PROPHETIC WORLD EMPIRES (3)
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) God has revealed, in the books of Daniel and Revelation, the world-ruling Gentile (non-Israelite) empires (kingdoms) that would exist from the time of Babylon's empire to the Second Coming of Jesus - a span of more than 2,600 years! Biblical prophecy predicts no less than fifteen empires and the most influential false religious system the devil would create. The symbolic Bible prophecies that proclaim such events BEFORE they happen are:
i) The large image of a man dreamed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (Daniel 2).
ii) The prophet Daniel's dream of four great beasts: A lion, bear, leopard and one strong beast with iron teeth and ten horns (Daniel 7).
iii) Daniel's vision of a ram and a male goat (Daniel 8).
iv) The apostle John's vision of a woman riding a beast with seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 17) along with an end time beast that will rule the world just before the Second Coming of Jesus (Revelation 13:1-8).
b) One simple but profound question generated from Bible prophecy concerns ancient Israel. Why would God allow Gentile nations to dominate the world instead of his chosen people - the Israelites? The Bible records God making a very special promise to the people of Israel just before they crossed the Jordan River to receive their inheritance in the land of milk and honey. He promised to make them HIGH ABOVE all the nations IF they keep his commandments (Deuteronomy 26:18-19).
c) God promised to make the Israelite nation preeminent in the world IF they obeyed his voice. Over time, however, they increasingly rejected God's way to the point where they refused to have him as their King and instead requested a human king be put over them (1Samuel 8:5-7). Eventually, because of their ongoing disregard for God's laws, ten of Israel's tribes were conquered and taken out of the land by the Assyrian empire (723 B.C.). The remaining tribes (Judah, Benjamin and Levi) lived in Palestine until they too, because of disobedience, were conquered and taken from their inheritance. Because Israel rejected God, he rejected them and gave their promised leadership role in the world to others - the Gentile empires which are listed below.
1. Macedonian (Greek) Empire of Alexander the Great
336 B.C.
and
Division of kingdom into four pieces
323 B.C.
a) Represented in Bible prophecy as:
i) Belly and Thighs of Bronze (brass) (Daniel 2:32, 39)
ii) Beast (Leopard) with four Heads (Daniel 7:6)
iii) Male Goat with large horn and four smaller horns (Daniel 8:5-8, 21-22, 11:3-4)
2. Explanation
a) After Alexander's death (the "broken horn") the "four that stood up in its place" to rule in his stead were his four generals. This means the empire that Alexander built and its subsequent division into four pieces are counted as the third, fourth, fifth and sixth prophetic kingdoms to rule the earth.
3. Notes
a) Alexander the Great, born in 356 B.C., was an ancient Greek king whose father was King Philip II of Macedon. Soon after ascending to the throne in 336 B.C. due to his father's assassination Alexander began a military campaign to realize his father's expansion plans. His conquests included the Persian Empire, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Egypt and Mesopotamia. The empire's boundaries stretched as far west as the Ionian sea and as far east as the Himalayas and India. Alexander never lost a battle (though many times he was outnumbered) and is considered one of the most successful military commanders in history.
b) The Greek kingdom, after Alexander's death in 323 B.C., was NOT passed to either of his two sons ("but not among his posterity"). Instead, as the prophecies indicated, it was divided up into four separate kingdoms by his generals Ptolemy, Antipater, Seleucus and Antigonus.
The End ...
0. Introduction
a) God has revealed, in the books of Daniel and Revelation, the world-ruling Gentile (non-Israelite) empires (kingdoms) that would exist from the time of Babylon's empire to the Second Coming of Jesus - a span of more than 2,600 years! Biblical prophecy predicts no less than fifteen empires and the most influential false religious system the devil would create. The symbolic Bible prophecies that proclaim such events BEFORE they happen are:
i) The large image of a man dreamed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (Daniel 2).
ii) The prophet Daniel's dream of four great beasts: A lion, bear, leopard and one strong beast with iron teeth and ten horns (Daniel 7).
iii) Daniel's vision of a ram and a male goat (Daniel 8).
iv) The apostle John's vision of a woman riding a beast with seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 17) along with an end time beast that will rule the world just before the Second Coming of Jesus (Revelation 13:1-8).
b) One simple but profound question generated from Bible prophecy concerns ancient Israel. Why would God allow Gentile nations to dominate the world instead of his chosen people - the Israelites? The Bible records God making a very special promise to the people of Israel just before they crossed the Jordan River to receive their inheritance in the land of milk and honey. He promised to make them HIGH ABOVE all the nations IF they keep his commandments (Deuteronomy 26:18-19).
c) God promised to make the Israelite nation preeminent in the world IF they obeyed his voice. Over time, however, they increasingly rejected God's way to the point where they refused to have him as their King and instead requested a human king be put over them (1Samuel 8:5-7). Eventually, because of their ongoing disregard for God's laws, ten of Israel's tribes were conquered and taken out of the land by the Assyrian empire (723 B.C.). The remaining tribes (Judah, Benjamin and Levi) lived in Palestine until they too, because of disobedience, were conquered and taken from their inheritance. Because Israel rejected God, he rejected them and gave their promised leadership role in the world to others - the Gentile empires which are listed below.
1. Macedonian (Greek) Empire of Alexander the Great
336 B.C.
and
Division of kingdom into four pieces
323 B.C.
a) Represented in Bible prophecy as:
i) Belly and Thighs of Bronze (brass) (Daniel 2:32, 39)
ii) Beast (Leopard) with four Heads (Daniel 7:6)
iii) Male Goat with large horn and four smaller horns (Daniel 8:5-8, 21-22, 11:3-4)
2. Explanation
a) After Alexander's death (the "broken horn") the "four that stood up in its place" to rule in his stead were his four generals. This means the empire that Alexander built and its subsequent division into four pieces are counted as the third, fourth, fifth and sixth prophetic kingdoms to rule the earth.
3. Notes
a) Alexander the Great, born in 356 B.C., was an ancient Greek king whose father was King Philip II of Macedon. Soon after ascending to the throne in 336 B.C. due to his father's assassination Alexander began a military campaign to realize his father's expansion plans. His conquests included the Persian Empire, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Egypt and Mesopotamia. The empire's boundaries stretched as far west as the Ionian sea and as far east as the Himalayas and India. Alexander never lost a battle (though many times he was outnumbered) and is considered one of the most successful military commanders in history.
b) The Greek kingdom, after Alexander's death in 323 B.C., was NOT passed to either of his two sons ("but not among his posterity"). Instead, as the prophecies indicated, it was divided up into four separate kingdoms by his generals Ptolemy, Antipater, Seleucus and Antigonus.
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