Mr. Phillip Goodman
The prophet Daniel writes of,
“a single great statue…its appearance was awesome…its legs of iron [will be] a fourth kingdom as strong as iron…” Daniel 2:31-33, 40
The two “legs of iron” have center-stage importance in both fulfilled and future prophecy.
English archaeologist and classical historicist Warrick Ball, in his well researched and scholarly book, ROME IN THE EAST (2016), writes,
From its inception in 27 BC to its final collapse in May 1453, Rome was the longest-lived empire in history, with 164 emperors (including sole empresses) from Augustus to Constantine...In short, it was the world's most successful empire...[2]
This is a description of the perfect and powerful fulfillment of Rome’s “iron-legged” Empire, without reference to Biblical prophecy, but rather from a secular history account.
Ball continues,
In the year AD 248, the city and people of Rome held one of the greatest triumphs in their history. They celebrated the millennium of the traditional foundation of Rome by Romulus and Remus. A thousand years from the birth of a small village to the center of the greatest empire the world had seen.
Rome and the Caesars could well be doubly triumphant, and games, feasts and gifts were disbursed by a munificent emperor on a lavish scale.
But the Roman emperor who presided over this greatest and most Roman of all triumphs was not from Rome himself, nor from anywhere in Europe. He was from the East; the Emperor Philip the Arab.[3]
Certainly a thousand-year Reich is reason enough for the event to be remarkable, but what made it even more so was that the Roman emperor who presided over and presented the games, as the ultimate Roman and embodiment of Roman Civilization, was an Arab, the son of a shaikh from the Syrian desert.[4]
The story of Rome is a story of the East as well as the West…[5]
Then, Ball summarizes the “profound” history of the Eastern Roman Empire, what the prophet Daniel undoubtedly depicted as the ‘Eastern Leg’ in the vision of the great statue.
Most of all, in order to understand Rome and appreciate it fully, it is necessary to see it in all of its breadth and richness, not just as a ‘European’ or ‘Western’ civilization.
Of the 1,480 years of the Roman Empire's existence, approximately half of that time was spent in the Near East…The influence of Rome on the East for those seven centuries was profound, and it would be a mistake of first order to underestimate that influence.
...But more profound was the influence of the East upon Rome. The process was invariably a two-way one, with ultimately the eastern element predominating... This legacy is as much eastern as western, as much oriental as occidental, both to Europe and the world as a whole.[6]
One Website, writing in a popular prophecy magazine, says this…
“Another idea ... is that the Roman Empire had both “Western” and “Eastern” components, and therefore the Antichrist could come from the Eastern wing which incorporates territory that is controlled today by Muslims.
While this was true in the later stages of the Empire, it was not true at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
The emergence of the “Eastern” leg of the Roman Empire took place long after the destruction of the city and temple [in 70 AD].”[7]
That is a common yet glaring blunder, both prophetically and historically. Rome was an East-West Empire long before it officially enacted for administrative purposes its East-West division in 286 AD. Rome gained its Eastern-leg when it established the province of Pergamon in Asia Minor in 133 BC. This is 200 years before the 70 AD date mentioned above!
The Eastern-leg, which began in 133 BC, was already in place when the “formal beginning of the Roman Empire” occurred 102 years later in 31 BC. By that time Rome had extended its Eastern-leg all the way to the Euphrates, and later into Assyria.
From the above website-quote, we will use the 70 AD date as our ‘Benchmark’ (explained below) for our dating of the history—and thus the accuracy of the prophetic fulfillment—of Daniel’s Eastern Leg. The 70 AD date is based on the following passage,
“the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary” (Daniel 9:26)
The term “Antichrist” can be correctly inserted for “the prince”. The “city and the sanctuary” refer to Jerusalem and its Temple which were destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The question which arises out of this passage is this— Who are “the people of the prince (Antichrist)”? The correct identity of those “people” would reveal the ethnic-racial roots, and perhaps even the nationality, of the future Antichrist IF no other passage of Scripture is violated.
Let’s examine the reasoning of the above quote, for it is simple and straightforward. It goes like this,
Since there was no Eastern Leg in 70 AD,
then we must read it as,
“the EUROPEAN people of the Antichrist who is to come”
The Antichrist, then, must be at least European, probably Italian (even more specifically from Rome-city). This view is what I call the “Euro-centric” view. [8]
We will show that…
1. Rome’s Eastern Leg was in place for at least 2 centuries BEFORE 70 AD;
Therefore, we would read Daniel 9:26 as…
“the ROMAN people of the Antichrist who is to come” (Daniel 9:26, paraphrased)
Also, we will show—as Daniel’s Statue shows—that…
2. The Eastern Leg was in place when the “iron” Empire first appeared,
3. The Eastern Leg was PROMINENT in fulfilled Prophecy BEFORE 70 AD,
4. The Eastern Leg will be PROMINENT in Future Prophecy.
It is essential to recognize a long-acknowledged fact of history: The East-West division of historical geography, which runs along the lines of the global eastern hemisphere (in our case, Asia and the Middle East) and the global western hemisphere (for us, Europe). The two greatest empires in history, the Greeks and the Romans, were the first two empires of ancient history to span both east and west.
The ultimate result of Alexander's conquests was the fusion of East and West.[9]
Rome had acquired an empire in the East as well as in the West. The Mediterranean had become a “Roman lake.”[11]
The story of Rome is a story of the East as well as the West…[12]
…in 190 Roman soldiers for the first time set foot in Asia...the Seleucid army was routed. Rome had arrived in Asia.[13]
…the Romans conquered Greece...By 146 B.C. [came the] annexation of Greece and the imposition of direct Roman imperial rule.[14]
(This was the Roman conquest of the first Greek “Horn” of Daniel 8)
In 133 BC, the ruler of Pergamum, a country in Asia Minor, left his territory to Rome upon his death. Almost casually, Rome had acquired an empire in the East as well as in the West.[15]
The same year that marked the complete establishment of Roman rule in Spain saw Rome gain her first possessions [Pergamon] at the opposite end of the Mediterranean.[16]
(If Spain was part of the Roman Empire-West, then so too must Pergamon be part of the Roman Empire-East. Furthermore, the Roman Eastern Leg was officially added (133 BC) 175 years BEFORE Britain (43 AD). Was Britain part of the Western Leg? So too, then, was Asia Minor part of the Eastern Leg BEGINNING in 133 BC—203 years BEFORE our ‘Benchmark’ date of 70 AD.)
(This was the Roman conquest of the second Greek “Horn” of Daniel 8)
Pompey's arrival in Antioch in the summer of 64 BC marked the end of one empire [SELEUCID] and the beginning of another [ROMAN]… With its end, the Romans became the heirs of Alexander.[17]
(This was the Roman conquest of the third Greek “Horn” of Daniel 8)
[Egypt] was crushed by Augustus at the battle of Actium in 31 B.C., after which Egypt became a Roman province.[18]
(This was the Roman conquest of the fourth Greek “Horn” of Daniel 8—and thus the FINAL CONQUEST of the Greek Empire and the introduction into history, and prophetic fulfillment, of ROME’S “IRON-LEGGED Empire.)
The Battle of Actium in 31 BC resulted in ... Augustus, becoming sole ruler. This marked the formal beginning of the Roman Empire…[19]
1. When the Roman Empire succeeded Greece, it had already possessed an Eastern Leg for 102 years;
2. and it became the “Iron” Empire in that Very Same Year (31 BC)!
The Cilician province of Paul’s Roman citizenship and the Syria-Palestine (Israel) province were added in 63 BC, 58 years before Christ was born in that EASTERN LEG of the Roman Empire. Did the Eastern-leg predate our ‘Benchmark’ date of 70 AD? By quiet a stretch—202 years—from the 133 BC date of Rome’s first official province in Asia!
The…Seleucid Empire became the Roman province of Syria overnight.
…arguably the greatest single territorial acquisition in Rome’s history…
With its end, the Romans became the heirs of Alexander…
…acquiring an eastern empire.[20]
...how entwined Rome and the East were from the very beginning of Rome's imperial expansion.[21]
In the century and a half between 197 and 63 B.C., the Romans made themselves master of the entire eastern Mediterranean.[22]
The acquisition of the eastern provinces in the first centuries BC and AD
led directly to the rise of Rome and of Roman greatness…
The East was the real heart of the Roman Empire.
Small wonder that Rome itself moved to the East.[23]
In the first decades of the second century B.C., the Romans decisively defeated the major Hellenistic kingdoms of Greece and Asia Minor, and by 167 B.C., Rome was mistress of the eastern Mediterranean.[24]
...the East dominated Rome from the beginning of its imperial expansion...the East transformed Rome...The story of Rome is a story of a fascination for the East...that amounted to an obsession.[25]
…the legacy of Roman civilization…is as much eastern as western, as much oriental as occidental…[26]
1. By its material remains (ruins),
…the Roman East…has more material remains than any other part of the empire...[27]
2. By its geography,
.. The Tigris [river was] Rome's eastern frontier for much of its history...[28]
3. By its reputation,
The East had come to Rome to stay, and was to leave its permanent mark on all of subsequent Roman history.[29]
In the early twentieth century TENNEY FRANK surveyed Roman tombstone inscriptions, sarcophagi, ancient census and freedman records, etc. After careful analysis, this remarkable scholar tabulated Roman ethnic and racial trends across the span of the Empire—from the Atlantic to the Euphrates.[30]
He wrote ... on the demise of the various ancient Italian peoples that comprised the Roman ethnicity in Julius Caesar's day [ 50 BC ]. ...
that over time changed the ethnic make-up of the Roman populace ...[31]
Franks’ findings are revealing, and line up perfectly with the pre-70 AD rise of the Eastern Leg, and its import on the identity of the ethnic-racial-national roots of “the people” of the coming Antichrist.
Frank speaks of The Punic Wars, 264-146 BC, (140 years BEFORE the Time of Christ) “when the city was still Italian. “[32]
Tenney Frank speaks of the early first century B.C...and the replacement of native Italians “by hordes of slaves who bred up a new race of freedmen and consequently of citizens.” [33]
Frank writes about,
“... the replacement of the original founding stock... by new stocks
... eastern races ... devastated the race which had built the Republic ...” [the Republic of Rome— 50 years BEFORE the Time of Christ].[34]
Frank writes about,
"This Orientalizing of Rome’s populace … the people who built Rome [the republic 600s BC to 27 BC] had given way to a different race [by the time of imperial Rome 27 BC].”[35]
and,
…the city of Rome, since, as we have seen, the whole [racial] stock there had so changed ...[36]
Frank quoting Tacitus, the reputable Roman historian, and contemporary of the 70 AD ERA,
…a great many of Rome's senators and knights were descendants of slaves and…the native stock had dwindled to surprisingly small proportions... a very small percentage of the free plebeians on the streets of Rome could prove unmixed Italian descent. By far the larger part--perhaps ninety per cent [90%]--had Oriental blood in their veins.[37]
Amazingly, Tenney’s own original research on ancient Roman inscriptions confirms Tacitus’ “90%” estimate, which clearly shows the races of the EASTERN LEG had blended into the “people” of the West,
Classifying...the names of the...13,900 inscriptions of volume VI [Corpus of Latin Inscriptions]...we find 4485 persons apparently born at Rome, [of which] 3723 (eighty-three per cent [83%])...represents foreign extraction.[38]
Seneca, another contemporary of the 70 AD ERA, considered “Rome’s leading intellectual”, wrote the following,
Of this crowd [in the City of Rome] the greater part have no country; from their own free towns and colonies, in a word, from the whole globe, they are congregated.[39]
“…the conglomeration of Europeans, Asiatics, and Africans that filled the western Roman Empire in the second century.”[40]
Clearly, the “people” of the Roman Empire cannot be restricted to ‘Rome-city’ people, or only Italian, or only European people, anymore than the Empire itself can be restricted to a one-legged western domain. Just as the Roman Empire of Daniel’s two-legged Statue was a two-hemispheric Empire spanning East and West, so too were its people a blending of both European and Asiatic (even African) ethnicity and racial stock. And all of this existed well BEFORE our benchmark-date of 70 AD.
From The Life And Epistles Of St. Paul we read,
“... the Romans had already become Greek to some considerable extent, before they were the political masters of those eastern countries...How early, how widely, and how permanently this Greek influence prevailed...”[41]
And we read in William Graham Scroggie’s classic The Unfolding Drama Of Redemption,
“..the [Roman] Empire embraced all men...The intermixture of all races…”[42]
The American Renaissance magazine adds,
By the early empire [the time approaching the birth of Jesus], all that was left of the original Roman stock were a few patrician families.[43]
The Oxford University Handbook of Social Relations in the Roman World agrees,
The Roman Empire was remarkably multicultural… encompassing diverse peoples within its political system over a long span of time.[44]
THEREFORE, BY 70 AD the Roman Empire “PEOPLE…
…of the prince who is to come” (Dan. 9:26)
MUST be seen as,
CITY OF ROME PEOPLE
ITALIAN PEOPLE
EUROPEAN PEOPLE
better…ROMAN PEOPLE
The “people” of the Antichrist will be ROMAN people, related to the deep Euro-Asiatic mix of those ancient Romans in the first century AD. That is quiet a wide mixture of eastern and western peoples—but then that was the character of the original Roman Empire populace as it turned the millennium into the first century—and onward to the 70 AD “people of the prince who is to come” (Daniel 9:26).
We are not talking about being Greek or Syrian rather than European. We are talking about EUROPE-Europeans. Many Roman-Europeans were not of original European-Italian stock. Much of the population of Roman-Europe were born as Anglo-Saxons, Celts, Gauls, Franks, Iberians, Germanics, etc.
That a ‘Roman’ was not necessarily an Italian, or even a European, should not surprise us. Suppose the Daniel 9:26 prophecy had said this,
The people of the APOSTLE who is to come will be the people who take Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Would Paul qualify as “the Apostle to come” under that statement? Or must “the Apostle” be from Italy or at least Europe? Remembering that the people who took Jerusalem in 70 AD were “people” of the Roman Empire, how could Paul possibly qualify as “the Apostle” in that statement? He was a Jew. He was born in Asia Minor (Turkey, today), not Italy or Europe. Until late in his life he had never set foot on European soil, and he had certainly never been to the City of Rome! He had no Italian parentage.
Yet Paul, who was not only a Jew, but a “Hebrew of Hebrews”, and an “Israelite”, was also a Roman. Here’s his own testimony below, showing the clear presence of the Eastern Leg in New Testament days.
1. PAUL, born in the EASTERN LEG, was a ROMAN,
“And the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?"
And he said, "Yes
...I was actually born a citizen” [in Tarsus, Asia Minor, on border of Syria; (Acts 22:27-28; 16:37-38; 23:27)
“I am a Jew” (Acts 22:3); I too am an Israelite” (Rom.11:1); “a Hebrew of Hebrews” (Phi. 3:4-5). [ Paul was a Roman who had never been to Rome—or even Italy, “I must also see Rome." (Acts 19:21)]."
2. SILAS, Paul’s missionary companion, a Hellenistic Jew…was also a ROMAN. (Acts 16:37-38)
3. JOSEPH & MARY, were also in the EASTERN LEG of the Roman Empire. As residents of the Eastern Leg, they had to obey the Roman Empire census registration.
“Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken …while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all were proceeding to register for the census…And Joseph also went up from Galilee…” (Luke 2:1-4)
We spoke earlier of the Roman Empire historical-DNA in its Eastern Leg. DNA ‘nails’ one’s identity. It is the same with Empires. Archaeological-historical rock-hewn citations and time-worn ruins are the ‘DNA’ of ancient empires. Irrespective of some variance in interpretation, the fact of the material presence of these artifacts is irrefutable evidence of their one-time presence. This is the DNA of history. For example,
Though a thorough examination of Roman material remains in the Middle East is beyond the scope of this study, a few broad-brush examples might be helpful,[45]
1. Cities of the Roman Empire—Rome occupied many pre-built, centuries-old Middle East cities, built some themselves, and raised up forts and legionnaire bases throughout its Eastern Leg.
2. Eastern-most cites—went the distance of Mesopotamia, all the way into Persia. Rome captured the Persian capital city of Ctesiphon 5 times, took both Babylon and Seleucia, and even sacked Susa, located in modern day Iran. These possessions were temporary, but mark the degree to which Rome extended its Eastern Leg at times in its wars with the Persian Parthians and Sassinads.
3. 10 Largest cities—in order of size, were Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus, Carthage, Constantinople, Pergamon, Smyrna, Jerusalem and Leptis Magna. Seven (7) of these ten cities were in the Eastern Leg.
RUINS—The Eastern Leg has many remains and traces of theaters and amphitheaters, aqueducts, bathhouses and gyms, arches and shrines, cities and forts, roads, bridges and milestones, etc. These structures, many of them monumental in size, were not built overnight, but are evidence of the robust and dominant presence of the Roman Empire in the Middle East for 1600 years.
ROADS—The Eastern Leg transport system was a sophisticated network of roads and bridges. A fourth century road map (middle-ages replica called the Peutinger Map) was their GPS system and ‘milestones’ were the travelers’ checkpoints. Remarkable!
The Bible predicts a Revived Roman Empire. The Statue of Daniel chapter 2 portrays a latter stage, still future, for the Roman Empire, and shows it to be in existence at the Return of Christ (the latter leg, or feet stage). There are still two legs (or feet), indicating the Revived Roman Empire will also embrace both East and West—thus we expect a future Eastern Leg. But prophecy has no fulfillment value if it is not recognizable. So let’s touch on that issue first.
Through the vision of Daniel’s Statue, God declared “what would take place in the future”. (Daniel 2:28-29) The prophecy involved the rise and fall of empires and nations. Like all Nation-based prophecies, its power among men is dependent on their recognition of the territorial positioning of those nations.[47] Recognizable Fulfillment of a Nation-based prophecy presupposes—and requires—a recognizable correlation to that nation’s historic geographic location and ethnic roots. For instance,
The prophecy of Assyria, Israel and Egypt in Isaiah 19.23-25 anticipates a fulfillment centered in the historic realms of Assyria, Israel and Egypt, rather than, say, in Finland, China and Australia. We can recognize, and thus intelligently point our finger to the spot on a map where Assyria, Israel and Egypt are expected to be because it is there they have always been.
The “two sticks” of Ezekiel 37 are to be identified with Israel, North and South, and that is why we were able to recognize the 1948 return of the Jews to be at least a partial fulfillment of that prophecy when they returned to the spot on the map we recognize as historic “Israel”. Like the “two sticks”, we should also expect the “two legs” of the Roman Empire to be revived in the last days in the same basic area of the original Roman Empire.
We should anticipate in the Fulfillment of the Revived Roman Empire a familiar correspondence to its historic geographic location and ethnic roots.[48]
Prophecy scholar John F. Walvoord saw the necessity of a ‘Recognizable’ Revived Roman Empire,
The Roman Empire …in which the Western division became fully as strong as the Eastern, and this seems to be portrayed by the two legs... the final stage will also include on an equal basis the Eastern and Western areas once possessed by ancient Rome.[49]
1. The Eastern Leg outlasted the Western Leg by 1000 years.[51]
2. The Eastern Leg is the Center of End Time Prophetic Events.[52]
3. Daniel’s Statue is dominated by Eastern kingdoms.[53]
4. These Eastern kingdoms exists within the Revived Roman Empire—at the End Time— because they are destroyed at the SAME time. (Dan. 2:35-44)[54]
5. Revelation’s Beast is dominated by Eastern kingdoms.[55]
6. Israel, the focus of Prophecy, is in the Eastern Leg.[56]
7. The “Bible Lands” arise at the End Time—in the Eastern Leg.[57]
8. Babylon, the capital of the Antichrist, is in the Eastern Leg.[58]
9. The Euphrates River, center of End Time demonic activity, is in the Eastern Leg.[59]
10. The 2 Witnesses come from Heaven into the Eastern Leg.[60]
11. The Kings of the East march into the Eastern Leg.[61]
12. The Kings of the Earth march into the Eastern Leg.[62]
13. The Antichrist invades the Eastern Leg.[63]
14. Christ sets His foot down… where?...[64]
15. IN SUMMARY…
1. The “BIBLE LANDS” and End Time Events bottleneck in the Eastern Leg.
2. The Eastern Leg “BIBLE LANDS” are the Major Focus in BOTH the 1ST and 2ND COMING days.
3. Since the ORIGINAL Roman Empire had a PROMINENT EASTERN LEG… then we should anticipate a PROMINENT EASTERN LEG in the REVIVED Roman Empire
4. If the Eastern Leg were REMOVED, there would be NO FULFILLMENT to Future Prophecy… WHY? [65]
Two ways…
OPTION 1. Micah 5:5—restricted & reduced by a restricted & reduced “Daniel Statue”, where BOTH LEGS are forced to stand in EUROPE.
OPTION 2. Micah 5:5—when read in light of a PROMINENT Eastern Leg, with ‘ROMAN’ people in view, and when given a consistent LITERAL reading, it sheds new light on the roots of the Antichrist.
MICAH 5:2-8 (verses 5-8 to this day have never been fulfilled)[66] (many place v. 5-8 in an End Time context)[67]
“When the plain sense makes common sense, seek no other sense.” (The popular definition of LITERAL interpretation. See David Reagan’s comment.)[68]
Two ways to read this passage below…try both ways…
1. First, read the passage restricted to a paradigm of both feet of the Statue planted in Europe. Note that “Assyria” must be bold italic and set apart in some symbolic way from all of the other LITERAL ‘people-places’ (underlined).
2. Second, read the passage with a paradigm-shift of one leg of the Statue planted in Europe, and the other Leg planted in Asia (Middle East). Assyria can now be read LITERALLY, in consistent fashion with the other LITERAL people-places, and its bold italic can be removed and replaced by an underline (LITERAL).
2) "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel…
5) And this One will be our peace.
When the Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our citadels…
6) And they will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of Nimrod at its entrances;
And He will deliver us from the Assyrian
When he attacks our land
And when he tramples our territory.
7) Then the remnant of Jacob …
8) And the remnant of Jacob Will be among the nations…
When the Eastern Leg of the Revived Roman Empire is given the credibility and prominence that both prophecy and history give it, then “Assyria” and “the Assyrian” in Micah 5 slide smoothly into the world of LITERAL interpretation of Bible Prophecy.[69]
The Antichrist arise…
…in the Revived Roman Empire
…from among the Roman “people”
…in the Eastern-Leg
…in the “Land of the North”
…which is Syria-Iraq
…which is Biblical “Assyria”
1. “Assyria” is used side-by-side with a literal “Egypt” in Micah 7:12.
2. In Micah 5:2 we have the famous Messianic prophecy about a literal “Bethlehem”. Three verses later we find mention of Assyria 3 times. One literal, the other not? Why?
3. In a two-verse span (5:5-7) we see “Assyria,” “land of Nimrod,” and “remnant of Jacob” interwoven with one another. The last two are clearly literal terms. It is purely arbitrary to call the thrice-mentioned “Assyria” symbolic.
4. The “land of Assyria” is equated with the “land of Nimrod.” This could not be plainer than pointing your finger to a map of Iraq, which IS the “land of Nimrod”—and Assyria.
5. In view of the above, Micah 5:5-6 says Christ will deliver the remnant of Jacob from the Assyrian, of the land of Assyria, which is the land of Nimrod. CLEAR LITERALISM.
The stretch that is required to wrench the term “Assyrian” into something other than what it says has perplexed too many good Bible literalists. The term “Assyrian” is literal and it is future. The Assyrian invades Israel at the end time. He attacks her cities and tramples her land. And it is at that climactic time when “He [Christ] will deliver us [Israel] from the Assyrian.” (5:6) When read in this straightforward manner, the Assyrian can be none other than the Antichrist…UNLESS we delete the EASTERN LEG.
Arthur W. Pink in his book The Antichrist (“the classic work on the end times” -Dictionary of Premillennial Theology ), writes,
Micah terms him ‘the Assyrian’ …thus shall he deliver us from ‘the Assyrian’ (5:5-6).
...it would seem that the country from which Antichrist will first be manifested is Syria...This is confirmed by the fact that ‘the king of Assyria’ in Isa. 10:12 is clearly none other than the Antichrist.[70]
“[Arthur] Pink...wrote what is considered the classic work on the end times, The Antichrist.”
“This could easily be called the most complete work on the subject… handles with exceptional merit all the passages about the coming Man of Sin.”
(Dictionary Of Premillennial Theology, Mal Couch, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996, p.306.)
David Reagan on Arthur Pink
One of the most detailed studies of the Antichrist ever written is the book by Arthur W. Pink entitled, The Antichrist. It is thoroughly biblical and very thought provoking.[71]
Henry M. Morris also speaks of the “Assyrian” Antichrist,
...the Antichrist is specifically called ‘the Assyrian’ in a number of passages (e.g., Micah 5:5, 6; Isaiah 30:31; 31:8).[72]
Chuck Missler
Clarence Larkin
S. Maxwell Coder
Zane Hodges
Grant Jeffrey
Joseph Chambers
Treasury Of Scripture Knowledge
Sir Robert Anderson
SOME WHO SAY THE ANTICHRIST IS AT LEAST FROM SYRIA-IRAQ, i.e., the “king of the North”, Dan. 11:40, while not specifically naming him as “Assyrian”, include,[74]
John Phillips
Philip R. Newell
Gleason Archer
In light of Daniel 9:26—”...the [Roman] people of the prince [Antichrist] who is to come…”— Can an Assyrian Antichrist be considered “of” the Roman people?
Yes—in the same way that the proto-type “Antichrist”, the Syrian Antiochus Epihanes, is considered “of” the Greek people in Daniel 8:22!
And the broken horn [Alexander the Great of the Greek Empire] and the four horns [4 Kings, including the King of the Syrian portion of the Greek Empire] that arose in its [Alexander’s] place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation [Greece]…(emphasis mine).
In view of this quote from Daniel 8:22, if the Daniel 9:26 prophecy had said, speaking of Antiochus—"the [Greek] people of the prince [Antiochus] who is to come”—it would have been correct in relating him to the Greek people even though he was the King of Syria! (a 6th generation Greek-Syrian)
The same holds true for an Antichrist-King of Assyria and any racial/ethnic/political/cultural/national relationship he may have to the Revived Roman Empire.
Seventeen (17) Roman emperors were born and raised outside of Italy—6 or them outside of Europe—3 in the Mid-East EASTERN LEG! Elagabalus was Emperor of the Empire as long as a 2-term U.S. president; Severus Alexander presided over the Roman Empire longer than our longest-serving president (Franklin Roosevelt); BOTH WERE SYRIAN! Philip the Arab was the other middle eastern Roman Emperor. Do these Mideast Roman emperors qualify as “prince” from the Roman “people”, as the Antichrist must be (Dan. 9:26)? Of course. The Roman Emperor was the embodiment of the ideal and ultimate ‘Roman’.[76]
G. H. Pember writes,
In the days of Augustus, [27-14BC] the Roman Empire extended from the Atlantic in the West to the Euphrates in the East... while the emperor Trajan [98-117 AD] acquired the vast tract of Dacia, and organized as provinces Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria. In the reign of Diocletian [284-286 AD], Persia was forced to a formal surrender of Mesopotamia, together with five provinces beyond the Tigris [included Assyria]. Such was the greatest extent of Rome in her first, or iron development. In the brief time of her second, or clay-iron power, the prophecy seems to require that her boundaries should be pushed still farther in more than one direction.[77]
Because of the historic PROMINENT EASTERN LEG and the deep racial admixture of the ROMAN “PEOPLE” of the “prince who is to come” (Daniel 9:26), I expect to see a Revived Roman Empire Antichrist who, in some sense, retains some combination of ethnic, racial, or national roots in Assyria, in the region of modern day Syria-Iraq. The only clearly stated type of the Antichrist in Scripture was Antiochus Epiphanes[78], a Syrian-Greek, king of the Greek-Seleucid Empire. In that pattern, the future Antichrist could well be Assyrian-Roman, a case clearly supported by multiple Scriptures.[79]
Finally, I expect to see the Assyrian Antichrist crushed and destroyed along with the age-old evil world system that he represents when Jesus Christ Returns in “the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory Forever”! Amen, Thy Kingdom Come. (Matthew 6:9-13)
Yours in Christ, Phillip Goodman
[1] Copyright 2017, Phillip Goodman.
[2] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.500.
[3] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.500
[4] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.469.
[5] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.500
[6] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.500.
[7] Chris Schang, Islamic Antichrist? “Three Strikes and You’re Out!”, The Lamplighter, Jul-Aug 2015, http://www.lamblion.com/xfiles/publications/magazines/Lamplighter_JulAug15_Graham.pdf
[8] My thesis is that the Euro-centric view is based more on recent history-headlines (since the mid-twentieth century rise of the European Common Market, etc.) than on a careful examination of classical history itself, and its correlation to fulfilled prophecy. Equally in error, along with the Euro-centric view, is the Islamo-centric view, which insist on a Middle East overemphasis to the extent that the Antichrist must be a Muslim, a theological oxymoron, since “there is no God but Allah”, except the Antichrist, who names himself as “God”. (2 Thes. 2:3-4) That is, The Antichrist is not going to be saying "There is no God but Allah." He is going to be saying "There is no God but me." That makes him--not a "Muslim Antichrist"--rather, that makes him an Anti-Muslim Antichrist.
[9] Ancient History, Hutton Webster, PhD, professor, University of Nebraska, D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers, Boston, MA, 1913, p.277-278. https://books.google.com/books?id=BQsPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA278&lpg=PA278&dq=alexander+fusion+of+East+and+West&source=bl&ots=EjXVukMhuL&sig=6zmSVLs5HZ1CD62LzYCu8ZG1EkU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjDzJTF0KbXAhXn1IMKHThbB3EQ6AEIPjAH#v=onepage&q=alexander%20fusion%20of%20East%20and%20West&f=false
[10] Dave Hunt perceptively writes, “In fact it never did make sense to equate the revived Roman Empire with Western Europe because that was only a fraction of the ancient Roman Empire.” (Dave Hunt, Global Peace, Harvest House, 1990, p.63.); John F. Walvoord agrees when he says, “Two legs were an apt portrayal of Rome, for the ancient Roman Empire ruled extensive areas of both the western and eastern divisions of the world… [The feet and ten toes] represented the Roman Empire in its final stage of existence in contrast with its earlier leg stage.” (John F. Walvoord, Countdown to Armageddon, Harvest House, 1999, p.60.)
[11] Oxford Visualized World History, Philip Dorf, Oxford Book Co., New York, 1958, p. 47.
[12] Rome In The East, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.500
[13] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.3.
[14] World History To 1648, Anglin & Hamblin, Harper Collins College Outline, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY, 1993, p.124.
[15] Oxford Visualized World History, Philip Dorf, Oxford Book Co., New York, 1958, p. 47.
[16] Oxford Visualized World History, Philip Dorf, Oxford Book Co., New York, 1958, p. 47.
[17] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.4.
[18] World History To 1648, Anglin & Hamblin, Harper Collins College Outline, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY, 1993, p.125.
[19] UNGER’S BIBLE DICTIONARY, Merrill F. Unger, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1966, p.935
[20] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.4-5.
[21] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.2.
[22] World History To 1648, Anglin & Hamblin, Harper Collins College Outline, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY, 1993, p.124.
[23] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.291
[24] Atlas Of The Ancient World, Margaret Oliphant, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 1992, p.129
[25] Warwick Ball, Rome In The East, The Transformation of an Empire, Routledge, London & New York, 2002, Preface, p.1-7.
[26] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.xxxvii.
[27] Warwick Ball, Rome In The East, The Transformation of an Empire, Routledge, London & New York, 2002.
[28] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.125.
[29] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.482.
[30] Tenney Frank, (May 19, 1876 – April 3, 1939) a prominent ancient historian and classical scholar; professor at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, and the author of A History of Rome (1923), Economic History of Rome (1920), and Roman Imperialism (1914).
[31] https://www.toqonline.com/archives/v5n4/54-Frank.pdf
[32] Tenney Frank, American Historical Review, July 1916, vol. 21, no. 4: 689–708, p65 (707)
[33] Tenney Frank, The History of Rome, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1923; last reprinted 1961; p.242–243.
[34] Tenney Frank, The History of Rome, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1923; 178-179 & 526–527.
[35] Tenney Frank, American Historical Review, July 1916, vol. 21, no. 4: 689–708, p65 (705).
[36] Tenney Frank, American Historical Review, July 1916, vol. 21, no. 4: 689–708, p65 (707).
[37] Tenney Frank, American Historical Review, Vol. 21--number 45; July, 1916, p. 689-90. (Tacitus born ad 56—died c. 120, Roman orator and public official, probably the greatest historian and one of the greatest prose stylists who wrote in the Latin language. Among his works are … the Historiae (Histories), concerning the Roman Empire from ad 69 to 96, and the later Annals, dealing with the empire in the period from ad 14 to 68. [the 70 AD ERA] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tacitus-Roman-historian
[38] Tenney Frank, American Historical Review, Vol. 21--number 45; July, 1916, p. 691.
[39] Seneca --4 BC- 65 AD, Rome, Italy; He was Rome’s leading intellectual figure in the mid-1st century ce and was virtual ruler with his friends of the Roman world between 54 and 62, during the first phase of the emperor Nero’s reign. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lucius-Annaeus-Seneca-Roman-philosopher-and-statesman
Seneca quote from Tenney Frank, American Historical Review, Vol. 21--number 45; July, 1916, p. 693.
[40] Tenney Frank, American Historical Review, July 1916, vol. 21, no. 4: 689–708, p65 (708)
[41] Conybeare & Howson, The Life And Epistles Of St. Paul, Eerdman’s Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1856, 1974, p.13.
[42] William Graham Scroggie, The Unfolding Drama Of Redemption, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1982, Vol. 1 p.38, Vol. 2 p.65, 77.
[43] Jon Harrison Sims, American Renaissance magazine, Vol. 21, No. 10, October 2010.
[44] Michael Peachin, Introduction to The Oxford Handbook of Social Relations in the Roman World, Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 12.
[45] Highly recommended for a thorough and ‘original-research’ discussion Rome’s material ruins in the East and their evidence of the Prominence of Rome ‘in the East’ is English scholar-archaeologist Warwick Ball’s book, Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016.
[46] Check out this map for a quick look at the span of Roman Empire cities from the Atlantic to the Tigris, Roman road system, ruins, etc., excellent and interactive. http://imperium.ahlfeldt.se/places/24241.html
[47] This ‘recognizable’ geographic positioning of the world’s nations was established by God (Acts 17:26). Recognition of the fulfillment of nation-based prophecies necessitates a recognition of general nation positioning on the earth. Since the parameters of nations and empires swell and decline through history, exact boundaries are not the criteria for recognition—but rather general geographic position through history.
[48] HERE’S WHY I EXPECT TO SEE A Recognizable Revived Roman Empire …1) Israel, reborn after almost 2000 years, returned to its ‘recognizable’ land; 2) the ancient Bible Lands remain recognizable today; 3) the Revived Roman Empire will rise up in its recognizable territorial position, rather than span the globe, because the Antichrist beacons the kings of the earth, who are apparently different from the ten kings of the Revived Roman Empire, to Armageddon; 4) those 10 kings are already a boundaried and recognizable Revived Roman Empire when Antichrist arises from “among them” (Dan. 7:8), and not from “among the world”; 5) there is the Greek template or facsimile (Dan. 8), which shows 4 sub-kingdoms (4 horns) arising within a defined territory of the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great; in the same way the 10 kings will be within the known territory of ancient Rome revived (Dan. 7, where in v. 20 the 10 kings are on the ‘head’ of Rome, and then in v. 24, they arise “out of this kingdom”) 6) Revived Rome would not be recognizable as a fulfillment of prophecy if it were a global kingdom. The Eastern Leg of Rome is not the Eastern Hemisphere of the world. Revived Rome is not 10 global zones (China has nothing to do with Roman heritage; they are the “Kings of East”, Rev. 16:12). 7) Revived Rome will be recognizable as the restored ancient Roman Empire. The 10 kings of Revived Rome arise “out of” the head of the fourth beast” (Rome), not out of the human race.
[49] John F. Walvoord, Daniel, the Key to Prophetic Revelation, a Commentary, 1971, p.73-74.
[50] The list that follows is not exhaustive. For example, Revelation’s 7 Churches could be added because they are located in the Eastern Leg. Other examples could be included. Amazingly, Bible Prophecy ‘rewinds the tape’ back to the ‘Bible Lands’ in the Last Days.
[51] “Although the Western Roman Empire fell to the Germanic invaders by 476, the eastern part survived independently until 1453, an additional thousand years.” (World History Review Text, Irving L. Gordon, Amsco School Publications, New York, NY, 1973, p. 78.)
[52] Being the thesis of this paper, ample evidence is set forth throughout.
[53] These Eastern kingdoms are, head to toe on the Daniel 2 ‘Statue’, Babylon, Persia/Media, 4-part Greece/Turkey/Syria/Egypt, and East-West Rome.
[54] Note that the passage is not simply referring to ‘kingdom-traits’ since the ‘gold, silver and bronze’ kingdoms are destroyed “all at the same time” as the Revived Roman Empire “legs of iron”. This Daniel 2:35 statement is confirmed by 2:44 when the stone will “crush and put an end to all these kingdoms” at the Second Coming of Christ. Therefore, the Eastern Leg of End-Time Revived Rome is very much in Prominence!
[55] See 52 above: i.e., the same as Daniel’s kingdoms with this important added caveat—Rev. 12 & 17 shows them UNITED at the End Time.
[56] In nearly every End-Time prophecy passage in both Testaments Israel is either ‘front-and-center’, or the essential ‘backdrop’ for another prophetic subject.
[57] The “Bible Lands” are those nations in the Middle East which surround Israel, where the ‘Bible story’ is told in both Testaments. I am not one who holds that future prophecy normally names only the ‘Bible lands’ because that is all the ‘Bible-time’ readers understood. When Scripture wants to name other lands, the Holy Spirit does so, sometimes generically like “coastlands,” or “isles of the sea”, or sometimes specifically like “land of Magog”. But actually the Bible says what it means—history and the story of redemption BEGAN in the ‘Bible lands’, and history and the consummation of redemption (End-Time Prophecy) will END in the Middle East, ‘EASTERN LEG’, Bible Lands.
[58] Babylon in an end-time context is prophesied in 4 lengthy chapters (Jer. 50-51; Rev. 17-18) and in other passages (Isa. 13:17-22).
[59] See “The Euphrates Connection” in my book The Assyrian Connection, Prescott Press, 1993.
[60] Revelation chapter 11.
[61] Revelation 16:12-16.
[62] Revelation 16:12-16; 19:19.
[63] Revelation 16:12-16; 19:19; (compare Mat. 24:15-22; those days “will be cut short”, with that action centered in “Judea”, v. 16, at the time of Armageddon, v. 29-30).
[64] In the EASTERN LEG, on the “Mount of Olives” at Jerusalem, Zechariah 14:4.
[65] If the Eastern Leg were REMOVED, there would be NO FULFILLMENT to Future Prophecy… WHY? Because the Christ-Stone from heaven strikes, not one, but both legs, and it is at that time that the Gentile kingdoms are destroyed. Note that it is the kingdoms themselves—not kingdom-traits—that are destroyed (Daniel 2:35, 44), and “all these kingdoms” are destroyed at the same time (v.44). The statue is dominated by Eastern-Leg kingdoms, i.e., Babylon, Persia, Greece in four parts including Greece, Turkey, Syria and Egypt, and Rome, both East and West. Without the ‘stage’ of the Roman Empires’ Eastern Leg, future prophecy would have no ‘cast of actors’.
[66] Gaebelein, Frank E. and Polcyn, Richard P., The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 7. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985, p.429.; J. Barton Payne, Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1973, p.83 and Payne, J. Barton. Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1973, p.81. No one has been able to successfully place Micah 5:5-8 anywhere in past historical fulfillment. If the two legs of Daniel’s Statue are not seen as both feet standing in Europe, but rather are spread apart with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia, the problem of past fulfillment becomes moot, for the door to future fulfillment is thrown wide open.
[67] J. Dwight Pentecost, one of this generations most respected Bible prophecy commentators, places Micah 5:5-6 in the timeframe of the Antichrist, (Pentecost, Things To Come, p. 352); Tim LaHaye does also. (Tim LaHaye, Tim LaHaye’s Prophecy Study Bible, p. 960); C.I. Scofield seems to agree in his Isaiah 14:26 comment on Assyria, saying, “This universality [v.26] is significant” ...referring...to the end of the age.” (C.I. Scofield, Scofield Study Bible, Isaiah 14:26)
[68] David Reagan (on the importance of Literal Interpretation) “...I stopped playing games with God’s Prophetic Word. I started accepting it for its plain sense meaning. I decided that if the plain sense makes sense, I would look for no other sense, lest I end up with nonsense...I challenge you to interpret God’s Word—all of it—for its plain sense meaning.” (David Reagan, God’s Plan For The Ages, Lamb & Lion Ministries, McKinney, TX, 2005, p.39, 44.);
Reagan uses what he calls “flashbacks and flash-forwards” (commonly known as “time-gap” prophecies) extensively in his book Wrath And Glory in order to keep the plain sense of Revelation intact. (David Reagan, Wrath & Glory, New Leaf Press, Green Forest, AR, 2001, p.35-37.); This same method enlightens Micah 5:2-8— IF –the PROMINENCE OF THE EASTERN LEG is recognized in a future Revived Roman Empire.
[69] The Assyrian Connection (Phillip Goodman, 1993, Prescott Press) was based on the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation complemented by the historical reality of the Prominent Eastern Leg of the Roman Empire, and its powerful demonstration of the accurate fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
[70] Arthur W. Pink, The Antichrist, I. C. Herendeen, Bible Truth Depot, Swengel, PA, p.86; 53
[71] David Reagan: http://christinprophecy.org/articles/recommended-books-on-bible-prophecy/
[72] Henry Morris, The Revelation Record, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL, 1983, p.340. Dr. David Reagan on Henry Morris…"The best commentary I have ever read on the Book of Revelation is one called The Revelation Record by Dr. Henry Morris." (David Reagan, Wrath And Glory, New Leaf Press, Green Forest, AR, 2001, p.31.)
[73] Chuck Missler, Personal Update Magazine, Nov. 2002, Koinonia House, p.1.; Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth. Glenside, Pennsylvania: Rev. Clarence Larkin Est., 1920, p.118.; S. Maxwell Coder, The Fined Chapter. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House, 1984, p.103.; Zane Hodges, Power To Make War, The Career Of The Assyrian Who Will Rule The World, Redencion Viva Publishers, Dallas, TX, 1995, p.113-114.; Grant Jeffrey, Prophecy Marked Reference Study Bible, Zondervan, 1998, p. 749, and Grant Jeffrey, The Prince of Darkness, Frontier Research Publication, 1994, p. 215.; Joseph Chambers, A Palace for the Antichrist, New Leaf Press, 1996, p. 137.; The New Treasury Of Scripture Knowledge, Jerome H. Smith, ed., Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1992, p.963.; Sir Robert Anderson, The Coming Prince, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984, p.191-192.
[74] John Phillips & Jerry Vines, Exploring The Book Of Daniel, Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune, NJ, 1990, p.192; John Phillips, Exploring The Future, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983, p.54.; Philip R. Newell, Daniel, the Man Greatly Beloved and his Prophecies. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1982, p.118-119; 180-181.; Gleason Archer in “Daniel,” Gaebelein, Frank E. and Polcyn, Richard P. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 7. Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 1985, p.147.
[75] Some of the most important Roman Emperors who were not from Italy include Trajan (98-117) Spain; Hadrian (117-38) Spain; Macrinus (217) Maurentania, Africa; Elagabalus (218-22) Syria; Alexander Severus (222-35) Syria; Maximinus I (235-38) Thrace; Philip I (244-49) “The Arab”, Syria; Uranus (248?-54) Syria; Carus (282-83) Illyricum, Balkans. For a map showing these emperors, see http://www.bibleprophecyaswritten.com/daniel/dan2easternlegpt2.html
[76] Rome In The East, The Transformation Of An Empire, Warwick Ball, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London & New York, 2016, p.469.
[77] G. H. Pember, The Great Prophecies of the Centuries, p.212, as quoted in Lehman Strauss, The Prophecies Of Daniel, Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune, NJ, 1969, p.73.
[78] “The only biblical type of the Antichrist is given in the person of Antiochus Epiphanes, a Gentile.” (Arnold Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps Of The Messiah, Ariel Ministries Press, 1983, p. 212.)
[79] Isaiah 10:24; 14:25; 30:31; 31:8.