Angels and End Times - Part 1 (Daniel 11:1-8)

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The Peaceful Product of God's Discipline, Part 2 (Heb 12:11) | Worship Service

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Good morning. Welcome to Kootenai Community Church adult

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Sunday school. We're back in the book of Daniel where we belong

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Let's open in prayer. I'll give everybody a chance to get seated our father we are grateful for your word every part of it is perfect and true and The best part of it is the one that we are in whenever you place us in that part of your word

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You minister to us you correct us you reform us you change us and You give us a view of the glory of the

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Lord Jesus Christ And that is what we look for that is what we want to display to the world And so this morning as we look into the book of Daniel, there are many hard things many difficult things but plenty that you have revealed to us that we can glorify you honor you and Wait in with bated breath until you're cut the coming of the

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Lord Jesus Christ and we look forward to that so let us study your word this morning with care and With discernment and understand what you would have for us today and we'll thank you for all you're doing in our lives in Jesus name

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Amen so a few Housekeeping things We're gonna be looking at a bunch of Kings and And when the

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Lord Gave this vision to Daniel this message to Daniel through the angel

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He did not name all of the Kings that lived and died from 539

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BC through 165 BC give or take He named the ones that were important or actually he made reference to the ones that are important and it's important to remember that That what

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God puts in his word is exactly what we need If he filled the Bible if God had seen it fit to fill the

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Bible with every bit of information That we can glean from looking at the history it would take longer to get through it than it does even here at Kootenai and But he's given us what we need and so I've given you a handout to try and help

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Organize in our minds the Kings as we go through them in the first 25 to 35 verses of Daniel chapter 11.

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I Hope I didn't did everybody get a handout Who didn't okay.

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I I miss calculated. I'll print some more out for next week So that's the first bit of Housekeeping I'm also going to print out an end times hand -to -hand handout which gives the chronology of the world and It's I have organized it and I'm probably wrong

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But you can just pretend I'm right. Okay, but at any rate I'll hand that out and you can kind of use that to organize your thoughts as we look at the next section of Daniel chapter 11 on into Daniel chapter 12 because we will be talking about The end times and as well as the times that occurred between 539

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BC and 166 BC Online is the

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PowerPoint incomplete the complete PowerPoint which may or may not prove too useful but there are some charts and Slides that give context to what we're saying that you can look back to so for example

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This chart this goes through the Kings And the

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Ptolemies and the Seleucids and etc. All the let's see. I just end the slideshow.

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Yeah, there we go How'd I do there Hey, if somebody can screw it up I wrote the book

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He'll get his back to normal here in a minute. Yeah slide one if you would Yeah at any rate the full

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PowerPoint is online. I think you can ask Josh or Peter for that and they can send you the link if you haven't got it already.

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I Will be going back and forth a little bit on the PowerPoint that we have today as we look at some of these

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Kings Although this is going to be mostly introductory It can be confusing just remember this when

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God Dictated this when God gave this to Daniel. It was a prophecy of events that were going to occur over the next

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Two or three hundred years to two or three millennia depending on when the Lord Jesus Christ returns and In order to Organize that in our mind sometimes takes a little work and so That is why

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I had the handout and if you will look at this handout really quickly just as we go down through Daniel chapter 11

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If you look at this it I have tried to name the Kings that it's making reference to I will also

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Mention the Kings that aren't made reference to to kind of fill out the history as we go So you'll have a picture of that, but we're talking about several hundred years

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Of time in which many many kings lived and died and reigned

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Some lived a short time reigned a short time some reigned a fairly long time Just like when you study the

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Kings in first and second Chronicles first and second Kings, etc the kings of Israel and So that that can be confusing

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But I will try to bring it back to the ones that we are talking about as we go through Daniel chapter 11 with that strange introduction will

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We're gonna read chapter 11 from the end of chapter 10, which is actually the beginning of This entire missive which starts way back in chapter 10 through about chapter

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Through about verse 10 of chapter 11. So if you'll turn with me to chapter Daniel chapter 10 we're gonna start at 18 verse 18 and we're gonna read through verse 10 of chapter 11 because as I pointed out either last week or not last week a week or two ago that The end of chapter 10 is not actually the end of chapter 10

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It's really it should be a continuation and we'll see that as we read it this way then

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Verse 18 this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me and he said oh man of high esteem

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Do not be afraid peace be to you with you take courage and be courageous now as soon as he spoke to me

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I received strength and said May my Lord speak for you have strengthened me then he said do you understand why

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I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia So I'm going forth and behold the prince of Greece is about to come

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However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth yet There is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince and in the first year of Darius the

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Mede I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him for Darius the Mede and Now I will tell you the truth behold three more kings are going to arise in Persia Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them as soon as he becomes strong through his riches he will arouse the whole

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Empire against the realm of Greece and a mighty king will arise and he will rule with great authority and Do as he pleases

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But as soon as he has arisen His kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass

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Though not to his own descendants nor according to his authority which he wielded for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them

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Then the king of the south will grow strong Along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and get obtained

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Dominion His domain will be a great Dominion Indeed and after some years they will form an alliance and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of The north to carry out a peaceful arrangement, but she will not retain her position of power nor will he remain with his power?

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But she will be given up along with those who brought her in and the one who sired her as well as he who supported her in those times but one of the descendants of her line will arise in his place and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the north and he will deal with them and display great strength and also their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity of Egypt and He on his part will refrain from attacking the king of the north for some years

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Then the latter will enter the realm of the king of the south but will return to his own land

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So as we go through these end -time revelations in Daniel chapter 11 and 12

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We're going to be talking about things that the church has occupied herself with over the millennia sometimes to great effect and sometimes to inactivity

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If we look at prophecy and We see that in the end God wins and it puts us to sleep and we sit and do nothing

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We've missed the point of prophecy all of scripture is Profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction so that we will be fully equipped to do the works of God prophecy is included and God doesn't need our help to usher in the end times.

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Please don't misunderstand that. That's what I'm saying what I am saying is he said occupy till I come and So as we study these things and find more and more comfort in them in that God Really does win in the end

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We will take from that comfort comfort the opportunity to spread that comfort In every me every way we have imagined to be possible in our by our efforts

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Whether it's in politics or protecting babies or whatever However, it manifests itself, but it should manifest itself first in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ If we're not doing that then hearts aren't changed and real change does not occur so we can be about the business of The way we do things in the church in some ways today and continue but the gospel must be proclaimed

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It must take first place Second place third place fourth place and fifth place it should occupy everything we think about and do

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It is the reason it is the picture. It is the story of the

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Lord Jesus Christ and I don't want to see a bunch of pre -millennialists sitting around thinking we win in the end.

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Let's suck our thumbs Unfortunately, sometimes that's what seems to be Perceived by the world but not here.

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We're going to look at the end times. We're going to be comforted by them We're going to be excited about them and we're going to be reformed corrected instructed and Sent forth to proclaim the gospel

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Okay, that's my meddling for this morning as we look talked about the two weeks before we were here

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God's not going to give us every bit of Historical detail that occurs between 539 BC and 167

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BC But he gives us exactly what we need And so as I kind of gave an analogy that if I was to mention some of the founding fathers

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You wouldn't recognize their names. You didn't know they were founding fathers. They were behind the scenes They were maybe not as important or they were more important But they just didn't get the spotlight the same thing happens throughout prophecy in the book of Daniel God brings to our attention the ones that are necessary and I'm probably going to hit on this a few times

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Because one of the complaints is that I've heard is that there's we you need to know more

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No, we need to know exactly what God gave us. This is enough. This is what we need

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The stress of this message is as And as we look at the first 35 verses of Daniel chapter 11, we're going to be looking at ancient history and Then at verse 36, there's an abrupt shift to the future and we will see that as we study the text

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But Liam Woods puts it this way and I believe I read this last time the stress of the message is on an

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Antiochus Epiphanes verses 21 through 35 and The Antichrist verses 36 through 45 the former

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Antiochus Epiphany typifying the latter the Antichrist Again an implied time gap exists between the two neither is identified by name

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But only by description of character and actions something found true also in the previous contexts considered

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Before either is mentioned. However, the angels message tells of history preceding the history preceding

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Antiochus first early Persian rulers are set forth and then Alexander the

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Great who defeated Persia for Greece after this comes a remarkably detailed

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Presentation of successive kings who ruled two of the divisions of Alexander's Empire just two of the four

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Those are the important ones for our purposes. I got to find my place the

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Egyptian division Ruled by the Ptolemies and the Syrian ruled by the Seleucids and we'll point out it wasn't called

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Syria 500 BC But for our purposes of understanding many modern writers use that term

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These two divisions call for this special consideration because the affairs of Palestine lying between the two were so often involved with their activities the detail of this history as Presented provides one of the most remarkable predictive portions of all scripture.

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And so with that we're going to start Daniel chapter 11 so verse 1 says

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Which is actually? chapter 10 verse 22 In the first year of Darius the mead

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I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him This is the angel talking this would have been about 539 536

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BC depending on which chronology you look at but right around that time Daniel chapter 6 details numerous attempts, which we now know to be

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We know to be engineered in somewhat in the demonic realm to turn Darius against the

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Jews That's what Daniel chapter 6 reteat reveals to us Daniel was accused of Violating a

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Medo -Persian edict which when he prayed three times a day to someone other than the king He was to be killed for that.

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He was to be thrown in the lion's den Daniel's miraculous delivery Influenced Darius to change his stance to a favorable one towards Israel.

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This was a behind -the -scenes Machination in the demonic angelic realm did it need our help?

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You would be very correct to shake your head vigorously this way. Go ahead. It did not need our help

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Yahweh engineered this the prophecy at the beginning deals with a period later than Nebuchadnezzar's dream in chapter 2 but parallel with the prophecy in chapter 8 of The rant of the ram and the male goat the basic premise of chapter 8 will be fleshed out here in chapter 11 in detail

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So if we look back at chapter 8 I was looking at that I'm not going to go too far into it

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But if if you would like to for your own purposes kind of read 8 and 11 together 8 and 11 together you get the outline and the details the outline and the details

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In my outline it was page 152. So I'm gonna go there real quick So just my my introduction to chapter 8 goes this way from here to the end of the book of Daniel Daniel returns to the

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Hebrew language. Remember that he was speaking in Aramaic because it was government business Which means you have to talk gibberish

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Otherwise the people might understand. No, I'm joking From Daniel 2 4 to 728 the text is in Aramaic The language of the political nation that Daniel served in an ostensibly the second position behind Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar promised him this position in 516 the last five chapters of Daniel deal strictly with the nation of Israel and the upcoming events surrounding that nation

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Thus it is appropriate the language changed to Hebrew and then we When we get to Daniel 9 we will see

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Israel's history from Ezra and Nehemiah to the installation of the Messiah's kingdom at Christ's second Coming this will be preceded by the great trouble for Israel chapters 10 and 11.

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We looked at back in chapter 8 deal with events surrounding the relationship of the

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Persian and Greek empires to Israel the bouncing back and forth of all the wars that go on there and the final portion of Daniel chapter 11 verses 36 through 12 3 13 deals with the revived

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Roman Empire and Israel's deliverance and the end of the age and so again

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You can look at 8 and 11 as outline details, it's very helpful that way

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So verse any questions about the introduction or verse 1 Okay.

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So if you look at your list of kings, we're going to be diving right in in one more verse

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Daniel chapter 11 verse 2 and now I will tell you the truth behold three more kings are going to arise in Persia Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them as soon as he becomes strong through his riches

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He will arouse the whole Empire against the realm of Greece So this verse begins a series of predictions of events that will occur 300 plus years later

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This is remarkable and this is one of the reasons why So many non -believers have had trouble with this section of this section of the

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Bible. It can't be Scripture it has to be history. Well, it's one of the two It's one of the two you can't have both

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It does flesh out history, but it did it 300 years before the events and that is

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God in action So and now I would tell you the truth. This would be the same as Daniel saying this he would be saying

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Saying to Daniel this now I will begin the message. I will This would be the same as saying

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Daniel now I will begin the message that you prayed about and waited for three weeks to hear This is what I was sent to tell you

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Since Darius Cyrus was already ruling It would seem that the angel was referring in this verse to the three kings that immediately followed

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Darius This would be Cambyses 529 to 522 Pseudo Smyrtos the false

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Smyrtos 521 to 521 and Darius one Hystaspis Now Hystapses like I keep mispronouncing.

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It's Hystaspis 521 to 486 These three kings were followed by a fourth the verse says

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Xerxes one 486 to 465 BC. This would be the order

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That occurred with in that occurred with Xerxes one who attacked Greece To place this in biblical history

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Walvoord gives this this context this information Xerxes one used his great riches and a period of some four years to gather a great army

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Amounting to hundreds of thousands one of the largest armies in the ancient world The expedition that he launched in 480

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BC against Greece was disastrous However, and Xerxes never recovered the

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Ahasuerus of Esther one may be identified with Xerxes one and the ill -fated expedition Against the

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Greeks may have occurred between chapters one and two of Esther Details on the Persian Empire are not given here because these are covered adequately in the books of Ezra Nehemiah and Esther insofar as they are related to the people of Israel in the plan of God and These records are supplemented by the prophetic books of Haggai Zechariah and Malachi Did I mention that God gave us everything we needed?

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It just requires us to read it to study it and to pray for understanding

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The opening chapter of the book of Esther. Oh, excuse me having mentioned Greece Daniel's revelation turned immediately to the details of this third

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Empire not given elsewhere in the Word of God So he jumps a bunch of history and begins to talk about this period of history.

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The fourth king was most certainly Xerxes one The Ahasuerus a book of Esther of Esther his attack on Greece left such a foul memory in the kingdom that many years later

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Alexander exacted revenge Would have been a hundred and fifty years later or so hundred and sixty

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Xerxes predecessors had gathered a massive fortune that he added to with his conquests He used these great riches to finance his attack against the kingdom of Greece The opening chapter of the book of Esther details an immense celebration that gives a picture of some of the wealth

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Ahasuerus had how many of you know of anybody today who could afford a six -month party?

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I'm not related to any of those people, but I've read about them This is one of those billion multi billionaires of the day

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Esther chapter 1 very instructive. So if you if you want to turn their Esther chapter 1 verses 1 through 9

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Esther chapter 1 now it took place in the days of Ahasuerus the

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Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces in those days as King Ahasuerus said on his royal throne

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Which was at the citadel in Susa in the third year of his reign He gave a banquet for all his princes in attendance

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The army officers of Persia and media the nobles and the princes of his provinces being in presence

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And he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty for many days 180 days

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When these days were completed the king gave a banquet lasting seven days for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa From the greatest to the least the court of the garden of the king's palace there were hangings of fine white and violet linen held by cords of fine purple linen on silver rings and marble columns and couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of periphery marble mother -of -pearl and precious stones

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Drinks were served in golden vessels of various kinds and the royal wine was plentiful according to the king's bounty

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The drinking was done according to the law There was no compulsion Or so the king had given orders to each official of his household that he should do according to the desires of each person

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Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus This guy was rich and some of his money he used for partying but he was also saving up money for an expedition against Greece He indeed aroused the

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Empire that he presided over to attack Greece and I'm going to give you some details from Encyclopedia Britannica on the history

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It's important. I think it's important for us to understand How accurately God predicted these things and when we look at the history and as an aside

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We understand these things better than people just Antecedent to Daniel would have understood them because we have the advantage of looking back at history and going

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That's what he said would happen Wow, and that and it is so cool

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They didn't have that advantage. So we do have that advantage keep that in mind with the tranquility of the

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Empire reestablished This is Britannica Xerxes would willingly have devoted himself to peaceful activities

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But many of those around him were pressing for the renewal of hostilities Everybody likes war it seems like if you're in government his cousin and brother -in -law

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Mardonius supported by a strong party of Exiled Greeks incited him to take revenge for the affront that Darius had suffered at the hands of the

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Greeks at Marathon in 490 BC The impressionable Xerxes gave way to pressure from an entourage and threw himself into patient Diplomatic and military preparations for war which required three years to complete 484 to 481

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BC Herodotus notes that never before had such an effort been undertaken Excuse me

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Troops were levying in all the satrapies 127 of them and a Navy Intended to be the army supply line was gathered the care lavished on this enterprise shows that the king did not regard it as a minor

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Operation there has been much later speculation on the real causes for the expedition They could not have been economic because Greece was not an important was not important then

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Perhaps it was only the manifestation of a royal absolutism. I believe it was partially revenge

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But at any rate Xerxes whose character was later distorted in the

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Greek legend was neither foolish nor overly optimistic though sensible and intelligent He was nevertheless according to one historian at the head of his armies

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He left Sardis for the Hellespont and had two boat bridges placed across the strait a storm destroyed them

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So Xerxes had the sea whipped as punishment This is a man much taken with his own press releases

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With the brigades remade with the bridges remade for seven days. He oversaw the crossing of the army now.

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Here's an exaggeration five million men according to Herodotus probably 360 ,000 by modern estimates still a massive army supported by 700 to 800 ships their passage was facilitated by a massive engineering works a

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Channel was dug across the Isthmus of Actium so that the peaks of Mount Athos might be avoided nevertheless the army size was of no help partly because of Misinformation about the enemy terrain and partly because of the appearance of a national feeling in Greece after a few successes

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Thermopylae mid -august 480 Xerxes occupied Attica and pillaged Athens on September 21, but on September 29 at Salamis a naval battle that he had initiated

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Turned into a defeat a massive defeat without a fleet to take supplies to the army He had to retreat he crossed over into Asia leaving

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Mardonus in Thessaly during an indecisive battle near Plataea on August 27th 479

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BC Mardonus was Mardonius was killed and his a death his death applied the army Excuse me his death obliged the army of occupation to withdraw hostilities continued for 13 years, but thenceforth

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Xerxes involved himself only slightly so this verse a Fourth will gain far more riches and as soon as he becomes strong through his riches.

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He will arouse the whole Empire He did arouse the whole Empire exactly as prophesied But it was a disaster for him for reference in prophecy

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The angel only told Daniel about certain Kings. It should be noted that several more Kings ruled

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Persia, so Our deserts is long

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Jimenez was supposed that his right hand was longer than the other that's why he had that name Xerxes to Darius to know this art of Xerxes to Neman which means remembering art of Xerxes three ocus

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Arsus and Darius three coat of manners from 336 to 331 which just precedes

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Alexander So these are some of the Kings that come on down through history after Xerxes verse 3 and I lost my place and a mighty

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King will arise and he will rule with great authority and Do as he pleases so now the angel has jumped from Just after Daniel's time a hundred and something years after Daniel's time to several hundred years after Daniel's time this is most certainly

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Alexander the Great who reigned from 336 to 323 BC and he is and he fought

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Persia and rested He rested the entire Empire away from them

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Most likely spurred on by the memory of the stories told surely of the of the destruction that Xerxes had perpetrated on Greece those many years before This description fits him perfectly

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He was indeed a great ruler and he did as he pleased throughout the entire Empire Backwards I did it again

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Can you take me to the first is that the first I think

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I have a map here. I want to show you so there's the map of The Empire of Alexander the

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Great that is talked about When we last spoke of Alexander in July of last year

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It was mentioned that he had conquered 11 ,000 miles of territory from Greece to Egypt From Greece and Egypt to India in eight years.

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He held his army together by the sheer strength of his own will Alexander's activities in Palestine were actually benign over Israel He treated the

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Israelites. Well Josephus records it thus now Alexander when he had taken Gaza made haste to go up to Jerusalem and Jaduah the high priest when he heard that was in agony and under terror as as Not knowing how he should meet the

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Macedonians since the king was displeased at his foregoing disobedience He had for previous to that disobeyed some of the edicts of the realm

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He therefore ordained that the people should make supplications and should join with him in offering sacrifice to God Whom he besought to protect that nation and to deliver them from the perils that were coming upon them

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Whereupon God warned him in a dream which came upon him after he had offered sacrifice. This is Josephus by the way This is not scripture

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God warned him that he should take courage and adorn the city and open the gates that the rest should appear in white garments

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But that he and the high priests and the priests should meet the king in the habits proper to their order

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Without the dread of any ill consequences which the providence of God would prevent Upon which one he rose from his sleep.

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He greatly rejoiced and declared to all the warning He had received from God according to which dream he acted entirely and so waited for the coming of the king

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This would be Alexander and when he understood that he was not far from the city he went out in procession with the priests and The multitude of citizens the procession was venerable and the manner of it different from that of other nations

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It reached to a place called Safa which name translated in degree signifies a prospect For you have thence a prospect both of Jerusalem and of the temple and when the

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Phoenicians and the Chaldeans had followed him thought they should have liberty to plunder the city and Torment the high priest to death which the king's displeasure fairly promised them the very reverse of it happened for Alexander when he saw the multitude at a distance in white garments while the priest stood clothed with fine linen and the

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High priest in purple and scarlet clothing with his what my miter on his head having the golden plate whereupon the name of God was engraved he approached by himself and adored that name and first saluted the high priest the

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Jews also did altogether with one voice salute Alexander and encompass him about whereupon the kings of Syria and the rest were surprised at what

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Alexander had done and Supposed him disordered in his mind. You're crazy. You're treating the Jews. Well However, Parmenio all alone went up to him and asked him how it came to pass

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That when all others adore him, he should adore the high priest of the Jews to which he replied I did not adore him

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But that God who has honored him with his high priesthood for I saw this very person in a dream in This very habit when

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I was in deals at Macedonia who when I was considering with myself how I might obtain the

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Dominion of Asia Exhorted me to make no delay But boldly to pass over the sea thither for then he would conduct my army when give me domain over the

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Persians When sit is that having seen no other in that habit and now seeing this person in it and remembering that vision and the exhortation

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Which I had in my dream I believe that I bring this army under the divine conduct and shall therewith

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Confer conquer Darius and destroy the power of the Persians you see what the leaning is is to destroy another army and that all things will succeed according to what was in my own mind and When he had said this to Parmenio and had given the high priest his right hand the priest ran along by him and he came into the city and when he went up into the temple he offered sacrifice to God according to the high priest direction and Magnificently treated both the high priest and the priests and when the book of Daniel was showed him

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Wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians. He supposed that himself was the person mentioned

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Intended and as he was then glad he dismissed the multitude for the present But the next day he called them to him and bid them ask what favors they pleased of him

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Whereupon the high priest desired that they might enjoy the laws of their forefathers and might pay no tribute on the seventh year he granted all they desired and when they

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Entreated him that he would permit the Jews in Babylon and media to enjoy their own laws Also, he willingly promised to do hereafter what they desired and when he said to the multitude that if any of them would enlist themselves in his army on This condition that they would continue under the laws of their forefathers and live according to them

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He was willing to take them with him many were ready to accompany him to his wars So he was good to the

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Israelites. This was not a time of distress for Palestine. This was actually a period of peace and although many of the the

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Jewish the Israelites went to war with Alexander so It again we're looking at some of the most remarkable predictive scripture

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Remarkable predictive verses in scripture and it's interesting to see in when you read history how they were fulfilled so well

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We know it would be so because it was Jehovah speaking verse 4 but as soon as he is arisen

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Alexander His kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass though not to his own descendants

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Nor according to his authority which he wielded for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others beside them the

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Hebrew For the first phase of this verse is translated But as soon as he stood up, but as soon as he has arisen as soon as he stood up Indicating that the short life and reign that he had he had no sooner finished conquering all those thousands of miles that he had that He died

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He was either murdered or he was or or as we explored last summer

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He thought he died possibly of an autoimmune disease I'm not going to read through all of this, but if you remember modern technology medical technology talks about the fact that the

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Historians recorded that he died Laid six days in his body didn't deteriorate Well, it is surmised today.

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We don't know for sure But this is just an interesting supposition that he had an autoimmune disease

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Guillain -Barre syndrome, which caused him to go into a coma Which we don't resulted in an extremely low

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Respiratory rate which in those days they couldn't see so they thought he was dead. What probably killed him was when they embalmed him.

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I Understand that's pretty difficult to endure But I'm not interested in finding out

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So that's the that's a modern explanation and and that just adds Context and flavor to it

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But the fact is he he ruled exactly as God said a short time and his kingdom was taken over by others

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We also explored the four kings that divided up his kingdom several years after his passing as indicated by the phrase

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Parceled out toward the four points of the compass and as this verse points out it did not go to his descendants

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He had a half -brother Philip who was apparently mentally incompetent. Is that repeating itself?

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No, I didn't say that He had a son born to him after his death by his wife wife Roxanna, and he had an illegitimate son named

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Hercules Not the Hercules of Greek mythology At first the two sons ruled as co -regents with others making their decisions

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This didn't last very long and in 317 BC The half -brother Philip was murdered the younger

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Alexander was murdered in 310 and in 309 the illegitimate son Hercules was murdered So none of his descendants survived to receive the kingdom and exactly as God predicted through Daniel it was broken up by his four generals as the verse indicates none of them ruled with a kind of authority that was

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Wielded by Alexander there was bitter infighting between the four generals There was finally a measure of stability, but none of them attained the firm authority that Alexander wielded

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So the kingdom went to other members of the family and this is other members of other than members of his family

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And this is exactly how that history played out predicted by Daniel in 539

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So we're gonna go back to the list of the Kings as we start through this So verse 3 is

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Alexander the Great verse 5 which we will be looking at very soon here if there are no questions about the first four verses and Not if yes

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Why didn't they use their free will

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That's a loaded question Yeah well,

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I guess my simple answer is You know,

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I didn't he asked if there's historical evidence that they read through the book of Daniel I believe Alexander did

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I believe he was Exposed to it by those priests when he approached Israel Jerusalem. I don't know that he read through it, but I believe that his

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His advisors would have been smart said we better look at this information It looks like it's talking about you almighty

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King. They would have said that and they would have bowed seven times, you know But I don't know about the other

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Kings very possibly but as you well know Point to me one place in history of Scripture where man's free will overrode

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God's sovereignty Is were you joking with that I think yeah, okay.

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Thank you. We don't do church discipline So, so throughout the years it would have been smart now, this is my speculation based on Kieran's question that many of those

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Kings might have been Reading some of the writings of the Israelites and right wisely so and who knows how that affected history

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Those are questions. You can ask Yahweh when you get there because I don't have the answer to them Any other questions?

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Yes, Simon Establish the language that is interesting

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Simon pointed out that he's the reason we read the Bible in Greek now It's a different Greek from Ionic or Attic, but it's

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Greek and very well very well pointed out. Thank you I saw another hand Yes Yeah Yeah So what we have is the very

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Word of God Himself and and and it's all that we need It's fine to study history and to flesh it out and to give more illumination if you will

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But that illumination should spur it spur us on to propagating the gospel because it's what made all this possible

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It's what makes it possible that It's what points out and validates the fact that God's sovereignty is never subject to man's free will never ever

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If their mind is yeah, they have to be quickened.

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Yes They have to be Illuminated or or caused to hear to believe the the scripture is opaque to those who will not believe so Any other questions or comments

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Verse 5 now, we're going to be looking at Ptolemy one Soter who reigned from 323 who lived from 323 to 3 reigned

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I guess No, that's his life span life span 323 3285

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The king then the king of the south Will grow strong along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion

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His dominion will be a great dominion indeed So king of the south what nation are we talking about starts with an e

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Egypt. Yeah in some of these next verses we begin to see the most remarkable predictive scripture possibly in all of the

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Bible I I hesitate to say that all of Scripture is is

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God -breathed and Revelation Zechariah Amos Haggai, there's predictive prophecy there and it's all marvelous.

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But whatever part we're into that's the most marvelous part Okay, and we're in Daniel in these verses

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Especially it is these verses that prompted the liberal theologians and the pagans to brand

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Daniel a history Written in the 2nd century BC because they were far too specific and too

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Accurate to have possibly been written hundreds of years before before they happened this was their belief anyway, but this section is the is a remarkable demonstration of the sovereignty and omniscience of God Jehovah God From this point on in chapter 11

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Daniel details the history of the various kings of the south Egypt So when we when we use the word south we're talking about Egypt and the north

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Syria for lack of a better geographic Definition this period is the north this period covers about a hundred and fifty years as mentioned before The scripture mentions those kings that are necessary for this narrative that the angel is giving

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Daniel but it does not name every king during the period and it does not need to Of the four divisions that Alexander's kingdom was split into only the division in Egypt ruled by the

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Seleucids and the division in the north today called Syria were significant in history

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References to the north and the south will identify with various kings as we will see in this verse as verified in verse 8 which let's look at and also their gods

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Also their gods with them their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt and Be on his part.

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He on his part will refrain from attacking the king of the north for some years So this is verified in verse 8. We're talking about Egypt.

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So the king of the south grew strong. This would have been Ptolemy one Soter The prince that grew strong with him and eventually dethroned him was

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Seleucus one Nikator The fit this king was appointed a satrap

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Seleucus Over and served under Paul Ptolemy one. I'm gonna use the numbers because they took each other's name

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There's Ptolemy one Ptolemy two Ptolemy three Ptolemy four Ptolemy four. It's intolerable But I'll try to use their their

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Roman numerals to help identify him. So this king this prince served under Ptolemy one

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He was appointed a satrap by Ptolemy which is a governor And when but Antigonus seized

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Babylonia forcing Seleucus the king to flee he went to Egypt and He went to Egypt and served under Ptolemy one when

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Antigonus was defeated in 312 BC Seleucus returned to the north and took control of Babylonia Syria and media his kingdom did indeed become larger just as the scripture indicated that it would be a great

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Dominion and Somehow I intended to get through verse 8 today So Exactly as God has predicted we're going to see things laid out in the scriptures

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We're going to see them as we have the opportunity to look back in history from 539

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BC through through Antiochus Epiphanes in 175 BC 166 BC we're going to see it laid out exactly and happen exactly as God predicted and I'm going to use this word a hundred times as we study the book of Daniel if I use it five

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Are you not comforted by that? When God says something is going to happen

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Guess what it happens? so a predictive scripture as Taught in the

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New Testament is for one thing. It's for our comfort and We need to be comforted by these things, but that comfort should lead us

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To spread the gospel so that others can be comforted Are there any questions about the first six verses first five verses

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I guess that's all the farther we made it Before I close Okay We'll close in prayer.

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We'll take up Daniel chapter 11 verse 6 next week father Every part of your word is true.

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Every part of your word is perfect This part that we're in is exciting as all of your word is

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Help us to not take it farther than it is intended to be taken and not take it less than it was intended to be taken as Daniel works through these things he comes to a point where the angel tells him that some things are to be shut up until the end and Father, we don't know when that end will be but you do

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Meanwhile, let us be about your business of spreading the gospel and we thank you for your son The Lord Jesus Christ who is the gospel and it's in his name.