The most basic proof that much of Eschatology is accomplished, literally, as prophesied, is in Daniel 2. In Daniel 2, a the king has a dream, and Daniel both dreams the dream (or vision) again for the King, and interprets it.
In the dream, the entire statue, all four parts, is broken together.
Consider, then, the elements of this dream.
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.
Daniel 2:35
To fulfill the dream, all four parts of the statue must be destroyed together. While the dream makes it clear that these are four successive Kingdoms, we do not see one replacing the other, but them making the entire thing as a whole.
In summary, while Media/Persia conquered and took over Babylon, the glory and brilliance of that original Babylon remained, in some form or another. The same is true when Greece conquered them. In this way, we see that at the destruction of the the statue, at the time of the “toes”, the glory and pride of all four must, in some sense, be in existence, making the existence of the whole the sum of all four parts.
It is also from this paradigm that we identify Rome as Babylon. The whole statue was Babylon, from head to toe, and this is the Biblical basis and paradigm for understanding Babylon through history. Despite invasion and apparent conquering of the prior, the dream indicates that all four remain until the end.
Destruction of the fourth Kingdom, then, must occur while Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon is still in the Earth, in some form, in it’s pomp and glory. Because we see none Babylon currently in existence, we know that the whole has been broken.
Consider this. The city of Babylon has been a dusty heap for over a thousand years, several miles south of Baghdad in Iraq. Only in recent years, under the leadership of its late leader, has any activity in the city existed. It has been in ruins. Additionally, we see none of the pomp and glory of the civilizations of these Kingdoms since the time of the fall of Rome.
In short, whatever broke that statue, the Gold, Silver, and Bronze, also broke the Iron and Iron mixed with clay. Whatever broke the first three, Biblically, must be understood as breaking the fourth.
This is not optional, because we see in this further in the chapter:
Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
Daniel 2:37-38
Daniel called Nebuchadnezzar the “head of gold”. So, we must have the original Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, in existence in some form, in the Earth for the Daniel 2 vision to be fulfilled. A revived Rome would not be sufficent, because we would need a revived Babylonian, Median/Persian, and Greecian Empire to all be in existence, since none of these exist today. Yet, this, too, is insufficient, because, as we have seen, it must be Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon. Since that glory is gone from the Earth for at least 1500 years, we can only explain this that all four were broken together, and that this fourth Kingdom was, indeed, Rome.
The lack of existence of the head of gold in the Earth is substantive proof that the entire vision is fulfilled, so long as you believe Scripture, and that God’s Word does not return void.