Page:Mahometanism in its relation to prophecy - or, an inquiry into the prophecies concerning antichrist, with some reference to their bearing on the events of the present day (IA mahometanisminit00philrich).pdf/37

 that in six years he subdued a large portion of Europe and the whole of Asia. That it had four heads, is to be understood of the subdivision of Alexander's empire, immediately after his death, between his four principal generals, viz. : Ptolemy, Seleucus, Philip, and Antigonus." St. Jerome then proceeds in his commentary to the fourth beast. '' "'After this,' saith the Prophet, ' I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo! a fourth beast, terrible and wonderful, and exceeding strong; it had great iron teeth and it had ten horns: I considered the horns, and behold another little horn sprung out of the midst of them: and three of the first horns were plucked up at the presence thereof: and behold eyes like the eyes of a man were in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.'  This fourth beast signifieth the Roman empire, which now governs the whole world; and it corresponds with that part of Nabuchodonosor's statue, of which it is said,  'its legs were of iron, but the feet part of iron and part of potter's clay:' '' in this place it is only the iron that is referred to, the Prophet witnessing 'that it had great iron teeth.' And here I wonder not a little, that whereas the Prophet had compared the three former empires to beasts, the habits of which we are acquainted with, such as the lioness, the bear, and the