As predicted, one of the two most controversial questions/answers to my quiz 10 End Time Questions was #4. I will reply briefly here to this question and later publish studies for the other questions.

4. The image of Daniel 2 is an outline of world history. Today we are living in the time of
    a. The head of gold
    b. The legs of iron
    c. The feet of iron and clay
    d. The 10 toes

The commonly accepted belief is that after the fall of Rome, world domination passed to 10 barbarian tribes of Europe, represented by the 10 toes, which is the period in which we live today.

This theory has several difficulties and deficiencies.

Each different metallic part of the image was a different recognized world kingdom (Babylon - head of gold, Medo-Persia - breast and arms of silver, Greece - belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron and feet and toes of iron and clay). Notice, I didn't name the fourth kingdom. Most Bible scholars agree that it is ROME. I propose it is that and more.

Daniel said there would be four kingdoms - not five. The fourth kingdom, iron, would rule until the coming of Christ - first as two legs, then as a divided kingdom, still of iron. The TWO legs would give way to feet and then toes, but still iron, retaining the hardness of iron.

The two legs of the image have been said to be Rome - one leg as the Roman republic and the second leg as the Roman empire. The first problem with this theory is the time-frame. Time within the image proceeds from the top down until the end of the world when the stone cut out without hands (2nd coming of Christ) destroys the entire image.

The two legs are parallel, meaning that they occupy the same period of time, not one following the other. To stay consistent, one COULD refer to "above the knees" as the republic and "below the knees" as the empire. I am NOT suggesting this, but merely showing that parallel legs are not consecutive, they are totally or at least partially contemporary in time.

Next, there were NOT 10 barbarian tribes that conquered and replaced the Roman empire. They were not 10, they are not ruling the world now and even though Rome degenerated (was wounded), yet it lived (Revelation 13:14) and its legal system did not go away. It is still in place controlling the world with its rod of iron. The iron will persist until the 2nd coming of the Christ. This is the only conclusion consistent with the dream.

Neither God nor Daniel cared whether Rome's leaders called themselves Caesars or emperors or popes nor whether they called their government a republic or an empire or a church. It was still the very same system of men ruling men, the exact definition of Babylon. And it was still the same system of Roman civil law, ruling men with a law (rod) of iron.

We will discuss Roman civil law more fully in a later study.

Likewise, whether leaders are called kings or presidents or dictators or chairmen or consuls or emperors or czars or caesars or chiefs or governors or mayors or popes or bishops makes no difference. If men are ruling men it is a system of Babylon.

In other words, the change from Roman republic to Roman empire was a prophetic non-event and the change to church has been ignored by most interpretations.