II.
The interpretation by Hippolytus, (bishop) of
Rome, of the visions of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, taken in
conjunction.
1. In speaking of a “lioness from the
sea,” he meant the
rising of the kingdom of Babylon, and that this was the “golden
head of the image.” And in speaking of its “eagle
wings,” he meant that king Nebuchadnezzar was exalted and that
his glory was lifted up against God. Then he says “its
wings were plucked off,” i.e., that his glory was destroyed; for
he was driven out of his kingdom. And the words, “A
man’s heart was given it, and it was made stand upon the feet of
a man,” mean that he came to himself again, and recognised that
he was but a man, and gave the glory to God. Then after the
lioness he sees a second beast, “like a bear,” which
signified the Persians. For after the Babylonians the Persians
obtained the power. And in saying that “it had three ribs
in its mouth,” he pointed to the three nations, Persians, Medes, and Babylonians, which were expressed in the image by the silver after the gold. Then comes the third beast, “a leopard,” which means the Greeks; for after the Persians, Alexander of Macedon had the power, when Darius was overthrown, which was also indicated by the brass in the image. And in saying that the beast “had four wings of a fowl, and four heads,” he showed most clearly how the kingdom of Alexander was parted into four divisions. For in speaking of four heads, he meant the four kings that arose out of it. For Alexander, when dying, divided his kingdom into four parts. Then he says, “The fourth beast (was) dreadful and terrible: it had iron teeth, and claws of brass.” Who, then, are meant by this but the Romans, whose kingdom, the kingdom that still stands, is expressed by the iron? “for,” says he, “its legs are of iron.”
2. After this, then, what remains, beloved, but
the toes of the feet of the image, in which “part shall be of
iron and part of clay mixed together?” By the toes of the
feet he meant, mystically, the ten kings that rise out of that
kingdom. As Daniel says, “I considered the beast; and, lo, (there were) ten horns behind, among which shall come up another little horn springing from them;” by which none other is meant than the antichrist that is to rise; and he shall set up the kingdom of Judah. And in saying that “three horns” were “plucked up by the roots” by this one, he indicates the three kings of Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia, whom this one will slay in the array of war. And when he has conquered all, he will prove himself a terrible and savage tyrant, and will cause tribulation and persecution to the saints, exalting himself against them. And after him, it remains that “the stone” shall come from heaven which “smote the image” and shivered it, and subverted all the kingdoms, and gave the kingdom to the saints of the Most High. This “became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”
3. As these things, then, are destined to
come to pass, and as the toes of the image turn out to be
democracies, and the ten
horns of the beast are distributed among ten kings, let us look at what
is before us more carefully, and scan it, as it were, with open
eye. The “golden head of the image” is identical with
the “lioness,” by which the Babylonians were
represented. “The golden shoulders and the arms of
silver” are the same with the “bear,” by which the
Persians and Medes are meant. “The belly and
thighs of brass” are the
“leopard,” by which the Greeks who ruled from Alexander
onwards are intended. The “legs of iron” are the
“dreadful and terrible beast,” by which the Romans who hold
the empire now are meant. The “toes of clay and iron” are the “ten horns” which are to be. The “one other little horn springing up in their midst” is the “antichrist.” The stone that “smites the image and breaks it in pieces,” and that filled the whole earth, is Christ, who comes from heaven and brings judgment on the world.