on his head: and concerning the other that came up, before which three horns fell: and of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and was greater than the rest.E di esser informato intorno alle dieci corna, che ella avea sulla testa, e all'altro, che era spuntato, all'apparir del quale erano cadute tre corna, e come quel corno avesse occhi, e bocca spacciarne cose grandi, e fosse maggiore di tutti gli altri.and of the tenne hornes that he had on his head: and of the other, that had growen vp, before which the three hornes fel: and of that horne, that had eyes, and the mouth speaking great wordes, and was greater then the rest.et de cornibus decem, quæ habebat in capite, et de alio, quod ortum fuerat, ante quod ceciderant tria cornua: et de cornu illo, quod habebat oculos, et os loquens grandia, et majus erat ceteris. 21I beheld, and lo, that horn made war against the saints, and prevailed over them,Io stava osservando, ed ecco che quel corno facea guerra contro de' santi, e li superava:I beheld, and loe that horne made warre agaynst the saints, and preuailed ouer them,Aspiciebam, et ecce cornu illud faciebat bellum adversus sanctos, et prævalebat eis, 22Till the ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of the most High, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom.Fino a tanto che venne l'antico de' giorni, e sentenziò in favore de'santi dell'Altissimo, e venne il tempo, in cui i santi ottennero il regno.til the ancient of dayes came, & gaue iudgement to the saintes on High, and the time came, and the saintes obteyned the kingdom.donec venit antiquus dierum, et judicium dedit sanctis Excelsi, et tempus advenit, et regnum obtinuerunt sancti.
23And thus he said: The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be greater than all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.E quegli così mi disse: La quarta bestia sarà il quarto regno sopra la terra, il quale sarà maggiore di tutti i regni, e ingoierà tutta la terra, e la calpesterà, e la stritolerà.And thus he sayd: The fourth beast shal be the fourth kingdom in the earth, which shal be greater then al the kingdoms, and shal deuoure the whole earth, and shal conculcate, and breake it in peeces.Et sic ait: Bestia quarta, regnum quartum erit in terra, quod majus erit omnibus regnis, et devorabit universam terram, et conculcabit, et comminuet eam. 24And the ten horns of the same kingdom, shall be ten kings: and another shall rise up after them, and he shall be mightier than the former, and he shall bring down three kings.E i dieci corni dello stesso regno saran dieci re; e un altro si alzerà dopo di essi, che sarà più possente de' primi, e umilierà tre regi.Moreouer the tenne hornes of that same kingdom, shal be tenne kinges: and an other shal rise vp after them, and he shal be mightier then the former, and he shal bring downe three kinges.Porro cornua decem ipsius regni, decem reges erunt: et alius consurget post eos, et ipse potentior erit prioribus, et tres reges humiliabit. 25And he shall speak words against the High One, and shall crush the saints of the most High: and he shall think himself able to change times and laws, and they shall be delivered into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time.Ed ei parlerà male contro l'Altissimo, e calpesterà i santi dell'Altissimo, e si crederà di poter cangiare i tempi, e le leggi, e saranno poste in mano a lui tutte le cose per un tempo, due tempi, e per la metà d'un tempo.And he shal speake wordes agaynst the High one, and shal destroy the saintes of the Highest: and he shal thinke that he can change times, & lawes, and they shal be deliuered into his hand euen n to a time, & times, & half a time.Et sermones contra Excelsum loquetur, et sanctos Altissimi conteret: et putabit quod possit mutare tempora, et leges: et tradentur in manu ejus usque ad tempus, et tempora, et dimidium temporis. 26And a judgment shall sit, that his power may be taken away, and be broken in pieces, and perish even to the end.E il giudizio sarà assiso, affinchè si tolga a lui la potenza, ed ei sia distrutto, e per sempre perisca.And iudgement shal sitte, that might may be taken away, and be broken, and perish euen to the end.Et judicium sedebit, ut auferatur potentia, et conteratur, et dispereat usque in finem.
27And that the kingdom, and power, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, may be given to the people of the saints of the most High: whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all kings shall serve him, and shall obey him.E il regno, e la potestà, e la magnificenza del regno, quanta è sotto tutto il cielo, sia data al popolo de' santi dell'Altissimo, il regno di cui è regno sempiterno, e i regi tutti a lui serviranno, e lo ubbidiranno.And kingdom, and power, and the greatnes of the kingdom, that is vnder al the heauen, be geuen to the people of the saintes of the Highest: whose kingdom is an euerlasting kingdom, and al kinges shal serue him, and shal obey him.Regnum autem, et potestas, et magnitudo regni, quæ est subter omne cælum, detur populo sanctorum Altissimi: cujus regnum, regnum sempiternum est, et omnes reges servient ei, et obedient. 28Hitherto is the end of the word. I, Daniel, was much troubled with my thoughts, and my countenance was changed in me: but I kept the word in my heart.Qui egli finì di parlare. Io Daniele era conturbato forte ne' miei pensieri, e il mio volto si cangiò: e nel cuor mio feci conserva di quelle parole.Hitherto the end of the word. I Daniel was much trubled with my cogitations, and my face was changed in me: but the word I kept in my hart.Hucusque finis verbi. Ego Daniel multum cogitationibus meis conturbabar, et facies mea mutata est in me: verbum autem in corde meo conservavi.
7:1
Haydock
Baltassar. Chaldean, a letter is wanting. (Haydock)
Calmet
This Baltassar was slain, Daniel 5. (Calmet)
Worthington
The two visions happened before that event. (Worthington)
Haydock
The. Protestants, "visions of his head, upon his bed. Then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters." (Haydock)
7:2
Theod
Winds, to imply the tumults occasioned by fresh kingdoms (Worthington) in the world. (Theod.)
7:3
Haydock
Four great beasts; viz. the Chaldeans, Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires. But some rather choose to understand the fourth beast of the successors of Alexander the great, more especially of them that reigned in Asia and Syria, (Challoner) or in Egypt, Daniel 2:40.(Haydock)
7:4
Calmet
Man. The emperors of Babylon were forced to confess that they were nothing more. (Calmet)
Calmet
Their cruel and rapid conquests (Worthington) are denoted by this monstrous animal. Its wings shew how the lands were divided between the Medes and Persians. Perhaps Neriglissor, etc., shared a part, Daniel 5:1. (Calmet)
7:5
Worthington
Bear, which is cruel, and eats what is set before it greedily. (Worthington)
He stood ready to attack the Chaldeans.
Calmet
Three. He ruled over the Medes and Chaldeans, as well as over the Persians. (Calmet)
Grotius
Rows. Greek, "wings or sides" of an animal, (Haydock) or "bones." (Grotius)
7:6
Calmet
Leopard, a small spotted beast, may denote the size and disposition of Alexander, as well as his rapid conquests. When he was asked how he had subdued so many, he answered, "by never putting off." (Calmet)
Calmet
Four. He led his forces on all sides; (Haydock) and after his death, his empire was divided into four, (Worthington) Egypt, Syria, Asia, and Macedon, (Theod.) as he had united in his person the empire of the Chaldeans, Medes, Persians, and Greeks. (Calmet)
7:7
Worthington
Unlike. It is not named: but shews the incomparable power of the Romans, governed by kings, consuls, tribunes, dictators, and emperors, at different times. (Worthington)
Calmet
This is the opinion generally received, which we shall explain. Yet many think that the kingdoms of Syria and Egypt are designated, as [in] Daniel 2:40. St. Jerome acknowledges that what is understood of antichrist, had been partly verified in Epiphanes, his figure. The beast was to be slain before the coming of the Son of man, ver. 11, 26. It would persecute for three years and a half; but God would grant victory to his saints, as he did to the Machabees. Yet they only exhibited a faint idea of what has been done by the Church. The same subject is treated, Daniel 11. Many things caused the dominion of the successors of Alexander to be unlike that of others. It was never united, and was very destructive to the Jews. (Calmet)
Challoner
Horns. That is, ten kingdoms, (as [in] Apocalypse 17:12.) among which the empire of the fourth beast shall be parcelled: or ten kings of the number of the successors of Alexander, as figures of such as shall be about the time of antichrist. (Challoner)
Haydock
Epiphanes was the eighth king, and Laomedon, Antigonus, and Demetrius, had been governors of Syria before. Most understand this of antichrist, whom Epiphanes foreshewed. Others think that it points out Vespasian, the tenth successor of Caesar, who made war on the Jews. The same prediction may regard different events, as the abomination (chap. 9.) may allude to the profanations committed by Epiphanes, by the Romans at the last siege, and by antichrist. Others apply this to the Turkish empire, which may be paving the way for the great antagonist of Christ. (Calmet) Dioclesian and Julian may also be meant, as well as other forerunners of the man of sin. (Haydock)
Worthington
He shall overcome many, but his fury shall continue but a short time, ver. 25. (Worthington)
7:8
Challoner
Little horn. This is commonly understood of antichrist. It may also be applied to that great persecutor, Antiochus Epiphanes, as a figure of antichrist. (Challoner)
He was the youngest son of Antiochus the great, and was a hostage of Rome. While he was returning, his elder brother died, and Epiphanes excluded his son Philometor, of Egypt, and the usurper Heliodorus. He also defeated three, Philometor, on the south; Artaxias, king of Armenia, on the east; and the strength, or God's people, ver 24., and Daniel 8:9.
Man. He gained several at first, by his affability.
Calmet
Things: blasphemy, 1 Machabees 1:23, 43. (Calmet)
7:9
Worthington
Ancient. The Son is born of the Father, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from both, yet all three are coeternal. (Worthington)
Haydock
Hence the Father is sometimes painted in this manner, though he be a pure spirit. His throne resembled that seen by Ezechiel, Daniel 1:(Haydock)
Calmet
He takes cognizance of all, and punishes accordingly. (Calmet)
7:10
Fire. Psalm 96:3.
Menochius
Thousands. Greek implies one million and one hundred millions. (Menochius)
St. Thomas Aquinas
The angels are very numerous, particularly the highest, styled assistants. (St. Thomas Aquinas; Worthington)
7:11
Calmet
Spoke. I wished to see how the king would be punished. He felt the hand of God as he was going to destroy all the Jews, when he pretended to repent, 1 Machabees vi., and 2 Machabees 9:4. His successors could not much disturb the Jews, ver. 13. (Calmet)
7:12
Menochius
Time. Each of the four empires had its period assigned. That of Rome attracted the prophet's attention most, and is mentioned first. (Menochius)
7:13
Calmet
Heaven. Christ appeared about sixty years after the subversion of the Syrian monarchy. Yet these expressions literally refer to his second coming, Matthew 26:64. (Calmet)
Menochius
He had the form of man, as he had the nature. (Menochius)
Worthington
He is clearly predicted. By his power antichrist is overthrown. (Worthington)
7:14
Calmet
Destroyed. The eternal dominion of Christ could not be expressed in stronger terms. He seems to allude to them, Matthew 28:18. (Calmet)
7:17
Haydock
Earth. The first was on the point of disappearing, Daniel 5:31.(Haydock)
7:18
Most High, (Th.[Theodotion?]) or rather Chaldean, "the very high saints of God;" as also [in] ver. 22, 25, and 27.
7:21
Saints. The Machabees at last prevailed. Christ will punish the Jews, Matthew 24:30.
7:23
Greater. Chaldean, "unlike," as [in] ver. 7. Epiphanes was a greater scourge of the Jews than any of the preceding.
7:24
Mightier. Chaldean again, "unlike." Antiochus the great had lost many provinces: but his son was the most implacable enemy of God's people. He subdued them, Egypt and Armenia; or his three competitors, ver. 8.
7:25
Against, or "over against," like an accuser. Sym.: "as if he were God."
Haydock
Laws. He did this with regard to the Jews, (1 Machabees 1:41.; Calmet) prohibiting their festivals. Antichrist will do the like, and pretend to work miracles. (Haydock)
A time, etc. That is, three years and a half; which is supposed to be the length of the duration of the persecution of antichrist. (Challoner) (Apocalypse 11:2.;Apocalypse 12:14.)
Josephus (Jewish Wars, preface) says the sacrifices were discontinued so long, or rather this time elapsed from the publishing his edict till the temple was purified. During six months, people offered sacrifice clandestinely, 1 Machabees 4:36, 52.
7:27
Him. The power of the Machabees was too limited, to be here understood. The Church and Christ must be meant.
7:28
Calmet
Word. The angel spoke no more at this time. (Calmet)
7:3
Four great beasts.... Viz., the Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires. But some rather choose to understand the fourth beast of the successors of Alexander the Great, more especially of them that reigned in Asia and Syria.
7:7
Ten horns.... That is, ten kingdoms, (as Apoc. 17.12,) among which the empire of the fourth beast shall be parcelled. Or ten kings of the number of the successors of Alexander; as figures of such as shall be about the time of Antichrist.
7:8
Another little horn.... This is commonly understood of Antichrist. It may also be applied to that great persecutor Antiochus Epiphanes, as a figure of Antichrist.
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A time, and times, and half a time.... That is, three years and a half; which is supposed to be the length of the duration of the persecution of Antichrist.
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In order of time these two visions, vvere before the histories written in the two precedent chapters.
7:2
Foure winds may signifie the great tumultes which happen in the beginning of monarchies by vvarres and bloudshed of much people.
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Foure beastes do signifie the foure Monarchies of the Chaldees, Medes and Persians, the Grecians, and the Romanes: as was also signified before in Nabuchodonosors dreame. ch. 2.
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A lionesses crueltie, and the pride of an eagle do resemble the Chaldees monarchie.
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A beare of rude shape, & vveake sight, content vvith litle and base meate, represented the Medes & Persians.
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The leopard vvith vvinges and foure heades, signified the speedie victories of the Grecians vnder Alexander in foure quarters of the vvorld: after his death diuided into foure kingdomes. g By the fourth beast without name is vnderstood the incomparable povvre of the Romanes: gouerning first by kinglie auctoritie; aftervvards by Consuls; then ioyning to them Tribunes; sometimes Dictators; finally Emperial. h The litle horne becoming so great and strong, as to ouercome al the other, signifieth Antichrist; whose outragious furie shal continevv but a shorte time. v. 25.
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7:27
• God the Father is called the Ancient of dayes, not as though one Person of the Blessed Trinitie vvere more ancient then an other: for euerie Person is eternal; and al are one eternal God. But in order of proceding, one from an other, the Father is the beginning: of vvhom the Sonne is begotten; and from vvhom, as also from the Sonne, the Holie Ghost procedeth. k By multiplication of these cardinal numbers, is signified the innumerable multitude of Angels: vvho doe excede al corporal creatures in number, as the celestial spheres excede terrestrial bodies in greatnes. l And the hieghest Hierarchie (vvho are Assitants) do farre excede the other Hierarchies in multitude. S. Dionys. c. 14. Hierar. caelest. S. Tho p. 1. q. 112. a. 4 m Our Sauiour Christ is here clearly prophecied: by vvhose povvre Antichrist shal be vtterly destroyed.
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 On Daniel 3
Chap. vii. 1 “And he wrote the dream.” The things, therefore, which were revealed to the blessed prophet by the Spirit in visions, these he also recounted fully for others, that he might not appear to prophesy of the future to himself alone, but might be proved a prophet to others also, who wish to search the divine Scriptures.
7:2
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 20
… and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I considered its horns, and behold there came up among them another little horn, and before it 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.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 A discourse by the most blessed Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, on the end of the world, and on Antichrist, and on the second coming of our lord Jesus Christ 13
… and it was diverse exceedingly from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered its horns, and, behold, there came up among them a little horn, and before it 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.”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.15
… And the third beast was like a leopard, and it had four wings and four heads. And the fourth beast was exceedingly terrible and strong and powerful, and it had great teeth. It devoured and brake to pieces, and whatsoever remained, it stamped with its feet. Now the great sea that Daniel saw
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.20.11
… Then, too, is this same individual beheld as the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, and drawing near to the Ancient of Days, and receiving from Him all power and glory, and a kingdom. “His dominion,” it is said, “is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom shall not perish.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 On Daniel 2.0
The interpretation by Hippolytus, (bishop) of Rome, of the visions of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, taken in conjunction.
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 32
32. Speak with me, O blessed Daniel. Give me full assurance, I beseech thee. Thou dost prophesy concerning the lioness in Babylon;
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.15
15. Again hear concerning the vision of the four beasts which Daniel saw coming up out of the sea and diverse one from another. This is the appearance of them:— The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. And I saw that its wings were plucked away, and it stood up like a man upon its feet, and the heart of a man was given to it.
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St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Arian Persecution Under Constantine 1
… so their attacks upon Athanasius make it plain, that their accusations of the other Bishops are unfounded likewise. This heresy has come forth upon the earth like some great monster, which not only injures the innocent with its words, as with teeth
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 33
33. After this again thou hast told me of the beast dreadful and terrible. “It had iron teeth and claws of brass: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it.”
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St Barnabas † AD 61 The Epistle of Barnabas 4
… shall rise up after them, who shall subdue under one three of the kings.” In like manner Daniel says concerning the same, “And I beheld the fourth beast, wicked and powerful, and more savage than all the beasts of the earth, and how from it sprang up ten horns, and out of them a little budding horn, and how it subdued under one three of the great horns.”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.10
10. O thou that art exalted and lifted up, let not the vaunting of thine heart mislead thee, nor say thou, I will go up against the rich land and against the powerful beast. For that beast will not be slain by the ram seeing that its horns are broken. For the he-goat broke the horns of the ram.
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.12
12. But this aforesaid Antichrist is to come when the times of the Roman empire shall have been fulfilled, and the end of the world is now drawing near
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 123.16
16. But what am I doing? Whilst I talk about the cargo, the vessel itself founders. He that letteth
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.25.3
… I was looking, and this horn made war against the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of the most high God, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 47
… and he opened his mouth to blaspheme God. And that born made war against the saints, and prevailed against them until the beast was slain, and perished, and his body was given to be burned.”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.6
… O Ram, whose horns are broken, rest thou from the beast, and provoke it not lest it devour thee and grind thee to powder. The ram could not stand before the he-goat; how shall it stand before that terrible beast, whose mouth speaketh great things ,
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.20
20. For Daniel said:— I was considering the ten horns that were upon the head of the beast. For the ten horns were ten kings
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St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 31
… and all powers shall be subject to Him, and shall obey Him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was possessed with a very great astonishment, and my speech was changed in me; yet I kept the matter in my heart.’ ”
St Melito of Sardis † AD 180 Melito, the Philosopher 9
Head of the Lord — His simple Divinity; because He is the Beginning and Creator of all things: in Daniel.
St Hippolytus † AD 235 The Refutation of All Heresies 6.27
… And the animal essence is, he says, of a fiery nature, and is also termed by them the super-celestial Topos, and Hebdomad, and “Ancient of Days.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 21
… Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood around 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, till the beast was slain and per ished, and his body given to the burning of fire. And the dominion of the other beasts was taken away.”
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 1.2.24
… his throne was a flame of fire and his wheels burning fire. A river of fire flowed before him. Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. He appointed judgment, and the books were opened.”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.6
… and whoever stirs up that beast, it shall devour him. And who is there that shall escape out from under the feet of that beast when it is trampling on him? For the beast shall not be slain until the Ancient of Days shall sit upon the throne, and the Son of Man shall come near before Him, and authority shall be given to Him.
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 46.5
… A fiery stream issued and came forth 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,”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.21
… Then if any man’s works are of gold, he shall be made brighter; if any man’s course of life be like stubble, and unsubstantial, it shall be burnt up by the fire . And the Father shall sit , having His garment white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 16.9
… but only that final and fearful judgment-seat, more just even than fearful; or rather more fearful because it is also just; when the thrones are set and the Ancient of days takes His seat,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.6
6. Let Him then be standing for you, that you may not be afraid of Him sitting; for when sitting He judges, as Daniel says: “The thrones were placed, and the books were opened, and the Ancient of days did sit.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 An Exhortation to Theodore After His Fall 1
… His throne was a flame of fire, and the wheels thereof burning fire: a stream of fire wound its way in front of Him. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The judgment was set and the books were opened.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 15
… And thus elsewhere He saith, ( Ecclus. ix. 15 .) “New wine is as a new friend: but if it become old, then with pleasure shalt thou drink it:” in the case of friendship bestowing his praise rather upon the old than the new. And again, “The Ancient of days sat,” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 15
… vi. 1 ); and to John himself testifying of Him, that “he said these things when he had seen His glory”? ( c. xii. 41 .) What also to Ezekiel? for he too beheld Him sitting above the Cherubim. ( Ezek. i. and x .) What to Daniel? for he too saith, “The Ancient of days did sit” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 2.18
… And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, 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.”
Anonymous A Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian by an Anonymous Bishop 17
… His throne was a flame of fire, its wheels were burning fire. A river of fire came forth before Him: thousand thousands ministered to Him, and thousand thousands stood before Him: He sat to judgment, and the books were opened.”
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Pope St Clement I † AD 99 The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians 34
… Let our boasting and our confidence be in Him. Let us submit ourselves to His will. Let us consider the whole multitude of His angels, how they stand ever ready to minister to His will. For the Scripture saith, “Ten thousand times ten thousand stood around Him, and thousands of thousands ministered unto Him,
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 2.7.4
… And then, again, since there are many, yea, innumerable angels who surround the Creator, as all the prophets acknowledge,—[saying, for instance,] “Ten thousand times ten thousand stood beside Him, and many thousands of thousands ministered unto Him,”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 3
… and being his, it is quite as much a monarchy (or sole empire ), since it is held together by two who are so inseparable. Therefore, inasmuch as the Divine Monarchy also is administered by so many legions and hosts of angels, according as it is written, “Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him;”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 4.13
… The divine word says that our God is “a consuming fire,” and that “He draws rivers of fire before Him;”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 8.34
… for we find God and His only-begotten Son, manifested to us in Jesus, to be gracious and kind to us. And if we would wish to have besides a great number of beings who shall ever prove friendly to us, we are taught that “thousand thousands stood before Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand ministered unto Him.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 5.4
… “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,” while of those who are to undergo the judgment, there are books in the plural, as Daniel says:
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 14.9
And these things will take place whenever that happens which is written in Daniel, “The books were opened and the judgment was set;”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 16
… Do “all His angels” and “all His hosts” praise God? It is through the co-operation of the Spirit. Do “thousand thousand” of angels stand before Him, and “ten thousand times ten thousand” ministering spirits?
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.24
… The whole earth is but as a point in the midst of the one heaven, and yet contains so great a multitude; what a multitude must the heaven which encircles it contain? And must not the heaven of heavens contain unimaginable numbers ? And it is written, Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 16.16
… his body is on earth, yet his soul mirrors forth the heavens. He sees, like Esaias, the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up ; he sees, like Ezekiel, Him who is above the Cherubim ; he sees like Daniel, ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 On Virginity 24
… And the consequence of being crucified with Christ is that we shall live with Him, and be glorified with Him, and reign with Him; and the consequence of presenting ourselves to God is that we shall be changed from the rank of human nature and human dignity to that of Angels; for so speaks Daniel, that “thousand thousands stood before him
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 An Exhortation to Theodore After His Fall 2.3
… For if the wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband, much more they who live in Christ must be unable to have authority over their body. He who is now despised, the same will then be our judge; think ever on Him and the river of fire: “For a river of fire” we read, “winds before His face;”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 2
… but it is a divine dignity to sit together with God ‘to whom thousand thousands minister and before whom ten thousand times ten thousand stand.’”
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St Justin Martyr † AD 165 The First Apology 51
… It was thus spoken: “Lift up the gates of heaven; be ye opened, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty.” And how also He should come again out of heaven with glory, hear what was spoken in reference to this by the prophet Jeremiah.
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.19.2
… that He sat upon the foal of an ass; that He received for drink, vinegar and gall; that He was despised among the people, and humbled Himself even to death and that He is the holy Lord, the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Beautiful in appearance, and the Mighty God, coming on the clouds as the Judge of all men;
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.20.11
… For at one time He was seen with those who were around Ananias, Azarias, Mishael, as present with them in the furnace of fire, in the burning, and preserving them from [the effects of] fire: “And the appearance of the fourth,” it is said, “was like to the Son of God.” At another time [He is represented as] “a stone cut out of the mountain without hands,”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.33.1
… while He gathered from the ends of the earth into His Father’s fold the children who were scattered abroad, and remembered His own dead ones who had formerly fallen asleep, and came down to them that He might deliver them: but the second in which He will come on the clouds,
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.33.11
11. For some of them, beholding Him in glory, saw His glorious life ( conversationem ) at the Father’s right hand; others beheld Him coming on the clouds as the Son of man;
Tertullian † AD 220 An Answer to the Jews 14
… and they who were standing by led (Him) unto Him. And there was given Him royal power; and all nations of the earth, according to their race, and all glory, shall serve Him: and His power is eternal, which shall not be taken away, and His kingdom one which shall not be corrupted.”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 3.7
… and they brought Him 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.”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 3.24
… they fly as clouds, and as young doves, unto me” —that is, simply like a dove. For we shall, according to the apostle, be caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord (even the Son of man, who shall come in the clouds, according to Daniel
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.10
… It was He who was seen by the king of Babylon in the furnace with His martyrs: “the fourth, who was like the Son of man.” He also was revealed to Daniel himself expressly as “the Son of man, coming in the clouds of heaven” as a Judge, as also the Scripture shows.
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.39
… “So likewise ye, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” This will be the great day of the Lord, and of the glorious coming of the Son of man from heaven, of which Daniel wrote: “Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven,”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.41
… But yet for all this, He with a solemn gesture says, “Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.” For it was on the authority of the prophecy of Daniel that He intimated to them that He was “the Son of man,”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.9
… Now they say that this Psalm was a chant in honour of Hezekiah, because “he went up to the house of the Lord,” and God turned back and removed his enemies. Therefore, (as they further hold,) those other words, “Before the morning star did I beget thee from the womb,”
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Flesh of Christ 15
… “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth;” and “The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath-day.” For it is of Him that Isaiah writes: “A man of suffering, and acquainted with the bearing of weakness;” and Jeremiah: “He is a man, and who hath known Him?” and Daniel: “Upon the clouds (He came) as the Son of man.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 On Daniel 4
… “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 there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and languages shall serve Him: His power is an everlasting power, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 22
… And there was given Him dominion, and honour, and the kingdom; and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 26
… And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; and all peoples, tribes, and languages shall serve Him: and His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 44
… and he came to the Ancient of days, and he was brought to Him. And there were given Him dominion, and honour, and glory, and the kingdom; all tribes and languages shall serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Against the Heresy of One Noetus 4
… For He was Word, He was Spirit, He was Power. The same took to Himself the name common and current among men, and was called from the beginning the Son of man on account of what He was to be, although He was not yet man, as Daniel testifies when he says, “I saw, and behold one like the Son of man came on the clouds of heaven.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 2.27
… And they who stood beside Him brought Him before Him: and to Him was given a royal power, and all the kings of the earth by their generation, and all glory obeying Him: and His power is eternal, which shall not be taken away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed.”
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 1.2.25
… and all peoples, tribes, and tongues serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed.”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.21
… And fearful will be that descent of our Master. David says, God shall manifestly come, even our God, and shall not keep silence; a fire shall burn before Him, and a fierce tempest round about Him , and the rest . The Son of Man shall come to the Father, according to the Scripture which was just now read, on the clouds of heaven , drawn by a stream of fire
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.27
… and all peoples, tribes, and languages shall serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 An Exhortation to Theodore After His Fall 1
… His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed. As for me Daniel, my spirit shuddered within me, and the visions of my head troubled me.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 54
Wherefore out of the cloud? Thus doth God ever appear. “For a cloud and darkness are round about Him;” and, “He sitteth on a light cloud;” and again, “Who maketh clouds His chariot;” and, “A cloud received Him out of their sight;” and, “As the Son of Man coming in the clouds.”
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 A Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 34
… and there was given to Him dominion, and honour, and a kingdom. And all peoples, tribes, and languages shall serve Him. And His dominion is an eternal dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 18.34
… And to Him there was given dominion, and honor, and a kingdom: and all people, tribes, and tongues shall serve Him. His power is an everlasting power, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 12.44
44. The same Saviour is spoken of in Daniel, where the Son of man appears before the Ancient of days, and receives a kingdom without end, that all nations may serve Him.
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St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Magnesians: Shorter and Longer Versions 6
… He, being begotten by the Father before the beginning of time, was God the Word, the only-begotten Son, and remains the same for ever; for “of His kingdom there shall be no end,”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.39
… “So likewise ye, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” This will be the great day of the Lord, and of the glorious coming of the Son of man from heaven, of which Daniel wrote: “Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven,” etc. “And there was given unto Him the kingly power,”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.32
… According as Paul says in another place, And exhort each other daily, while it is called to-day ; meaning, “continually.” For as we may not speak of the “beginning of the days” of Christ, so neither suffer thou that any should ever speak of the end of His kingdom. For it is written, His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 39
… nor will it seem that the Son after these things will be a King. How then, first of all, concerning the Father doth the Son Himself say, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work:” ( John v. 17 .) and of Him Daniel, “That His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, which shall not pass away?” (
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 20.23
… For when in prophetic vision he had seen four beasts, signifying four kingdoms, and the fourth conquered by a certain king, who is recognized as Antichrist, and after this the eternal kingdom of the Son of man, that is to say, of Christ, he says, “My spirit was terrified, I Daniel in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me,”
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Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Oration of Eusebius 3.2
… and, by the appointment of the Cæsars, fulfills the predictions of the holy prophets, according to what they uttered ages before: “And the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 22.3
… And many of them that sleep in the dust” (or, as some interpret it, “in the mound”) “of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” And in another place by the same prophet: “The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and shall possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Work on the Proceedings of Pelagius 13
… “This can be proved by the Scriptures: but heretics, in order to disparage the Old Testament, deny this. I, however, simply followed the authority of the Scriptures when I said this; for in the prophet Daniel it is written: ‘The saints shall receive the kingdom of the Most. High.’”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Work on the Proceedings of Pelagius 14
… not according to the testament that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt.” This was done on Mount Sinai. But then there had not yet risen the prophet Daniel to say: “The saints shall receive the kingdom of the Most High.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Work on the Proceedings of Pelagius 62
… “The saints shall take the kingdom of the Most High.”
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Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.6
6. Therefore, as for the ram, its horns are broken. And though its horns are broken, lo! it exalts and uplifts itself against the fourth beast, that is strong and mighty and its teeth of iron and its hoofs of brass, and it shall devour and grind down, and trample with its feet whatsoever remaineth .
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 25
… For Daniel says: “I considered the horn, and behold that horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, till the beast was slain and perished, and its body was given to the burning of fire.”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.20
… For this was accomplished at that time, when the venerable and aged Eleazar was slain, and the sons of the blessed Samuna, seven in number, and when Judas (Maccabeus) and his brethren were struggling on behalf of their people, when they were dwelling in hiding-places. At that time the horn made war with the saints ,
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.15
… at first indeed making a pretence of benevolence, but afterwards displaying his relentless temper, and that chiefly against the Saints of God. For he says, I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.25.3
… and after them shall arise another, who shall surpass in evil deeds all that were before him, and shall overthrow three kings; and he shall speak words against the most high God, and wear out the saints of the most high God, and shall purpose to change times and laws; and [everything] shall be given into his hand until a time of times and a half time,”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.13
13. Now these things we teach, not of our own invention, but having learned them out of the divine Scriptures used in the Church , and chiefly from the prophecy of Daniel just now read; as Gabriel also the Archangel interpreted it, speaking thus: The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall surpass all kingdoms
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St Barnabas † AD 61 The Epistle of Barnabas 4
… and He will come to the inheritance.” And the prophet also speaks thus: “Ten kingdoms shall reign upon the earth, and a little king shall rise up after them, who shall subdue under one three of the kings.”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.12
… There shall rise up together ten kings of the Romans, reigning in different parts perhaps, but all about the same time; and after these an eleventh, the Antichrist, who by his magical craft shall seize upon the Roman power; and of the kings who reigned before him, three he shall humble
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.13
… Then Gabriel goes on to interpret, saying, His ten horns are ten kings that shall arise; and another king shall rise up after them, who shall surpass in wickedness all who were before him
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Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.20
… At that time the horn made war with the saints , and their power prevailed. And the wicked Antiochus spake words against the Most High, and changed the times and the seasons.
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Persecution in Egypt 1
… How can he in any way fail to be regarded as that one? or how can the latter fail to be supposed such a one as he is? Did not the Arians and the Gentiles offer those sacrifices in the great Church in the Cæsareum , and utter their blasphemies against Christ as by His command? And does not the vision of Daniel thus describe
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 15.16
… for He says, But for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened ; and Antichrist shall reign for three years and a half only. We speak not from apocryphal books, but from Daniel; for he says, And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time
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Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 2.49
… Any one, moreover, who likes may find the prophecy in Daniel respecting antichrist.
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.20
… Now the time and half a time is the week and a half, which is ten years and a half. Again he said:— The judgment was set and they took away his authority from him, to injure and destroy him until the end of the kingdom .
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.34.2
… “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of those under the heaven, is given to the saints of the Most High God, whose kingdom is everlasting, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.21
21. He said again:— The saints of the Most High shall receive the Kingdom .
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.23
… For lo! every covenant of God is freed from the burden of kings and princes . For even if a man has served the heathen, as soon as ever he draws nigh unto the covenant of God, he is set free. But the Jews are toiling in bondage amongst the Gentiles. For thus he said about the Saints;— They shall inherit the Kingdom that is beneath the heaven .
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 22.3
… “The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and shall possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” And a little after he says, “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”
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1. In the first year of Belshazzar. — Therefore this vision was presented to Daniel in the Babylonian captivity, in the year 97 from the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, as is evident from what has been said in cap. V, 1.
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2. Four winds of heaven were fighting in the sea. — By the sea understand the world, which is agitated and abounds in salt and bitter waves like the sea, in which the proud are lifted up in their arrogance to a height, that they may fall more deeply. Thus St. Jerome and Rupertus. By the four winds, either with St. Jerome, understand the angels of the four kingdoms, of which follows, the rulers; for angels are like winds, invisible and swift. Whence the Psalmist says: "Who maketh his angels spirits." How the angels fight among themselves for their kingdoms, we shall see cap. X, 13. Or rather with Theodoret understand the tumults, commotions and disturbances which existed at the beginning of each of these four kingdoms. Moreover all these are represented together here in the vision to Daniel, as also the four monarchies, although in fact those did not exist together, but in turn and successively. The winds also signify the inconstancy, transience and vicissitude of these kingdoms. Hence we often see in individual centuries, or hundred years, individual kingdoms transferred to another family or nation, or greatly changed. With the angels therefore look down from heaven upon these winds. Finally Orosius, lib. II Hist. cap. 1, and lib. VII, cap. II, holds that these four monarchies were situated in the four winds, that is the regions of the world. For he says the Roman empire is western; the Babylonian eastern; the Macedonian northern; the Carthaginian (for he substituted this with the African in place of the Persian, and says it lasted seven hundred years) southern: and he adds that the Roman rising from the West was nourished by the inheritance of the East, and the Macedonian and Carthaginian held the parts of a guardian and curator: for all empires ended and passed into the Roman. But there is no mention here of the Carthaginian.
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3. Four beasts. — These signify four kingdoms, as is clear from verse 17. Durandus, Pighius, Briedo note, and from them Ludovicus Molina, De justitia, tract. II, disp. XXIV, that these empires are compared to beasts, not to men, because they were for the most part unjustly and tyrannically acquired, and equally governed: "For the common vice of monarchy is tyranny," says Elias Cretensis in Apolog. Nazianz. orat. 1. And St. Augustine, lib. IV De Civit. cap. IV and VI, calls such kingdoms great robberies. Monarchs therefore were once great robbers. Whence pirates captured by Alexander the Great, and asked what they were doing, answered that they were doing with one ship and few men in part of the sea what Alexander was doing with many in the whole world; that they were small robbers, Alexander was a great robber, as Augustine relates in the same place. Yet these empires are said to have been given and granted by God: first, because God permitted them; second, because He used them for the punishment of the Jews and other nations; third, specifically of Cyrus it is said that God created him king; because He directed him to this empire for this end, that he might free the Jews from Babylon.
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4. The first was like a lioness. — This signifies the first monarchy, namely of the Chaldeans; and especially the kingdom of Nabuchodonosor, who wonderfully increased it: this is called a lioness on account of power and ferocity. For a lioness is more ferocious than a lion, especially when she is nursing her cubs. Also on account of lust: for a lioness, according to the testimony of Aristotle and Pliny, always desires to mate; and not content with a lion, she also mingles with a hyena and a leopard: hence leopards are born. Thus Jeremiah calls the same one a lion, cap. IV, 7: "A lion, he says, is come up from his den, and a spoiler of nations hath lifted himself up;"; and Isaiah, cap. V, 29: "His roaring, he says, like a lion." To this pertains an elegant and acute riddle, or rather an epigram of an ass: With the ears of a horse, the ear of a hare, the voice of a lion, and the color of a wolf / It is judged, but in the whole head it is an ass. And it had the wings of an eagle. — This king was as it were a monster; for in part he was a lion on account of cruelty, in part an eagle on account of swiftness in waging wars: for the lion is the strongest, but the eagle is swifter; the eagle is the swiftest, but the lion is stronger. Thus Jeremiah cap. IV, 13, concerning the same one says: "Swifter than eagles are his horses," and cap. XLVIII, 40: "Behold he shall fly as an eagle." Thus Maldonatus.
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Its wings were plucked off. — First, St. Jerome and Theodoret attribute these things to Belshazzar. For his wings were plucked off when he was slain, and then it appeared that he was not a lion, but had the heart of a man, that is, to be weak and mortal. Second, genuinely and properly these things should be referred to Nebuchadnezzar: for his wings were plucked off when he himself, stripped of his kingdom, was sent to the beasts; but when restored to himself, and made again a weak man, he stood upright, he who before was bent down like a beast: and he had the heart of a man, because he acknowledged his own weakness; and he lived a human life, when before he lived like a wild beast, and raged like a lion. For although Nebuchadnezzar was already dead (for Daniel had this dream in the first year of Belshazzar, who was his son), nevertheless under his person he prophesies concerning the future translation of the kingdom; because to him first the translation of the kingdom was prefigured through the four-formed statue, cap. II, and through the tree cut down, cap. IV. 5. And behold another beast like a bear. — This second monarchy is that of the Persians; and, as the Syriac and Arabic versions translate it, of the Medes. It is compared to a bear: first, because bears are most patient of labors, and most tolerant of hunger; for, as Aristotle teaches, lib. VIII Hist. animal. cap. XVII, bears pass through a great part of winter without any food or nourishment, and live on the sucking of their front feet alone. The same Aelian relates is done by a she-bear, whenever she becomes too fat, so that, the fat being digested, she becomes more agile. Whence that, according to Eustathius, famine sent upon the Athenians by an angry Diana, because they had killed a bear which had been born in her shrine at Munychia, so that they might thus be afflicted by hunger, because they had destroyed an animal most patient of hunger. Such also were the ancient Persians, as Xenophon testifies, and St. Jerome here, namely laborious, and living on bread and cardamom alone. Second, because a bear has a weak head and sight: hence if it should happen that it is forced to hurl itself down from a cliff, it throws itself down with its head covered by its feet: but often when a blow is struck on the head of bears in the sand, Pliny relates that they have been killed, lib. VIII, cap. XXXVI. Where he also adds that the eyes in bears are often dimmed; therefore they seek out beehives, so that the wounded mouth may be relieved by the bees' blood from the heaviness. Moreover they are so weighed down by sleep sometimes, that they are not even roused by wounds; but they grow fat marvelously by that lethargy, just as dormice grow fat while sleeping. Thus also the Persians prevailed, not so much by prudence, skill, vigilance or strength, as by an innumerable multitude of men, or from the cowardice of their enemies. Third, the offspring of a bear, says Pliny, is deformed, and appears to be only white and raw flesh, without hair, without eyes, without legs; but the mother by licking gradually shapes it so, that she renders it perfect and beautiful. Thus Cyrus, by exercising the Persians, vile and rude, through his own prudence and military art gradually advanced them to empire. Fourth, a bear is savage, as all know: such also were the Persians, as being barbarians. Pererius denies this, but St. Jerome and Theodoret assert it. And this is evident from their punishments of the guilty, and of enemies. For they even tore the skins from men, and cutting bodies limb by limb, killed them by slow and bitter death. How cruel Sapor, Isdegerdes, and other Persian kings were toward Christians, Theodoret teaches, lib. V, cap. XVIII, and Socrates, lib. VII, cap. XVIII. Finally Tomyris, after Cyrus was killed, reproached his thirst for blood, as I shall say presently. It stood upon one side. — The Syriac clearly: It stood on one side, that is, it rushed upon one side only, namely against the Babylonians: for when these were overcome by Cyrus, the Persians obtained the empire. Thus Vatablus. Already also for many centuries the kingdom of the Persians stands in part, because it holds only Persia, Media, Assyria, and a few other things in its empire. Otherwise the Hebrews, that is, Cyrus stood, that is was kind to one nation, namely the Hebrews, when he rushed fiercely against others. Otherwise also Theodoret, that is, the kingdom of the Persians was overthrown by Alexander; yet it stood in part, because afterward under the Romans it raised its head, and stood in Persia alone. But truly these things are impertinent at this place. For we are dealing with the beginning and increase of the kingdom of the Persians. Three orders were in his mouth. — St. Jerome translates it, three verses; Theodotion, three sides; Theodoretus, three wings; others, three ribs in his mouth between his teeth: thus the Syriac and Arabic; Vatablus, three boluses. For it signifies that this bear had three orders not of teeth, as some think, as if through them were signified the greatest power; but of flesh or food in his mouth, which he would chew with his teeth (whence the Chaldean, Greek and Vatablus have, between the teeth). Whence follows: "Arise, eat much flesh." The Hebrews think that three kings of the Persians are signified here, but they are mistaken; for there were many more. I say therefore, these three orders are three empires, namely the Babylonian, Median, and Persian, which in the second monarchy were joined together by Cyrus, and reduced into one. Thus St. Jerome. Hence also Theodoretus understands three regions of the world here: for Cyrus subdued the East, Cambyses the South, namely Egypt and Ethiopia, Darius Hystaspis the North, namely the Scythians. Eat much flesh, — slay many. Hence Tomyris queen of the Scythians, having slain Cyrus, casting his head into a sack full of blood and insulting said: "Satiate yourself, Cyrus, with the blood which you thirsted for, and of which you were insatiable." Symbolically, and as it were allegorically, Optatus of Milevis, book III Against Parmenianus, understands by the lion the persecution of the faithful under the emperors Decius and Valerianus, by the bear that which was under Diocletian and Maximianus: "It is known to all," he says, "what their artful cruelty wrought. Every place was a temple for wickedness (of idolatry), those near to death were defiled, infancy was polluted in ignorance, small children were carried by their mothers to abomination, parents were forced to commit bloodless parricide, others were forced to overturn the temples of the living God, others to deny Christ, others to burn divine laws, others to place incense."
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Tropologically, the bear, which is greedy for honey, has the image of lust, which pursues the pleasures of the body. It eats very many meats, that is, very many carnal men. It has three rows of teeth, because it tears apart adolescents, men and old people, whose hairs are white, not their senses, but only their hair. It eats and tears apart carnal men, soft with luxury, not rough with penance, not armed with chastity and modesty. For those teeth of his they do not fear. 6. And behold another like a leopard. — This is the third monarchy of the Greeks and of Alexander, who is compared to a leopard. Note: Although Solinus, chapter XXI, considers the leopard and the panther to be two different species of animals, nevertheless Aristotle, Pliny, Dioscorides, Gaza and others say they are the same species and the same animal. The leopard therefore is a panther or rather πανθήρ (for panther more often signifies the female, leopard and panther the male), that is, plainly fierce and savage. Whence also aconite is called παρδαλιαγχές, because it kills panthers. The leopard therefore, first, is spotted and variegated, as Jeremiah says in chapter XIII, 23. Second, as St. Jerome says here, it is "most swift and rushes headlong toward blood." Third, it is cunning, and distinguished by eyes and its whole skin; and so partly by the variety and beauty of its skin, partly by its odor, as Pliny says, it attracts animals to itself (meanwhile concealing its ugly and horrible head) and devours them, especially young deer, apes, gazelles and wild goats. Thus Aelian, Aristotle, Volaterran and Gesner in Panther. Fourth, leopards delight in wine: whence perhaps the Poets fable that they were once the nurses of Bacchus's women; for which reason, when intoxicated with wine, they are also captured. Thus Oppian and Gesner. Fifth, the leopard is proud and despises other beasts before itself. Plutarch, in his Moral works, relates an apologue about a leopard: When, he says, a leopard once despised a fox before itself, because it itself had a skin variegated with spots of all colors; the fox replied that what was his glory in his mind was what was his in his skin: and truly it is scarcely more advantageous to be endowed with cunning intelligence than with variegated skin. Sixth, although leopards are fierce and swift, and, as Claudian says in Panegyric VIII, lightning-like, nevertheless when they sense a hunter or enemy equal to themselves in strength, they are fearful. Whence the panther's heart is very large in proportion (for those which have a small heart are spirited; those which have a large one are timid) as with the other timid animals, on account of fear of harm, as Aristotle, Pliny and Gesner say. For animals that are rapacious and predatory, although they are bold toward prey, nevertheless toward hunters they are timid, on account of the consciousness of harm, namely theft and rapine. Such in all respects was Alexander, namely a leopard, or leopardess, as Theodotion translated it, first, variegated and spotted, with vices and virtues; second, fierce and keen in battles; third, sagacious and cunning; fourth, a wine-drinker; fifth, arrogant; sixth, he had a mixture of boldness with shame and fear, and he also had mixed the chances of fortune. For while living he was happy in victories, but dying he was unhappy; inasmuch as he was destroyed by his own men along with his entire line. Four wings signify both the swiftness of victories: for he himself in six years subdued all of Asia and a great part of Africa and Europe; and the greatness of spirit, vigor and genius as it were fire-bearing, which Pliny gives to Julius Caesar, book VII, chapter XV; and ambition, by which he wished to be worshipped as a god, as it were the son of Jupiter Ammon. Whence also by the priest of Jupiter Ammon through flattery, he was greeted, ὦ παῖ Διός, that is, O son of Jupiter! for what he should have said, ὦ παιδίον, that is, O little son! as Plutarch says. Who also adds that he, when wounded by a great arrow and tortured by great pain, exclaimed: "This blood, friends, which flows is human, not such as is accustomed to flow from the blessed gods." Hages and Cleo flattered him in this ambition of his, as Curtius says, book VIII, who opened heaven to him, and boasted that Hercules and Bacchus, and with Pollux Castor, would yield to the new deity. Callisthenes opposed them, saying: "Divinity sometimes follows a man, never accompanies him. The nature of mortals must first be removed from the eyes before fame reaches heaven. Make someone a king, if you can make him a god: for it is easier to give empire than heaven." For which reason Callisthenes was finally killed by Alexander. Indeed, dying Alexander also pursued this smoke of divinity, as I shall say in chapter VIII, 8. Moreover Curtius describes and compares the virtues of Alexander with his vices in this way, book X: "It is clear that the good qualities of his nature were vices either of fortune or of age; an incredible force of mind; endurance of labor almost excessive; courage not only excellent among kings, but also among those for whom this alone was virtue; liberality often bestowing greater things than are sought from the gods; clemency toward the conquered, so many kingdoms either restored to those from whom he had taken them by war, or given as gifts: a perpetual contempt of death, whose fear unnerves others: a desire for glory and praise as much greater than just, so as to be admissible in a youth and in such great undertakings: now piety toward parents, whom he had resolved to consecrate Olympias to immortality, and he had avenged Philip: now benignity toward almost all friends, benevolence toward soldiers; counsel equal to the greatness of his mind, and such skill as his age could scarcely contain: a moderation of immoderate desires: the use of sexual pleasure within natural desire; and no pleasure except by permission, these were indeed great gifts." He then subjoins his vices: "Vices of fortune, to make himself equal to the gods, and to seek celestial honors, and to believe oracles suggesting such things; and to be angry more vehemently than was fitting at those unwilling to worship him: to change into external appearance the cultivation of the body: to imitate the customs of conquered nations, which before victory he had despised. For as youth had inflamed both anger and the desire for wine, so old age could have mitigated them. It must be admitted, however, that since he owed much to virtue, he owed more to fortune." Was not Alexander therefore a variegated and spotted leopard? Was he not a chameleon who took on the color, appearance and customs of the nations conquered by him? Beautifully Tertullian, in the book On the Cloak: "Alexander," he says, "conquered the Median nation (the Persians), and was conquered by Median dress: having put aside the triumphal cataphract, he proceeded in captive sarabara: his breast sculptured with the marks of scales, he covered it with transparent fabric, laying bare it, and as it were still breathing from the work of war, he extinguished it with softer waving silk. It was not enough for the swollen spirit of the Macedonian, unless a more inflated garment also delighted him." Hence he placed around his head a purple diadem distinguished with white, such as Darius had worn, and put on Persian dress, says Curtius. Finally, in the leopard is noted the great glory of Alexander, which he acquired for himself from the subjugation of so many nations: for the variegated skin of the leopard, as it were interspersed with eyes, figures this, "which makes those beasts memorable," says Solinus chapter XXI. Just as therefore among birds the peacock on account of its many-colored and eyed tail wonderfully expresses the vain glory of the world: so among beasts the leopard variegated with eyes best represents the same. And just as the peacock is proud in its feathers, it humbles itself in its feet: for when it despises its own feet, it depresses the beautiful circle of plumage, and contracts what was spread out: so also the leopard is proud in its eyes; but when it looks upon the bestial feet, it puts aside its pride. Thus also Alexander cast down his spirits and crests, when looking upon the feet of man, he recognized himself to be fragile and mortal in death. Thus Alcazar in the Apocalypse chapter III, 12, page 685. And four heads. — These are four principal commanders of Alexander, to whom he divided his empire, namely Philip, to whom Macedonia fell; Antigonus, to whom Asia Minor fell; Seleucus, to whom Syria fell; Ptolemy son of Lagus, to whom Egypt fell. Thus St. Jerome and commonly others.
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And power was given to him. — He indicates that Alexander would establish his monarchy not so much by his own strength as by the gift of God. 7. And behold a fourth beast terrible and wonderful. — This is the fourth monarchy of the Romans. Daniel saw a certain beast, but unknown to us, because he does not describe it, and this in order to signify the incomparable power and ferocity of the Romans, for the signification of which no species of beast known to us would be found sufficiently suitable. Wherefore the Rabbis divine after their manner, or rather trifle, when they wish this beast to have been that boar of which Psalm LXXIX, 14: "The boar out of the wood hath laid it waste, and a singular wild beast hath devoured it." In which place they think is predicted the destruction of Judaea by the Romans under Vespasian, so that he himself is the boar; and the wood is Rome, which before its conversion to Christ St. Leo rightly calls in his sermon On St. Peter a wood of roaring beasts. But they err: for neither is a boar more savage than a lioness, a bear, and a leopard. Furthermore, Daniel does not express the form and name of this fourth beast, because it was various and monstrous: in order to signify that the government of the Romans would be new and various. For first kings administered it; second, consuls; third, decemvirs; fourth, again consuls, and a dictator was added; fifth, emperors, with consuls and tribunes remaining. And so one monstrous republic was formed from monarchy, aristocracy and democracy combined, which embraced not one empire, but all the empires of the world, so that "Rome was as it were a compendium of the world," as St. Cyprian says, epistle 45. Such a beast, but a fabulous one, is that in Lucretius, book V: First a lion, last a dragon, in the middle the chimaera itself. And that one in Virgil, IV Georgics: She too, seeking mates through a triple riddle, Who would be two-footed, four-footed, and three-footed, all things alone: Affrighted Aonia — a bird, lion, maiden in triple form: The sphinx, a bird in wings, a beast in feet, a girl in face. Or when suddenly it becomes a bristling boar, a black tiger, A scaly dragon, and a lioness with tawny neck. Such also was the sphinx, whose three-fold form, equally as the riddle proposed by her, Ausonius thus describes in the Ternary Griffin: She too, seeking through three riddles the marriage chamber, Who would be two-footed, and four-footed, and three-footed, all things alone: Affrighted Aonia with a bird, lion, maiden in triple form: Sphinx with wings a bird, with feet a beast, with face a girl.
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Moreover, Oedipus solved this riddle of the sphinx: Man, he said, is signified, who first as an infant creeps on hands and feet, like a quadruped: then stronger and grown, he walks on two feet: finally an old man and weak, as it were on three feet, he walks leaning on a staff. Man therefore is quadruped in the morning, biped at midday, triped in the evening. Note: Daniel calls this beast, namely the monarchy of the Romans, first, terrible; second, "wonderful," that is, amazing and horrible; for this is the Chaldean אמתני emtani; whence also Theodotion translates, φοβερὸν καὶ ἔκθαμβον; third, exceedingly strong; fourth, he says it had iron teeth and great ones, that is, great and strong armies: for the teeth of beasts are their weapons. Fifth, he calls the beast devouring and crushing, that is, tearing apart; which seemed to devour men as it were. Sixth, he says it trampled under foot the rest which it did not devour and tear apart, as beasts do, which do not devour or kill men, but trample them: by which he signifies that it will come to pass that the Romans, whom they do not kill, they will subdue by tributes. Seventh, he says it had ten horns, that is, ten powerful kings (as the angel says verse 24, and St. John, Apocalypse XVII, 12), who will be at the end of the world before judgment, as the angel hints, verse 26 and verses 9 and 13. See what is said Apocalypse XVII, 12. 8. And behold another little horn sprung up in the midst of them. — First, Porphyry according to St. Jerome, thought this horn was Antiochus Epiphanes; but he was in the third monarchy of the Greeks: but Daniel now treats of the fourth of the Romans. Second, the Jews wish this horn to be Christ, who preached for three and a half years; he made war with the Saints, they say, because he overthrew the law of Moses and of the Jews. But this is blasphemy, as foolish as it is impious. For if it is so, why therefore after the death of Christ do the Jews not reign? for this is what Daniel asserts here, verses 18 and 27, concerning the Saints against whom that horn fought. Nay rather, why after the death of Christ were the Jews cut off by Titus? Why did the kingdom of Christ after his death flourish more, and subdue the whole world to itself? for Daniel prophesies the very opposite concerning this horn. Third, the Lutherans understand by this horn the Roman Pontiff; but insipidly and absurdly, as Calvin himself confesses: for the ten horns have not yet been born, and much less this eleventh; but they are still awaited to be born. Fourth, by this horn Vatablus and others understand the Turk, who growing from small beginnings, overcame two horns, that is, two kingdoms, namely Constantinople and Egypt; a third horn remains for him to overcome. Or these three kingdoms are those of Asia, Africa and Egypt, which he has already occupied. To this belongs the opinion of John Annius and Hector Pintus, that this horn is Mahomet. But truly neither the Turk nor Mahomet overthrew ten horns, nor reigned for only three and a half years, but for more; nor is he yet to be born, but was born long ago. "Therefore let us say," says St. Jerome, "what all ecclesiastical writers have handed down, that at the consummation of the world, when the Roman kingdom is to be destroyed, there will be ten future kings," as it were ten horns, who will indeed arise from the Roman empire, but will not be Roman emperors, "who will divide the Roman world among themselves," and then "an eleventh" horn, small, that is, "a small king will arise" (namely Antichrist) born in an obscure place, and of low birth, "who" gradually growing, "will overcome three kings" of those "ten," namely "the king of Egypt, the king of Africa, and the king of Ethiopia, and when these are killed, the remaining seven kings will also submit their necks to the victor," as is said verse 24. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Irenaeus, book V, and Lactantius, book VII, chapter XVI, Joseph Acosta, book II On the Last Times, chapter IX, Ribera, and throughout Interpreters both here and Apocalypse XIII and XVII. One doubts, St. Augustine, book XX On the City of God, XXIII, whether ten kings are not called all kings; so that a finite number is put for an indefinite one; because in his time the distinction and division of the empire was only Moreover, that king is said to have "eyes of a man," lest we think he is a devil, as some thought; but a man, in whom all Satan will dwell bodily. Thus St. Jerome. Second and better, the eyes of a man signify the human wisdom and prudence of Antichrist, by which he will seduce many, says Theodoret; likewise the simulation of humanity and virtue, by which he will allure many. But Maldonatus thinks that by the eyes is noted the pride of Antichrist: for this appears especially in the eyes. He will also have "a mouth speaking great things," because he will be the man of sin, the son of perdition, so that he will dare to sit in the temple of God, making himself as it were God. Mystically see St. Gregory, book XXXII Moral, chapter XII.
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Hence it is clear that Antichrist has not yet come, both because these ten horns, of which three have been crushed by the little horn, have not yet been seen; and because the Angel, verse 26, indicates that he will come at the end of the world, and is to be killed by Christ, "that his power may be taken away, and be broken in pieces, and perish even to the end." Whence St. Paul says that Christ will kill him with the spirit of his mouth. See what is said in II Thessalonians II, 3 and following. Of the East and West, made by the Caesars: for there were only two rulers of the world, and as it were kings. Whence Augustine feared lest perhaps in these ten kings we who expect them might be deceived; because it seemed to him that Antichrist was not far off; nor did he see how so quickly a twofold kingdom would be divided into a tenfold one. But we ought not now to fear this, since we see the very same thing in fact, and easily count in the world ten, indeed more, absolute kings, subject to none. Hence again it follows that those err who understand by the ten kings ten Roman emperors, who once persecuted the Church, namely Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Antoninus, Severus, Aurelian, Decius, Maximian, Valerian and Diocletian. For these ten kings will be at the end of the world, and three of them Antichrist will kill, and soon the remaining seven, terrified, will submit themselves to him. For it cannot be explained how Nero, Decius, Severus, or any other of those first ten emperors is to be crushed by Antichrist. Now, whether Rome is to be overthrown by ten kings before Antichrist, or under Antichrist, I have discussed and resolved in Apocalypse cap. XVII, 16. 9. I beheld till thrones were set. — Note: After the four monarchies Daniel here, equally as in cap. II, 44, describes the kingdom of Christ, which will succeed them at the end of the world: therefore Daniel here depicts the majesty of God, as it were judging concerning Christ and Antichrist, and adjudging the cause to Christ, and delivering the kingdom to him: a kingdom, I say, not only spiritual, as in cap. II, 44, but also corporeal, namely glorious, when after the four monarchies, and the kingdom of Antichrist overthrown, Christ on the day of judgment, having thrust his enemies, namely the reprobate, into eternal fire, will receive from the Father a stable kingdom, by which in heaven and on earth he will reign for all eternity. Symbolically, throne signifies God first, majesty; secondly, kingdom and empire; thirdly, judicial power; fourthly, immobility and immutability, as St. Dionysius teaches, On the Divine Names cap. IX. Note: Those thrones are set for God the Father; for he is here the judge: but there are many, so that he may in others constitute Christ as king, as it were to be inaugurated, and his Apostles; or rather, so that through many thrones the greater and holier majesty of God the judge may be represented: for this happens when a judge has many, as it were counselors, or a king many princes sitting around him, more than when he himself sits alone. It is similar in Apocalypse IV and V. The Angels therefore, as it were counselors of God, sit here on thrones, so that they may distribute kingdoms among men. For thus in cap. IV, 17, angels as judges in the cause of Nebuchadnezzar, are brought in to take the kingdom from him: "In the sentence," it says, "of the watchers the decree is." Thus Maldonatus. The Ancient of Days sat, — not Christ, as St. Jerome wishes, but God the Father: for Christ here is rather to be judged than to be judge. Therefore God the Father sits here in tribunal, but the Son is brought to him as it were to plead his cause (it is similar in Apocalypse cap. IV and V). For he contends with Antichrist concerning the kingdom, which the Father attributes to him. Whence it is clear that this does not directly and properly concern the last judgment (as some think), by which Christ will judge the living and the dead corporally and visibly; but another spiritual and invisible one, by which God the Father at the same time will crush Antichrist and all his followers, enemies of Christ, and will subject them to Christ: just as by a similar judgment he subjected and prostrated Antiochus, Nebuchadnezzar, and other tyrants. Yet you may rightly adapt all these things to the day of judgment: for its prelude and beginning are here described. For this judgment of God will be similar to the final judgment of Christ, near and preparatory to it, and will pave the way for it, creating Christ as judge. Note: The Majesty of God the Father is here described, saying first that He is the Ancient of Days, both because He Himself is full of days; and because He existed before all days and times; and because He is the creator of all time, and in Himself, and in His eternity eminently contains all the antiquity of time. Whence St. Dionysius, cap. X On the Divine Names: "Days," he says, "the Ancient God is praised, for this reason that He Himself is both the aeon and time, and before days, and before aeon, and time and day; as existing unchangeable and immobile, and in that He always moves remaining in Himself, and as the cause of aeon and time and days." Then because He is more ancient than His Son, that is prior in origin, by which the Son is God; and also prior in time, by which the Son is man; and finally because He possesses immense wisdom and experience: for these things are especially required in a judge, and are found in the aged; for, as it is said in Ecclesiasticus cap. XXV, verse 8: "The crown of the aged is much knowledge;" and Job XII, 12: "In the ancient is wisdom, and in much time prudence." Some, according to Theodoret, for Ancient of Days, translate it, making days ancient; namely that by His eternity He transcends all days and times, and as it were makes them inferior to Himself, annuls them, abolishes them; while He Himself remains stable and vigorous, free from all mutability, succession and defect. Thus the ancients, especially the poets, feigned Saturn, the father of Jupiter and of the gods, to be an old man, and saturated with years, and from this to be called Saturn. Hear Cicero, lib. II On the Nature of the Gods: "They wished Saturn to be he who contained the course and conversion of spaces and times; which God has the same name in Greek. For Kronos is said, which is the same as χρόνος, that is the space of time: but Saturn was called, because he is saturated with years. For he is feigned to have been accustomed to eat those born from him; because age consumes the spaces of times, and is insatiably filled with past years." Others think Saturn is called Kronon, as it were from satiety of intellect: for in Greek κόρος is satiety, νοῦς mind and intellect. Saturn therefore, they say, is a name composed from the first part Latin, the latter Greek, and is the same as satiety of mind, which God alone provides. Second, He is said to have sat, by catachresis, that is to have exercised judgment with supreme tranquility, authority and majesty, by which He would hand over to His Son the kingdom merited by Him. Third, He has white hair, that is locks, "like pure wool," that is white, which is tinged with no color except its native one, because whiteness of hair is characteristic of the aged. Again hair like wool suggests that in the divine judgments, even on that final day, much gentleness and clemency will be mixed in: for God never exhausts the dregs of His rigor, says Antonius Fernandius, vision XXIV, commentary II, section II. Fourth, He has white garments; because He is most pure: for He is the eternal and uncreated light itself; whence Psalm CIV, 2, it is said: "Clothed with light as with a garment:" because indeed whiteness among all colors most represents light, and has the most light; hence white clothing is always attributed to God, which signifies His clarity and glory. There exists on this matter an enigma of the ancient magi: "There is a thing bright everywhere, there is a thing dark everywhere; there is a thing partly bright, partly dark," namely in the order of bodies, a thing bright everywhere is any star above the moon: the air is dark everywhere: the moon shines partly, is darkened partly. But in the order of spirits, a thing bright everywhere is God and the divine mind: an irrational soul is dark everywhere: partly bright, partly dark is intellect and reason. Hence the Apostle, I Corinthians III, 13, says that the day of the Lord (namely the day of the final judgment) will be revealed in fire, in fire, I say, both proper, by which the world will be consumed; and metaphorical, which will be a clear and exact, and as it were fiery examination of the works of each one. Whence Cajetan there
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His throne was like a flame of fire, — his throne is a flame, indeed many flames. The flaming throne of God the Father signifies, first, his inaccessible and immense glory; second, the sincerity and public manifestation of his divine judgment; third, the efficacy of the same, and the punishment of the Antichrist and the reprobate by the fire of hell. Hence God is called by Paul a consuming fire. Thus St. Jerome. His wheels were like a burning fire. — The Septuagint, a burning fire; Vatablus, a blazing fire. This throne has wheels, either because such were once the thrones of kings; whence Vatablus: Thrones, he says, of kings were once revolving, and were constructed like triumphal chariots: or to signify God's both glory and providence, which, as if carried by a chariot and wheels, runs through all things. Concerning which matter I have spoken in the chariot of the Cherubim, Ezekiel I, 15. It is signified therefore here, that God the Father, as if immobile according to nature indeed, sits upon the throne; according, however, to the wheels of his power and efficacy through all things which are in heaven and on earth, he moves through all things most efficaciously and swiftly, and therefore the wheels are fiery. This is confirmed from this passage by the ecclesiastical custom of depicting God: for why, since Scripture depicts him in words, indeed he himself depicted himself in this image in the phantasy of Daniel, should it not be permitted to us to depict him in a similar image and colors? For we do not attempt through the image to express the nature of God, inasmuch as it can be depicted neither by colors, nor by words, nor by thought; but so that we may express his effects and properties in this manner, in which alone we are able to do so, just as we are accustomed to depict angels, justice, prudence and the other virtues. Thus Maldonatus. For what is described is also depicted, since the reason of both is the same, namely of the stylus and the brush. Hence the Holy Spirit is depicted in the form of a dove, because in this form he descended upon Christ; and in the form of fiery tongues, because in this form he descended upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. Allegorically Rupertus: The throne, he says, of God is the Church and individual Saints, just as among the angels the order of Thrones is said to be from the fact that they themselves are as it were thrones of God. The throne therefore of God is St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Francis, etc. Snow and pure wool is grace and the remission of sins. The fiery river is the Holy Spirit, given at Pentecost: then the Church had fiery wheels, that is, preachers inflamed with the love of God. For these are called fiery wheels: "Because when they run through various places from the desire of God, whence they themselves burn, they set others on fire," says St. Gregory, homily 5 on Ezekiel. Whence then thousands of thousands of men, that is, innumerable ones, began to minister to God through the active life, and others to attend upon him through the contemplative life. 10. A fiery river and swift. — As if from a fiery fountain (like Aetna) God, a fiery river flows forth, which signifies his sentence, as the most efficacious and swift of the supreme judge, says St. Jerome. This river therefore is a two-edged sword sharp on both sides and dividing, which John saw proceeding from the mouth of Christ the judge, Apocalypse I, 16, concerning which God also said to Moses, Deuteronomy XXXII, 41: "If I shall whet my sword like lightning, and my hand shall lay hold on judgment." The same therefore is the fiery and swift river, which is a flashing sword, and swiftly brandished in judgment, which like a most swift river will prostrate the Antichrist and other enemies of Christ, will blow them away and hurl them into Tartarus. Others understand by this fiery river the fire of the conflagration of the world, of which it is said in Psalm XCVI, 3: "A fire shall go before him, and shall burn his enemies round about." But here judgment is not of Christ, but of God the Father for Christ against the Antichrist, as I have said verse 9. The former sense therefore is the genuine one. Symbolically, St. Dionysius, in his book On the Celestial Hierarchy, final chapter, adapts these wheels, chariots and river to the angels of God: "Fiery," he says, "rivers signify divine streams, bestowing upon the angels a most abundant and unfailing abundance of inundation, and nourishers of vital fecundity: but chariots signify the united society of similar and equal beings: wheels truly, which are indeed lofty, yet always proceed forward without any turning, declining to no side, do indeed suggest the power of angelic action, which always travels a straight and steep path. For all their course, and their spiritual rotation, is directed by heavenly intention toward that straight and steep path." Then he brings forth another meaning of the wheels: "For it is," he says, "as the Prophet (Daniel) says, a name given to them, galgil, which in the Hebrew tongue signifies revelations and revolutions: for the fiery and divine wheels have revolutions indeed, in that they turn eternally in motion around the same supreme good: but revelations, in that they reveal hidden mysteries, and promote the more humble, and pouring down the sublime rays of divine brightness into the lower ranks by descending." Thousands of thousands. — The Septuagint, χίλιαι χιλιάδες, that is, thousands of thousands, that is, a million, namely ten hundred thousands. Secondly and better, thousands of thousands, that is, very many thousands of Angels ministered to God: for it does not designate a certain number of those ministering, but only signifies that it is the greatest. Tertullian, Against Praxeas, reads: "A thousand times a hundred hundred thousands stood before him, and a thousand times a hundred thousands appeared to him." Most excellently St. Sophronius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, in volume II of the Library of the Holy Fathers, oration 6 On the Excellence of Angels, addresses and invokes them thus: "You are the ministers of the King of all, you winds, and spirits, and waters, and princes, and horses, and armies, and deacons, and apostles, and preachers, and prophets, and evangelists, and interpreters of divine things, and guardians, and presidents, and preservers, and drivers, and conductors, and guides of the way, and inquirers, and weighers of books, and calculators, and curators, and illuminators, and givers of riches, and luminaries, and lamps, and mountains, and hills, and clouds, and judges, and receivers, and reporters, and defenders, and fighters, and defenders, and divine mirrors, and likenesses, and images, and sailors, and ships, and helmsmen. You are those who traverse heaven with most swift course, who ceaselessly accomplish the will of the Creator, who are called the minds and tabernacles of God, who are named coals, and whirlwinds, and flames; preserve my life unharmed, my hope unbroken, my love toward God and neighbor intact." And ten thousand times a hundred thousand, — that is, a thousand millions. They err therefore in calculation, who think there are only a hundred times a hundred thousand, that is, ten millions, when there are a thousand. The Syriac and Arabic: Myriads of myriads stand before him. So also in Greek it is μύριαι μυριάδες, that is, ten thousand times ten thousand, that is, a hundred millions. But, as I have said, a certain number is not signified here, but an indefinite one, and that the greatest. Myriads of myriads, therefore, is the same as very many myriads. Whence Cyril of Jerusalem, in catechesis 15, notes that there are far more myriads of angels; yet Daniel records only these, because he could not express a greater number which men could conceive in their mind. The sense therefore is, as if to say, Very many, and as it were innumerable angels stood before him. Hence St. Dionysius and the theologians teach that the number of angels is not properly infinite, but limited and finite; yet it is very great, and incomprehensible to men, and exceeds the number of corporeal things, so that St. Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy XIII and XIV, asserts that it is known to God alone. St. Ambrose, explaining the parable of the hundredth sheep lost and brought back by Christ, Luke XV, hints that all men are the hundredth part of the number of angels. See Gabriel Vázquez, I part., Question LIII, disputation 180. Again, from this place St. Dionysius, St. Thomas, I part., Question CXII, articles 2 and 3, and his followers there, distinguish ministering angels, who namely are sent by God to earth, and to men, from those assisting, who always stand before God; and they add that four supreme orders, namely Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones and Dominions are of those assisting, the remaining five lower ones are of those ministering, and that these are far more numerous than those. But to Hebrews I, 14, I have taught that all angels are ministering. For, as the Apostle says, "all are administrative spirits, sent into ministry:" some, as inferior, are sent more frequently; others, as superior, more rarely, and are almost always present with God: and by this reasoning these present ones can be called assisting, those ministering. Add that in this place there is no diversity of angelic offices, to assist and to minister; but one and the same thing: for the latter is a repetition of the former, according to Canon XXV; for those who minister are accustomed to stand before the Lord. "By sitting and resting, the soul becomes prudent;" because in this posture the soul rests, and the mind is not distracted to other things to be done or thought. Moreover, this judgment is that of God the Father, as I have said, which nevertheless Christ will perfect and complete on the day of judgment, condemning the impious. And the books were opened. — By books understand not the consciences of men, "which are written not with ink," but "with the filth of wickedness," as St. Ambrose says in Psalm I, and Theodoret (for neither Antichrist nor his conscience appeared in this judgment of God the Father); nor the book of life and death, as St. Jerome; nor the Old and New Testament, as others; but the objections of accusers and the responses of defending advocates. For there are three kinds of books in God's judgment: one book is that of angels or demons accusing; another of angels defending; the third is the book of life, from which the judge brings forth, in a manner, the sentence. This is gathered from Apocalypse cap. XX, 12: "The books," he says, "were opened, and another book was opened which is the book of life." See the things said there. Therefore Daniel signifies here that in the divine judgment, with angels standing by, there was dispute concerning the fourth beast and its eleventh horn, that is concerning the Roman empire and Antichrist, and the books both of accusers and defenders were opened, that is the reasons were set forth on both sides, and especially that the measure of the sins of Antichrist and all his followers had already been fulfilled. Finally, with examination applied, the sentence was pronounced, that the fourth beast was to be taken away from the midst, and the eternal kingdom was to be delivered to Christ. It is a catachresis. Thus Maldonatus. Dogmatically, by these opened books is signified that it is the duty of the judge to carefully examine the laws and acts of the case, lest he do injury to a party. For "ignorance of the judge is often the calamity of the innocent," says St. Augustine, lib. XIX De Civit. VI. Morally, see what you do here: whatever you do, it is written in these books, which are here closed, but will be opened and read on the day of judgment. Hear St. Basil, lib. De Vera virg.: "Those things which before, covered as it were with a garment of the body, we thought we did not have, being stripped naked will thrust themselves before the eyes of all, and there will be no place for denial or defense, when the works themselves will be seen conspicuous in their author. For not confusedly, but each thing in parts, as they are, will be known as in a picture." And St. Ephrem, lib. De Vera poenit. cap. IV: "Each one will see before his face his works laid out, whether he sent forth good things or evil. Formidable books will be opened, in which are written our works and deeds and words and whatever we did in this life: nor only deeds, but also thoughts and intentions of the heart." And St. Chrysostom, hom. 5 in epist. ad Rom.: "What," he says, "will then become of us wretches, when all things are made plain to the whole world in so open and so illustrious a thea- says: "That day will be the clarity of all works; because in the metaphorical fire of rigorous examination it will be revealed." Judgment sat. — "Judgment," that is the judge, or judges, or the whole throne and order of judges, as the Gloss says, namely God the Father, and his assessor angels were seen by me sitting on thrones. Thus we say: The magistrate sat, or decreed this or that, that is those who are of the magistrate sat or decreed. It is fitting that judges sit, both for authority and for judging calmly and sedately. For, as Aristotle says, lib. VI Physic.: and having eyes fixed upon him; nor could Daniel see all of them ministering otherwise. Thus Gabriel, who is of the assisting, as is clear from Luke I, 19; is also of the ministering who are sent forth; for he was sent to Daniel, cap. VIII, 16, and to the Blessed Virgin, Luke I, 26. Thus Michael, who is the first of the angels and consequently of the Seraphim assisting God, ministers and fights for the Church and the faithful, Daniel X, 13, and cap. XII, 1. Thus the seven spirits, that is the prince angels, who are in the sight of the throne of God Apocalypse I, 4, and therefore are of the assisting, are said to be "sent into all the earth," cap. V, 6. The same therefore are assisting who are also ministering: because wherever they are sent, they always see the face of the Father, as Christ says, Matt. cap. XVIII, 10. Properly, however, they are said to assist when they stand before God in the empyrean heaven; but to minister when they are sent forth. Thus Molina, I part., Quaest. CXII.
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That the latter number is greater than the former is done solely for the sake of confirmation and amplification, to declare the innumerability of the angels. For thus when we have seen a very great number of soldiers, we say that we have seen ten thousand, and then, having recovered our breath, when we think we have said too little, we add and say that we have seen twenty, indeed thirty thousand. Thus Maldonatus. Tropologically, St. Clement, book V of the Apostolic Constitutions, chapter XIV, refers this number to the faithful and elect men. For these, he says, are "the fullness of the number of those who are saved, thousands of thousands, and ten times ten thousand hundreds of thousands."
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Morally, when you sing, think: "In the sight of the angels," indeed with the angels, "I will sing to Thee"; when you pray, let this be your composition of place, that you think yourself standing before God, to whom so many myriads of angels minister: when you teach, when you study, when you work, think: I teach, I study, I work in His sight and in His presence, to whom thousands of thousands minister, and ten times ten thousand hundreds of thousands stand by. "With how much reverence, therefore, with how much fear, with how much humility ought there to proceed from his swamp and creep forth a vile little frog (which is what every man is, even kings, as Alexander and Darius, chapter VIII, 3)! How trembling, how suppliant, how finally humble and anxious and with his whole mind intent upon the majesty of glory, in the presence of angels, in the council of the just, and in the assembly can a wretched little man stand? In all our actions, therefore, much watchfulness of mind is necessary, but especially in prayer," says St. Bernard, sermon On the Four Modes of Prayer. stripped bare, will be subjected to the eyes of men, some known to us, some unknown to us?" Then, as Isaiah says, chapter XXIV, 23: "The moon shall blush, and the sun shall be confounded." And St. Ambrose in the Apology of David: "Woe, he says, to me, because I wish to hide, and I cannot hide: for how shall I hide, I who carry written upon my breast the marks of my sins?" And St. Augustine in Psalm XLIX, 21, to those words "I will reprove thee, and set before thy face": "There shall be set in order, he says, before the unhappy soul its sins, so that proof may convince it, and knowledge may confound it." And St. Bernard in the tract On Conversion to the Clergy, chapter II: "The book of conscience is opened, he says, the series of wretched life is unrolled, a certain sad history is repeated, reason is illuminated, and memory, when unfolded, is exhibited as it were to certain eyes of it. Both, however, are not so much of the soul itself as the soul itself, so that it is both the one who sees and the one seen, set against its own face, and by certain violent apparitors, namely of injected thoughts, is forced to stand before the tribunal to be judged."
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Symbolically St. Gregory, XXXIII Morals, VI, calls Christ seen in judgment the book of life: "The book, he says, of life is the very vision of the coming judge, in which, as it were, every commandment is written; because whoever shall see Him, immediately, with conscience as witness, will understand what he has not done." And St. Anselm in the Elucidarium says the book of life is the life of Jesus, which is the norm for all in living, and as it were the law by which all shall be judged. 11. I beheld on account of the voice of the great words, — that is, I was watching what outcome those words would have, full of pride and contumely toward God, which the eleventh horn of the fourth beast, namely the Antichrist, was speaking; and shortly after I saw the beast itself destroyed and given to fire, that is, I saw the Roman empire utterly abolished and as it were reduced to ashes. 12. The power of the other beasts also was taken away, — that is, I saw also the three former empires, namely of the Babylonians, Persians and Greeks, perish. And times of life were appointed to them until a time, and a time. — The Chaldean עד זמן ועדן ad zeman veiddan, that is, until a time and a definite period appointed by God; which having elapsed, I saw them die and be overthrown: for they could not exceed the limits set by God. 13. With the clouds of heaven there came one like the Son of Man. — Note the "like," that is, it seemed to me that I saw in a dream someone in the manner of a man, or having the form and appearance of a man, coming to the judge, namely God the Father, who sat upon the throne: for he did not see a true man, but only the appearance of a man, and a phantom presented to him by God. Add: Christ, who is signified, was not yet made, but was still to be a man; this the "like" intimates. Third, Maldonatus thinks that the "like" does not signify that Christ would not be a true man, but that He would be more than a man, and therefore in the appointed time the divinity was sent down in Him, so that while He is true God, He would nevertheless appear as if He were only a man. Whence St. Paul, Philippians II, 7, says: "He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men, and found in appearance as a man." This sense is more sublime, but the former is plainer and more solid. Whence Cyril, book II on John, chapter LXXIII, from this place proves that Christ, not as God but as man, will be the judge of men.
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Note first: For 'as the Son of Man,' in Chaldean it is כבר אנש kebar enos, that is, as the Son of Man miserable, afflicted, soon to die, forgetful, and to be consigned to oblivion: for all these things are signified by enos. Whence the Psalmist, marveling at God's kindness toward men: "What is man (in Hebrew enos)," he says, "that thou art mindful of him?" This title therefore, Son of enos, is a title of supreme condescension, which Christ assumed in the Incarnation, when He willed to become our brother and kinsman so closely that He wished at the same time to take upon Himself our afflictions and to feel them, that He might expiate them in Himself, and thus heal and abolish them in us. This is that philanthropy (that is, that singular and wonderful love toward men), which the Apostle, marveling at it, says to Titus, cap. III, 4: "The goodness and kindness (in Greek φιλανθρωπία) of God our Saviour hath appeared." This is "the great mystery of godliness, which was manifested in the flesh," etc., I Tim. cap. III, 16, namely that "the Word was made flesh:" that Word, I say, which is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, consubstantial with God, and itself God, of which John had said a little before, cap. I, 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by him, and without him was made nothing." This Word was made flesh, that is, man of flesh, fragile, vile and miserable. Again, "the Son of Man," that is, man. He is called Son, however, that a new condescension of His might be signified, in that He was not created by God, as Adam and Eve were created; but deigned to be born of man, namely of a virgin, that He might be at once the Son of the virgin and of God, subject and obedient to the virgin as it were to a mother. Wherefore St. Bernard rightly exclaims, serm. I super Missus est: "On both sides astonishment, on both sides miracle; and that God obeys a woman is humility without example; and that a woman rules over God is sublimity without peer. Blush, O dust: God humbles Himself, and dost thou exalt thyself?" And on account of this immense condescension of Christ, God exalted Him immensely, and made Him, as He is man, king of angels, men and the whole world, prince and judge of all, as Daniel says here; and St. John, cap. V, 27: "He hath given him power," he says, "to do judgment, because he is the Son of Man." Note second: Daniel speaks here not of Christ's ascension to heaven, as some wish, but of His coming to judgment. For He shall come in the clouds of heaven, Matt. XXIV, 30, but before He descends to judgment, He is led here to the Father, that He may sub-
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ject all enemies, namely the Antichrist and other infidels and wicked men, to Himself, and that He may deliver to Him all power of judging. Moreover, a bright and glorious cloud is the symbol and veil of the Divinity. Concerning which I have spoken at Ezech. I, 4. They offered Him. — In Chaldean it is הקרבוהי hacrebuhi, that is, they brought Him: these words therefore signify not force, but honor; namely that Christ, girded for judgment, accompanied and conducted by many angels, came to the Father; and thence, having received power, descended with them to judgment, as is said Matt. XVI, 27. The angels therefore offered Christ to the Father. Whence Tertullian, lib. III Contra Marc. VII, and St. Justin, Contra Tryphon., read: And they that stood by Him brought Him; and St. Cyprian, lib. II Testim.: And they that stood by Him offered Him.
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14. And He gave Him power — of judging and reigning: for although Christ had it from the first instant of His conception in act first, nevertheless on the day of judgment He shall receive it from the Father in act second, or as to exercise, namely that He may exercise it in act, and actually perform judgment. And all peoples, tribes and tongues shall serve Him. — St. Justin and St. Cyprian in the place already cited read: All the kings of the earth by race, and all the glorious ones (all the most glorious) shall serve Him.
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15. My spirit was horrified. — In Chaldaic it is cut off, or my spirit of Daniel, I say, was shortened in the midst of its sheath. The sheath of the soul is the body, as if to say: I suffered a fainting of the mind on account of disturbance, and I was deprived of courage, and as if lifeless. Who would not be horrified at all these things, and especially considering the rigid judgment of God, in which all things will be terrible to the impious? On the right will be sins, on the left demons, below a horrible hell, above an angry judge, without a burning world, within a burning conscience: where the just will scarcely be saved, what will the wretched impious do? To hide will be impossible, to appear intolerable, says St. Bernard, tract. De Inter. domo, cap. XXXVIII: "When the Lord is about to judge," says St. Jerome to Heliodorus, "the world will bellow mournfully, tribe will strike breast against tribe, the most powerful kings of old will palpitate with naked sides." Deservedly therefore St. Bernard admonishes, serm. 55 in Cant.: "Fear the scrutiny of the judge, fear him who through the Prophet says: I will search Jerusalem with lamps; his sight is keen, his eye will leave nothing unscrutinized." Hear the voices of the judged and the damned, Wisdom V, 3: "These are they whom we once held in derision. We foolish esteemed their life madness: behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the Saints. Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the Sun of understanding has not risen upon us." What counsel is here? Hear and do what St. Bernard suggests in the place cited: "There is one thing: if we judge ourselves, we shall certainly not be judged: a good judgment, which hides me from that strict and divine judgment. I do not wish to be presented to the face of the wrath of the judging one, not to be judged. I will therefore judge my evils, and I will judge also my goods: I will search my ways, and my studies, so that he who is about to search Jerusalem with lamps may find nothing unscrutinized in me, nothing undiscussed." St. Augustine gives the same counsel, serm. 181 De Tempore. For this reason Jabbus the patriarch of Jerusalem, who was afterwards called Pontiff, Urban IV, bore a symbol, the heart of a man palpitating in a thorn-bush, with the inscription: "Remember the last things," as Sadoletus relates in Symbol. tom. II, pag. 78. 17. Four are the kingdoms. — In Chaldaic, four are the kings; but he takes kings for kingdoms: for here the matter is not about persons, but about things and kingdoms.
7:19
They shall consume — the last three; for the first, namely of the Chaldeans, kingdom has already arisen. 18. And the Saints of the Most High God shall receive the kingdom. — Thus both the Septuagint, Vatable and others translate. Therefore Calvin translated wrongly, they shall receive, namely the four kingdoms already mentioned, the kingdom of the Saints, that is owed to the Saints, as if to say: These four kingdoms will reign on earth, and will occupy the kingdom which the Saints ought to occupy. Wrongly, I say; for these four kingdoms did not reign for ever and ever; which nevertheless is said here. Therefore a happy and blessed kingdom is signified here, which after the four kingdoms the Saints will enter on the day of judgment, when they will then rise again, and will be blessed both in body and in soul, and will reign with Christ eternally. Hence it is clear that all the Saints will be in heaven eternal and heavenly kings, who will rule over heaven and the whole world. Whence Apocalypse V, 10, they sing: "Thou hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth." And they merited this both by their humility, by which in this life they were vile, despised, and vexed by the impious and antichristians; whence Christ promised this to them, saying, Matt. cap. V: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;" then by their fortitude, by which they ruled over the senses, concupiscences, members, riches, honors, crosses and death.
7:22
Saints of the Most High God. — In Chaldaic it is קדישי עליונין kaddische elionin, that is, Saints of the most high, that is, Saints of the Most High God: for elohim is understood, which because it is plural, hence also its epithet elionin, that is, of the most high, is plural. Otherwise Maldonatus: for he thinks that the Blessed are called Saints of the most high, because they are heirs, inhabitants and possessors of the highest places and goods in the heavens; because they lived a higher life here on earth, saying with Paul: "Our conversation is in heaven;" and with Isaiah: "I will lift thee up above the heights of the earth."
7:25
19. Concerning the fourth beast. — This is the fourth monarchy, the Roman. The ten horns are ten future kings; the eleventh horn will be the Antichrist, as I said at verse 7; this prevailed against the Saints, until there came the Ancient of Days, and condemned his tyranny, and gave the kingdom to Christ, and to His Saints, as Daniel explains in what follows. 22. Judgment was given to the Saints. — "Judgment," that is, power and authority of judging; because the Saints, especially the Apostles, and their followers, shall judge with Christ, I Cor. VI, 3; Matt. XIX, 28. Otherwise Maldonatus: "Judgment was given to the Saints," that is, he says, He pronounced sentence according to the Saints, or in favor of the Saints, He adjudged to the Saints the heavenly kingdom, as it is said Psalm LXXXI, 3: "Judge for the fatherless and the widow," that is, in favor of the fatherless and the widow. 25. And shall wear out the saints of the Most High. — In Chaldee it is יבלא ieballe, that is, He shall cause to grow old, shall wear away, shall consume, as garments are consumed by age. Whence the Septuagint translates, παλαιώσει, that is, shall cause to grow old: for which others corruptly read μαξιών, that is, shall seduce; St. Augustine, Against Trypho, ζαρασ-τρέψει, that is, shall overthrow; others, ταπεινώσει, that is, shall humble. And he shall think himself able to change times and laws. — "Times" in Chaldee זמנין zimnin, which is the same as the Hebrew מועדים moedim, that is, appointed times, namely fixed feasts, such as Passover, Pentecost, Sundays, etc.; "and laws," in Chaldee דת vedat, that is, and the law, namely the Gospel law, as if to say the Antichrist shall abolish all feasts, and all law both of Christ and of Moses, and shall introduce into the world his own new sect and religion. Otherwise Maldonatus: "Times," he says, are the limits prescribed by God to individual kingdoms: "laws" are God's decrees, by which it is constituted that this kingdom shall last so long, that one so long: because, he says, here we are dealing with kingdoms and divine judgments. But this is more remote and obscure: therefore the former sense is clearer and more genuine.
7:26
Until a time, and times, and half a time. — Here it is not zimnin, or zeman, as a little before, but עדן iddan, which corresponds to the Hebrew עת et, that is, time. Calvin wishes by these to signify not a certain, but an uncertain time, during which the Antichrist, that is, the Roman Pontiff, shall reign. But St. Jerome, Theodoret, Vatablus here, St. Augustine, lib. XX of the City of God, XXV, Irenaeus, lib. V, cap. XXX, Cyril, catechesis 25, Hippolytus, On the Consummation of the Age, and the ancients everywhere, understand by time a year, by times two years, by half a time half a year; and from this commonly teach that the Antichrist as a monarch shall reign three years and a half. This is proved first, because thus Daniel explains himself at cap. XII; for when at verse 7 he had said that the desolation of the Antichrist would last for a time, and times, and half a time, immediately at verse 11 he explains it, saying: "From the time when the continual sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination unto desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred ninety days," which make up approximately three years and a half. Second, because thus St. John explains it, Apocalypse XII, 6, when he says the woman, that is, the Church, fled into the wilderness in the time of the Antichrist for 1260 days, which make three years and a half; and again at verse 14, he says wings were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness until a time, and times, and half a time; and at cap. XIII, verse 5, he says power was given to the Antichrist for 42 months, which likewise make three years and a half. Third, because there will be then the fiercest persecution: whence God has appointed him a brief time, lest the elect be led into error, who would certainly fall if it lasted longer, as Christ says, Matt. XXIV, verse 22. Fourth, because it is fitting that the Antichrist not be permitted to reign and preach longer than Christ, who evangelized for three years and a half.
7:27
Hence it is clear that some wrongly refer these three years and a half to the persecution of Antiochus; especially because after these years immediately "judgment shall sit, that the kingdom may be given to the people of the Saints" in the heavens, as Daniel adds. Worse, others refer these years to the time during which Nero and other Roman Emperors persecuted the Church. Note: For the Chaldee עדנין iddanin, that is, times, perhaps should be read in the dual עדנין iddanain, that is, two times, although iddanain is also used as a plural for the dual: because the Chaldeans rarely use the dual, but mostly the plural, even for the dual, as Guido Fabricius teaches in the Syrochaldaic Grammar.
7:28
26. Judgment shall sit. — Judges shall sit, namely God the Father and His angels, who shall take away the power of the Antichrist, and shall give the eternal kingdom to the people of the Saints, as I said at verse 10, for there he narrated the figure, or symbol which he saw; but here he explains it.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
7:1
… This came to pass on that very night (Dan. 5). In the 1st and 3rd year of B.'s reign (Dan. 7, 1; 8, 1), Daniel had the visions concerning the four great empires of the world, the messianic kingdom, and the vicissitudes of the dominion of the Diadochi and Epigoni.
7:3
Leviathan has many heads (Ps. 74 [73], 14: "d." in the Septuagint and Vulgate), and other hybrid and terrifying monsters appear in the poetic or allegorical passages of the Old Testament: the 4 beasts of Dan. 7, 3-8, the he-goat of 1 and 4 horns (Dan. 8, 5-22), but these are mere symbols not identifiable with the d. In the apocrypha the d. recurs as the equivalent of Satan or of death, or of their …
7:7
… Barnabae announces the final apostasy as imminent (4, 3: τὸ τέλειον σκάνδαλον ἤγγιες), "as Enoch says" (Ethiopic Enoch 89, 61-64; 90, 17) and Daniel (Dan. 7, 7 ff. 24), and recommends "resisting" (as I Pt. 5, 9) in the period of impiety (ἐν τῷ ἀνόμῳ καιρῷ) so that "the Black One" (4, 9: ὁ Μέλας), that is, the A., may not enter stealthily.
… Taur., 1245: αἰνωτὸς δράκων; Plutarch, Is. et Osir., 22: τὸν Τυφῶνα ... πυρρόν) with 7 heads (opposed to the "7 spirits of God": 1, 4; 3, 1; 4, 5; 5, 6) crowned and 10 horns (Dan. 7, 7). It is a king: "the prince of this world" (Io. 16, 11, etc.). …
7:8
… J. Knabenhauer (Comment. in Dan. proph., Paris 1897, pp. 192, 267) maintains, citing the authority of many Fathers, that Dan. 7:8 and 9:27 speak of the A.; on the opposite side, S. R. Driver (The Book of Daniel, Cambridge 1912, p. xcvii) and J. A. Montgomery (The Book of Daniel, Edinburgh 1927, p. 83) affirm …
… (12, 4), the announcement of the universal judgment becomes increasingly precise in the vivid descriptions of the prophets (Is. 13, 9; 66, 15; Joel 2, 1; Zeph. 1, 2; Dan. 7, 8) and of Wis. (5, 1-13). The whole New Testament is dominated by this great prospect. …
7:13
Amos (Hebrew 'Āmōs «Who Bears a Burden», distinct from the name of Isaiah’s father 'Āmōs «Robust»)
… This oracle is held to be messianic both in the Talmudic tradition (Sanhedrin, 96 b), which relates it to Dan. 7:13-14 (the "Son of Man" who receives eternal and universal power), and in the Christian tradition, where it is cited as a messianic prophecy in Acts 15:16-17 by St. James. …
… the καινὴ κτίσις of Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 5:17; the passage from death to life of John 5:24-28; E. B. Allo, op. cit., p. 325). Finally the various elements (angels, cloud, fire, etc.) that accompany the manifestations of God as judge (Isa. 34:10; 66:15; Dan. 7:13 ff., etc.; Matt. 16:27; 26:63 f.; Mark 14:61 f., etc.) are merely descriptive, characteristic of the prophetic style.
… Other hints are found in the messianic texts (Ps. 2 and 109; Is. 7:14; Dan. 7:13 and others), in the Theophanies or divine apparitions, called the "Angel of Yahweh" (for example, that of the burning bush, Ex. 3:2). Even vaguer and more obscure are the indications …
… he will be a child conceived by a Virgin (Is. 7:14), but also the mighty God (ibid. 9:6); he will be the faithful Servant of Yahweh, who will save men by his sufferings and his immolation (ibid. 53); he will be the Son of Man who will reign forever (Dan. 7:13-14).
… by the Psalms (2:7) and by J. himself (Jn. 5:18). J., with the expression "you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Mt. 26:64), answers affirmatively to the two questions: the allusion to Dan. 7:13-14 proves his messiahship; "to sit at the
11, 3 f.); he will be king forever (Ez. 37, 25); cf. Mic. 5, 1, whose terms are so strong as to allow one easily to conclude to the pre-existence of the M., although in themselves they express only a very remote origin; Dan. 7, 13 f. says he is of heavenly origin.
As in the second part of Daniel (chaps. 7-12), the preaching of Jesus and the Apostles often recalls the mystery of the end, a mystery that unfolds in three moments: the appearance of the Son of Man (Dan. 7:13 = Mt. 24:30 and 26:64), the resurrection and the universal judgment, the glorification of the saints. …
Dan. 7:13 ff., after describing the vision of the 4 beasts, adds: "I was watching in the night visions — and behold, with the clouds of heaven — one like a man was coming (in Aramaic kēbar 'ēnās, …
7:14
… as mother of the Messiah: "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus." Formulated with phrases and concepts from ancient prophecies (cf., e.g., II Sam. 7, 16; Ps. 88, 30-37; Is. 9, 7 [Hebr. 6]; Mic. 4, 7; Dan. 7, 14-27), the angelic announcement outlines the figure and the task of the promised Redeemer (cf. Mt. 1, 21).
In the New Testament, the synoptics especially (cf. Mt. 3, 2; 4, 23; 9, 35; 13, 1-53; 21, 43; Mk. 1, 14; Lk. 1, 32, 33; 16, 16) describe to us the kingdom founded by Christ, a kingdom foretold by the prophets (cf. Is. 9, 6, 7; Dan. 2, 44; 7, 14), to which all men must belong, where solidarity is cemented by charity, implored by Jesus in his priestly prayer (Jn. 17, 21-24), extended, in the springtime of the Church, to the …
… diebus or in novissimo dierum) it indicates the end of the era or of the times of the Old Testament (etymological sense of 'aḥārith) and the beginning of the messianic era considered perfect and definitive: the Kingdom of the Messiah will last forever (Dan. 7:14-27, etc.:
The K. of G. is promised for the future: God will reign from Zion, in the restored Israel (Isa. 24:23; 52:7; Dan. 7:14; Ps. 2; 71 [72]; 109 [110]); "the idea of the divine Kingdom fits perfectly into the messianic perspective" (J. Bonsirven).
His kingdom will be universal, definitive and spiritual: Is. 11, 10; 42, 1-7; 49, 5 ff.; 61, 1 ff.; Jer. 31, 31-34 (= Hebr. 8, 8-12); Dan. 7, 14-27; 9, 24; its center of diffusion will be Zion (Hos. 2, 19-24; Is. 2, 2 ff.; Mic. 4, 2 ff.; Jer. 31, 33; Ez. 16, 60 ff.; 17, 23; etc.); it will be a source of blessings for all the nations …
7:20
— A. IV, the enemy of God, is prophetically described in Dan. 7:20-25; 8:1-27; [9:24-27 (?)]; 11:36-45; 12:1-11. Apocalyptic literature would imitate Daniel: (III) Enoch Ethiopic, 83-90. The late Megillath Antiochos would express the rabbinic interpretation, …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.