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The Robbers of Thy People: Rome’s Exaltation and Fall in Prophecy
Key Takeaways
The prophetic vision of Daniel 11 traces the rise and fall of Rome, revealing its pivotal role in biblical history. The Battle of Actium (31 BC) and the fall of Egypt (30 BC) mark the beginning of Rome’s 360-year supremacy, fulfilling Daniel 11:25, 26. Rome, identified as the “robbers of thy people,” exerted influence through military conquest and strategic alliances, eventually dominating Israel. From Pompey’s desecration of the temple in 63 BC to Titus’ destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, Rome’s control over the Jewish people follows a prophetic pattern. The narrative extends to Constantine’s relocation of the empire’s capital in 330, which set the stage for the rise of papal Rome. This transition, prophesied in Daniel and Revelation, illustrates the broader theme of Rome’s repeated exaltation and fall—both in its pagan and papal forms. The prophecy highlights Rome as a power that breaks, tramples, and ultimately establishes the vision through its own demise.
- The Battle of Actium (31 BC) marked the transition of Rome into the supreme world power, fulfilling Daniel 11:25, 26.
- Rome as the “robbers of thy people” emerged around 200 BC, influencing Egypt and intervening in Jewish affairs.
- Pompey’s conquest of Jerusalem (63 BC) began Rome’s dominance over Israel, fulfilling Daniel 11:16.
- The succession of Roman rulers (Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius) aligns with Daniel’s prophecy, culminating in the crucifixion of Christ (31 AD).
- The destruction of the Jewish Temple (70 AD) by Titus marks the end of Jerusalem’s sovereignty under Rome.
- Rome’s expansion strategy was unique—conquering through treaties and alliances as highlighted in Daniel 11:23, 24.
- The 360-year reign of Rome (30 BC–330 AD) concludes when Constantine relocates the capital to Constantinople, fulfilling Daniel 8:11.
- Constantine’s move weakens pagan Rome, paving the way for the rise of papal Rome (538 AD).
- The prophetic pattern of exaltation and fall continues, with Western Rome collapsing in 476, papal Rome rising in 538, and its fall in 1798.
- The modern application of Daniel 11 suggests a final prophetic conflict, with Rome’s influence extending into global religious and political spheres.
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The Book of Daniel unfolds a remarkable prophetic narrative, weaving a principle of repeat and enlarge which threads through its visions, from the metallic statue of chapter 2 to the intricate kingly conflicts of chapter 11. Within this framework, a compelling case emerges: the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, culminating in Egypt’s fall in 30 BC, stands as a pivotal fulfillment of Daniel 11:25, 26, marking the dawn of pagan Rome’s 360-year supremacy.
Daniel 11 begins with the rise and fall of empires following Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BC. Yet, by verse 14, a shift occurs. Around 200 BC, as Antiochus III (Magnus) prepared for the Battle of Panium against the child-king Ptolemy V, Rome intervened, not as a mere bystander but as the “robbers of thy people.” Concerned about securing Egypt’s wheat supply amid Hellenistic turmoil, Rome flexed its influence during the Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC), setting the stage for its prophetic role.
Rome’s Dominance Over the Jews
Fast forward to 63 BC, and verse 16 finds fulfillment when Pompey storms Jerusalem, entering the Holy of Holies and asserting Roman dominion over the “glorious land.” From here, verses 17 through 22 trace a succession of Roman figures: Pompey’s eastern campaigns, Julius Caesar’s conquests and assassination in 44 BC, Augustus Caesar’s tax-raising reign (noted in Luke 2:1) ending in 14 AD, and Tiberius overseeing Christ’s crucifixion in the year 31 AD, when the “prince of the covenant” was broken. The prophetic line from Pompey in Jerusalem to Titus in Jerusalem in 70 AD, sets forth the line of Rome’s dominance over God’s people.
Beginning with a Roman General desecrating the temple on to the ending when a Roman General destroyed the temple provides the signature of Alpha and Omega. Beginning with desecrating and ending with destruction the historical line also contains the desecration and the destruction of the One who said of Himself, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” Truth is made up of the first, thirteenth and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the line beginning with Pompey and ending with Titus includes a middle temple destruction that is represented by the middle of three crosses, that were erected at the very middle of the week Christ came to confirm the covenant. Verses sixteen through twenty-two represent a prophetic line that bears the signature of truth. There are a handful of important prophetic lines within the history represented by the verses, but the primary theme of the line is Rome’s dominance over the Jews.
Leagues and Treaties
Verse 23 “repeats and enlarges” by looping back to 161–158 BC, when the Jews under Judas Maccabeus forged a league with Rome (1 Maccabees 8). This highlights Rome’s unique empire-building strategy—conquest through treaties and alliances, a method distinct from its predecessors. Verse 24 concludes this phase, noting Rome would “forecast its devices from the strongholds, even for a time.”
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. Daniel 11:23, 24.
For a Time
The word translated “against” can be understood as the word “from”. Rome forecasts its devices “from”. The word “from” in the verse points to the city of Rome, the empire’s political and military heart, as the base of its strategies. The “time” is prophetically 360 years, beginning when Egypt falls in 30 BC after Actium, and ending in the year 330 when Constantine abandons Rome for Constantinople.
Verses 25 and 26 zero in on Actium itself.
And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. Daniel 11:25, 26.
In 31 BC, Octavian, representing Rome as the “king of the north,” marshaled his forces against Cleopatra’s Egypt, the “king of the south,” in a monumental naval clash. Antony and Cleopatra’s “very great and mighty army” faltered, undone by strategic “devices” (Agrippa’s tactics) and betrayals—defections from Antony’s allies and Cleopatra’s mid-battle retreat. By 30 BC, Egypt was a Roman province, launching pagan Rome’s unchallenged rule. This 360-year span, from 30 BC to 330, aligns with Rome’s supremacy centered in its original stronghold, until Constantine’s shift “cast down” the stronghold, as Daniel 8:11 foretells.
Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. Daniel 8:11.
When Constantine cast down the city of Rome for the city of Constantinople, he left a power vacuum in the city of Rome open for the papal church to take the seat of authority represented by the city of Rome. The act fulfilled verse two of Revelation thirteen.
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. Revelation 13:2.
In Daniel 8, two different Hebrew words, both translated as “sanctuary” distinguish the story of the sanctuary in the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel represents a warfare between Christ and Satan as illustrated in the earthly representatives of Christ and Satan. Babylon, Satan’s earthly representative conquers Jerusalem in the opening of Daniel, and Jerusalem conquers Babylon in verse forty-five of chapter eleven. The kingdoms represented by the city of Jerusalem and the city of Babylon are “sanctuaries of strength.” The cities of Babylon and Jerusalem are both sanctuaries of strength, and they both have their own temples within the city. The Pantheon temple is in the city of Rome, and the temple in Jerusalem is the counterpart in the prophetic narrative. Babylon and the city of Rome are counterfeits of Jerusalem.
In Daniel 8, the two Hebrew words are “miqdash” in verse 11, where the little horn (pagan Rome) casts down the “place of his sanctuary” (the city of Rome), when Constantine relocates in 330. The other word is “qodesh” in verses 13, 14, where God’s sanctuary awaits cleansing after 2300 days. Though both words are translated as sanctuary, “miqdash” can represent either God’s fortress or a pagan fortress, whereas “qodesh” is only used in the Bible to represent God’s sanctuary.
In Daniel 11:31, the “sanctuary of strength” (the city of Rome) is polluted as the Barbarians and Vandals bring warfare to the city of Rome. The “arms” in the verse started with Clovis in 496 and continued until papal Rome, was fully ascendant by 538, when the Ostrogoths are expelled from the city.
The prophetic line from Actium extends beyond 330. Verse 30’s “ships of Chittim” identify the Vandals under Genseric, who sacked Rome in 455, signaling Western Rome’s collapse. Papal Rome then rises, ruling from 538 until 1798; for 1260 years until Napoleon’s General Berthier delivered the “deadly wound” by capturing Pius VI. The 360 years of pagan Rome, from 30 BC to 330, mirrors the 1260 years of papal Rome, each beginning when a third obstacle (Egypt, Ostrogoths) falls.
The modern “king of the north” emerges in verse 40. In 1989, the papacy, allied secretly with Reagan’s USA (symbolized as chariots, ships, and horsemen), topples the USSR, the “king of the south” (atheism/Communism). Verse 41 identifies the papacy conquering the “glorious land”—turning the Protestant USA into the Catholic USA—while verses 42, 43 identify the United Nations represented by Egypt yielding to a threefold union consisting of the United Nations (the dragon) the Vatican (the beast) and the United States (the false prophet), steering the world to Armageddon. Verse 45 predicts this power’s end, “with none to help,” its wound healed in verse forty-one, but its fate sealed by verse forty-five.
Actium in 31 BC is the focus of verses 25, 26, launching Rome’s 360-year reign from its sanctuary-stronghold. With verse fourteen as a caveat, the story of pagan Rome from verse sixteen unto the transition to papal Rome in verse thirty-one is the complete line of pagan Rome. That line is divided into three parts. Verse sixteen to twenty-two is the line of Rome’s dominance over ancient Israel. Verse twenty-three and twenty-four identifies that work of empire building which Rome employed when conquering through leagues and treaties in conjunction with military might. Verse twenty-four through to the last expression in verse thirty-one is a two-part line representing a period when Rome exalted itself, followed by a fall.
The “time appointed” is the conclusion of the 360 years in the year 330. Verses twenty-seven unto the last phrase of verse thirty-one, which identifies when the papal power, represented as the abomination that maketh desolate was placed on the throne in 538 is the history of pagan Rome in the context of the period of three hundred and sixty years of supreme rule, which is then followed by two hundred and eight years of a progressive fall.
Therefore the “time” of verse twenty-four begins in 31 BC with an addition of the king of the south to the domain of the king of the north, and it ends in 330 with a division of the king of the north into east and west. From 330 unto 538 pagan Rome progressively falls apart. The various prophetic identifications associated with the various steps of demise of pagan Rome are the prophetic anchors that allow the student of prophecy to recognize God’s prophetic Word. In fulfillment of verse fourteen of Daniel eleven, Rome establishes the vision, and one of the ways that it does that very thing is through its fall. The verse states, “also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.”
When Rome is attacked by the ships of Chittim, and thereafter attacks the south, it was not as the either the former or the latter, for from here onward the fall of the Roman power is being portrayed. The first four trumpets of the seven trumpets of Revelation found in chapter eight specifically describe the four major powers that ultimately brought Western Rome to a conclusion by 476. The vision is established when the robbers of thy people exalt themselves and fall. The prophetic vision is illustrated upon the framework of Rome’s fall. Western pagan Rome fell from 330 unto 538. Papal Rome fell in 1798. In the history of the fifth and sixth trumpet Eastern Rome fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. Those three falls are part of the vision that is established by the robbers of thy people.
The verse states, “also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.” From 31 BC to 330 pagan Rome “exalted themselves” in their supremacy over the world. From 330 to 538 pagan Rome fell away to prepare for the man of sin to be seated in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. From 538 unto 1798 the papal power “exalted themselves,” and in 1798 they fell. From 31 BC to 330 Western Rome “exalted” that it was the center of the Roman empire, and from 330 unto 476 it fell. In 330 Constantine exalted that Constantinople was the center of Eastern Rome and in 1453 Eastern Rome fell. The periods of the various representations of Rome, each possess a period where Rome exalts, followed by a period illustrating its fall, for “the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.”
The Hebrew word translated as “robbers” is better translated as “breakers” for it aligns more closely with the root’s primary sense—to break through or disrupt—rather than strictly “robbers” (which implies theft). The term suggests those who fracture boundaries, laws, or covenants, not just steal goods. Rome is the breaker in Bible prophecy, though it is translated as “robbers” in verse fourteen. In Daniel chapter two Rome is the iron kingdom, and then in chapter seven the fourth beast is also Rome.
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. Daniel 7:7.
The fourth beast–which is Rome–has “iron” teeth, for it is the same fourth kingdom represented as iron in chapter two. In verse seven the fourth beast of Rome “breaks in pieces,” and when it breaks in pieces it “stamped the residue with the feet of it.” The beast of Rome is the iron kingdom and the characteristic of braking in pieces and stamping the residue represents the act of persecution. The persecution brought upon ancient Israel was a “sign.”
Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed forever. Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young. Deuteronomy 28:45–50.
The curses upon ancient Israel brought about by their rebellion are a “sign and a wonder, and upon thy seed forever.” The curse was to be brought upon them with “a nation of fierce countenance.” The beast with iron teeth that “breaks in pieces and stamps the residue” in chapter seven is also the fourth kingdom which proceeds from the division of Alexander’s kingdom, and just as with Moses in Deuteronomy, that kingdom is a nation whose tongue ancient Israel would not understand. The kingdom of Rome in Daniel chapter eight is a nation of fierce countenance and a nation who speaks a different language.
Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. Daniel 8:22, 23.
The “robbers (breakers) of thy people” establish the vision, they exalt themselves and they fall. The fourth iron kingdom was pagan Rome who ruled supremely when exalting themselves, but whose ultimate fall became a prophetic characteristic which establishes the vision. They are breakers for they trample down God’s people through persecution. We will continue this study in the next article.
