Daniel's Rome Prophecies

The Bible first mentions the Roman Empire in Daniel 2, as the fourth kingdom of iron. It is the kingdom that succeeded the divided remnants of the Greek Empire of Alexander. It is followed by iron feet mixed with clay, meaning a part of Rome would survive into the succeeding world empire.

Early Rome was settled by Latin tribes who had come into Italy in successive waves about the time other related Indo—European tribes had settled in Greece. From about the 8th to the 5th century B.C., the city—state was ruled by neighboring kings. About 500 B.C. the Roman state became a republic, and remained a republic for nearly 500 years. By 265 B.C., all Italy was under Roman control. By 200 B.C. Rome had emerged victorious from the struggle with her powerful rival Carthage. From then on Rome first dominated and then absorbed the three surviving kingdoms of Alexander (see on Dan. 7:6), and thus became the next great world power. This fourth empire was the longest lived and most extensive of the four, stretching to the second Christian century, from Britain to the Euphrates.

As for Daniel 2, history confirms this description of Rome, who won her territory by force or the fear of her armed might. Crushing one opponent after another, she became the aggressive, irresistible conqueror of the Mediterranean world and Western Europe. At the beginning of the Christian Era and a little later, the iron might of the Roman legions stood back of the Pax Romana—the Roman peace. Rome was the largest and strongest empire the world had known.

In Daniel 7, there was, presumably, no parallel in the natural world by which to designate the hideous creature, "dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong," as was the case of the first three beasts. There is no question, however, that it represents the same power that is portrayed by the iron legs of the great image (see Dan. 2:40). It is clear from history that the world power succeeding the third prophetic empire was Rome. While the transition was gradual so that it is difficult to point to a specific event as marking the change, some historians emphasize 168 B.C. because by that time Rome had conquered Macedonia and had saved Egypt from falling to the Seleucid kingdom, so that she virtually controlled all three kingdoms even though she had, as yet, conquered only one of them.

Regarding the beast's great and grotesque iron teeth, they speak to Rome's cruelty and strength, as an animal tears to pieces and devours its prey; Rome devoured nations and peoples in its conquests. Sometimes whole cities were destroyed, as in the case of Corinth in 146 B.C., while such kingdoms as Macedonia and the Seleucid were divided into provinces.

The Little Horn

In both Daniel chapters 7 and 8, the "little horn" marks a great foe of God's chosen people—and Rome and her eventually prodigy bare this out historically. To the ancient Hebrews, a people familiar with the manner in which domestic animals such as rams and bulls used their horns for self—defense and attack, the horn naturally became a symbol of power. Passages that describe the "little horn" and its activities are chs 7:8, 20—26; 8:9—14, 23—26. Parallel passages whose context makes evident that the same power and developments are being described in literal language are chs 9:26, 27; 11:29—45; 12:1, 6—11.

The characteristics ascribed to the little horn and the activities attributed to it reveal that the two visions described the same power in different aspects of its activity and from a slightly different point of view. In each instance the "horn" is "little" when it is first seen on the prophetic stage (chs 7:8; 8:9), but in time it grows to be very great (chs. 7:20; 8:9). In ch 7 it comes up "among" (v 8) and "after" (v 24) the 10 horns of the 4th terrible beast (v 7), displacing 3 of the 10 as it rises (vs 8, 20, 24), whereas the little horn of ch 8 comes forth after the "four notable" horns that replaced the "great horn" of the ram have appeared, toward the close of the dominion exercised by the 4 horns "when the transgressors are come to the full" (vs 23, 24).

The little horn of ch 7 is said to have "eyes like the eyes of man" (vs 8, 20), and the little horn of ch 8 is said to be "cunning" in its methods of operation (v 25, RSV). The interpretation of the little horn of ch 7 clearly implies that it represents a "king" (v 24), whereas that of ch 8 is specifically declared to represent a "king" (v 23). The horn of ch 7 makes "war with the saints," prevails against them, and wears them out (vs 21, 25); the horn of ch 8 casts down some of the "host," that is, the "holy people," to the ground and stamps upon them (vs 10, 13, 24). With its "mouth that spake very great things" the horn of ch 7 speaks "great words against the most High" and attempts "to change times and laws" ordained by the Most High (vs 20, 25); the horn of ch 8 "magnified himself even to the prince of the host" (v 11), who is described in v 25 as "the Prince of princes"—obviously the Lord—and "cast down the truth to the ground" (v 12).

The period of time during which the little horn oppresses "the saints of the most High" is said to be "a time and times and the dividing of time" (Dan 7:25; cf. ch 12:7, "time, times, and an half"). The little horn of ch 8 takes away "the daily sacrifice" and casts down "the place of his sanctuary" (v 11), but after a period called "two thousand and three hundred days" (v 14) the sanctuary is "cleansed" (KJV), or "restored to its rightful state" (RSV). In ch 7 the coming of "the Ancient of days" in judgment deprives the little horn of its power and awards the kingdom to the "saints of the most High" (vs 18, 22, 26, 27).

In ch 8, at the close of the specified period of time the sanctuary is "cleansed" of the "transgression of desolation" erected in it by the little horn (vs 13, 14). In ch 9:26, 27 the same power destroys Jerusalem and the temple, causing "the sacrifice and the oblation to cease" and desolating the sanctuary. In ch 11:30, 31 the same power enters "the glorious land"—Palestine—(vs 16, 41, 45), stands up against "the prince of the covenant" (v 22), pollutes the sanctuary and takes away the daily sacrifice, sets up the desolating abomination (vs 30, 31), and conspires to obliterate the worship of the true God (v 30)—all for "a time, times, and an half" (ch 12:7). Jesus applied the parallel prophecy of Dan 11:31 and 12:11 to the Romans (see Mt 24:15—20 cf. Lk 21:20—24), a prediction that was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the latter destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and brought the Jewish nation to an end. Some Protestant interpreters have adopted the ancient Jewish interpretation; others have applied the prophecy of the little horn, first to the events of A.D. 70, and second to papal Rome in past centuries, when it was intolerant of all dissent and dissenters and persecuted those who did not consent to its authority.