In a recent trend on TikTok, ladies were asking their boyfriends and husbands how often they think about the Roman Empire and recording their reactions. The ladies posting these videos were surprised to learn how much guys think about the Roman Empire. Some guys think about the Roman empire once a week while others do several times daily.
When asked why, the guys’ responses were mixed. Some of them cited the rich history of the empire, while others responded by asking their partners “How can you not think about the Roman empire?” Some guys provided detailed responses regarding man’s desire to conquer and build his own empire, others cited stoicism, and others cited the manliness of Roman soldiers glamourized by Russell Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius.
My Thoughts on the Roman Empire
I also think about the Roman Empire. I would say, a couple of times a week, on average. But, my reasons for thinking about the Roman Empire are very different from those given by the guys on TikTok. I generally think about the Roman Empire through the lens of Bible prophecy. I particularly think about the downfall of Rome and its prophesied rise to prominence again in the future.
In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon at the time, has a dream. In his dream, he sees a statue composed of different materials: a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay. Nebuchadnezzar is troubled by this dream and he asks his wise men to tell him what it means. The interpretation is so important to him that he adds a test: the wise men must first tell him what he dreamt and then provide the interpretation.
The wise men are obviously not able to tell him what he dreamt. But God reveals the dream and the interpretation to Daniel. Because Daniel was able to tell him the dream, Nebuchadnezzar believes that the interpretation is true and, consequently, acknowledges Daniel’s God as the true God.
Interpreting the Dream
According to the interpretation, and similar subsequent visions that God gave Daniel as well, what Nebuchadnezzar saw was a prophecy of the empires that would succeed Babylon. Babylon, represented by the head of gold, would be overtaken by Medo-Persia. Medo-Persia, represented by the silver, would, in turn, be overtaken by Greece, particularly Alexander the Great as per Daniel 8. Greece, represented by the brass, would be overtaken by Rome, represented by the legs of iron. Then, God has this to say about the Roman Empire:
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, for iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, it shall crush and shatter all these. As you saw the feet and toes, partly of potters’ clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. But there shall be in it some of the strength of the iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken.
Daniel 2:40-42 (MEV)
The Bible speaks of Rome as being an incredibly powerful kingdom. However, there came a day when Rome lost its strength. In Jeremiah, God uses potters’ clay as a symbol of his people (Jeremiah 18:6). Rome lost its strength when it joined forces with God’s people. Iron, Rome, mixed with potter’s clay, God’s people.
Separation of Church and State
It has been God’s design that political power and religious power should always be separate. This separation is well-encapsulated in the United States of America’s first amendment to their constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise.” When Jesus established the Christian church on earth, things ran well for several hundred years. Rome co-existed with Christianity. Rome used civil power to punish criminals. Christians used preaching to persuade people to follow God. However, at some point, Rome mixed itself with Christianity and departed from God’s design. Iron mixed with clay. The relics of this arrangement include the Roman Catholic Church, the office of the Pope (papacy), and the Vatican. The Roman Empire became “Papal Rome”, that is, Rome headed by the office of the pope.
When Iron mixed with clay, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. However, it was a unique blend of Christianity that included elements of Roman paganism, including idol worship and a range of beliefs that are not Biblical. For this reason, the Bible calls Papal Rome “Babylon”, meaning “confusion” (not to be confused with the Empire of Babylon, led by Nebuchadnezzar).
The Effects of Mixing Iron and Clay
Papal Rome killed millions of people whom they deemed “heretics” for not accepting their flavour of Christianity. They changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. They changed the Ten Commandments to allow for idol worship. They exerted their control over most of Europe. It was an age of economic, intellectual, cultural, and spiritual decline. It came to an end during the Enlightenment after Napolean Bonaparte’s general Bethier captured the pope at the time, Pius VI. The Bible refers to this downfall as a “deadly wound”, but also prophesies that the deadly wound will be healed. Referring to Papal Rome as a beast with multiple heads, the Bible says:
And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.
Revelation 13:3 (NKJV)
The Bible tells us that Papal Rome will rise up again and the whole world will follow its dictates. People will be persecuted and killed again for not following their decrees. Religious freedom will be taken away again on a worldwide scale. However, the Bible also tells us:
But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Daniel 7:26, 27 (KJV)
In the judgment, God will remove Papal Rome’s power, He will punish them for killing Christians who chose to follow the Bible rather than a religion of confusion, and He will give a reward to Christians who stayed true to Him even under threat of death.
Standing Firm
We should all think about the Roman Empire. We should think about its departure from God’s design. It should make us nervous when the Pope addresses world councils and when world leaders bow down to him. But above all, we should make sure that we stay faithful to God and to His word. We need to spend time in God’s word daily so that we can discern between truth and error and so that we can receive strength from God to stand for Him even if our lives are threatened for what we believe.
The Bible says of those who follow God, rather than a fallen religious system:
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Revelation 14:12
May we all be in that category.