Daniel 2
Among the prophet Daniel’s multiple visions, he is given three concerning a statue and two groups of creatures that are identified as kingdoms that will appear on the earth. The vision of the statue is revealed in chapter 2. The statue is a figure in a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The king could not find any wisemen to interpret the dream for him so, in his anger, he set out to destroy all the wisemen of the country. Daniel, one of the king’s wisemen, became aware of this and sent message to the king to allow him time to get the interpretation. He was allowed time and the Lord revealed the meaning of the dream to Daniel. The statue consisted of four parts. The first was a golden head. The second was a chest and arms of silver. The third were loins of bronze. The fourth were legs of iron with feet of mixed iron and clay. Daniel reveals to the king that he is the head of gold. The silver and bronze were two kingdoms that would follow his. The legs of iron were a kingdom that would very strong and crush all others. The feet of clay and iron reveal that part of the kingdom will be strong and part brittle. During the fourth kingdom God would set up His everlasting kingdom. From history and later chapters of Daniel, we learn that these four kingdoms are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. It is during Rome, the fourth kingdom, that Christ initiates the kingdom of God on earth through the presence of His church.
Daniel 7
Daniel’s second vision of creatures is found in chapter 7. It consists of four beasts representing four kingdoms. They are a lion, a bear, a leopard, and the fourth a terrifying beast with iron teeth. Daniel inquires about the identity of the fourth beast. He is told this beast will devour, crush, and trample all the previous kingdoms. He will wear down the saints of the Most High. His rule will eventually be taken away by the heavenly court and given to the saints of the Most High for eternity.
We now compare the fourth portion of the statue with the fourth kingdom of the beast with iron teeth. Both are identified with iron. Both are the last kingdom. Both end, being destroyed and replaced by the everlasting kingdom of God.
Daniel 8
In Daniel chapter 8 is his third vision of creatures. The creatures are identified as a ram with two long horns, one longer than the other, and a goat with a conspicuous horn between its eyes. The ram was trampled down and destroyed by the goat. The goat magnifies his own greatness, but as soon as he does, his horn is broken and in its place four different horns spring up. We know from history that Greece was divided up among Alexander the Great’s four generals after his death. From one of these horns, a smaller horn sprang up that grew very powerful. This horn removes the sacrifice from the temple of God in Jerusalem. Then Daniel is told that this part of the vision pertains to the time of the end. The angel reveals that the ram and the goat are identified as Medo-Persia and Greece. The little horn that sprouts from Greece is a leader of a nation identified with the end time.
Identification Complete
So gradually we have found clear identification of the first three of the four kingdoms of Daniel chapters 2 and 7. The first was revealed by Daniel as Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon. The second and third are identified by the angel as Medo-Persia and Greece in chapter 8. Daniel 2:39-40 also indicate the sequential order of these four kingdoms. The naming of the fourth kingdom is left to the unfolding events of history after Greece. We know this kingdom as Rome. Rome in one form or another extends into modern times.
The Two Phases of Redemption
And, as the kingdom of God on earth is realized in two phases as the first and second advents of Christ, so too will the beast from the fourth kingdom arise twice. In Daniel 8:9, the little horn arising from the Greek kingdom appears. This little horn can be identified with Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Greek vassal of Rome. In 167 B.C. he halts the temple sacrifice of the Jews and desecrates the temple in Jerusalem with a statue of Zeus. His death follows three years later. In further prophesy, delivered in Daniel 9:27 and 12:11, we learn about a future leader of a kingdom known as the “prince who is to come” who will desecrate the temple in Jerusalem with the abomination of desolation. The time placement for this event is at the end of time according to Daniel 12:4. This period of time is also known as the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy of seventy weeks which can be determined from the text of Daniel 9:24-27. This final week is the topic of Revelation chapters 11 and 13.
The Resurrection of Rome
Rome existed in one form or other until Napoleon caused the abdication of the last Holy Roman Emperor in 1807. The Holy Roman Empire existed only figuratively through the Kaisers in Germany and Austria until World War I. The restoration of Israel following WW II seems to fit the context of the end times events positioning themselves for coming fulfillment of prophecy. From the repetition of these themes in Daniel’s visions, we can conclude that Rome, likely revived from the European Union, will be the source of the coming antichrist of the New Testament.