The Revived Roman Empire

The Bible reveals that in the last days, the world will be ruled by a global government.

This will be the first truly global government since the fall of Adam and Eve, and it will be responsible for a terrible amount of destruction and murder before being destroyed by the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ who "will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed" Daniel 2:44 (NLT).

In Chapter 2 of the Book of Daniel, the prophet Daniel (with the guidance of God Himself) properly interprets the dream of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar.

The king dreamed of a beautiful statue of a man with a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet made from a combination of iron and clay. The statue was crushed by a rock cut from a mountain by supernatural means, and the rock became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.

Daniel explains that the statue is a series of kingdoms, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonia:

"You are the head of gold. But after your kingdom comes to an end, another great kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third great kingdom, represented by the bronze belly and thighs, will rise to rule the world. Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth great kingdom, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. The feet and toes you saw that were a combination of iron and clay show that this kingdom will be divided. Some parts of it will be as strong as iron, and others as weak as clay. This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But this will not succeed, just as iron and clay do not mix." Daniel 2:38-43 (NLT)

In the course of human events since Daniel interpreted the king's dream, all but one of these kingdoms (the last) has appeared and disappeared just as predicted. In order, they are:

1) Babylonia
2) Medo-Persia
3) Greece
4) Rome
5) The Revived Roman Empire

Characteristics of the Last World Empire

This last empire, symbolized by the feet and toes of iron and clay, will one day constitute the first dictatorship that is truly global in nature. This revived Roman Empire will rule the world in the following ways:

1) Politically

"And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation." Revelation 13:7 (NLT)

2) Religiously

"And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast." Revelation 13:8 (NLT)

"They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they worshiped the beast." Revelation 13:4 (NLT)

and

3) Economically

"He required everyone - great and small, rich and poor, slave and free - to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name." Revelation 13:16-17 (NLT)

Every facet of the human experience will be utterly dominated by this global government.

All other governments will give way to this powerful government, described as a beast in Daniel Chapter 7. In this chapter, Daniel has a vision of four world empires, represented by beasts. The fourth beast represents Rome:

"Then he said to me, 'This fourth beast is the fourth world power that will rule the earth. It will be different from all the others. It will devour the whole world, trampling everything in its path. Its ten horns are ten kings that will rule that empire. Then another king will arise, different from the other ten, who will subdue three of them. He will defy the Most High and wear down the holy people of the Most High.'" Daniel 7:23-25 (NLT)

The Ten Kings

In its second incarnation, the Roman Empire will be ruled by ten kings. But another king will arise from among them.

They will grant their authority to him, but he will soon turn on three of these kings, acquiring permanent control over the empire.

This passage also underscores how God views the world versus how humans view the world. These same kingdoms as dreamed of by Nebuchadnezzar represented a beautiful statue; As viewed by God they represent horrible beasts.

We learn more about the characteristics of the coming world government in the Book of Revelation, where an angel reveals to the apostle John the true meaning of his vision of a woman sitting on a scarlet beast with 7 heads and 10 horns:

"And now understand this: The seven heads of the beast represent seven hills of the city where this woman rules. They also represent seven kings. Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief. The scarlet beast that was alive and then died is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, will go to his doom. His ten horns are ten kings who have not yet risen to power; they will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. They will all agree to give their power and authority to him." Revelation 17:9-13 (NLT)

Throughout history "seven hills" has often been erroneously interpreted as a reference to Rome, the city of seven hills.

However, the original Greek is literally interpreted as "seven mountains." From Daniel 2:35, we know that a mountain can represent a kingdom, and given the context of the verses, it is proper to interpret these seven mountains as seven kingdoms. The seven heads of the beast represent seven world empires, five of which were referenced earlier by the prophet Daniel.

They are, in order of their rule, the following:

1) Egypt
2) Assyria
3) Babylonia
4) Medo-Persia
5) Greece
6) Rome
7) The Revived Roman Empire

As the passage explains, the 10 horns represent 10 kings who, as we learned earlier from Daniel, will grant their power and authority to this final kingdom - the revived Roman Empire.

Daniel concurs with the vision of the 10 kings, the appearance of an eleventh king, and the defeat of 3 of the 10 kings:

"Then in my vision that night, I saw a fourth beast, terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled what was left beneath its feet. It was different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns. As I was looking at the horns, suddenly another small horn appeared among them. Three of the first horns were wrenched out, roots and all, to make room for it. This little horn had eyes like human eyes and a mouth that was boasting arrogantly." Daniel 7:7-8 (NLT)

Furthermore, we learn earlier in the Book of Revelation that the final world empire will be the seventh successive world empire and will be formed by 10 kings:

"And now in my vision I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God." Revelation 13:1 (NLT)

The Resurrection of One of the Heads of the Beast

We also learn from the Book of Revelation, the seventh head of the beast will seem wounded beyond recovery, but the wound will be healed. The following verses reference this recovery:

"I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery - but the fatal wound was healed! All the world marveled at this miracle and followed the beast in awe." Revelation 13:3 (NLT)

"He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and those who belong in this world to worship the first beast, whose death-wound had been healed." Revelation 13:12 (NLT)

"He ordered the people of the world to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life." Revelation 13:14 (NLT)

Many commentators have applied this attribute to the human head of this global government, the Antichrist. They believe the Antichrist will be resurrected in a satanic attempt to counterfeit the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

However, this is a misinterpretation of scripture. The wounded head is the kingdom of the Antichrist, not the person himself.

Although the word "beast" is used to describe the person of the Antichrist, it's also used in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 to describe his kingdom as well as previous world empires.

The wounded beast is the world empire of ancient Rome, which was never completely destroyed like its predecessors. In the last days, the Roman Empire will appear once again, and the world will marvel at its appearance.

The following verse clarifies this concept:

"Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief." Revelation 17:10 (NLT)

The angel reveals to John that 5 of the kingdoms have fallen:

1) Egypt
2) Assyria
3) Babylonia
4) Medo-Persia
5) Greece

The sixth kingdom "now reigns":

6) Rome (John's vision occurred in the 1^st Century, when Rome still ruled the known world)

And the seventh "is yet to come":

7) The Revived Roman Empire

In the last days, this resurrected Roman Empire will rule all of humanity.

Its reign will be brief, but it will be like no other kingdom before it. It will be part of a satanic trinity of Satan, Antichrist, and Beast.

But the Lord of Heaven clearly reveals the destination of this evil world empire:

"I kept watching until the fourth beast was killed and its body was destroyed by fire." Daniel 7:11 (NLT)

"Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur." Revelation 19:20 (NLT)

The reign of this oppressive government will be put to an end by the King of Kings Himself, Jesus Christ.

When Christ returns to earth, He will destroy this kingdom as well as the Antichrist, throwing both in the lake of fire for eternal torment. He will bind Satan for 1,000 years and set up His own kingdom, ushering in an era of unbridled peace and love that will never end.

The apostle John recounts his vision of this blessed kingdom:

"He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever." Revelation 21:3-4 (NLT)

"And the angel showed me a pure river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. No longer will anything be cursed. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there - no need for lamps or sun - for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever." Revelation 22:1-5 (NLT)

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Britt Gillette is the founder of End Times Bible Prophecy and the author of multiple books. Receive his book 7 Signs of the End Times for FREE when you sign up for his free Substack.

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