The seven resurrections of the Roman empire

In a vision, the prophet Daniel saw “the four winds of heaven…stirring up the Great Sea” (Daniel 7:2). Out of the churning waters came a succession of four beasts representing world empires. A composite image of these creatures is found in Revelation 13, with the succession of kingdoms culminating in the Roman Empire—which through seven revivals would continue to the end time, as the previous article, Europe’s Amazing Rise: Foretold In Prophecy has shown.

Revelation, the final prophetic book of the Bible, reveals more details about this fourth and final empire of Daniel’s prophecy. In Revelation 13 John records a vision he saw of “a beast rising up out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 13:1), which receives a deadly wound (verse 3).

After years of decline, the Roman Empire did receive a “deadly wound” in A.D. 476 when Rome’s Emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed by Germanic tribes led by Odoacer. But that was not the end of the Roman Empire.That “wound” was healed, and in Revelation 17, this beast appears again, in another form, linked with a powerful and influential church called a “great harlot” (verse 1).

Following the “deadly wound” of A.D. 476, seven “kings” or leaders would bring about revivals of the Roman Empire, with the last revival consisting of ‘10 horns’ which represents ten nations. The following comparison of these biblical prophecies with secular history shows how accurate those prophecies have proved to be.

Justinian’s Imperial Restoration

After Emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed, less than a century passed before Justinian, the Eastern Roman or Byzantine emperor, ruling from Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), committed himself to restoring the empire in the West, launching what would be known to history as the “Imperial Restoration.” William Langer’s An Encyclopedia of World History states, “Justinian’s whole policy was directed toward the establishment of the absolute power of the emperor and toward the revival of a universal, Christian Roman Empire” (1960, p. 172).

The Roman church hierarchy played a key role in this revival. As historian Will Durant points out, “In 554 Justinian promulgated a decree requiring that ‘fit and proper persons, able to administer local government, be chosen as governors of the provinces by the bishops and chief persons of each province'” (The Story of Civilization, Vol. 4:The Age of Faith, 1950, pp.519-520).

Six more revivals were to follow Justinian’s restoration.

Charlemagne, Holy Roman emperor

The second of these prophesied revivals of the Roman Empire occurred at the time of Charlemagne, who was crowned by Pope Leo III in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in A.D. 800, indicating the power and influence the Roman church would hold over the empire in future years, when emperors would receive the title Holy Roman Emperor. Langer’s Encyclopedia of World History refers to this time as the “Revival of the Roman Empire in the West” (p. 155), adding that “Charlemagne’s rule was a theocracy.”

Otto I, “the Great Emperor”

After Charlemagne’s death, his empire was divided among his grandsons, with the empire remaining weak and divided until the time of Otto the Great, who received the title of Roman Emperor in A.D. 962 when he was crowned by Pope John XII. According to Langer’s Encyclopedia of World History, Otto’s “coronation by the pope as Roman Emperor marked the revival of the Roman Empire” (p. 216). This marked the third of seven prophesied revivals or resurrections of the Roman Empire.

Charles V, on whose empire the sun never set

Although Otto had passed from the scene, his empire lasted for almost three centuries before being divided by rival factions. This was followed, after nearly two decades without an emperor, by Rudolph I of the Habsburg family becoming “King of the Romans” in 1273. This title gave way in 1508 to the Elected Emperor of the Romans. These emperors ceased making the journey to Rome, and only one was crowned by the pope—Charles V of the house of Habsburg in 1530 (all the elected emperors between 1438 and 1740 being of this royal family).

Charles inherited the vast Habsburg possessions of Central Europe, Germany, and Italy. From his mother, daughter of the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, he inherited Spain and its American possessions. He ruled over an empire larger than that of ancient Rome and was the most powerful man in the world. Determined to realize the age-old dream of a unified Europe, Charles V’s reign was the pinnacle of the fourth prophesied revival of the Roman Empire. “One of the greatest of the kings of Spain and Holy Roman emperor, [Charles V] was perhaps the last emperor to attempt to realize the medieval idea of a unified empire embracing the entire Christian world” (The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 2, “Charles V”).

Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte represented the fifth prophesied attempt to resurrect the Roman Empire. At the height of his power, he ruled 70 million subjects across the European continent. In 1804, he crowned himself emperor of France, and later that year was crowned Emperor Napoleon I by Pope Pius II at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Eventually, his military conquests resulted in him ruling Europe from the Elbe River to the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Spanish and French territories in the New World, which consisted of the greater part of the Americas.

Napoleon was determined to unify Europe. However, he failed to conquer Britain when his navy was defeated by Admiral Lord Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805. In 1812, his invasion of Russia also proved disastrous, with the loss of more than half a million men. Forced to abdicate his throne, he was sent into exile in 1814.

German and Italian dreams

Before Napoleon, Germany consisted of literally hundreds of small German states, each ruled by its own prince, duke or king, with Austria and Prussia being the most dominant. In the 19th century, Otto von Bismarck managed to unite most German territories under the Prussian Hohenzollern dynasty, with others allied with Austria.

In 1870, both groups of German states fought together against France, and in 1871, Prussia’s King William (or Wilhelm) was proclaimed emperor or Kaiser of Germany. Centuries earlier, Otto the Great had established the first great German empire—the First Reich. Now Germany had its Second Reich.

German dreams of a greater empire inevitably led to war in 1914, but when it ended four years later, major problems still remained. In the coming years, two new strongmen would arise with dreams of uniting and expanding Europe—Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler in Germany. Both these men signed agreements with the Roman church that gave legitimacy to their fascist regimes.

Declaring the reappearance of the Roman Empire, Mussolini formed an alliance with Hitler, bringing about the Rome-Berlin Axis, with Adolf Hitler proudly proclaiming Germany’s Third Reich. The sixth of the seven imperial revivals foretold in Revelation 17 was underway, with World War II being fought against the Allied and Axis powers from 1939-1945. As in World War I, millions perished and Europe was again left in ruins.

In the devastated aftermath of World War II, it seemed unimaginable that Europe could rise again. Yet Europe has risen. The 27-member European Union has grown to become the world’s largest economy and its biggest trading power. It is quickly developing global political power to match its economic clout, and as the previous article points out, military power will surely follow.

The Roman Empire has fallen, risen, and fallen several times in the past. And it will rise once more, yet soon afterward will be destroyed and replaced by the final superpower—the Kingdom of God, ruled by Jesus Christ, which will never be destroyed.