POSTED 01 SEPTEMBER, 2000

Revival of the Roman Empire

by J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net

On January 1, 1993 member states of the European Economic Community (EEC) became members of the European Union (E.U.), an organization designed to ultimately create a European federal super-state or “United States of Europe.” Since 1993, steps have been taken to establish a central European government composed of a parliamentary and judicial system. All that currently remains is the creation of a permanent executive branch of government and other logistical details to cater to the demands of individual member states.

Many prophecy teachers believe that the European Union may be the organization or political bloc from which the antimessiah/antichrist will arise. Is it? We must consider the possibilities before us, including both prophetic parameters surrounding the final world empire and some intriguing factors surrounding the European Union.

The Fourth Kingdom

Daniel ch. 2 records a dream that the ancient Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar had concerning the Last Days about a great statue (Daniel 2:1-3). The dream was so profound that no Babylonian could interpret it, or as Daniel 2:10-11 tells us, “The Chaldeans answered the king and said, ‘There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.’” Only Daniel, a captive of Judah, was able to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s vision. Daniel 2:25-30 records how Daniel approached the king, as God had already revealed Nebchadnezzar’s dream to him (cf. Daniel 2:19-23):

“Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king's presence and spoke to him as follows: ‘I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!’ The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, ‘Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?’ Daniel answered before the king and said, ‘As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place. But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind’” (Daniel 2:25-30).

After telling Nebuchadnezzar that God had revealed the dream to him (Daniel), Daniel proceeds to repeat the dream to the king:

“You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king” (Daniel 2:31-36).

Daniel states that the king had a vision of “a huge statue,” and that the statue had four primary components: (1) a head of gold, (2) breast and arms of silver, (3) belly and thighs of bronze, and (4) feet of iron and clay. These parts have commonly been interpreted to be representative of four major empires that have existed on Planet Earth. Daniel 2:37-38 confirms this as the Scripture tells us that this first empire is Babylon, ruled by Nebuchadnezzar:

“You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold” (Daniel 2:37-38).

Daniel continues stating that two more empires will arise following Babylon:

“After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth” (Daniel 2:39).

We can follow from history that the prominent empires or kingdoms that followed Babylon were Media-Persia and Greece. Daniel 5:24-28 records that Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, Belshazzar, was found drinking wine from appropriated gold vessels from Solomon’s Temple (Daniel 5:1-12; 23), and as a result, the Babylonian Empire was conquered by Persia:[1]

“Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out. Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’ This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENE’—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. ‘TEKEL’—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. ‘PERES’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians” (Daniel 5:24-28).

As a consequence of drinking from the golden cups, Belshazzar’s kingdom was overrun and conquered by Media-Persia.[2] From history, we know that Babylon was overrun by the Persians, who established a massive empire from modern-day Iran to Asia Minor (Turkey). It was during this time that the captured Jews were permitted to return home to the Land of Israel.

According to Daniel 2:39b, a third empire would also arise “which will rule the whole earth.” This empire was Greece, whose imperial reign started around the time of Alexander the Great. By the age of 33, Alexander had already conquered as far as modern-day India, and many historians speculate that had he not died in Babylon in 323 C.E., Alexander would probably have conquered all the way to China. However, four of his top generals split the Greek Empire among themselves and pseudo-empires were established throughout Alexander’s conquered lands. History later records that these areas were yet conquered again by Rome, but by this time, much of the Greek language, culture, and thought permeated so much of the Roman world, that by the time of the Messiah, Greek was a common language in Judea. In a way, Ancient Greece continues to “rule the world” through Greek philosophy having permeated the Roman Empire and the West.

After this, we are then told of a fourth kingdom that will arise:

“Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery” (Daniel 2:40-43).

Much detail is given to the fourth and final kingdom in Daniel 2:40-43. It is described as being made of “iron mixed with clay-like earthenware” (Daniel 2:43, ATS), which implies that it will be strong, but also mixed. Many prophecy teachers identify this to be a direct reference to the Roman Empire, as it was a collection of diverse peoples (clay), but also powerful (iron). It could be inaccurate to say that the ancient Roman Empire “fell,” because it is still very much alive today through the Western European world and European extended colonial community.

Is the fourth empire of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision a revived model of the Roman Empire? Recall that Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that the vision he had was about “what will take place in the latter days” (Daniel 2:28). Therefore, can we conclude that we could once again see a “Roman Empire” in existence before the return of Yeshua the Messiah?[3]

Many who follow prophetic related world events have concluded that the European Union could be a revived Roman Empire. It is culturally diverse (clay), but strong (iron). But if it is to be the final world empire, should we see some indication to this extent?

J.K. McKee (B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary) is the editor of TNN Online (www.tnnonline.net) and is a Messianic apologist. He is a 2009 recipient of the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award for Greek. He is author of numerous books, dealing with a wide range of topics that are important for today’s Messianic Believers. He has also written many articles on theological issues, and is presently focusing his attention on Messianic commentaries of various books of the Bible.

NOTES