What are the “Ten Toes” of the Roman Empire?
Answer from John MacArthur
The Second Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ
There is an indication in Daniel 2:42, that the ten toes of the image that are smashed represent a ten-fold unity…or a ten-nation confederacy, if you will? Now, it is very important to recognize that Rome has never had a ten-nation confederacy. Therefore, it is going to have to take place in the future.
The emphasis of a ten-fold unity within the Roman Empire is also seen in Daniel 7:7, where, in another vision, Daniel says, “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast [the Roman kingdom], dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.” This is also seen in Revelation 17:12a, which says, “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet…” There are ten future kings coming, in the final form of the Roman world rule…a ten-nation confederacy.
You say, “What final Roman Empire are you talking about? Wasn’t it conquered long ago?” No. It was never conquered. It fell into dormancy and abeyance because of its own internal decay. The western half went first, and was finally buried by the invasion of the northern barbarians — the Goths, Vandals, Moors, and Huns. The eastern half was buried by the sweep of Mohammedanism and finished off by the Turks. Basically, it just deteriorated — it was never conquered! This is very significant, because Daniel’s prophecy says that the Toman kingdom will end with a sudden smashing by “the stone…cut out of the mountain without hands” — not a gradual decay!
There must be a final form of the Roman government, and it must have a ten-nation confederacy. Why? Because the Roman Empire never had it. Once this occurs, the next kingdom to come will be God’s Kingdom, which will immediately follow Christ’s destruction of the Roman Kingdom
Related articles
- The History of the Later Roman Empire (davidscommonplacebook.wordpress.com)
- The Dream Becomes Reality (brakelite.wordpress.com)
- Romanians Not Amused at Naked Founding Father Statue (neatorama.com)
- Byzantine (callawayinteriordesign.wordpress.com)
