Prophesy Fulfilled
Notes
Transcript
Handout
History Lesson
History Lesson
Chapter 10 of Daniel introduces the final vision of Daniel. It is important to pay attention to context. It is a prophesy, a specific prophesy as it will impact specific people.
14 “Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.”
I know, its great that we are now able to be interactive with one another again, so be ready for questions and feel free to ask questions too. May we learn and grow together!
What is the purpose of the vision?
Who does the vision pertain to?
The Vision interpreted by Gabriel (Dan10:12-14)
Gabriel was dispatched from heaven upon Daniels prayer for understanding (Dan10:12)
12 Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.
There were spiritual battles going on in the heavenly realm on the way and Michael sent to help Gabriel (Dan10:13)
13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
and we just read the reason that Gabriel came, to give understanding, in other words to answer Daniel’s prayer request.
Without a doubt Satan doesn’t like when we pray, or when we pray by faith. Satan is trying to use the Persians to do things that are contrary to God’s will and to hurt God’s people.
The new empire (Medo-Persian) was a more considerate empire than that under Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. This new empire fulfilling the prophesy of Dan 2, 8. (Arms/Chest of silver, also known as bear, ram) They were more compassionate to the Jewish exiles and under Cyrus a decree was issued for them to return to their land (see Ezr1:1-4)
Just a touch more as to some reminders then will get to the our passage.
A little history:
Daniel Prays (Dan9:1-19)
Messenger brings message (Dan9:20-23)
Messengers message (Dan9:24-27)
Daniel’s terrified vision (Dan10:1-9)
Daniel comforted (Dan10:10-11:1)
Be reminded that we already know that this vision was for the future, for end times (Dan9:24-25)
24 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.
25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
I know we were going to move on, but we have to look at the scripture again and pull from it if we are to understand our passage this morning.
Who is his prophesy concerning?
Your people; so this has to do with the Jews that are in captivity
Where is this prophesy concerning?
This is regarding Jerusalem and the temple
What are the results of the prophesy going to be?
Restoration and rebuilding of temple
We hold the prophesy, the vision in our hands, we also hold the history in our hands that when we look at it we can know it has been fulfilled so this is prophesy fulfilled.
(Transition) I believe that the best way to look at this passage is more in a narrative way in looking at history then we may glean what we can from it to look for some application, help for today too. For we know:
4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
OK, so that one is not on your outline, just note it down.
Here is the narrative outline for today.
Conflicts to come (Dan11:1-2)
Persian-Greek conflict (Dan11:3-4)
Egyptian-Syrian conflict (Dan11:5-19)
Rise of Antiochus Epiphanies IV (Dan11:20-35)
Conflicts to come
Conflicts to come
Daniel has gotten heavenly word about his vision. We can learn what was to come from the vision.
1 “In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him. 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, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece.
When does this take place?
1st year of Darius the Mede
What was Daniel doing at this point?
Daniel stood up, to speak up, to speak an encouragement and protection to Darius.
What is said that was going to happen?
There will be three more kings after you
one will be stronger, richer then the rest, but then there will be a kingdom change.
Rise of the Grecian empire
Commentator Jon Courson said “In Daniel chapter 11 it is said there are over one hundred thirty-five specific prophecies given, all fulfilled to the most minute detail.
So far in Daniels life we have seen the deportation under Nebuchadnezzar from Jerusalem to Babylon. We have seen the kingdom be handed to Darius from Belshazzar
In looking at (v.2) Cyrus is the Persian King who will rise up, while Darius is the Mede, Darius over Babylon, Cyrus will be over all, but there are three more to come.
Persian kings to come:
Cambyses (529-522); son of Cyrus
Smerdis (522-521)
Darius I (521-486)
Xerxes (496-465); this is Ahasuerus in book of Esther
This forth king (Xerxes) with his 1.2 million man army wanted to take Greece, and they did, but it was very costly to his army, for it was decimated too.
Persian - Greek conflict
Persian - Greek conflict
God’s grand plan was still in place, remember God raises kings and removes kings and now we see the next conflict that will arise according to God’s plan, prophesy given (Dan7, 8) that is now being fulfilled, 150 years later.
3 “And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. 4 “But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, 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.
5 “Then the king of the South will grow strong, along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed.
So, now back to questions again from the scripture.
What do you see and learn in (v.3)?
A mighty king shall arise
Will rule with great dominion
Will do according to his will
What happens after the rise of the mighty king (v.4)?
After the rise, of what we historically can know is Alexander, there will be the kingdom broken up
I already mentioned the four kingdoms within the kingdom and the four kings and from them there will be more conflict to come.
By the age of 33 Alexander was known to have conquered the entire known world. He dies and the kingdom is split into 4 under the generals (mentioned as the winds) in the scripture. The focus of the prophesy is really about the conflict between the kingdom to the north(Syria) and the kingdom to the south (Egypt).
(Transition) A bit of a reminder that the vision and the interpretation were given for Daniel’s people, the Hebrew people (Dan9:24-25) which we read before, how it will impact them. Guess what is located between Syria and Egypt? ISRAEL is!
Egyptian - Syrian Conflict
Egyptian - Syrian Conflict
Have you ever seen a conflict arise within a Country or Kingdom? May we remember a divided Israel (Israel; Judah)? How about even here in USA with divided north and south? Within the Grecian kingdom that had been sectioned into 4 there is warring going on.
We have a long passage here and now is when we are going to look at narrative to survey the passage after reading it.
5 “Then the king of the South will grow strong, along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed.
6 “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, 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.
7 “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.
8 “Also their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years.
9 “Then the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land. 10 “His sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may again wage war up to his very fortress.
11 “The king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be given into the hand of the former.
12 “When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail. 13 “For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment.
14 “Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will fall down.
15 “Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. 16 “But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.
17 “He will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, bringing with him a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be on his side.
18 “Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him; moreover, he will repay him for his scorn. 19 “So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more.
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
If you are like me, I would be saying there is a lot of information, but how much of this is relevant? It’s history
That’s right, to Daniel it is prophesy to us looking back it is history, exact history, in great detail, that cannot be refuted for it all came to be.
King of the South shall become strong (v.5)
As I mentioned will be more narrative for a bit.
King of the south is Ptolemy I, who ruled Egypt (306-284 BC) as well as one of his princes who will gain power over the other.
It is said that this is Seleucus I who ruled in Syria from (312-280)
So, Israel is caught in the middle and much of the battle took place in Israel as the two factions battled each other.
Daughter of the south will go to the North (v.6)
This is Bernice the daughter of Ptolemy who was given to Antiochus II, with an agreement and peace plan that would be in place if Antiochus would divorce his current wife Laodice.
Just a killer fact here, Laodice ended up killing Bernice and Antiochus with poison (v.6)
A branch defending her honor will come (vv.7-8)
Ptolemy III was Bernice’s brother and he wanted to avenge her death when to attack the North. He had victory and it brought peace for a time
Northern attack of the South (vv.9-10)
Seleucus II decided in 240AD to attack the Egypt, this time was not a victory and returned in shame.
Seleucus died from a fall from his horse and his son Seleucus III took the throne only to be assassinated 4 years later.
Southern response (vv.11-13)
Ptolemy IV will go and battle against Antiochus and will be victorious (v.11)
Ptolemy had and elated but short lived victory (v.12)
Antiochus III will rise up his army to battle in great numbers (v.13)
More help, more involved of others (vv.14)
Antiochus will get help from the Hellenistic Jews (Greek’s)
Victory for the North, but not for long (vv.15-19)
We have briefly discussed today Antiochus Epiphanies IV and now with his father, Antiochus Epiphanies III off to war, here comes the great deceiver who will rule over Palestine.
Antiochus III will take the city of Sidon in 198BC
The Seleucid’s will seem unbeatable according to (v.16)
He will settle in and set up his family (v.17), let me put (v.17) up again for a moment
17 “He will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, bringing with him a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be on his side.
Here he gives us his daughter, and maybe you will know this name, Cleopatra who was going to be a pawn to negotiate with Ptolemy V (aka: Mark Anthony). She was to be a spy and give a false hope, but she fell in love with Mark Anthony and would not spy.
From setting up home, now came looking at vacation land, and who would not want the Greek isles (v.18); one thing went wrong, there was a rising empire that he did not give much credit or credence to, the Roman’s and he suffered a loss here as well as some others between 197-190AD.
Antiochus returns to his own area, but loses much of his kingdom due to finances (v.19); eventually he loses his life not because of finances but because he became a thief and was killed for stealing.
If you took a journey to 2Mac3, you would see at this time Seleucus I comes to try to get back some of what was taken and sends Heliodorus his prime minister out to raise money by raising taxes and collecting on them.
Helidiorus decides it was be expedient to take Seleucus out of the picture and assassinates hi (v.20)
(Transition) - The year at this point is now 175BC, Antiochus III is dead by poison from poisonous mushroom and now enters unto the worlds stage, Antiochus Epiphanies IV.
Rise of Antiochus Epiphanies IV
Rise of Antiochus Epiphanies IV
The great deceiver comes to the world stage and does the unspeakable. There is much we can see, learn from this passage, so hold on.
20 “Then in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle. 21 “In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
22 “The overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant.
He is a great orator
He obtains the kingdom by trickery and flattery, not in battle, but peaceably, he will gain the kingdom, including Israel.
He deposes the High Priest in Jerusalem (Onias III) and puts his own priesthood in place.
Remember God is on the throne and God knows exactly what is going on, God allows it to happen.
23 “After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. 24 “In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time.
God allows him to grow in money, power, Territory, it seems that Antiochus has it all.
Even though there were alliances in place (v.23) he was deceitful and used all that was his to make people have a false sense of safety and security until he was ready to move for himself more (v.24)
25 “He will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him. 26 “Those who eat his choice food will destroy him, and his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain.
Mr smooth talker, great orator even talked some of Ptolemy servants to turn against Ptolemy (v.25) in 170 BC by desertion by sedition Ptolemy loses his battled and his army is defeated, again you read history on this in 1Mac1:18. In fact here it is
18 He engaged King Ptolemy of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many were wounded and fell.
We are out of time for today, I planned to go all the way to (v.35) but that is not going to happen today. So what is the take away today.
God is on the throne, even when it does not seem like it.
God can use many things in many ways to accomplish His will.
Context, context, context, be sure you look at context and you can see God’s prophesy given to Daniel, explained to Daniel is fulfilled and proven in history both in and out of the bible.
only God could give so much minute detail in prophesy over a hundred and 170 years before it was going to happen, remember it was a sealed vision for the time of the end. It is the end of the desolation of degradation that was in Jerusalem. Not the end of the world as many may believe. Don’t take my word on it, check out God’s word, it speaks for itself.
(Prayer slide) prayer (exit slide)