Four Prophesied Kingdoms The book of Daniel addresses many of the other great prophecies in the Bible. The second chapter contains a prophecy spanning over 2,500 years, concluding with Christ’s Second Coming. This prophecy pictures a giant man consisting of four metals (gold, silver, brass, and iron mixed with clay), which represent four great, world-ruling kingdoms that began in Daniel’s time. The first kingdom, which was the head made of gold, represented Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian, or Chaldean Empire (625-538 B.C.). The silver breast and arms represented the second or Persian Empire (558-330 B.C.), which followed, while the belly and thighs of brass represented the third Grecian (333-31 B.C.) or Greco-Macedonian Empire (led by Alexander the Great). Finally, the fourth kingdom, depicted by legs of iron, and feet and toes of iron mixed with clay, represented the Roman Empire. This last, greatest empire defeated and succeeded the Greco-Macedonian Empire. The ten toes represent ten different nations or kingdoms in Eastern and Western Europe. (The Roman Empire had two capitals—in Rome and Constantinople.) It is this religious and political combine of nations that will comprise the ten toes—under one final powerful leader, aided by a second, miracle-working world figure. This united superpower system is now forming on the world stage. Daniel 2:34 and 44 prove that these ten toes exist at the time of Christ’s Coming. These verses describe a great stone coming from heaven and smashing the ten toes—replacing them—and establishing the kingdom of God on earth. This symbolism depicts Christ’s Return and the setting up of God’s all-powerful world-ruling government—supplanting all the humanly-devised governments of men! When Christ spoke of the “end of the world” (Matt. 24:3), it was the end of MAN’S CIVILIZATION that He referred to—He was not issuing a prophecy about the planet “blowing up.” Only by comparing Revelation 13, 17 and Daniel 7, with Daniel 2, can you fully understand the immense scope and magnitude of this prophecy. Numerous scriptures refer to these four kingdoms, but these chapters describe them best. Briefly, the Roman Empire (which began in 31 B.C.) collapsed in A.D. 476—having been overrun by three kingdoms (horns) from Northern Europe called the Vandals, the Heruli and the Ostrogoths. Daniel 7:8 shows that these three horns were “plucked up by the roots.” This means that they completely disappeared from history. (The Vandals were so barbaric and destructive that the modern term “vandalize” is derived from their name.) However, seven more horns (verse 7 says there were a total of ten) were prophesied to rule this empire. Beginning in A.D. 554, the Roman Empire became known as the Holy Roman Empire. Historians acknowledge that the Pope’s crowning of Justinian signaled this change. Events in Europe, surrounding the Holy Roman Empire, rose and fell for many centuries. Periodically, new rulers appeared—Charlemagne (the Frankish head in A.D. 800)—Otto the Great (the German head crowned in A.D. 962)—followed by the Habsburg Dynasty of Charles V (the Austrian head crowned in A.D. 1520)—which, in turn, was followed by Napoleon’s reign (the French head crowned in A.D. 1805)—with the sixth head being that of Garibaldi’s united Italian head from A.D. 1870-1945! This sixth resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire culminated in the defeat of Adolph Hitler and the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Mussolini, after signing a secret agreement (Concordat) with the Vatican in 1929, united Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland back to Italy in 1935. He declared this union to be the Roman Empire re-established! This is prophesied to happen one more time—only one revival of the Holy Roman Empire remains! Only the tenth horn of Daniel 7:7 (the same as all ten toes of Daniel 2) is yet to appear. This will be the final great beast of Revelation 17 that will come upon an unsuspecting world with stunning speed and force (Rev. 17:12). With the 1989 collapse of the Iron Curtain and the reunification of Germany, the final resurrection, consisting of countries and kingdoms throughout Eastern and Western Europe, is soon to appear, as a kind of United States of Europe. But we have already read how Christ will smash this union of human kingdoms at His Coming!
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 03:06:04 +0000
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