Islamic Paradigm - Much thanks to Rick

It has recently become known via my Facebook that I, in my studies, have adopted a view of Daniel 2 contrary to that which is popularly held in modern Christian society. This post is an attempt to explain my view and provide insight to why I do not believe the “Iron Empire” to be Rome. I apologize to those of you who follow this blog and find this daft or uninteresting. I shall post something life-pertaining in the near future. Now for my statements:

Let us start outside of Daniel 2 in honor of true hermeneutics. We will use clear and succinct passages to determine the correct interpretation of difficult passages such as Daniel 2, 7, 9, and eventually (probably in a later post) Revelation 17 (the 4 primary passages that argue a Roman view-point.) Numbers 24:17-19, Joel 3:4-7, Micah 5:5-6, Isaiah 14: 24-32, Deuteronomy 28-30, Isaiah 9, Isaiah 13, Isaiah 14, Isaiah 18, Isaiah 19, and the list goes on and on for end times passages that have yet to be completely fulfilled that mention Jesus returning to crush nations such as Moab, Assyria, Edom, Seir, Babylon, and others that are all in the present day Middle East, and yet not one single prophecy is granted for Jesus coming to tread the winepress in Italy, or Scotland, so why then do we have a Roman Paradigm of the end times? Let us look at Isaiah 63:3, the passage quoted in Revelation 19 to see where Jesus’ robe becomes stained with blood. If we look at Verse 1 we see that He is coming from Edom, specifically from Edom’s capital, Bozrah. This is present day Jordan. So based on these facts and these facts alone, is it more wise to conclude that the Anti-Christ and his army will come from the Middle East out of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, or is it more intelligent to conclude that he is Nicolae Carpathia from Romania? (eat your heart out, Tim LaHaye)

Now I will dissect some of the challenging passages in Daniel with this Biblical precedent in mind.

We see in Daniel 2 a vision of a statue. Its head is gold, its arms and chest are silver, its stomach and thighs are bronze, and its legs and feet are iron and iron/clay mixture. We see Daniel lay out plainly that the golden head is Nebuchadnezzar and thus Babylon. In Daniel 5 we see during the ‘writing on the wall’ scene the invasion of the Medo-Persian empire lead by Darius which invades Babylon. Daniel 8 sets up the next empire for us as the Greek empire. We see a goat with one great horn coming from the west (Alexander the Great) who tramples the ram with two horns (Media and Persia). His horn then splits into 4 sections which represent the 4 Greek rulers who vied for power after Alexander the Great’s death. Now we come to the sticky part. Historically, any scholar you ask will tell you without any doubt in their voice that the 4th kingdom is Rome. I hope to show you that this view is not only inaccurate but in my honest opinion, absolutely impossible based on world history. Here are some maps that will help illustrate my point geographically.

Here we have a map of the Babylonian Empire. As you can see it occupies modern day Israel, Iraq, Iran, and a small bit of Saudi Arabia.

Here we have the Medo-Persian empire. It is quite obvious that this empire replaces that of Babylon. It occupies most, if not all, of the same territory and then expands on it.

Here we have the Greek empire. As you can see, this occupies just about all of the same land as the Medo-Persian empire and most importantly still encompasses the city of Babylon and the surrounding area (the region prophesied about in Daniel 2)

And here is the Roman empire. This is not the borders that most of your Bibles will show. Most of your Bibles will say something like “Roman Empire At Its Greatest Extent” and will contain a section called Mesopotamia that extends in between the Tigris and Euphrates into Babylon and the surrounding area. Why do I use this map, you ask? Because it is more accurate to the true Roman empire as it existed as an empire. In 116 AD, Trajan started an expanse East. He took Mesopotamia and Assyria and established a few garrisons there. In 117 AD, he passed away and rebellion forced his successor to remove his garrisons and re-establish the borders closer to what we see here: not anywhere close to babylon or the surrounding region. This is how Rome existed for a majority of its rule. Now, can you honestly still say that you agree that Rome is most definitely the next empire to rule this region and is therefore the Iron empire? If you can, don’t worry, there’s still hope. I’m not close to being finished yet.

Here we have a map (albeit a little blurry) of the Islamic Caliphate’s rule as it expanded after Mohammad’s death. I believe this is can easily say to have conquered the same territory as Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece as well as more. This is important because the Stone (Jesus Christ’s Kingdom) crushed all 4 of these kingdoms at the same time. If Jesus had crushed Rome in its glory major sections of what was Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece would have still been left standing. Now that I’ve geographically shown you how the Islamic Caliphate is a more reasonable idea to the Iron Empire, let us break down the traits of this empire and see if we can describe Rome, or rather if they better describe Islam.

In Daniel 2:40-43 we get a description of this kingdom. It will crush all of the other empires. Did Rome crush Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece? Well first, we should define what makes up an empire. I think and empire is best defined by its borders, culture, and religion (specially in those days when religion was a major player). Did Rome crush the borders of Greece? No, I think we can safely say that it did not. Did Rome crush the culture of Greece? Knowing that Rome operated under a Hellenistic Greco-Roman culture and later even adopted Greek as their language, I would say that it did not. Did Rome crush the religion of Greece? In school, don’t you remember learning all of the Greek gods and yet also learning their Roman name? I would say that Rome adopted the Greek gods rather than destroyed them. Based on this, I do not think you could say that Rome in any way crushed Greece. Now let us ask for Islam. Did Islam crush the borders of what was the Greek empire? Absolutely. Did it dominate their religion? Considering almost every nation in that region has adopted Islam as their national religion, I would say so. Did Islam crush their culture? If we look at the language, they all speak Arabic. Egypt is now know as the Arab Republic of Egypt and it’s national language is Arab. Those few countries that retained their own language in the Islamic empire have had their language Arab-ized by using the Arab alphabet and other such nuances. Therefore, I think that Islam could be said to have crushed these other 3 nations rather than just occupied some of their Western borders.

Next we see that this empire will be a mixed empire. Was Rome a mixed empire? Some scholars will argue for East and West Rome, but I don’t buy it. Islam is made up of several independent countries and furthermore of Tsuni and Sh’ite. This seems extremely mixed with the inability to ever mix just as the prophecy says. This next part seems like a stretch, but I will let you figure it out for yourselves. The link below is to a parallel Bible study of Daniel 2:43. Go there and then click the word “mixed.” It will pull up the original word for “mixed” that is used in the Aramaic text.

http://www.studylight.org/isb/bible.cgi?query=Daniel+2%3A43&section=0&it=nas&ot=bhs&nt=na&Enter=Perform+Search

Now, turn with me to Daniel 5, the famous writing on the wall passage. We see that the writing on the wall says “Mene mene tekel parsin” this is translated as “counted counted weighed and divided” but interestingly enough we see some divine wordplay. The singular form of “Parsin” as we see it here is “Paras” or “Persia”, therefore, not only will they be divided, but they will be divided by Persia. This wordplay I feel sets at least a slight precedent for the earlier grasp at the word ‘Arab’

Now, how then do all of the scholars arrive at Rome? They do so by using Daniel 9’s description of the “people of the prince to come.” This is obviously referring to the Anti-Christ and his army. Right now you’re thinking that this is obviously Rome and that I’m a huge idiot. Track with me through this next part, it’s about to get rough. (The following information was assembled by a man I know named Rick who is the only person I know of who supports this theory. I have personally checked all of his facts and it all checks out.)

Let us first define the verse as it is most commonly interpreted by scholars. “The people (the primary followers) of the prince (the Antichrist) that will come (in the last days), shall destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the Jewish temple).”

Now in this time Augustus had been making sweeping reforms which led to a whole slew of recruits to the Roman army. We see that the only Italian soldiers protected the Emperor and the Leader’s tents, everything was made up of pretty much anything but Italians.

According to the Roman Historian, Tacitus:Titus Caesar… found in Judaea three legions, the 5th, the 10th, and the 15th… To these he added the 12th from Syria, and some men belonging to the 18th and 3rd, whom he had withdrawn from Alexandria. This force was accompanied… by a strong contingent of Arabs, who hated the Jews with the usual hatred of neighbors… —Tacitus The History New Ed edition Book 5.1 Editor: Moses Hadas, Translators: Alfred Church, William Brodribb (Modern Library; New York, 2003)

Now a second witness Rick has found in Josephus:So Vespasian sent his son Titus [who], came by land into Syria, where he gathered together the Roman forces, with a considerable number of auxiliaries from the kings in that neighborhood. Flavius Josephus The Complete Works of Josephus, The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem Book III, Chapter 1, Paragraph 3

and

Malchus also, the king of Arabia, sent a thousand horsemen, besides five thousand footmen, the greatest part of which were archers; so that the whole army, including the auxiliaries sent by the kings, as well horsemen and footmen, when all were united together, amounted to sixty thousand. - Flavius Josephus The Complete Works of Josephus, The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem Book III, Chapter 4, Paragraph 2

Now let’s examine the legions that would have been seizing Jerusalem under Titus.

Legion V Macedonia: Judea or Moesia
Legion X Fretensis: Syria
Legion XV Appolinaris Syria
Legion XII Fulminata Asia Minor / Syria
Legion XVIII Egypt
Legion III Gallica Syria

Modern scholars of history will agree with these facts as well:

That Italians were increasingly replaced in the legions during this period by provincials is in itself no longer a novelty among scholars… In the East, that is Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt, it seems clear that local recruitment was well under way under Augustus [d.14 A.D.], so that by his death only a very small number of legionaries derived from Italy or indeed any of the western provinces… Under Nero [d. 68A.D.], when the eastern legions required supplementation…it was to Cappadocia and Galatia that [Rome] looked for recruits. This was doubtless standard procedure. [The] legions of the East consisted largely of “orientals” (Middle Easterners) (Phang 57-58)

To the Roman public, the army of 69-70 AD probably seemed little different than its counterpart under Julius Caesar. The legionaries wore familiar equipment, and marched behind the silver aquila, their legions bearing names and titles which reflected their origins and the exploits of earlier days. But in reality much had changed: What had been an army of Italians was increasingly becoming an army of provincials owing no particular allegiance to, or common bond with the Senate or the urbs Roma… Increasingly they began to identify their interests with those of the provinces in which they were stationed…. By AD 69 Gallica III, like other legions long stationed in the East, contained a very high proportion of men born in the eastern provinces.” (Phang page 44)

We see from the above list of legions that Gallica III was part of the raid on Jerusalem.

In case you don’t believe me yet:

The greatest part of the Roman garrison was raised out of Syria; and being thus related to the Syrian part, they were ready to assist it. The Wars of The Jews History of the Destruction of Jerusalem By Flavius Josephus Trans. William Whiston BOOK II: CHAPTERPara7

Now, it is important to note that the word “Peoples” in Hebrew from Daniel 9:26 denotes ethnicity. It does not refer to the kingdom or empire of the people.

Now let us look at what Josephus has to say about the sacking of the temple:

And now a certain person came running to Titus, and told him of this fire… whereupon he rose up in great haste, and, as he was, ran to the holy house, in order to have a stop put to the fire; after him followed all his commanders, and after them followed the several legions, in great astonishment; so there was a great clamor and tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly motion of so great an army. Then did Caesar, both by calling to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giving a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench the fire. - Josephus War of the Jews, Book 6, Chapter 4

Titus supposing what the fact was, that the house itself might yet he saved, he came in haste and endeavored to persuade the soldiers to quench the fire… yet were their passions too hard for the regards they had for Caesar, and the dread they had of him who forbade them, as was their hatred of the Jews, and a certain vehement inclination to fight them, too hard for them also… And thus was the holy house burnt down, without Caesar’s approbation. - Josephus, Wars of the Jew, Book 6, Chapter 4

…the multitude of the Arabians, with the Syrians, cut up those that came as supplicants, and searched their bellies. Nor does it seem to me that any misery befell the Jews that was more terrible than this, since in one night’s time about two thousand of these deserters were thus dissected. - The Wars of The Jews, History of the Destruction of Jerusalem By Flavius Josephus Trans. William Whiston BOOK V: Chapter 13: Para 4

Here I have presented the history surrounding historical events as well as unadulterated Biblical text. Please be a Berean with this material. Read it for yourself, research as I have. Most of this is not my own material, but stuff I have learned from an acquaintance via my house leader. I was appalled at first, but as I began to check his facts, everything played out biblically and historically. There are still a few points of contention I am not certain about, but I’m working those out. Hopefully within the next week I will post a write-up about the city on the 7 hills from Revelation 17.