The Iron Empire of Islam

by John D. Keyser

Futuristic interpreters maintain that Rome is the fourth empire; their notion is based primarily on an erroneous identification of Medo-Persia as the second empire. Futurists believe Greece to be the third empire, which is naturally followed by the Roman Empire. The immediate problem facing this view is that the events depicted under the fourth empire's dominion cannot be linked historically with events taking place within the Roman Empire. John F. Walvoord states:

"The interpretation identifying this [fourth empire] as Rome immediately has a major problem in that there is no real correspondence to the Roman Empire historically in the phrase, 'and it had ten horns'" (Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation, p. 162).

While this is true, we have seen that Daniel's visions stretch over a long period of time, and the events found within these prophecies are not all fulfilled in the past. As mentioned before, some events are now history and some still wait to be fulfilled in the near future. Understanding this Walvoord correctly reasons that the only possible fulfillment of this prophecy would be that "ten actual kingdoms will exist simultaneously in the future consummation" (ibid., pp. 162, 169).

The events (toes, horns, little horn) that clearly cannot be reconciled under the Historic Roman or Greek views must, of necessity, be projected into the future -- thereby escaping the bounds of the purely Historic viewpoint. According to Futurists, the toes and ten horns represent a ten-nation revived Roman Empire, and the little horn is a future antichrist that will gain control of this confederacy. The result of this interpretation is constant speculation among modern-day prophecy writers as to the identity of the ten-nation confederacy and the Antichrist.

However, this view faces a major difficulty. The text clearly states that the little horn came up among the ten horns that were on the head of the beast (Daniel 7:20). The ten horns, and the little horn, rose up just before the fourth kingdom was destroyed by YEHOVAH's Kingdom. How, then, is it possible for the little horn to be identified as a future antichrist when the Roman Empire came to an end in the fifth century A.D.? The solution offered by futuristic interpreters stretches the imagination and exposes the speculative basis of their theory. John F. Walvoord suggests a way out of the dilemma:

"Probably the best solution to the problem is the familiar teaching that Daniel's prophecy actually passes over the present age, the period between the first and second coming of Christ or, more specifically, the period between Pentecost and the rapture of the church" (ibid., p. 72).

According to this interpretation, the book of Daniel bypasses 2,000 years of Christianity: Daniel wrote concerning Judahite history from the time of Nebuchadnezzar (523 B.C.) to the first coming of the Messiah (31 A.D.). Since Daniel was not aware of the New Testament church age, so this theory goes, his prophecies leap over the Christian era and will resume following the "rapture" of the church. At that time, so this theory claims, Daniel's prophecies will be fulfilled as YEHOVAH God again deals with the Jews as a nation during the seven-year tribulation period.

Since Daniel wrote about these events no later than 500 years before the Messiah, it is certainly reasonable to conclude that he was not aware of the church age. But the notion that the church age constitutes a "gap" or "parenthesis" in history based on such lack of knowledge is the brainchild of interpreters who insist on identifying Rome as the fourth empire. The "gap" theory should therefore be viewed as a questionable consequence of this identification. However, these problems disappear when we consider the fourth kingdom or empire to be that of Islam!

Islam, the Dreaded Iron Empire

More than 70 percent of the verses concerning the four world empires directly pertain to the fourth empire and its breakup in relationship to Palestine. Daniel 7:19 relates that the fourth empire is "different from all the rest." Furthermore, it will "crush and shatter" all previous kingdoms (Daniel 2:40). Futuristic interpreters, who identify Rome as the fourth empire, contend that events depicted under the dominion of the fourth empire will be fulfilled in a future revived Roman Empire and tribulation period.

One reason for this belief is voiced by W. Sibley Towner:

"According to the text of Daniel 7.9-27, the great judgment of the kingdoms of the earth and the establishment of "one like a son of man [NRSV: human being]" (7.13) -- who may be "the holy ones of the Most High" themselves (7.19 -- should have occurred during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the "little horn" with the "mouth speaking arrogantly" (7.8). Such an eschatological crisis did not, of course, happen in the reign of Antiochus.

"The canonizers themselves must have known this; perhaps they had already reinterpreted the four beasts who rise out of the sea in chap. 7 in such a way as to make ROME the fourth beast and the little horn some Roman emperor.

"By means of reinterpretation of the symbols of the apocalypse, it would have been possible to keep the timetable of events leading up to the last judgment open, and it was that openness that enabled the writer of Revelation 20 to transform Daniel 7 into a vision of the imminent worldwide crisis known as the day of judgment" (The Oxford Companion to the Bible, edited by Metzger and Coogan. NY: Oxford University Press, 1993, p. 152).

On the contrary, however, we will present evidence that clearly shows that the Islamic Empire is properly the fourth empire. Such argument will be based not only on the prior identification of Media as the second empire, but also on tangible evidence that events depicted under the dominion of the fourth empire were actually fulfilled in the history of the Islamic Empire, and also have a future literal significance!

As we have seen, the first three gentile kingdoms in the book of Daniel are Babylon, Media and Persia. But what is the identity of the fourth kingdom?

Let's pause for a moment and contemplate the implications of Nebuchadnezzar's image. Babylon was the first kingdom (head of gold) which covered the Mesopotamian area (this was also the area Assyria had covered). Media existed long before it conquered Babylon and was, in fact, an ally of Babylon when they captured the city of Nineveh and overthrew the Assyrian Empire. When Media and Persia conquered Babylon in 457 B.C., Media made the Mesopotamian area its world-center and became the second kingdom (chest and arms of silver) of Daniel's prophecy. Likewise Persia existed long before it conquered Babylon with the Medes; and when Cyrus took over control of Babylon from Darius the Mede, he also made Mesopotamia his world-center. This was Daniel's third kingdom (waist and thighs of brass).

While Greece existed long before it conquered Persia in approximately 330 B.C., it did not become the fourth kingdom (legs of iron) of Daniel's prophecy because it did not arise out of the Middle East and it did not make Mesopotamia its world-center. Alexander's conquest of Babylonia was short-lived and it soon became a part of the area controlled by one of his generals after his death. Notice what G. H. Lang says --

"It is thus with the fourth empire as might surely be expected....This may be inferred from the fact that a VERTICAL IMAGE is employed to picture the whole period; for the CENTER OF GRAVITY of each successive portion is EXACTLY UNDER that of the portions above, so that the feet stand DIRECTLY BENEATH the head, breast, and body" (The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel. London: The Paternoter Press, 1950, p. 29).

And that center of gravity is Babylon!

So how does this square with the idea of Rome or Greece being the fourth kingdom? While it is true that Rome reached all the way to the Indus River for a period of seven years, this was only a weak hold that lasted but a short time. ROME NEVER ESTABLISHED THE MESOPOTAMIAN AREA AS ITS WORLD-CENTER!! Argues Henry Cowles in Ezekiel and Daniel:

"Rome NEVER was Asiatic, NEVER was oriental; NEVER therefore a legitimate successor of the first three of these great empires" (NY: D. Appleton, Co., 1868, p. 355).

Adds Otto Zockler --

"The four world kingdoms are developed without exception on one and the same geographical stage,...thus harmonizing with the Biblical representation under the symbol of a SINGLE colossal image" (The Book of Daniel. NY:Lange, 1876, p. 84).

Lang adds his observation --

"Rome never trampled upon or dominated Babylon or Persia, and certainly NEVER consolidated its power there" (The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel, p. 84).

The Roman Empire, with its uniquely Western/European orientation, simply does NOT come close to lining up with the geography of a Babylonian-Median-Persian empire. For the overwhelming majority of its existence, the borders of the Roman Empire remained roughly 500 miles west of Babylon. The Islamic Empire, however, "crushed" all of these regions in an unqualified and absolute manner. The Islamic Caliphate came to dominate all of the land contained within all three of these previous empires -- and far more! When considering a combination Babylonian, Median and Persian Empire, the Roman Empire doesn't even come close to fulfilling this description, but the Islamic Caliphate fulfills it perfectly.

The same can be said about Greece -- it was essentially a European power -- and one that did not arise out of the Middle East. In reality, this invalidates claims that Greece was either the third or fourth of Daniel's kingdoms.

If Rome or Greece was the fourth kingdom, we should look to Europe for the fulfillment of the prophecies assigned to the fourth kingdom -- but the Biblical picture CONSISTENTLY POINTS US to the Middle East! The book of Daniel as a unified whole clearly and consistently points to a fourth kingdom situated in the Mesopotamian area of the Middle East -- in the area of Syria/Iraq today. The only empire that fulfills these requirements, and the requirements of Daniel's vision, is the Islamic Empire founded by Muhammad's successor Abu Bakr who invaded the Persian Empire and conquered the area of Babylonia in 637 A.D. He became the empire's first Caliph.

The Fourth Empire in Daniel 2

"Just as you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the hardness of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with common clay" (Daniel 2:41, The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible).

The fourth kingdom is represented by legs of iron in the metallic statue. The iron kingdom is divided into feet of iron and clay representing a "divided kingdom." The fourth kingdom, then, would be an unstable one that would become "divided," and this imagery aptly describes what happened to the Islamic Empire after the Muslim invasion of 637 A.D. It was divided into two religious or ideological factions -- namely Sunni and Shia.

"This beast was described as 'dreadful and terrible' and was 'exceedingly strong' with 'huge iron teeth' (v. 7). It had ten horns, and while Daniel was 'considering the horns,' another horn, 'a little one' came up among the others and plucked up three of the biggest horns (vs. 7-8). Daniel was told that the four beasts were four kings that would arise out of the earth (v. 17), and he expressed a desire to 'know the truth about the fourth beast' and the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn that came up before which three horns fell" (vs. 19-20).

"Obviously, then," continues Till,

"the writer's primary interest was in this fourth beast or kingdom. That interest can be explained by something that Daniel said in his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream when he identified the iron legs, with feet of iron and clay, on the 'great image' that Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream. This 'iron' kingdom was also the fourth kingdom in the dream, and Daniel said that 'in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed' (2:44). This was why the focus of chapter 7 was on the fourth beast. It symbolized the kingdom in whose days the God of heaven would establish an everlasting kingdom, so naturally Daniel's focus would be on it" (What Medo-Persian Empire?).

Much to the chagrin of many of the Churches of God, who want this fourth kingdom to be the Roman Empire, there is absolutely NO TEXTUAL EVIDENCE to support that wish, because it is apparent to all who want to see Daniel's intention that the iron kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the fourth beast in chapter 7 can only be the Islamic Empire that arose in the Middle East in 637 A.D.

The type of "duality" which futurists attempt to force on the "chest and arms" is illustrated here. Daniel attaches specific interpretive value to the feet and toes as symbols of a divided kingdom composed "partly of potter's clay and partly of iron." The iron apparently symbolizes the strengths of the divided kingdom, while the clay symbolizes its weaknesses.

Undoubtedly, Daniel has in mind the two branches (legs) of Islam -- Sunni and Shia. The Muslims began raids against Iraq almost simultaneously with their operations in Syria, but there the enemies were the Persian Sassanians, who proved no match for the desert fighters. In 637 A.D. a small Arab force defeated a Sassanian army in Qadisiyah, took the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon and brought all of Iraq under Muslim control.

This was a turning point in Persian history:

"The Islamic conquest of Persia (633-656) and the end of the Sassanid Empire was a turning point in Iranian history. Islamicization in Iran took place during 8th to 10th century and led to the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia...After centuries of foreign occupation and short-lived native dynasties, Iran was once again reunified as an independent state in 1501 by the Safavid dynasty who established Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam" (en.wikipedia.org, "History of Iran").

Continues Wikipedia --

"Disagreement broke out over who would succeed Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community. While the Sunnis followed the companions of Muhammad, the Shias followed Ali. This dispute eventually led to the First Fitna, which was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate. The Fitna began as a series of revolts fought against the first Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, caused by the assassination of his political predecessor, Uthman Ibn Affan. It lasted for the entirety of Ali's reign, and its end is marked by Muawiyah's assumption of the caliphate (founding the Umayyad dynasty), and the subsequent recorded peace treaty between him and Hassan ibn Ali.

"The Second Fitna was when the first Umayyad Caliph Muawiya I was succeeded upon his death in 680 by his son, Yazid I. Yazid's first opposition came from supporters of Husayn ibn Ali, who was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the son of the former Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, who had been assassinated. Husayn and many of his closest supporters were killed by Yazid's troops at the Battle of Karbala. This battle is often cited as the definitive break between the Shi'a and Sunni sects of Islam, and until this day it has been commemorated each year by Shi'a Muslims on the Day of Ashura."

The fourth kingdom appeared as strong as iron at first when Islam exploded and conquered lands across the Middle East, and it broke in pieces all the other kingdoms before it.

The Arabs from 634-644 A.D., coming from their headquarters at Mecca, south of Palestine, conquered some 36,000 cities or strongholds, destroyed some 4,000 Christian churches, and erected some 1,400 Moslem mosques. They established an Empire that reached from Persia, through North Africa into Spain and the south of France. They sacked Rome, the seat of the Papacy, and even fought the Papal forces at sea. They besieged Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, on two occasions in 674-678 A.D., and 717-718 A.D. But then they became divided into the Sunni and Shi'a sects represented by the two legs of Daniel's statue.

Today the Sunnis and Shias agree on the core fundamentals of Islam -- the Five Pillars -- and recognize each other as Muslims. However, there remain significant differences between the TWO FORMS of Islam. Many Sunnis would contend that Shias seem to take the fundamentals of Islam very much for granted, shunting them into the background and dwelling on the martyrdoms of Ali and Hussein. It is alleged that instead of missionary work to non-Muslims, the Shia harbor a deep-seated disdain towards Sunni Islam and prefer to devote their attention to winning over other Muslims to their group. There is ongoing violent strife between Sunnis and Shias in Pakistan. On the other hand, in recent years there has been significant co-operation between the two groups in the Lebanon. And some of the most dynamic developments in Islam today are taking place in Shia-dominated Iran.

What is truly interesting is the fact that the Shias, when praying, place the forehead onto a PIECE OF HARDENED CLAY from Karbala -- not directly onto the prayer mat like the Sunnis do.

Summary of the Fourth Empire in Daniel 2 and 7

There is clear and complete confirmation between Daniel 2, Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 and 17  regarding the fourth empire -- which provides a solid foundation for identifying the fourth empire as Islam. The fourth kingdom is the last kingdom before the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God and was prophesied to be remarkably different from all those that came before it. It was also to be much more powerful.

The duality of the statue's legs and feet is easily seen as the Sunni and Shi'a factions to which Daniel limited himself in Daniel 11. Further correspondence is evidenced by the mixture of iron and clay in the toes. This is confirmed by the interpretation in Daniel 2:43 and the current outbursts by the leaders of Germany and Great Britain. Also, the fact that Shi'a Muslims -- who comprise about 15% of all Muslims -- pray with their foreheads pressed against a piece of clay is a further indication of the weaker part of the iron/clay mixture.

"This is a perfect description," writes Joel Richardson, "of the global Islamic community, which from its beginnings has been divided between the two sects of Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. It is also a perfect fulfillment of the ancient prophecy declared over Ishmael, the father of the Arab peoples, who would forever be in conflict with other men and even his own brothers: 'He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen' (Genesis 16:12)."

A further nail in the coffin is provided by the fact that the only confederacy of 10 nations found in the entirety of the Bible is that mentioned in Psalm 83 -- all of which are Islamic. A reasonable conclusion, therefore, is that the fourth empire of Daniel 2 and 7 is not Rome nor Greece, but Islam as represented by Muhammad and his successors. While the vision in Daniel 2 and 7 of the establishment of the fourth kingdom or empire has been fulfilled in history, the final consummation is rapidly taking place in the Middle East today. This completely invalidates the idea that a future revived Roman Empire is symbolized by the statue's toes.