The Roman Empire
Mountain 6

The Roman Empire, like all those before it, controlled the nation of Israel. The biggest difference between the Roman Empire and the others was that it was a part of Europe and controlled a large portion of Europe along with the Middle East and North Africa. However the most important factor to consider is it's control of Israel. Although there were other empires that sprang up through the centuries, such as the Ottoman Empire which closely resembled some of the other empires including Rome and possessed the land where Israel was once a nation, and the Mongolian Empire which was one of the largest empires ever and existed at about the same time as the Ottomans, none of them was qualified to be one of the 7 mountains of Revelation 17:9-11. After Jesus was born into the Roman Empire, two things happened. First, at His death a new era of grace was upon us. God had salted the earth with believers and the Gospel of grace. The Roman Empire is the only mountain of the seven that was not judged by God. It could have been judged for the crucifixion of Jesus but instead Jesus called on God to forgive them, and the empire slowly weakened and diminished over time as opposed to being judged suddenly and decisively by God like the 5 previous mountains. Second, and equally important, the Jews were dispersed abroad and Israel ceased to be a nation. The Romans changed the name of the land to Palestine and imported peoples from other lands to inhabit it.

The final mountain will be the Beast Empire. Israel has become a nation once more and the antichrist will take control of her once more. After the antichrist has had his way with both Israel and the saints of God for a time, God's grace will run out and He will send Jesus to gather the dead and the living who are in Christ Jesus in what we call the rapture. After that the judgment or wrath of God will be poured out not only on the Beast Empire but upon the whole earth. At the conclusion of God's wrath Jesus will return with His saints prepared for the Battle of Armageddon and He will take back the earth and reign for ever.

Rome is not the forth beast of Daniel chapter 7 as some have theorized. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Rome will be revised or reborn as the beast kingdom. The description of the fourth beast or empire is of the end times antichrist kingdom and the antichrist being subdued by the real Christ. The ten kings that are mentioned in Daniel 7 and Revelation 17 are not part of the European Union which has 15 nations and others that are being considered for inclusion. The ten kings and their nations surround Israel in the Middle Eastern region and they will come together in the end times against Israel. This is explained in more detail in the end times study of Revelation and on the Beast Map that follows.

The Roman Empire lies within the yellow outline on a modern geopolitical map.