Christian Biblical Reflections.39

CBR Book of Daniel. Text, Reflections, Chronology.

CHAPTER V

                                Part V: DANIEL, & TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS: HOSEA-MALACHI.

                                    Part V: DANIEL-MALACHI: Prophetical Books: Daniel &  

                                                Twelve: Minor-Smaller-Shorter Prophets.              

                                                       BOOK OF DANIEL: Prophet-Ruler.

It has been one year occupied with the Book of Daniel in CBR, I had no idea that it would take such a turn. Selections 1-25 have already been shared on WordPress.com in submissions or posts 31-38. The Reflections & Chronology on the Book of Daniel of the Persian period from the Great Cyrus to the Great Alexander are now completed. Here are the updated info & particulars to Christian Biblical Reflections (CBR) Chapter 5 vol. 3 pt. 1; Chapters 1-3 in vol. 1; Chapter 4 in vol. 2; part two of volume 3 is soon forthcoming. There are only a few cases of the Selections or sub-selections where I needed copyright permission, which I was given freely & kindly. I will hereby now & hereafter express to those who have asked, and to all others, all that I write & publish in any media & at any time is shared free; & I’m grateful to be of any help to those who seek God’s Christ, God’s Book, & God’s truth in the journey of life. I apologize & regret that I have not regularly interacted with others in my posts. Anyone is always welcome to email for my personal response & reply. I have tried very hard to limit the pages of this chapter, part, & section of volume two of CBR.5, but ‘que sera’ it has swelled to over 1,000 pages for the Book of Daniel, thus requiring volume 3 to become part 1 & part 2. The Historical & Poetic Books Chapters 1-3, Genesis to Song of Solomon, is volume 1; volume 2 treated the 3 Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) Daniel & the 12 Minor Prophets vol. 3 part 1 now, then part 2 later. mjmselim, 2020.
(( A word as to the work in general concerning details: The writing evolved in my study & reflections to pass on to family & friends my deposit, little it may be, so it has changed from a book into a set of books (so far some 2,000 pages). I have read & studied the Scriptures as my personal desire & Christian obligation, exploring whoever or whatever & wherever necessary. I my research & collecting of some of the most important works on the Books of the Bible, & only using a mere fraction of percent of the vast resources available for the Bible student. I have tried to make this work as universal as I could in text formats: PDF, Word .docx, & WordPad .rtf. Notepad .txt was far too limiting to offer that in the final form. The editing required to convert the PDF version of older printed books & publications proved wearisome to the extreme. My inability to type faster than 2 or 3 fingers at a time, the constant errors, etc., has been unpleasant. The incompatibility between old texts & fonts into PDFs has been mind boggling, almost to madness. I will not trouble the reader of the many examples of incredible problems of these conversions. After getting past all those things, I found my own writing filled with small errors, & my habit of writing as I think, & thinking beyond what I was writing. I speak nothing of my health, medicines, memory, computer glitches & lost files; not to mention family obligations , & in the earlier Books, work or making a living before retiring. I said all that to say there are still errors of many sorts here & there, & in time I hope to correct them, but to wait still to find them all before sharing my labor, would only lead me to close to my final resting place till the day newness & brightness of an eternal morn. The use of colors to mark various speech in the text, especially Red when God or Christ spoke. Red is almost missing in Daniel. Other than appealing to the Christian reader, or to those willing to hear a Christian reflection after 50 years, I claim to do so only as a common Christian, and once a cobbler. I have tried to always transliterate the Hebrew & Greek texts or letters to English, that any simple text editor or program will recognize it, & not output garbled nonsense; I very much would have liked to use the Hebrew & Greek scripts if the technology still is so lacking here; but alas what use if the reader cannot read or understand the tongues. I never try to write to scholars as if I were an expert; I only share my testimony of the Divine Word. Whether the reader or listener take little or plenty of these words & writings is between them & God, it is of no concern of mine. I have not avoided new works in my studies, nor hesitant to use general resources freely without plagiarizing others labors; credit is given as needed, I have not argued with their own views when I could not concede, except in a very few places the error was so blatantly false but dressed as innocent sincere doctrine, and in those cases I have clearly bracted my objection. Well, I can’t think of anything else to inform the reader (well, maybe my use of yu & yur to represent the archaic singular thee, thou, thine, as a novelty): except may He Who sees allow you to see, He Who hears, grant you to hear, & may His Great Heart give you understanding, insight, blessing, in regards to truth in the spirit & sanity of mind. My prayer, my hope, for this little labor to lead to Christ’s glory. ))
(Here is the list of the 25 Selections relevant to the Book of Daniel in CBR: 1-25: 1. Jerome. 2. Calvin. 3. Newton. 4. Lowth. 5. Stuart. 6. Barnes. 7. Auberlen. 8. Tregelles. 9. Japheth Ben Ali. 10. Rashi. 11. Darby. 12. Montagu. 13. Miller. 14. Folsom. 15. Smith. 16. Rule. 17. Pusey. 18. Keil. 19. Zōckler. 20. Driver. 21. Wilson. 22. Seder Olam Rabba. 23. Larkin. 24. 1st Maccabees. 25. Josephus.) If the Lord permits, the 12 Minor Prophets, being an Appendix to Daniel & the 3 Major Prophets, will follow. As in Ezekiel, I’ve had to change my style in reflecting on this Book. mjm. Christian Biblical Reflections.33 Posted on August 5th, 2020.))

Link to my One Drive files: PDF,Word,WordPad: (Updated as needed)
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AgcwUEJ0moRUhNUr33cfjhqfqsRETA?e=nNUd8S

Here is the link to my Internet Archive.org library page for those interested:
https://archive.org/details/@mikemjm

In the 3rd year of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged it. The ‘Lord‘ (Adonai, as a substitute for Yehowah, Jehovah, Yah) gave King Jehoiakim into his hand, with some of the vessels of ‘God’s‘ House (Beth-haElohim, House of the God); who carried them to the Land of Shinar (Babylonia: southeastern Mesopotamia between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers (modern southern Iraq from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf)) to his ‘god’s‘ (elohim) house: also he took the vessels into the treasure-house of his ‘god‘ (elohim). The King told Ashpenaz the Master (Rab as in Rabbi; lord, master, great-one, chief, teacher) of his eunuchs, to select of the Israelites, of the Royal-seed & Nobles, attractive & healthy youths, intelligent, educated, experienced, & scholarly, suitable to stand in the King’s Palace (his Court); to teach them the learning & language of the Chaldeans (Kassedim of Dim, as in Ur of the Chaldees of Chaldea; ‘l‘ is variant pronunciation; historically its roots are not clear, perhaps lost after the Sumerians (southern Mesopotamia) were dominated by the Akkadians (northern Mesopotamia)). {See: Gesenius, RBDB, 1907; also 1906 abridged:  “n. pr. gent, et terr. Kasdim= Chaldeans, Chaldea, (As. (mat) Kaldu, ‘Kaldu‘; fr. earlier (Bab.) form [*’Kasdu‘]—’s‘ before dental becoming ‘l‘ ).  1.  ‘Chaldeans‘:  a. people dwelling on lower Euphrates & Tigris; in n. pr. loc.  b. esp. people ruled by Nebuchadrezzar; bath-k’ = [daughter of Kasedim, Chaldea] Babylon (in dirge). c. Chaldeans as learned class, skilled in interpretations Dan 2:2.  2. Chaldea, & Chaldea shall be despoiled.”]       The King appointed their daily meals from the royal menu, and of his wine, for three years; that they may stand before the King. Among these captives, Jews of Judah, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah. 

                (Note:    “023: 3rd yr: King Jehoiakim’s reign.  He rebels against King of Babylon.  Pharaoh Neco defeated (battle at Carchemish).  King Nabopolassar dies. King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem.     024: 4th yr: King Jehoiakim’s reign.  1st yr: King Nebuchad(n,r)ezzar’s reign.   1st yr:  70 Years Captivity Begins.   Jeremiah’s Prophecies recorded in a Book. (Jeremiah’s 23rd yr of ministry) (Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah  (in their late teens or early twenties) & other Jews taken captive to Babylon) (Daniel @ 20)    025: 5th yr: King Jehoiakim’s reign.  2nd yr: King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign.) 2nd yr of the 70 Years Captivity. (King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of Great Image of an Imperial Man; Daniel interprets the Dream of Empires or Kingdoms: Babylon, Medes-Persians, Greeks, & Romans.  Daniel made Ruler of Babylon’s Province.)  (Ezekiel @ 20.) .”)   The Prince of the eunuchs renamed them: Daniel was Belteshazzar; Hananiah was Shadrach; Mishael was Meshach; & Azariah was Abed-nego. Daniel determined not to defile himself with the royal meals or wine: he requested of the Chief of the eunuchs to avoid defilement by abstinence from the royal menu. God (haElohim)favored Daniel to the Head of the eunuchs; he said to Daniel: ‘I fear my Lord, the King, who appointed your meals & drinks: why should he see your faces looking worse than the youths your age? my head would be endangered with the King’. Daniel told the Steward, appointed by the Prince of the eunuchs over the 4 of them: ‘please, test yur servants, 10 days; let us have vegetables or grains with water. Then compare our faces to the youths eating of the royal menu; then decide’. He listened to them, and tested them for 10 days. Afterwards their faces appeared healthier, & more wholesome, than the other youths. So the Steward substituted for them the royal meals & wine for pulse. God (haElohim) gave these 4 youths knowledge & skill in all the learning & wisdom: & Daniel had understanding in visions & dreams. At the end of King’s appointed days, of 3 years, the Prince of the eunuchs led them to stand before Nebuchadnezzar. The King conversed with them; and among all the youths were none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah: so they continued to stand before the King, in his Court. In all matters of wisdom & understanding that the King inquired of them, he found them 10 times better than the magicians & enchanters (scribes, diviners, astrologers, scholars, experts, sages; conjurer, necromancer) in all his realm.   Daniel continued in captivity to 1st year of King Cyrus, at the 70th year of the Babylonian Captivity, and about the time of his death in his 80s.

                In the 2nd year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar: Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; his spirit was troubled & he was sleepless. The King commanded to call the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, & Chaldeans, to tell him his dreams. They stood before the King: he related, I dreamed, my spirit is troubled to know the dream. The Chaldeans replied to the King in Syriac (Aramaic): ‘King, live forever, tell yur servants the dream, and we’ll reveal the interpretation’. The king told them ‘he’s forgotten it; if they cannot reveal the dream & its interpretation, they’ll be cut in pieces, their houses become dunghill. If they reveal both, they’ll be rewarded & honored’. They answered again as before; he replied that ‘he knows that they are stalling for time, because he doesn’t remember the dream. But if they cannot reveal the dream, there is only one law for them; for they prepared lying & corrupt words to tell him, till the time is changed; so he demands no more delay’. The Chaldeans answered: ‘No man on earth can show the King’s  demand, so no king, lord, or ruler, has ever demanded such a thing from magician, enchanter, or Chaldean. The King requires a rare thing, no one can reveal it to the King, except the ‘Gods’ (Elahin, Elohin), whose dwelling is not with flesh’. He was angry & furious, he ordered to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. The decree went forth for the wise men must be slain; they searched for Daniel & his companions to be slain. Daniel wisely asked Arioch, Captain of the King’s Guard, who was executing the King’s order to slay the wise men of Babylon: why is the King’s decree so urgent? Arioch told him. Daniel went & requested a set time to give the interpretation to the King. He returned home, and related the thing to his 3 companions; to desire mercies of the God (Ellah, Eloah, Allah) of heaven concerning this secret (mystery, problem); that they would not be slain along with rest of the wise men of Babylon. The secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. He blessed the God (Elah, Ellah, Allah) of Heaven: ‘Blessed be the Name of God (Elah) for ever & ever; for wisdom & might are His. He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings, and sets up kings; He giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding; He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. I thank Thee, and praise Thee, O Thou God (Elah) of my fathers, Who has given me wisdom & might, and has now made known to me what we desired of Thee; for Thou has made known to us the King’s matter.‘        Daniel went to Arioch, appointed by the King to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he told him not to destroy the wise men; to lead him to the King to reveal the interpretation. The King asked Daniel (Belteshazzar), ‘Can yu tell me my dream & its interpretation’?  He replied to the King, ‘The King’s mystery the wise men, enchanters, magicians, & soothsayers cannot reveal to the King; but there is a God (Elah) in heaven That reveals secrets, He has revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will occur in the latter days (end times)‘. 

                ‘Thy Dream, & the Visions of thy head on thy bed, are these: as for thee, King, thy thoughts on thy bed, what should be hereafter; and He That reveals secrets has made known to thee what shall be. But as for me, this secret (mystery) is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be revealed to the King, to know the thoughts of thy heart. Thou, King, saw, a Great Image. This Image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; its  aspect  was terrible (awesome). As for this image, its Head was of fine Gold, its Breast & its Arms of Silver, its Belly & its Thighs of Brass, its Legs of Iron, its Feet part of Iron, & part of Clay. Thou saw till a Stone was cut out without hands, which smote the Image upon its Feet of Iron & Clay, and brake them in pieces. Then was the Iron, Clay, Brass, Silver, &  gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the Stone that smote the Image became a Great Mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the Dream; and we will tell its Interpretation to the King. Thou, King, are King of Kings, to whom the God (Ellah) of heaven has given the (1st) Kingdom, power, strength, & the glory; and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field & the birds of the heavens He has given into thy hand, and has made thee to rule over them all: thou are the Head of Gold. And after thee shall arise another (2nd Silver) Kingdom inferior to thee; and another third (3rd) Kingdom of Brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth (4th) Kingdom shall be strong as Iron, forasmuch as Iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as Iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces & crush. And whereas thou saw the Feet & Toes, part of potters’ Clay, & part of Iron, it shall be a divided Kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the Iron, as thou saw the Iron mixed with miry Clay. And as the Toes of the Feet were part of Iron, and part of Clay, so the Kingdom shall be partly strong, & partly broken. And whereas thou saw the Iron mixed with miry Clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as Iron does not mingle with Clay. And in the days of those Kings shall the God (Ellah) of heaven set up a (5th) Kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty  be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces &  consume all these Kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. As thou saw a Stone was cut out of the Mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the Iron, Brass, Clay, Silver, & the Gold; the Great God (Elah Rab) has revealed to the King what shall be hereafter: the Dream is certain, & its Interpretation sure.’

                King Nebuchadnezzar prostrated, worshipped (bowed, reverenced, honored) Daniel, and commanded to offer an oblation & sweet odors to him. The King responded to Daniel: ‘Truth, your God (Elah) is the God of Gods (Elah Elahin), the Lord of Kings, & Revealer of secrets, Who enabled yu to reveal this secret (mystery)’.     The King made Daniel Great (Rabi, that is, Rabbi Daniel); gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be Chief Governor over the wise-men of Babylon. Daniel requested of the King, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province: Daniel stayed in the King’s Gate.

                King Nebuchadnezzar, made an Image (tzelem, statue, likeness, monument, pillar) of Gold, whose height was 60 cubits (90 feet, cubit @ 1 1/2′, or 18″), its width 6 cubits (9′): he set it up in the Plain of Dura, (near modern Babli Al Hillah near Euphrates River southwest of Baghdad) in the province of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar summoned the satraps, deputies, governors, judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, & all the rulers of the provinces, to the dedication of the Image he erected; they came to his dedication. The Herald proclaimed: ‘It is Commanded. Peoples, Nations, & Languages: When you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the Golden Image that King Nebuchadnezzar has stood up; and those who refuse to prostrate & worship will be immediately thrown into the fiery furnace’. 

                At that time some Chaldeans brought accusation against the Jews. They presented to King Nebuchadnezzar: ‘Forever live the King! The King has made a decree, that everyman to bow & worship the Golden Image on hearing the musical presentation (orchestra); and those who refuse must be thrown into the fiery furnace. Certain Jews thou has  appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, King, have disregarded thee: they serve not thy Gods (Elahin), nor worship the Golden Image which thou hast set up‘.  Nebuchadnezzar in rage & fury ordered to bring them to stand before him, & they came: Nebuchadnezzar asked them, ‘What is your reason that ye serve not my ‘God’ (Elah), nor worship the Golden Image which I have set up? Be ready to fall down &  worship the Image which I have made: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the  midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that ‘god’ (elah)  that shall deliver you out of my hands? They answered: ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in  this matter. Our God (Elah) Whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and He will deliver us out of thy hand. But if not, be it known unto thee, King, that we will not serve thy ‘gods’ (elahin), nor worship the Golden Image which thou has set up’.  Nebuchadnezzar, enraged, his facial expression changed against them: he ordered the furnace to be heated up 7 times hotter than usual; he commanded certain mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, to throw them into the burning fiery furnace. They were bound in their underclothing, robes, mantles, & garments, and were thrown into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Because the King’s commandment was urgent, the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire scorched those men that carried them. These three men fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, rose up in haste: he spake and said unto his counsellors, ‘Did not we throw three men bound into the midst of the fire’? They answered  the King, ‘True‘;  he said, ‘I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are  not hurt; and the aspect (form) of the 4th is like a son of the ‘gods’ (bar-elahin)‘. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he called, ‘Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, you servants of the Most High God (Elaha Illaiah Illaah, or compare Abram’s expression to Melchizedek: El Elyon), come forth, and come here’. They came forth out of the midst of the fire. And the satraps, deputies, governors, & the King’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their clothes changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them. Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Blessed be the God (Elah) of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, Who hath sent His Angel (Messenger, Malacheh), and delivered His Servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the King’s word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any ‘god’ (elah), except their own God (Elah). Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss against the God (Elah) of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other ‘god’ (elah) that is able to deliver after this sort‘. The King promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon. [The next 3 verses: 4:1-3, is in the Hebrew Text 3:31-33.]       

                ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to all the peoples, nations, & languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you. It seemed good to me to show the signs & wonders that the Most High God hath wrought toward me. How great are His signs! and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation’. ‘I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, flourishing in my palace.  I saw a dream which made me afraid; the thoughts on my bed & the visions of my head troubled me. I made  a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, to make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream to them; but they did not reveal to me its interpretation. At last Daniel, Belteshazzar, according to the name of my ‘god’ (elah), came in before me, in whom is the ‘spirit (ruach) of the holy ‘gods’ (elahin): and I told the dream to him: ‘Belteshazzar, Master of the magicians, I know that the spirit (ruach) of the holy gods (elahin) is in thee, no secret troubles thee: tell me the visions of my dream, & its interpretation’. The Visions of my head on my bed: I saw a Tree in the midst of the earth; and its height was great. The Tree grew, & was strong, its height reached to heaven, the sight of it to the end of the earth. Its leaves were fair, its fruit  much, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the Visions of my head on my bed, a Watcher & a Holy One came down from heaven. He cried aloud: ‘Hew down the Tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, scatter its fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches. Leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron & brass, in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven: let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from man’s, let a beast’s heart be given to him; let seven (7) times pass over him. The sentence is by the decree of the Watchers, the demand by the word of the Holy Ones; to the intent the living may know the Most High rules in the Kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men’. This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and thou, Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, for all the wise men of my Kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but thou are able; for the spirit of the holy ‘gods’ (elahin) is in thee‘. Then Daniel, Belteshazzar, was stricken dumb for a while, his thoughts troubled him. The King responded, ‘Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation, trouble thee‘. Belteshazzar answered, ‘My Lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and its interpretation to thine adversaries: The Tree that thou saw, which grew, & was strong, whose height reached to heaven, its sight  to all the earth; whose leaves were fair, its fruit  much, and in it was food for all; under it the beasts of the field dwelt, on whose branches the birds of the heavens had their habitation: it is thou, King, that art grown & become strong; thy greatness is grown, it reacheth to heaven, thy dominion to the end of the earth. The King saw a Watcher and a Holy One coming down from heaven, saying, ‘Hew down the Tree, destroy it;  leave the stump of its roots in the earth, with a band of iron & brass, in the tender grass of the field,  let it be wet with the dew of heaven: let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till 7  times pass over him‘; this is the interpretation, King, it is the decree of the Most High, which is come on my Lord the King: that thou shall be driven from men, thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, thou shall eat grass as oxen, shall be wet with the dew of heaven, 7  times shall pass over thee; till thou know the Most High rules in the Kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will. They commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the Tree: thy Kingdom shall be sure to thee, after  thou shall learnt that the heavens do rule. So, King, let my counsel be acceptable to thee, break off thy sins by righteousness, thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, if there may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity‘.  All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.  At the end of twelve (12) months he was walking in the Royal Palace [Hanging Gardens] of Babylon. The King boasted, ‘Is not this Great Babylon, which I have built for the Royal Dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty’? While the word was in the King’s mouth, there fell a Voice from heaven: ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The Kingdom is departed from thee: thou shall be driven from men; thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen; 7 times shall pass over thee; until thou learn the Most High rules in the Kingdom of men, He gives it to whomsoever He will’. The same hour was the thing fulfilled on Nebuchadnezzar: he was driven from men, he did eat grass as oxen, his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair was grown like eagles’, his nails like birds’. ‘At the end of the days [not years; 7 times may be days, weeks, months, seasons, years; only if we are told explicitly or implicitly can we be certain; inferences or eisegesis must be avoided] I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes to heaven, mine understanding returned to me, I blessed the Most High,  I praised & honored Him That liveth for ever; for His Dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His Kingdom from generation to generation; the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the Army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time mine understanding returned to me; the glory of my kingdom, my majesty & brightness returned to me; my counsellors & my lords sought to me; I was re-established in my Kingdom, and excellent greatness was added to me. I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, extol, & honor the King of heaven; for all His works are truth, and His ways justice; and those that walk in pride He is able to abase’.

                 King Belshazzar made a great feast for 1,000 of his Lords (rabreban, rabrebon fr. rab = great ones, masters, etc.), and drank wine with them.  Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden & silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple at Jerusalem; that the King & his Lords, his wives & his concubines, might drink therefrom. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the Temple of God’s House (Beth Elaha) which was at Jerusalem; and they all drank from them. They drank wine,  praised the ‘gods‘ (elahin) of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, & of stone. In the same hour appeared the Fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote opposite the candlestick (lampstand. menorah) on the plaster of the wall of the King’s Palace: the King saw the part of the Hand that wrote. The King’s countenance was changed, his thoughts disturbed him; the joints of his loins were loosed, his knees touched one another. The King shouted to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, the soothsayers. The King spoke to the wise men of Babylon, ‘Whoever shall read this writing, and show me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the 3rd Ruler in the Kingdom‘.  All the King’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing, nor reveal to the King the interpretation. King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his facial expression changed, his lords were perplexed. The Queen by reason of the words of the King and his Lords came into the banquet house: the Queen said, ‘King, live forever; let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed. There is a man in thy Kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy ‘gods’ (elahin); in the days of thy father light, understanding & wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods (elahin), were found in him; King Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the King, made him Master (Rab) of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; forasmuch as an excellent spirit,  knowledge, understanding, interpreting of dreams, showing of dark sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the King renamed Belteshazzar. Let Daniel be called, and he will reveal the interpretation‘. Daniel was brought in before the King. The King asked Daniel, ‘Are thou that Daniel, who is of the children of the Captivity of Judah, whom the King, my father, brought out of Judah? I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the ‘gods’ (elahin) is in thee,  that light, understanding, & excellent wisdom are found in thee. The wise men & enchanters have been brought in before me, to read this writing, and reveal to me its interpretation; but they could not reveal the interpretation of the thing. But I have heard of thee, that thou can give interpretations & dissolve doubts; now if thou can read the writing, and reveal to me its interpretation, thou shall be clothed with purple, with a chain of gold about thy neck, and shall be the 3rd Ruler in the Kingdom‘.  Daniel answered  the King, ‘Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; I will read the writing for the King, & reveal to him the interpretation: Thou King, the Most High God (Elaha Illaia Illaah) gave thy father Nebuchadnezzar the Kingdom, greatness, glory, & majesty:  because of the greatness that He gave him, all the peoples, nations, & languages trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew,  whom he would he kept alive; whom he would he raised up, whom he would he put down. When his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly Throne, and they took his glory from him: he was driven from the sons of men,  his heart was made like the beasts’,  his dwelling was with the wild donkeys; he was fed with grass like oxen, his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he learnt that the Most High God (Elaha Illaia Illaah) rules in the  Kingdom of men, and that He sets up over it whomever He will. Thou, his son, Belshazzar, has not humbled thy heart, though thou knew all this, but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of Heaven (Mareh-Shemaia); they have brought the vessels of His House before thee, and thou & thy lords, thy wives & thy concubines, have drunk wine from them;  thou hast praised the ‘gods’ (elahin) of silver, gold, brass, iron, wood, stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; the God (Elah) in Whose Hand thy breath is, and Whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.  Then was the part of the Hand sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE: God (Elaha) has numbered thy Kingdom, and brought it to an end; TEKEL: thou are weighed in the balances, and are found deficient. PERES: thy Kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes & Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with purple,  put a chain of gold about his neck, made proclamation concerning him, that he should be the 3rd ruler in the Kingdom. In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain.  [5:31 = 6:1 Heb.] 

                Darius the Mede took the Kingdom, being about 62 years old.

                It pleased Darius to set over the Kingdom 120 Satraps, to be throughout the whole Kingdom,  and over them three Presidents, of whom Daniel was one; that these Satraps might give account to them, that the King  should have no damage.  Daniel was distinguished above the Presidents & the Satraps because an excellent spirit was in him; and the King  thought to set him over the whole realm. The Presidents & the Satraps sought to find occasion against Daniel as regarding the Kingdom; but they could find no  occasion nor fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, ‘We shall not find any occasion against Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the Law of  his God (Eloah)‘. These presidents and satraps assembled together to the King, and said: King Darius, live forever.  All the presidents of the Kingdom, the Deputies,  Satraps, Counsellors, & Governors, have consulted together to  establish a royal statute, and to make a strong interdict, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any ‘god‘ (elah) or man for 30 days, except from thee, King, he shall be cast into the den of lions. ‘King, establish the interdict, sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the Law of the Medes &  Persians, which alters not‘. King Darius signed the writing & the interdict. Daniel knew that the writing was signed, but he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber  toward Jerusalem), he kneeled down three times a day, prayed, & gave thanks to his God (Elah), as he did before. These men assembled together, found Daniel making petition & supplication to his God (Elah). They spoke to the King concerning the King’s interdict: ‘Did thou not sign an interdict, that any  man that shall make petition to any ‘god’ (elah) or man within 30 days, except to thee, O King, shall be thrown into the den of lions’? The King replied, ‘It’s true, according to the Law of the Medes & Persians, which alters not‘.  They answered the King: ‘Daniel, who is of the children of the Captivity of Judah, regards thee not, King, nor the interdict that thou has signed, but makes his petition 3 times a day‘.  The King, hearing these words, was sore displeased, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored  till the going down of the sun to rescue him. These men assembled together to the King, said to the King: ‘Know, King, it is a Law of the Medes &  Persians, that no interdict nor statute which the King establishes may be changed‘. The King commanded, they arrested Daniel, pushed him into the den of lions. The King said to  Daniel: Thy God (Elah) Whom thou serve continually, He will deliver thee. A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the King sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet  of his Lords; that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. The King went to his Palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his  sleep fled from him. The King arose early in the morning, and went in haste to the den of lions. He came near to the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice; the King said to Daniel: ‘Daniel, servant of the living God (Elaha), is thy God (Elaha), Whom thou serve continually, able to deliver thee from the lions‘?  Daniel answered the King, ‘King, live forever, my God (Elah) hath sent His Angel (Messenger, Malak; Melek is King), and has shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before Him innocency  was found in me; and also before thee, King, have I done no hurt‘. The King was exceeding glad, ordered they  take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up  out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he had trusted in his God (Elah). The King commanded, and they brought those men that had accused Daniel, and they threw them into the den of lions, with their children & wives; the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces, before they came to  the bottom of the den. King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, & languages, that dwell in all the earth: ‘Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my Kingdom men tremble & fear before the God (Elah) of Daniel; for He is the living  God (Elah), and stedfast forever, His Kingdom shall not be destroyed; His dominion shall be even unto the end; He delivers & rescues, He works signs & wonders in heaven & in earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the  power of the lions‘.

                Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

                In the 1st year of King Belshazzar of Babylon Daniel had a Dream & Visions of his head on his bed: then he wrote the Dream and told the sum of the matters. Daniel said: ‘I saw in my Vision by night, the ‘4 Winds’ of heaven brake forth on the ‘Great Sea (Mediterranean Sea)’. ‘4 Great Beasts’ came up from the ‘Sea’, diverse one from another. The ‘1st Beast’ was like a ‘Lion’, with ‘Eagle’s Wings’: I beheld till its ‘Wings’ were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon ‘2 Feet’ as a ‘Man’; a ‘Man’s Heart’  was given to it.  Look, a ‘2nd Beast’, like to a ‘Bear‘, it was raised up on ‘1 Side (Foot)‘, ‘3 Ribs‘ were in its ‘Mouth‘ between its ‘Teeth‘: they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much flesh’. I beheld, ‘3rd One‘, like a ‘Leopard‘, which had on its ‘Back, 4 Bird Wings‘; the ‘Beast‘ had ‘4 Heads‘; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the Night-Visions, a ‘4th Beast‘, terrible & powerful, & strong exceedingly; and it had ‘Great Iron Teeth‘; it devoured & brake in pieces, & stamped the residue with its ‘Feet‘: it was diverse from all the ‘Beasts‘ that were before it; it had ‘10 Horns‘. I considered the ‘Horns‘, there came up among them another ‘Horn‘, a ‘Little One‘ (Little Horn), before which ‘3 of the 1st Horns‘ (3 Earlier Horns) were plucked up by the ‘Roots‘: in this ‘Horn‘ were ‘Eyes‘ like the ‘Eyes of a Man‘, a ‘Mouth‘ ‘speaking great things‘. I beheld till ‘Thrones‘ were placed, ‘One That was Ancient of Days‘ did sit: His ‘Raiment‘ was ‘White‘ as ‘Snow‘, the ‘Hair‘ of His ‘Head‘ like ‘Pure Wool‘; His ‘Throne‘ was ‘Fiery Flames‘, the its ‘Wheels Burning Fire‘. A ‘Fiery Stream‘ issued & came forth from before Him: 1,000s of 1,000s ministered to Him, 10,000 times 10,000 stood before Him: the Judgment was set, and the ‘Books‘ were opened. I beheld at that time because of the ‘Voice‘ of the ‘Great Words‘ which the ‘Horn‘ spoke; I beheld even till the ‘Beast‘ was slain, and its ‘Body‘  destroyed, and it was given to be burned with fire. The other ‘Beasts‘, their dominion was taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time [the exact time & season is not disclosed]. I saw in the Night-Visions, there came with the clouds of heaven ‘One‘ like a ‘Son of Man (Bar Enosh)‘, and He came even to the ‘Ancient of Days‘, and they brought Him near before Him. There was given Him Dominion, & Glory, & a Kingdom, that all the Peoples, Nations, & Languages should serve Him: His dominion is an Everlasting Dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.  As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the midst of my body, and the Visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things:’

                ‘These ‘4 Great Beasts‘, are ‘4 Kings‘, that shall arise out of the earth. The Saints of the Most High shall receive the Kingdom, and possess the Kingdom forever, even for ever & ever’. I desired to know the truth concerning the ‘4th Beast‘, and concerning the ‘10 Horns‘ that were on its ‘Head‘, and the ‘Other One‘ which came up, and before him 3 fell, that ‘Other Horn‘ that had ‘Eyes‘, & a ‘Mouth‘ that ‘spoke great things‘, whose look was more stout than its fellows. I beheld, the ‘Same Horn‘ ‘made war with the Saints, &  prevailed against them‘; till the ‘Ancient of Days‘ came, and Judgment was given to the Saints of the Most-High (Elyon), and the time came that the Saints possessed the Kingdom. The ‘10 Horns‘: out of this Kingdom shall ‘10 Kings‘ arise: and ‘Another‘ shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the ‘Former‘, and he shall put down ‘3 Kings‘. ‘He shall speak words against the Most-High (Elyon), and shall wear out the saints of the Most-High (Elyon); and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a Time & Times & Half Time‘ [unknown dates or time]. ‘The Judgment shall be set, they shall take away his Dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end. The Kingdom & the Dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the People of the Saints of the Most-High (Elyon): His Kingdom is an Everlasting Kingdom, and all Dominions shall serve and obey Him‘.

                 ‘Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my countenance was changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart‘.  

                  ‘In the 3rd year of the reign of King Belshazzar a Vision appeared to me, Daniel, after what appeared to me formerly (i.e. in 1st yr): I saw in the Vision (I was in Shushan the Palace, in the province of Elam; I was by the River (Canal) Ulai (near Susa)): there stood near the River a ‘Ram‘ which had ‘2 Horns‘: the ‘2 Horns‘  were High (Long, Tall, Big); but one was Higher (Longer) than the other, and the Higher came up last. I saw the ‘Ram‘ pushing ‘Westward, Northward, & Southward‘; no ‘Beasts‘ could stand before him, neither was there any  that could deliver out of his Hand (Power); but he did according to his will, and magnified himself. As I was considering,  a ‘He-Goat‘ came from the ‘West‘ over the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: the ‘Goat‘ had a ‘Notable (Great) Horn between his Eyes‘.  He came to the ‘Ram‘ that had the ‘2 Horns‘, which I saw standing near the River, and ran to him in the fury of his power. I saw him going close to the ‘Ram‘, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ‘Ram‘, and brake his ‘2  Horns‘; and there was no power in the ‘Ram‘ to stand before him; but he battered him down to the ground, and trampled on him; there  was none that could deliver the ‘Ram‘ out of his hand. The ‘He-Goat‘ magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the ‘Great Horn‘ was broken; and in place of it there  came up ‘4 Notable Ones‘ toward the ‘4 Winds‘ of heaven. ‘Out of One‘ of them came forth a ‘Little Horn‘, which grew exceeding great, ‘toward the South, toward the East, &  toward the Glorious (?)‘. It grew great, even to the ‘Host of Heaven‘; and some of the ‘Host & of the Stars‘ it battered down to the ground, & trampled on them. It magnified itself, even to the ‘Prince of the Host‘; and it took away from him the ‘Continual (Offering, Sacrifice)‘, and the ‘Place of  his Sanctuary‘ was cast down. The ‘Host‘ was given over together with the ‘Continual (Offering, Sacrifice)‘ through transgression; and it cast down truth to  the ground, and it continued & prospered. I heard a ‘Holy One‘ speaking; and another ‘Holy One‘ said to the ‘One‘ who spake, ‘How long shall be the Vision of the Continual (Offering, Sacrifice), and the transgression that makes desolate, to give both the Sanctuary & the Host to be  trodden under foot‘? He said unto me, ‘Unto 2,300 Evenings-Mornings [that is, ‘days’, consisting of nights & days]; then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed‘. When I, Daniel, had seen the ‘Vision‘, I sought to understand it; there stood before  me as the appearance of a ‘Man‘.  I heard a ‘Man’s Voice‘ between the Ulai, which called out, ‘Gabriel, make this man to understand the  Vision‘. He came near where I stood; and when he came, I was affrighted, and fell on my face: but he said unto me, ‘Understand, Son of man; for the Vision belongs to the End Time‘. As he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me  upright. He said, ‘I will reveal & make yu know what shall be in the Latter Time (End Time) of the indignation; for it belongs to the appointed  Time of the End (End Time). The ‘Ram‘ which thou saw, with ‘2 Horns‘, they are the ‘Kings of Media & Persia‘. The rough (aggressive) ‘He-Goat is the King of Greece: the Great Horn between his eyes is the 1st  King’. What was broken, in its place ‘4 Ones‘ stood up, ‘4 Kingdoms‘ shall stand up out of the Nation, but not  with his power.  ‘In the Latter Time (End Time) of their Kingdom‘, when the transgressors are come to the full, a ‘King‘ of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and continue; and he shall destroy ‘the Mighty Ones & the Holy People‘. Through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in security (unchallenged) shall he destroy many: he shall also stand up against the ‘Prince of Princes‘; but he shall be broken without hand. ‘The Vision of the Evenings &  Mornings which was told is true: but shut thou up the Vision; for it belongs to Many  Days (End Times)’ . I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the King’s business: and I wondered at the ‘Vision‘, but  none understood it’.

                  In 1st year of Darius (?, Cyrus) the son of Ahasuerus (?, Astyages, Artaxerxes, Xerxes 1st, the Great), of the seed of the Medes (Persian-Mede), who was made King over the realm of the Chaldeans.   ‘In the 1st year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the Books (Scrolls) the number of the years whereof Jehovah’s Word (Debhar-YeHoWaH)   came to  Jeremiah the Prophet, for the accomplishing of ‘70 years Desolations of Jerusalem‘. I set my face to the Lord God (El-Adhon), to seek by prayer & supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, & ashes. I prayed to Jehovah my God (YeHoWaH Elohai), and made confession:   ‘Lord (Adhonai), the Great and Dreadful God (haEl), Who keeps  covenant and lovingkindness with them that love Him and keep His commandments: we have sinned, have dealt perversely, have done wickedly, have rebelled, even turning aside from Thy precepts & from Thine ordinances; neither have we listened to Thy Servants the Prophets, that spake in Thy Name to our Kings, our princes, and our fathers, to the people of the land. Lord (Adonai), righteousness belongs to Thee, but to us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the  inhabitants of Jerusalem, to all Israel, that are near, & that are far off, through  the countries whither Thou hast driven them,  because of their trespasses against Thee. Lord (Adonai), to us confusion of face, to our Kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against  Thee. To the Lord our God (Adonai Elohenu) belong mercies and forgiveness; for we have rebelled against Him;  neither have we obeyed the Voice of Jehovah our God (YeHoWaH Elohenu), to walk in His Laws, which He set before us by His Servants the  prophets. Israel have transgressed Thy Law, turning aside, that they should not obey Thy Voice:  the curse has been poured out upon us, and the Oath that is written in the Law of Moses the Servant of God (haElohim); for we have sinned against Him. He confirmed His words, which He spoke against us, against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a  great evil; for under the whole heaven has not been done as has been done on Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this evil is come on us: yet have we not entreated the favor of Jehovah our God (YeHoWaH Elohenu), that  we should turn from our iniquities, and have discernment in Thy truth. Jehovah (YeHoWaH) watched over the evil, and brought it on us; for Jehovah, our God (YeHoWaH) is righteous in His Works which  He doeth, and we have not obeyed His Voice. Lord our God (Adonai Elohenu), Who has led Thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a Mighty Hand, and has gotten Thee  renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. Lord (Adonai), according to all Thy Righteousness, let Thine Anger & Thy Wrath, I pray Thee, be turned away from Thy City Jerusalem, Thy Holy Mountain; because for our sins, & for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem & Thy People are become a reproach to all around us. Our God (Elehenu), listen to the prayer of Thy Servant, and to his supplications, and cause Thy face to shine upon  Thy Sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. My God (Elohai), incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine Eyes, behold our desolations, and the City which is called by Thy Name:  for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousness, but for Thy Great Mercies’ Sake. Lord (Adonai), hear; Lord (Adonai), forgive; Lord (Adonai), listen & do; defer not, for Thine Own Sake, my God (Elohai), because Thy City and Thy  People are called by Thy Name’.     ‘While I was speaking, praying, & confessing my sin & the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God (YeHoWaH Elohai) for the Holy Mountain of my God (Elohai);  yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the Man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the Vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.  He instructed me, talked with me, and said, ‘Daniel, ‘I am now come forth to give thee wisdom and understanding’. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment went forth, and I am come to tell thee; for thou are greatly beloved:  consider the matter, & understand the Vision. ‘70 weeks are decreed on thy people and on thy Holy City, to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up Vision & Prophecy, & to anoint the  Most Holy’. ‘Know & discern, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem to the  Anointed One, the Prince, shall be 7 weeks, & 62 weeks: it shall be rebuilt, with street & moat (ditches), even in  troublous times. After the 62 weeks shall the Anointed One be cut off, and shall have nothing:  the people of the Coming Prince shall destroy the city & the Sanctuary; the end thereof shall be with a flood, to the end shall be war;  desolations are determined. He shall make a firm Covenant with many for 1 week: and in the midst of the week he (He ?) shall cause the sacrifice & the  oblation to cease; on the Wing of Abominations  Desolating One Rides (Destroyer Comes); to the Full End (End Time), and that  determined, shall  be poured out upon the desolate (desolation, desolator)’.

                  In the 3rd year of King Cyrus of Persia a thing was revealed to Daniel, renamed Belteshazzar; the thing was true, of a great warfare: he understood the thing, and had understanding of the Vision. ‘In those days I, Daniel, was mourning 3 whole weeks.  I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till 3 whole weeks  were fulfilled. On the 24th day of the first month, as I was by the side of the Great River, which is Hiddekel (Tigress, not the Euphrates), ‘I saw a Man clothed in linen, Whose Loins were girded with pure gold of Uphaz: His Body also was like the Beryl, His Face as the appearance of Lightning, His Eyes as Flaming Torches, His Arms & His Feet like to Burnished Brass, the Voice of His Words like the Sound of a Multitude‘. I, Daniel, alone saw the Vision; for the men that were with me saw not the Vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, and  they fled to hide themselves.  I was left alone, & saw this Great Vision, and there remained no strength in me; for my comeliness (splendour, vigour) was turned in me into  corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet I heard the Voice of his Words; then I fell into  deep-sleep (trance, dream) prostrate,  with my face toward the ground. A Hand touched me, which put me on my knees & on the palms of my hands.  He said to me, ‘Daniel, greatly beloved man, understand the words that I speak unto thee, & stand upright;  for to thee am I now sent’. When he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. He said to me, ‘Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou did set thy heart to understand, & to humble  thyself before thy God (Eloheka), thy words were heard: and I am come for thy words’ sake.  But the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia resisted me 21 days; but, Michael, one of the Chief Princes, came  to help me: and I remained there with the Kings of Persia.  ‘I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days (End Times); for the vision is yet for [many] days‘: when he had spoken to me according to these words, I lowered my face to the ground, & was speechless. ‘One in the likeness of the Sons of Men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, & said to him  that stood before me, my Lord (Adoni), by reason of the Vision my sorrows are turned on me, & I retain no strength. For how can the servant of  my Lord (Adoni) talk with this my Lord (Adoni)? for as for me, there remained no strength in me, neither was there breath left in me. Then there touched me again One like the appearance of a Man, and he strengthened me. He said, greatly beloved man, fear not: peace be to thee, be strong, yea, be strong. When he spoke to me, I  was strengthened, & said, Let my Lord (Adoni) speak; for thou has strengthened me. Then said he, Know thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the Prince of Persia: when I go forth, the Prince of Greece shall come. But I will tell thee that which is inscribed in the Writing of Truth: and there is none that holds with me against these, but  Michael your Prince‘.

                  ‘And as for me (Gabriel), in the 1st year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him (Michael).  I will show thee the Truth: There shall stand up yet 3 Kings in Persia;  the 4th shall be far richer than  they all: when he is grown strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the Realm of Greece. A Mighty King shall stand up, that shall rule with Great Dominion, and do according to his will. When he shall stand up, his Kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the 4 Winds of heaven, but not to his  posterity, nor according to his Dominion wherewith he ruled; for his Kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these. The King of the South (Egypt south of Judah) shall be strong, & of his Princes;  he shall be strong above him, and have Dominion; his  Dominion shall be a Great Dominion. At the End of Years (End Times) they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the King of the South (Egypt) shall come to the King of  the North (Syria north of Israel) to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be  given up, and they that brought her, and he that birthed her, and he that strengthened her in those times. But out of a Shoot from her Roots shall One stand up in his place, who shall come to the army, and shall enter into the  fortress of the King of the North (Syria), & shall deal against them, & shall prevail. He shall carry captive their ‘gods’ (elohim), with their molten images, their goodly vessels of silver & of gold, into  Egypt (the King of the South); and he shall refrain some years from the King of the North (Syria). He (the Syrian King) shall come into the Realm of the King of the South (to fight with the Egyptian King, but he shall return into his own land. His sons (of the Syrian King) shall war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall come on, and overflow, and pass  through; and they shall return and war, even to his (Egyptian) fortress. The King of the South (Egypt) shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him (the Syrian), with the King of the North (the Syrian);  and he (the Syrian) shall set forth a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his (the Egyptian, in defeat) hand. The multitude shall be lifted up, and his (Syrian’s) heart shall be exalted; and he (Syrian) shall cast down tens (10s) of thousands (1000s) (in war), but he shall not  prevail. The King of the North (the Syrian) shall return (to Syria), and shall set forth (for another battle) a multitude greater than the former; and he (the Syrian) shall engage at the End  of the Times of Years (End Times), with a great army and with much substance. In Those Times (End Times)  there shall many stand up against the King of the South (Egypt): also the children of the violent among thy people (militant Israelites, like the Maccabees or Hasmoneans)  shall lift themselves up to establish the Vision; but they shall fall. The King of the North (the Syrian) shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city: and the forces of the South (Egypt) shall not  stand, neither his chosen people (allies), neither shall there be any strength to stand. But he (Syrian) that cometh against him (Egyptian) shall do according to his (Syrian’s) own will, and none shall stand before him (the Syrian); and he (Syrian) shall stand in the  Glorious Land (Israel & Judah), and in his (Syrian’s) hand shall be destruction. He (Syrian) shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole Kingdom, and with him equitable conditions; and he (Syrian) shall  perform them: and he (Syrian) shall give him (the Egyptian) the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither be for him (Syrian).  After this shall he (Syrian) turn his face unto the isles (western peoples), and shall take many: but a Prince shall cause the reproach offered by him (Syrian) to  cease; he (the Prince) shall cause his (Syrian) reproach to turn upon him.  Then he (Syrian) shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land (Syria); but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. Then shall stand up in his (Syrian) place one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the Kingdom; but within few days  he (2nd Syrian) shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his (3rd Syrian ) place shall stand up a Contemptible Person (as Antiochus Epiphanes as in 1st Maccabees), to whom they had not given the honor of the Kingdom: but he (3rd Syrian) shall  come in time of security (peace), and shall obtain the Kingdom by flatteries.  And the overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him (3rd Syrian) , and shall be broken, yea, also the Prince of the  Covenant.  And after the league made with him  he (3rd Syrian)  shall work deceitfully; for he (3rd Syrian)  shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people. In time of security (peace) shall he come even upon the fattest places of the province; and he(3rd Syrian)  shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’  fathers; he  (3rd Syrian)shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance: yea, he (3rd Syrian) shall devise his devices against the strongholds, even for a time. And he (Syrian, 3rd Syrian) shall stir up his power & his courage against the King of the South (Egyptian) with a great army; and the King of the South (Egypt) shall war in battle with an  exceeding great and mighty army; but he (Egyptian) shall not stand; for they (his army) shall devise devices against him (Egyptian). They (his court & allies) that eat of his dainties shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain. As for both these Kings (Syrian & Egyptian), their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the End shall be at the Time Appointed (End Times). Then shall he (Syrian) return into his land (Syria) with great substance; and his heart [shall be] against the Holy Covenant; and he shall continue (prosper), and return  to his own land (Syria). At the Time Appointed (End Time) he (Syrian) shall return, and come into the south (Egypt); but it shall not be in the Latter Time (End Time) as it was in the former (earlier conflicts). For ships of Kittim (west Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus, Rome, Europe) shall come against him (Syrian); therefore he (Syrian) shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the Holy Covenant, and shall  continue: he (Syrian) shall even return, and have regard to them that forsake the Holy Covenant. Forces shall stand on his (Syrian’s) part, they shall profane the Sanctuary, even the Fortress, and shall take away the Continual (Offering, Sacrifice, Oblation); they (Syrian forces))shall set up the Abomination that maketh Desolate. And such as do wickedly against the Covenant shall he (Syrian) pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and continue. They (faithful Jews) that are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil: days (undetermined). When they (Jews) shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves to them (to the Jews) with flatteries. Some of them (Jews) that are wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the Time of the End (End Time); because it is yet for the  Time Appointed (End Time). (See 1st & 2nd Maccabees & Josephus to illustrate these things historically.) The King (Syrian) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every ‘god’ (el), and shall speak marvellous things  against the God of gods (El Elim); and he (Syrian) shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for what is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the ‘gods’ (elohe) of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any ‘god’ (eloah); for he shall magnify himself above all. In his place shall he honor the ‘god’ (eloah) of fortresses; and a ‘god’ (eloah) whom his forefathers (fathers) knew not shall he honor with gold, silver, precious  stones, & pleasant things. He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign ‘god’ (eloah): whosoever acknowledges he (Syrian) will increase with glory; and he (Syrian) shall  cause them (his allies, vassals) to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.  And at the Time of the End (End Time) shall the King of the South (Egyptian)) contend with him (Syrian); and the King of the North (Syrian) shall come against him (Syrian) like a whirlwind, with  chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he (Syrian) shall enter into the countries (Canaan, Arabs, Egypt), and shall overflow and pass through.  He shall enter also into the Glorious Land (Israel & Judah), and many shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his (Syrian’s) hand: Edom & Moab, & the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall extend his (Syrian’s) hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt (the South) shall not escape. But he (the Syrian) shall have power over the treasures of gold & of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans & the Ethiopians (Egypt’s allies) shall be at his (Syrian’s) steps. But news out of the East & out of the North shall trouble him (while in his southern campaign); and he (Syrian) shall go forth (back to Syria) with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many. And he (Syrian) shall plant the tents of his palace between the Sea (Great Sea, Mediterranean Sea) and the Glorious Holy Mountain (Zion, Jerusalem); yet he (Syrian) shall come to his end, and none shall help him.   And at That Time shall Michael stand up, the Great Prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a Time of Trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at That Time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the Book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame & everlasting contempt. And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever & ever. ‘But thou, Daniel, Close the Words, & Seal the Book, even to the Time of the End (End Time): many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased‘.  Then I, Daniel, saw, there stood 2 others, the one on the brink of the river on this side, and the other on the brink of the river on that  side. And one said to the Man Clothed in Linen, Who was above the waters of the river, ‘How long shall it be to the End of these Wonders’? And I heard the Man Clothed in Linen, Who was above the waters of the river, when He held up His Right Hand & His Left hand to heaven, and swore  by Him That Lives Forever that it shall be for a Time, Times, and a Half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the Holy People, all  these things shall be finished’. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, my Lord (Adoni), what shall be the issue of these things? And he said, ‘Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed and sealed till the Time of the End (End Time). Many shall purify themselves, make themselves white, & be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall  understand; but they that are wise shall understand.  And from the time that the continual (Offering, Sacrifice, Oblation) shall be taken away, and the Abomination that maketh Desolate set up, there shall be 1290 days [not ‘years’]. Blessed is he that waits, & comes to the 1335 days (not ‘years’). But go thou thy way Till the End be; for thou shall rest, and shall stand in thy lot, at the End of the Days (End Times)‘.’

The Four Major Prophetical Books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, & Daniel completes the Old Testament. The 12 Minor Prophets from Hosea to Malachi will foot-note these 4 Prophetic Books; each will find 3 Books of the Minor Prophets to be an Appendix to them. The 12 Minor prophets divided by the 4 Major Prophets will have each 3 Books. Isaiah: Hosea, Joel, Amos; Jeremiah: Obadiah, Jonah, Micah; Ezekiel: Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah; Daniel: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. The 4 Major Prophets are given to us in natural chronological order; but the 12 Minor Prophets are not given in natural chronological order, but a different kind of order, that inspiration has determined in course of time to produce for us. We might place the natural order thus: Obadiah, Joel, Jonah, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi; some not as certain as others in chronological sequence. If we pursued the historical significance of the order in relations to the 2 Kingdoms, we would discover the causes, reasons, & ways of the apostasy in both adultery & idolatry of the Northern Kingdom of Israel & Samaria; and the Southern Kingdom of Judah & Jerusalem, along with the relevant Kings to them, from Jehoram & Joram; Joash, Jehu, Jehoahaz; Jeroboam II & Amaziah; Jotham & Ahaz; Pekah, Jotham, Ahaz, & Hezekiah; Zechariah, Hoshea & Manasseh & Josiah, Jehoahaz, & Jehoiakim of the Captivity with his sons & grandsons: Jeconiah, Zedekiah, Shealtiel, etc. With special notice, valuable lessons, in the Gentile Kings that ruled Israel & Judah in the Exile: Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, & Cyrus. But we are not in pursuit of this significance, which is instructive, in itself, in many ways. We are not yet ready to study & reflect on the Minor Prophets, so further remarks is not necessary here.

                In our reflection studies in the historical books of Moses & the Monarchs, the legal system of the nation of Israel, then the history of the Kingdom of Israel, we followed the Divine relationship that existed between God & His people. The Mosaic foundation of the nation’s covenantal constitution, as in a marriage union, had repeatedly failed. The Divine Monarchy in which the Lord as their King as a Husband, was negated, disregarded, rejected, & betrayed. His love for Israel was such that He continuously & creatively, by words & wonders, to attract His people to their God. As God of all the earth, Lord of all mankind, King of the world & nations, His testimony to judge & save the world was contingent on how He could save & keep His chosen people. The Mosaic laws, the Levitical priestly ministry, & the Davidic monarchy & kingdom was a failure. What was left to Him was the prophetic word & the Messianic hope, according to Scriptures, of Himself doing what we could not do. The Messianic promise from Genesis 3 to the close of the Old Testament, & in the interim awaiting Messiah’s appearance in the new dispensation of the New Testament & Covenant. The Spirit of Christ, Messiah, was always operative in the prophetic word, and in King David & Solomon, we have the Messianic hope visualized in a transient form. We need not rehearse the Books of the Bible already studied in the development of these matters.

                It is perhaps worth repeating by recalling the progression of the Kingdom of God as seen & known on earth. Isaiah spoke to the condition of a people forsaking their God, from top to bottom; the Messianic message clear that the Lord will not fail His people if they return to Him. The reform of King Hezekiah, though little & late, was encouraging that perhaps a spiritual transformation was still possible in God’s House. That proved, quickly, very disappointing in the next generation, which determined the remedy to be by chastisement in Divine judgment. In Jeremiah that prophetic word slowly revealed that destruction of the House, Temple, Palaces, were to lead to Exile & Captivity; and this despite good King Josiah’s final reforms & along with Jeremiah’s radical message. In Ezekiel, is seen, the judgment on the nation having begun, the prophetic word soon to cease, Levitical priesthood terminated, still the Lord could at least remind them in Captivity of their state, & His willingness to overturn their doom. The spiritual state of the nation was typified in a most grotesque manner, the symbolism turned graphic, and the spiritual picture in visions & types & parables, showed a nation as an adulterous wife, shameless & self-deluded, and so addicted to sins, vices, evils, that she paid her lovers to bring on her own destruction & death.

                In the Prophet Daniel, as a Statesman & Ruler, in the Gentile power, in judgment (as his very name signifies in Hebrew: God’s Judgment) in Exile & Captivity, with no way to return to the Land, the City, and the House. God must look beyond the Old Testament, must return the more universal concern of His heart towards mankind. The Gentiles, the nations which were alien to the true living God, must be reached by another & better way. This will be the last great attempt on God’s part to help Israel’s condition & comfort them in their punishment, leading them to repentance & blessing. The reforms after the Captivity was not a dispensational change on God’s part towards Israel & the Gentiles, but a toleration till Messiah comes in the fulness of the Gentiles. With this brief introductory word to our reflections on Daniel, we will turn to the Book.

                The Lord having turned away from His people, delivered them over to judgment by the hands of the Gentiles. The last King during Jeremiah’s ministry could not be persuaded to yield to the Divine Word to recalling the nation to God. The Book of Jeremiah’s Prophecies was near completion in the actual history. The many warnings of their punishment in all its detail were now at hand. The Monarchy, the divided monarchy, was now to pass into new dispensation of Gentile domination, and the kingdom of God suppressed & more hidden, Israel was to have a new King in Babylon of the Chaldeans in the Great King Nebuchadnezzar. The kingship in Israel will become suppressed & terminated in the Lo-Ammi experience. As of old in the beginning of the creation of their national identity, so now in the dissolution of that union in its final stage, having begun some 300 years in King Jeroboam I, and fixed 100 years later in King Jehu who destroyed the House of Ahab & Jezebel, during the prophetic ministry of Elijah & Elishah. The revivals & reformations from King Hezekiah to King Josiah not availing a true full national repentance to avert the predicted doom. So the Lord’s Gentile Servant of wrath, His Rod of judgment, will close the Jewish dispensation of God’s attempt to witness to the world of His Person & Nature to an apostate world by means of Israel. Though Lo-Ammi, nationally, yet He obligates Himself by His repeated oaths, to protect & preserve those Jews as individuals as a remnant, till Messiah comes in a new dispensation with a new covenant with better things than Moses or David.

                We find the Jewish remnant in Daniel & his 3 companions, all young men, youths  just reaching maturity, selected by the Chaldeans for the King of Babylon; to be nationalized as perfect Gentiles in Captivity & Exile. This will test the quality of the judgmental or judicial probation to see if faithfulness to God is preserved. Civilization was such that in the neo-Babylonians or Chaldeans humanity had become distinctly advanced in urban dwelling. From the days of Abraham & Hammurabi, to Moses & the Pharaohs, to David & Solomon & the Assyrian kingdoms, some 1500 years of mankind migrating from Mesopotamia Valley to the Mediterranean Sea, trading & interacting in every way. Kingdoms would rise to conquer kingdoms & peoples, and kingship or sovereignty of the Monarch increased in power & influence. The adopted titles & names to declare their status to their subjects & to the world. Divine rights were assumed as ancient hereditary grants by Divine Permission, not be challenged or rejected. In Genesis we studied all these things as they developed from a germinal seed to growth & meaning. Human aggression of one nation upon another nation also increased proportionately to man’s need & desires. The Imperial Powers at play in Israel’s history were Mesopotamian (Chaldean, Babylonian, Assyrian, Syrian, Aramaean, etc.), Canaan & Philistines (Israel or Hebrews & Palestine), & Egyptian; later the western lands & peoples of the Great Sea would dominate.

                The Babylonian & Chaldeans were influenced by all that preceded them, and in turn molded the following generations in their own civilization distinction. Polytheism continued to spread throughout the world in all the earth. Each City had its own chosen God, Gods, Goddess & Goddesses; the Deities & Divinities becoming thousands. Moses called & used by Jehovah, the God of creation & man, & of all things known or unknown, to declare to mankind that He alone was the only, true & living God, never to be idolized into creature forms or likenesses. This absolute dogmatic doctrine would always be resisted by other nations, would be opposed, & even persecuted as a form of atheism or disrespect to other deities or idols. So here the 4 Hebrew youths were chosen among all the captives of the Royal Families, as the best of the best in body & mind. Daniel proved to be the very best with many good qualities that appealed to the Babylonian King & his Chaldean Court. Knowledge of secrets, mysteries, science, philosophy of stars & times, were to cultivated & improved by whatever other nations or peoples had also attained. The Laws of God in Moses Books would prove to be matchless when practiced by the Hebrew youths as to food & drink, But it was not in this ceremonial purity that would advance Daniel & his companions in the King’s Court: ” Now as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” (We are informed that Daniel lived thru the entire 70 yr. Captivity, –which has great dispensational significance in God’s  order in the ages, and to the prophecies relating to King Cyrus.)

                In the 2nd year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s rule, (& we might assume towards the end of that year) that he dreamed of such that his spirit was troubled & his soul sleepless. He had forgotten the details of the dream, but its terror or impact was felt. He demanded of the various experts  & scholars of the various Chaldean classes to relate his forgotten dream & give its interpretation. His demand was unreasonable, indicative of insanity already at work.  But God was at work to reveal His larger purposes to come with the Gentiles. Daniel with his companions sought from the Lord the Dream & its Interpretation, believing the Scriptures that revealed of God: “He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings, and sets up kings; He giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding; He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.” The Chaldean superstition of magic, enchantment, spiritism, & such like, was easily exposed by the King’s demand. But the God of Heaven would answer the prayer of these Hebrew youths to the wonder of the Gentiles. Daniel tells the King : “there is a God (Elah) in heaven That reveals secrets, He has revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will occur in the latter days (end times, future times).”

                King Nebuchadnezzar Divine Dream & Vision as reveled to Daniel was a Divine Mystery in the Great Image of a Colossal Composite Metallic Man. We must set forth in tabular form the features:

Daniel 2:31-45. King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream & Prophet Daniel’s Interpretation.

I.

2:31: Great Image: Mighty, & Excellent Brightness & Stood Terrible.

2:32: Image: Head of Fine Gold.  Breast & Arms of Silver. Belly & Thighs of Brass.

2:33: Legs of Iron; Feet of Iron & Clay Mixed.

2:34: Stone: Cut-Out Without Hands; Smote Image’s Feet (Iron & Clay Mixed);  Brake in Pieces.

2:35: Iron, Clay, Brass, Silver, & Gold: Broken in Pieces together: (Chaff of Summer Threshing-floors; & Wind Blown Away). Stone (Image Demolisher): Great Mountain (Filled Earth).

II.

2:36-38: 1st: (King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream & Prophet Daniel’s Interpretation.) (King Nebuchadnezzar: King of Kings; God of Heaven gave Kingdom, Power, Strength, & Glory; Ruler Over All): Golden Head.

2:39: 2nd: Inferior (Silver) Kingdom. 3rd: Brass Kingdom of brass  (Ruling Earth)

2:40-43: 4th:  Strong Iron Kingdom (Iron Smashes & Subdues All; Smashing & Crushing These.)

Feet & Toes of Potters’ Clay & Iron Mixed: Divided Kingdom: (Iron Strength & Iron-Miry Clay Mixed. Toes of Feet: also have iron-clay mixture. Mixed: Kingdom: Partly Strong & Partly Broken. Iron-Miry-Clay Mixed: Mingled Seed of Men: Not United: Iron & Clay Mingle Not.)

2:44-45: 5th: Days of Those Kings: God of Heaven set up Kingdom: Indestructible & Perpetual Sovereignty Over His People: Demolishing & Consuming All These Kingdoms: Eternal Standing.

2:45: Stone Cut Out of Mountain Without Hands & Braking in Pieces Iron, Brass, Clay, Silver, & Gold: God Almighty Revealed Future to King: Dream Certain & Interpretation Sure.) 

                The Vision-Dream is that of a universal image of the Imperial Kingdoms of western human civilization from King Nebuchadnezzar to Messiah. These 4 Imperial Gentile Kingdoms were to rule over & influence Israel till Messiah’s advent.  The Gentile dispensation of kingship or sovereignty over God’s people would develope for some 500 years in 5 political dispensations, administration, government, empires, economy, & stewardship. The Imperial Kingdoms were to be compared to 4 Metals & one Stone Kingdom. Gold, silver, brass, & iron, which would also have iron-clay mixture. The Neo-Babylonia Chaldean Kingdom had overtaken the Assyrian Empire, which was the Kingdom Isaiah prophesied about & against in relations to nation of Israel of both divided Kingdoms; & the Gentile power that conquered, captured, & exiled or dispersed the 10 Tribes.

                16 Assyrian Kings: 800s B.C. to 600s B.C.:

800s: Ashurnasirpal II.  Shalmaneser.  Shamshiadad V.

700s: Adadnirari III. Shalmaneser IV. Ashurdan III. Ashurnirari V. Tiglath-pileser III. Shalmaneser V.  Sargon II.

600s:   Sennacherib.  Esarhaddon.  Ashurbanipal.  Ashuretililani.  Sinshariskun.  Ashur-uballit II.   

                Assyrian Kings in the days of Isaiah:  Tiglath-pileser III. Shalmaneser V. Sargon II. Sennacherib. Esarhaddon.    Assyrian Kings of Jeremiah’s days:  Ashurbanipal.   Ashuretililani.

Sinshariskun. Ashur-uballit II.     

                Daniel sees only the world Empires after the Fall of Assyria, which we must learn from as to the prophetic chronology of the future times or end times. The Divine judgment on the 10 tribes of Israel is not to be confused with the dispensational punishment on Judah. The Davidic House & Kingdom was always in Judah & Jerusalem, and the divided Kingdom allowed for discipline was never intended to last beyond Rehoboam or Jeroboam I. We studied all this in Isaiah & the historical Books of the Kings. In Ezekiel we learnt the Divine judgment of both Houses were like Two Sisters married to One Man, One Husband, but equally were unfaithful & treacherous. Now in Daniel the prophetic eye sees future things, no longer occupied with the past failure of the Mosaic Covenant, which now, in Daniel’s Captivity, is dissolved by Gentile power. The prophetic spirit was looking for the Life & Times of the Messiah. The Messianic Kingdom will crush & destroy the Imperial Power at work in human civilization, and mankind’s subjugation to representative government of the monarchy or kingship, then constitutional government of varied sorts, will come to an end, including the ever threat of anarchy. Gold has a high value is a most precious metal, and a Kingdom represented as a Gold Kingdom is memorial. A Silver Kingdom is inferior to Gold, though also of high value. Brass, an alloy of two inferior metals, of golden reflection but not as honorable or valued as silver & gold. Iron the most common, is the strongest of the metals, reflecting silver, especially as steel, but is of no precious worth, yet more useful in war or peace. But when mixed with clay as a non-metal it becomes useless for anything. This 4th Kingdom is more curious that the former 3, taking on a unique form, and of the greatest length of duration & expansion, being the result of the inevitable end of all human progress of human government on earth. The 5th Kingdom is of Messiah, and brings God’s Kingdom on earth, by demolishing all human institutions, constitutions, & unions. The fuller interpretation is to be found in later chapters of the Book of Daniel, and remainder of the Old Testament & the New Testament to this present hour.

                The Babylonia Empire succeeded the Assyrian Empire; in turn the Babylon was followed by Medo-Persian; that followed by the Greek, and finally, followed by the Romans. The vision before us is not history as seen in historical details, but a prophetic picture of human development as seen from God’s eyes & heart. It is not the life & times of Nebuchadnezzar, or of Darius & Cyrus, or of the Great Alexander , or the Caesars. Nor is it a prediction of Divine Acts to prewrite history, or to make history according to prophecy. It is this assumption, if not presumption, to impose on prophecy this notion of a form of prophetic predestination or predetermined destiny that has created so many weird ridiculous interpretations, and seeing in history all kinds of fulfillment of prophetic predictions. Had we paid more careful attention to our reading & study of the 3 Major  Prophets, then when we came to Daniel we would not come up with such wild desperate theories. But we will see more of this in the following chapters of Daniel. The Dream & Interpretation astonished the King & Daniel & his companions were rewarded power in the Kingdom of their captivity. Before we move on to the next chapter of the King’s Acts, we do well to remember the words concerning the 5th Messianic Kingdom: “And in the days of those Kings shall the God (Ellah) of heaven set up a (5th) Kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty  be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces &  consume all these Kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. As thou saw a Stone was cut out of the Mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the Iron, Brass, Clay, Silver, & the Gold; the Great God (Elah Rab) has revealed to the King what shall be hereafter: the Dream is certain, & its Interpretation sure.'”

                King Nebuchadnezzar’s Image  (tzelem, statue, likeness, monument, pillar) of 60 by 6 cubits (90 x 9 in feet), if made in a natural human form, say to be an image of the King himself, the ration in height to width at the shoulders is quite disproportionate. The average man at 5′ 10″ is less than 20″ wide at the shoulders, an average of 3.5 ratio.  In this argument the ratio of the Image at 3.5 x 6 cbts = 21 cbts or in feet about 32 ft. (9′ x3.5 = 31.5 ft). If we insist on the King’s Image in appearance then we would need some 50 to 60 feet of platform on which the Image stands (which is also attested in Warriors on a Tower Post in defense of the city or fortress). If we conceive the Image as a Pillar then the ratio  is common to what archaeology have found common to the ancient world as monuments. This Golden Image of the King of Babylon as the Head of Gold is elevated to an Idol to be worshipped. This is characteristic of Monarchs who inflate their status to that of Gods & Goddesses. Their honored titles were: King of Kings, Great King, Master of the World,  Lord of Kingdoms, etc. It rose to insanity by the time we reach the 32 year Alexander of Macedon the Conqueror: “Great Alexander: Basileus of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Shahanshah of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt, Lord of Asia. Chosen by Ra, Beloved by Amun. Nomen: Alexandros, Alexander. Horus name: Mekemet: Protector of Egypt. Second Horus name: Brave Ruler, Attacker of Foreign Lands. Third Horus name: Ruler of Rulers of Entire Land (World). Fourth Horus name: Sturdy-Armed One.  Nebty name: Great Mighty Lion, Conqueror of Mountains, Lands, & Deserts. Golden Horus: (Strong) Bull, Protector Egypt, Ruler of Sea & of what the Sun Encircles (i.e. of All Under the Sun, the World or Globe.)” This deification of the Monarch by his Icon or Image became the Idol & thus a God. This idolatry of the King of Babylon after what was revealed to him in the dream-vision revealed & interpreted by Daniel shows further deterioration into insanity, like so many great men & women; their absolute power absolutely corrupting. We saw the same development or deterioration in King Saul, Israel’s 1st Monarch. This is always to God’s saints a trial of fire of faith. Whether God delivers or not, as the Hebrew young men said: “We will not serve thy ‘gods’, nor worship the Golden Image which thou hast set up”.

                We are prone to be skeptics of miracles, and of the God signs & wonders.  It is impossible for super-hot furnace fire to not fry the Hebrew youths, clothes & all. Nothing is impossible with God Who made all things; how He makes it that the Angel, like as the Son of the Gods (Son of God), attended to these 3 in their ordeal, is to us inscrutable 7 naturally incredible. But if we falsify Daniel for this miracle, and the others in the Book, we must also , piece by piece, reject the entire Old Testament, then discredit the entire New Testament. God’s involvement with His chosen people was such that miracle were a necessity to preserve them throughout history. The Gentile King is forced to concede the truth & power of the true & living God.

                ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to all the peoples, nations, & languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you. It seemed good to me to show the signs & wonders that the Most High God hath wrought toward me. How great are His signs! and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation’. This knowledge of the King of Babylon, the Gentile Monarch, did not long sustain him, and his ways continued to be both unreasonable, insane, & often wicked. He continued in idolatry. God would now show the Monarch is sovereignty over all human government & authority, of which distributes dispensationally at will. King Nebuchadnezzar was a Giant Fruit Tree that God has determined to cut down to a stump for 7 times. The Times may be days, weeks, months, seasons, or years; God knows. His pride & insanity & idolatry in the Image, in his accomplishment, & his importance all led to the Divine judgment. But the judgment was temporary, afterwards: “I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes to heaven, mine understanding returned to me, I blessed the Most High,  I praised & honored Him That liveth for ever; for His Dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His Kingdom from generation to generation; the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the Army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time mine understanding returned to me; the glory of my kingdom, my majesty & brightness returned to me; my counsellors & my lords sought to me; I was re-established in my Kingdom, and excellent greatness was added to me. I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, extol, & honor the King of heaven; for all His works are truth, and His ways justice; and those that walk in pride He is able to abase’.”

                The Book moves on to the next generation, Nebuchadnezzar’s son (grandson, etc.), King Belshazzar. All that God manifested in word & wonders was forgotten & discarded, even while Daniel lived. Here historians tell us some chronology of the times of Daniel. Wikipedia: (Nabopolassar, proclaimed as Babylon’s King in 600s B.C., successfully drove out Assyrians from southern Mesopotamia & united & consolidated all of Babylonia under his rule by c.620 B.C.; founding Neo-Babylonian Empire. Neo-Babylonian (or Chaldean) Dynasty was Babylonia’s last dynasty of native Mesopotamian monarchs & fall of their empire in 539 B.C. marked end of Babylonia as independent kingdom.)    (1st. Nabopolassar  600s B.C.  (Babylonian (Chaldean) rebel; successfully drove out Assyrians & re-established Babylonia as independent kingdom.)   2nd. Nebuchadnezzar II (Nabopolassar’s son ) 500s B.C..     3rd. Amel-Marduk  (Nebuchadnezzar’s II son )  500s B.C..    4th. Neriglissar   (in-law of Amel-Marduk; usurped throne.) 500s B.C..    5th. Labashi-Marduk  (Neriglissar’s son) c.556 B.C..     Nabonidus (usurped throne from Labashi-Marduk) 500s B.C..)   

                (c.539, Great King Cyrus of Persian Achaemenid Empire conquered Babylon, which would never again successfully regain independence. Babylonians had resented their last native king, Nabonidus, over his religious practices & some of his political choices & Cyrus could thus claim to be legitimate successor of ancient Babylonian kings & avenger of Babylon’s national deity, Marduk. Early Achaemenid rulers had great respect for Babylonia, regarding region as separate entity or kingdom united with their own kingdom in something akin to personal union. Despite this, native Babylonians grew to resent their foreign rulers, as they had with Assyrians earlier, & rebelled several times. Achaemenid kings continued to use title “King of Babylon” alongside their other royal titles until reign of King Xerxes I, who dropped the title in c.481 B.C., divided previously large Babylonian satrapy & desecrated Babylon after having had to put down Babylonian revolt.)

                The above history & chronology does not explain the person or reign of King Belshazzar, nor the proper relations to King Nebuchadnezzar (son or grandson, or adopted son, all these relations would be said as ‘son’). The Queen Mother is not identified as King Belshazzar’s mother nor King Nebuchadnezzar’s wife; these are uncertain or unknown things., after he elevated by proclamation Daniel as 3rd Ruler of the Kingdom. But we see clearly the turbulent period toward the end of the Dynasty by the hands of the Persians. According to the Book of Daniel, King Belshazzar, the Chaldean, was slain the night of the interpretation of the Handwriting on the Wall. King Darius, the Mede, took the Kingdom at 62 years of age (& Daniel about 85 yrs old), which implies other co-rulers, regents, or such within his regency as he himself would properly be the Regnant, Cyrus a co-regent. Nebuchadnezzar died about 560 B.C. Belshazzar is assumed to begin his reign with his father Nabonidus about 555 B.C.. Wikipedia: Most important sources for time of Belshazzar are Nabonidus Chronicle, Cyrus Cylinder, &  Verse Account of Nabonidus —which, despite its name, was commissioned by Persian conqueror Great Cyrus.

                ((* Belshazzar, Nabonidus’ son, last king of Neo-Babylonian Empire. Nabonidus Chronicle describes him as Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, but his father was not of Royal line. He played pivotal role in the coup d’etat that overthrew King Labashi-Marduk & brought Nabonidus to power c.555 B.C.E., although unlike his co-conspirators he was not member of the old Babylonian aristocracy. Nabonidus spent the years c.555–545 B.C.E. at Oasis of Teima in northern areas of Arabian Peninsula, leaving Belshazzar to govern Babylon. During his father’s prolonged absence Belshazzar ruled as regent or co-regent, but was never called King & never took part in Babylonian New Year Festival, at which King’s presence was essential. His duties as Crown Prince (title that appears in documents) included overseeing temple estates and leasing out temple land, &he worked at restoring Babylonian God Marduk, demoted by Nabonidus in favor of the Moon God Sin.     Nabonidus returned to Babylon c.545 B.C.E.. King’s return may have been connected with increasing threat posed by Persian conqueror Cyrus the Great, who ruled a huge empire to the north and east of Babylon. Open hostilities commenced in c.540 B.C.E., 12th October “Ugbaru, governor of district of Gutium, & army of Cyrus entered Babylon without a battle” (Babylonian Chronicle) —perhaps same Gobryas, a Babylonian provincial governor who switched to Persian side, mentioned by Greek historian Xenophon. Nabonidus was captured & his life apparently spared, but Belshazzar’s is unknown.   Nabonidus Chronicle is ancient Babylonian text, part of larger series of Babylonian Chronicles inscribed in cuneiform script on clay tablets. It deals primarily with reign of Nabonidus, last king of Neo-Babylonian Empire, covers conquest of Babylon by Persian Great King Cyrus, ends with start of reign of Cyrus’s son Cambyses, spanning a period from c.555 B.C. to some time after c.540 B.C.. It provides rare contemporary account of Cyrus’s rise to power & is main source of information on this period; Amélie Kuhrt describes it as “the most reliable and sober [ancient] account of the fall of Babylon.”    Cyrus Cylinder or Cyrus Charter is ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several pieces, on which is written declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in name of Persia’s Achaemenid Great King Cyrus. It dates from c.6th century B.C. & was discovered in ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia in 1879. It is currently in possession of British Museum, which sponsored expedition that discovered  cylinder. It was created & used as foundation deposit following Persian conquest of Babylon c.540 B.C., when Neo-Babylonian Empire was invaded by Cyrus & incorporated into his Persian Empire.     Cylinders of Nabonidus refers to cuneiform inscriptions of King Nabonidus of Babylonia. These inscriptions were made on clay cylinders. They include Nabonidus Cylinder from Sippar, & Nabonidus Cylinders from Ur, four in number.    Nabonidus Cylinder from Sippar is a long text in which Nabonidus describes how he repaired three temples: Sanctuary of Moon god Sin in Harran, Sanctuary of Warrior Goddess Anunitu in Sippar, & Temple of Shamash in Sippar.     Nabonidus Cylinders from Ur contain foundation text of  Ziggurat called E-lugal-galga-sisa, which belonged to Temple of Sin in Ur. Nabonidus describes how he repaired structure. It is probably King’s last building inscription & may be dated to c.540 B.C.. Text is interesting because it offers a full syncretism of Sin, Marduk, and Nabu.     Nabonidus cylinders from Ur are also noteworthy because they mention a son named Belshazzar, who is mentioned in Book of Daniel. Cylinders state:    “As for me, Nabonidus, King of Babylon, save me from sinning against your great Godhead and grant me as a present a lifelong of days, and as for Belshazzar, the eldest son -my offspring- instill reverence for your great Godhead in his heart and may he not commit any cultic mistake, may he be sated with a life of plenitude.” *))

                So much for the history for now. We must focus on prophecy.

                But first Daniel & the Lions trial.  The enmity that exists in man against his fellow goes back the Garden of Eden in the Serpent’s enmity against God. The judgment & curse would be perpetual enmity between the woman’s seed & the serpent’s seed; it is the way of good versus evil; the way of the Devil or of God; the path of darkness against the light. God gave honor to Daniel & his companions, it was conceded by the Kings of Babylon, despite their idolatry; but evil seeks ways to persecute the godly, who they will not tolerate in the hardness of their heart & malicious hate. The rulers & governors of the realm, opposed Daniel & his status; they conceived a sure plot to ensnare Daniel, to force the King to condemn him to the Lion’s Den. The Law of the God of the Jews & Daniel would prove Daniel’s fate, his worship & prayers to God his crime in the Gentile Empire. The law of the Medes & Persians being unalterable was arbitrary & contrary to sanity & equity. Such are laws among man. The King bound by his own law must surrender Daniel to his enemies, even against the King’s strongest desire to rescue him from the sentence of death. The hungry lions did not touch Daniel, the Angel of God protecting him. The King glad of such miracle & mercy, with retribution threw the men & their families into their snare; and the lions ate well. The King Darius wrote: “Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, that in all the Dominion of my Kingdom men tremble & fear before the God (Elah) of Daniel; for He is the living  God (Elah), and stedfast forever, His Kingdom shall not be destroyed; His Dominion shall be even unto the end; He delivers & rescues, He works signs & wonders in heaven & in earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the  power of the lions.”  Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

                The 2nd half of the Book of Daniel, chapters 7-12, is all prophetic in a special way. The historical dream-vision of the Great Gentile Image must now be expanded & enlarged. Though the Dream-Visions of Daniel came earlier in time, it is reserved till now to introduce this prophetic section. From here to the end, let him reads & hears, take heed of these things. The divine prophetic preview & revelation of Gentile imperial or global expansion as it pertains to the Jews become Daniel’ focus. Daniel relates his Vision & its Interpretation:

                ((“‘I saw in my Vision by night, the ‘4 Winds’ of heaven brake forth on the ‘Great Sea (Mediterranean Sea)’. ‘4 Great Beasts’ came up from the ‘Sea’, diverse one from another. The ‘1st Beast’ was like a ‘Lion’, with ‘Eagle’s Wings’: I beheld till its ‘Wings’ were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon ‘2 Feet’ as a ‘Man’; a ‘Man’s Heart’  was given to it.  Look, a ‘2nd Beast’, like to a ‘Bear‘, it was raised up on ‘1 Side (Foot)‘, ‘3 Ribs‘ were in its ‘Mouth‘ between its ‘Teeth‘: they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much flesh’. I beheld, ‘3rd One‘, like a ‘Leopard‘, which had on its ‘Back, 4 Bird Wings‘; the ‘Beast‘ had ‘4 Heads‘; and Dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the Night-Visions, a ‘4th Beast‘, terrible & powerful, & strong exceedingly; and it had ‘Great Iron Teeth‘; it devoured & brake in pieces, & stamped the residue (people, kingdoms, etc) with its ‘Feet‘: it was diverse from all the ‘Beasts‘ that were before it; it had ‘10 Horns‘. I considered the ‘Horns‘, there came up among them another ‘Horn‘, a ‘Little One‘ (Little Horn), before which ‘3 of the 1st Horns‘ (3 Earlier Horns) were plucked up by the ‘Roots‘: in this ‘Horn‘ were ‘Eyes‘ like the ‘Eyes of a Man‘, a ‘Mouth‘ ‘speaking great things‘. I beheld till ‘Thrones‘ were placed, ‘One That was Ancient of Days‘ did sit: His ‘Raiment‘ was ‘White‘ as ‘Snow‘, the ‘Hair‘ of His ‘Head‘ like ‘Pure Wool‘; His ‘Throne‘ was ‘Fiery Flames‘, the its ‘Wheels Burning Fire‘. A ‘Fiery Stream‘ issued & came forth from before Him: 1,000s of 1,000s ministered to Him, 10,000 times 10,000 stood before Him: the Judgment was set, and the ‘Books‘ were opened. I beheld at that time because of the ‘Voice‘ of the ‘Great Words‘ which the ‘Horn‘ spoke; I beheld even till the ‘Beast‘ was slain, and its ‘Body‘  destroyed, and it was given to be burned with fire. The other ‘Beasts‘, their Dominion was taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time [the exact time & season is not disclosed]. I saw in the Night-Visions, there came with the clouds of heaven ‘One‘ like a ‘Son of Man (Bar Enosh)‘, and He came even to the ‘Ancient of Days‘, and they brought Him near before Him. There was given Him Dominion, & Glory, & a Kingdom, that all the Peoples, Nations, & Languages should serve Him: His dominion is an Everlasting Dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 

                As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the midst of my body, and the Visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things:’

                These ‘4 Great Beasts‘, are ‘4 Kings‘, that shall arise out of the earth. The Saints of the Most High shall receive the Kingdom, and possess the Kingdom forever, even for ever & ever’. I desired to know the truth concerning the ‘4th Beast‘, and concerning the ‘10 Horns‘ that were on its ‘Head‘, and the ‘Other One‘ which came up, and before him 3 fell, that ‘Other Horn‘ that had ‘Eyes‘, & a ‘Mouth‘ that ‘spoke great things‘, whose look was more stout than its fellows. I beheld, the ‘Same Horn‘ ‘made war with the Saints, &  prevailed against them‘; till the ‘Ancient of Days‘ came, and Judgment was given to the Saints of the Most-High (Elyon), and the time came that the Saints possessed the Kingdom. The ‘10 Horns‘: out of this Kingdom shall ‘10 Kings‘ arise: and ‘Another‘ shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the ‘Former‘, and he shall put down ‘3 Kings‘. ‘He shall speak words against the Most-High (Elyon), and shall wear out the saints of the Most-High (Elyon); and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a Time & Times & Half Time‘ [unknown dates or time]. ‘The Judgment shall be set, they shall take away his Dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end. The Kingdom & the Dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the People of the Saints of the Most-High (Elyon): His Kingdom is an Everlasting Kingdom, and all Dominions shall serve and obey Him‘.

                 ‘Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my countenance was changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart’.”))

                Our analysis of the details of this Prophetic Dream-Vision & its Interpretation is this:        

There are 4 Winds, 4 Great Beasts, & the Ancient of Days. The 4 Winds as a Storm on the Great Mediterranean Sea generate 4 Great Beasts, each different or unique.   The 4 Beasts were like: Eagle Winged Lion; One-Footed Bear with3 Ribs in its Mouth’s Teeth; Leopard with its Back with 4 Bird Wings, it had 4 Heads; 4th Greatest Unique Beast with Great Iron Teeth, with Feet, with 10 Horns.     The 1st Lion-like Beast had its Wings plucked, made to stand upright on its 2 Feet as a Man does, it was given a Man’s Heart.  The 2nd Bear-like Beast raised on One Side or Leg, was commanded to devour much flesh. The 3rd Leopard-like  Beast was given Dominion or Empire. The 4th most unusual Greatest Beast devoured & crushed with its Feet everything; it was not like the former 3; its 10 Horns: One Little Horn emerged to uprooted 3 of the 10 Horns, leaving 7 Horns, it being the 8th Horn, the Little Horn: with Eyes of Man & a Great Speaking Mouth.   Thrones were set up, seated was the One of Ancient Days (the Eternal One: Attiq Yomin), His snow-white Clothes, pure woolen Head of Hair, on His Blazing Throne on Wheels of Flames: a fiery stream issued from His Throne, His Court was Ministers of 1,000s & His Cases 10,000s to before the Judgment of the Open Books. The Time of the great words of the voice of the Horn (the 8th Horn, the Little Horn), the Beast was slain, its Body destroyed & torched. The rest of the Beast (the 7 Horns) were deprived of Dominion but allowed to continue for a season & time of undisclosed duration.

                Daniel then saw in his Night-Visions: from the Clouds of Heaven came One like the Son of Man (Bar Enosh, in contrast to Ben Adam), that is, the Messiah, came to & brought to the Ancient of Days  (the Ancient One: Attiq Yomin); He was given Dominion, Glory, & Kingdom, that is, Universal Glorious Rulership & Sovereignty & Everlasting Eternal Dominion over all the Earth of Peoples, Nations, & Languages.  These Visions disturbed & puzzled Daniel, so he approached one of the Heavenly Court & asked concerning the truth & meaning of these Visions. He was given this Interpretation:

                “The 4 Great Beasts that emerged from the Sea are 4 Kings to arise out of the Earth. The Saints of God will receive & possess the Kingdom forever.  As for them unusual 4th Beast. & the 10 Horns on its Head, & the other unique Little Horn with Eyes & boastful blasphemous  Mouth: he will war against the Saints & prevail till the Ancient of Days come with judgment for God’s Saints & their possession of the Kingdom to come. Furthermore: from the Kingdom of the 4th Beast, shall emerge 10 Horns as 10 Kings, then afterwards the 11th Horn will emerge, the Little Horn, & displaces 3 of the 10 Horns, himself becoming the 8th Horn. He will oppose God, the Most High, & God’s Saints, wearing them out, changing times & law, & prevailing against the Saints for a Time & Times & Half Time (3 1/2 of Times) of undisclosed duration. Then the Advent, judgment  & court set, the 8th Horn’s dominion confiscated to consume & destroy it to the end.” The Kingdom & the Dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the People of the Saints of the Most-High (Elyon): His Kingdom is an Everlasting Kingdom, and all Dominions shall serve and obey Him‘.” This is all, very troublesome Vision.

                In our Reflections what more can we say to further interpret it to satisfy Daniel’s meditations. It is clear that the Gentile Image of King Nebuchadnezzar is here further developed, the Kingdom of Babylon as the a quo, the starting place of the Gentile Beast, and the ad quem destination is the Messianic Kingdom. Babylon was mankind’s 1st Kingdom, even before Egypt & elsewhere, originating with mankind’s primal home according to Genesis chapters 1-11.  In Mesopotamia, both North & South, in the Biblical Land of Shinar, arose after the Great Flood of Noah,  over several generations & centuries, among an ancient people completely lost to historians for 2,000 years: namely the Sumerians & the Akkadians. The Southern Kingdom of Shinar was eventually repelled by the Northern Kingdom. The Sumer in the South down to Ur. Akkad with up to Nineveh. In time these 2 Kingdoms developed into Chaldeans & Syrians or Aramaeans; then after hundreds (100s) of years both arose anew, the Neo-Assyrian & the Neo-Babylonian Empires, which brings us to the Book of Daniel. As in Genesis 10 in the Table of the Gentiles, the Nations descended from Noah & his sons, the a quo origin of human civilization began in the Bible with Nimrod the 1st Great Mighty Hunter before the Lord. This civilization emerged from the Noahic Covenant & Gentile Dispensation, the Covenant as to Human Government, & the Dispensation as to the Gentile Nations. So here in Daniel we have reached a dispensational change in Gentile history from very ancient human evolution to ancient civilizations as Imperial Kingdoms or Global Dominance, which in turn continues to the present modern times.  Therefore from the prophetic Divine Intuition & Inclination we are allowed into the future things of Daniel’s day. It is said that History begins at Sumer, so we may say Empires began at Babylon.

                Some are determined to figure out the certainty of the historical application & analogy to the 4 Beasts which are the $ Metals & Members of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream-Vision. But I refrain to go too far, and advise to spare yourself needless labor, trouble, & error. The 4 Metals of the Golden Silver Brass Metallic Iron Man Image destroyed by the Stone is not ancient history substance or details. The thousands of facts, details, & stats are never considered by prophetic inspiration here & hereafter.

                Daniel takes us from King Belshazzar’s 1st year to his 3rd year, which we are not able to exactly harmonize with the exact years of Daniel’s Captivity & of the Years of the Chaldean Babylonian Kings after the death of King Nebuchadnezzar. From King Nebuchadnezzar accession to the Throne in Babylon to King Belshazzar’s death & King Darius & King Cyrus accession to the Throne in Babylon is some 70 years, Daniel in his mid-80s. It is apparent that these Visions of Daniel of Kings Belshazzar, Darius, & Cyrus, indicates that the Book of Daniel, like so much of Scripture was penned by the help of others beside the author. Due to the length of Daniel’s life, history of his times unfolded in ways that the prophetic spirit had a vessel ready to hand to communicate divine things. The reader must judge in himself the veracity of these visions, events, & records.

                Daniel’ Vision near the River Ulai in Elam: a Long-Horned Ram, with 2 Horns., one grew  longer than the other; the Ram pushed Westward, Northward, & Southward; no Beasts could resist & oppose or escape his Hand (Power); but he did according to his will, and magnified himself. Next, a  He or Male Goat (Short-Horned Billy Goat or He-Goat), with a Great Horn between his Eyes, rushing towards the Ram in fury of power. The He-Goat struck the Ram & broke the 2 Ram Horns, leaving without power to resist or oppose. The He-Goat continued to batter the Ram to the ground, & trampled him; none could rescue the Ram from the He-Goat; which magnified himself exceedingly. But when the He-Goat became strong, his Great Horn was broken; in its place emerged 4 Notable Ones (Horns) pointing towards the 4 Winds (West, North, South, & East) of heaven. Out of One of the 4 Horns, emerged a Little Horn, which became great, he was pushing Southward & Eastward & toward the Glorious-land (Land of Israel, between Egypt & Syria). He grew great, towards the Host of Heaven, & battered & trampled down some of the Hosts & Stars. He magnified himself towards the Prince of the Host, taking away (eradicate, discontinue, terminate), from the Prince the ‘Continual (Offering, Sacrifice’), and the ‘Place of  his Sanctuary‘ was cast down. The ‘Host‘ was given over together with (treated like) the ‘Continual (Offering, Sacrifice)‘ through transgression; and it cast down truth to  the ground, and it continued & prospered. I heard a ‘Holy One‘ (Angel or Elder) speaking; and another ‘Holy One‘ said to the ‘One‘ who spake, ‘How long shall be the Vision of the Continual (Offering, Sacrifice), and the transgression that makes desolate, to give both the Sanctuary & the Host to be  trodden under foot‘? He said unto me, ‘Unto 2,300 Evenings-Mornings [that is, ‘days’, consisting of nights & days]; then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed‘. When I, Daniel, had seen the ‘Vision‘, I sought to understand it; there stood before  me as the appearance of a ‘Man‘.  I heard a ‘Man’s Voice‘ between the Ulai, which called out, ‘Gabriel, make this man to understand the  Vision‘. He came near where I stood; and when he came, I was affrighted, and fell on my face: but he said unto me, ‘Understand, Son of man (like in Ezekiel); for the Vision belongs to the End Time‘. As he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me  upright. He said, ‘I will reveal & make yu know what shall be in the Latter Time (End Time) of the indignation; for it belongs to the appointed  Time of the End (End Time). The ‘Ram‘ which thou saw, with ‘2 Horns‘, they are the ‘Kings of Media & Persia‘. The rough (aggressive) ‘He-Goat is the King of Greece: the Great Horn between his eyes is the 1st  King’ (Great Alexander). What was broken, in its place ‘4 Ones‘ stood up, ‘4 Kingdoms‘ shall stand up out of the Nation (Greek Empire), but not  with his power.  ‘In the Latter Time (End Time) of their Kingdom‘, when the transgressors are come to the full, a ‘King‘ of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and continue; and he shall destroy ‘the Mighty Ones & the Holy People‘. Through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in security (unchallenged) shall he destroy many: he shall also stand up against the ‘Prince of Princes‘; but he shall be broken without hand. ‘The Vision of the Evenings &  Mornings which was told is true: but shut thou up the Vision; for it belongs to Many  Days (End Times)’ . I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the King’s business: and I wondered at the ‘Vision‘, but  none understood it.

                It is clear to us that the Medo-Persian Empire will be conquered by the Grecian Great Horn of the Greek Goat, the Great King & Conqueror Alexander. That the 4 Notables were his 4 Generals, from which out of one of them emerged the Little Horn which in many respects is seen in the Greek Seleucid North-Eastern Kingdom & Power of King Antiochus Epiphanes or rather Epimanes in his struggle against the Ptolemies of Egypt, with its famous City of Alexandria of North Egypt. The picture & type seen in him in this Vision is clearly of Antiochus as AntiChrist of the future end times, from Daniel’s time forward. ‘The Vision of the Evenings &  Mornings which was told is true”: which is the priestly ministry of the Mosaic Levitical laws of offering sacrifices twice a day every day. The 2300 days equals some unknown times: if we calculate by math, we get:  (2300 Eves & Morns = 2300 Days ÷ 7 dys = 328.57 wks ÷ 4 wks = 82.14 mnths ÷ 12 mnths = 6.84 yrs ÷ 2 = 3.42 yrs or about 3 1/2 yrs.)   To exhaust the Vision in King Antiochus is to discard & ignore what will continue to develope in the other chapters of Daniel, chapters 9-12. Things are to be compared & understood with the help of the Books of Maccabees & Josephus’ Jewish Wars.. I repeat the warning to Bible students, readers, & scholars, it is erroneous to take these Visions & Prophecies too far in finding the fulfillments both in history & Scriptures.

                We will not repeat the historical chronology problems of these Persian Kings of Babylonia of Chaldeans. Daniel’s reading of the Prophet Jeremiah’s Scrolls, no doubt those re-written after King Jehoiakim burnt the first edition before the Captivity some 70 years earlier when Daniel was still in Judah of the Royal families, & perhaps the Kings Court as a Royal family member. Daniel became concerned as to the end ‘70 years Desolations of Jerusalem‘. His status as a captive of the Gentile Power, of Israel & the Jews Captivity & condition of exile & foreigners or aliens, not to forget Jerusalem, the Temple, the land, now so far away, and the Remnant so few returned to their homeland, so he came himself to prayer & supplications in his remaining years. His prayer reflects so many things related to the Jewish dispensation as it applied to their latter state, that we do well & best just let the prayer speak for itself, paying attention to its details: ‘Lord (Adhonai), the Great and Dreadful God (haEl), Who keeps  covenant and lovingkindness with them that love Him and keep His commandments: we have sinned, have dealt perversely, have done wickedly, have rebelled, even turning aside from Thy precepts & from Thine ordinances; neither have we listened to Thy Servants the Prophets, that spake in Thy Name to our Kings, our princes, and our fathers, to the people of the land. Lord (Adonai), righteousness belongs to Thee, but to us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the  inhabitants of Jerusalem, to all Israel, that are near, & that are far off, through  the countries whither Thou hast driven them,  because of their trespasses against Thee. Lord (Adonai), to us confusion of face, to our Kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against  Thee. To the Lord our God (Adonai Elohenu) belong mercies and forgiveness; for we have rebelled against Him;  neither have we obeyed the Voice of Jehovah our God (YeHoWaH Elohenu), to walk in His Laws, which He set before us by His Servants the  prophets. Israel have transgressed Thy Law, turning aside, that they should not obey Thy Voice:  the curse has been poured out upon us, and the Oath that is written in the Law of Moses the Servant of God (haElohim); for we have sinned against Him. He confirmed His words, which He spoke against us, against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a  great evil; for under the whole heaven has not been done as has been done on Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this evil is come on us: yet have we not entreated the favor of Jehovah our God (YeHoWaH Elohenu), that  we should turn from our iniquities, and have discernment in Thy truth. Jehovah (YeHoWaH) watched over the evil, and brought it on us; for Jehovah, our God (YeHoWaH) is righteous in His Works which  He doeth, and we have not obeyed His Voice. Lord our God (Adonai Elohenu), Who has led Thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a Mighty Hand, and has gotten Thee  renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. Lord (Adonai), according to all Thy Righteousness, let Thine Anger & Thy Wrath, I pray Thee, be turned away from Thy City Jerusalem, Thy Holy Mountain; because for our sins, & for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem & Thy People are become a reproach to all around us. Our God (Elehenu), listen to the prayer of Thy Servant, and to his supplications, and cause Thy face to shine upon  Thy Sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. My God (Elohai), incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine Eyes, behold our desolations, and the City which is called by Thy Name:  for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousness, but for Thy Great Mercies’ Sake. Lord (Adonai), hear; Lord (Adonai), forgive; Lord (Adonai), listen & do; defer not, for Thine Own Sake, my God (Elohai), because Thy City and Thy  People are called by Thy Name.‘

                Before we go on, we consider Daniel’s confession, repentance, humility, & faith. Israel’s sins in disobedience to & violation of the Covenanted Law, the refusal to turn & return at the prophetic word repeatedly given, especially in Jeremiah’s times & ministry. Judah & Israel got the Divine judgment deserved for disobedience & idolatry; yet Daniel still believed in the God of mercy, forgiveness, & redemption. This said we turn to the Angel Gabriel’s Divine answer to Daniel’s prayer & desire. The Angelic revelation concerning the Vision is to give wisdom & understanding to consider the matter (dabar, word), & understand the Vision. Gabriel said: ‘70 Weeks are decreed on thy people and on thy Holy City, to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up Vision & Prophecy, & to anoint the  Most Holy’. ‘Know & discern, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem to the  Anointed One (Messiah), the Prince, shall be 7 weeks, & 62 weeks: it shall be rebuilt, with street & moat (ditches), even in  troublous times. After the 62 weeks shall the Anointed One be cut off, and shall have nothing:  the people of the Coming Prince shall destroy the city & the Sanctuary; the end thereof shall be with a flood, to the end shall be war;  desolations are determined. He shall make a firm Covenant with many for 1 week: and in the midst of the week he (He ?) shall cause the sacrifice & the  oblation to cease; on the Wing of Abominations  Desolating One Rides (Destroyer Comes); to the Full End (End Time), and that  determined, shall  be poured out upon the desolate (desolation, desolator)‘.

We display the prophetic chronology of the 70 Weeks thus:         

          Daniel 9:24-27: Seventy (70, LXX) Weeks.

I. 7 Weeks: (7×7 = 49)

II. 62 Weeks: (62×7 = 434)

III. 1 Week: (7×1 = 7)

IV. 70 Weeks: (7×70 = 490) (Mat. 18:22:  “Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until ‘seven times’; but, Until ‘seventy times seven’ (490).”)  (Decree: Jerusalem’s Restoration & Rebuilding) to (Prince Messiah) (Jerusalem rebuilt: street (inside City) & moat (ditch outside around Wall))

V. 49 Years = 1 Jubilee = 50th Year. 490 ÷ 49 = 10 Jubilee Weeks; 10 Jubilees (10×50) = 500 Years. Chronology: 500 Years; B.C. 460 – 490 = 30 A.D. (Alternative Dates from the Decree to Messiah changes the Actual Dates. Example: B.C. 457 – 490 = 33 A.D. Likewise Jubilee Years alters results: 460 – 500 = 40 A.D. Or, 457 – 500 = 43 A.D. If Exact Date of Decree is Unknown then Messiah’s Exact Date is Unknown.

                In the 70 Years Captivity the Dispensational Judgment on Israel & Judah in the Babylonian Captivity God satisfied His righteous judgment & retribution on His chosen people. But His larger purposes with the Nations had come to maturity in man’s experience of human government from the Flood to Messiah. 500 years still must be completed to bring that Dispensation to a close. Daniel would be used to introduce the preparation of the new Dispensation of the Messiah. This is why the 70 Weeks are here revealed at the close of the 70 Years Captivity. It is a prophetic 70 Weeks of Probation or Preparation of Israel for the Messiah in the Gentile world. 490 Years, the 70 Weeks, were to pass before God’s patience & probation & toleration with the Gentiles must be terminated, to introduce a new & better way to deal with humanity, which belongs to Him, & which He desired so much to save. The Prophetic Period is to consist in 3 parts: 7 Weeks; 62 Weeks; 1 Week, which will be divided into 2 halves. The period in years would be: 49 + 434 + 1, totals 490. The problem of interpretation arises if we overlook that Gentile Dispensation is being dealt with, with God dispensationally interactive with Gentile Kings. It is not enough to liberate the Jews, help them return to Israel & Judah as a Remnant, leaving the vast majority of Jews, Israelites, & Hebrews in Diaspora, dispersed throughout the Gentiles. No longer was the Old Jerusalem of King David House & Throne & Solomon’s Temple, God’s earthly Home, & Kingdom; no, but a New Jerusalem of Messiah, a New Covenant & Dispensation of spiritual things as fulfillment of all things typified, foreshadowed, prophesied, promised, & purposed with God’s creation. God Himself will change Times, Seasons, Calendars, Governments, etc.  Of these more to follow in the last 3 chapters of the Book of Daniel, chapters 10-12.

                Daniel (Belteshazzar) is given another Vision in the 3rd year of King Cyrus the Persian, a Vision of Great Warfare, which was able to understand: he was near the Great Tigris River: ‘I saw a Man clothed in linen, Whose Loins were girded with pure gold of Uphaz: His Body also was like the Beryl, His Face as the Appearance of Lightning, His Eyes as Flaming Torches, His Arms & His Feet like to Burnished Brass, the Voice of His Words like the Sound of a Multitude‘. This Vision of the Man exhausted Daniel, & on hearing His Voice was put in a hypnotic trance face down. A Hand (of Gabriel, but not necessarily of the Man in white linen in the Vision) touched him & told him that he was a greatly beloved man, that he must understand the Angelic words not to be alarmed, & to stand up, for he was sent to him some 3 weeks (21 days) ago, but was resisted or opposed by the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia, but  Prince Michael, one of the Chief Princes, helped me, & remained in with the Kings of Persia.  ‘I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days (End Times); for the vision is yet for [many] days‘: when he had spoken to these words to him, he lowered his face to the ground, & was speechless. ‘One in the likeness of the Sons of Men (i.e. Angel Gabriel, not necessarily of the Man in white linen in the Vision) touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, & said to him  that stood before me, my Lord (Adoni), by reason of the Vision my sorrows are turned on me, & I retain no strength. For how can the servant of  my Lord (Adoni) talk with this my Lord (Adoni)? for as for me, there remained no strength in me, neither was there breath left in me. Then there touched me again One like the appearance of a Man, and he strengthened me. He said, greatly beloved man, fear not: peace be to thee, be strong, yea, be strong. When he spoke to me, I  was strengthened, & said, Let my Lord (Adoni) speak; for thou has strengthened me. Then said he, Know thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the Prince of Persia: when I go forth, the Prince of Greece shall come. But I will tell thee that which is inscribed in the Writing of Truth: and there is none that holds with me against these, but  Michael your Prince (Angelic Prince of Israel & Judah)’. The Angel Gabriel tells Daniel in spirit in the Vision, that in the 1st year of King Darius the Mede, he stood to help & support him, that is, to side with the Angel Prince Michael for Israel or the Jews. “I will show thee the Truth: There shall stand up yet 3 Kings in Persia;  the 4th shall be far richer than  they all: when he is grown strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the Realm of Greece. A Mighty King shall stand up, that shall rule with Great Dominion, and do according to his will. When he shall stand up, his Kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the 4 Winds of heaven, but not to his  posterity, nor according to his Dominion wherewith he ruled; for his Kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these. The King of the South (Egypt south of Judah) shall be strong, & of his Princes;  he shall be strong above him, and have Dominion; his  Dominion shall be a Great Dominion. At the End of Years (End Times) they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the King of the South (Egypt) shall come to the King of  the North (Syria north of Israel) to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be  given up, and they that brought her, and he that birthed her, and he that strengthened her in those times. But out of a Shoot from her Roots shall One stand up in his place, who shall come to the army, and shall enter into the  fortress of the King of the North (Syria), & shall deal against them, & shall prevail. He shall carry captive their ‘gods’ (elohim), with their molten images, their goodly vessels of silver & of gold, into  Egypt (the King of the South); and he shall refrain some years from the King of the North (Syria). He (the Syrian King) shall come into the Realm of the King of the South (to fight with the Egyptian King, but he shall return into his own land. His sons (of the Syrian King) shall war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall come on, and overflow, and pass  through; and they shall return and war, even to his (Egyptian) fortress. The King of the South (Egypt) shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him (the Syrian), with the King of the North (the Syrian);  and he (the Syrian) shall set forth a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his (the Egyptian, in defeat) hand. The multitude shall be lifted up, and his (Syrian’s) heart shall be exalted; and he (Syrian) shall cast down tens (10s) of thousands (1000s) (in war), but he shall not  prevail. The King of the North (the Syrian) shall return (to Syria), and shall set forth (for another battle) a multitude greater than the former; and he (the Syrian) shall engage at the End  of the Times of Years (End Times), with a great army and with much substance. In Those Times (End Times)  there shall many stand up against the King of the South (Egypt): also the children of the violent among thy people (militant Israelites, like the Maccabees or Hasmoneans)  shall lift themselves up to establish the Vision; but they shall fall. The King of the North (the Syrian) shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city: and the forces of the South (Egypt) shall not  stand, neither his chosen people (allies), neither shall there be any strength to stand. But he (Syrian) that cometh against him (Egyptian) shall do according to his (Syrian’s) own will, and none shall stand before him (the Syrian); and he (Syrian) shall stand in the  Glorious Land (Israel & Judah), and in his (Syrian’s) hand shall be destruction. He (Syrian) shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole Kingdom, and with him equitable conditions; and he (Syrian) shall  perform them: and he (Syrian) shall give him (the Egyptian) the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither be for him (Syrian).  After this shall he (Syrian) turn his face unto the isles (western peoples), and shall take many: but a Prince shall cause the reproach offered by him (Syrian) to  cease; he (the Prince) shall cause his (Syrian) reproach to turn upon him.  Then he (Syrian) shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land (Syria); but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. Then shall stand up in his (Syrian) place one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the Kingdom; but within few days  he (2nd Syrian) shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his (3rd Syrian ) place shall stand up a Contemptible Person (as Antiochus Epiphanes as in 1st Maccabees), to whom they had not given the honor of the Kingdom: but he (3rd Syrian) shall  come in time of security (peace), and shall obtain the Kingdom by flatteries.  And the overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him (3rd Syrian) , and shall be broken, yea, also the Prince of the  Covenant.  And after the league made with him  he (3rd Syrian)  shall work deceitfully; for he (3rd Syrian)  shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people. In time of security (peace) shall he come even upon the fattest places of the province; and he(3rd Syrian)  shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’  fathers; he  (3rd Syrian)shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance: yea, he (3rd Syrian) shall devise his devices against the strongholds, even for a time. And he (Syrian, 3rd Syrian) shall stir up his power & his courage against the King of the South (Egyptian) with a great army; and the King of the South (Egypt) shall war in battle with an  exceeding great and mighty army; but he (Egyptian) shall not stand; for they (his army) shall devise devices against him (Egyptian). They (his court & allies) that eat of his dainties shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain. As for both these Kings (Syrian & Egyptian), their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the End shall be at the Time Appointed (End Times). Then shall he (Syrian) return into his land (Syria) with great substance; and his heart [shall be] against the Holy Covenant; and he shall continue (prosper), and return  to his own land (Syria). At the Time Appointed (End Time) he (Syrian) shall return, and come into the south (Egypt); but it shall not be in the Latter Time (End Time) as it was in the former (earlier conflicts). For ships of Kittim (west Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus, Rome, Europe) shall come against him (Syrian); therefore he (Syrian) shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the Holy Covenant, and shall  continue: he (Syrian) shall even return, and have regard to them that forsake the Holy Covenant. Forces shall stand on his (Syrian’s) part, they shall profane the Sanctuary, even the Fortress, and shall take away the Continual (Offering, Sacrifice, Oblation); they (Syrian forces))shall set up the Abomination that maketh Desolate. And such as do wickedly against the Covenant shall he (Syrian) pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and continue. They (faithful Jews) that are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil: days (undetermined). When they (Jews) shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves to them (to the Jews) with flatteries. Some of them (Jews) that are wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the Time of the End (End Time); because it is yet for the  Time Appointed (End Time). (See 1st & 2nd Maccabees & Josephus’ Jewish Wars to illustrate these things historically.) The King (Syrian) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every ‘god’ (el), and shall speak marvellous things  against the God of gods (El Elim); and he (Syrian) shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for what is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the ‘gods’ (elohe) of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any ‘god’ (eloah); for he shall magnify himself above all. In his place shall he honor the ‘god’ (eloah) of fortresses; and a ‘god’ (eloah) whom his forefathers (fathers) knew not shall he honor with gold, silver, precious  stones, & pleasant things. He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign ‘god’ (eloah): whosoever acknowledges he (Syrian) will increase with glory; and he (Syrian) shall  cause them (his allies, vassals) to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.  And at the Time of the End (End Time) shall the King of the South (Egyptian)) contend with him (Syrian); and the King of the North (Syrian) shall come against him (Syrian) like a whirlwind, with  chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he (Syrian) shall enter into the countries (Canaan, Arabs, Egypt), and shall overflow and pass through.  He shall enter also into the Glorious Land (Israel & Judah), and many shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his (Syrian’s) hand: Edom & Moab, & the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall extend his (Syrian’s) hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt (the South) shall not escape. But he (the Syrian) shall have power over the treasures of gold & of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans & the Ethiopians (Egypt’s allies) shall be at his (Syrian’s) steps. But news out of the East & out of the North shall trouble him (while in his southern campaign); and he (Syrian) shall go forth (back to Syria) with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many. And he (Syrian) shall plant the tents of his palace between the Sea (Great Sea, Mediterranean Sea) and the Glorious Holy Mountain (Zion, Jerusalem); yet he (Syrian) shall come to his end, and none shall help him.   And at That Time shall Michael stand up, the Great Prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a Time of Trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at That Time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the Book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame & everlasting contempt. And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever & ever. ‘But thou, Daniel, Close the Words, & Seal the Book, even to the Time of the End (End Time): many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased‘.  Then I, Daniel, saw, there stood 2 others, the one on the brink of the river on this side, and the other on the brink of the river on that  side. And one said to the Man Clothed in Linen, Who was above the waters of the river, ‘How long shall it be to the End of these Wonders’? And I heard the Man Clothed in Linen, Who was above the waters of the river, when He held up His Right Hand & His Left hand to heaven, and swore  by Him That Lives Forever that it shall be for a Time, Times, and a Half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the Holy People, all  these things shall be finished’. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, my Lord (Adoni), what shall be the issue of these things? And he said, ‘Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed and sealed till the Time of the End (End Time). Many shall purify themselves, make themselves white, & be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall  understand; but they that are wise shall understand.  And from the time that the continual (Offering, Sacrifice, Oblation) shall be taken away, and the Abomination that maketh Desolate set up, there shall be 1290 days [not ‘years’]. Blessed is he that waits, & comes to the 1335 days (not ‘years’). But go thou thy way Till the End be; for thou shall rest, and shall stand in thy lot, at the End of the Days (End Times)‘.”

                We analyse the details of the Revelation & Vision: 1st: There shall stand up yet 3 Kings in Persia;  the 4th shall be far richer than  they all: when he is grown strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the Realm of Greece. A Mighty King shall stand up, that shall rule with Great Dominion, and do according to his will. When he shall stand up, his Kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the 4 Winds of heaven, but not to his  posterity, nor according to his Dominion wherewith he ruled; for his Kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these. Wikipedia (unless stated otherwise all historical extracts are from this) history teaches concerning the Persian-Greco Wars: ((Greco-Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between Achaemenid Empire & Greek City-States that started in c.500 B.C. & lasted until c.450 B.C.. Collision between fractious political world of  Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek-inhabited region of Ionia in c.550 B.C.. Struggling to control independent-minded cities of Ionia, Persians appointed tyrants to rule each of them. This would prove to be  source of much trouble for  Greeks & Persians alike.) (Second Persian invasion of Greece occurred during the Greco-Persian Wars, as King Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece. Invasion was a direct, if delayed, response to defeat of first Persian invasion of Greece at the Battle of Marathon, which ended Darius I attempts to subjugate Greece. After Darius’s death, his son Xerxes spent several years planning for second invasion, mustering enormous army & navy. The Athenians & Spartans led Greek resistance. About tenth of  Greek City-States joined the ‘Allied’ effort; most remained neutral or submitted to Xerxes.)  (Wars of Alexander the Great were fought by King Alexander III of Macedon (“Great” or Mighty), first against the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Darius III, and then against local chieftains & warlords as far east as Punjab, India (in modern history). By time of his death, he had conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks. However, he failed to conquer South Asia. Although being successful as military commander, he failed to provide any stable alternative to Achaemenid Empire —his untimely death threw vast territories he conquered into civil war.     Alexander assumed kingship of Macedonia following death of his father Philip II, who had unified most of city-states of mainland Greece under Macedonian hegemony in federation called Hellenic League. After reconfirming Macedonian rule by quashing  rebellion of southern Greek city-states & staging short but bloody excursion against Macedon’s northern neighbors, Alexander set out east against  Achaemenid Persian Empire, under its “King of Kings” (title all Achaemenid kings went by), Darius III, which he defeated and overthrew. His conquests included Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and Bactria, and he extended the boundaries of his own empire as far as Taxila, India (now Pakistan).       Alexander had already made more plans prior to his death for military & mercantile expansions into  Arabian Peninsula, after which he was to turn his armies to west (Carthage, Rome, & Iberian Peninsula). However, Alexander’s Diadochi (successors) quietly abandoned these grandiose plans after his death. Instead, within a few years of Alexander’s death, the Diadochi (successors) began fighting with each other, dividing up the Empire between themselves, and triggering 40 years of warfare.)      (Wars of Diadochi (“successors”), or Wars of Alexander’s Successors, were a series of conflicts fought between Alexander the Great’s generals over the rule of his vast empire after his death. They occurred between 322-281 B.C..      On June 10, c.325 B.C., Alexander the Great died, leaving behind a huge empire stretching from Greece & Macedon in Europe to  Indus valley in India. His death left  Macedonians in very difficult position. Ruthlessness of Philip & Alexander toward possible rivals had left  Empire without  clear & competent successor. Argead family was reduced to Alexander’s mentally defective half-brother Arrhidaeus, his yet unborn son Alexander IV, & his reputed illegitimate son Heracles, mere child, & women of family, his mother Olympias, his sister Cleopatra, & his half-sisters Thessalonice & Cynane.       Without chosen successor, there was almost immediately dispute among his Generals as to whom his successor should be. Meleager & Infantry supported candidacy of Alexander’s half-brother, Arrhidaeus, while Perdiccas,  leading Cavalry Commander, supported waiting until  birth of Alexander’s unborn child by Roxana. Compromise was arranged  –Arrhidaeus (as Philip III) should become King, & should rule jointly with Roxana’s child, assuming that it was  boy (as it was, becoming Alexander IV). Perdiccas himself would become Regent of  Empire, & Meleager his Lieutenant. Soon, however, Perdiccas had Meleager & other Infantry leaders murdered, & assumed full control.

                Other cavalry generals who had supported Perdiccas were rewarded in partition of Babylon by becoming Satraps of various parts of Empire. Ptolemy received Egypt; Laomedon received Syria & Phoenicia; Philotas took Cilicia; Peithon took Media; Antigonus received Phrygia, Lycia & Pamphylia; Asander received Caria; Menander received Lydia; Lysimachus received Thrace; Leonnatus received Hellespontine Phrygia; & Neoptolemus had Armenia. Macedon & rest of Greece were to be under  joint rule of Antipater, who had governed them for Alexander, & Craterus, Alexander’s most-able lieutenant, while Alexander’s old secretary, Eumenes of Cardia, was to receive Cappadocia & Paphlagonia.         In east, Perdiccas largely left Alexander’s arrangements intact –Taxiles & Porus ruled over their kingdoms in India; Alexander’s father-in-law Oxyartes ruled Gandara; Sibyrtius ruled Arachosia & Gedrosia; Stasanor ruled Aria & Drangiana; Philip ruled Bactria & Sogdiana; Phrataphernes ruled Parthia and Hyrcania; Peucestas governed Persis; Tlepolemus had charge over Carmania; Atropates governed northern Media; Archon got Babylonia; and Arcesilas ruled northern Mesopotamia.

                News of Alexander’s death inspired  revolt in Greece, known as  Lamian War. Athens & other cities joined together, ultimately besieging Antipater in fortress of Lamia. Antipater was relieved by force sent by Leonnatus, who was killed in action, but the war did not come to  end until Craterus’s arrival with fleet to defeat  Athenians at  Battle of Crannon on September 5, c.320 B.C.. For time, this brought end to Greek resistance to Macedonian domination. Meanwhile, Peithon suppressed revolt of Greek settlers in eastern parts of Empire, & Perdiccas & Eumenes subdued Cappadocia.      First War of Diadochi, c.320 B.C..   Second War of  Diadochi, c. 320-315 B.C..     Third War of Diadochi, c.315-310 B.C..    At the end of  war there were five Diadochi left: Cassander ruling Macedon & Thessaly, Lysimachus ruling Thrace, Antigonus ruling Asia Minor, Syria & Phoenicia, Seleucus ruling  eastern provinces & Ptolemy ruling Egypt & Cyprus. Each of them ruled as Kings (in all but name).      Babylonian War, c.310 B.C..       Fourth War of Diadochi, c.310-300 B.C..     Struggle of Lysimachus & Seleucus, c.285-280 B.C..      Gallic Invasions & Consolidation, c.280-275 B.C..     (Now, at long last, almost 50 years after Alexander’s death, some sort of order was restored. Ptolemy ruled over Egypt, southern Syria (known as Coele-Syria), and various territories on the southern coast of Asia Minor. Antiochus ruled the vast Asian territories of Empire, while Macedon & Greece (with  exception of Aetolian League) fell to Antigonus.))

                The King of the South (Egypt south of Judah) shall be strong, & of his Princes;  he shall be strong above him, and have Dominion; his  Dominion shall be a Great Dominion. At the End of Years (End Times) they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the King of the South (Egypt) shall come to the King of  the North (Syria north of Israel) to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be  given up, and they that brought her, and he that birthed her, and he that strengthened her in those times. But out of a Shoot from her Roots shall One stand up in his place, who shall come to the army, and shall enter into the  fortress of the King of the North (Syria), & shall deal against them, & shall prevail. He shall carry captive their ‘gods’ (elohim), with their molten images, their goodly vessels of silver & of gold, into  Egypt (the King of the South); and he shall refrain some years from the King of the North (Syria). He (the Syrian King) shall come into the Realm of the King of the South (to fight with the Egyptian King, but he shall return into his own land. His sons (of the Syrian King) shall war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall come on, and overflow, and pass  through; and they shall return and war, even to his (Egyptian) fortress. The King of the South (Egypt) shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him (the Syrian), with the King of the North (the Syrian);  and he (the Syrian) shall set forth a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his (the Egyptian, in defeat) hand. The multitude shall be lifted up, and his (Syrian’s) heart shall be exalted; and he (Syrian) shall cast down tens (10s) of thousands (1000s) (in war), but he shall not  prevail. The King of the North (the Syrian) shall return (to Syria), and shall set forth (for another battle) a multitude greater than the former; and he (the Syrian) shall engage at the End  of the Times of Years (End Times), with a great army and with much substance. In Those Times (End Times)  there shall many stand up against the King of the South (Egypt): also the children of the violent among thy people (militant Israelites, like the Maccabees or Hasmoneans)  shall lift themselves up to establish the Vision; but they shall fall. The King of the North (the Syrian) shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city: and the forces of the South (Egypt) shall not  stand, neither his chosen people (allies), neither shall there be any strength to stand. But he (Syrian) that cometh against him (Egyptian) shall do according to his (Syrian’s) own will, and none shall stand before him (the Syrian); and he (Syrian) shall stand in the  Glorious Land (Israel & Judah), and in his (Syrian’s) hand shall be destruction. He (Syrian) shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole Kingdom, and with him equitable conditions; and he (Syrian) shall  perform them: and he (Syrian) shall give him (the Egyptian) the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither be for him (Syrian).  After this shall he (Syrian) turn his face unto the isles (western peoples), and shall take many: but a Prince shall cause the reproach offered by him (Syrian) to  cease; he (the Prince) shall cause his (Syrian) reproach to turn upon him.  Then he (Syrian) shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land (Syria); but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. Then shall stand up in his (Syrian) place one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the Kingdom; but within few days  he (2nd Syrian) shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his (3rd Syrian ) place shall stand up a Contemptible Person (as Antiochus Epiphanes as in 1st Maccabees), to whom they had not given the honor of the Kingdom: but he (3rd Syrian) shall  come in time of security (peace), and shall obtain the Kingdom by flatteries.  And the overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him (3rd Syrian) , and shall be broken; yea, also the Prince of the  Covenant.  And after the league made with him  he (3rd Syrian)  shall work deceitfully; for he (3rd Syrian)  shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people. In time of security (peace) shall he come even upon the fattest places of the province; and he(3rd Syrian)  shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’  fathers; he  (3rd Syrian)shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance: yea, he (3rd Syrian) shall devise his devices against the strongholds, even for a time. And he (Syrian, 3rd Syrian) shall stir up his power & his courage against the King of the South (Egyptian) with a great army; and the King of the South (Egypt) shall war in battle with an  exceeding great and mighty army; but he (Egyptian) shall not stand; for they (his army) shall devise devices against him (Egyptian). They (his court & allies) that eat of his dainties shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain. As for both these Kings (Syrian & Egyptian), their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the End shall be at the Time Appointed (End Times). Then shall he (Syrian) return into his land (Syria) with great substance; and his heart [shall be] against the Holy Covenant; and he shall continue (prosper), and return  to his own land (Syria). At the Time Appointed (End Time) he (Syrian) shall return, and come into the south (Egypt); but it shall not be in the Latter Time (End Time) as it was in the former (earlier conflicts). For ships of Kittim (west Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus, Rome, Europe) shall come against him (Syrian); therefore he (Syrian) shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the Holy Covenant, and shall  continue: he (Syrian) shall even return, and have regard to them (Jews) that forsake the Holy Covenant. Forces shall stand on his (Syrian’s) part, they shall profane the Sanctuary, even the Fortress, and shall take away the Continual (Offering, Sacrifice, Oblation); they (Syrian forces))shall set up the Abomination that maketh Desolate. And such as do wickedly against the Covenant shall he (Syrian) pervert by flatteries; but the people (Jews) that know their God shall be strong, and continue. They (faithful Jews) that are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil: days (undetermined). When they (Jews) shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves to them (to the Jews) with flatteries. Some of them (Jews) that are wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the Time of the End (End Time); because it is yet for the  Time Appointed (End Time). (See 1st & 2nd Maccabees & Josephus’ Jewish Wars to illustrate these things historically.) The King (Syrian) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every ‘god’ (el), and shall speak marvellous things  against the God of gods (El Elim); and he (Syrian) shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for what is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the ‘gods’ (elohe) of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any ‘god’ (eloah); for he shall magnify himself above all. In his place shall he honor the ‘god’ (eloah) of fortresses; and a ‘god’ (eloah) whom his forefathers (fathers) knew not shall he honor with gold, silver, precious  stones, & pleasant things. He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign ‘god’ (eloah): whosoever acknowledges, he (Syrian) will increase with glory; and he (Syrian) shall  cause them (his allies, vassals) to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.  And at the Time of the End (End Time) shall the King of the South (Egyptian)) contend with him (Syrian); and the King of the North (Syrian) shall come against him (Syrian) like a whirlwind, with  chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he (Syrian) shall enter into the countries (Canaan, Arabs, Egypt), and shall overflow and pass through.  He shall enter also into the Glorious Land (Israel & Judah), and many shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his (Syrian’s) hand: Edom & Moab, & the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall extend his (Syrian’s) hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt (the South) shall not escape. But he (the Syrian) shall have power over the treasures of gold & of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans & the Ethiopians (Egypt’s allies) shall be at his (Syrian’s) steps. But news out of the East & out of the North shall trouble him (while in his southern campaign); and he (Syrian) shall go forth (back to Syria) with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many. And he (Syrian) shall plant the tents of his palace between the Sea (Great Sea, Mediterranean Sea) and the Glorious Holy Mountain (Zion, Jerusalem); yet he (Syrian) shall come to his end, and none shall help him.  

                Extracted from Wikipedia: ((Syrian Wars were a series of 6 wars between Seleucid Empire & Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, successor states to Alexander the Great’s Empire, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. over the region then called Coele-Syria, one of the few avenues into Egypt. These conflicts drained  material & manpower of both parties & led to their eventual destruction & conquest by Rome & Parthia. They are briefly mentioned in the biblical Books of Maccabees.

                In Wars of Diadochi following Alexander’s death, Coele-Syria initially came under  rule of Antigonus I Monophthalmus. In c.300 B.C. Ptolemy I Soter, who 4 years earlier had crowned himself King of Egypt, exploited events surrounding  Battle of Ipsus to take control of  region. Victors at Ipsus, however, had allocated Coele-Syria to Ptolemy’s former ally Seleucus I Nicator, founder of  Seleucid Empire. Seleucus, who had been aided by Ptolemy during his ascent to power, did not take any military action to reclaim  region. Once both were dead, however, their successors became embroiled in war.

                First Syrian War (c.275–270 B.C.)

                Decade into his rule, Ptolemy II faced Antiochus I, Seleucid King who was trying to expand his empire’s holdings in Syria & Anatolia. Ptolemy proved to be  forceful ruler & skilled General. In addition, his recent marriage to his court-wise sister Arsinoe II of Egypt had stabilized the volatile Egyptian Court, allowing Ptolemy to successfully carry out the campaign.

                First Syrian War was major victory for Ptolemies. Antiochus took  Ptolemaic controlled areas in coastal Syria & southern Anatolia in his initial rush. Ptolemy reconquered these territories by c.270 B.C., extending Ptolemaic rule as far as Caria & into most of Cilicia. With Ptolemy’s eye focused eastward, his half-brother Magas declared his province of Cyrenaica to be independent. It would remain independent until  c.250 B.C., when it was reabsorbed into the Ptolemaic Kingdom: but not before having triggered a sequence of Ptolemaic (Egypt) & Seleucid (Syria) court intrigues, war & ultimately leading to  marriage of Theos & Berenice (also called Berenice Phernophorus or Berenice Syra (died c.245 B.C.), daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus &  Arsinoe I of Egypt. She was married to Seleucid (Syria) ruler Antiochus II Theos, supplanting his first wife, Laodice, whose children she persuaded him to bar from succession to throne in favour of her own.).

                Second Syrian War (c.260-255 B.C.) See also: Battle of Cos.

                Antiochus II (Syria) succeeded his father in c.260 B.C., & thus began a new war for Syria. He reached  agreement with current Antigonid King in Macedon, Antigonus II Gonatas, who was also interested in pushing Ptolemy II (Egypt) out of Aegean. With Macedon’s support, Antiochus II launched attack on Ptolemaic outposts in Asia.

                Most of the information about Second Syrian War has been lost. It is clear that Antigonus’ fleet defeated Ptolemy’s at the Battle of Cos in c.260, diminishing Ptolemaic naval power. Ptolemy (Egypt) appears to have lost ground in Cilicia, Pamphylia, and Ionia, while Antiochus (Syria) regained Miletus & Ephesus. Macedon’s involvement in the war ceased when Antigonus became preoccupied by rebellion of Corinth & Chalcis in c.255 B.C., possibly instigated by Ptolemy (Egypt), as well as increase in enemy activity along Macedon’s northern frontier.

                War was concluded around c.255 B.C. with marriage of Antiochus (Syria) to Ptolemy’s (Egypt)daughter, Berenice Syra. Antiochus repudiated his previous wife, Laodice, and turned over substantial domain to her. He died in Ephesus in c.245 B.C., poisoned.  Ptolemy II (Berenice’s father) died in same year.

                Third Syrian War (c.245-240 B.C.)  See also: Battle of Andros (c.245 B.C.).

                Also known as Laodicean War, Third Syrian War began with one of many succession crises that plagued Hellenistic states. Antiochus II (Syria) left two ambitious mothers, his repudiated wife Laodice & Ptolemy II’s daughter Berenice Syra, in a competition to put their respective sons on  throne. Laodice claimed that Antiochus had named her son heir while on his deathbed, but Berenice argued that her newly born son was  legitimate heir. Berenice asked her brother Ptolemy III (Egypt), new Ptolemaic king, to come to Antioch (Syria) & help place her son on  throne. When Ptolemy (Egypt) arrived, Berenice & her child had been assassinated.

                Ptolemy (Egypt) declared war on Laodice’s newly crowned son, Seleucus II (Syria), in c.245 B.C., & campaigned with great success (his forces possibly being commanded by Xanthippus of Sparta, aka Xanthippus of Carthage,  mercenary general responsible for defeating Roman army at Tunis/Bagrades in c.255 B.C.). He won major victories over Seleucus in Syria and Anatolia, briefly occupied Antioch &, as a recent cuneiform discovery  proves, even reached Babylon. These victories were marred by loss of  Cyclades to Antigonus Gonatas in Battle of Andros. Seleucus (Syria) had his own difficulties. His domineering mother asked him to grant co-regency to his younger brother, Antiochus Hierax, as well as rule over Seleucid territories in Anatolia. Antiochus (Syria) promptly declared independence, undermining Seleucus’ (Syria) efforts to defend against Ptolemy (Egypt).       In exchange for  peace in c.240 B.C., Ptolemy (Egypt) was awarded new territories on northern coast of Syria, including Seleucia Pieria, the port of Antioch. Ptolemaic (Egypt) kingdom was at height of its power.

                Fourth Syrian War (c.220-215 B.C.)    See also: Battle of Raphia.

                Upon taking  Seleucid (Syria) throne in c.225 B.C., Antiochus III the Great (241–187 BC) set himself the task of restoring the lost imperial possessions of Seleucus I Nicator, which extended from Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in the east, the Hellespont in the north, & Syria in the south. By c.220 B.C., he had re-established Seleucid control over Media & Persia, which had been in rebellion. Ambitious King turned his eyes toward Syria & Egypt.

                Egypt had been significantly weakened by court intrigue & public unrest. Rule of newly inaugurated Ptolemy IV Philopator (reigned c.220-205 B.C.) began with the murder of queen-mother Berenice II. Young king quickly fell under absolute influence of imperial courtiers. His ministers used their absolute power in their own self-interest, to people’s great chagrin.

                Antiochus (Syria) sought to take advantage of this chaotic situation. After invasion in c.220 B.C. failed to launch, he finally began Fourth Syrian War in c.220 B.C.. He (Syria) recaptured Seleucia Pieria as well as cities in Phoenicia, amongst them Tyre. Rather than promptly invading Egypt, Antiochus waited in Phoenicia for over a year, consolidating his new territories & listening to diplomatic proposals from  Ptolemaic (Egypt) kingdom.

                Meanwhile, Ptolemy’s minister Sosibius began recruiting and training an army. He recruited not only from  local Greek population, as Hellenistic armies generally were, but also from  native Egyptians, enrolling at least 30,000 natives as phalangites. This innovation paid off, but it would eventually have dire consequences for Ptolemaic stability. In the summer of c.220 B.C., Ptolemy engaged & defeated  long-delayed Antiochus in Battle of Raphia, largest battle since Battle of Ipsus over 80 years earlier.

                Ptolemy’s (Egypt) victory preserved his control over Coele-Syria, &  weak King (Egypt) declined to advance further into Antiochus’ (Syria) empire, even to retake Seleucia Pieria. The Ptolemaic kingdom would continue to weaken over the following years, suffering from economic problems & rebellion. Nationalist sentiment had developed among  native Egyptians who had fought at Raphia. Confident  &  well-trained, they broke from Ptolemy in what is known as the Egyptian Revolt, establishing their own kingdom in Upper Egypt which  Ptolemies finally reconquered around c.185 B.C..

                Fifth Syrian War (c.200-195 B.C.)   See also: Battle of Panium.

                Death of Ptolemy IV in c.205 B.C. was followed by a bloody conflict over  regency as his heir, Ptolemy V, was just  child. Conflict began with  murder of dead king’s wife & sister Arsinoë by ministers  Agothocles & Sosibius. Fate of Sosibius is unclear, but Agothocles seems to have held  regency for some time until he was lynched by  volatile Alexandrian mob. Regency was passed from one adviser to another,  & kingdom was in state of near anarchy.

                Seeking to take advantage of this turmoil, Antiochus III staged a second invasion of Coele-Syria. He convinced Philip V of Macedon to join the war and conquer the Ptolemies’ territories in Asia Minor – actions which led to Second Macedonian War between Macedon &  Romans. Antiochus quickly swept through the region. After a brief setback at Gaza, he delivered a crushing blow to the Ptolemies at the Battle of Panium near the head of the River Jordan which earned him the important port of Sidon.

                In c.200 B.C., Roman emissaries came to Philip &  Antiochus demanding that they refrain from invading Egypt. Romans would suffer no disruption of  import of grain from Egypt, key to supporting massive population in Italy. As neither Monarch had planned to invade Egypt itself, they willingly complied to Rome’s demands. Antiochus completed  subjugation of Coele-Syria in c.200 B.C. & went on to raid Ptolemy’s remaining coastal strongholds in Caria & Cilicia.

                Problems at home led Ptolemy (Egypt) to seek quick & disadvantageous conclusion. Nativist movement, which began before  war with Egyptian Revolt & expanded with  support of Egyptian priests, created turmoil & sedition throughout kingdom. Economic troubles led  Ptolemaic government to increase taxation, which in turn fed  nationalist fire. In order to focus on home front, Ptolemy signed a conciliatory treaty with Antiochus (Syria) in c.195 B.C., leaving Seleucid King in possession of Coele-Syria & agreeing to marry Antiochus’ daughter Cleopatra I.

            Sixth Syrian War (c.170 B.C.) Sidon coinage of Antiochus IV, depicting  victorious galley.

                Causes of this conflict are obscure. In c.170, Eulaeus & Lenaeus,  two regents of  young King of Egypt Ptolemy VI Philometor, declared war on the Seleucid (Syria) ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes. In same year, Ptolemy’s younger siblings Ptolemy VIII Physcon & Cleopatra II were declared co-rulers in order to bolster  unity of Egypt. Military operations did not begin until c.170 B.C. when Antiochus quickly gained the upper hand, seizing the important strategic town of Pelusium. Egyptians realised their folly in starting war, Eulaeus & Lenaeus were overthrown & replaced by two new regents, Comanus & Cineas, & envoys were sent to negotiate  peace treaty with Antiochus (Syria). Antiochus took Ptolemy VI (who was his nephew) under his guardianship, giving him effective control of Egypt. However, this was unacceptable to  people of Alexandria who responded by proclaiming Ptolemy Physcon as sole King. Antiochus (Syria) besieged Alexandria but he was unable to cut communications to  city so, at the end of c.170 B.C., he withdrew his army. In his absence, Ptolemy VI & his brother were reconciled. Antiochus, angered at his loss of control over King, invaded again. Egyptians sent to Rome asking for help &  Senate dispatched Gaius Popilius Laenas to Alexandria. Meanwhile, Antiochus had seized Cyprus & Memphis & was marching on Alexandria. At Eleusis, on  outskirts of  capital, he met Popilius Laenas, with whom he had been friends during his stay in Rome. But instead of a friendly welcome, Popilius offered  King  ultimatum from  Senate: he must evacuate Egypt & Cyprus immediately. Antiochus begged to have time to consider but Popilius drew  circle round him in sand with his cane & told him to decide before he stepped outside it. Antiochus chose to obey  Roman ultimatum. “Day of Eleusis” (Day of Roman Ultimatum at Eleusis) ended Sixth Syrian War & Antiochus’ hopes of conquering Egyptian territory.))

                The Syrian-Egyptian Wars were easily seen in Daniel’s prophecy, and so interpreted in Books of Maccabees & Josephus’s Jewish Wars. They produced Maccabees‘ “Hasmonean Dynasty ruling  Judea & surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c.140 and c.115 B.C.E. dynasty ruled Judea semi-autonomously from Seleucids. From c.110 B.C.E., with  Seleucid Empire disintegrating, dynasty became fully independent, expanded into  neighbouring regions of Samaria, Galilee, Iturea, Perea, & Idumea, and Rulers took title “basileus” (King).” It is also evident that the prophetic history is general & indefinite as to its exact fulfillment. The North & South Powers, as Syria & Egypt has continued 2,000 years. The implication & inference of Antiochus Epiphanes typifying AntiChrist is also evident. These prophecies as prophetic historical predictions are very electrifying & certainly latent with hermeneutical curiosity & fascination, but also liable to many errors & exaggerations. We move on to conclude our reading, study, & reflections of the Prophet Daniel’s Visions.

                “And at That Time shall Michael stand up, the Great Prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a Time of Trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at That Time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the Book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame & everlasting contempt. And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever & ever. ‘But thou, Daniel, Close the Words, & Seal the Book, even to the Time of the End (End Time): many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased‘.”    These words will take the Jews  from the rise of the Maccabees to the coming of Messiah, & will continue to the 2nd Advent of Christ. The Jews will increasingly integrate & mix in the Gentile world among all the nations, first with the Greeks, but then completely with the Romans to our day. The Angelic Rulers as seen in Gabriel & Michael, the Prince of Persia & the Prince of Greece, will work for the protection & preservation of Israel or the Jews. They will continue to be tried, persecuted, & if possible, annihilated by genocide. Many will know their God, & remain faithful unto death & to the very end of the times. All will lead to the resurrection of eternal life or condemnation. Daniel is told to seal the Book of Visions & Prophecies till the future appointed time. That Time the Apostle John, in his Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ, will unseal & consummate. We do no good to Jews or Christians or other Gentiles to try to figure out too exactly

                “Then I, Daniel, saw, there stood 2 others, the one on the brink of the river on this side, and the other on the brink of the river on that  side. And one said to the Man Clothed in Linen, Who was above the waters of the river, ‘How long shall it be to the End of these Wonders’? And I heard the Man Clothed in Linen, Who was above the waters of the river, when He held up His Right Hand & His Left hand to heaven, and swore  by Him That Lives Forever that it shall be for a Time, Times, and a Half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the Holy People, all  these things shall be finished’. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, my Lord (Adoni), what shall be the issue of these things? And he said, ‘Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed and sealed till the Time of the End (End Time). Many shall purify themselves, make themselves white, & be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall  understand; but they that are wise shall understand.  And from the time that the continual (Offering, Sacrifice, Oblation) shall be taken away, and the Abomination that maketh Desolate set up, there shall be 1290 days [not ‘years’]. Blessed is he that waits, & comes to the 1335 days (not ‘years’). But go thou thy way Till the End be for thou shall rest, and shall stand in thy lot, at the End of the Days (End Times)‘.”

                The words above takes us through the days of Messiah in His 1st Advent and through to present Dispensation of the Spirit in the Christian Church as testimony & witness for God’s Christ to Jews & Gentiles. We must now review the 500 years before Messiah, & preview the 500 years after Christ.

                The Gentiles reached a certain maturity in the world in their progression & advancement  in the human experience & the evolution of mankind. From a Biblical perspective  man as an image appeared to reach his adulthood, the ancient ways as if a minor, must yield to maturity & creation of new world. The Gentiles were some 2,000 years in development, just reaching the end of their teen years, when the Ancient ways were still very much at work in influence & practice. The ways of their distant past had been adapted & modified by human interaction of cultures & customs, & other forces of great numbers. The inhabited world throughout the earth increased in population globally from 1,000s of people in a large city to 10,000s to 100,000s in a kingdom to millions in an Empire. In religion, philosophy, science, technology, education, transportation, communication, commerce, & exploration had brought the global or world Man to be a New Image. As we said often before, from Adam to Abraham & Hammurabi we have 2,000 years, from then till Christ & Caesar is another 2,000 years, & to the present another 2, 000 years human growth in the world. The increase in population brought both good & evil with its growth, with the changes mankind had to make to survive & thrive. The doctrine & notion of the survival of the fittest by natural selections of migration, exploitation, war, subjugation, & slavery made the strongest people & power to dominate. But this supremacy of one nation over another nation, alienation of people with people, national prejudice. malice towards races, and a thousand other things we could consider, all brought the human family as Man before God, with the Nations as the representation of that Human Image.

                 King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream-vision of the Colossal Metal Man in Imperial divisions from Babylon to Rome is what now occupies the Divine Watcher of the Nations with His Court of Angelic Princes to keep up with all human expansion & innovations. Each nation has a way on earth, the Mesopotamian way, Babylonian or Assyrian or Persian way, Egyptian way, Mediterranean way,  Greek & Roman way, European way, British & German way, Spanish & French way, Italian & Russian way; or of these, the Western way versus the Eastern way, Near Eastern or Far Eastern way, Asian or African way, Chinese or Mongolian way, Japanese or Korean way, Islanders way, Mainland way, South American way, North American way, Mexican  or American way, Canadian way, Latin American way, Jewish or Christian way, Buddhist or Muslim way, etc, etc. All these ways are seen in customs, habits, dress, manners, food, music, houses, labor, etc. We are not able with all our technology of the 21st century, keep up with human changes & development. So too, God not to overburden His Heart & Time deals with the Gentile Nations by Kingdoms, the Kingdoms by Kings, cities & states by majors & governors, villages by chiefs, families by fathers, etc. The leaders & rulers of every sort will before God represents the whole as the Head is to the Body. As with the Gentiles more so with the Hebrews, Israelites, & Jews. God’s people have divine headship established by God in the institution & dispensation of human government. Powers & Authorities are allowed as divine institutions to govern man amongst themselves in their Kingdoms or States.

                Enough is said in general government among men. Israel as Hebrews were now to be transformed from the ancient Mosaic system of Laws & Levites, to Jews of a new Judaism of the Book & Prayers. The ritual worship with all its bloody sacrifices will in time be removed & terminated. The Temple will become the Synagogue, Jerusalem to the hope of Messiah’s Kingdom. In this last words of Daniel’s Vision the Persian Power supported by the Angelic Prince opposed to Israel, but by the efforts of Michael & Gabriel, the Prince of Greece will prevail against Persia. After this change the details of the prophecy focus our attention to disintegration of the Great or Mighty King & Prince Alexander’s Kingdom & Empire under his Diadochi, eventually the Kingdoms of 2 Generals would prevail and last to the Roman conquest. It is the King of the North & the King of the South conflict or warfare that exposes to those who understand that the spiritual warfare at work in the Gentile world that directly dominates the Jews, then later the Jews & Christians, is the true dispensational operation of human government as to God’s people.  For the rest we leave for the Minor Prophets & the literature & the events leading up to the New Testament. We will not encounter the universal treatment of history & government till we come to the Book of Revelation.

                Chronology from  Persian King Cyrus  to Jewish King Messiah of 600 Years: End of 70 Years Babylonian Captivity of the Old Testament to the New Testament. (Variable 1-3 years.) (Taken from Bible, Apocrypha, Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia of Ancient History, etc.) (Chronology is unfinished, will be edited over the weeks, the Timeline of the Persian Period from Great Cyrus to Great Alexander is very full. )

001: (550 B.C.) 70th yr of the 70 Years Captivity Ends. (Belshazzar killed. Darius the Median (Astyages) takes the Throne. (Astyages (Ahasuerus, Artaxerxes) marries Esther.). Cyrus, Astyages son, Decree rebuilding of Temple. Daniel’s Vision of the 70 Sevens. Temple Foundation laid.  Nehemiah in Jerusalem.) (Zerubbabel & Remnant Returns to Jerusalem.  Feast of Tabernacles observed.) (1st yr of Persian rule: Cyrus, etc.) Fall of Babylon. [c.540 (560) = 550 B.C.] ((Cyrus the Great: King: of Anshan, Persia, Media, World, Babylon, Sumer & Akkad, Four Corners of World; Great King, Mighty King.  (Sculptured Rock Relief of Cyrus the Great with Hemhem Crown Horns, etc., or Four-winged Cherub tutelary divinity, in Cyrus’ residence in Pasagardae.) King of Kings (Shah) of Achaemenid Empire:  Reign 559-530 B.C.  Predecessor: Establishment of Empire.

Successor: Cambyses II.   King of Persia:  Reign 559-530 B.C.   Predecessor: Cambyses I.  Successor: Cambyses II.   King of Media:  Reign 549-530 B.C.   Predecessor: Astyages

Successor: Cambyses II.   King of Lydia:    Reign 547-530 B.C.   Predecessor: Croesus

Successor: Cambyses II.   King of Babylon: Reign 539-530 B.C. Predecessor: Nabonidus

Successor: Cambyses II.     Cyrus II, Great, son of Cambyses I, grandson of Cyrus I. Born c. 600 B.C., Anshan, Persis. Died December 530 B.C. (aged 70), along the Syr Darya. Burial: Pasargadae. Consort: Cassandane. Issue: Cambyses II, Bardiya, Artystone, Atossa, Roxane. House: Teispid. Father: Cambyses I. Mother: Mandane of Media. ))  (c.539, Great Cyrus of Persian Achaemenid Empire conquered Babylon, which would never again successfully regain independence. Babylonians had resented their last native king, Nabonidus, over his religious practices & some of his political choices & Cyrus could thus claim to be legitimate successor of ancient Babylonian kings & avenger of Babylon’s national deity, Marduk. Early Achaemenid rulers had great respect for Babylonia, regarding region as separate entity or kingdom united with their own kingdom in something akin to personal union. Despite this, native Babylonians grew to resent their foreign rulers, as they had with Assyrians earlier, & rebelled several times. Achaemenid kings continued to use title “King of Babylon” alongside their other royal titles until reign of Xerxes I, who dropped the title in c.481 B.C., divided previously large Babylonian satrapy & desecrated Babylon after having had to put down Babylonian revolt.)  ((* Belshazzar, Nabonidus’ son, last king of Neo-Babylonian Empire. Nabonidus Chronicle describes him as Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, but his father was not of Royal line. He played pivotal role in the coup d’etat that overthrew King Labashi-Marduk & brought Nabonidus to power c.555 B.C.E., although unlike his co-conspirators he was not member of the old Babylonian aristocracy. Nabonidus spent the years c. 555–545 B.C.E. at Oasis of Teima in northern areas of Arabian Peninsula, leaving Belshazzar to govern Babylon. During his father’s prolonged absence Belshazzar ruled as regent or co-regent, but was never called King & never took part in Babylonian New Year Festival, at which King’s presence was essential. His duties as Crown Prince (title that appears in documents) included overseeing temple estates and leasing out temple land, &he worked at restoring Babylonian God Marduk, demoted by Nabonidus in favor of the Moon God Sin.     Nabonidus returned to Babylon c.545 B.C.E.. King’s return may have been connected with increasing threat posed by Persian conqueror Cyrus the Great, who ruled a huge empire to the north and east of Babylon. Open hostilities commenced in c.540 B.C.E., 12th October “Ugbaru, governor of district of Gutium, & army of Cyrus entered Babylon without a battle” (Babylonian Chronicle) —perhaps same Gobryas, a Babylonian provincial governor who switched to Persian side, mentioned by Greek historian Xenophon. Nabonidus was captured & his life apparently spared, but Belshazzar’s is unknown.   Nabonidus Chronicle is ancient Babylonian text, part of larger series of Babylonian Chronicles inscribed in cuneiform script on clay tablets. It deals primarily with reign of Nabonidus, last king of Neo-Babylonian Empire, covers conquest of Babylon by Persian Great King Cyrus, ends with start of reign of Cyrus’s son Cambyses, spanning a period from c.555 B.C. to some time after c.540 B.C.. It provides rare contemporary account of Cyrus’s rise to power & is main source of information on this period; Amélie Kuhrt describes it as “the most reliable and sober [ancient] account of the fall of Babylon.”    Cyrus Cylinder or Cyrus Charter is ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several pieces, on which is written declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in name of Persia’s Achaemenid Great King Cyrus. It dates from c.6th century B.C. & was discovered in ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia in 1879. It is currently in possession of British Museum, which sponsored expedition that discovered  cylinder. It was created & used as foundation deposit following Persian conquest of Babylon c.540 B.C. when Neo-Babylonian Empire was invaded by Cyrus & incorporated into his Persian Empire.     Cylinders of Nabonidus refers to cuneiform inscriptions of King Nabonidus of Babylonia. These inscriptions were made on clay cylinders. They include Nabonidus Cylinder from Sippar, & Nabonidus Cylinders from Ur, four in number.    Nabonidus Cylinder from Sippar is a long text in which Nabonidus describes how he repaired three temples: Sanctuary of Moon god Sin in Harran, Sanctuary of Warrior Goddess Anunitu in Sippar, & Temple of Shamash in Sippar.     Nabonidus Cylinders from Ur contain foundation text of  Ziggurat called E-lugal-galga-sisa, which belonged to Temple of Sin in Ur. Nabonidus describes how he repaired structure. It is probably King’s last building inscription & may be dated to ca. 540 BC. Text is interesting because it offers a full syncretism of Sin, Marduk, and Nabu.     Nabonidus cylinders from Ur are also noteworthy because they mention a son named Belshazzar, who is mentioned in Book of Daniel. Cylinders state:    “As for me, Nabonidus, King of Babylon, save me from sinning against your great Godhead and grant me as a present a lifelong of days, and as for Belshazzar, the eldest son -my offspring- instill reverence for your great Godhead in his heart and may he not commit any cultic mistake, may he be sated with a life of plenitude.” *))

002: (1st yr of Persian rule: Cyrus, etc. Achaemenid Empire begins from 120 yrs of earlier history, from the Achaemenes, Teispids, & Achaemenid family tree: Teispes (Hystaspes), Cyrus I, Cambyses I and Cyrus II, also known as Cyrus the Great, who created the empire (the later Behistun Inscription, written by Darius the Great, claims that Teispes was the son of Achaemenes and that Darius is also descended from Teispes through a different line, but no earlier texts mention Achaemenes). In Herodotus’ Histories, he writes that Cyrus the Great was the son of Cambyses I & Mandane of Media, the daughter of Astyages, the king of the Median Empire.) (Achaemenid Empire, called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire based in Western Asia founded by Cyrus the Great. Ranging at its greatest extent from the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper in the west to the Indus Valley in the east, it was larger than any previous empire in history, spanning 5.5 million square kilometers. Incorporating various peoples of different origins and faiths, it is notable for its successful model of a centralised, bureaucratic administration, for building infrastructure such as road systems and a postal system, the use of an official language across its territories, and the development of civil services and a large professional army. The empire’s successes inspired similar systems in later empires.)

003: (1st yr of Persian rule: Cyrus, etc.)  (Daniel dies @ 90.)

004: (1st yr of Persian rule: Cyrus, etc.)

005: (1st yr of Persian rule: Cyrus, etc.)

006: (1st yr of Persian rule: Cyrus, etc.) (King Cyrus dies.) (Cambyses makes Nehemiah Governor in Jerusalem.)

007: (Persian rule.)

008: (Persian rule.)

009: (Persian rule.)

010: (540 B.C.) (Persian rule.) (Darius I, Great, rules c.35 yrs., c.520-485 B.C. See ‘Behistun Inscription’.)

020: (530 B.C.) (Persian rule.) ((Cambyses II: King of Kings, Great King, of Persia, Babylon, Pharaoh of Egypt, King of Countries.  (Stela or Steel Stone Monument: Cambyses kneeling as Pharaoh while worshipping Apis Bull (524 B.C.). King of Kings (Shah) of Achaemenid Empire: Reign 530-July 522 B.C.  Predecessor: Cyrus II, Great. Successor: Bardiya, Co-ruler with Cyrus the Great (530 BC). Pharaoh of Egypt: Reign 525-July 522 B.C. Predecessor: Psamtik III. Successor: Bardiya.   (Royal Titulary: Prenomen (Praenomen): Offspring of Ra, Lord of Two Lands. Nomen: Cambyses.  Horus Name: Sematawy: Uniter of Two Lands.) Died July 522 B.C., Hamag, Eber-Nari.  House: Achaemenid. Father: Cyrus the Great. Mother: Cassandane.  Religion: Indo-Iranian. (Achaemenid Coin minted at Sardis, possibly under Cambyses II. Depicts on face-side open mouth Lion’s Head facing Horned Bull.)))    ((Darius I, Great: Great King of Persia, Babylon, Countries, Pharaoh of Egypt:  Reign: 29 Sept. 522 B.C.E.–Oct 486 B.C.E.. Coronation: Pasargadae. Pred. Bardiya. Suc.: Xerxes I. Pharaoh of Egypt: Reign: Sept. 522 B.C.E.–Oct. 486 B.C.E. Pred.: Bardiya. Suc.: Xerxes I.  Born: 550 B.C.E..  Died: Oct. 486 B.C.E. (@ c.64). Burial: Naqsh-e Rostam. Spouse: Atossa Artystone Parmys Phratagone Phaidimea daughter of Gobryas. Issue:    Artobazanes, Xerxes, Ariabignes, Arsamenes, Masistes, Achaemenes, Arsames, Gobryas, Ariomardus, Abriokomas, Hyperantes, Artazostre. Full name:  Dārayavahuš. Dynasty: Achaemenid. Father: Hystaspes. Mother: Rhodogune. Religion: Indo-Iranian religion.))   (Relief of Darius I in Persepolis: King Darius seated on Throne, crowned, bearded, fully robbed, in right hand holds long rod or staff or scepter, in his left hand ornate handled sword or dagger with blade between his thighs. His bare feet rests on footstool.)) (Royal titulary: Prenomen: Progeny of Ra. Nomen: Darius. Horus name: Splendid Mind; Chieftain & Lord, Beloved of Upper Egypt. Nebty name: Son of Amun. Golden Horus: ?)

030: (520 B.C.) (Persian rule.) (Bardiya: King of Kings, Great King, of Persia, Babylon, Countries, Pharaoh of Egypt: King of Kings (Shah) of Achaemenid Empire. Reign 522 B.C. Predecessor: Cambyses II. Successor: Great Darius. Pharaoh of Egypt: Reign 525–522 B.C. Pred.: Cambyses II. Suc.: Great Darius. Burial: 522 B.C. Spouse: Phaidyme. Issue: Parmys. Dynasty: Achaemenid. Father: Great Cyrus II (younger brother of Cambyses II). Mother: Cassandane. Religion: Zoroastrianism. Bardiya: Greek Smerdis.)  (Portrait of Achaemenid ruler toppled by Darius (or imposter Gaumata), appearing on Behistun Inscription: multilingual inscription & large rock relief on cliff at Mount Behistun in the Kermanshah Province of Iran, near city of Kermanshah in western Iran, established by Darius the Great. It was crucial to the decipherment of cuneiform script (inscription includes three versions of same text, written in three different cuneiform script languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian. This Inscription is to cuneiform what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost script.) (Behistun Inscription: Punishment of captured impostors & conspirators: Gaumāta lies under boot of Darius the Great. Last captive in line, wearing a traditional Scythian hat and costume, is identified as Skunkha. His image was added after the inscription was completed, requiring some of the text to be removed.)

040: (510 B.C.) (Persian rule.)

045: (505 B.C.)(Xerxes, grandson to Cyrus I, Great, by his mother, Cyrus’ daughter Atossa. (Called Ahasuerus in Book of Esther.) Xerxes ruled c.20 yrs, c.486-465 B.C.)

050: (500 B.C.) (Persian rule.)

060: (490 B.C.) (Persian rule.) (Wiki: Battle of Marathon fought in 490 B.C.  1st Persian invasion of Greece, citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, & Persian force commanded by Darius and Artaphernes. Battle was culmination 1st attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. Greek army decisively defeated the more numerous Persians, marking a turning point in Greco-Persian Wars.)

065: (485 B.C.) (Persian rule.) (Xerxes I: King of Kings, Great King, of Persia, Babylon, Countries, Pharaoh of Egypt: King of Achaemenid Empire: Reign: Oct. 486–Aug. 465 B.C.. (Rock relief of a Achaemenid king, most likely Xerxes, exactly like relief of Darius I, located in the National Museum of Iran.) Pred.: Great Darius. Suc. Artaxerxes I. Born: c. 518 B.C.. Died: Aug. 465 B.C. (@ c.53). Burial: Naqsh-e Rostam. Spouse: Amestris. Issue: Darius, Hystaspes, Artaxerxes I, Arsames, Amytis. Dynasty: Achaemenid. Father: Great Darius. Mother: Atossa. Religion: Indo-Iranian religion.)  (Xerxes the Great, 4th King of Kings (Shah) of the Achaemenid Empire;  like his father & predecessor Darius I, he ruled empire at its territorial apex. He was assassinated in 465 BC at the hands of Artabanus, commander of  royal bodyguard’ helped by eunuch, Aspamitres. Xerxes & Darius left throne vacant.) (Persian rule.) (Wiki.: Ency. Iranica: Persian defeat Battle of Marathon, Darius planed expedition against Greek-city states; he, Xerxis I, not Darius, would command imperial armies. Darius 3 yrs preparing men & ships for war; revolt broke out in Egypt; it worsened his failing health & prevented leading his army. Soon Darius died. October 486 B.C.E., Darius’ body was embalmed & entombed in prepared rock-cut tomb at Naqsh-e Rostam. Inscription on his tomb: “Great King, King of Kings, King of countries containing all kinds of men, King in this great earth far & wide, son of Hystaspes, Achaemenian, Persian, son of Persian, Aryan [Iranian], having Aryan lineage.” Xerxes, eldest son of Darius & Atossa, succeeded to the throne as Xerxes I; however, prior to Xerxes’s accession, he contested succession with his elder half-brother Artobarzanes, Darius’s eldest son, born to his first wife before Darius rose to power. Xerxes’ accession, empire was again ruled by member of House of Cyrus.)

070: (480 B.C.) (Persian rule.)

080: (470 B.C. ) (Persian rule.)

085: (465 B.C.) (Persian rule.) (Artaxerxes, 3rd son of of Xerxis I,  6th King of Kings of Achaemenid Empire, & grandson of Darius I. reigned c.40 yrs, c.465-424 B.C. ) (Relief of Artaxerxes I, holding bow, from his tomb in Naqsh-e Rustam.) (Artaxerxes I: King of Kings, Great King, of Persia, Countries, Pharaoh of Egypt: King  (Shah) of Achaemenid Empire: Reign: 465–424 B.C.. Pred. Xerxes I. Suc. Xerxes II. Pharaoh of Egypt. Reign. 465–424 B.C.. Pred. Xerxes I. Suc. Xerxes II. Born: Unknown. Died: 424 B.C., Susa. Burial: Naqsh-e Rustam, Persepolis. Spouse: Queen Damaspia Alogyne of Babylon Cosmartidene of Babylon Andia of Babylon. Issue: Xerxes II, Sogdianus, Darius II, Arsites, Parysatis. House: Achaemenid. Father: Xerxes I. Mother: Amestris. Religion: Zoroastrianism. Birth Nomen: Artaxerxes.)

090: (460 B.C. ) (Persian rule.)

100: (450 B.C. ) (Persian rule. 1st Cent.)

105: (Persian rule. 1st Cent.) ((Artaxerxes I, (died 425 B.C., Susa, Elam [now in Iran]), Achaemenid king of Persia (reigned c.40 yrs, c.465–425 B.C.).  Artaxerxes I died of natural causes in 424 B.C.E, having ensured  peaceful succession by naming Xerxes II his legitimate heir. Xerxes II reigned about 1 month, however, before he was assassinated by Sogdianus. Sogdianus had  support of a segment of  Nobles & ruled for six months (1/2 yr) before he was assassinated by his half-brother Nochus (also given as Ochus) who took the throne name Darius II.) (Book of Ezra & Nehemiah: King Artaxerxes commissioned Ezra the Priest, with letter of decree (see Cyrus’s edict), to take charge of the ecclesiastical & civil affairs of the Jewish nation. Ezra departed Babylon in the 1st month of 7th year of Artaxerxes’ reign, leading company of Jews, with priests & Levites; arrived in Jerusalem on 1st day of 5th month of 7th year in Hebrew calendar. King is Artaxerxes I (465-424 B.C.E.) or Artaxerxes II (404-359 B.C.E.) Nehemiah & Ezra independent of each other. Nehemiah 12: both are leading processions on the wall as part of the wall dedication ceremony. So, they clearly were contemporaries working together in Jerusalem at time Wall & City of Jerusalem was rebuilt. Ezra appears for 1st time in Nehemiah 8, having probably been at the court for twelve years.  Rebuilding of Jewish community in Jerusalem began under Cyrus the Great, who permitted Jews held captive in Babylon to Return to Jerusalem & Rebuild Solomon’s Temple. Some Jews returned to Jerusalem in 538 B.C., & foundation of “Second Temple” was laid in 536 B.C., in 2nd year of Return (Ezra 3:8). After a period of strife, the temple was finally completed in 6th year of Darius, 516 BC (Ezra 6:15). Artaxerxes’ 20th year: Nehemiah, King’s Cup-bearer, & King’s friend or favorite; Artaxerxes inquired after Nehemiah’s sadness. Nehemiah related to him plight of Jewish people & City of Jerusalem was undefended. King sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem with letters of safe passage to Governors in Trans-Euphrates, and to Asaph, Keeper of Royal Forests, to make beams for Citadel by Temple & to Rebuild City Walls.) (Darius II, Nothus or Ochus, was King of Kings (Shah) of Persian Empire reigned c. 20 yrs, c.423 B.C. to 405 B.C.  Artaxerxes I died in 424 B.C., was followed by his son Xerxes II. After 1 1/2 month Xerxes II was murdered by his brother Secydianus (Sogdianus). His illegitimate brother, Ochus, Satrap of Hyrcania, rebelled against Sogdianus, & after short fight killed him, & suppressed by treachery the attempt of his own brother Arsites to imitate his example. Ochus adopted the name Darius (Greek sources often call him Darius Nothos, “Bastard”). Neither the names Xerxes II nor Sogdianus occur in the dates of the numerous Babylonian tablets from Nippur; here effectively the reign of Darius II follows immediately after that of Artaxerxes I. Elephantine papyri mention Darius II as contemporary of  High Priest Johanan of Ezra 10:6.)(Darius II died c.405 B.C. before final victory of Egyptian general, Amyrtaeus, over the Persians in Egypt. His successor was his eldest son Arsames (his mother Parysatis), he was crowned as Artaxerxes II in Pasargadae. Reigned c.45 years. Reign: 404 to 358 BC (46 years). His son Artaxerxes III  was his successor. Coin with his portrait exists.))

110: (440 B.C.) (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.)

120: (430 B.C.) (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.)

125: (425 B.C.) (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.) (Xerxes II: King of Kings, Great King, of Persia, Countries, Pharaoh of Egypt: King  (Shah) of Achaemenid Empire: Reign: 424 B.C. (45 days). Pred.: Artaxerxes I. Suc.: Sogdianus. Pharaoh of Egypt: Reign: 424 BC (45 days). Pred.: Artaxerxes I. Suc.: Sogdianus. Died: Persepolis, Persia. House: Achaemenid. Father. Artaxerxes I. Mother: Damaspia. Religion: Zoroastrianism. Name: Artaxerxes.) (Darius II: King of Kings, Great King, of Persia, Countries, Pharaoh of Egypt: King (Shah) of Achaemenid Empire: Reign: 423 B.C.–404 B.C. Pred.: Sogdianus. Suc.: Artaxerxes II. Pharaoh of Egypt. Reign: 423 B.C.–404 B.C.. Pred.: Sogdianus. Suc.: Amyrtaeus. Died: 404 B.C.. Spouse: Parysatis. Issue: Artaxerxes II, Younger Cyrus, Ostanes. House: Achaemenid. Father: Artaxerxes I. Mother: Cosmartidene of Babylon. Royal titulary: Nomen: Darius. Nebty name: Meryamun Raneb Hebuserkhopesh.)

130: (420 B.C.)  (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.)

140: (410 B.C.) (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.)

145: (405 B.C.) (Amyrtaeus: Amenirdisu; Amyrtaios of Sais: (Aramaic papyrus from Elephantine, dating to Regnal Year 5 of Amyrtaeus (400 BC).) Pharaoh: Reign: 5 years, 404 B.C.-Oct. 399 B.C. (28th Dynasty). Pred.: Darius II. Suc.: Nepherites I. Died: Oct. 399 B.C.. Royal titulary: Amun-Given.)

150: (400 B.C.) (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.) (Artaxerxes II, Arsames, died c.360 B.C.  His son Artaxerxes III, was his successor.) (Ochus: dynastic name of Artaxerxes III,  was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 358-338 B.C. He was the son & successor of Artaxerxes II (reigned c20 yrs, c.404-358 B.C.) & his mother was Stateira. Before ascending Throne Artaxerxes was Satrap & Commander of his father’s army. Artaxerxes came to power after one of his brothers was executed, another committed suicide, the last murdered, & his father, Artaxerxes II, died. Soon after becoming King, Artaxerxes murdered all of  Royal Family to secure his place as King. He started two major campaigns against Egypt: 1st campaign failed, & was followed up by rebellions throughout the western part of his Empire. In 343 B.C., Artaxerxes defeated Nectanebo II, the Pharaoh of Egypt, driving him from Egypt, stopping a revolt in Phoenicia on the way. In Artaxerxes’ later years, Philip II of Macedon’s power, was increasing in Greece, where he tried to convince the Greeks to revolt against the Achaemenid Empire. His activities were opposed by Artaxerxes, and with his support, the city of Perinthus resisted Macedonian siege.)  (regnal name of Artaxerxes IV  was  twelfth Achaemenid king of Persia from 338 BC to 336 BC. He is known as Arses in Greek sources and that seems to have been his real name, but the Xanthus trilingue and potsherds from Samaria report that he took the royal name of Artaxerxes IV, following his father and grandfather.)

      ((Darius III (c. 380 – July 330 BC), originally named Artashata and called Codomannus by the Greeks,[1] was the last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, from 336 BC to 330 BC. Artashata adopted Darius as a dynastic name. His empire was unstable, with large portions governed by jealous and unreliable satraps and inhabited by disaffected and rebellious subjects. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great began his invasion of the Persian Empire and subsequently defeated the Persians in a number of battles before looting and destroying their capital, Persepolis, by fire in 330 BC. With the Persian Empire now effectively under Alexander’s control, Alexander then decided to pursue Darius. Before Alexander reached him, however, Darius was killed by his cousin Satrap Bessus. Ochus (heir) Alexander the Great (Macedonian Empire) Artaxerxes V Bessus (unofficially) (Pharaoh of Egypt Reign 336–332 BC Predecessor Artaxerxes IV Successor Alexander the Great))  (Nepherites I: Nefaarud I, Nayfaurud I. (Sphinx of pharaoh Nepherites I in the Louvre Museum.) Pharaoh: Reign: 399–393 B.C.. (29th Dynasty). Pred. Amyrtaeus. Suc. Hakor. Children: Hakor. Died: 393 B.C.. Burial:                 Mendes?. Royal titulary: Prenomen: Soul of Re, Beloved of Gods. Nomen: Great Ones prosper. Horus Name: Great Mind. Golden Horus: Chosen by the Gods.)

155: (395 B.C.)

160: (390 B.C.) (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.) (Hakor: Achoris, Hakoris, Hagar. (Upper half of statue of Hakor. In Cairo Museum.) Pharaoh: Reign: 392 (391)–379 (378) B.C.E. (29th Dynasty). Pred.: Nepherites I (392 (391) B.C.E.); Psammuthes (390 (389) B.C.E.) Suc.: Psammuthes (391 (390) B.C.E.); Nepherites II (379 (380) B.C.E.) Children: Nepherites II. Father: Nepherites I? Royal titulary: Prenomen: Embraces maat of Ra, Chosen One of Khnum. Nomen: Hakor; Hagar, Arab / Bedouin. Horus name: Great of Intellect who loves the Two Lands. Nebty name: Brave. Golden Horus: Satisfying Gods.)

170: (380 B.C.) (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.) (Nepherites II: Nefaarud II. Pharaoh: Reign: Summer 380 B.C. (29th Dynasty).Pred.: Hakor. Suc.: Nectanebo I. Father: Hakor. Died: 380 B.C.. Royal titulary: ?) (Nectanebo I: (Statue of Nectanebo I with khepresh crown ( khepresh was an ancient Egyptian royal headdress. It is also known as the blue crown or war crown. New Kingdom pharaohs are often depicted wearing it in battle, but it was also frequently worn in ceremonies.) Pharaoh: Reign: 379 (378)–361 (360) B.C.E..(30th Dynasty). Pred.: Nepherites II (29th Dynasty). Suc.: Teos. Royal titulary. Children: Teos, Tjahapimu. Father: Djedhor. Mother: unknown. Royal titulary. Royal titulary: Prenomen: Manifestation of Ka of Ra. Nomen: Lord’s Strong One. Horus name: Strong Arm. Nebty name: Maker of Two Lands Admirable. Golden Horus: Pleases Gods.)

180: (370 B.C.) (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.)

190: (360 B.C.) (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.) (Teos: (Fragment of faience saucer (fine tin-glazed blue decorated earthenware pottery) inscribed with the name of Teos. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.) Pharaoh: Reign: 361 (360–359 (358) B.C.E..(30th Dynasty). Coregency: 3 years with Nectanebo I. Pred.: Nectanebo I. Suc.: Nectanebo II. Children: Khedebneithirbinet II (?). Father: Nectanebo I. Royal titulary: Pharaoh. Prenomen: Carrying out Justice of Ra. Nomen: Horus Says Chosen of Anhur. Horus name: Appears as Maat, Leader of Two Lands.Nebty name: ?  Golden Horus: Ruling King Destroys Foreign Countries.) (Nectanebo II: (Head of Nectanebo II, handsome young man, headdress, Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon.) Pharaoh: Reign: 360–342 B.C. (Thirtieth Dynasty). Pred.: Teos. Suc.: Artaxerxes III. Father: Tjahapimu. Born: c.380 B.C..Died: c.340 ? B.C.. Royal titulary: Prenomen: Heart Pleasing Ra, Chosen of Onuris. Nomen: Strong Horus of Hebit, Beloved of Hathor. Horus name: Beloved by Two Lands. Nebty name: ? Golden Horus: Creator of Laws.) (Artaxerxes III: King of Kings, Great King, King of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt, King of Countries Artaxerxes III tomb at Persepolis. Bust of Artaxerxes III, holding bow, located in the Allard Pierson Museum in the Netherlands. King of Kings (Shah) of the Achaemenid Empire: Reign:              358–338 B.C.. Pred: Artaxerxes II: Suc: Arses. Pharaoh of Egypt: Reign: 343–338 B.C.. Pred. Nectanebo II. Suc. Arses. Died: Aug. (Sept.) 338 B.C.. Burial: Persepolis. Issue: Arses. Parysatis II. Dynasty. Achaemenid. Father     Artaxerxes II. Mother: Stateira. Religion: Zoroastrianism.)

200: (350 B.C.) (Persian rule. 2nd Cent.)

210: (340 B.C.) (Arses: Artaxerxes IV: King of Kings, Great King, King of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt, King of Countries. (Artaxerxes IV = Arses: Probable portrait of Arses on coinage, on reverse side seated crowned bearded, holding long staff & ornate handle sword or dagger, wearing the Egyptian Pharaonic crown. King (Shah) of the Achaemenid Empire. Reign: 338–336 B.C.. Pred. Artaxerxes III. Suc. Darius III. Pharaoh of Egypt. Pred. Artaxerxes III. Suc.: Darius III. Died: 336 B.C.. Regnal name: Artaxerxes IV. Dynasty            Achaemenid. Father: Artaxerxes III. Mother: Atossa. Religion: Zoroastrianism.)

215: (335 B.C.) (Darius III: King of Kings, Great King, King of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt, King of Countries. King of Kings (Shah) of the Achaemenid Empire. Reign: 336–330 B.C.. Pred: Artaxerxes IV, Arses. Suc.: Ochus (heir). Alexander the Great (Macedonian (Greek) Empire). Artaxerxes V, Bessus (unofficially). Pharaoh of Egypt: Reign: 336–332 B.C.. Pred. Artaxerxes IV. Suc. Alexander the Great. Born: c.380 B.C.. Persia. Died. July 330 B.C. (aged c. 50), Bactria. Burial: Persepolis. Spouse: Stateira I. Issue: Stateira II, Ochus, Drypetis. House: Achaemenid Dynasty. Father: Arsames of Ostanes. Mother: Sisygambis. Religion: Zoroastrianism.)   (Darius III (c.380–July 330 B.C.), originally named Artashata and called Codomannus by the Greeks,was the last king of Persian Achaemenid Empire.)   (Alexander the Great: Basileus of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Shahanshah of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt, Lord of Asia. (Alexander Mosaic (c. 100 BC), ancient Roman floor mosaic from the House of Faun in Pompeii showing Alexander fighting king Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Issus.) King of Macedon: Reign: 336–323 B.C. Pred.: Philip II. Suc.: Alexander IV, Philip III. Hegemon of Hellenic League Strategos Autokrator of Greece: Reign: 336 B.C.. Pred.: Philip II. Pharaoh of Egypt. Reign: 332–323 B.C.. Pred.: Darius III. Successor: Alexander IV, Philip III. King of Persia: Reign: 330–323B.C.. Pred: Darius III. Suc.: Alexander IV, Philip III. Lord of Asia: Reign: 331–323 B.C.. Pred.: New office. Suc.: Alexander IV, Philip III. Born: 20 or 21 July 356 B.C., Pella, Macedon, Ancient Greece. Died: 10 or 11 June 323 BC (aged 32), Babylon, Mesopotamia. Spouse: Roxana of Bactria, Stateira II of Persia, Parysatis II of Persia. Issue: Alexander IV, Heracles of Macedon (alleged illegitimate son). Full name: Alexander III of Macedon. Great Alexander. Dynasty: Argead. Father: Philip II of Macedon. Mother: Olympias of Epirus. Religion: Greek polytheism. Royal titulary: Prenomen: Chosen by Ra, Beloved by Amun. Nomen: Alexandros, Alexander. Horus name: Mekemet: Protector of Egypt. Second Horus name: BraveRuler, Attacker of Foreign Lands. Third Horus name: Ruler of Rulers of Entire Land (World). Fourth Horus name: Sturdy-Armed One.  Nebty name: Great Mighty Lion, Conqueror of Mountains, Lands, & Deserts. Golden Horus: (Strong) Bull, Protector Egypt, Ruler of Sea & of what the Sun Encircles (i.e. of All Under the Sun, the World or Globe.)

220: (330 B.C.) (Persian rule, Ends after 220 yrs after conquest of Babylon.)  (Greek Empire begins with Alexander I, Great & his 4 Generals: Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Mesopotamia and Central Asia, Attalid Anatolia, and Antigonid Macedon. Alexander IV and Philip III were murdered.) (Artabazanes of Media Atropatene (3rd century B.C.), was a Prince & King of Atropatene Kingdom. He ruled c.220 B.C. & was contemporary of Seleucid Greek King Antiochus III, Great, of Iranian lineage. Artabazanes: grandson of Persian King Darius II. Father of Artabazanes was one of the 4 sons born to Darius II with daughter of Gobryas, prior to his accession.)

230: (320 B.C.) (Greek rule. 1st Cent.)

240: (320 B.C.) (Greek rule. 1st Cent.)

250: (310 B.C.) (Greek rule. 1st Cent.)

300: (300 B.C.) (Greek rule. 1st Cent.)

310: (Greek rule. 1st Cent.)

320: (Greek rule. 1st Cent.)

330: (Greek rule. 1st Cent.)

340: (Greek rule. 1st Cent.)

350: (Greek rule. 2nd Cent.)

360: (Greek rule.)

370: (Greek rule.)

380: (Greek rule.)

390: (Greek rule.)

400: (Greek rule.)

410: (Greek rule.)

420: (Greek rule.)

430: (Greek rule.)

440: (Greek rule.)

450: (Greek rule. 3rd Cent.)

460: (Greek rule.)

470: (Greek rule.)

480: (Greek rule.)

490: (Greek rule.)

500: (Greek rule.)

510: (Greek rule.)

520: (Greek rule. 3rd Cent.)

530: (Greek rule ends.  Roman rule begins with Julius Caesar & Augustus.)

540: (Roman rule. 1st Cent.)

550: (Roman rule.)

560: (Roman rule.) (B.C. dates change to A.D. dates.) (New Testament. Jesus the Christ (Messiah) is born.)

570: (Roman rule.)

580: (Roman rule.)

590: (Roman rule.) (Jesus Christ ministered & crucified, buried & resurrected.)

600: (Roman rule.)