three empcron, Ge.Iba, Vitclliua, Otho, had Divine sovereignty. Only the most abso- bC'<'n removed. lute monarch onn nt nil, in idea, represent The iuterpreta.tion is not yet exhnusted. Divine sovereignty. The Da.bylonian go- It. he.s heen J"e<'.ognized that the two legs vrrnment had this aheolutcncse-tho ldng's represent the twofold division of the empire will Wl\8 law, without chook or limita- ink! enPkrn and weiotnn. Although this tion. Thie, as the likest to the Divino WBB only m1tdc Actual by Dioolctian, the government, wa.e the head of gold. Tho di,ision c1:istcd in reality from the first Pcrsiitn monarch hnd the seven nobles-rn between the subjects epco.king Latin and to say, peers of the orown-tlmt limited his those spealing Greek. Taking thie as our authority. The heredita.ry satrnpe formed stitrting-point, there con ld oaeily be enu- a further limitation. Thie Wl\9 silver, not merated ten powers, EaHt~rn and Western, gold. Thie monarchy had still much of the thnt mRy form the ten toes of the image. Divine absoluteness in it, but not so much The number ten is not to be ta.ken with arith- as the Babylonian. The Greek Empire still meti<',al ex&ctnees. The imperial power of retained many of the features of Oricntnl Russio may be symbolized e.s tha.t which, a.bsolutenees, as many of the features of arising beyond the bounds of the Roman Oriental ma.gnificence, but they limited Empire and of the lingdoms formed from their own authority by the introduction of it. seems likely to overstep her 1,rcscnt autonomous cities all over their dominions. limits, and, it may well be, shall swallow .Along with the Greek city life there wa.e up three oLher powers. This lnttcr inter- a certain independence and freedom oe- pretation we merely throw out as sugges- signed to the individual, that limited the tirn. action of the monarch. He was no longer The critical school ha.ve some difficulty removed from all men by nn immense dis- in making out their ten mlcrs, who are tance ; with a.11 his absoluteness, he was a symbolized by the ten horns. Porphyry Greek among Greeks. Still, the idea of the drew on the Egyptian Ptolemies to fill out mone.rchy was kept up. There is thus a the deficiencies of the Seleucids. That is further degradation-the age of bronze ie evidently a.n illicit prooess. The more reached ; the a.ge of gold ie pa.et, a.nd even general scheme now is to ate.rt with .Alex- that of silver. With Rome, the empire ander the Grea.t, then ta.ke the succeesive that was diverse from all others, the mon- Seleucids; o.s they a.re not enough, Helio- archical idea disa.ppea.red. The emperor dorus, who never wa.e king, is inserted. was simply Imperator of & republic. He If, however, the fourth beast is the Greek might be deified in his lifetime, might wield power, and .Alexander is to be taken as absolute power in actuality, but in ideo. he the first mona.rch, then all his suoceSBors, was 1ut the servant of the Roman Republic. Le.girls, .Antegonids, and Atta.lids, ae well The bronze had given place to iron. If we u Sclcucids, have to be reckoned-a. number carry our eyes down the ages to the king- t.o be counted by scores rather than tens. doms tha.t have succeeded the Boman Em- Were it not for the necessity they are pire, monarchy has ceased to have much under to make the fourth monarchy the power at all. The iron now is mingled Greek, this attempt would have been ac- with the miry clay. The progress of con- knowledged to be a failure. stitutional history all over the world bas Before we leave this, we must consider been the lessening of government authority, this point-the growing degradation of the and eetting the individual free. The stone powers that succeed the Babylonian. In cut out of the mountain, so far a.s material what sense could Babylon be the head of goes, is at a still lower level in regard to gold, while Persia was silver, Greece bronze, value than the iron mingled with the miry and Rome iron ? It is evident that this clay. Individualism becomes absolute in inferiority is not one of extent of territory ; Christianity when the believer, in e)!ercise for the 1111ccessive monarchies were ea.eh of his absolute personal right over himself, more extensive geographically than its pre- surrenders himself absolutely into the ha.nds decessor. In wliat, then, consists the in- of Christ. feriority? The only suggestion that seems 'rhe Messianic kingdom, foreseen by the to me at a.ll to meet the case, is one made prophet, and foretold in the stone in the by Dr. Bollil&r of East Kilbride, in his vision of the image, and in the Son of man ingenious book, 'The Great Interregnum.' in tu at of the four bea.ets, looks forward to In looking at this question, we mUBt begin a time beyond the present, when nll civil 1.v di resting onrsel ves of all our precon- governments will have ceased, when the ttived notions of representative government Church shall be manifest a.e the true stato, "nd freedom of the people, in fact, all our when Christ, the Anointed of tho Lord, \'."ut.ern ideas, and look at monarchy with nlone shall reign. This prophecy is not the 0ycs of an Oriental. To an Oriental fulfilled in Christ's coming in weakness 111 tho.t ICfJ.uil.rcby is highest that IJ likest the Dabe at Bethlehem, 11or in hie lifo of Oil, VII, 1-28.) THE DOOK OF DANIEL. 227
sorrow and t!cnth, of shnmo and suffering. roe.eh e. true conclusion. J_,or,kc,l nt in No; H is in his coming tho scc0nrl time the we.y it presents itself t<, 11s, thiR R1lh- unto enlvntion. H ie foilnro to renlize thie lime scheme of univcrenl hiatnry termi- thnt lcncle Bishop Westcott to maintnin tho nates only when the kingrlome of tliiH wr,rJ,t fourth monnrchy to be the Greek. He are become the king,foms of our G0tl and nf eomohow thinks tlrnt the fourth kingrlom hie Christ; when the promise marl-, tn the muet hcivo pnssecl awny boforo the MeReia.h Son by the Father, that ho sh<)u\<l h,wo comes. But in tho imnge-vision tho stono the heathen for hie inhcritnncc, an,[ tho was cut out of the mountain before the nttermoet parts of the earth for his posses• imago ho.d dieo.ppc11rcd. When a. person sion, aha.II be fulfiiled. Only e,,me such approaches this ~nbjcct with a. set of pre- time of nnivcreal pence can arlerinately suppositions, he is all the loss likely to conclude Listory and fulfil prophecy.