IMPORTANT COMMENTS ON THE PROPHECIES by Dudley Marvin Canright

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 20, 1876

IMPORTANT COMMENTS ON THE PROPHECIES.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

BY ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT.

DANIEL CHAPTER 2.—THE IMAGE.

In the main, our exposition of this line of prophecy is the same as that given by all Protestant commentators. We claim that the head of gold represents Babylon, and so do nearly all commentators of every denomination. We will now give testimony from several eminent authors upon this point. Dr. Albert Barnes, the celebrated Presbyterian commentator, whose notes are so extensively read in all our Sunday-schools, by every denomination, bears the following testimony:—

“The meaning is that the Babylonian Empire, as it existed under him [Nebuchadnezzar], in its relation to the kingdoms which should succeed, was like the head of gold seen in the image, as compared with the inferior metals.”—Note on Verse 38.

Dr. Adam Clarke, the Methodist commentator, says:—

“Head of Gold. This was the first monarchy, begun by Nimrod, A. M. 1771, B. C. 2233, and ending with the death of Belshazzar, A. M. 3466, B. C. 538, after having lasted nearly seventeen hundred years. In the time of Nebuchadnezzar it extended over Chaldea, Assyria, Arabia, Syria, and Palestine. He, Nebuchadnezzar, was the head of gold.”

Mr. Scott, the Episcopalian commentator, takes the same position:—

“The Chaldean monarchy, over which Nebuchadnezzar was the only king of great renown, was represented in the vision by the ‘head of gold;’ for monarchies under a succession of princes of the same nation, and not individual monarchs, are meant by ‘kings’ in the general language of prophecy.”—Scott’s Bible on Verse 38.

The Cottage Bible, which is considered good authority everywhere, says:—

“Daniel explains this golden head of the Babylonian Empire (in which the Assyrian was now absorbed).”—Notes, Dan. 2:31–49.

And the learned Mr. Bagster, than whom we could not quote a higher authority, also says:—

“‘Head of Gold.’ [The Chaldean monarchy, over which Nebuchadnezzar was the only king of note.]”

THE SILVER.—MEDO-PERSIA.

The silver here represents the second great universal empire, the one which overthrew Babylon, viz., Medo-Persia. This occurred B. C. 538. This fact is so plain that all, or nearly all, are agreed upon it. Here are a few testimonies. Again we quote Dr. Barnes:—

“The kingdom here referred to was undoubtedly the Medo-Persian, established by Cyrus.”—Notes on Dan. 2:39.

Scott bears the following testimony:—

“The breast and the two arms of silver of the image represented that monarchy which succeeded the Chaldeans, and this was the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, the united power and authority of which might be denoted by the two arms and shoulders,” &c.

And so the Cottage Bible:—

“The breast and arms of silver are said to indicate a second empire, still rich and splendid, but inferior to the former, which can mean no other than the Persian, or Medo-Persian, of which Cyrus was properly the founder.”—Notes on Dan. 2:31–49.

Bagster also says:—

“The empire of the Medes and Persians whose union was denoted by the breast and two arms of silver; and which was established on the ruins of that of the Chaldeans on the capture of Babylon by Cyrus, B. C. 538.”

THE BRASS.—GRECIA.

The brass, we claim, represents the third empire under Alexander the Great, viz., the Grecian. Now hear what commentators have said on this. Barnes says:—

“There can be no reasonable doubt that by this third kingdom is denoted the empire founded by Alexander the Great—the Macedonian Empire.”

Clarke agrees with him thus:—

“Belly and thighs of brass—the Macedonian or Greek Empire, founded by Alexander the Great. He subdued Greece, penetrated into Asia, took Tyre, reduced Egypt, overthrew Darius Codomanus at Arbela, Oct. 1, A. M. 3673, B. C. 331, and thus terminated the Persian monarchy. He crossed the Caucasus and subdued Hyrcania, and penetrated India as far as the Ganges; and having conquered all the countries that lay between the Adriatic Sea and this river, the Ganges, he died A. M. 3681, B. C. 323, and after his death his empire became divided among his generals, Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus.”

Scott takes the same position:—

“The third kingdom, represented by the belly and thighs of the image formed of brass, must be that of the Macedonians, or Grecians, which succeeded to the Persian monarchy. This was established by the conquests of Alexander the Great, and continued under his successors.”

The Cottage Bible speaks as follows:—

“The third empire is described by a belly (or trunk) and thighs of brass, which very appropriately represent the Macedonian Empire, founded by Alexander the Great; the Greeks being commonly called brazen coated, from wearing brazen armor.”—Notes on Dan. 2:31–49.

And so says Bagster:—

“Third kingdom.—The empire of the Macedonians, of ‘brazen-coated Greeks,’ aptly denoted by the belly and thighs of brass, founded by Alexander the Great, who terminated the Persian monarchy by the overthrow of Darius Codomanus at Arbela, B. C. 331.”

THE IRON.—ROME.

We claim that the iron represents the fourth universal kingdom, viz., Rome. Here, again, we are in harmony with the great body of prophetic expositors.

Verse 40. “The common opinion has been that the reference is to the Roman Empire.”—Barnes.

“Legs of iron, and feet and toes of iron and clay. . . . These two legs of iron became absorbed in the Roman Government, which also partook of the iron nature; strong, military, and extensive in its victories; and by its various conquests, united to and amalgamated with itself various nations, some strong, and some weak, so as to be fitly represented in the symbolical image by feet and toes, partly of iron and partly of clay.”—Clarke.

Verses 40–43. “These verses evidently describe the Roman Empire, as succeeding to that of the Macedonians. It was as strong as iron, and like iron it brake and subdued all before it. No people had ever made such extensive conquests, through so many ages, as the Romans did; in the former part of their prosperity, they were remarkable only for valor, hardiness, frugality, and poverty, of which iron is a proper emblem.”—Scott.

“The fourth, or Roman Empire, was represented by the legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay.”—Cottage Bible.

“Verse 40. Fourth kingdom. [The Roman Empire, which conquered nearly the whole world.]”—Bagster.

THE TEN TOES.

We claim that the ten toes of the image represent the ten kingdoms into which Rome was divided, about 500 years after Christ, and so say the very best prophetic expositors.

Barnes says:—

Verse 42. “It has been commonly supposed (compare Newton on the Prophecies), that the ten toes on the feet refer to the ten kingdoms into which the Roman Empire was ultimately broken up, corresponding with the ten horns seen in the vision of Daniel, in chapter 7:10. In regard to the fact that the Roman Empire was ultimately broken up into ten such kingdoms, see the extended notes on chap. 7:24.”

Now listen to Mr. Scott:—

“The ten toes into which the feet divided, represented the ten kingdoms into which at length the whole empire was broken. . . . Yet this monarchy still subsists in the toes or kingdoms into which it was broken.”

Bagster bears a similar testimony:—

“The Roman Empire became weakened by a mixture of barbarous nations, by the incursions of whom it was torn asunder about the fourth century after Christ, and at length divided into ten kingdoms, answering to the ten toes of the image.”

THE FOUR BEASTS.—DAN. 7.

In the seventh chapter of Daniel is a line of prophecy consisting of four beasts, a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a great and terrible beast. Then comes the end of the world, the destruction of all earthly governments, and the establishment of the eternal kingdom of God. Adventists claim that these four beasts represent the four great governments which have arisen upon the earth—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome. This being true we are certainly in the last days.

I herewith present testimony from the most eminent authors of the Protestant world showing that all Protestants agree with us in our interpretation of this line of prophecy.

THE LION.

“All, or nearly all, agree that it refers to the kingdom of Babylon.”—Barnes on Dan. 7:4.

“The beast like a lion is the kingdom of the Babylonians; and the king of Babylon is compared to a lion; Jer. 4:7; Isa. 5:29; and is said to fly as an eagle. Jer. 48:40; Eze. 17:3, 7. The lion is considered the king of beasts, and the eagle the king of birds; and therefore the kingdom of Babylon, which was signified by the golden head of the great image, was the first and noblest of all the kingdoms.”—Clarke.

“The ‘four beasts’ signified the same with the four constituent parts of Nebuchadnezzar’s visionary image.”

“Verse 4. The Chaldean Empire, as advanced to its summit of prosperity under Nebuchadnezzar, and as declining under Belshazzar, was intended by this beast.”—Scott.

“Verse 4. The first. The Chaldean monarchy, as raised to the pinnacle of glory by the rapid and extensive conquests of Nebuchadnezzar, and as declining and ruined under Belshazzar.”—Bagster.

“The first of these beasts (like the golden head in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream) evidently intends the Babylonian monarchy, and is described as a lion with eagle’s wings.”—Cottage Bible.

THE BEAR.

The bear represents Medo-Persia, which came up under Cyrus the Great and overthrew Babylon, B. C. 538. Now hear what others say of this:—

“Verse 5. It is evidently [applied] to that which succeeded the Babylonian—the Medo-Persian, the kingdom ruled successively by Cyrus, Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius, Xerxes, Artaxerxes, and Darius Nothus, until it was overthrown by Alexander the Great.”—Barnes.

“This represented the kingdom of the Medes and Persians. Its emblem was a bear, less noble and courageous, but more voracious and savage, than a lion.”—Scott.

“Verse 5. Another beast. The empire of the Medes and Persians, forming one kingdom, compared to a bear from their cruelty and thirst for blood.”—Bagster.

“The second animal here named was a bear, and represents, as did the silver part of Nebuchadnezzar’s image, the combined kingdom of the Medes and Persians.”—Cottage Bible.

THE LEOPARD.

The leopard represents the Grecian Empire which came up under Alexander the Great, and overthrew Medo-Persia about 331 B. C. In our exposition of this we are in harmony with the Protestant world, as witness the following:—

“Verse 6. The animal—the leopard. The comparative nobleness of the animal; a beast of prey; the celerity of its movements; the spring or bound with which it leaps upon its prey, all agree well with the kingdom of which Alexander was the founder.”—Barnes.

“This bear having disappeared, the prophet saw an extraordinary beast rise up in its stead. This was the emblem of the Grecian or Macedonian Empire, which, for the time, was the most renowned in the world. ‘It was erected by Alexander the Great on the ruins of the Persian monarchy, and it was continued in four divisions under his successors. The leopard, being exceedingly fierce and swift, represented that kingdom, and especially Alexander its founder.’”—Scott.

“The third beast was a leopard, with four heads, and four wings of a fowl, or bird rather; and this is understood to represent the Macedonian Empire. . . . The four heads of the beast may well represent the partition of the empire after Alexander’s death, under his four captains, Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus.”—Cottage Bible.

THE FOURTH BEAST.

The fourth symbol, the great and terrible beast with ten horns, represents Rome which came up and overthrew Grecia, between one and two hundred years before Christ.

“The fourth kingdom, symbolized by the fourth beast, is accurately represented by the Roman power.” “The truth is, that in prophecy the entire Roman dominion seems to be contemplated as one—one mighty and formidable power trampling down the liberties of the world, oppressing and persecuting the people of God—the true church, and maintaining an absolute and arbitrary dominion over the souls of men—as a mighty domination standing in the way of the progress of truth, and keeping back the reign of the saints on the earth. In these respects the papal dominion is, and has been, but a prolongation, in another form, of the influence of heathen Rome, and the entire domination may be represented as one, and might be symbolized by the fourth beast in the vision of Daniel. When that power shall cease, we may, according to the prophecy, look for the time when the kingdom shall be given to the saints.”—Barnes.

“This ‘fourth beast’ evidently accords with the legs and feet of iron which were seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his visionary image, and which were at length divided into ten toes. . . . This was doubtless an emblem of the Roman State.”—Scott.

“Verse 7. A fourth beast. The Roman Empire, which destroyed the Grecian and became mistress of the world.”—Bagster.

“The fourth beast, which represents the Roman Empire, was anonymous and nondescript.”—Cottage Bible.

THE TEN HORNS.

The ten horns of this beast represent the ten kingdoms into which the western empire of Rome was divided, between the years A. D. 356 and 483. This point is so plain that there can be no dispute about it.

“The Roman Empire as such had ceased, and the power was distributed into a large number of comparatively petty sovereignties well represented at this period by the ten horns on the head of the beast. Even the Romanists themselves admit that the Roman Empire was, by means of the incursions of the northern nations, dismembered into ten kingdoms [Calmet on Rev. 13:1; and he refers likewise to Berengand, Bossuet, and Du Pin].”—Barnes.

“In process of time it [Rome] was divided into ten kingdoms. These are indeed reckoned up in several ways by different writers according to the date assigned to the enumeration; but in general it is clear that the principal kingdoms in Europe, at this day, sprang from them, and comprised them.”—Scott. Then he gives the same list as Machiavel in Faber, vol. i. pp. 170, 171.

“The ten horns here answer to the ‘ten toes’ in Nebuchadnezzar’s image. The ten horns of this fourth beast are also explained by Daniel (verse 24) to be ‘ten kings,’ or kingdoms which shall successively arise.” “The ten kingdoms into which the Western Roman Empire was divided were, primarily, according to Machiavel and Bishop Lloyd: 1. The Huns, in Hungary, A. D. 356. 2. The Ostrogoths, in Moesia, A. D. 377. 3. The Visigoths, in Pannonia, A. D. 378. 4. The Sueves and Alans, in Gascoigne and Spain, A. D. 407. 5. The Vandals in Africa, 407, A. D. 6. The Franks, in France, 407, A. D. 7. The Burgundians, in Burgundy, 407, A. D. 8. The Heruli and Turingi, in Italy, 476, A. D. 9. The Saxons and Angles, in Britain, 476, A. D. 10. The Lombards, first upon the Danube, 526, and afterward in Italy. Though the ten kingdoms differed from these in later periods, and were sometimes more or less, yet they were still known by that name.”—Bagster.

THE LITTLE HORN.

Among the ten horns came up a horn little at first, but exceedingly remarkable in its history. It overthrew three of the ten horns, spoke great words against God, martyred his saints, thought to change his law, and so continued for a long period of time. Immediately after his overthrow the end is to come. We claim that this represents Papal, or Catholic, Rome. Here again we are in harmony with the great body of Protestant authors.

“It is a remarkable fact, that the popes to this day wear a triple crown—a fact that exists in regard to no other monarchs. . . . The papacy [is] well represented by the ‘little horn.’ In fact, this one power absorbed into itself three of these sovereignties.”—Barnes.

“Verse 8. While the prophet was considering these ten horns, he saw ‘another little horn’ springing up among them. This evidently points out the power of the church and bishop of Rome, which, from small beginnings, long before it became a temporal dominion, thrust itself up among the ten kingdoms, and at length got possession of three of them, having turned out those that held them.”—Scott.

“The most remarkable was the little horn, which arose after the others, and is by Protestant commentators (and we think with good reason), explained of the ecclesiastical dominion of the pope or bishop of Rome.”—Cottage Bible.

“Verse 24. Another shall arise. This evidently points out the papal supremacy, in every respect diverse from the former, which from small beginnings, thrust itself up among the ten kingdoms, till at length it successively eradicated three of them.”—Bagster.