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Daniel and Revelation A Foundation for Understanding Prophecy No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.—2 Peter 1:20 James Parkinson The Book of Daniel presents many symbolic and narrative visions of prophecy, which set the stage for several of the visions in Revelation.1: Notable among Daniel’s visions are the smiting of Nebuchadnezzar’s image (chapter 2), the four beasts (chapter 7), and the ram and the he-goat (chapter 8). The interpretations given are further corroborated by many artifacts of antiquity and archaeology. In Daniel 8 a two-horned ram from the east is identified with the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, while the he-goat and its great horn signify the kingdom of Greece (Hebrew Javan, or Ionia) and its first great king (Alexander). Persian and Macedonian coins of the time show how each empire used a particular animal to represent itself (even as nations do today. 2 The Persian Ram
The Macedonian Goat
Alexander’s total victory over the Persian Empire is illustrated in yet another coin displaying the great horn extending over the defeated ram.
Goat Conquers Ram After the death of Alexander and his family, his generals each took a part of the empire: Cassander (Macedonia), Ptolemy I (Egypt), Seleucus I (Syria and Babylon), and Lysimmachus (Thrace). By interpretation, Thrace founded Rome and there became dominant: there “came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great” (Daniel 8:8,9). Daniel 7 describes four successive beasts which collectively have (1+1+4+1=) 7 heads, beginning with the office of the king of Babylon. They also had (0+0+0+10=) 10 horns, like the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s image (Daniel 2:41,42), which evidently represent the ten Germanic (Hebrew Ashkenaz) tribes which took over the former Roman Empire. In sequence, the successive heads, or imperial capitals, were:
In Revelation 12 we see these seven heads on the dragon, and with diadems on the heads. The dragon became the Roman imperial ensign near 300 A.D. It had the head of a wolf (the symbol of Thrace) on the body of a serpent.
Roman Imperial Ensign of the Dragon About that time the Roman emperors began wearing the diadem, instead of solely the laurel wreath of victory.
Emperor Nerva
Emperor Valens The nineteenth-century school of higher criticism had insisted therefore that John’s writings could not have been penned before the late third century A.D. Revelation manuscripts of the third century are now at hand (p47, p116), as are manuscripts of the gospel of John from the second century (p52, p90). Thus, a first century A.D. dating for all twenty-seven books of the New Testament is now quite generally agreed upon, even by unbelievers and by theologians with limited faith. That the great power of the Roman Empire was known centuries in advance may be seen in the map of Italy:
A stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image on the feet that were of iron and clay. and break them in pieces . . . A kingdom which . . . shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. -- Daniel 2:34,44 A stone [Sicily] strikes the image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream on its feet, knocking the legs out from under the Roman Empire [Italy]. The stone pictures Messiah’s kingdom, or the thousand-year kingdom of Christ, and ultimately the kingdom of God which will endure forever (Daniel 2:34,44). In Revelation 13, the beast is traceable back through the leopard, bear, and lion of Daniel’s beasts, and it therefore represents the indescribable beast of the Roman Empire. This beast is also identified with the seven heads and ten horns, but now the diadems are transferred to the horns. The ten horns are easily identified with the ten Germanic tribes which took over the entire Roman Empire (in later times called the West Roman Empire), each of which gained the East Roman Emperor’s permission to display the diadem.3 Herules, Ostrogoths, and Lombards (all three later incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy, per Daniel 7:8); Vandals (Sicily and North Africa), Sueves (Portugal), Visigoths (Spain), Franks (North and West France), Burgundians (Southeast France), Alemans (Germany), and Anglo-Saxons (England). In these illustrations a * after a name denotes an East Roman emperor; ‡# is associated with a tribal king. All have diadems.
Theodosius* 534-536 A.D. [Ostrogoths]
Queen Antharis# 584-591 A,D, [Lombards]
Odovacer* 476-493 A.D. [Heruli]
Hermenegild# 589-594 A.D. [Visigoths]
Richiarius* 448-456 A.D [Suevi]
Thrasamund# 496-523 A.D. [Vandals]
Clovis# 481-511 A.D. [Franks]
Gonthram# 561-592 A.D. [Burgundians]
Theoderbert I# 534-548 A.D. [Alemans]
Offa# 755-794 A.D. [Anglo-Sazons] “The great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth” (Revelation 12:9, ASV). Constantine and his son display their interpretation of the fall of heathen Rome, showing the cross erected over the fallen dragon:
Constantine Constantius The seven heads and ten horns appear one last time, in Revelation 17. Seven mountains are mentioned in verse 9, “The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” Identification of the seven mountains is also given on Roman coinage:
Vespasian 69-79 A.D.
A Papal medal struck at
Rome on the occasion of a jubilee. Roman power came to a temporary end for about sixty-three years, 476-539 A.D., during which time it “is not” (Revelation 17:8,11). Papal civil power rose after the Arian Ostrogoths lifted the siege of Rome and the East Roman general, Belisarius, left Rome to pursue them (at the summer solstice of 538). By the time Belisarius was recalled to Constantinople (at the spring equinox of 540), the pope in Rome had become the civil ruler of the land. By the end of the century, Pope Gregory was levying taxes, raising armies, and negotiating with foreign powers. He had become the dominant political figure of the time. Papal involvement in the kingdoms of this world has been a fact of life ever since. Thus, Rome, as Papal Rome, became an eighth head, although it was really a revival of the sixth head. Conclusions and Deductions The symbols of Daniel and Revelation are consistent. Daniel’s interpretations apply also to Revelation. The seven heads are seven successive world-class empires which sequentially bear rule over most of the Lord’s people as well as the world. The sixth head was Rome, which was reigning at the time John wrote Revelation 17:10, “Five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while.” The seventh head was Constantinople (politically Rome, but geographically Thrace), during which the ten horns—ten Germanic tribes—took over the West Roman Empire (everything west of the former Grecian Empire). A resurgent Rome—as Papal Rome—began ca. 539 as a little horn and became an eighth head. In the Reformation and the French Revolution some of the horns began turning against the Vatican (chapter 17:16). The Anglican church-state was created in the image of the Roman church-state (but with the head of state becoming head of the church, chapter 13:11-17). At the end of the 1,260 years of about 539-1799, masses of people turned against all kinds of Christianity, but absolute monarchies gave way to limited monarchies, thus taking the masses into the governmental process (chapter 12:15,16). Hence it would appear the prophecies of chapters 12, 13, and 17 were seen by those who lived during the papal reign and the Protestant era; so it is chapters 14 and 18 that remain to be fulfilled toward the end of the Gospel age. What Might We Expect in Coming Years? Events of the last day are seen in Revelation chapters 14 and 18, but there is no mention of Christ’s second advent in chapters 12, 13, or 17. The ten horns were first identifiable during the time of the seventh, or Constantinople, head. But Daniel 7:8 shows that the number of horns does not remain constant: it goes from ten to eleven to eight during the rise of the little horn that makes great claims. That time was long before the Reformation. Thus, one might expect no further world government based on ten Christian nations in Europe. Further, some will note that Nebuchadnezzar’s image, once smitten, does not come back together again. Moreover, the lawless one is slain “by the brightness of his presence,” as a snowman melts in the sunlight (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Therefore one might not look for another world-dominant government before Gog of Magog opposes Israel and the West in Armageddon (Ezekiel 38). Reliable expectations for the next several decades are more likely to be found by considering that the last day is divided into seven parts (Joshua 6:15,16), and thence by studying the seven last plagues of Exodus and Revelation.4: And as Israel continues to return to their land, in accord with Ezekiel 37, one may watch how rapidly the eastern and western blocks of Ezekiel 38 are each coalescing. However strong or weak our prophetic eyesight may be, we can be assured Israel “shall be saved out of it” (Jeremiah 30:7). The promise God swore by an oath will assuredly come to pass, that in Messiah “shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 28:14). 1. Revelation draws from nearly every book of the Bible (except perhaps Ezra, Habakkuk, Haggai, Philemon, and 3 John) to elucidate the Bible for the practicing Christian. Using I. N. John, “The Reference Passage Bible;” Lincoln, Nebraska: Alpha, 1913 (plus a cross-reference of Obadiah 21 from Revelation 14:1, and uncounted more of seven messengers with seven trumpets in Joshua 6), there are more than 1,400 cross-references from Revelation. While two-thirds of the 885 New Testament cross-references are to other parts of Revelation, the other most-frequently-referenced are Matthew (43), John (32), and Romans (25). However, in proportion to length of text, 2 Thessalonians, Jude, and then Philippians, are referenced most. Of the 532 or more Old Testament references, Isaiah (109), Psalms (71), and Daniel (68) receive the most. But in proportion to text length, Daniel, Zechariah, and then Joel, have the most. (It is of interest that Daniel, Zechariah, and Revelation are the three books which interpret many of their own symbols. 2. These drawings, and most of the other artifacts below, are from Edward Elliott, Horae Apocalypticae, 4 volumes; London: Seeley (5 editions, 1844-1862). Many more of these types of diademed coin may be seen in Wealth of the Roman World, Gold and Silver A.D. 300-700, ed. J.P.C. Kent and K.S. Painter; London: British Museum Publ., 1977. 3. A crown worn as a sign of royalty is called a diadem. A diadem signified that the coinage was to be recognized for trade throughout the former Roman Empire, much as the euro is issued by twelve different European countries and is accepted as legal tender in all euro-zone countries. The term East Roman Empire applies to the former Grecian Empire, symbolized by the third beast of Daniel 7. 4. The last three plagues of Exodus are: an east wind brings locusts devouring the remainder of Egypt’s crops, followed by a west wind which drives all the locusts out again; three days of intense darkness which stills activity; and the deliverance of Israel’s firstborn (heirs), accompanied by the sudden death of Egypt’s firstborn. An East-West struggle has continued since World War II. Perhaps the next major world event will be a depression. The last event before Christ’s kingdom will be the battle of Armageddon. |
