Misinterpreting Daniel Chapter Two
by John Baker

Many prophecy teachers have tried to interpret the ten toes of Daniel 2 as the new European Union and the EU as the Revived Roman Empire. But it has never really fit. Additionally the two iron legs of the statue did not represent the East and West divisions of the Roman Empire, it represented the two idealogical divisions of the empire, that of the Stoics (one leg) and the Epicurians (the other leg). The Stoics were equivalent to our Republican party, and the Epicureans to our Democrat party.

The Stoics believed in Duty, Honor, Morals, Allegiance to the State, family. The Epicureans on the other hand were like our modern day relativists, they held that life was there to enjoy, they believed in a hedonistic and free lifestyle. These two ideologies battled against each other as the Epicureans became more debauched the Stoics became more hard line, this led to the Roman Republic changing from a form of Democracy to a Dictatorship. The Stoics seeing the only way to control the Roman Citizens, who had become rich and debauched ( and were known as the mob) was through a dictatorship.

But what is fascinating is that the Dictatorship, first through Sula and then Julius Caesar was granted by the Roman Senate on a temporary basis to be renewed as thought needed by the Roman Senate. Just as our modern Patriot Act has given our President almost unlimited power albeit on a renewable basis granted by our Senate.

By the time of Augustus Caesar the first true emperor for life in the Roman Empire, the Romans had quite a few scares to their security and quite a bit of internal upheaval within the empire, and they were rich and wanted to maintain their lifestyle at any cost and were willing to allow Augustus to gather about himself great dictatorial powers. What is interesting is that he was never known as the Emperor. Since Rome was a Democratic Republic, the citizens would never allow a person to have the title of Emperor. Augustus Caesar was actually known as the Prince of Rome. And he attained his dictatorial powers by being named as the Chief Justice of Rome, head of the Civil Service, and he was also given dictatorial powers in the conquered territories outside of Rome.

So he gained power by being given titles and named head of the parts of the Roman government that could wield great power and were formerly in the hands of multiple people. In this way he neutralized the power of the Roman Senate. Augustus further advanced his power by bringing stability to the Roman Empire after decades of external and internal instability. The Senate and the People showered him with more power out of a sense of Gratitude. These powers were only supposed to have been for him and his lifetime only. But when he died, in the name of preserving stability most of the titles and power went to his successors. We normally translate Caesar today the same as King or Dictator or Emperor. But Augustus and his successors were given the name Caesar as an honor to show their link back to Julius Caesar (Caesar being his actual last name and not a title) who was greatly loved by the Roman people. So a temporary and informal granting of power to the Caesars first with Augustus slowly over time became permanent. However the Roman Senate existed until the fall of the Western Roman Empire. And the Romans right up until the end considered themselves a Republican Democracy.

And it is true that the Western Roman Empire never really ended abruptly it just seemed to fade away as the Barbarian tribes infiltrated the Empire, intermarried with the Romans, and as the Roman Legions became a hired Mercenary force. The Barbarians came to make up the majority of the Legions strength and because they were its strength were able to raise up one of their own as the leader of the Western Roman Empire.

Where the two legs of the statue in Daniel 2 become the ten toes made up of iron mixed with clay is as follows:

When the Western Roman Empire finally collapsed what it left to all succeeding nations in that area and now the world, that followed it was its legacy of codified laws and form of government, and competing conservative and liberal ideologies, Justinian one of the last Emperors of a combined East and West Roman Empire codified all Roman Law, in other words he made it into a defined code of laws in books for the entire Empire to be used by Judges, Courts, Procreator Fiscals (Prosecutors), it became known as the Code of Justinian. All European Law is based on Roman Justinian codified Law. United States codified laws are based on European codified law, which is based on Roman Justinian codified laws, as is Central and South American law, African Law, Australian law. If you ever go into an Attorney’s office and see the shelves of Books, these books are the Codified laws for City State and sometimes Federal Law. All of this is based on Roman Justinian Codified law in structure and content. Also the two different competing ideologies of Stoicism and Epicureanism have filtered down through societies to today.

All modern Government Civil Services are based on the Roman Civil Service. Virtually all of modern society all over the world finds its roots in the Roman Empire. How our economy functions, banking, retailing, commercial activities etc etc. This was not so during the Communist era in Russia, Eastern Europe and China but since the fall of the Soviet Union virtually all of the World follows the same commercial and economic structures for their societies which find their root in the Roman Republic.

Our form of government owes much to the Romans, the form of our Senate, our Judicial System etc. Parliamentary governments in other countries find their origins in the Roman Republic. Where the Clay mixed with the Iron comes in is this: The iron is the foundations of the Roman Republic that have found their way into our societies, and how those foundations have an iron grip in perpetuating and accelerating humanistic governments. The clay represents popular democracy. Popular democracy mixed in with the iron of the foundational structures of the Roman Empire tempers its strength and weakens it.

How does all of this fit into an end times scenario, well it is not going to be a revived Roman Empire in Europe. If you read Ezekiel 38, it talks about the great Gog Magog war against Israel. Up until that time democracy is being spread across the globe, Christianity is continually becoming relative and compromised. As I have shown in some previous emails the Emergent Church movement and other movements are making Christianity more inclusive of other belief systems. Going so far as questioning the Divinity of Jesus, what you will end up with is a democratized form of religion where everyone has compromised and come to an agreeable position that includes everyone in the family of God and does not “discriminate” against anyone if you know what I mean. But there are always two main hold outs: Those who hold to true Christianity and Militant Islam.

The True Christians will be removed via the rapture, but Militant Islam will trigger Ezekiel 38. If you read Ezekiel 38 the devastation is so great that it takes Israel seven years to clean up the carnage of the destroyed armies. This event will be so horrible that everyone will cry for peace. It will destroy what we know as militant Islam and a reformed “peaceful” Islam will take its place. This war will bring abut the ten nation confederation of Daniel 2. And if you read Daniel 2 you will see that the EU stands by and does not prevent the Ezekial 38 war. This is because one: Europe has no military power, they have always relied on the U.S. since WWII to provide security for them, secondly the European native population is actually shrinking the death rate is more than the birth rate, but the birth rate and immigration rate of Muslims is very high, so the EU will be a weak and partially Muslim entity that will not have either the strength or the will to come against the Gog Magog federation.

The ten trans-national confederation headed by the Anti-Christ will be much larger than just Europe, if you notice the trend among nations today, it is to sign Free Trade Agreements. Such as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Association) ASEAN(Association of South Eastern Asian Nations) etc. Mexico, The United States and Canada are moving towards closer integration. They may one day become an American version of the EU. These ten transnational entities will have a governing committee and will elect as their head a President of sorts and this is where the Anti-Christ will come in. He will be like any other politician; smooth, a great organizer, and diplomat. Laws will have come to a stage by this time to prevent any kind of “religious discrimination” as it will seem like the right thing to do as the horrible results of Ezekiel 38 will be so evident. The Anti-Christ will be given great powers as if you study history and especially the Roman Empire you will see that in times of instability people and governments are willing to give up all of their freedoms for a promise of security, and this will be the case for the Anti-Christ. Religious freedoms will be one of those freedoms taken away. And anyone viewed has having Religious views that “discriminate” against others will be labeled an enemy of the state. It will seem to all people as a necessity.

Also Daniel specifically says that the Anti-Christ will be from the Middle-East, most likely Syria. He wont be from Europe.

The EU is a shadow and type, just like Paul describes the events of the Old Testament being shadows and types for our admonition. Or for our understanding and learning of what to look for. The EU has elements just like the United States has elements that will be used within the 10 transnational confederation that the Anti-Christ will lead.

Some of the main ones are: A commercial and economic structure based on the American model. (Just as the world has adopted today) A type of Republican Democracy, a inclusive structure of many nations and, many religions dissolved into a single inclusive religion. Etc etc.

The woman who rides the beast is not the Catholic Church today per se. Catholic is Latin for Universal, so there will be a universal Church that will be the Harlot. She is a harlot because she has cheated on God and allied herself with the governments, compromised her beliefs to satisfy man instead of God. She will persecute and kill those who do not accept her just as false religions have always done throughout history. This is one of the reasons Rick Warren’s Social gospel is so dangerous and leads to the false Church, because he teaches an ideology called the 3 legged-stool. Where the Church is but one leg of Man centered society, government and civil organizations making up the other two. The Harlot rides the beast as the beast is society and she adapts herself to the society to be relevant, to wield power and to satisfy man not God. Just as false Christianity has always done throughout history and will find its fulfillment in the end times ten transnational coalition.

And lastly in regards to Muhammad’s wife Khadija being Catholic, there is no documented evidence to support this. What is known is that a cousin of Khadija was a Christian. But during the time of Muhammad’s life in Mecca there were various heretical sects of Christianity: Nestorians. Sabean’s there were also other Monotheistic Pagan Religions such as Zoroastrianism. So there is no link in that respect between Catholicism and Islam. And no one knows of what Christian sect Khadija’s cousin was part of.

Also in regards to Muhammad’s daughter Fatima. There is no link between her and Catholicism either. A recent prophecy teacher seemed to infer that the Three Fatima Prophecies were linked to her, and Islam. They are not. The only link is this. The three children who had the supposed visions of the Virgin Mary were from a town called Fatima Portugal. The town got its name because before Portugal was a country it was part of Spain and that area of Spain was at one time ruled by the Moors, who were North African Muslims and they named the town after Muhammad’s daughter Fatima. The Moors were eventually defeated by El Cid, remember the movie with Charlton Heston as El Cid and Sophia Loren as his wife? That is what the movie is about, the defeat of the Moors in Spain, who after their defeat fled to North Africa and Spain reverted to Catholicism.

In addition the interpretation of the statue in Daniel 2 is multilayered, It not only is interpreted: Babylonian Empire as the Gold head, The Medio-Persian Empire as the Silver arms and chest, the Greek empire under Alexander the Great as the Bronze Thighs, and the Roman Empire as the Iron legs, but it in a deeper level it shows in the inferior metals as you go down how the empires will be inferior to the previous:

The Babylonian Empire was an Absolute Monarchy, the Ruler could do what he wanted, when he wanted, he could change his mind on laws, decisions etc anytime he wanted. He was considered a God.

The Medio-Persian Empire was a coalition of the Medes and the Persians. The ruler once he made a law and it was written in the book of laws he could not change it. He was bound to it. He was absolute as long as he didn’t contradict a law he had written because to contradict his own word meant he was not a God.

The Greek Empire under Alexander the Great was a confederation of Greek States ruled by the Macedonian Republic which was governed by a ruling council who appointed a ruler from a hereditary family. Any one in that family could be chosen as the next ruler. The Ruler could only rule with the support of the council and in the Greek states we also see the inclusion for the first time of democratic principles in government.

The Roman Empire was a full blown Republican Democracy which was governed by a democratically elected Senate, the Empire eventually did degenerate into a Dictatorship but maintained the semblance of a democracy to the end.

So you see the degradation of the manner of government in the statue fits with the Metals becoming more inferior. Democracy is not God’s intended form of government. His government when it is set up after Armageddon will be absolute rule by Jesus Christ. God knows that man made democracies are the most degraded form of government because man will always if left to his own devices choose fleshly desires over Godly desires.