03.06.01. Appendix I

APPENDIX

Part I Daniel’s Image

The most widely held position among premillennial students of the Word concerning Daniel’s image in Daniel 2:1-49 (or the "four great beasts" in chapter seven) views the four parts of the image (or the "four great beasts") as representing 1) Babylon, 2) Media-Persia, 3) Greece, and 4) Rome. This would be the position set forth in the Scofield Reference Bible footnotes for example, a position followed by most premillennial commentators.

The only part of the prophecy really in question would be the fourth part. Daniel identifies the first three beasts (and, correspondingly, the first three parts of the image) as particular nations conquering Babylon, and this part of the prophecy has been fulfilled and is a matter of history.

But should the fourth part of the image (or the fourth beast) be identified as Rome? There are two main reasons why people interpret the prophecy after this fashion: 1) Rome was the next world power following Greece, and 2) the words, "and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary," in Daniel 9:26, are usually associated with a Roman destruction in history and a Roman prince (Antichrist) in prophecy -- both connected with the fourth part of the image.

Greece was the third kingdom (represented by the belly and thighs of brass on the image), and the fourth kingdom (represented by the legs of iron, and in its final form by the feet part of iron and part of clay) would, from history, seem to be Rome, with the final form looked upon as a revived Roman Empire. This interpretation would appear to be substantiated by Daniel 9:26. In this verse, "the prince that shall come" is Antichrist, and "the people of the prince [understood as ’his people’]" are said to be the Romans destroying Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Thus, Antichrist is said to be a Roman prince who will rule a revived Roman Empire in the latter days.

In other words, all of Daniel’s image except the feet would have a historical fulfillment. The legs would represent the Roman Empire in history, and the feet would represent the revived Roman Empire during the Tribulation. And the same would hold true for the corresponding description set forth by the "four great beasts" in Daniel 7:1-28. The first three beasts would have a historical fulfillment, and the fourth would have a partial fulfillment in history. The fourth beast would represent the Roman Empire in both history and prophecy, corresponding to the legs and feet of the image.

Is the preceding though the way Scripture sets forth the fourth and final part of the Babylonian kingdom? Or is this an attempt to interpret Biblical prophecy through events in secular history rather than interpreting prophecy by comparing Scripture with Scripture? The answer is easy to ascertain if one remains solely within that which Daniel (and related Scripture) reveals about the whole matter.

Note first of all that Daniel’s image is seen standing in Babylon (Daniel 2:31). This image has to do with a Babylonian kingdom from beginning to end. The head of gold has to do with the kingdom of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar and any immediate successors prior to the conquest of the kingdom by the nation or nations represented by the breast and arms of silver (Daniel 2:37-38). The breast and arms of silver have to do with the Medes and the Persians coming in and conquering the preceding kingdom (Daniel 2:39; Daniel 5:28,, Daniel 5:31). And the belly and thighs of brass have to do with the Grecians coming in and conquering the kingdom ruled by the Medes and the Persians (Daniel 2:39; Daniel 8:6-7, Daniel 8:20-21). The mechanics of the preceding, of course, is the interpretation held in common by almost anyone reading Daniel. This is simply what the record in Daniel states, along with secular history.

But note something often overlooked about the preceding: This kingdom is Babylonian throughout. The powers represented by the head of gold, the breast and arms of silver, and the belly and thighs of brass all reigned from Babylon. For example, when the Medes and the Persians came in and took the kingdom in 538 B.C., they reigned from Babylon and were still there when Alexander the Great came over in 330 B.C., 208 years later. Then, when Alexander the Great took the kingdom, he also reigned from Babylon. In other words, the image is not seen lying down, with the head of gold in Babylon, the breast and arms of silver in Media and Persia, and the belly and thighs of brass in Greece. That’s not the picture at all. The image is seen standing in Babylon. It is Babylonian in its entirety.

This is one place where those who view a Roman Empire next in the prophecy go astray. Rome had nothing to do with a reign from Babylon in history. The capital of the Roman Empire was Rome, not Babylon. And Rome is not Babylon. If there were such a thing as a revived Roman Empire though, there could possibly be room for the final form of the Roman Empire to be connected with Babylon, for Babylon, back on the Euphrates, will be the capital of the earth during the last half of the Tribulation. Such though will not be the case.

Those viewing Rome as representing the fourth part of the image try to press secular history into Biblical prophecy at a point where it seems to possibly fit, but really doesn’t. Then they further complicate the matter by a misinterpretation of Daniel 9:26.

The most interesting thing about the whole matter is the fact that Daniel identifies all four parts of the image, and he identifies the fourth part as being other than the Roman Empire. Daniel, in his identity, has Antichrist coming into power immediately following a four-way division of the kingdom after the death of Alexander the Great. The kingdom under Antichrist follows the Greco-Babylonian kingdom and is represented by the legs of iron, and in its final form by the feet part of iron and part of clay.

The first part of the image is identified in Daniel 2:37-38. Then following this the remaining three parts of the image are given, though not identified. Then note the prominence given to the fourth part -- two verses cover the first part (Daniel 2:37-38), one verse the next two parts (Daniel 2:39), but six verses are devoted to the final form. And such prominence relative to the fourth part is true elsewhere in Daniel also (see Daniel 7:1-28, Daniel 8:1-27, Daniel 11:1-45). Why would such prominence be given to Rome and not to nations associated with the first three parts of the image? It’s not! Rather, it’s the kingdom of Babylon under its last king (Antichrist) which occupies the forefront in the Book of Daniel.

The identities of the other three parts are given in the vision of the "four great beasts" and the interpretation of this vision in chapters seven and eight. The four beasts are said to represent four kingdoms (four sequential kingdoms forming the one Babylonian kingdom [Daniel 7:17; cf. Daniel 7:23]), and beginning with the second beast, the last three are identified in Daniel 8:1-27. For the identity of the second, compare Daniel 8:3-4 with Daniel 8:20 (cf. Daniel 5:28; Daniel 5:31); for the identity of the third, compare Daniel 5:5-8 with Daniel 5:21-22; and for the identity of the fourth, compare Daniel 5:9-14 with Daniel 5:23-26. Note that the identity of the second is Media and Persia (corresponding to the breast and arms of silver on the image), the identity of the third is Greece (corresponding to the belly and thighs of brass), and the identity of the fourth is the kingdom under Antichrist (corresponding to the legs of iron and the feet part of iron and part of clay). Where is Rome? Rome is not in the prophecy!

Following Alexander the Great’s death, the kingdom was divided among his four generals (Daniel 5:8, Daniel 5:22), and the vision then goes immediately into the days of Antichrist yet future (the "little horn" in Daniel 5:9 is not Antiochus Epiphanes, but Antichrist [see parallel verses, Daniel 5:23-26]). So, what happened? The kingdom under Alexander the Great’s four generals gradually faded from view (though the prophecy in Daniel does not cover events during the reign of these four generals following this division. Daniel’s prophecy goes immediately into the power represented by the fourth part of the image [or the power represented by the fourth beast], into the days of Antichrist); and a couple of hundred years following Alexander the Great’s death Rome came into the picture as a world power, but not as a world power fulfilling any part of Daniel’s prophecy. This prophecy will not again continue to be fulfilled until Antichrist appears during Daniel’s Seventieth Week. Then, and only then, will the fourth part of the image from Daniel 2:1-49 and the fourth beast in Daniel 7:1-28; Daniel 8:1-27 come into existence.

Now, what about "the people of the prince that shall come" in Daniel 9:26? Does that not refer to a destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and to the Romans being Antichrist’s people in history? Not at all.

First note the expression, "the people of the prince that shall come," and compare this with a similar expression in Daniel 7:27 -- "the people of the saints of the most High." Who will take the kingdom in Daniel 7:18-27? Note in Daniel 7:18 that it is "the saints of the most High," and in Daniel 7:27 it is "the people of the saints of the most High." The latter is the translation of a Hebrew idiom which is equivalent to the former. And it is the same in Daniel 9:26. "The people of the prince" in Daniel 9:26 is a reference to the prince himself. Failure to recognize this idiom and properly interpret its usage in Daniel 9:26 has resulted in confusion.

The destruction of Jerusalem in Daniel 9:26 is not a reference to the destruction which occurred in 70 A.D. but rather a reference to a future destruction under Antichrist in the middle of the Tribulation. This is the same destruction referred to in Luke 21:20-24 (cf. Revelation 11:2). The destruction in Daniel 9:26 must occur within the framework of the Seventy Weeks (ref. Chapter III), and contextually it occurs in connection with Antichrist breaking his covenant with Israel in Daniel 9:27. Both the text and context in Luke 21:20-24 show that this section also has to do with the same time as Daniel 9:26 -- the coming Tribulation, rather than with events in 70 A.D.