4 REV. ANDREW CRAIG ROBINSON, M.A., ON DARIUS 



brought to an end the distinct and independent kingdom of 

 Media — for that kingdom had passed away, by amalgamation 

 with the kingdom of Persia, some two hundred years before 

 Alexander the Great was born. 



By the symbolism of this vision, then, it would appear that 

 the writer of the Book of Daniel regarded the Medes and Persians 

 united ; which, of course, they were ; and the four great 

 Kingdoms signified in the vision of Daniel were : The Babylonian, 

 the Medo-Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman. The same 

 Four Kingdoms are signified in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, 

 whilst the prophecy of that Kingdom which in the days of those 

 kings the God of heaven should set up — which should never be 

 destroyed, but should stand for ever — was the kingdom of the 

 Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. 



So be it. Lord ; Thy throne shall never. 

 Like earth's proud empires, pass away ; 



But stand, and rule, and grow for ever. 

 Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway." 



Nor is it only from the symbolism of the vision that it appears 

 that the writer of the Book of Daniel regarded the Medes and 

 Persians as united, but it is also evident from the expression 

 which so frequently occurs, " according to the law of the Medes 

 and Persians which altereth not." In the 6th chapter, containing 

 the episode of the den of lions — a chapter very particularly 

 concerned with Darius the Mede — the expression occurs three 

 times, being once used by Darius himself, and another time by 

 his courtiers, when they finally compelled the King to bend 

 to their wishes, by the words, " Know, 0 King, that the law 

 of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree nor statute which 

 the king establisheth may be changed." 



And it is a remarkable circumstance — noticed long ago by 

 Dr. Pusey — that in the Book of Esther, where also the two 

 names occur linked together, the order of the names is reversed. 

 In the Book of Daniel, it is, " the law of the Medes and Persians," 

 whilst in the Book of Esther it is " the laws of the Persians and 

 the Medes " (Esth., i, 19). Compare Esth. i, 3, " the power of 

 Persia and Media," ver. 14, " the seven princes of Persia and 

 Media " ; and ver. 18, " the ladies of Persia and Media." That 

 is to say, the Book of Daniel, written — so it is contended in this 



