Rome Phase II
Ultimately, the legs of iron would eventually give way to the feet of
iron and clay. Verses 41–43 predict:
You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter’s fired clay and partly
of iron—it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will
be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay, and that the toes of the feet were
part iron and part fired clay—part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will
be brittle. You saw the iron mixed with clay—the peoples will mix with one
another but will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with fired clay.
This passage no longer depicts ancient Rome; instead, the feet of iron
and clay describe a future empire, “Rome Phase II.” But even this title is
inadequate. Since Dan 2–7 is structured as a chiasm, the themes begun in Dan 2
are repeated in Dan 7. Therefore, to understand this aspect of the future
empire, the supplemental information of Dan 7 must be included. Daniel 7:23
states, “This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on
the earth, different from all the other kingdoms. It will devour the whole
earth, trample it down, and crush it.’ ” Rome Phase II, therefore, must be
much bigger than ancient Rome. Although the culture of ancient Rome might
represent some kind of origination point, Rome Phase II is an empire that will
dominate the world. What is being described here in vv. 41–43 is the coming
worldwide kingdom of a future world ruler to whom Scripture gives various
titles (the beast, the man of sin, the coming prince, and the antichrist). The
ten toes are interpreted in Dan 7:24 as ten horns or ten kingdoms. Daniel 7:24,
says “The 10 horns are 10 kings who will rise from this kingdom.” Revelation
17:12 similarly clarifies, “The 10 horns you saw are 10 kings who have not yet
received a kingdom, but they will receive authority as kings with the beast …”
Therefore, the ten toes represent a ten-king or ten-nation global confederacy.
This ten-king confederacy will be immediately and instantaneously destroyed by
the stone cut without human hands (Dan 2:34–35).
The depiction of the feet of clay is inconsistent with the known facts
of history because ancient Rome never consisted of a worldwide ten-king
confederacy nor did it ever experience a sudden and instantaneous termination
as described in the vision. In fact, Rome deteriorated gradually, over many
centuries, as the morals and values of the Roman people progressively weakened.
Thus, while the image from the head to the ankles is historical, the feet of
iron and clay along with their immediate destruction are yet future. In between
the ankles and the feet there appears to be an indefinite period of time.
In biblical prophecy, it is common for Scripture to present prophetic
events without mentioning the vast expanse of time in between the prophesied
events. For example, Isa 9:6a says, “For unto us a child is born, a son will be
given,” which is a prophecy about Christ’s first coming. However, the rest of
the verse (Isa 9:6b) speaks of Christ’s second coming when it goes on to say
“and the government will rest upon His shoulders.” Thus, Isa 9:6 conflates two
prophecies, one about the first advent and another about the second advent,
without revealing the vast expanse of time in between them. There is a similar
pattern in Dan 2, with a seemingly indefinite period of time in between the
ankles and feet in the statue.
By way of analogy, it is like looking at two mountains in the
distance. There is the first mountain and the other behind it, but what is not
seen is the valley separating the two mountains. Similarly, the prophets of old
could not see what was happening in the prophetic valley in between two
prophesied events. With a completed canon and the vantage point of history, the
valley becomes evident. The valley is the period of time between the two
advents of Christ.
However, at some point the valley will end, and the feet comprised of
iron mixed with clay, or the ten-king confederacy, will come into existence and
cover the entire earth. This will be the kingdom of the Antichrist. However,
this kingdom will be short lived. It will last a mere 42 months (Dan 7:25; Rev
13:5). And even when this empire comes into existence, Daniel indicates that it
will not consist of a cohesive structure. This is what Daniel means about the
iron and the clay not mixing together. Walvoord, of these verses, says:
The final form of the kingdom will include diverse elements, whether
this refers to race, political idealism, or sectional interests, and this will
prevent the final form of the kingdom from having any real unity. This, of
course, is borne out by the fact that the world empire at the end of the age
breaks up into a gigantic civil war in which forces from the south and the east
and the north contend with the ruler of the Mediterranean force supremacy as
Daniel himself will explain in Daniel 11:36–45.
The future kingdom of the Antichrist will represent only a superficial
unity at best. Its deep divisions will ultimately come to the surface as that
empire will go to war against itself in the second half of the tribulation
period.
The Kingdom of God
Rome Phase 2 will be instantaneously overthrown. Dan 2:44–45 says:
“In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom
that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another
people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will
itself endure forever. You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a
hand touching it, and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and
gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream
is true, and its interpretation certain.”
The vision depicts a smiting stone striking the feet of the statue,
which brought to an end not just the empire of the Antichrist but also all of
Gentile dominion over Israel that began in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. This
stone refers to the future and final kingdom of God. It is the very kingdom
Jesus taught His followers to pray for in Mt 6:10 when He said, “Thy kingdom
come.” The stone represents an unshakeable kingdom that every child of God will
inherit (Heb 12:28). Verse 34 indicates that this stone is “cut out by no human
hand” (ESV) indicating that this coming kingdom will not be of human origin.
Rather, it will be the work of God, and it will immediately overthrow the
Antichrist’s kingdom.
Verse 44 indicates that this kingdom will be established “in the days
of those kings.” “Those kings” refers to the ten-king confederacy of the
Antichrist. There is an important chronology here. First, will come the
ten-king confederacy. Then, after it reigns for a season, God will overthrow it
instantaneously, miraculously, and cataclysmically. Then and only then will
God’s kingdom be established upon the earth. Thus, Merrill Unger writes:
Hence, the iron kingdom with its feet of iron and clay (cf. 3:33–35,
40, 44) and the nondescript beast of 7:7–8 envision … the form in which it will
exist after the church period, when
God will resume His dealing with the nation
Israel. How futile for conservative scholars to ignore that fact and to seek to
find literal fulfillment of those prophecies in history or in the church, when
those predictions refer to events yet future and have no application whatever
to the church.
In v. 44, there is the expression “the God of heaven,” indicating that
although the content of the final kingdom will be physical and earthly, it will
originate from heaven itself. This also helps explain why it is characterized
as a stone cut without human hands. The stone’s exponential growth indicates
that God’s coming kingdom will be both universal and eternal.
It is significant that all of the kingdoms comprising the different
body parts of the statue surveyed thus far (Babylon, Persia, Greece, historical
Rome, Rome Phase II) are all literal kingdoms that existed for a literal time,
occupied specific lands with identifiable borders, and had a capital city. This
demands the question, why would not the last kingdom, represented by the stone
cut without human hands, also not be a literal kingdom that will reign for a
literal time (Rev 20:1–10), that will occupy a specific land with identifiable
borders (Gn 15:18–21), and have a capital (Isa 2:2–3)? Such a presentation
represents a premillennial view of history. The expression “millennium” simply
means a thousand years. Premillennialism is the belief that the thousand-year
kingdom will not come into existence until Jesus comes back first (or “pre”)
and then sets up His earthly kingdom (cf. Rev 20:4–6).
However, the premillennial view is not the majority view of church
history. The majority view instead is amillennialism, which argues that Jesus
set up His kingdom spiritually in the first century. However, to arrive at this
conclusion one must interpret everything in the statue literally except the
smiting stone and then interpret it non-literally. Such interpretive
vacillation is tantamount to switching hermeneutical horses in midstream. A
consistent interpretation of the statue demands premillennialism. Dwight
Pentecost explains why the presentation of the smiting stone found in Dan 2 is
inconsistent with the belief that Christ established His kingdom at His first
advent:
Amillennialists hold that this kingdom was established by Christ at
His First Advent and that now the
church is that kingdom. They argue that: (a) Christianity, like the growing
mountain, began to grow and spread geographically and is still doing so; (b)
Christ came in the days of the Roman Empire; (c) the Roman Empire fell into the
hands of 10 kingdoms (10 toes); (d) Christ is the chief Cornerstone (Eph.
2:20). Premillenarians, however, hold that the kingdom to be established by
Christ on earth is yet future. At least six points favor that view: (1) The
stone will become a mountain suddenly, not gradually. Christianity did not
suddenly fill “the whole earth” (Dan. 2:35) at Christ’s First Advent. (2)
Though Christ came in the days of the Roman Empire, He did not destroy it. (3)
During Christ’s time on earth the Roman Empire did not have 10 kings at once.
Yet Nebuchadnezzar’s statue suggests that when Christ comes to establish His
kingdom, 10 rulers will be in existence and will be destroyed by Him. (4)
Though Christ is now the chief Cornerstone to the church (Eph. 2:20) and “a stone
that causes [unbelievers] to stumble” (1 Peter 2:8), He is not yet a smiting
Stone as He will be when He comes again. (5) The Stone (Messiah) will crush and
end all the kingdoms of the world. But the church has not and will not conquer
the world’s kingdoms. (6) The church is not a kingdom with a political realm,
but the future Millennium will be. Thus Nebuchadnezzar’s dream clearly teaches
premillennialism, that Christ will return to earth to establish His rule on the
earth, thereby subduing all nations. The church is not that kingdom. (Andrew
M. Woods, “Daniel 2:29–45: The Times of the Gentiles and the Messianic
Kingdom,” in The Moody Handbook of
Messianic Prophecy: Studies and Expositions of the Messiah in the Old Testament,
ed. Michael Rydelnik and Edwin Blum [Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2019], 1120-24)
