Seeds of Rome

History places the fall of the Roman Empire at 476 AD with the removal of the last western emperor. This would seem to be the end of the fourth kingdom in Daniel's prophecy. But it is amazing to note that no empire has risen since that time to take its place. That means there have been over fifteen hundred years of political struggle without any one nation rising to dominance. The reason is that the dream was true and its interpretation trustworthy. There were only four kingdoms in the statue and the Stone Kingdom crushed and removed all trace of them. But the fourth kingdom has not yet been crushed. All around us in the present day we see traces of Rome. Actually, they are more than traces — they are the very fabric of Western civilization. Primary among these is the system of law. The legal codes of most Western nations are based on Roman law. This heritage is easily detected from the use of Latin in legal terminology. Also, amazingly, most Western nations have adopted some form of republican government, which Rome preserved even under its most powerful emperors. Beyond this, there is a deep admiration, even an awe, implanted in Westerners for the Roman Empire and its achievements. Something in the soul of Western man wants to see the glory of that civilization, the Roman peace and prosperity, reproduced today.

That desire has been carried and nurtured through the centuries by Christianity. Ever since she united with the Roman Empire in the time of Constantine, the Church has had a vital interest in the unification of Europe under central rule. It was she who civilized and Christianized the Germanic tribes who conquered Rome and then crowned Charlemagne Emperor of Rome in 800, looking for a revival of the security she had known under Constantine.

This political connection with the Germanic tribes endured for 1000 years, inspiring such German princes as Otto I and Charles V to extend their rule over Europe and be crowned as Roman emperors. So deeply ingrained in the tradition of the German people was this tie with Rome, both spiritually and politically, that an entire succession of monarchs for six and a half centuries referred to their domain as the "Holy Roman Empire."

Their claims ended in 1806 when Napoleon, with his own dreams of empire, sought to dominate Europe. Crowned Emperor of France, with the blessing of the Pope, Napoleon soon showed that he was not content with France, but wanted a Roman Empire of his own.

Rome, then, lives on in the religion, history, politics, law, government, traditions, and languages of Europe. But, most importantly, it lives in the hearts and imaginations of Europeans, ready to spring forth into a confederation of ten nations in these last days.