Four monarchies
Encyclopedia
The four kingdoms refers to four monarchies, or world empires, described in dreams and visions in the Book of Daniel
of the Hebrew Bible
. The actual term "four kingdoms" occurs once, found in Daniel 8:22. These four kingdoms are described in different ways throughout Daniel, beginning with chapter 2 and paralleling with chapter 7, chapter 8 and chapter 11. Since Classical antiquity
, expositors on Daniel have offered various identies for each of the "four kingdoms", often with a historicist approach.
, and the advocates of Realized/Sapiential Eschatology
, would say that the Book of Daniel is primarily historical, but also significant as godly instruction.
A summary of leading Christian readings of Daniel 7 is in the table in the Daniel 7 Appendix. Many scholars have held that Rome was the fourth beast; a few that the fourth beast was the Ptolemies and Seleucids. From the time of the Protestant Reformation
in the 16th century, the 'four monarchies' model became widely used for universal history
, in parallel with eschatology
, among Protestants. There were still some defenders of its use in universal history in the early 18th century; but the periodization with a 'Middle Age' came in strongly from philology
, with Christopher Cellarius, based on the distinctive nature of medieval Latin
. The modern historicist interpretations and eschatological views of the Book of Daniel with the Book of Revelation
, closely resemble, and are a continuation of, some earlier historical Protestant interpretations.
There are references in classical literature and arts that apparently predate the use of the succession of kingdoms in the Book of Daniel. One is in Aemilius Sura, who is quoted by Velleius Paterculus. This gives Assyria, Media, Persia and Macedonia as the imperial powers. The fifth empire became identified with the Romans. (After the 17th century, the concept of a fifth monarchy was re-introduced from Christian millennarian ideas.)
An interpretation that has become orthodox after Swain is that the 'four kingdoms' theory became the property of Greek and Roman writers at the beginning of the 1st century BCE, as an import from Asia Minor. They built on a three-kingdom sequence, already mentioned in Herodotus
and Ctesias
. This dating and origin has been contested by Mendels, who places it later in the century.
Jewish Reconstructionists
and Full Preterists
believe that Daniel is completely fulfilled, and that the believers are now working to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
Two main schools of thought on the four kingdoms of Daniel, is:
and Christian Historicists, Futurists, Dispensationalists, Partial Preterists
, and other futuristic Jewish and Christian hybrids, as well as certain Messianic Jews, who typically believe that the kingdoms in Daniel (with variations) are:
This was the scheme described by Jerome
in his Commentary on Daniel. Within this framework there are numerous variations.
's Book of Revelation
. In Revelation , John divided the kingdoms the same way as the Jews of his day would have, speaking of five kings that "were" (from Babylon to the Seleucids), one that "is" (the Roman Empire
), with a seventh that was "yet to come" which would "become an eighth, but is of the seven." A beast in Revelation 13 was also interpreted as the empire of Rome. The "city on seven hills" in Revelation is understood by the majority of modern scholarly commentators as a reference to Rome.
, Idealists
, certain Reconstructionists
and other non-futurists likewise typically believe in the same general sequence, but they teach that Daniel's prophecies ended with the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, and have little to no implications beyond that. Jewish
and Christian Futurists
, Dispensationalists
, and, to some degree, Partial Preterists
believe that the prophecies of Daniel stopped with the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem; but will resume at some point in the future after a gap in prophecy that accounts for the Church Age.
Most secular historians and higher critics, and some contemporary Jewish and Christian scholars, advocate a scheme of interpreting the kingdoms in the Book of Daniel within the context of these kingdoms that had ruled over Judea
, for something over 400 years. The Maccabean Revolt concluded with the Jews' victory over the Seleucids on the Day of Nicanor, 161 BC. This school of interpretation references the development of the Jewish canon, which ended during the Hasmonean period
, to date the Book of Daniel.
, medieval Jewish commentators, Christian Church Fathers, Jerome
, and Calvin
.
Jerome
specifically identified the four kingdoms of Daniel 2 in this way. The 'four monarchies' theory existed alongside the Six Ages and the Three Eras
, as general historical structures, in the work of Augustine of Hippo
, a contemporary of Jerome.
During the Medieval ages, the orthodox Christian interpretation followed the commentary by Jerome on the Book of Daniel. It tied the fourth monarchy and its end to the end of the Roman Empire; which was considered not to have yet come to pass. This is the case for example in the tenth-century writer Adso
, whose Libellus de Antichristo incorporated the characteristic medieval myth of the Last World Emperor. The principle of translatio imperii
was used by Otto of Freising
, who took the Holy Roman Empire
to be the continuation of the Roman Empire (as fourth monarchy).
, Joseph Mede
, and John Lightfoot
. Mede and other writers (such as William Guild
, Edward Haughton and Nathaniel Stephens
) expected the imminent end of the fourth empire, and a new age. The early modern version of the four monarchies in universal history
was subsequently often attributed to the chronologist and astrologer
Johann Carion
, based on his Chronika (1532). Developments of his Protestant world chronology were endorsed in an influential preface of Philipp Melanchthon
(published 1557).
The theory was topical in the 1550s. Johann Sleidan in his De quatuor imperiis summis (1556) tried to summarise the status of the "four monarchies" as historical theory; he had already alluded to it in previous works. Sleidan's influential slant on the theory was both theological, with a Protestant tone of apocalyptic decline over time, and an appeal to German nationalist feeling in terms of translatio imperii. The Speculum coniugiorum (1556) of the jurist Alonso De la Vera Cruz, in New Spain
, indirectly analysed the theory. It cast doubts on the Holy Roman Emperor's universal imperium, by pointing out the historical 'monarchies' in question had in no case held exclusive sway. The Carion/Melanchthon view was that the Kingdom of Egypt
must be considered a subsidiary power to Babylon: just as France was secondary compared to the Empire.
The Catholic Jean Bodin
was concerned to argue against the whole theory of 'four monarchies' as a historical paradigm. He devoted a chapter to refuting it, alongside the classical scheme of a Golden Age
, in his 1566 Methodus ad facilem historiarum cognitionem.
and the disruption that followed, many Protestants were millennarians, believing they were living in the 'end of days'. The Fifth Monarchists
were a significant element of the Parliamentary grouping and, in January 1661, after Charles II took the throne following the English Restoration
, 50 militant Fifth Monarchists under Thomas Venner
attempted to take over London to start the 'Fifth Monarchy of King Jesus'. After the failure of this uprising, Fifth Monarchists became a quiescent and devotional part of religious dissent.
, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome
. They also hold to the traditional view that the "little horn" in Daniel 7:8 and 8:9 refers to the Papacy; the reference to changing "times and law" (Daniel 7:25) refers to the change of the Christian sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, and the attack on the sanctuary (Daniel 8:11) to the mediatorial ministry of Roman Catholic priests. The "time, times and half a time" (Daniel 7:25) represents a period of 1260 years spanning 538 CE and 1798 CE, when the Roman Catholic Church dominated the Christian world. The feet of the statue in Daniel 2, made of mixed iron and clay, represent modern Europe
.
(Nations in parentheses are interpretation of symbols as given in the text. Nations in small italics are Historicist interpretation. "One like a son of man" and "Michael" are understood to be the same being.)
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
of the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
. The actual term "four kingdoms" occurs once, found in Daniel 8:22. These four kingdoms are described in different ways throughout Daniel, beginning with chapter 2 and paralleling with chapter 7, chapter 8 and chapter 11. Since Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, expositors on Daniel have offered various identies for each of the "four kingdoms", often with a historicist approach.
Schools of thought
Interpretations of the prophetic content of the Book of Daniel differ as to its significance, if any, in historical terms. Some secular historians and certain critics would say that the Book of Daniel has little to no significance beyond its own contemporary historical setting. From some Christian and Jewish religious points of view, the relevance of the Book of Daniel to our own and future time is upheld. IdealistsIdealism (Christian eschatology)
Idealism in Christian eschatology is an interpretation of the Book of Revelation that sees all of the imagery of the book as non-literal symbols.Jacob Taubes writes that idealist eschatology came about as Renaissance thinkers began to doubt that the Kingdom of...
, and the advocates of Realized/Sapiential Eschatology
Realized eschatology
Realized eschatology is a Christian eschatological theory popularized by C. H. Dodd that holds that the eschatological passages in the New Testament do not refer to the future, but instead refer to the ministry of Jesus and his lasting legacy...
, would say that the Book of Daniel is primarily historical, but also significant as godly instruction.
A summary of leading Christian readings of Daniel 7 is in the table in the Daniel 7 Appendix. Many scholars have held that Rome was the fourth beast; a few that the fourth beast was the Ptolemies and Seleucids. From the time of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in the 16th century, the 'four monarchies' model became widely used for universal history
Universal history
Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Abrahamic wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of humankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.-Ancient authors:...
, in parallel with eschatology
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
, among Protestants. There were still some defenders of its use in universal history in the early 18th century; but the periodization with a 'Middle Age' came in strongly from philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
, with Christopher Cellarius, based on the distinctive nature of medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
. The modern historicist interpretations and eschatological views of the Book of Daniel with the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
, closely resemble, and are a continuation of, some earlier historical Protestant interpretations.
There are references in classical literature and arts that apparently predate the use of the succession of kingdoms in the Book of Daniel. One is in Aemilius Sura, who is quoted by Velleius Paterculus. This gives Assyria, Media, Persia and Macedonia as the imperial powers. The fifth empire became identified with the Romans. (After the 17th century, the concept of a fifth monarchy was re-introduced from Christian millennarian ideas.)
An interpretation that has become orthodox after Swain is that the 'four kingdoms' theory became the property of Greek and Roman writers at the beginning of the 1st century BCE, as an import from Asia Minor. They built on a three-kingdom sequence, already mentioned in Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
and Ctesias
Ctesias
Ctesias of Cnidus was a Greek physician and historian from Cnidus in Caria. Ctesias, who lived in the 5th century BC, was physician to Artaxerxes Mnemon, whom he accompanied in 401 BC on his expedition against his brother Cyrus the Younger....
. This dating and origin has been contested by Mendels, who places it later in the century.
Jewish Reconstructionists
Reconstructionist Judaism
Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan . The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. It originated as a branch of Conservative Judaism, before it splintered...
and Full Preterists
Preterism
Preterism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets prophecies of the Bible, especially Daniel and Revelation, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the...
believe that Daniel is completely fulfilled, and that the believers are now working to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
Two main schools of thought on the four kingdoms of Daniel, is:
- The traditionalist view, supports the unison of Medo-Persia and identifies the last kingdom as the Roman EmpireRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. - The Maccabean thesis, a view that supports the separation of the MedesMedesThe MedesThe Medes...
from the Persians and identifies the last kingdom as the Seleucid EmpireSeleucid EmpireThe Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
.
Roman Empire schema
The following interpretation is a traditional view of JewishJewish eschatology
Jewish eschatology is concerned with the Jewish Messiah, afterlife, and the revival of the dead. Eschatology, generically, is the area of theology and philosophy concerned with the final events in the history of the world, the ultimate destiny of humanity, and related concepts.-The Messiah:The...
and Christian Historicists, Futurists, Dispensationalists, Partial Preterists
Partial Preterism
Partial preterism is a form of Christian eschatology that places the events of most of the Book of Revelation as occurring during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD yet still affirms an orthodox future bodily return of Christ to earth at an unknown day and hour...
, and other futuristic Jewish and Christian hybrids, as well as certain Messianic Jews, who typically believe that the kingdoms in Daniel (with variations) are:
- Neo-Babylonian Empire
- Medo-Persian Empire
- Macedonian Empire of Alexander and his successors to the Ptolomaic and Seleucid Empires together, and
- Roman Empire, with other implications to come later.
This was the scheme described by Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
in his Commentary on Daniel. Within this framework there are numerous variations.
Use with Book of Revelation
Christian interpreters typically read the Book of Daniel with the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
's Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
. In Revelation , John divided the kingdoms the same way as the Jews of his day would have, speaking of five kings that "were" (from Babylon to the Seleucids), one that "is" (the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
), with a seventh that was "yet to come" which would "become an eighth, but is of the seven." A beast in Revelation 13 was also interpreted as the empire of Rome. The "city on seven hills" in Revelation is understood by the majority of modern scholarly commentators as a reference to Rome.
Second temple theory
Full PreteristsPreterism
Preterism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets prophecies of the Bible, especially Daniel and Revelation, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the...
, Idealists
Idealism (Christian eschatology)
Idealism in Christian eschatology is an interpretation of the Book of Revelation that sees all of the imagery of the book as non-literal symbols.Jacob Taubes writes that idealist eschatology came about as Renaissance thinkers began to doubt that the Kingdom of...
, certain Reconstructionists
Christian Reconstructionism
Christian Reconstructionism is a religious and theological movement within Evangelical Christianity that calls for Christians to put their faith into action in all areas of life, within the private sphere of life and the public and political sphere as well...
and other non-futurists likewise typically believe in the same general sequence, but they teach that Daniel's prophecies ended with the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, and have little to no implications beyond that. Jewish
Jewish eschatology
Jewish eschatology is concerned with the Jewish Messiah, afterlife, and the revival of the dead. Eschatology, generically, is the area of theology and philosophy concerned with the final events in the history of the world, the ultimate destiny of humanity, and related concepts.-The Messiah:The...
and Christian Futurists
Futurism (Christian eschatology)
Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets the Book of Revelation, the Book of Daniel, the Olivet discourse and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context...
, Dispensationalists
Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
, and, to some degree, Partial Preterists
Partial Preterism
Partial preterism is a form of Christian eschatology that places the events of most of the Book of Revelation as occurring during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD yet still affirms an orthodox future bodily return of Christ to earth at an unknown day and hour...
believe that the prophecies of Daniel stopped with the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem; but will resume at some point in the future after a gap in prophecy that accounts for the Church Age.
Maccabean thesis
A typical pre-Roman scheme includes:- the Neo-BabylonianBabylonian captivityThe Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
period of involvement from c. 587–539 BCE, - the Medo and PersianAchaemenid EmpireThe Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation...
period of involvement from c. 539–332 BCE, - the Macedonian period of involvement, starting with Alexander the Great and continuing through the DiadochiDiadochiThe Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...
from c. 332–305 BCE to - the PtolemaicPtolemaic dynastyThe Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
period of involvement from c. 305–219 BCE, and - the SeleucidSeleucid EmpireThe Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
period of involvement starting with Antiochus III Megas and culimating in the events of the Maccabean Revolt and the confrontation with Antiochus IV EpiphanesAntiochus IV EpiphanesAntiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great. His original name was Mithridates; he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne....
.
Most secular historians and higher critics, and some contemporary Jewish and Christian scholars, advocate a scheme of interpreting the kingdoms in the Book of Daniel within the context of these kingdoms that had ruled over Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
, for something over 400 years. The Maccabean Revolt concluded with the Jews' victory over the Seleucids on the Day of Nicanor, 161 BC. This school of interpretation references the development of the Jewish canon, which ended during the Hasmonean period
Hasmonean
The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...
, to date the Book of Daniel.
Traditional views
The traditional interpretation of the four kingdoms, shared among Jewish and Christian expositors, for over two millennia, is that of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. This view conforms to the text of Daniel, which considers the Medo-Persian Empire as one, as with the “law of the Medes and Persians”(6:8, 12, 15) These views have been supported by the Jewish TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, medieval Jewish commentators, Christian Church Fathers, Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
, and Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
.
Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
specifically identified the four kingdoms of Daniel 2 in this way. The 'four monarchies' theory existed alongside the Six Ages and the Three Eras
Three Eras
The Three Eras is a Judeo-Christian scheme of periods in historiography, called also Vaticinium Eliae . A three-period division of time appears in the Babylonian Talmud: the period before the giving of the law ; the period subject to the law; and the period of the Messiah...
, as general historical structures, in the work of Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, a contemporary of Jerome.
During the Medieval ages, the orthodox Christian interpretation followed the commentary by Jerome on the Book of Daniel. It tied the fourth monarchy and its end to the end of the Roman Empire; which was considered not to have yet come to pass. This is the case for example in the tenth-century writer Adso
Adso
Adso of Montier-en-Der was abbot of the Cluniac monastery of Montier-en-Der Abbey in France, and died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was one of the foremost European writers of the tenth century....
, whose Libellus de Antichristo incorporated the characteristic medieval myth of the Last World Emperor. The principle of translatio imperii
Translatio imperii
Translatio imperii, Latin for "transfer of rule", is a concept invented in the Middle Ages for describing history as a linear succession of transfers of imperium, that is of supreme power concentrated with a series of single rulers .-Origin:...
was used by Otto of Freising
Otto of Freising
Otto von Freising was a German bishop and chronicler.-Life:He was the fifth son of Leopold III, margrave of Austria, by his wife Agnes, daughter of the emperor Henry IV...
, who took the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
to be the continuation of the Roman Empire (as fourth monarchy).
Protestant Reformation
The eschatological theory of four monarchies was particularly emphasized by a series of Protestant theologians, such as Jerome ZanchiusJerome Zanchius
Girolamo Zanchi was an Italian Protestant Reformation clergyman and educator....
, Joseph Mede
Joseph Mede
Joseph Mede was an English scholar with a wide range of interests. He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he became a Fellow from 1613. He is now remembered as a biblical scholar. He was also a naturalist and Egyptologist...
, and John Lightfoot
John Lightfoot
John Lightfoot was an English churchman, rabbinical scholar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge.-Life:...
. Mede and other writers (such as William Guild
William Guild
-Life:The son of Matthew Guild, a wealthy armourer of Aberdeen, he was born at Aberdeen, and was educated at Marischal College. He received license to preach in 1605, and in 1608 was ordained minister of the parish of King Edward in his native county. Two years later his wealth was increased by...
, Edward Haughton and Nathaniel Stephens
Nathaniel Stephens (clergyman)
Nathaniel Stephens , was an English clergyman, ejected for nonconformity in 1662. He is now best known for his part in the early life of George Fox. He was a controversialist in the presbyterian interest, engaging also with Baptists, and with Gerard Winstanley. the universalist...
) expected the imminent end of the fourth empire, and a new age. The early modern version of the four monarchies in universal history
Universal history
Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Abrahamic wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of humankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.-Ancient authors:...
was subsequently often attributed to the chronologist and astrologer
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
Johann Carion
Johann Carion
Johann Carion was a German astrologer, known also for historical writings.-Life:He was court astrologer to Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg. A prognostication he published in 1521 gained him a later reputation of having predicted the Protestant Reformation, as well as a major flood in 1525 and...
, based on his Chronika (1532). Developments of his Protestant world chronology were endorsed in an influential preface of Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...
(published 1557).
The theory was topical in the 1550s. Johann Sleidan in his De quatuor imperiis summis (1556) tried to summarise the status of the "four monarchies" as historical theory; he had already alluded to it in previous works. Sleidan's influential slant on the theory was both theological, with a Protestant tone of apocalyptic decline over time, and an appeal to German nationalist feeling in terms of translatio imperii. The Speculum coniugiorum (1556) of the jurist Alonso De la Vera Cruz, in New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
, indirectly analysed the theory. It cast doubts on the Holy Roman Emperor's universal imperium, by pointing out the historical 'monarchies' in question had in no case held exclusive sway. The Carion/Melanchthon view was that the Kingdom of Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
must be considered a subsidiary power to Babylon: just as France was secondary compared to the Empire.
Jean Bodin
Jean Bodin was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is best known for his theory of sovereignty; he was also an influential writer on demonology....
was concerned to argue against the whole theory of 'four monarchies' as a historical paradigm. He devoted a chapter to refuting it, alongside the classical scheme of a Golden Age
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...
, in his 1566 Methodus ad facilem historiarum cognitionem.
Fifth Monarchists
In the conditions leading to the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and the disruption that followed, many Protestants were millennarians, believing they were living in the 'end of days'. The Fifth Monarchists
Fifth Monarchists
The Fifth Monarchists or Fifth Monarchy Men were active from 1649 to 1661 during the Interregnum, following the English Civil Wars of the 17th century. They took their name from a prophecy in the Book of Daniel that four ancient monarchies would precede Christ's return...
were a significant element of the Parliamentary grouping and, in January 1661, after Charles II took the throne following the English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, 50 militant Fifth Monarchists under Thomas Venner
Thomas Venner
Thomas Venner was a cooper and rebel who became the last leader of the Fifth Monarchy Men, who tried unsuccessfully to overthrow Oliver Cromwell in 1657, and subsequently led a coup in London against the newly-restored government of Charles II...
attempted to take over London to start the 'Fifth Monarchy of King Jesus'. After the failure of this uprising, Fifth Monarchists became a quiescent and devotional part of religious dissent.
Seventh-day Adventist view
The Seventh-day Adventist Church shares the traditional view that the four kingdoms of Daniel, as paralleled in chapters 2 and 7, correspond to BabylonBabylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. They also hold to the traditional view that the "little horn" in Daniel 7:8 and 8:9 refers to the Papacy; the reference to changing "times and law" (Daniel 7:25) refers to the change of the Christian sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, and the attack on the sanctuary (Daniel 8:11) to the mediatorial ministry of Roman Catholic priests. The "time, times and half a time" (Daniel 7:25) represents a period of 1260 years spanning 538 CE and 1798 CE, when the Roman Catholic Church dominated the Christian world. The feet of the statue in Daniel 2, made of mixed iron and clay, represent modern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Appendix
| Chapter | Pre-Roman interpretation of Daniel's kingdoms | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Maccabean Revolt | Maccabean Revolt | Future Perspective (if any) |
||||
| Daniel 2 | Gold Head is Babylon | Silver Arms are Medo-Pesian | Bronze Torso is Macedonia | Legs of Iron are the Ptolemies and Seleucids | Feet of Iron & Clay are kingdoms under Antiochus III Megas. "Little horn" is Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The "Stone" is Judas Maccabees. | Separate issues |
| Daniel 7 | Winged Lion is Medo-Persia | Lopsided Bear is Macedonia | Four-winged Leopard is Diodachi, leads to Ptolemys and Seleucids | Iron-toothed beast is combined Empires under Antiochus IV Epiphanes | Separate issues | |
| Daniel 8 | 2-horned Ram is Medo-Persia | 4-horned Goat is Macedonia | Ptolemys and Seleucids | Combined Empires | Separate issues | |
| Daniel 11-12 | Kings of Medo-Persia | Macedonia | Ptolemies and Seleucids | Combined Empires | Separate issues | |
| Chapter | Pre-Reformation Historicist interpretations of Daniel Summary | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel 7 | Majority | Winged Lion is Babylon | Bear is Medo-Persia | Leopard is Macedonians | Great and terrible beast is Rome | Little Horn = Antichrist | God's Kingdom | |
| Minority | Winged Lion is Babylon | Bear is Medo-Persia | Leopard is Macedonians | little Horn = Antiochus | God's Kingdom | |||
| Daniel 8 | Different | The Great Ram = Medo-Persia |
The Very Great Goat = Macedonia |
Exceedingly Great Horn identified as Antichrist | God's Kingdom | |||
| Views | The Great Ram = Medo-Persia |
The Very Great Goat = Macedonia |
Exceedingly Great Horn identified as Antiochus |
God's Kingdom | ||||
| Daniel 11-12 | Medo-Persia | Macedonia | Rome | God's Kingdom | ||||
| Chapter | Interpretations of Daniel from the 4th century to the Reformation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jewish History | Roman Occupation | Future antichristian empire | |||
| Daniel 7 | Winged Lion is Medo-Persia | Lopsided Bear is Macedonia | Leopard is Ptolemys & Seleucids | Iron-toothed beast is Romans | Future antichristian empire |
| Daniel 8 | Ram is Medo-Persia | Goat is Macedonia | Little Horn is Seleucids | The "Son of Man" cleanses the Sanctuary during the Roman occupation | Future antichristian empire |
| Daniel 11-12 | Medo-Persia | Macedonia | Ptolemys and Seleucids | Romans | Future antichristian empire |
| Chapter | Interpretation of Daniel as understood by Reformation Historicists | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past | Present | Future | ||||
| Daniel 2 | Head Gold (Babylon) |
Chest & 2 arms Silver |
Belly and thighs Bronze |
2 Legs Iron |
2 Feet with toes Clay & Iron |
Rock God's unending kingdom left to no other people |
| Daniel 7 | Winged Lion | Lopsided Bear | 4 Heads/4 Wings Leopard |
Iron-toothed Beast w/Little Horn |
Judgment scene Beast slain |
A son of man comes in clouds Given everlasting dominion He gives it to the saints. |
| Daniel 8 | 2-horned Ram (Media-Persia) |
Uni- / 4-horned Goat 4 Winds (Greece) |
Little Horn A Master of Intrigue |
Cleansing of Sanctuary Leads to: --> |
(Kingdom of God) | |
| Daniel 11-12 | Kings (Persia) |
North & South Kings 4 Winds (Greece) |
North & South Kings A Contemptible Person of Intrigue Pagan & Papal Rome |
North & South Kings End Times Global religio-political Government |
Michael stands up Many dead awake To everlasting life |
|
External links
- John H. WaltonJohn H. Walton (theologian)John H. Walton is a professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College. He formerly was a professor at Moody Bible Institute for 20 years. His primary focus is in areas of comparison between the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East, particularly Genesis...
, "The Four Kingdoms Of Daniel," JETSJournal of the Evangelical Theological SocietyThe Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society is a refereed theological journal published by the Evangelical Theological Society. It was first published in 1958 as the Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society, and was given its present name in 1969.- External links :* ** in PDF format;...
29 (1986), 25-36. - Utopian and Historical Thinking: Interplays and Transferences (PDF)