The Great Empires of Daniel 2 and 7
By Ashley R. Clarkson
1 November, 2003
"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." - Daniel 12:4
In other articles I have written I have briefly touched upon Daniel's vision's of the main great empires of the Gentiles, predominantly in connection with the Antichrist and his kingdom. Due to my attempts to try and streamline my articles as much as possible I have cut down on detailed explanation of this vital piece in the Tribulation puzzle. This article is my attempted resolvence of this, and an opportunity to answer critics of the interpretation I promote.
Background
The prophet Daniel was one of many noble children who were taken off to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim of Judah. Daniel spent the rest of his days in Babylon, serving with distinction and attaining great heights of power both in the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empire. But without a doubt the most important of his accomplishments was his detailed history of the Jewish captives in Babylon, and his many prophetic visions, of which we are only just beginning to understand. There are interpretations of his prophecies as numerous as dimples on golf balls, and many more followers to boot. But that does not necessarily make them right. What follows is a combination of prophetic and historical facts coupled with comparative scripture (which will be fully explained, and hopefully logical to more than just myself) which proves my interpretation as being correct. Of course, nothing I can say or arguments I can present which will ever convince some people, and I accept that. But this article is not presented here to persuade the unpersuadable, but the open minded, as they are often those who are easier to twist and manipulate.Daniel Chapter 2
"And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it. The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof. The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain." - Daniel 2:1-13Good King Nebuchadnezzar was in a bit of a pickle. He saw a dream which clearly troubled him (if you bothered to read the above passage of scripture, which I will presume you have) but could not remember the contents of the dream when he awoke. Thus he called for all the kingdom's sorcerors, astrologers and no doubt a few bookies as well. Unfortunately for them, they were unable to attempt a guesstimate of what the King's dream meant without having heard it, and I would suggest the bookies were finding it difficult to suggest odds on what it could be (unlike most bookies these days, where you can bet on anything from horse racing to rugby to two flies running up a wall). This enraged the king, and so he set about to have all the wise men in Babylon slain - this included Daniel and his three brethren. And thus, Daniel enters into the fray. -
"Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter. Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation." - Daniel 2:14-24
Daniel found out about the problem of the king and the problem that he and his kith faced, and made mention of it to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The four of them prayed and the vision and its accompanying interpretation were revealed to Daniel. Thus Daniel went to Arioch, told him the good news, and went to see the king.
"Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king." - Daniel 2:25-49
And so Daniel revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of the dream. The giant statue, in its four parts represent the four major Kingdoms of the Earth. We will refrain from further examination of this particular chapter later, as first I would like to look at Daniel Chapter 7.
Daniel Chapter 7
The vision of Daniel Chapter 7 is immediately different in circumstance to that of Chapter 2 in that it is Daniel himself who sees this vision. So what was his vision?"In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." - Daniel 7:1-14
Daniel sees a procession of four different beasts, followed by God pronouncing judgement on the people of the world.
"I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart." - Daniel 7:15-28
The four beasts represent four kings and their kingdoms. Note that verse 23 says that the fourth beast represents the fourth kingdom, while verse 17 says that they are representative of kings. This is no contradiction, but instead a clue that helps piece together the jigsaw puzzle. Confused? Wondering why all this has been posted without much comment? Read on, as the jigsaw starts to fit into place.
Assembling the Jigsaw
Before we can go anywhere further in interpreting these passages, we must first look to see whether there are any connections between the two. Obviously, since this is called 'Assembling the Jigsaw', there will be a few smart cookies out there who will have a pretty good idea of what is about to happen. And chances are if your mind is as sinister and twisted as mine (I mean it only in the most complimentary sense, honest) you are right. But how to do this? Simple. Put them in a table next to each other and see if enough pieces fit together to fit into an image. Ready to proceed? Grab a drink and a bite to eat first, and come back if you want. I'll be right here waiting for you.Tables and Chairs
| Made of Gold - 'grandest' metal and representative of the kingdom's power and prestige. Daniel Identifies this head as being representative of the Babylonian Empire (see Daniel 2:37-38) | These images are kings and are representative of major kingdoms. The first king is described as a lion, which speaks of courage. Wings indicate a swift rise to prominence, and the plucking a checking of their expansion, and eventual decline and conquer (replacement of heart with man's heart suggests an eventual cowardice and weakness). | ||
| The chest is identified as the next kingdom/empire to arise after the Babylonians. The chest is silver, which is a lesser metal and represents its inferiority to Babylon (see Daniel 2:39). Silver is of course, stronger, which suggests greater strength and obviously size. | This kingdom rose up and conquered the previous kingdom. A bear, probably because of the sometimes brutal nature of the rulers, possibly also a reference to their origination. Note that it devours much flesh - this means it subjugates a great number of kingdoms. | ||
| After the second kingdom/empire we are introduced to the next to arise, which is the metal of brass. Again, brass is inferior on the list of metals, so we can take it to mean that this next kingdom will be inferior to the previous kingdoms (see Daniel 2:39). Brass is a stronger metal meaning it will be larger in size. | Leopard | This king/kingdom conquered his dominion and the previous kingdom very swiftly (thus the leopard). Four wings of a foul emphasises this swiftness. The four heads represent the four successors to the king and the split of his domain. This is a clear and obvious reference to Alexander of Macedon (the Great), who in a matter of a few years conquered a massive kingdom (including Mede-Persia) and then died, leaving the kingdom to his four generals. | |
| Following the trend we get to Iron, which while being the most inferior of the metals. However, Iron is the strongest of the metals which means that its size and might have yet to be matched. The kingdom would break and subdue all that stood before or against it (see Daniel 2:40). | Dreadful and Terrible Beast | The last beast is not likened to any creature, unlike the others. This shows us that it is something of incredible size and power (and terrifying). Note that the beast has iron teeth, and smashes everything it comes into contact with. | |
| This image sees the iron of the above mixed in with miry clay. The obvious interpretation from this is that this kingdom would have the same strength as that before it, but would also suffer from weaknesses inherent in its make-up. Bear in mind the ten toes. | Horns frowing from Beast | Note that these horns grow from the beast of previous, which suggests a link more personal than having conquered the previous kingdom (more likely an evolution of the kingdom). Another "little horn" represents a figure which appears from the kingdom, and speaks great things. This is reinforced by the image of eyes, and a mouth speaking great things. | |
| This image is clearly representing the kingdom of Christ that shall be set up with the destruction of the earthly kingdoms. Unlike the others, this kingdom will last forever, growing into a mountain. | Ancient of Days | The vision ends with God throwing down all the thrones, issuing judgements, and dealing with the little horn. Earth is then given Jesus, the 'son of Man' to rule for evermore. | |
As you can see there are clear points of relation between the two visions. To make a comprehensive conclusion of what the kingdoms are, we must use a bit of logic and historical comparison.
Putting it together
The logical manner would be to assemble piece by piece. Let us look at Daniel 7 first, as this is where we can make a breakthrough. Note that I have already stated that the third beast is representative of the Greek kingdom of Alexander the Great. Is this supposition? Depends on your point of view. All the characteristics of the beast fit the kingdom, however, if you disagree because this does not fit your personal beliefs on the matter, you will of course find a way to disagree. Knowing what the third beast is, how does this affect things?The Greeks were the immediate successors of the Mede-Persians, conquering that territory and many others in but a few years (as far as India, in fact). With the death of Alexander, the empire was left in custody of his four generals (the only potential inheritors were children of legitimacy or illegitimacy), who then fought between each other for inheritance of the empire, the result being a split into four smaller but no less splendid (and still Helenistic) empires ruling over much of the land. The Persians themselves had conquered before them Babylon as well as new tracts of territory such as Ionia (the Greek City States in modern day Turkey), Egypt and a foray into Greece itself which ended with a lot of Persian deaths (to Greek triremes and hoplites). Since we can safely say that the second beast is Persia, this means that the first beast must be Babylon. Does this make sense? Well, yes, actually, for if we compare this image to Daniel 2 we see that the Head is Babylon, meaning they link up. The next empire (chest) was the successor to the Babylonians, the Mede-Persians (this links up with Daniel 7), which was larger but less prestigious, and the Belly and Thighs must be the Greeks, which neatly fits in with Daniel 7.
Where to from here? Well, knowing that the first three empires are in order Babylon, Persia and Greece (and if you don't believe the characteristics fit, do some research on their size, make-up and how quickly they came about), we should be in a position to realise that these two visions fit together like a jigsaw puzzle (see, did I not tell you?), and that the next three 'pieces' must follow the same sequence. Is this the case? Well, the evidence would seem to suggest so. In both visions, the final sequence is of Christ's Kingdom being established on Earth, with two more images inbetween. We have A great and terrifying beast matching up with an empire with the strength of iron, the greatest empire yet to be seen at that stage, massive, strong and so unlike anything before. Then, we have some form of evolution of this beast with the same strength (mixed in with a great weakness), having ten components (ten horns, ten toes) and led by a charismatic leader (little horn).
So who/what is the terrifying beast, the legs of the image? Well, the next major empire to enter the world scene after the Greeks was the Hegemony of the Roman Republic, which for ease of use and historical accuracy is also known as the Empire of Rome. Rome was definitely by far the largest of these empires, controlling at its greatest height the plains of England to the sands of Egypt and Africa, and from the Steppes of Bythinia to Greece, Palestine and parts of Arabia. No empire before Rome could compare in might and strength, the Roman legions ruthlessy crushing enemies that dared to stand before it (on average, Rome fought three wars to bring a nation to heel), and cementing their rule with a great system of roads, civil construction and economic dominance. Rome was the last empire of ancient history, and definitely the greatest, though the least prestigious. This data certainly fits into the images given to us in both visions.
Lastly to deal with, is the feet and toes, and the ten horns. There have been all sorts of attempts to reconcile this to an empire in history, even calling it Rome itself in its later days. While it is certainly true that the last empire has some relationship with Rome (if we are all in agreement that the fourth empire is Rome), we cannot say that it is Rome itself. Why? Rome never suffered from a fundamental weakness in its very makeup, at least, not until the very end of her reign, when there was little strength left in her, and certainly no charismatic leader. Also, this empire would still have to be in existence today, as Christ's Kingdom upon earth has yet to be established. One might be quick to stretch this to the Catholic Church, though this provides for no explanation regarding the figure 10, and makes a difficult proposition when one realises that the Catholic Church is Mystery Babylon the Great, and the whore, not the Antichrist or any movement he controls (Revelation implies that Antichrist will use the church to his own ends, and she will use him to gain power, but not that the two are the same). The only reliable conclusion we can draw is that this empire is still to come, to arise like a phoenix out of the ashes of Rome.
Understanding the Last Empire
Obviously, this is based in logic, as Daniel and the Revelation names no specific names, but rather leaves us to make the connections. Many propositions have been put forth regarding the nature of this last Empire, which include but is not limited to America (the United States of), the British Empire, Napoleon's France and the Third Reich. We can rule out the last three rather immediately, considering they no longer exist, and were not destroyed by the return of Christ. Dismissing America is more difficult, and we shall return to it later.To be brutally honest, the fact is that the last Empire must be of some same makeup as that of the Roman Empire, nationality wise. This must have only 10 divisions, or we can assume in this day of nation-states, only 10 countries which have some history relating to subjection to the Roman Empire. This obviously means that most countries surrounding the Mediterranean qualify to be a part of this empire. We must look at other factors though. Among these states, which of them are likely to form a grouping to serve their own interests. This would throw out the African states, Israel (because she must be independent for the Antichrist to sign a treaty with her), the Arabs since they would rather see Israel burn than have anything to do with her (they also don't show any signs of being willing to unite in a single political body). The only real contender for the title, it seems, is to be a grouping of European Nations, most likely from the European Union.
The reasoning behind it is quite simple really - Only the EU is pushing for greater and greater unity as a political body. They have a single currency and a centralised bank, and countries formerly at each other's throats are holding each others hands, skipping down the lanes. There is talk of a European constitution, which would see the Union receive even greater powers. That there will eventually be a union of some form is definite, probably as a form of more of a confederacy than a federation (such as the USA or Australia). For certain there will be much reluctance by the nations that enter this final form to give up their powers to a single political figure (the Antichrist, for example), and this would explain the plucking up of the three horns (remembering they represent kings, or governments in our day and age), probably through some Coup d'etat. However, let us not forget the political, economic and military influence that such a state would have upon the world. Consider France, Germany and Italy alone united as a single nation - the population alone is approximately 200 million (the USA has a population comparitively of 290 million). The Euro is making gains on the US Dollar (though this is also occuring as a result of a recession in the US Economy), and as the economies of the European nations grow more and more into a single economic unit, we will see Europe having a much greater influence on the world once again. The same is true with diplomacy and military, with a larger political unit being able to exert greater diplomatic influence and field a potentially massive, well armed and trained military. When one considers these elements fully (and to delve into every miniscule of data which supports this conclusion would not only be tedious but overly lengthy and time consuming) it is clear that this is a logical, sound and biblically compatible interpretation of the scriptures.