I would include the dream of Neb's statue, which also describes the 4 beasts being that of Babylon, Medio-Persia, the Grecian Empire and the Roman Empire.
From there, at the time of the Roman Empire, we should now pay attention to
the symbolic two legs, of which reveals that the Roman Empire split/divided into two religious Empires:
the Eastern Empire (Eastern Orthodox church) and
the Western Empire (Roman Catholic church).
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Knowing that the Roman Empire split into two Empires, it's important to know today of how
the feet and 10 toes of iron mixed with clay have ended up.
Scripture leads us to conclude that the
ten toes on Neb's image of the 4th beast, is
synonymous with the ten horns on the head of the 4th beast. If so, then the ten toes/horns apparently are
militaristic, because for all time, they have not yet appeared visibly on the world scene, that we know of. Today, we know them as
Eastern Europe and
Western Europe
However, we should ask: are they NOW members of
NATO, but as of yet have not been appointed for their special operation of "burning the whore with fire"?
Well, thank you again for your interesting response. It appears we are not very far apart in our interpretations.... because the "foundations" of Daniel - the 4 kingdoms are indeed agreed. And I believe that is exactly why they were placed within God's prophecies.- to establish the formal structure of those kingdoms He decided to "call our" of the sea or the earth to reveal His prophecies. Because they are well known to all - whether it would be the Jews at the time of Christ and anytime after, we can all agree with the 4.
One thing I was surprised to learn in your response, which I have not seen from ANYONE else on this forum or in my discussions with other folks interested in Daniel (or for that matter, ANY of today's accepted interpretations offered by the leading scholars, academics and theologians), is that you noticed / observed the 10 toes were FIRST found within the feet of the kingdom of pagan Rome. I was quite glad you mentioned this because this is one of the most important findings in Daniel that have been completed ignored.
Whether the two legs of the 4th beast represent the orthodox v. the RCC, or the some other "divisiojn" or "separate group" within the 4th kingdom, I do not know. But the important thing to consider is there WILL BE A DIVISION WITHIN THE 4TH BEAST KINGDOM (2:41). Now, in Chapter 2, Daniel does go into details discussing what this "divided" kingdom will look like - it is not specifically mentioned in Chapter 7 but Chapter 7 shows a different view of the "divided" kingdom. It is a divsion where it was once a purely military / secular 4th kingdom (pagan Rome) but it will become a different 4th kingdom AFTER (7:11). This is why I offered the narrative in the earlier response - the prophecies within Daniel mirror the actual / historical events that took place after the cross. But all of this is entirely due to the cross - nothing would have taken place if Jesus did not sacrirfice Himself for us. And, although you may not accept it at this time - no one has yet, the literal event of the crosss is represented in Daniel 2:34! The "Stone" would strike the "feet only" and separate the iron from the clay within the feet (verse 2:34 is His first coming and 2:35 is His return).
So, after 2:34, Daniel will reveal what will take place after the Messiah is crucified and what effect it would have on this 4th kingdom - or within this 4th kingdom as it applies to the clay (Jews) who are held captive withinj the pagan Roman empire (iron). Jesus did not come to wage war with Rome and free up His people. Instead, He would come to "divide" those OF HIS PEOPLE into two very different groups (found within 2:41-43). Those Jews, after the cross who would accept Jesus their Messiah, He would now refer to them as "pottery clay" because He would mold them to accept Him and spread the news throughout the empire. Those Jews who rejected Him, He would continue to refer to them as "ceramic clay," because their heart was as though it was hardened clay and they were not willing to accept Him as their Messiah.
So, your comment about brinjging in Chapter 2 is quite rigth - that is where this all begins - in Chapter 2, and it continues throughout the rest of the 12 chapters. So, in Chapter 7, God reveals the first 3 kingdoms as animals that mirror the same three in Chapter 2, but quickly moves on to the 4th kingdom. This is the kingdom where He will spend almost all of the coming verses in Daniel in.... because this is when He will arrive - during this 4th kingdom beast. He will arrive when it is known as "pagan Rome," He will start His church with the "pottery clay" identified in Chapter 2 who will go out into the world. There will still exist those Jews who will continue to reject Him (ceramic clay) and they will continue in their "pure / pre cross Jewish faith), and there will still be pagan Rome (iron) that will continue to "be" until it's eventual demise in the late 5th century / early 6th century AD.
So, if verse 2:34 is indeed the cross (and please try to think about this because it is 100 % certain), then, you can also agree that the Jews were in existence (at the end of the pagan Roman feet) BEFORE THE CROSS. You can also see that the 10 toes were also in existence BEFORE Stone struck the feet of the symbolic pagan Rome and broke free the clay from the iron pieces. Jesus did not come to destroy but to divide (everything does indeed tie together - all 12 chapters when we look for the Messiah within these prophecies - He is writing about Himself - His first coming DURING and WITHIN these 4 kingdoms).
So, when we get to Chapter 7, what do we now find? The 4th kingdom is symbolically shown as a unidentifiable beast. It is no longer the organized two legged iron pagan Rome of Chapter 2 - what has caused this change to the 4th kingdom? And notice the other 3 kingdoms did not change - they were shown as animals v metal body parts of a man, but there was absolutely no change in their "structure."
Now, in Chapter 7, we find an unidenfifiable 4th beast but iti now has 10 horns coming OUT OF IT, AND THEN ANOTHER LITTLE HORN ALSO COMING OUT OF IT BUT ONLY AFTER THE 10 HORNS ARE REVEALED. So, what has this "Stone" done to the 4th kingdom? The 10 toes who are no longer held captive within the iron feet of pagan Rome are now shown to have "come out" of pagan Rome and are now on the outside of the 4th kingdom beast - they have been freed from their captivity. Further, we see a completely new character that was not identified in Chapter 2 come out of pagan Rome in Chapter 7 - the little horn.
From this it is easy to conclude that God wants us to view the 10 toes (before the cross) as 10 horns (after the cross). And in prophetic language, these 10 horns mean they are 10 powers, that are now out in the pagan Rome empire (along with this little horn who will tag along at their heels - everywhere the10 go, this little horn will tag right behind).
So, I will stop here because that is so much to take it.... all of this took so long to discover..... Chapter 2 was one of the most difficult chapters to interpret - nothing like Chapter 11 (true monster), but I had to go back at least 100 times to try and interpret Chapter 2 because the rest of the Hebrew chapters made no sense... Almost all interperters threw the latter chapters into the end times --- but unless Chapter 2 is not interpreted this way, no other Chapter in Daniel will make true sense and everything will be end time interpretations.
So, before we move on, I would respectfully ask you or anyone reading this to ask questions or provide their comments on the above. If you simply want to tell me I am wrong and these are indeed end time events, do not bother - I have already heard them from you and I do not want to revisit your interpretations again..... sorry.
Look forward to your / anyone's thoughts on this...