served from the mischief and ruin designed them by Antiochus; but more especially, 2d, Such as should believe in Christ when he appeared, embrace his gospel, and become his true disciples, who should escape both the temporal calamities coming on their countrymen, and obtain spiritual and eternal salvation through him. It includes, 3d, Those who should be converted in the latter days, and restored to their own land; and lastly, All that should be found written in the book of life at the day of final judgment, that is, all truly justified, regenerated, and pious persons. Of the book of life, see notes on Exod. xxxii. 32; Psa. Ixix. 28; Isa. iv. 3. Verse 2. And many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake-This may be understood, 1st, Of those saints who rose from the dead immediately upon the resurrection of Christ, spoken of Matt. xxvii. 52, 53, where we read that the graves were opened; and inany bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of their graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. 2d, It may be interpreted figuratively of the mystical resurrection of Jews and Gentiles from spiritual death to spiritual life, by the preaching of the gospel, or of their conversion to true Christianity. Calmet thinks that this, without all question, is the primary sense of the verse, and that it is only in a secondary sense that it can be understood of the resurrection of men's bodies. Most commentators, however, are of a different opinion, and consider the words as being primarily intended of the general resurrection which will take place at the last day. And they think, that the next clause, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt, requires this application of the words, and does not admit of any other interpretation. The Lord Jesus certainly seems to have referred to this passage, John v. 28, where he speaks of the resurrection of life, and the resurrection of damnation; and upon the ground of it chiefly the Jews are said by St. Paul, Acts xxiv. 15, to expect a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. And nothing could be brought in more seasonably than this doctrine is here; for under Antiochus's persecution some basely betrayed their religion, others bravely adhered to it. Now it would be a trouble to the upright and faithful among the Jews, that they could neither reward the one nor punish the other; this therefore would be a satisfaction to them, that they would both be recompensed at the general resurrection. And the apostle, speaking of the pious Jews that suffered martyrdom under Antiochus, tells i James v. 20. viii. 26; Verse 9.x. 1; Verse 9. k 1 Corinthians xv. 41, 42.- Chapter -m Revelation x. 4; xxii. 10.- Chapter us, that though they were tortured, yet they accepted not deliverance, (namely, deliverance offered them on terms they could not conscientiously comply with,) because they hoped to obtain a better resurrection. In accordance with this sense of the words, which seems evidently to be that primarily intended, it must be observed, that the word many in the first clause of the verse must include all mankind, as it does in Rom. v. 19, where St. Paul says, By one man's disobedience MANY were made sinners. Verse 3. They that be wise—Namely, that are wise unto salvation through faith in Christ, that are truly godly and righteous, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament-Shall be clothed with glory and immortality; shall have bodies conformed to Christ's glorious body; shall shine forth, says Jesus, as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, Matt. xiii. 43; and especially those shall be thus glorious who are wise to win souls; who, being well instructed themselves in divine things, shall lay themselves out to instruct, reclaim, and save others; such shall shine as the stars-That is, with a splendour like that of the luminaries of heaven, for ever and ever-To all eternity. This seems chiefly to refer to the teachers of divine truth, and especially to those who confirm their doctrine by their sufferings and example: such shall undoubtedly receive a distinguished reward, though not procured by their own merit. The Judge of all the earth will certainly do right; and when he cometh, his reward is with him, to give to every man according as his work shall be, Rev. xxii. 12. And as he hath given the fullest assurance that there is a reward for the righteous; so he hath assured us also that it will be augmented, in proportion as men have laboured to be more extensively useful, and to advance the real and best interests of their fellow-creatures, namely, their spiritual and eternal interests. Verse 4. But thou, shut up the words, and seal the book-By this was intimated, 1st, That the writing of truth (see chap. x. 21) was finished, and therefore the book that contained it is ordered to be closed; 2d, That the time of its full and final accomplishment was distant; for the prophecies which were shortly to be fulfilled are forbidden to be sealed, Rev. xxii. 10; 3d, That it would in a great measure remain obscure, and as a sealed book, till the events predicted were about to take place; 4th, That care was to be taken to preserve this prophecy safe and secure, as a treasure of great value, laid up for future ages, to which it should be of great service. Till the time of the end-Or, the appointed time; till the things here foretold, begin to come to pass; that then thy prophecies may be compared with the events, and it may be seen how exactly they are fulfilled; and men may be struck with astonishment at the wisdom and knowledge of that God who could, so long beforehand, reveal such a variety of things to thee so fully and clearly. Many shall run to and fro-Many shall diligently search into these prophecies, and make use of all the means in their power to arrive at a true knowledge of them; shall improve all opportunities of getting their mistakes rectified, their doubts resolved, and their acquaintance with divine things in general, and with these and the other prophecies of God's word in particular, improved and perfected. And knowledge shall be increased─By these means great light shall be thrown on every part of divine revelation, and especially on the parts that are prophetic: the more the predictions are accomplished, the better will they be understood; and future ages will receive more instruction and edification from them than we do. The words have an especial reference to gospel days; and the expression of running to and fro, doubtless points to the journeys, voyages, and labours of gospel ministers, whether apostles, evangelists, pastors, or teachers, who should traverse sea and land, and travel from place to place, from country to country, to spread the knowledge of divine truth, and testify the gospel of the grace of God. Verses 5, 6. Then I, Daniel, looked-Here begins an account of a new vision that appeared to Daniel, confirming and explaining the former; for Gabriel, it seems, had finished his narrative, and what now follows is added by way of illustration. Some will have these other two angels to be the guardians of Persia and Greece; and from thence contend, that these two empires are the only ones concerned in the preceding scripture, or writing, of truth. But this is mere conjecture, unsupported by the relation here given. The one on this side of the bank of the river, &c.-Namely, the river Hiddekel, or Tigris, of which mention is made chap. x. 4. And one said-Hebrew, And he said, that is, one of the angels. But the Syriac, Arabic, some of the Greek copies, and the Vulgate, read, And I said, meaning Daniel, to the man clothed in linen-Mentioned chap. x. 5, (where see the note,) which was upon, or rather, above, the waters of the river-Namely, the Son of God, our High-Priest, who rules the nations, of which standing upon, or above, the waters, Christ and an angel 7 And I heard the man clothed in A. M. 3470. B. C. 534. linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever, that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; "and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. t -4 Or, Chap. viii. 24. Chap. iv. 34.—t Chap. vii. 25; xi. 13; Rev. xii. 14.part..—" Luke xxi. 24; Rev. x. 7. As a figure of was an emblem: see Psa. xxix. 10. this, Christ, in the days of his flesh, walked upon the waters, Matt. xiv. 25. How long shall it be to the end of these wonders--What is the time fixed in the divine counsels for the full accomplishment of these wonderful predictions? When shall these extraordinary events take place? Verse 7. And he held up his right hand and his left unto heaven-It was the general custom, in swearing, to lift up one hand to heaven: see Gen. xiv. 22; Deut. xxxii. 40; but here Christ is represented as holding up both his hands, as a greater confirmation of the truth and importance of what he was about to say; and sware by him that liveth for ever-By the self-existent and everlasting God. Thus the mighty angel, whom St. John saw, Rev. x. 5, 6, is brought in, with a plain reference to this vision here, standing with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth, and, with his hand lifted up to heaven, swearing that there should be no longer any delay of the execution of the divine counsels. That it should be for a time, times, and a half, or, the dividing of time, as it is expressed in Chaldee, chap. vii. 25, where see the note, which contains, understood literally, three years and a half, during which time the public sacrifices and worship were discontinued through the persecution of Antiochus, the type of antichrist. But this line of time is expressly applied to the antichristian per secution, Rev. xii. 14, and is further explained in that chapter, verse 6, by one thousand two hundred and sixty days, which is three years and a half, reckoning three hundred and sixty days to a year: see note on chap. ix. 24. And if we suppose each day to signify a year, which is the prophetical sense of the word day, this period of time denotes one thousand two hundred and sixty years: see note on chap. viii. 14. And when he shall have accomplished to disperse the power of the holy people-When the dispersions of the Jews shall be ended, then the most remarkable events contained in this prophecy shall be fulfilled. The restoration of the Jewish nation is foretold by the prophets, as one of those signal events to be brought to pass in the latter days, or times, of the world. Mr. Mede makes this parallel with those words of Christ, Luke xxi. 24; Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled; that is, till the times of the fourth monarchy and the reign of antichrist be expired. Many commentators un Daniel's inquiry, and B. C. 534. B. C. 534. A. M. 3470. S And I heard, but I understood || and tried; but the wicked shall do A. M. 3470, not then said I, O my Lord, what wickedly: and none of the wicked shall be the end of these things? shall understand; but "the wise shall understand. 11 And from that time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall 10 Many shall be purified, and made white, be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Z 6 > Verse 4. Chap. xi. 35; Zech. xiii. 9.- —a Hosea xiv. 9; viii. 47; xviii. 37. Chap. viii. 11; xi. 31.- 5 Heb. to set derstand this last clause, which speaks of accomplishing to scatter the power of the holy people, not of the termination of the time of their dispersions, but of the beginning of it; and suppose that it will be one thousand two hundred and sixty years, from the beginning to the end of that time. But then, by the power of the holy people, they do not understand the Jews, but the Christians. They do not, therefore, calculate this period from the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and the subsequent dispersion of the Jews; but from the time when the antichristian usurpers began to scatter the power of true Christians, by false doctrines, persecutions, || massacres, and religious wars; and they extend it to the period when these powers shall be subverted. smiths. I would refer the whole, says Wintle, to the righteous, who, it is here foretold, should be cleansed by various tribulations and trials; but the like discipline would have no effect on the wicked: see Rev. xxii. 11. Their wickedness would blind their minds, so that they would not understand, nor attend to these predictions, which the wise, that is, the considerate and divinely enlightened, should understand; should be fully instructed in themselves, and so should be able to teach them to others: see Wintle. Verses 11, 12. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away-It is here declared, that the whole time that these calamities would last, should run somewhat beyond a time, times, and half a time, namely, thirty days beyond it; for a and sixty days, whereas here twelve hundred and ninety is mentioned as the term of duration; for which space of time, but not longer, the daily sacrifice should be taken away, or prohibited, and an idol be placed in the temple. Blessed is he that waiteth, or survives, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days-This period is fortyfive days longer than the term last mentioned, or the twelve hundred and ninety days; and, if taken literally, and interpreted of the time of Antiochus's persecution, is supposed to be spoken of the time of his death, when the Jewish nation was not only delivered from their calamities, but also from all fear of their being renewed. Verses 8, 9. And I heard, but I understood not-I did not understand what time was allotted for bring-time, times, and a half, signify only twelve hundred ing to pass this event, namely, the restoration of the Jewish nation, or the complete overthrow of all antichristian powers. The prophets, it must be observed, did not always receive the interpretation of what was revealed to them, as appears from 1 Pet. i. 11, 12. "Study and particular application were required, and often an immediate revelation. The evidence which appears to us so clearly, in the greater part of the prophecies which respect Jesus Christ, and the establishment of the church, was under an impenetrable obscurity before the event. It was the same with respect to those which concerned the persecutions of Antiochus. All this was most inexplicable to the Jews, before they saw the completion; and it is pretty nearly the same at present with us respecting some future events foretold by the prophets, particularly in the book of Revelation, which are yet to be accomplished, and which consequently are dark, and difficult to be understood."Calmet. And he said, Go thy way, for the words are closed up, &c.-Be content with what has been made known to thee; (see verse 13;) for the full explication is deferred, till the time of its accomplishment draws near. Verse 10. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried—See chap. xi. 35, where the same words are found, but in different order. They are words of general and ordinary use, expressive of the purification intended to be produced in the minds of men by afflictions. If we would ascertain their import, the first word is borrowed from wheat, which is cleansed from the chaff; the second from cloth, which is whitened by the fuller; and the third from metal, tried and separated from its dross by gold Those who extend these predictions to the times of Popery and Mohammedanism, suppose that the expressions made use of to describe Antiochus's persecutions are here applied to the desolations made by antichrist, of which those made by Antiochus were a figure: see note on chap. viii. 14, and xi. 36. And indeed they are expressions evidently applicable to different events, and have been accomplished at different times. "The setting up of the abomination of desolation," says Bishop Newton, "appears to be a general phrase, and comprehensive of various events. It is applied by the writer of the first book of Maccabees, chap. i. 54, to the profanation of the temple by Antiochus, and his setting up the image of Jupiter Olympus upon the altar of God. It is applied by our Saviour, Matt. xxiv. 15, to the destruction of the city and temple by the Romans, under the conduct of Titus. It may, for the same reason, be applied to the Emperor Adrian's building a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus, in the same place where the temple of God had stood; and to the misery of the Jews, and the desolation of Judea that followed. It may, with equal justice, be applied to the Mohammedans' invading and desolating Christendom, and converting the churches into mosques: and this latter event seems to have been particularly intended in this passage. If this interpretation be true, the religion of Mohammed will prevail in the East for the space of twelve hundred and sixty years, and then a great and glorious revolution will follow; perhaps the restoration of the Jews, perhaps the destruction of antichrist: but another still greater and more glorious will succeed;|| and what can this be so probably as the full conversion of the Gentiles to the church of Christ, and the beginning of the millennium, or the reign of the saints upon earth? For, verse 12, Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. Here, then, are three different periods assigned, twelve hundred and sixty, twelve hundred and ninety, and thirteen hundred and thirty-five years; but what is the precise time of their beginning, and consequently of their ending, as well as what are the great and signal events which will take place at the end of each period, we can only conjecture, time alone can with certainty discover. It is, indeed, no wonder, that we cannot fully understand and explain these things: for, as the angel said to Daniel himself, though many should run to and fro, should inquire and examine into these things, and thereby knowledge should be increased; yet the full understanding of them is reserved for the time of the end, to which time the words are closed up and sealed. But, however, the great uncertainty of these events, which re-specified, verse 12. Observe, reader, our time and main yet to be fulfilled, cannot shake the credit and certainty of those which have already been accomplished. tions of the world; and that Daniel was a prophet divinely inspired by him, a man greatly beloved, as he is often addressed by an angel! Our blessed Saviour hath bestowed upon him the appellation of Daniel the prophet, Matt. xxiv. 15, and that is authority sufficient for any Christian; but, in the course of these notes, such instances and attestations of his || being a prophet have been produced as an infidel cannot deny, or if he denies cannot disprove. In short, we see how well Daniel deserves the character which his contemporary, Ezekiel, hath given of him, chap. xiv. 14-20, and xxviii. 3, for his piety and wisdom; and these usually go together: for, as the angel says above, verse 10, None of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. Happy are they who both know the will of God and do it." "Upon the whole, what an amazing prophecy is this! comprehending so many various events, and extending through so many successive ages, from the first establishment of the Persian empire, above five hundred and thirty years before Christ, to the general resurrection! And the farther it extends, and the more it comprehends, the more amazing and the more divine it must appear. What stronger and more convincing proofs can be given or required of a divine providence, and a divine revelation; that there is a God who directs and orders the transac 3 Verse 13. But go thou thy way till the end beThe prophet had been making inquiries respecting the end of these wonders; and the angel, having given him all the information that was needful either for himself or future times, now dismisses him, with an encouraging declaration concerning the happiness which awaited him in the heavenly world. Thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of thy days-Daniel was now ninety years of age, at least, and so could not expect to live much longer: and the angel here tells him, that after his life was ended, he should rest in peace with the righteous, namely, with respect to his soul; (compare Isa. lvii. 2; Rev. xiv. 13;) and that at the resurrection, foretold verse 2, of this chapter, he should obtain a share of that inheritance which is reserved for the faithful servants of God, and which shall be actually conferred upon them at the conclusion of the times here days, yea, and all time and days, will soon have an end, and we must every one of us stand in our lot at the end of the days. In the judgment of the great day we must have our allotment according to what we were, and what we did, in the body, and we must stand for ever in that lot. It was a comfort to Daniel, and it is a comfort to all the saints, that whatever their lot is in the days of time, they shall have a happy lot in the end of the days. And it ought to be the great care and concern of every one of us, to secure a happy lot at that period; and then we may well be content with our present lot, whatever it may be, welcoming the will of God, in all things, and at all times. 845 THE BOOK OF HOSE A. ARGUMENT. THE Twelve Prophets, whose prophecies must now come under our consideration, are called the Minor, or Lesser Prophets: not because their writings are of less authority or usefulness than those of the four preceding, but only because they are shorter. Their prophecies, Josephus tells us, were put into one volume, by "the men of the great synagogue," in Ezra's time: of which learned and pious body of men, the last three of these twelve are supposed to have been themselves members. St. Stephen is thought to have referred to this volume, when, quoting a passage from Amos, Acts vii. 42, he says, "As it is written in the book of the prophets." And it is certain that, in the early ages of the Christian Church, both Jews and Christians, in enumerating the canonical books of the Old Testament, reckoned the twelve minor prophets to be one book. They are not arranged, either in the Hebrew or Greek copies, exactly in the order of time in which they lived; for Jonah, who was the oldest of them, is placed the sixth in order in these copies. Archbishop Newcome's arrangement of them, according to the time in which they prophesied, is as follows: Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Nahum, Joel, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Obadiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Hosea, whose prophecy first claims our attention, began his public ministry in the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II. king of Israel, about 785 years before Christ, twenty before the Olympiads, and more than forty before the foundation of Rome; and he continued to prophesy till the reign of Hezekiah king of Judah. And since he was of age to choose a wife for himself when he first entered upon his office, he must have lived to extreme old age. If, as many commentators have supposed, he witnessed the accomplishment of the judgment which he denounced upon Samaria and the ten tribes, he must have attained his hundredth year at least. But it is more “probable that he was removed before that event took place. For in all his prophecies the kingdom of Samaria is mentioned, as sentenced indeed to excision; but as yet subsisting, at the time when they were delivered." "Inasmuch as he reckons the time of his ministry by the succession of the kings of Judah, the learned have been induced to believe that he himself belonged to that kingdom. However this may be, it appears that he took a particular interest in the fortunes of the sister kingdom. For he describes, with much more exactness than any other prophet, the distinct destinies of the two great branches of the chosen people, the different judgments impending on them, and the different manner of their final restoration; and he is particularly pathetic in the exhortations he addresses to the ten tribes. It is a great mistake, however, to suppose that his prophecies are almost wholly against the kingdom of Israel; or that the captivity of the ten tribes is the immediate and principal subject, the destiny of the two tribes being only occasionally introduced. Hosea's principal subject is that which is the principal subject indeed of all the prophets, the guilt of the Jewish nation in general, their disobedient, refractory spirit, the heavy judgments that awaited them, their final conversion to God, their re-establishment in the land of promise, and their restoration to God's favour, and to a condition of the greatest national prosperity, and of high pre-eminence among the nations of the earth, under the immediate protection of Messiah, in the latter ages of the world. He confines himself more closely to this single subject than any other prophet. Comparatively, he seems to care but little about other people. He wanders not, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, into the collateral history of the surrounding heathen nations. He meddles not, like Daniel, with the revolution of the great empires of the world. His own country seems to engross his whole attention; her privileges, her crimes, her punishment, her pardon. He predicts indeed, in the strongest and clearest terms, the ingrafting of the Gentiles into the church of God. But he mentions it only generally; he enters not, like Isaiah, into a minute detail of the business. He alludes to the calling of our Lord from Egypt; to the resurrection on the third day; he touches, but only in general terms, upon the final overthrow of the antichristian army in Palestine, by the immediate interposition of Jehovah; and he celebrates, in the loftiest strains of triumph and exultation, the Saviour's final victory over death and hell. But yet, of all the prophets, he certainly enters the least into the detail of the mysteries of redemption. His country, and his kindred, are the subject |