Wednesday, May 11, 2016

More of Our Prophetic History


******* Continuing our prophecy study--  Please GO back and read the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily.  Thank you :)  God bless you! *******

Yesterday we discuss Daniel 11: 1- 4  which brought us right up to Alexander the Great's divided kingdom.
How many main compass directions are there?  North, South, East and West, right?  So when we read this next verse we have to keep in mind that we'd just discuss the divided kingdoms.

Dan 11:5  And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.

How was Alexander the Great's kingdom divided to the South, North, East, West?  We need a starting point don't we? Well, because we are reading from our Bible and this is Biblical prophecy it only seems sensible to use the Holy City,  the city from which Daniel had been taken, Jerusalem. 

The following is taken from a site online but it sums it up nicely- if you go to the site you'll see a map and chart.


North
-taken by Lysimachus- Thrace, Asia Minor
Later conquerered by Seleucus (281)
Roman rule-Pompey (63 BC)

South
- taken by Ptolemy- Egypt, Palestine,
Roman rule- Octavian (31 BC)

East
-taken by Seleucus- Syria, Babylon, Persia,
Later conquered by Ptolemy Ceraunus 
Roman rule- Pompey (63 BC)

West
-taken by Cassander- Greece, Macedonia,
Later conquered by Lysimachus (288)
Roman rule- Aemilius Paullus (168)

After the death of Alexander without an heir, the Greek empire was eventually divided among four successors. Ptolemy, Seleucus and Lysimachus were his generals and Cassander was the son of his general Antipater.

After a while, the empire was reduced to a northern and southern kingdom.

Diadochi Wars.

SOUTH
The Greeks started a new dynasty of kings (Ptolemies) in Egypt. They were defeated in the battle of Actium in 31 BC.

NORTH
The generals in the north were at war.
• Lysimachus. In 288 BC, Lysimachus allied with Pyrrhus of Epirus and invaded Macedonia then he expelled Pyrrhus in 285. Now he controlled Greece, Macedonia, Thrace and Asia Minor.
• Seleucus 1 Nicantor. In 281 BC, he killed Lysimachus in the battle of Corupedion. Now everything except Egypt belonged to him, but not for long.
• Ptolemy Ceraunus. In 281 BC, he murdered Seleucus 1 Nicantor and controlled the north.


So now we have to advance with this prophecy and history-

Dan 11:5  And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.

The king of the South- Egypt-  this king would be strong but another  would be stronger than Him and have a greater dominion than he does.  Does this reflect history? The ruler who took over Egypt was Ptolemy, let's see what history reveals.
~

'Seleucus I (given the surname by later generations of Nicator, i.e. Seleucus the Victor) (ca. 358 BC – 281 BC) was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. In the Wars of the Diadochi that took place after Alexander's death, Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty and the Seleucid Empire. His kingdom would be one of the last holdouts of Alexander's former empire to Roman rule.

They were only outlived by the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt by roughly 34 years.

After the death of Alexander, Seleucus was nominated as the satrap of Babylon in 320 BC. Antigonus forced Seleucus to flee from Babylon, but, supported by Ptolemy, he was able to return in 312 BC.

Seleucus' later conquests include Persia and Media. He formed an alliance with the Indian King Chandragupta Maurya. Seleucus defeated Antigonus in the battle of Ipsus in 301 BC and Lysimachus in the battle of Corupedium in 281 BC. He was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus during the same year. His successor was his son Antiochus I.

Seleucus founded a number of new cities, including Antioch and Seleucia.'




Seleucus was supported by Ptolemy and went on to form a greater empire than Ptolemy. This holds true to prophecy.  The king of Egypt supported (one of his princes) Seleucus and then he went on to be strong above the king of Egypt garnering more land through his conquests.  This divide took the four (N,E,S,W) and the split was more between two (N,S). 

Now it is incredibly important to understand that the kingdoms of these various directional divisions N,S are the focus. The land of the North, the land of the South- we cannot logically keep it to the ruling kings of the time because it would make absolutely no sense whatsoever. The land has to be the main focus.  We understand that those who controlled the divided kingdom, not by happenstance, split it between North and South by design, God's design.

So when Seleucus died not long after gaining his great kingdom encompassing much of the Northern territory that had once belonged to the conquering Alexander the Great, the lands fell to his successor and they become the *kings* of that territory.

Now let's look at the next verse--

Dan 11:6  And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.

This is very detailed. The king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement- did this happen? Yes.

'Berenice, also called Berenice Syra, was the daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and his first wife Arsinoe I of Egypt.
In 261 BC she married the Seleucid monarch Antiochus II Theos (King of the North), who, following an agreement with Ptolemy(King of the South)  (249 BC), had divorced his wife Laodice I and transferred the succession to Berenice's children.'


HISTORY! PROPHECY!

Berenice daughter of Ptolemy (King of the South) married the Selecuid (Seleucus') monarch Antiochus II Theos(King of the North)- following an AGREEMENT with the king of the south to divorce his current wife and give all succession to the daughter of the South's children.

That's not all of it though.  The verse goes on-- ' but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. '

The daughter would NOT retain power- they would not stand- they would be given up that brought her and begat her and strengethened her- read this….

'In 246 BC, when Ptolemy died, Antiochus II took up again with his first wife, Laodice. The Syrian King died shortly after, many suspect from poisoning. Queen Berenice claimed the Regency for her son, Seleucus and conquered Soloia with her army, however, she and her son were both poisoned by Laodice as well. Berenice's brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes succeeded their father and set about to avenge his sister's murder by invading Syria and having Laodice killed.'


The daughter of the king of the South did NOT stay in power with the king of the North- the king of the North brought back his first wife. Then the king of the North died and the first wife claimed everything for her son- even going on to kill the daughter of the king of the South and her children, and her entire entourage that had come with her from the South. Such treachery and all predicted by Daniel's prophecies, God's prophecies through Daniel.

Let's read more of this fascinating history predicted LONG before it occurred.

Dan 11:7  But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:
Dan 11:8  And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.
Dan 11:9  So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.

Out from the fallen daughter of the king of the South (Berenice) came her family to avenge her. Just reread a bit of the history already noted above--

'Berenice's brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes succeeded their father and set about to avenge his sister's murder by invading Syria and having Laodice killed.'


Berenice's brother - King of the South avenged the death of his sister and  the murdering Laodice was killed.

'Due to a falling out at the Seleucid court, his eldest sister Berenice Phernophorus was murdered along with her infant son. In response Ptolemy III invaded Syria.[6] During this war, the Third Syrian War, he occupied Antioch and even reached Babylon.[7] In exchange for a peace in 241 BC, Ptolemy was awarded new territories on the northern coast of Syria, including Seleucia Pieria, the port of Antioch. The Ptolemaic kingdom reached the height of its power.'


The king of the South went into the kingdom of the North and he gained much- 'awarded new territories' , the kingdoms of the South reached the HEIGHT of its power. 

Amazing facts! Amazing truths! Amazing history! Amazing prophecies! 

There is no doubt to be left here, the pieces once again fit into place.  

Why is it so important that we piece together the prophecy with history? Because it will lead us right up to the end… to prophecy not yet filled.

We have to remember though, and remember it good- there will come a time when God's people will be living in the last prophecies, they will, or maybe I should say -we will, be living as prophecy is being fulfilled. We are blessed with being able to watch and pray. We are blessed with being able to discern the signs of the times we live in.  All through history people had to live through prophecies as they were fulfilled- and only as we've looked back can we see where things have come to pass as predicted, but at the end there will be no looking back. It's so important for us to piece this together as God allows, as the Holy Spirit guides us so we can understand our own position in prophetic time.

By the grace of God we will understand more and more of His truth and all the truth we need to be prepared for Him fully, known by Him,  all in His amazing LOVE!

More tomorrow by God's amazing grace!


Amen.
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