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英文原文
The six former chapters of this book were historical; we now enter with fear and trembling upon the six latter, which are prophetical, wherein are many things dark and hard to be understood, which we dare not positively determine the sense of, and yet many things plain and profitable, which I trust God will enable us to make a good use of. In this chapter we have, I. Daniel's vision of the four beasts, Da 7:1-8. II. His vision of God's throne of government and judgment, Da 7:9-14. III. The interpretation of these visions, given him by an angel that stood by, Da 7:15-28. Whether those visions look as far forward as the end of time, or whether they were to have a speedy accomplishment, is hard to say, nor are the most judicious interpreters agreed concerning it.
1-8
The Vision of the Four Beasts (555 BC)
四獸的異象（公元前555年）
¹ 巴比倫王伯沙撒元年，但以理在床上作夢，腦中得了異象，他就記錄了那夢，述說其大意。
² 但以理說：我夜裡見異象，看見天的四風陡起，颳在大海之上。
³ 有四個大獸從海中上來，形狀各有不同。
⁴ 頭一個像獅子，有鷹的翅膀；我正觀看之時，它的翅膀被拔去，它從地上被舉起來，兩腳站立像人一樣，又得了人心。
⁵ 又有一獸，就是第二獸，形狀如熊，它旁跨而坐，口齒之間啣著三根肋骨；有吩咐它的說：起來吞吃多肉。
⁶ 此後我觀看，又有一獸如豹，背上有鳥的四個翅膀；這獸有四個頭，又得了權柄。
⁷ 其後我在夜間的異象中觀看，看見第四獸甚是可怕，極其強壯，大有力量；有大鐵牙，吞吃嚼碎，所剩下的用腳踐踏；這獸與前一切獸大不相同；它有十角。
⁸ 我正思想這些角的，見其中又長起一個小角，先前的角中有三角在它眼前連根被拔出來；這角有眼，像人的眼，有口說誇大的話。
本章的年代使它位於 Da 5:1-31（即伯沙撒末年）和 Da 6:1-28（即大流士元年）之前；因為但以理是在伯沙撒元年得這些異象的，那時猶太人在巴比倫被擄已將近末期。伯沙撒此處的名字，原文的拼法與從前不同；從前是Bel-she-azar——彼勒是積聚財富者；但這裡是Bel-eshe-zar——彼勒被仇敵焚毀。彼勒是迦勒底人的神；他曾亨通，如今卻要被滅盡。
這幾節中我們看到但以理關於壓迫猶太人之四大王朝的異象。請注意：
I. 這異象的境況。但以理曾講解過尼布甲尼撒的夢，如今他自己也蒙相似的屬天啟示之尊榮（Da 7:1）：他在床上睡著之時腦中得了異象；神有時就在人沉睡之時將自己和他的心意啟示給世人（伯 33:15）；因為當我們最退隱塵世、最脫離感官之事時，最適合與神相交。但他醒來之時就記錄了夢，為己所用，免得他如易逝的夢一般將它遺忘；他又把所述之事的大意告訴他的弟兄猶太人，為他們所用，並以文字交給他們，使它可以傳給遠方的人，並為他們以後的子孫保存——他們將看見這些事應驗。猶太人誤解了耶利米和以西結的一些預言，自欺地盼望：他們歸回本土之後將享完全而無間斷的安寧；但神借這位先知讓他們知道他們將遭遇患難，免得他們這樣自欺，使他們的災禍因失望而加倍難堪。那些關乎他們興盛的應許，要在恩典國度的屬靈福分中成就；正如基督告訴門徒他們必遇逼迫，他們所倚靠的應許要在榮耀國度的永遠福分中成就。但以理既寫下這些事，又傳講這些事，是要表明教會當借聖經和牧者的傳講得教導——既借寫下的話，也借口傳的話；牧者在他們的傳講中要講述所寫之書的大意。
II. 異象本身，預言了猶太教會在以後諸世代所將受其影響的列國政府更迭。1. 他看見四風陡起，颳在大海之上（Da 7:2）。它們彼此爭競誰最強，誰終能獨自吹刮。這代表君王為帝國而起的爭奪，以及由此引起的列國動搖——他如今將要得見的那些大王朝正是由此而興起。從任何方向吹來的一風若刮得猛烈，便能使海大起騷動；但當四風爭霸之時，將興起何等的騰沸！列國君王在戰爭中所爭的正是此物，戰爭喧嚷暴烈如風之爭鬥；然而當風彼此相爭要獨佔擾海之權時，可憐的海是何等被拋擲撕裂，其震動何等可怕，其翻騰何等狂烈！注意：這世界如同風暴翻騰的海；這要歸咎於攪擾它的驕傲野心之風。2. 他看見四個大獸從海中上來，從翻騰的水中——野心之人心喜在其中捕魚。君王和王朝以獸來代表，因為他們的興起和維持往往靠獸性的暴怒和專橫。這些獸形狀各有不同（Da 7:3），形態各異，表明它們所寄存的列國其天才與氣質各不相同。(1) 第一獸像獅子（Da 7:4）。這是迦勒底王朝，兇猛強壯，使君王具有絕對之權。這獅子有鷹的翅膀，可以飛撲獵物，表明尼布甲尼撒征服列國的奇速。但但以理不久就看見翅膀被拔去——他們勝利之臂的進程被全然止住。原來向他們進貢的列國多背叛而起來抵抗；於是這怪獸——這長翅膀的獅子——被舉起兩腳站立像人一樣，又得了人心。它失去了從前著稱的獅心（英國有一位王被稱為Cœur de Lion——獅心王），失去勇氣，變成軟弱衰微，凡事懼怕，無所敢為；他們被置於恐懼之中，被使認識自己不過是人。有時一國的勇氣奇異地低落，成為怯懦柔弱；於是一兩代之前還在列國之首的，成了列國之尾。(2) 第二獸如熊（Da 7:5）。這是波斯王朝，不如前者強壯高貴，卻同樣貪婪。這熊旁跨而坐對著獅子，不久便制伏了它。有人讀作：它興起一個政權。波斯和瑪代在尼布甲尼撒的像中是一胸之內的兩臂，如今設立了聯合政府。這熊口齒之間啣著三根肋骨——它所吞吃之列國的餘民——這是它貪婪的記號，卻也表明它雖吞吃了許多卻不能吞吃一切；仍有幾根肋骨卡在它的牙齒間，是它無法征服的。於是有話對它說："起來吞吃多肉；放過那些無法征服的骨頭和肋骨，去攻擊較易獲取的獵物。"君王要激動王和百姓推進征服，不容任何事物阻擋。注意：不義的征服不過如猛獸的捕食，且在此更為惡劣——猛獸不捕食同類，惡人和無理之人卻如此。(3) 第三獸如豹（Da 7:6）。這是希臘王朝，由亞歷山大大帝創立，活潑、狡猾而殘酷，如豹一般。它有鳥的四個翅膀；獅子似乎只有兩翅；豹卻有四翅，因為尼布甲尼撒雖在征服上極為迅速，亞歷山大卻更為迅速。六年之內他取得了整個波斯帝國，此外還有亞洲的大部分，又使自己作了敘利亞、埃及、印度和其他列國之主。這獸有四個頭；亞歷山大死後，他的征服之地分給了他四位主要將領：西流基·尼卡托得大亞細亞；佩爾狄卡斯，其後是安提貢，得小亞細亞；卡桑得得馬其頓；多利買得埃及。權柄是賜給這獸的；是神所賜，因為唯獨從神而來的高升。(4) 第四獸比它們都更兇猛、更可畏、更有害，與其他各獸都不相似，猛獸中無可比擬（Da 7:7）。學者對這無名之獸意見不一；有人認為是羅馬帝國，它在鼎盛之時包含十個王國——意大利、法蘭西、西班牙、德意志、不列顛、薩爾馬提亞、潘諾尼亞、亞細亞、希臘和埃及；於是那因三個別的角傾倒而興起的小角（Da 7:8），他們認為是土耳其帝國，它興起取代了亞細亞、希臘和埃及。另有人認為這第四獸是敘利亞國，即西流基家族，他們對猶太百姓極其殘酷壓迫，如我們在約瑟夫和馬加比歷史中所見。這帝國與先前各國不同之處在於：先前的政權沒有強迫猶太人放棄信仰，敘利亞諸王卻如此行，並野蠻對待他們。他們的軍隊和統帥就是那大鐵牙，用來吞吃嚼碎神的百姓，又踐踏其餘的人。那十角便被認為是相繼在敘利亞作王的十王；於是小角就是安提阿古·伊皮法尼——十王之末，他用種種手段顛覆了其中三王，奪得政權。他極有巧計，所以說他眼像人的眼；他又大膽敢為，有口說誇大的話。我們在這些預言中還要遇見他。
英文原文
The Vision of the Four Beasts (555 BC)
¹ In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.
² Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
³ And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
⁴ The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
⁵ And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
⁶ After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
⁷ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
⁸ I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom 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.
The date of this chapter places it before Da 5:1-31, which was in the last year of Belshazzar, and Da 6:1-28, which was in the first of Darius; for Daniel had those visions in the first year of Belshazzar, when the captivity of the Jews in Babylon was drawing near a period. Belshazzar's name here is, in the original, spelt differently from what it used to be; before it was Bel-she-azar—Bel is he that treasures up riches. But this is Bel-eshe-zar—Bel is on fire by the enemy. Bel was the god of the Chaldeans; he had prospered, but is now to be consumed.
We have, in these verses, Daniel's vision of the four monarchies that were oppressive to the Jews. Observe,
I. The circumstances of this vision. Daniel had interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and now he is himself honoured with similar divine discoveries (Da 7:1): He had visions of his head upon his bed, when he was asleep; so God sometimes revealed himself and his mind to the children of men, when deep sleep fell upon them (Job 33:15); for when we are most retired from the world, and taken off from the things of sense, we are most fit for communion with God. But when he was awake he wrote the dream for his own use, lest he should forget it as a dream which passes away; and he told the sum of the matters to his brethren the Jews for their use, and gave it to them in writing, that it might be communicated to those at a distance and preserved for their children after them, who shall see these things accomplished. The Jews, misunderstanding some of the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, flattered themselves with hopes that, after their return to their own land, they should enjoy a complete and uninterrupted tranquility; but that they might not so deceive themselves, and their calamities be made doubly grievous by the disappointment, God by this prophet lets them know that they shall have tribulation: those promises of their prosperity were to be accomplished in the spiritual blessings of the kingdom of grace; as Christ has told his disciples they must expect persecution, and the promises they depend upon will be accomplished in the eternal blessings of the kingdom of glory. Daniel both wrote these things and spoke them, to intimate that the church should be taught both by the scriptures and by ministers' preaching, both by the written word and by word of mouth; and ministers in their preaching are to tell the sum of the matters that are written.
II. The vision itself, which foretels the revolutions of government in those nations which the church of the Jews, for the following ages, was to be under the influence of. 1. He observed the four winds to strive upon the great sea, Da 7:2. They strove which should blow strongest, and, at length, blow alone. This represents the contests among princes for empire, and the shakings of the nations by these contests, to which those mighty monarchies, which he was now to have a prospect of, owed their rise. One wind from any point of the compass, if it blow hard, will cause a great commotion in the sea; but what a tumult must needs be raised when the four winds strive for mastery! This is it which the kings of the nations are contending for in their wars, which are as noisy and violent as the battle of the winds; but how is the poor sea tossed and torn, how terrible are its concussions, and how violent its convulsions, while the winds are at strife which shall have the sole power of troubling it! Note, This world is like a stormy tempestuous sea; thanks to the proud ambitious winds that vex it. 2. He saw four great beasts come up from the sea, from the troubled waters, in which aspiring minds love to fish. The monarchs and monarchies are represented by beasts, because too often it is by brutish rage and tyranny that they are raised and supported. These beasts were diverse one from another (Da 7:3), of different shapes, to denote the different genius and complexion of the nations in whose hands they were lodged. (1.) The first beast was like a lion, Da 7:4. This was the Chaldean monarchy, that was fierce and strong, and made the kings absolute. This lion had eagle's wings, with which to fly upon the prey, denoting the wonderful speed that Nebuchadnezzar made in his conquest of kingdoms. But Daniel soon sees the wings plucked, a full stop put to the career of their victorious arms. Divers countries that had been tributaries to them revolt from them, and make head against them; so that this monstrous animal, this winged lion, is made to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart is given to it. It has lost the heart of a lion, which it had been famous for (one of our English kings was called Cœur de Lion—Lion-heart), has lost its courage and become feeble and faint, dreading every thing and daring nothing; they are put in fear, and made to know themselves to be but men. Sometimes the valour of a nation strangely sinks, and it becomes cowardly and effeminate, so that what was the head of the nations in an age or two becomes the tail. (2.) The second beast was like a bear, Da 7:5. This was the Persian monarchy, less strong and generous than the former, but no less ravenous. This bear raised up itself on one side against the lion, and soon mastered it. It raised up one dominion; so some read it. Persia and Media, which in Nebuchadnezzar's image were the two arms in one breast, now set up a joint government. This bear had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth, the remains of those nations it had devoured, which were the marks of its voraciousness, and yet an indication that though it had devoured much it could not devour all; some ribs still stuck in the teeth of it, which it could not conquer. Whereupon it was said to it, "Arise, devour much flesh; let alone the bones, the ribs, that cannot be conquered, and set upon that which will be an easier prey." The princes will stir up both the kings and the people to push on their conquests, and let nothing stand before them. Note, Conquests, unjustly made, are but like those of the beasts of prey, and in this much worse, that the beasts prey not upon those of their own kind, as wicked and unreasonable men do. (3.) The third beast was like a leopard, Da 7:6. This was the Grecian monarchy, founded by Alexander the Great, active, crafty, and cruel, like a leopard. He had four wings of a fowl; the lion seems to have had but two wings; but the leopard had four, for though Nebuchadnezzar made great despatch in his conquests Alexander made much greater. In six years' time he gained the whole empire of Persia, a great part besides of Asia, made himself master of Syria, Egypt, India, and other nations. This beast had four heads; upon Alexander's death his conquests were divided among his four chief captains; Seleucus Nicanor had Asia the Great; Perdiccas, and after him Antigonus, had Asia the Less; Cassander had Macedonia; and Ptolemeus had Egypt. Dominion was given to this beast; it was given of God, from whom alone promotion comes. (4.) The fourth beast was more fierce, and formidable, and mischievous, than any of them, unlike any of the other, nor is there any among the beasts of prey to which it might be compared, Da 7:7. The learned are not agreed concerning this anonymous beast; some make it to be the Roman empire, which, when it was in its glory, comprehended ten kingdoms, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Britain, Sarmatia, Pannonia, Asia, Greece, and Egypt; and then the little horn which rose by the fall of three of the other horns (Da 7:8) they make to be the Turkish empire, which rose in the room of Asia, Greece, and Egypt. Others make this fourth beast to be the kingdom of Syria, the family of the Seleucidæ, which was very cruel and oppressive to the people of the Jews, as we find in Josephus and the history of the Maccabees. And herein that empire was diverse from those which went before, that none of the preceding powers compelled the Jews to renounce their religion, but the kings of Syria did, and used them barbarously. Their armies and commanders were the great iron teeth with which they devoured and broke in pieces the people of God, and they trampled upon the residue of them. The ten horns are then supposed to be ten kings that reigned successively in Syria; and then the little horn is Antiochus Epiphanes, the last of the ten, who by one means or other undermined three of the kings, and got the government. He was a man of great ingenuity, and therefore is said to have eyes like the eyes of a man; and he was very bold and daring, had a mouth speaking great things. We shall meet with him again in these prophecies.
9-14
The Vision of the Four Beasts (555 BC)
四獸的異象（主前555年）
⁹ 我觀看，見有寶座設立，上頭坐著亙古常在者。他的衣服潔白如雪，頭髮如純淨的羊毛。寶座乃火焰，其輪乃烈火。
¹⁰ 從他面前有火，像河發出；事奉他的有千千，在他面前侍立的有萬萬。他坐著要行審判，案卷都展開了。
¹¹ 那時我觀看，見那獸因小角說誇大話的聲音，正觀看的時候，那獸被殺，身體損壞，扔在火中焚燒。
¹² 其餘的獸，權柄都被奪去，生命卻仍存留，直到所定的時候和日期。
¹³ 我在夜間的異象中觀看，見有一位像人子的，駕著天雲而來，被領到亙古常在者面前，
¹⁴ 得了權柄、榮耀、國度，使各方、各國、各族的人都事奉他。他的權柄是永遠的，不能廢去；他的國必不敗壞。
無論我們把第四獸理解為敘利亞帝國，還是羅馬帝國，或以前者作後者的預表，這幾節顯然是為安慰、堅固神的百姓而設，使他們在面臨來自兩者、以及各時代一切驕橫仇敵的逼迫時，有所憑藉；因為這經是寫給那些末世到了的人學習的，叫他們藉這經的忍耐與安慰得著盼望。這裡啟示了三件極其鼓舞人的事：
I. 將來必有審判，而神就是審判者。現在人各有自己的日子，每個狂妄之徒都自認該有他的日子，為之爭奪。但 那坐在天上的必發笑，因為他看見 他的日子將至，Ps 37:13。我觀看（Da 7:9）直到寶座被設立，不但這些獸的寶座，更是 一切執政的、掌權的、有能的——凡在人間設立、敵擋神國的（1Co 15:24）——世上列國的寶座與神的國相比正是如此；看見寶座設立的人，只需等一會，便要看見它們傾覆。我觀看直到寶座設立（也可如此讀），就是基督的寶座與他父的寶座。一位拉比承認這些寶座 設立 了，一個為 神，另一個為 大衛的子孫。此處 審判 設立，Da 7:10。如今 1. 這是要宣告神以護理智慧公義地治理世界；在列國動盪革命之中，這給一切好人說不盡的滿足：耶和華在天上立定寶座；他的國統管萬有（Ps 103:19），地上果然有施行判斷的神，Ps 58:11。2. 這或許指向神的護理為敘利亞或羅馬帝國虐待神百姓而帶來的毀滅。但 3. 這似乎主要是描寫最後的審判；因為雖然它不緊隨第四獸的統治而來——不，雖然它尚在將來，也許還要經過許多年代——其用意卻是要每個時代的神百姓在患難中藉著對它的信念與盼望得著鼓勵。亞當的七世孫以諾曾豫言這事，Jude 1:14。仇敵的口 說誇大的話（Da 7:8），此處卻是主的口所說更大的事。新約關於將來審判的許多豫言，顯然都暗指這異象，尤其是聖約翰所見的，Re 20:11,12。(1.) 審判者是 亙古常在者 自己，即 父神；此處描述了他臨在的榮耀。他被稱為 亙古常在者，因為他是 從亙古到永遠 的神。在人中間我們以為 年老的有智慧、尊貴的必有明哲；那麼在 亙古常在者 面前，凡血氣之軀豈不都當靜默嗎？審判者的榮耀此處以他的衣服描寫，潔白如雪，表明他在一切公義的行政中光輝純潔；他的 頭髮 純淨潔白，如純淨的羊毛，使他如白首般顯得可敬。(2.) 寶座極其可畏。它 如火焰，對被傳到審判座前的惡人是可畏的。寶座因裝有輪子而可移動——至少他巡迴所乘的戰車如此——其 輪 如烈火，要吞滅仇敵；因為 我們的神是烈火，在他那裡有 永遠的燒著，Isa 33:14。這一點在 Da 7:10 被擴展。對他一切忠信的朋友，從神和羔羊的寶座出來一道純淨的生命水的河（Re 22:1）；照樣對他一切頑梗的仇敵，從 他寶座 有火河發出，是 硫磺的河（Isa 30:33），是 火 在他前面吞滅。他是迅捷的見證人，他的道是裝在輪上的道。(3.) 侍從眾多且極其輝煌。舍吉拿榮耀常有天使侍立；此處也是如此（Da 7:10）：有事奉他的有千千，在他面前侍立的有萬萬。他有這樣的侍從是他的榮耀，但他更大的榮耀是不需要他們、也不能從他們受益。看哪，天軍何其眾多（有 千萬的天使），他們何其順服——他們 侍立在神面前，豫備奉差遣，一得他旨意的風聲便即行動。他們要特別在最後審判之日作他公義的差役，那時 人子同著眾天使降臨。以諾曾豫言主 帶著他的千萬聖者 來臨。(4.) 程序公平無可指摘：審判設立，公開明示，人人都可以靠近；案卷都展開了。如同人間法庭，辦案皆有筆錄存檔，開審時便攤開——證人供詞、宣誓書都宣讀以查明事實，又翻查法典與判例以斷定法律；照樣在最後大日的審判中，判決的公道必如案卷展開證實一般，無可爭辯。
II. 教會那些驕橫殘忍的仇敵，神必按時與他們算賬、使之傾覆，Da 7:11,12。此處以兩件事向我們陳明：1. 第四獸的毀滅。神與這獸爭論，是 因那小角說誇大話的聲音——公然向天挑戰、向一切神聖之事誇勝；這比任何事更惹神發怒，因 仇敵行事驕傲，De 32:27。所以 法老必被降卑，因他曾說：耶和華是誰？ 又說：我要追趕，我要追上。 以諾曾豫言主 所以 要來 審判世界，為要 定不敬虔之人一切妄言的罪，Jude 1:15。注意，誇大的話不過是閒話，人在大日必為此交賬。看這口出狂言的獸下場如何：他 被殺，身體損壞，扔在火中焚燒。敘利亞帝國在安提阿哥之後便被毀。他本人死於極悲慘的病；他的家族被連根拔除；國土被帕提亞人和亞美尼亞人踐踏；至終被龐培劃為羅馬一行省。而羅馬帝國本身（若我們以之為第四獸），在開始逼迫基督教之後，便衰退凋殘，其身體也遭毀壞。耶和華啊，你的仇敵都要如此滅亡！都 要在你面前被殺。2. 其餘三獸的削減削弱（Da 7:12）：他們的 權柄被奪去，不能再像從前那樣苦害神的教會與百姓；卻 賜他們生命延續，直到一段時期、一個節期，是定期，不能越過。前述列國的權勢雖被全然擊碎，其百姓卻仍在卑微軟弱的光景中存留。我們可借用此理來描寫善人心中殘餘之罪：他們裡面仍有敗壞，其生命被延長，故他們不能完全無罪；但罪的 權勢 已被奪去，罪不能在他們 必死的身上作王。神對待教會的仇敵也是如此：有時他打斷他們的牙齒（Ps 3:7），卻不折斷他們的頸項；他壓制逼迫，卻暫緩逼迫者，給他們悔改的機會。神作自己的工，自當憑自己的時候與方式，這是理所當然的。
III. 彌賽亞的國必被設立並在世上維持，儘管黑暗之權百般抵擋。任憑外邦狂怒暴跳，神卻要 立他的王在錫安他的聖山上。但以理在異象中看見這事，便以這前景自慰並安慰同伴。這與尼布甲尼撒所豫見的 非人手鑿出來的石頭 打碎像的事相同；但這異象中的純正福音遠超前者。1. 彌賽亞在此被稱為人子——一位像人子的；因他 成了罪身形狀，成為人的樣式。我看見一位像人子的，完全契合神旨意中所立那在時候滿足時作神人之間中保者的形像。他 像人子，卻實在是神的兒子。我們的救主明顯是指這異象而言（Joh 5:27）：父 所以 將審判的權柄交给他，正因他是 人子，因為他就是但以理在異象中所見、要把國與權柄賜給他的那位。2. 他被說成是 駕著天雲而來。有人把這連於他的道成肉身；他 駕著天雲降臨，隱秘地來到世界，正如耶和華的榮耀在雲中進入聖殿。世上列國的帝國都是 從海中上來 的獸；但基督的國來自上頭：他是 主出於天。我卻以為這更當連於他的升天；當他回到父那裡，門徒的眼睛定睛望他，直到 有一朵雲彩把他接去，便看不見他了，Ac 1:9。他把那雲當作車輦，凱旋地升到上界。他來得迅速、不可抵擋，而且威儀赫赫而來，因他 駕著天雲而來。3. 此處他被描述為在天上有極大的份量。當雲把他接去、門徒看不見時，我們不妨一問（如先知門徒論以利亞的同樣情形）：雲把他帶到哪裡去了？在哪裡安頓了他？此處告訴我們，足叫我們滿心滿足：他被領到亙古常在者面前；因他升到 我的父、也是你們的父，我的神、也是你們的神 那裡（Joh 20:17）；他從他而出，又回到他那裡，與他同得榮耀，並坐在他的右邊。他曾滿懷喜樂地說：現在我往差我來的父那裡去。 但他是否受歡迎呢？是，毫無疑問，因為 他們把他領到亙古常在者面前；他被引進父面前，有 神的眾天使 侍立敬拜，Heb 1:6。神 使他親近、就近前來，作我們的辯護者與中保（Jer 30:21），使我們可藉他 得以親近。他如此鄭重地親近亙古常在者，表明父悅納了他所獻的祭、滿意他所成就的贖價，並對他所作的一切完全喜悅。他被 領到 面前，作我們的大祭司，為我們 進入幔內，又作我們的 先鋒。4. 此處他被描述為在地上有極大的影響，Da 7:14。他往父那裡得榮耀時，便 得了權柄管理凡有血氣的，Joh 17:2,5。但以理與同伴在此得了安慰：不但教會仇敵的統治要被奪去（Da 7:12），教會的頭與至友更要 得著權柄；萬膝都要跪拜、萬口都要承認，Php 2:9,10。榮耀與國度 都賜給他，且是出於那位有無可置疑之權賜下的一位；有人以為我們的救主要我們在主禱文結尾承認的——因為國度、權柄、榮耀，全是你的——正是著眼於這話。此處豫言得著高升的救贖主之國必是：(1.) 普世的國，是惟一的普世國度，無論別人怎樣自稱或圖謀：各方、各國、各族的人 都要 事奉他，都在他權下——或作甘心順服的子民，或作被征服的俘虜，或被他治理，或被他管轄。無論如何，世上的國都要成為他的國。(2.) 永遠的國。他的 權柄 不 傳給 任何繼承者，更不給任何入侵者；他的國 必不敗壞。陰間的門——陰間的權勢與計謀——也不能勝過它。教會要在時間末了之前繼續爭戰，並在永恆無盡的年代中得勝。
英文原文
The Vision of the Four Beasts (555 BC)
⁹ I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
¹⁰ A fiery stream issued and came forth from 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.
¹¹ I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
¹² As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
¹³ 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 they brought him near before him.
¹⁴ 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.
Whether we understand the fourth beast to signify the Syrian empire, or the Roman, or the former as the figure of the latter, it is plain that these verses are intended for the comfort and support of the people of God in reference to the persecutions they were likely to sustain both from the one and from the other, and from all their proud enemies in every age; for it is written for their learning on whom the ends of the world have come, that they also, through patience and comfort of this scripture, might have hope. Three things are here discovered that are very encouraging:—
I. That there is a judgment to come, and God is the Judge. Now men have their day, and every pretender thinks he should have his day, and struggles for it. But he that sits in heaven laughs at them, for he sees that his day is coming, Ps 37:13. I beheld (Da 7:9) till the thrones were cast down, not only the thrones of these beasts, but all rule, authority, power, that are set up in opposition to the kingdom of God among men (1Co 15:24): such are the thrones of the kingdoms of the world, in comparison with God's kingdom; those that see them set up need but wait awhile, and they will see them cast down. I beheld till thrones were set up (so it may as well be read), Christ's throne and the throne of his Father. One of the rabbin confesses that these thrones are set up, one for God, another for the Son of David. It is the judgment that is here set, Da 7:10. Now, 1. This is intended to proclaim God's wise and righteous government of the world by his providence; and an unspeakable satisfaction it gives to all good men, in the midst of the convulsions and revolutions of states and kingdoms, that the Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all (Ps 103:19), that verily there is a God that judges in the earth, Ps 58:11. 2. Perhaps it points at the destruction brought by the providence of God upon the empire of Syria, or that of Rome, for their tyrannizing over the people of God. But, 3. It seems principally designed to describe the last judgment, for though it follow not immediately upon the dominion of the fourth beast, nay, though it be yet to come, perhaps many ages to come, yet it was intended that in every age the people of God should encourage themselves, under their troubles, with the belief and prospect of it. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of it, Jude 1:14. Does the mouth of the enemy speak great things, Da 7:8. Here are far greater things which the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Many of the New-Testament predictions of the judgment to come have a plain allusion to this vision, especially St John's vision of it, Re 20:11,12. (1.) The Judge is the Ancient of days himself, God the Father, the glory of whose presence is here described. He is called the Ancient of days, because he is God from everlasting to everlasting. Among men we reckon that with the ancient is wisdom, and days shall speak; shall not all flesh then be silent before him who is the Ancient of days? The glory of the Judge is here set forth by his garment, which was white as snow, denoting his splendour and purity in all the administrations of his justice; and the hair of his head clean and white, as the pure wool, that, as the white and hoary head, he may appear venerable. (2.) The throne is very formidable. It is like the fiery flame, dreadful to the wicked that shall be summoned before it. And the throne being movable upon wheels, or at least the chariot in which he rode the circuit, the wheels thereof are as burning fire, to devour the adversaries; for our God is a consuming fire, and with him are everlasting burnings, Isa 33:14. This is enlarged upon, Da 7:10. As to all his faithful friends there proceeds out of the throne of God and the Lamb a pure river of water of life (Re 22:1), so to all his implacable enemies there issues and comes forth from his throne a fiery stream, a stream of brimstone (Isa 30:33), a fire that shall devour before him. He is a swift witness, and his word a word upon the wheels. (3.) The attendants are numerous and very splendid. The Shechinah is always attended with angels; it is so here (Da 7:10): Thousand thousands minister to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before him. It is his glory that he has such attendants, but much more his glory that he neither needs them nor can be benefited by them. See how numerous the heavenly hosts are (there are thousands of angels), and how obsequious they are—they stand before God, ready to go on his errands and to take the first intimation of his will and pleasure. They will particularly be employed as ministers of his justice in the last judgment day, when the Son of man shall come, and all the holy angels with him. Enoch prophesied that the Lord should come with his holy myriads. (4.) The process is fair and unexceptionable: The judgment is set, publicly and openly, that all may have recourse to it; and the books are opened. As in courts of judgment among men the proceedings are in writing and upon record, which is laid open when the cause comes to a hearing, the examination of witnesses is produced, and affidavits are read, to clear the matter of fact, and the statute and common-law books are consulted to find out what is the law, so, in the judgment of the great day, the equity of the sentence will be as incontestably evident as if there were books opened to justify it.
II. That the proud and cruel enemies of the church of God will certainly be reckoned with and brought down in due time, Da 7:11,12. This is here represented to us, 1. In the destroying of the fourth beast. God's quarrel with this beast is because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke, bidding defiance to Heaven, and triumphing over all that is sacred; this provokes God more than any thing, for the enemy to behave himself proudly, De 32:27. Therefore Pharaoh must be humbled, because he has said, Who is the Lord? and has said, I will pursue, I will overtake. Enoch foretold that therefore the Lord would come to judge the world, that he might convince all that are ungodly of their hard speeches, Jude 1:15. Note, Great words are but idle words, for which men must give account in the great day. And see what becomes of this beast that talks so big: He is slain, and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame. The Syrian empire, after Antiochus, was destroyed. He himself died of a miserable disease, his family was rooted out, the kingdom wasted by the Parthians and Armenians, and at length made a province of the Roman empire by Pompey. And the Roman empire itself (if we take that for the fourth beast), after it began to persecute Christianity, declined and wasted away, and the body of it was destroyed. So shall all thy enemies perish, O Lord! and be slain before thee. 2. In the diminishing and weakening of the other three beasts (Da 7:12): They had their dominion taken away, and so were disabled from doing the mischiefs they had done to the church and people of God; but a prolonging in life was given them, for a time and a season, a set time, the bounds of which they could not pass. The power of the foregoing kingdoms was quite broken, but the people of them still remained in a mean, weak, and low condition. We may allude to this in describing the remainders of sin in the hearts of good people; they have corruptions in them, the lives of which are prolonged, so that they are not perfectly free from sin, but the dominion of them is taken away, so that sin does not reign in their mortal bodies. And thus God deals with his church's enemies; sometimes he breaks the teeth of them (Ps 3:7), when he does not break the neck of them, crushes the persecution, but reprieves the persecutors, that they may have space to repent. And it is fit that God, in doing his own work, should take his own time and way.
III. That the kingdom of the Messiah shall be set up, and kept up, in the world, in spite of all the opposition of the powers of darkness. Let the heathen rage and fret as long as they please, God will set his King upon his holy hill of Zion. Daniel sees this in vision, and comforts himself and his friends with the prospect of it. This is the same with Nebuchadnezzar's foresight of the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which broke in pieces the image; but in this vision there is much more of pure gospel than in that. 1. The Messiah is here called the Son of man—one like unto the Son of man; for he was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, was found in fashion as a man. I saw one like unto the Son of man, one exactly agreeing with the idea formed in the divine counsels of him that in the fulness of time was to be the Mediator between God and man. He is like unto the son of man, but is indeed the Son of God. Our Savior seems plainly to refer to this vision when he says (Joh 5:27) that the Father has therefore given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of man, and because he is the person whom Daniel saw in vision, to whom a kingdom and dominion were to be given. 2. He is said to come with the clouds of heaven. Some refer this to his incarnation; he descended in the clouds of heaven, came into the world unseen, as the glory of the Lord took possession of the temple in a cloud. The empires of the world were beasts that rose out of the sea; but Christ's kingdom is from above: he is the Lord from heaven. I think it is rather to be referred to his ascension; when he returned to the Father the eye of his disciples followed him, till a cloud received him out of their sight, Ac 1:9. He made that cloud his chariot, wherein he rode triumphantly to the upper world. He comes swiftly, irresistibly, and comes in state, for he comes with the clouds of heaven. 3. He is here represented as having a mighty interest in Heaven. When the cloud received him out of the sight of his disciples, it is worth while to enquire (as the sons of the prophets concerning Elijah in a like case) whither it carried him, where it lodged him; and here we are told, abundantly to our satisfaction, that he came to the Ancient of days; for he ascended to his Father and our Father, to his God and our God (Joh 20:17); from him he came forth, and to him he returns, to be glorified with him, and to sit down at his right hand. It was with a great deal of pleasure that he said, Now I go to him that sent me. But was he welcome? Yes, not doubt, he was, for they brought him near before him; he was introduced into his Father's presence, with the attendance and adorations of all the angels of God, Heb 1:6. God caused him to draw near and approach to him, as an advocate and undertaker for us (Jer 30:21), that we through him might be made nigh. By this solemn near approach which he made to the Ancient of days it appears that the Father accepted the sacrifice he offered, and the satisfaction he made, and was entirely well pleased with all he had done. He was brought near, as our high priest, who for us enters within the veil, and as our forerunner, 4. He is here represented as having a mighty influence upon this earth, Da 7:14. When he went to be glorified with his Father he had a power given him over all flesh, Joh 17:2,5. With the prospect of this Daniel and his friends are here comforted, that not only the dominion of the church's enemies shall be taken away (Da 7:12), but the church's head and best friend shall have the dominion given him; to him every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. Php 2:9,10. To him are given glory and a kingdom, and they are given by him who has an unquestionable right to give them, which, some think with an eye to these words, our Savior teaches us to acknowledge in the close of the Lord's prayer, For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. It is here foretold that the kingdom of the exalted Redeemer shall be, (1.) A universal kingdom, the only universal monarchy, whatever others have pretended to, or aimed at: All people, nations, and languages, shall fear him, and be under his jurisdiction, either as his willing subjects or as his conquered captives, to be either ruled or overruled by him. One way or other, the kingdoms of the world shall all become his kingdoms. (2.) An everlasting kingdom. His dominion shall not pass away to any successor, much less to any invader, and his kingdom is that which shall not be destroyed. Even the gates of hell, or the infernal powers and policies, shall not prevail against it. The church shall continue militant to the end of time, and triumphant to the endless ages of eternity.
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The Vision of the Four Beasts (555 BC)
四獸的異象（主前555年）
¹⁵ 至於我但以理，我的靈在我裡面愁煩，我腦中的異象使我驚惶。
¹⁶ 我就近一位侍立者，問他這一切的真情。他就告訴我，將那事的講解給我說明。
¹⁷ 這四個大獸就是四王將要在世上興起。
¹⁸ 然而，至高者的聖民，必要得國享受，直到永永遠遠。
¹⁹ 那時我願知道第四獸的真情：牠為何與那三獸的真情大不相同，極其可怕，有鐵牙銅爪，吞吃嚼碎，所剩下的用腳踐踏；
²⁰ 頭有十角和那另長的一角，在這角前有三角被牠打落；這角有眼，有說誇大話的口，形狀強橫，過於同類。
²¹ 我觀看，這角與聖民爭戰，勝了他們；
²² 直到亙古常在者來到，給至高者的聖民伸冤，聖民得國的時候就到了。
²³ 那侍立者這樣說：第四獸就是世上必有的第四國，與一切國大不相同，必吞吃全地，並且踐踏嚼碎。
²⁴ 至於那十角，就是從這國中必興起的十王；後來又興起一王，與先前的不同；他必制伏三王。
²⁵ 他必向至高者說誇大的話，必折磨至高者的聖民，必想改變節期和律法；聖民必交付他手一載、二載、半載。
²⁶ 然而審判必坐下，他的權柄必被奪去、毀壞、滅絕，一直到底。
²⁷ 國度、權柄，和天下諸國的大權，必賜給至高者的聖民；他的國是永遠的；一切掌權的都必事奉他，順從他。
²⁸ 那事到此完畢。至於我但以理，心中甚是驚惶，臉色也變了，卻將那事存記在心。
這裡有：I. 這些異象給先知留下的深刻印象。神在其中加他尊榮，使他得著滿足，卻非沒有極大的苦痛與困惑為攙雜（Da 7:15）：我但以理，我的靈在我裡面愁煩。 此處用以指 身體 的字，原文本意是 鞘 或 刀鞘；因身體之於靈魂不過如此；靈魂才是兵器；那才是我們當主要顧念的。我腦中的異象使我驚惶；又說（Da 7:28）我的心中甚是驚惶。這些事向他啟示的方式使他全然不支，心思被極度繃緊，以致靈力衰竭；他所處的恍惚狀態使他疲倦昏厥。所啟示的事本身使他驚訝驚愕，陷入混亂；直到他漸漸回神、自制，把異象的安慰擺在它的可畏旁邊對照。
II. 他迫切想要明白其意（Da 7:16）：我就近那些侍立者中的一位——就近一位在榮耀中侍候 人子 而顯現的天使——問他這一切的真情（真實的用意與含義）。注意，正確而完全地領會我們從神所見所聞之意，是極其可慕的事；凡要明白的，必須藉著信實懇切的禱告、並 盡心尋求 來求問。
III. 給他的鑰匙，使他進入這異象的瞭解。天使 告訴他，且告訴得如此明白，使他 知道那事的講解，從而使他稍得安舒。
1. 大獸 就是大 王 與他們的國——大君王與他們的君主國——將要在世上興起，如那些獸 從海中上來 一般，Da 7:17。他們不過是 terræfilii—從下頭來的；他們帶著地的味道，根基 在塵土中；他們是屬地的，寫在塵土上，也要歸於塵土。
2. 但以理對前三獸頗能明白，但關乎第四獸他願更清楚知道，因為它與其餘的大不相同，極其可怕，並且極其殘暴——吞吃嚼碎，Da 7:19。也許正是這一點使但以理如此驚惶；他腦中異象的這一部分比任何別的更擾亂他。他尤其想要知道那 小角 是甚麼——它有 眼，有 說誇大話的口，其容貌比 同類中任何一個 更無懼更可畏，Da 7:20。他最追究這一點，因為正是這角 與聖民爭戰，勝了他們，Da 7:21。當所暗示的不過是人彼此相戰、彼此得勝，先知並不大關心（任憑地上的瓦片與瓦片相爭，彼此撞碎）；但當他們 與聖民爭戰，當 錫安寶貴的兒子，可比精金 被 摔碎如瓦瓶，那就要問：「這是甚麼意思？主會棄絕他的百姓嗎？他會任憑仇敵踐踏他們、向他們誇勝嗎？這對聖民如此得勝的角究竟是甚麼？」對此，他的解釋者回答（Da 7:23-25）：這 第四獸 是 第四國，要 吞吃全地（或作 全猶太地）。那 十角就是十王，而 小角 是另一位王，要制伏三王，並要對神和他的百姓極其殘虐：他行事，(1.) 對神極其不敬。他要 向至高者說誇大的話，公然藐視他、他的權柄與公義。(2.) 對神的百姓極其專橫。他要 折磨至高者的聖民——他不是一次將他們剪除，而是以長期的壓制和持續加在他們身上的苦難磨損他們，傾覆他們的產業、削弱他們的家室。撒但的計謀向來是 磨損至高者的聖民，使他們不再被記念；但這企圖是徒然的，因為世界存立一日，神在其中就必有教會。他要 想改變節期和律法——廢除宗教的一切條例與制度，使人人照他所要的去說去作。他要踐踏人間與神聖的律法與風俗。Diruit, ædificat, mutat quadrata rotundis—他拆毀、建造、把方的改成圓的，彷彿他有意更改甚至天上的制度。在這些膽大妄為的嘗試中，他要順遂一時、有所成功；他們必交付他手 一載、二載、半載（即三年半）——這著名的豫言時間量，我們在啟示錄中遇見，有時稱四十二個月，有時稱一千二百六十日，都是一樣。但那時期滿了，審判必坐下，奪去他的權柄（Da 7:26），這他解釋（Da 7:11）為那獸 被殺、身體被毀。並（如 Mede 先生讀 Da 7:12）至於其餘的獸——十角，尤其那 作亂的 小角（他如此稱之）——他們的權柄被奪去。如今問題是：這位仇敵是誰，其興起、掌權、傾覆被如此豫言？解經家意見不一。有人以為第四國是 Seleucidæ 之國，小角是安提阿哥，並在馬加比的歷史中指出這一切的應驗；Junius、Piscator、Polanus、Broughton 等多人如此主張。但另有人以為第四國是羅馬帝國，小角 是猶利烏斯‧凱撒及其後繼的皇帝（加爾文說），是敵基督、教皇國（Joseph Mede 先生說），是那 不法的，要如這 小角 般被 基督第二次顯現的榮光 所滅。教皇聲稱有權 改變節期和律法——他所謂 potestas autokratorike—絕對專制之權。又有人把 小角 當作 土耳其帝國；路德、Vatablus 等如此主張。我無法證明哪一方錯；因此，豫言有時有多重應驗，我們當給聖經其完全的寬度（此事與許多別的爭論一樣），我情願承認兩方都對：這豫言主要指敘利亞帝國，是為鼓勵那在安提阿哥手下受苦的猶太人，使他們看見這些可悲時日被豫言，卻也能豫見最終榮耀的結局，並驕傲壓迫者的徹底傾覆；更美的是，不久之後彌賽亞之國將在世上設立——前代先知慣以這盼望在患難中安慰神的百姓。但它也有進一步的指涉，豫言異教羅馬、以及不亞於此的教皇羅馬對基督教信仰同樣的逼迫之勢與狂怒，正如安提阿哥對敬虔猶太人及其宗教所作。聖約翰的異象與豫言主要指向羅馬，在許多細節上明明引用但以理這些異象。
3. 他得著喜樂的前景——神的國在人間的得勝，並至終勝過一切反對。很可注意的是，在豫言仇敵勢力與狂怒之中，這一段被突然插入（Da 7:18,22），在異象的順序中還未到講解之處（Da 7:26,27 才到）。這也指：(1.) 猶太教會在安提阿哥的風暴過去之後的亨通日子，以及馬加比所得勝過仇敵的權勢。(2.) 藉著福音的傳揚在世上設立彌賽亞的國。基督為審判來到這世界，要以他的靈治理，並使一切聖徒 作神國度的祭司。(3.) 耶穌基督的再來，那時聖徒要審判世界，要與他同坐寶座，因魔鬼之國的徹底傾覆而誇勝。讓我們看此處所豫言的。[1.] 亙古常在者必要來到，Da 7:22。神要藉他的兒子審判世界——他已把 一切審判 交给他；作為憑據，他 來 為受壓的百姓施行拯救，來為在世上設立他的國。[2.] 審判必坐下，Da 7:26。神要顯明他 在地上審判，並在智慧與公義上為他百姓的義業辯護。在那大日他要 藉著他所設立的人按公義審判天下。[3.] 仇敵的 權柄必被奪去，Da 7:26。基督的一切仇敵要作他的腳凳，並被 毀壞、滅絕 到底：這些是使徒論到 不法之人 所用的話，2Th 2:8。他要被 基督口中的氣 滅絕，被 他降臨的榮光 廢掉。[4.] 審判交给了至高者的聖民。使徒受託傳揚那 要審判世界 的福音。一切聖民藉其信心與順服定那不信不順服之世界的罪；在他們的元首基督裡，他們要審判世界，要 審判以色列十二個支派，Mt 19:28。敬虔主的人是何等可敬，我們有何理由！無論聖徒如今在世人眼中何等卑微、何等可鄙，無論多少輕蔑傾倒在他們身上；他們是 至高者的聖民；他們與神親近、為神所寶愛，神認他們為自己的，並且 審判交给了他們。[5.] 此處最著重的乃是：至高者的聖民必要得國享受，直到永遠，Da 7:18。又（Da 7:22）：聖民得國的時候到了。又（Da 7:27）：國度、權柄，和天下諸國的大權，必賜給至高者的聖民。我們斷不可從此推論說政權建於恩典之上，或這能容許任何人以聖徒身分為名僭取王權。不；基督的國不屬這世界；這話所指的，是聖民對自己私慾敗壞的屬靈治理，是他們勝過撒但及其試探的勝利，是殉道者勝過死亡及其威嚇的誇勝。這也應許：福音之國——恩典之國——將被設立，其特權與安慰如今在 天下 要作 天上榮耀之國 的憑據與初熟果子。當帝國歸信基督教，君王以權力護衛並推廣基督教，那時 聖民便得國 了。聖民是因聖靈在他們裡面治理而治理（這勝了世界的，是我們的信心），並使世上諸國成為基督之國。但這事的完全應驗在於聖民永遠的福樂——那不能震動的國，我們照他的應許所等候的（那就是 國之大權）；那不能衰殘的榮耀冠冕——那就是 永遠的國。請看此處對這事的強調（Da 7:18）：聖民要 得國享受，直到永永遠遠；原因是：他們所屬的那一位是 至高者，他的國是永遠的，Da 7:27。他是如此，所以他們的也必如此。因為我活着，你們也要活着，Joh 14:19。他的國就是他們的國；他們看自己在他高升時也同得高升，並別無所求更大的尊榮與滿足，惟願 一切掌權的都事奉他、順從他——他們也必如此，Da 5:27。他們或被引到他的金杖之下順服，或被他的鐵杖打碎。
但以理在結束時告訴我們，這異象在他身上留下的印象；它使他的靈如此不支，以致 臉色 變了，看來蒼白；但他 把那事存記在心。注意，心必須是神聖之事的寶庫與倉房；我們當在那裡藏神的話，如童貞女馬利亞把基督的言語存在心裡，Lu 2:51。但以理 把那事存在心裡，不是為向教會隱藏，而是為教會保存，好使他从主所領受的能完整忠心地傳給百姓。注意，神的先知與牧者當把神之事寶藏於心，在其中好好消化。我們若要神的話在需要時隨口而出，就必須在一切時候把它存在心裡。
英文原文
The Vision of the Four Beasts (555 BC)
¹⁵ I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
¹⁶ I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
¹⁷ These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
¹⁸ But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
¹⁹ Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
²⁰ And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
²¹ I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
²² Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
²³ Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
²⁴ And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
²⁵ And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
²⁶ But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
²⁷ And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
²⁸ Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
Here we have, I. The deep impressions which these visions made upon the prophet. God in them put honour upon him, and gave him satisfaction, yet not without a great allay of pain and perplexity (Da 7:15): I Daniel was grieved in my spirit, in the midst of my body. The word here used for the body properly signifies a sheath or scabbard, for the body is no more to the soul; that is the weapon; it is that which we are principally to take care of. The visions of my head troubled me, and again (Da 7:28), my cogitations much troubled me. The manner in which these things were discovered to him quite overwhelmed him, and put his thoughts so much to the stretch that his spirits failed him, and the trance he was in tired him and made him faint. The things themselves that were discovered amazed and astonished him, and put him into a confusion, till by degrees he recollected and conquered himself, and set the comforts of the vision over against the terrors of it.
II. His earnest desire to understand the meaning of them (Da 7:16): I came near to one of those that stood by, to one of the angels that appeared attending the Son of man in his glory, and asked him the truth (the true intent and meaning) of all this. Note, It is a very desirable thing to take the right and full sense of what we see and hear from God; and those that would know must ask by faithful and fervent prayer and by accomplishing a diligent search.
III. The key that was given him, to let him into the understanding of this vision. The angel told him, and told him so plainly that he made him know the interpretation of the thing, and so made him somewhat more easy.
1. The great beasts are great kings and their kingdoms, great monarchs and their monarchies, which shall arise out of the earth, as those beasts did out of the sea, Da 7:17. They are but terræfilii—from beneath; they savour of the earth, and their foundation is in the dust; they are of the earth earthy, and they are written in the dust, and to the dust they shall return.
2. Daniel pretty well understands the first three beasts, but concerning the fourth he desires to be better informed, because it differed so much from the rest, and was exceedingly dreadful, and not only so, but very mischievous, or it devoured and broke in pieces, Da 7:19. Perhaps it was this that put Daniel into such a fright, and this part of the visions of his head troubled him more than any of the rest. But especially he desired to know what the little horn was, that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke very great things, and whose countenance was more fearless and formidable than that of any of his fellows, Da 7:20. And this he was most inquisitive about because it was this horn that made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, Da 7:21. While no more is intimated than that the children of men make war with one another, and prevail against one another, the prophet does not show himself so much concerned (let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth, and be dashed in pieces one against another); but when they make war with the saints, when the precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, are broken as earthen pitchers, it is time to ask, "What is the meaning of this? Will the Lord cast off his people? Will he suffer their enemies to trample upon them and triumph over them? What is this same horn that shall prevail so far against the saints?" To this his interpreter answers (Da 7:23-25) that this fourth beast is a fourth kingdom, that shall devour the whole earth, or (as it may be read) the whole land. That the ten horns are ten kings, and the little horn is another king that shall subdue three kings, and shall be very abusive to God and his people, shall act, (1.) Very impiously towards God. He shall speak great words against the Most High, setting him, and his authority and justice, at defiance. (2.) Very imperiously towards the people of God. He shall wear out the saints of the Most High; he will not cut them off at once, but wear them out by long oppressions and a constant course of hardships put upon them, ruining their estates and weakening their families. The design of Satan has been to wear out the saints of the Most High, that they may be no more in remembrance; but the attempt is vain, for while the world stands God will have a church in it. He shall think to change times and laws, to abolish all the ordinances and institutions of religion, and to bring every body to say and do just as he would have them. He shall trample upon laws and customs, human and divine. Diruit, ædificut, mutat quadrata rotundis—He pulls down, he builds, he changes square into round, as if he meant to alter even the ordinances of heaven themselves. And in these daring attempts he shall for a time prosper and have success; they shall be given into his hand until time, times, and half a time (that is, for three years and a half), that famous prophetical measure of time which we meet with in the Revelation, which is sometimes called forty-two months, sometimes 1260 days, which come all to one. But at the end of that time the judgment shall sit and take away his dominion (Da 7:26), which he expounds (Da 7:11) of the beast being slain and his body destroyed. And (as Mr. Mede reads Da 7:12) as to the rest of the beast, the ten horns, especially the little ruffling horn (as he calls it), they had their dominion taken away. Now the question is, Who is this enemy, whose rise, reign, and ruin, are foretold? Interpreters are not agreed. Some will have the fourth kingdom to be that of the Seleucidæ, and the little horn to be Antiochus, and show the accomplishment of all this in the history of the Maccabees; so Junius, Piscator, Polanus, Broughton, and many others: but others will have the fourth kingdom to be that of the Romans, and the little horn to be Julius Cæsar, and the succeeding emperors (says Calvin), the antichrist, the papal kingdom (says Mr. Joseph Mede), that wicked one, which, as this little horn, is to be consumed by the brightness of Christ's second coming. The pope assumes a power to change times and laws, potestas autokratorike—an absolute and despotic power, as he calls it. Others make the little horn to be the Turkish empire; so Luther, Vatablus, and others. Now I cannot prove either side to be wrong; and therefore, since prophecies sometimes have many fulfillings, and we ought to give scripture its full latitude (in this as in many other controversies), I am willing to allow that they are both in the right, and that this prophecy has primary reference to the Syrian empire, and was intended for the encouragement of the Jews who suffered under Antiochus, that they might see even these melancholy times foretold, but might foresee a glorious issue of them at last, and the final overthrow of their proud oppressors; and, which is best of all, might foresee, not long after, the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah in the world, with the hopes of which it was usual with the former prophets to comfort the people of God in their distresses. But yet it has a further reference, and foretels the like persecuting power and rage in Rome heathen, and no less in Rome papal, against the Christian religion, that was in Antiochus against the pious Jews and their religion. And St. John, in his visions and prophecies, which point primarily at Rome, has plain reference, in many particulars, to these visions of Daniel.
3. He has a joyful prospect given him of the prevalency of God's kingdom among men, and its victory over all opposition at last. And it is very observable that in the midst of the predictions of the force and fury of the enemies this is brought in abruptly (Da 7:18,22), before it comes, in the course of the vision, to be interpreted, Da 7:26,27. And this also refers, (1.) To the prosperous days of the Jewish church, after it had weathered the storm under Antiochus, and the power which the Maccabees obtained over their enemies. (2.) To the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah in the world by the preaching of his gospel. For judgment Christ comes into this world, to rule by his Spirit, and to make all his saints kings and priests to their God. (3.) To the second coming of Jesus Christ, when the saints shall judge the world, shall sit down with him on his throne and triumph in the complete downfall of the devil's kingdom. Let us see what is here foretold. [1.] The Ancient of days shall come, Da 7:22. God shall judge the world by his Son, to whom he has committed all judgment, and, as an earnest of that, he comes for the deliverance of his oppressed people, comes for the setting up of his kingdom in the world. [2.] The judgment shall sit, Da 7:26. God will make it appear that he judges in the earth, and will, both in wisdom and in equity, plead his people's righteous cause. At the great day he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained. [3.] The dominion of the enemy shall be taken away, Da 7:26. All Christ's enemies shall be made his footstool, and shall be consumed and destroyed to the end: these were the apostle uses concerning the man of sin, 2Th 2:8. He shall be consumed with the spirit of Christ's mouth and destroyed with the brightness of his coming. [4.] Judgment is given to the saints of the Most High. The apostles are entrusted with the preaching of a gospel by which the world shall be judged. All the saints by their faith and obedience condemn an unbelieving disobedient world; in Christ their head they shall judge the world, shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel, Mt 19:28. See what reason we have to honour those that fear the Lord; how mean and despicable soever the saints now appear in the eye of the world, and how much contempt soever is poured upon them; they are the saints of the Most High; they are near and dear to God, and he owns them for his, and judgment is given to them. [5.] That which is most insisted upon is that the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, Da 7:18. And again (Da 7:22), The time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. And again (Da 7:27), The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. Far be it from us to infer hence that dominion is founded on grace, or that this will warrant any, under pretence of saintship, to usurp kingship. No; Christ's kingdom is not of this world; but this intimates the spiritual dominion of the saints over their own lusts and corruptions, their victories over Satan and his temptations, and the triumphs of the martyrs over death and its terrors. It likewise promises that the gospel kingdom shall be set up, a kingdom of grace, the privileges and comforts of which now, under the heavens, shall be the earnest and first-fruits of the kingdom of glory in the heavens. When the empire became Christian, and princes used their power for the defence and advancement of Christianity, then the saints possessed the kingdom. The saints rule by the Spirit's ruling in them (and this is the victory overcoming the world, even their faith) and by making the kingdoms of this world to become Christ's kingdom. But the full accomplishment of this will be in the everlasting happiness of the saints, the kingdom that cannot be moved, which we, according to his promise, look for (that is the greatness of the kingdom), the crown of glory that fades not away—that is the everlasting kingdom. See what an emphasis is laid upon this (Da 7:18): The saints shall possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever; and the reason is because he whose saints they are is the Most High and his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, Da 7:27. He is so, and therefore theirs shall be so. Because I live, you shall live also, Joh 14:19. His kingdom is theirs; they reckon themselves exalted in his exaltation, and desire no greater honour and satisfaction to themselves than that all dominions should serve and obey him, as they shall do, Da 5:27. They shall either be brought into subjection to his golden sceptre or brought to destruction by his iron rod.
Daniel, in the close, when he ends that matter, tells us what impressions this vision made upon him; it overwhelmed his spirits to such a degree that his countenance was changed, and it made him look pale; but he kept the matter in his heart. Note, The heart must be the treasury and store-house of divine things; there we must hide God's word, as the Virgin Mary kept the sayings of Christ, Lu 2:51. Daniel kept the matter in his heart, with a design, not to keep it from the church, but to keep it for the church, that what he had received from the Lord he might fully and faithfully deliver to the people. Note, It concerns God's prophets and ministers to treasure up the things of God in their minds, and there to digest them well. If we would have God's word ready in our mouths when we have occasion for it, we must keep it in our hearts at all times.
本書的前六章是歷史；我們如今懷著戰兢與敬畏進入後六章，那些是預言，其中有許多隱晦難明之事——我們不敢斷然確定其意義；但也有許多明白且有益之事——我信神必使我們能善加應用。本章中我們看到：I. 但以理關於四獸的異象（Da 7:1-8）。II. 他關於神治理與審判寶座的異象（Da 7:9-14）。III. 一位侍立天使對這些異象的解釋（Da 7:15-28）。這些異象究竟是遠指末時，還是將迅速應驗，實難斷言；連最審慎的解經家對此也未有一致意見。