Sunday, January 30, 2022

Examples of Traditional Latter-day Saint Readings of Daniel 2: Dennis D. Chamberlain and Keith Donovan

Dennis D. Chamberlain, The Biblical Evidence of the Restoration (2004)

 

The Stone Became a Great Mountain

 

An amazing prophecy in the second chapter of the book of Daniel foretells the time when God would set up a kingdom on earth. Like a stone, this kingdom would start small and grow until it became a great mountain. “And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” (Dan. 2:35)

 

King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a great and terrible image and called on Daniel to explain the meaning of his dream. God revealed to Daniel that this image represented a succession of empire that would rise over a period of more than 2,600 years from 605 B.C. until the end of all worldly kingdoms and the messianic reign of Jesus Christ.

 

Hippolytus, who lived from A.D. 160 to 236, recorded the earliest known interpretation of Daniel’s prophecy. This ancient scholar named four world kingdoms that he believed corresponded to parts of the image. The head of gold was Babylon. The beast and arms of silver were the Persians and Meads. The belly and thighs of brass represented Greece. He thought the legs of iron represented the Roman Empire, which was the sovereignty of his own day. HE concluded that the feet and toes, which were part iron and part clay, were emblems of kingdoms that were yet to rise. [1]

 

Most modern Bible scholars agree with this assessment of Daniel’s prophecy. Yet even today, scholars express frustration that an explanation of the feet and toes of the image remains elusive. Though a number of solutions have been proposed, none of them seem completely satisfactory. [2]

 

Why is this part of the prophecy so difficult?

 

The ear of kings symbolized by the feet and toes of iron mixed with potters clay is the most important part of the prophecy. It makes known to us the time when God would set up his kingdom on the earth. Do students of Bible prophecy expect to wake up one morning and read these headlines?

 

GOD SETS UP KINGDOM

Strange phenomena observed today as a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands.

 

 

While this would satisfy the prophecy, this king of news flash is not likely. Daniel’s revelation, like the start of Bethlehem, is a guide to help students of the Scriptures recognize a monumental event which, in its early states, would either be unnoticed or unrecognized by the world.

 

In a search to understand the predicted establishment of God’s kingdom, a historical analysis of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream will be presented in this chapter. Hopefully, this information can help resolve the mystery of the feet of clay and iron. The historical record provides a fascinating validation of the entire prophecy and is another witness of the divine origin of the Bible.

 

When he organized his church, Jesus Christ set up the kingdom of God on the earth. The leaders of this church were apostles who held the keys of the kingdom and were guided by revelation from God. (Matt. 16:17-19) How then is the kingdom spoken of by Daniel related to the church that Jesus established? And why would God set up a kingdom if it were already upon the earth?

 

. . .

 

“What shall be in the latter days”

 

Nebuchadnezzar, in his second year of reign as king of Babylonia (604 B.C.), dreamed a dream that was very troubling to him. He called in the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to find someone who would tell him its meaning. The Chaldeans said to Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.” (Dan. 2:14) The wise and rather cynical king realized that if he told the dream, anyone could make up an interpretation. His answer to the Chaldeans was, “The thing is gone from me. If ye will not make known unto me the dream, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill!” It was little comfort to the Chaldeans that they were offered “gifts, rewards, and great honor” for making the dream and its interpretation known. (Dan. 2:5-6)

 

The Chaldeans complained that no man on earth could do such a thing and this was a rare thing for a king to require of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. This response made the king so furious that he put out a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be slain. (Dan. 2:10-12)

 

Daniel and his followers were among the wise and were therefore under the king’s decree of death. A Captain of the king told this to Daniel, who immediately sought the mercies of God so that he and his fellows should not perish with the wise men of Babylon. (Dan. 2:15-18)

 

God revealed the secret to Daniel, who rejoiced and gave praise and thanks to God. He then told Arioch to spare the wise men of the kingdom. Arioch brought Daniel before the king, saying, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.” (Dan. 2:19-25)

 

Daniel told the king that wise men, astrologers, magicians, and soothsayers could not show him what he wanted to know. “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 visions of thy head upon thy bed are these.” (Dan. 2:27-28)

 

“Behold a great image”

 

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 because a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
This is the dream; and we will tall the interpretation thereof before the king. (Dan. 2:31-36)

 

After Daniel told the king his dream, as the Lord had revealed it, he gave its interpretation. When he concluded he confidently proclaimed, “the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” (Dan. 2:45)

 

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 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. (Dan. 2:37-40)

 

Our historical analysis begins with Nabopolassar, who became the first king of the New Babylonian Empire in 626 B.C. With help from his Median allies, he ended the Assyrian empire n 612 B.C. His son, Nebuchadnezzar, became king of Babylonia in 605 B.C.

 

Babylon was at its height of splendor under Nebuchadnezzar. During his reign the city of Babylon was rebuilt on a grand scale. Walls around the city were built 85 feet think. Huge inner walls and a moat surrounded and protected the inner city. Eight bronze gates provided access to the city. The grandest of these was the Ishtar Gate, which stood on a paved avenue and was decorated with black glazed figures of dragons, lions, and bulls. Between this gate and the Euphrates River was the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar and the Hanging Garden of Babylon which the ancient Greeks describes as one of the seven wonders of the world. [3] Referring to the New Babylonian Empire (626-539 B.C.), Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, “Thou art this head of Gold.” (Dan. 2:38)

 

The second kingdom, the image’s breast and arms of silver, was the Persian Empire (539-331 B.C.) Cyrus captured Babylon in 539 B.C. by diverting the flow of the Euphrates River and going under the outer wall through the dry river channel. He then entered the inner city through brass gates left open by the overconfident Babylonians. [4] This fulfilled a prophecy of Isaiah that said Cyrus would enter the city through “two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut.” (Isa. 45:1-2)

 

The Persians were a nomadic people. The kings lived in stone palaces, but most of the common people lived in mud huts. [5] When the Persian invades captured Babylon, Babylonia became the wealthiest area in the Persian Empire. Daniel saw a second kingdom that would be inferior to Babylonia. But how could the Persian Empire that conquered Babylon and which extended from the Aegean Sea to the River Indus be inferior? Not in power or size, for it was a more extensive kingdom. However, Persia was notably inferior to Babylon in wealth, luxury, and magnificence. [6] “And after three shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee.” (Dan. 2:39)

 

The third kingdom was the image’s belly and thighs of brass. This was the Macedonian-Greek empire of Alexander the Great (331-146 B.C.). Alexander the Great was king of the Macedonians and is considered one of the greatest generals in history. After he conquered Persia, his empire extended from the Mediterranean Sea to India and formed much of what was then considered the civilized world. [7] “And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over the earth.” (Dan. 2:39)

 

Alexander became seriously ill with a fever brought on from exhaustion and the effects of battle wounds. In 323 B.C. he died at the age of 32 in Babylon, the capital city of his empire. No one succeeded him as ruler. His leading generals became governors of various areas and fought among themselves for control of the vast empire.

 

The fourth kingdom, seen in the vision as the image’s legs of iron was the Roman Empire (146 B.C.-A.D. 476). The Roman Empire conquered Macedonia, Greece, and Syria in a series of Macedonian wars, which ended in 146 B.C.

 

Rome had a republican form of government and was considered a world power by 264 B.C. Internal conflicts began in 133 B.C. when the aristocratic ruling class became selfish, arrogant, and addicted to luxury. The politician and military leader Julius Caesar overthrew this government in 45 B.C. After his victory, Caesar made reforms in an attempt to overcome corruption and restore prosperity.

 

Rome’s height of power was reached in 27 B.C. when Augustus Caesar became the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The period from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180 was known as Pax Romana (Roman Peace) because no country was strong enough to threaten the empire. [8] “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron.” (Dan. 2:40)

 

The writings of Christian scholar Hippolytus, who lived to see the Roman Empire begin its decline in A.D. 193, gives us an ancient perspective on Daniel’s prophecy: “Already the iron rules; already it subdues and break all in pieces; already it brings all the unwilling into subjection; already we see these things ourselves.” [9]

 

Christianity endured years of severe persecution under various emperors. However, Constantine I, who became emperor in 312, made Christianity the official religion of the empire. The Roman Empire was split into the Eastern and Western empires in 395.

 

During the late 3002 and 400s, Germanic tribes migrated into the empire from the north. The Vandals moved in to what is now Spain; the Visigoths invaded the Italian Peninsula and then moved westward. The Angles, Jutes, and Saxons invaded Britain, and the Franks conquered the area now known as France. These and other Germanic tribes overran and divided the empire, until the last emperor of the West Roman Empire was overthrown in 476. [10] “And as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.” (Dan. 2:40)

 

“Iron mixed with miry clay”

 

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 ont to another, even as iron and it not mixed with clay. (Dan. 2;41-43)

 

After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, the Roman Catholic Church became the most powerful force on the continent. European trade that had developed under the Roman Empire collapsed, and the economy became more dependent on local farming. Serfs on manors owned by wealthy lords worked the land. This gradually developed into a military and political system known as feudalism where the lords became very powerful. Eventually, town started to spring up along developing trade routes, creating middle-class merchants who supported the kings against the feudal lords.

 

Daniel’s vision of the images’ feet and toes of iron and clay described powerful monarchies, which had the strength of iron such as the once held by the Roman Empire. These kings, who believed it was their divine right to rule in all secular matters, began to become a powerful force in Europe in the 1300s and continued to gain strength into the 1600s. The religious turmoil of the 1500s and 1600s weakened the Catholic Church ad led the kings to increase their power in order to maintain peace among the people. [11] “The kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron.” (Dan. 2:41)

 

During the Reformation some of the kings broke away from the pope. Protestant kings were considered God’s representative, not only in secular matters but in religious matters as well. Protestant beliefs spread rapidly through northern Europe during the 1500s. The individual’s religion was the choice of their king. The subjects took the religion of their king, but divisions and contentions between Protestant and Catholic kings eventually erupted into war. Speaking of these kings, Daniel prophesied: “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.” (Dan. 2:43)

 

The Thirty Year’s War raged through Europe from 1618 to 1648. This devasting war between Protestants and Catholics was centered in Germany, where it is estimated that more than one -third of the population perished. When the war ended, a treaty called the Peace of Westphalia was signed in 1648 that had a profound influence on the subsequent history of Europe. “The treaty permanently and gravely weakened the Holy Roman Empire and the Hapsburgs, ensured the emergence of France as the chief power on the Continent, and disastrously retarded the political unification of Germany.” [12] “The kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.” (Dan. 2:42)

 

“In the days of these kings”

 

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. (Dan. 2:44)

 

In Daniel’s vision of the image’s feet and toes made part of iron and part of clay, he saw three distinct conditions of Europe at the time when God would set up his kingdom on earth.

 

1. The rise of powerful kingdoms.

2. Great divisions between kingdoms, resulting from the Reformation.

3. Religious and political wars that would leave Europe partly strong and partly broken.

 

These three conditions were present in Europe by the early 1600s and continued about 300 years, as the monarchy remained an influential form of government. Under these circumstances, history places “the days of these kings” in a window of time from about 1600 to about 1900. The following events took place during the days of these European kings:

 

In the days of these kings, 1620-1900, thousands left Europe seeking a home in a new land where they could worship according to their own conscience rather than the dictates of the king they served. They brought with them a book, even the Holy Bible that many righteous and valiant individuals had given their lives to preserve.

 

In the days of these kings, 1776-1789, thirteen colonies in Great Britain, declared their independence from their king, and for the purpose that man might be free, God established a Constitution by the hand of men who Latter-day Saints believe, were raised for this very purpose.

 

In the days of these kings, 1805-1820, God raised up a prophet. Not a learned man steeped in the false doctrine of the day, but a young boy with a simple question, “Which church should I join?” . . . In the days of these kings, 1847, the infant kingdom was established in the midst of the Rocky Mountains, where it could be nurtured away from the world. From this location, the gospel of Jesus Christ, like a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, could roll forth until it became a great mountain and filled the earth. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed.” (Dan 2:44) . . . [concerning D&C 65:1-2, 5] Keys are not always comfortable, but the keys of the kingdom of God had been committed to man on earth on the earth. This group of saints, living in a frontier town in Ohio, had been given the charge to spread the gospel to all nations and to call on the Lord that the inhabitants of the earth would receive it. (Dennis D. Chamberlain, The Biblical Evidence of the Restoration [Millennial Mind Publishing, 2004], 61-63, 67-76, 77, 79)

 

Notes for the Above

 

[1] Hippolytus, “Treatise on Christ and Antichrist,” Ante-Nicene Fathers, V:210, in The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, Uriah Smith (Nashville: Southern Publishing Association, 1944), 65-67. This interpretation of Daniel’s prophecy is also presented in the writings of LDS apostle Parley P. Pratt, A Voice of Warning, which was first published in New York in 1837.

 

[2] Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D. and David M. Howard Jr., PhD., consultant, Amazing Prophecies of the Bible (Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, Lrd., 1998), 135.

 

[3] The World Book Encyclopedia, “Babylon” (Chicago: World Book, Inc., 2002), 2:12.

 

[4] Uriah Smith, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation (Nashville: Southern Publishing Association, 1994], 47.

 

[5] The World Book Encyclopedia, “Persia, Ancient” (Chicago: World Book, Inc., 2002), 15:296-297.

 

[6] Uriah Smith, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation (Nashville: Southern Publishing Association, 1944), 51.

 

[7] The World Book Encyclopedia, “Alexander the Great” (Chicago: World Book, Inc., 2002), 1:342.

 

[8] Ibid. “Europe,” 6:409.

 

[9] Hippolytus, “Treatise on Christ and Antichrist,” Ante-Nicene Fathers, V:210

 

[10] The World book Encyclopedia, “Europe” (Chicago: World Book, Inc., 2002),6:409.

 

[11] Ibid. 412.

 

[12] Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, “Thirty Years’ War” (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, Inc., 1979), 23:131-132.

 

Keith Donovan, “Reflections on Daniel 2

 

 

The Book of Daniel contains many complex visions of the future.  Because of their complexity and often vague symbolism, the various churches of the world are unable to come to an agreement about their interpretations.  Even the simplest of the visions, recorded in Daniel Chapter 2, elicits scores of interpretations from various sources.  I believe that this particular chapter is a key to the other chapters.  It is simple yet it covers a broad span of history, and is the basis upon which all the other visions in Daniel are to be understood.  This page is an effort to establish an interpretation for this vision which is consistent with itself.

 

Many modern critics explain Daniel's visions in terms of events occurring locally in respect to both location and time to Daniel.  They are forced to these conclusions based on the assumption that prophets do not exist and that there can be no prediction of future events beyond an obvious extrapolation from current events.   My assumptions are quite different.  For many reasons which are far beyond the scope of this essay, I assume that Daniel was a prophet.  Along with most Christian religionists of today, I assume that Daniel actually saw the visions he claimed to see, that they came to him from God, and that they are prophecies which cover vast periods of time.  This analysis takes for granted the standard Christian interpretations of the chapter, up to the same point were most the commentaries seem to diverge.


 

Summary of  Daniel 2

 

I recommend you start by reading Daniel Chapter 2, it is short and self-contained.  This chapter discusses a dream that was originally given to the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.  Daniel sees the dream because he took on the task of interpreting it for the King.   In this dream the King sees "a great image [who'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".  Then "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 "the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."  Daniel then interprets the dream and tells Nebuchadnezzar that each section of the image represents a succession of kingdoms which "bear rule over all the earth".  He specifically tells us that the head is the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, but then another kingdom will replace that one.  He gives some characteristics of each kingdom without specifically identifying them.   Then he tells us the stone is a kingdom set up by God which "shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever".  Daniel also tells us that "the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."


 

Interpretation of Daniel 2

 

Despite the fact that Daniel gives us an interpretation, we must interpret his interpretation so we can see the point of it all.  Actually, 90% of the chapter is interpreted the same way by the vast majority of Christian religionists.  The few important arguments that exist are about the fifth part of the image and the stone at the very end of the dream.  I intend to show that the beginning part of the dream establishes a pattern by which the end of the dream must also be interpreted.

 

First notice that Daniel says that each body section of the image represents a new kingdom, not simply a new king  Looking at world history and knowing the kingdoms of the world, almost all commentators agree that the various parts of the dream represent the following kingdoms.


 
 

Object 

Material Type

Kingdom

Head

Gold

Babylon

Breast and Arms

Silver

Media/Persia

Belly and Thighs

Brass

Greece

Legs

Iron

Roman Empire

Feet and Toes

Iron / Clay

?????

Stone

Stone

Kingdom of God

 

It is this fifth material that causes all the contention and the various interpretations.  The kingdom that the fifth material represents can be determined by following the pattern given in the first four.  The first 4 kingdoms have these characteristics:

 

1. Each new body section / material is a New Kingdom
Each new kingdom is represented by a separately named body section and a new material from which it is composed.  Daniel tells us that the second kingdom will be "inferior" to the first.  This is represented by the type of material that is used to represent the kingdom.  Starting with the most precious metal, the value of each successive material is inferior to the previous one.  The type of metal can also be used to describe the type of the kingdom.  For example, iron is a good description for the Roman Empire.  Daniel  describes very well the nature of ancient Rome when he said "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".  Some commentaries have long discussions about how each material or each body part represents the details of the various kingdoms.  I am not concerned with all the details now, just the grand sweep of history.

 

2. Each New Kingdom describes "The Dominant World Power" of its respective time
Each new kingdom is not some minor kingdom taken at random from among many other kingdoms.  Each kingdom was considered "the" most powerful, most influential kingdom of its time.  It describes the dominate leadership and governmental forces of the world.

 

3. Each New Kingdom is the direct successor to the previous kingdom
There are no gaps in time. The vision starts with Babylon which was "The Dominant World Power". As Babylon declined in power Media/Persia became "The Dominant World Power". As Media/Persia declined in power Greece became "The Dominant World Power". As Greece declined in power Rome became "The Dominant World Power".

 

4.  Each of these transitions in power were the result of military conflicts between the two kingdoms

These transitions of power came as a result of being conquered by "The New Dominate World Power (DWP).  Babylon became The DWP  in approximately  614 BC and remained dominate for 75 years until Cyrus the Persian captured the capital city of Babylon in 539 BC.  Persia (which had previously been joined with the Medians) therefore replaced Babylon as The DWP.  Persia held this status for 208 years until it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 331 BC.  This is when Persia ceased being The DWP and Greece began its 185 year reign as The DWP.  Meanwhile the Romans were gaining more and more power and in the year 146 BC at the end of the 3rd Punic War, the Roman Empire defeated the Greeks and became The DWP.   In all of these cases there were many reasons why one kingdom decreased in power as another increased in power, but the vision does not go into these details.   There was often several years of fighting and give and take of dominance between the two powers, but there was one final military event that caused a transition in power to take place.  The transfer of world domination occurred as each successive kingdom defeated the old kingdom in battle.


 

The Feet and Toes of the Vision

In interpreting the rest of this vision we must maintain the pattern given, or we must have a very good reason not to.  Preferably there should be a scriptural reason not to.  And not some obscure scripture with some tenuous tie to Daniel such as something out of the Book of Revelation, which was written hundreds of years later.  The dream was given as a whole to Daniel, and needs to be interpreted as such.  There must be some reason within this vision to indicate that we should now ignore the established pattern of events.  Since there is no indication that there should be a break in the pattern, then we need to follow the same pattern.

 

The feet and the toes are a new kingdom.   We know this for several reasons.  Firstly they are separately named body parts, made of a new material.  Now granted they are not made of a completely new material, since there is iron mixed in with the clay.  But any blacksmith in comparing iron with iron mixed with "miry" clay (or elsewhere translated as "ceramic", "common", or "brittle" clay) will tell you that they are not the same material.  This new kingdom may be slightly different from the previous ones because it contains a mixture of the old kingdom with the new. This only shows that instead of a clean break between kingdoms of different traditions and locations, this last may be a change in the kingdom, a mixture of a new material, which created a new thing.  Daniel nevertheless describes it as a separate body section which in every other case in the vision meant a new kingdom.   Secondly, our knowledge of history tells us that the Roman Empire does not now exist. Everyone as heard of "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"  The part of the image represented by the legs fell, as did all the previous kingdoms.  The part of the image represented by the feet and toes must follow the established pattern and be The New DWP after Rome.

 

To contend that the feet and toes are still part of the old Roman Empire, breaks the pattern given that each new body section, made of a new material, represents a new kingdom.  To contend that the feet and toes are some kingdom that is to come to pass in the future breaks the established pattern that each new kingdom immediately follows the old kingdom, and is actually the cause of it's final loss of dominion through military action.  A 2000 year gap between kingdoms is not in the given pattern – and there is no scriptural reason to suggest there is a gap.

 

The feet and toes must therefore be identified as The New DWP, sequentially after Rome.  They must also be identified as the kingdom which caused the fall of Rome through military action.  This is the only solution which follows the pattern God gave in the vision.   A brief inquiry into the history of the Fall of the Roman Empire records a long process, but the final blow - the event that caused the final demise of the Roman Empire as The DWP and it's replacement by The New DWP, according to the manor of the vision's previous transitions of power, occurred around 568 AD.

 

In 180 AD Commodus became the new Emperor, but was very weak and marked the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire.   In 330 AD Emperor Constintine re-reorganizes the Empire and begins to rule from Constantinople, on the border of Europe and Asia.  In 378 AD  The Visigoths (Germanic Tribes from the north) defeated a Roman Army at the Battle of Adrianople.  The Emperor Theodosius makes peace but he is the  last emperor to control a united Roman empire.  In 410 AD the Visigoths along with their allies of other Germanic  tribes sack the city of Rome, and then conquer Southern Gaul, Spain, and the North of Africa, taking control of the Mediterranean.   In 476 AD , the leader of the united German tribes, Odovacar, assumes the title of king of Rome. After this time there are no Roman Emperors occupying the West.  This is the date historians generally give for the end of the Western Roman Empire.  However this date does not fit the pattern given in Daniel, and so is not the one God is concerned about.  The Eastern Roman Empire was still a major world power, and still considered to be The DWP of the period.  There had been no transition of power yet,  the Germanic leader Theodoric the Great assumes control over Italy but tries to preserve the Roman civilization, culture, and system of government.  In the 500's Clovis, founder of the Frankish state, conquers most of France and Belgium, thus taking control of the outlying areas of the Roman Empire  In 527 AD Justinian becomes the Roman Emperor in the East, and the Eastern Roman Empire reasserts itself.  In a series of wars which lasted until his death in 565 AD, Justinian broke the Visigoth control of the Western Empire and reestablished Roman control of all the Mediterranean by retaking the 3 key areas of Italy, northwest Africa, and coastal Spain.  Three years later however in 568 AD, another Germanic Tribe called the Lombards invade the Western Empire.  In the following years, they broke the strength of  the Eastern Empire and retook much of Italy.  This war is the final series of attacks which finally breaks the dominion of Rome. Although, much of the coast remained under Byzantine rule, Northern and Central Italy was controlled by the Lomabards, and the city of Rome was kept by the papacy.  This is the time when the status of being The DWP changes from being the Roman Empire to being the European Barbarian tribes and the Western Catholic Church.   These battles are the cause of the rise of Medieval Europe as The Dominate World Power.

 

One interesting way in which the history validates the vision is the mixture of iron and clay in the feet.  The New DWP was not a single country or power but was a mix of the power of the European kings and the power of the Church.  From this point in history  they dominated the world scene together for over 1000 years.  They also divided into many kingdoms, as the toes divide off from the foot, and many commentators list just what they think these 10 European nations are.

 

So we see that the pattern that God gave us to interpret the vision can be maintained by a simple application of the major events of world history.


 

The stone cut out of the mountain

 

That is the end of the image.  There are no more sections of the image to dissect and figure out.  As Daniel begins to tell us about the stone he has progressed the history of the world into the rise of Medieval Europe.  This gives us a minimum starting date for the formation of the stone of around 568 AD.   But that does not mean that it was formed at this time.  Since the vision gives us a sequential history of the Kingdoms of the world, the image also gives us an upper limit in time.  Daniel only says that in "the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom".   Since there are no more parts of the statue discussed by Daniel, we must conclude that this Kingdom of God must be set up before the European kings cease being The DWP, otherwise the image would have to show The Next Sequential DWP.   The stone is set up between the time that the the European kings become The DWP and the time they ceased being The DWP.   So when are the days of these kings?

 

There are still kings of Europe today in several of the countries so the vision could mean anytime over the last 1434 years.  Now the truth is that although these kings still exist, all of them have effectively lost governmental power.  The kings of Europe lost the status of being The DWP in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  So it could be argued that this is an upper limit for the stone to have been created.

 

However it is not a very good argument, for several reasons.  The pattern of being supplanted by a new Dominate World Power through invasion and warfare does not fit for most cases. Often the kings lost power to their own people through democratic reforms, and the kingdom itself still retains its original power, and is still considered the same nation, and Europe remained The DWP.   Since Daniel figuratively referred to a "king" as representing a kingdom, whether or not the leader is actually a king or not,  the loss of the European Royalty's power can not seen as an upper limit.

 

Europe held its dominate position for a very long time, but today Europe is not The DWP.  When did Europe loose its status as The DWP?  As in all historical events, it was of course progressive, but most historians agree that at the close of World War II, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic emerged as The DWP's, Super-Powers in fact.  They achieved this through a dominance in warfare and an invasion of The Old DWP, just like all the other New DWP's did.  There is a minor difference in the fact that some of the European nations were with the Allies, and some were against them, but this also fulfills the nature of the feet and toes which Daniel described saying "the kingdom shall be divided" and "they shall not cleave one to another".  Another interesting thought presents itself however, Rome lost its DWP status to the Germanic tribes when they invaded and took over Italy.   It was the invasion of The DWP countries of Italy and Germany by the US and USSR (and allies) that brought about their loss of The DWP status.

 

It could be argued that Russia is part of Europe and the US was an offshoot of Europe so they were actually still part of the European Kingdoms.  But, the USSR had completely separated itself from the rest of the European countries and set itself up a completely separate kingdom in all ways but actual location.  The roots of the US were from England, Spain, and to a smaller degree France, however they had developed over the previous century into their own nation and kingdom.   Likewise it can be said that the Etruscans were descendants of the Babylonians and Greeks.  Rome was certainly heavily influenced by Greek Culture, but it was still a separate kingdom and grew on it's own to challenge the supremacy of Greece, just as the US challenged European supremacy.

 

The point of this being that the US and USSR are not represented in the image. This means that the stone had to be set up, at the very latest, before 1945. Otherwise the vision is incomplete, inaccurate, and again breaks the pattern God gave.  Also since the vision clearly shows that the stone was set up after the fall of Rome and the emergence of the European nations and before the rise of the US and USSR, anyone who insists that the toes are some later event or some future kingdom (such as the EEC or some power to come from it)  must have some very strong scriptural reasons why the clear pattern shown in the first 4 kingdoms breaks down completely just when it's convenient for their particular interpretation.

 

In summary the stone must start between the years 568 and 1945 AD.