which was actually fulfilled after Joseph's
exaltation in Egypt. The chief butler's dream of the vine with three
branches bearing grapes, which he took and pressed into the king's cup,
was interpretated by Joseph as signifying the butler's restoration in
three days to his former position of cup-bearer to the king; while the
chief baker's dream of the three baskets upon his head, out of which the
birds ate, was interpretated as signifying his execution in the same
length of time. Gen. 40. Pharaoh's dream of the seven fat kine and the
seven lean kine, also of the seven full ears and the seven thin ears,
signified seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Gen. 41.

Again, the four divisions of King Nebuchadnezzar's wonderful image was
explained by Daniel as signifying four universal monarchies and the ten
toes as signifying the ten minor kingdoms which grew out of the fourth;
while the stone that was cut out of the mountain without human
intervention he interpreted as signifying the divine kingdom of God.
Dan. 2. The two-horned ram of Daniel's vision (chap. 8), according to
the explanation of the angel, symbolized the Medo-Persian empire, its
two horns signifying the two dynasties of allied kings that composed it.
The he-goat signified the Greco-Macedonian empire; his great horn, its
first mighty king; and the four horns that replaced the great one when
broken represented four kings under whom the empire would eventually be
divided into as many parts. In the Apocalypse itself we have a number of
symbols divinely interpreted, "The seven stars are the angels of the
seven churches." "The seven candle-sticks which thou sawest are the
seven churches." "The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings." "The
waters which thou sawest ... are peoples, and multitudes, and nations,
and tongues." "The woman which thou sawest is that great city which
reigneth over the kings of the earth," etc.

It will be seen that the great underlying principle or _law_ upon which
symbolic language is based is ANALOGY. An object is chosen to represent
not itself, but something of analagous character.

Webster defines _symbol_ as follows: "The sign or representation of any
moral thing by the images or properties of natural things. Thus, a lion
is the _symbol_ of courage; the lamb is the _symbol_ of meekness or
patience." Home, in his Introduction to the Study of the Bible, says:
"By symbols we mean certain representative marks, rather than expres