Yes, the Roman empire is represented in Daniel 2 by the "legs of iron". What many miss is that there are 5 beast kingdoms being described. The old Roman empire was the 4th one.
1. Babylon
2. Medo-Persia
3. Grecia (Alexander the Great)
4. Roman empire
5 ?? (at the end of this world) FEET of mixed part iron and part clay
That is why the following Daniel 2:34-35 Scripture points to that 5th kingdom at the end of this world in the days when Jesus returns to setup His everlasting LITERAL Kingdom here on earth with His Presence...
Dan 2:34-35
34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
KJV
Count the number of the statue pieces above, that's FIVE pieces, not Four. The FEET of TEN TOES of mixed iron and clay represent the final beast kingdom at the end when Jesus returns. That "great mountain" that will fill the whole earth represents Christ's future literal earthly Kingdom still to come. The Daniel 2:44-45 verses are basically saying the same thing.
So I don't know why so many struggle with the above, when all one need do is simply read what it says and heed it as written.
There are only 4 beasts or kingdoms that God had brought out of the sea. The 4 are repeated in chapter 7. God’s earthly kingdom that He set up at the cross was not “brought out of the sea.” It was not from the earth or the sea.
There is a very specific reason why God selected the 4 beast kingdoms to be represented by metal. They are fixed, they are deliberately shown to be very different and cannot be mixed together, they firmly define each of the 4, and God has ensured there are no spaces or opportunities for man to insert another kingdom or actor within each of those 4 kingdoms that He does not reveal.
He sort of doubles down by identifying each of the 4 metal sections with a specific section of a man. The final kingdom is constructed entirely of iron (Rome) but it is the only kingdom that contains a non-metallic element - clay. This is not accidental. Throughout the OT (including Jeremiah) we can find that God is referred to as the “Potter” and His people “the clay.”
The “clay” and contained within the iron kingdom of Rome will be separated (spiritually) by the striking of the “Stone” (Jesus) for the purpose of
1) spirituality separating them from Pagan Rome (as opposed to a military campaign that was the expectation of the Jews at the time), and,
2) to separate His people into two categories: those who would come to accept Him as their Messiah identified as “pottery clay” in verses 41-44, and those that would reject Him as “ceramic or miry clay.” Because their hearts were hardened and could not accept Him as their Messiah.
Verses 42-44 tell us how this “striking” (cross) will affect : Rome, His church, the coming of the little horn. These are all the consequences that take place immediately after the cross to the time the little horn comes to full power around 500 AD. However, Daniel clearly tells us this little horn will continue until His return - Daniel is not an end time book - it certainly tells us the little horn will continue and how he will go against God’s earthly kingdom over the coming 2000 years but it does not discuss the end time details - that belongs to Revelation.
If you look through the 12 chapters the emphasis is on 3 separate periods:
1) time in Babylon of 70 years,
2) then the focus shifts to the next major period and perhaps the most important prophecy in scripture, the 70 weeks of years prophecy that covers the following 490 literal years from 457 BC to 33 / 34 AD or 3.5 years after the cross. This is the primary purpose of Daniel- to show His plan for the restoration of His people and His city as they come threw these 4 kingdoms and the climax when the Messiah will arrive on the first day of the 70th week to fulfill His God given mission (9:24).
All of that is largely revealed in chapters 1-10 (from captivity to full and complete restoration fatback in Jerusalem).
Then, comes chapter 11 and 12 where He reveals the details that will take place from the time after the cross to when the little horn will sit atop the beast kingdom and rule over both civil and spiritual matters ( he is the one that will speak pompous things against God, His church, His gospel, claim divinity that belongs only to God, etc. And these things will CONTINUE UNTIL His return - they are not end time events.
Except for the final outcome - where Jesus returns at the time of judgement and harvest, verses 41-44 speak to those events that will take place reverses 34-35. There is no reason for these verses if 34 and 35 are both speaking about the same end time event.
God is showing / revealing the consequences of His coming and the cross that will take place between His first and second coming.
If you want to prove that, you will have to perform a very similar study that completely unpacked these tremendously difficult 4 verses at the end of chapter 2. One cannot claim they are simply end time events without unpacking them and identifying exactly what they are telling us, who the actors are and the events that they reveal and if course, the exact timing these verses speak to.
God is not vague but is very detailed and specific. So, I would ask that you might attempt to unpack these very enigmatic verses at the end of chapter 2. There is only one interpretation that comes out of these verses where everything ties together.
And please understand that Daniel was written for His people and His city and so they would recognize the coming of their Messiah. The NT was not available to them.. Revelation does not interpret Daniel but one cannot one cannot interpret Revelation unless Daniel is first interpreted.
Perhaps then, you might be willing to try and unpack verse 41? It and the next few verses are so difficult… but they will prove that 34 is indeed the reason it represents His first coming and the need to reveal what happens after 34 before His return in 35.
