The Prophet Daniel tells us of four major empires in Daniel chapter two and chapter seven. The four empires are identified specifically as the Babylonian Empire (Daniel 2:38), and then symbolically as the Mede-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great, and finally what we know as the Roman Empire. The symbolism of Nebuchadnezzar’s image even goes so far as to show the division of the Roman Empire into the Western Empire with its capitol of Rome, and the Eastern Empire with its capitol in Greece. The two legs of the image show this division.

I have often wondered about all the many empires, both great and small, that existed between the time of the Fall of the Roman Empire and modern times. There was the empire of Genghis Khan in Asia, the great empire of Napoleon and the empire of Great Britain. Brother Grant Jeffery, author of many books on prophecy, pointed out a simple fact that explains the lack of prophetic identification of these interim empires. Israel was not a nation.

After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., there still was a Jewish presence in Israel. It was not until the Bar Kochba Rebellion in 133 A.D. that the Romans had had enough. At that time they deported the remaining Jews and sold them as slaves all over the Roman Empire. That is why there are English Jews, German Jews, and even Russian Jews. Then, as a final insult, the Romans renamed Israel after the enemy of Israel, the Philistines. The Latin form of Philistia is Palestine. Even though the land is now again Israel, some continue to mistakenly refer to it as Palestine. This is an insult to Jews and to the Lord.

In 1948, after a proclamation of the United Nations, Israel became a state again. The land officially became Israel again. Brother Hal Lindsey, also an author of many books on prophecy, points out the revival of the old European Roman Empire in 1948. The Benelux Customs Union came into force in 1948. This was a common trade agreement between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The Benelux agreement sowed the seeds of the European Coal and Steel Union and the European Economic Community (EEC). The EEC was originally known as the Treaty of Rome. From these foundations came the European Union, or the EU. Today the EU has a population of 500 million and combined is economically more powerful than the United States.

Israel became a country again in 1948. The Roman Empire was revived again in 1948 under the guise of the European Union. When the EU achieved ten members, prophecy watchers became excited, thinking that this represented the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s image. However, there are now twenty-seven members. Perhaps the division of the globe in 1972 into ten regions by the Club of Rome would satisfy that prophetic image.

After a long break, it appears that the prophecy of Daniel has started again. Hallelujah! Even so, come Lord Jesus.