History Rich - Prophecy Revealed

******* 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! ******

History rich.  We are very history rich. We are blessed with the recorded history we have, blessed beyond measure.

To many people history is dull and very boring to trudge through. And yes, I imagine it can be tiresome to those who have absolutely no interest in the past. Any serious Bible student knows that prophecy is proven by history. Even if it's a prophecy for something to happen a day later, history proves it comes to pass.

Do we need to be serious Bible students? Or do we just have to be casual Bible readers? Give it some thought, this isn't something to take lightly.  Is it just fine to read a single Bible verse once a day? Or once a week?

 Who am I to answer these questions? Seriously.

Every single one of us needs to walk the walk we are called to and not everyone is called to walk the same walk. Am I copping out? I don't think so. It's true, I can't judge a single person for how often or how much of the Bible they read.  I could be accountable to read so much more than I do, we all have to answer to God in our own way, we really, really do.

Having said all that I have to say I think we need to study the Bible diligently if we are called to do so. If the opportunity is ours we need to take it. I suppose I'm feeling the need to say this because I know how long and detailed all this is, and how tedious to read it can be. Every bit of it though is confirmation of prophecy, and as confirmation of prophecy we are assured that every single word of God's prophecy WILL come to pass without any doubt whatsoever.   People ask how can you know the Bible is real, they ask how can you know God is real, they say that the Bible and all that prophecy stuff are fairy tales, fables, nonsense.  As history has proven the truth of prophecy HOW can there be doubt? How can there be a single shred of doubt?  There can't be.

May God help us as prophecy unfolds in history.

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Dan 11:10  But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.

(KoN- King of North  KoS- King of South)

'Seleucus II Callinicus or Pogon...was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire (KoN), who reigned from 246 to 225 BC.  After the death of this father, Antiochus, (KoN) he was proclaimed king by his mother, Laodice in Ephesos, while her partisans at Antioch murdered Berenice and her son, another Antiochus.

This dynastic feud began the Third Syrian War.

Ptolemy III (KoS), who was Berenice's brother and the ruler of Egypt, invaded the Seleucid Empire (KoN) and marched victoriously to the Tigris or beyond. He received the submission of the Seleucid Empire's eastern provinces, while Egyptian fleets swept the coast of Asia Minor.

Seleucus (KoN) managed to maintain himself in the interior of Asia Minor. When Ptolemy (KoS) returned to Egypt, Seleucus recovered Northern Syria and the nearer provinces of Iran. However, Antiochus Hierax, a younger brother of Seleucus (KoN), was set up as a rival in Asia Minor against Seleucus by a party to which Laodice herself adhered.

At Ancyra (about 235 BC) Seleucus (KoN) sustained a crushing defeat and left the country beyond the Taurus to his brother and the other powers of the peninsula. Seleucus then undertook an anabasis to regain Parthia, the results of which came to nothing. According to some sources, he was even taken prisoner for several years by the Parthian king. Other sources mention that he established a peace with Arsaces I, who recognized his sovereignty.

In Asia Minor, Pergamon now rose to greatness under Attalus I. Antiochus Hierax, after a failed attempt to seize his brother's dominions when his own were vanishing, perished as a fugitive in Thrace in 228 or 227 BC.

About a year later, Seleucus (KoN) was killed by a fall from his horse. Seleucus II  married his cousin Laodice II, by whom he had five children and among them were: Antiochis, Seleucus III Ceraunus and Antiochus III the Great. He was succeeded by his elder son, Seleucus III Ceraunus, and later by his younger son Antiochus III the Great. (KoN)'


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Sons--

 He was succeeded by his elder son, Seleucus III Ceraunus (KoN), and later by his younger son Antiochus III the Great. (KoN)

Prophecy-- ONE  shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.

Let's take a look at these sons- will ONE of them overflow, pass through, return?

SON ONE-
'Seleucus III Soter, called Seleucus Ceraunus (... 243 BC – 223 BC), was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom, the eldest son of Seleucus II Callinicus and Laodice II. His birth name was Alexander and was named after his great uncle the Seleucid official Alexander. Alexander changed his name to Seleucus after he succeeded his father as King. After a brief reign of three years (225 BC-223 BC), Seleucus was assassinated in Anatolia by members of his army while on campaign against Attalus I of Pergamon. His official byname "Soter" - Greek: S?t?? means "Saviour", while his nickname "Ceraunus" …'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucus_III_Ceraunus


SON TWO-
'Antiochus III the Great (Greek:.. 241–187 BC, ruled 222–187 BC), younger son of Seleucus II Callinicus, became the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire as a youth of about eighteen in 223 BC. Ascending the throne at young age, Antiochus was an ambitious ruler. Although his early attempts in war against the Ptolemaic Kingdom were unsuccessful, in the following years of conquest Antiochus proved himself as the most successful Seleucid King after Seleucus I himself. His traditional designation, the Great, reflects an epithet he briefly assumed after his Eastern Campaign (it appears in regnal formulas at Amyzon in 203 and 202 BC, but not later). Antiochus also assumed the title "Basileus Megas" (which is Greek for "Great King"), the traditional title of the Persian kings, which he adopted after his conquest of Coele Syria.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_III_the_Great


Surely it is obvious one son rose far up above the other and passed Him by, stirring up a fortress.


Dan 11:11  And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
Dan 11:12  And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.

Read this--

'The Battle of Raphia, also known as the Battle of Gaza, was a battle fought on 22 June 217 BC near modern Rafah between the forces of Ptolemy IV Philopator, king of Egypt (KoS) and Antiochus III  (KoN)the Great of the Seleucid kingdom  during the Syrian Wars. It was one of the largest battles of the Hellenistic kingdoms of the Diadochi and was waged to determine the sovereignty of Coele Syria.'

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King of the South (KoS)  and King of the North (KoN) fighting.

Who took away the multitude?

'Antiochus (KoN) initially set up his camp at a distance of 10 (about 2 km) and then only 5 stades (about 1 km) from his adversary's.(KoS)  Many skirmishes took place before the battle due to this proximity. One night, Theodotus the Aetolian, formerly an officer of Ptolemy, sneaked inside the Ptolemaic camp and reached what he presumed to be the King's tent but Ptolemy was absent and so failed to assassinate him.

After 5 days of skirmishing, the two Kings decided to array their troops for battle. Both placed their Phalangites in the center. Next to them they fielded the light armed and the mercenaries in front of which they placed their elephants and even further in the wings their cavalry. They spoke to their soldiers, took their places in the lines — Ptolemy(KoS)  in his left and Antiochus(KoN)  in his right wing — and the battle commenced.

In the beginning of the battle, the elephant contingents on the wings of both armies moved to charge. Most African elephants, the species used by Ptolemy, retreated in panic before the impact and ran through the lines of friendly infantry arrayed behind them, causing disorder in their ranks. At the same time, Antiochus had led his cavalry to the right, rode past the left wing of the Ptolemaic elephants charging the enemy horse. At the same time, the right wing of Ptolemy was retreating and wheeling to protect itself from the panicked elephants. Ptolemy rode to the center encouraging his phalanx to attack, while on the Ptolemaic far right, Ptolemy's cavalry was routing their opponents.

Antiochus (KoN) routed the Ptolemaic  (KoS) horse posed against him and pursued the fleeing enemy en masse, believing to have won the day, but the Ptolemaic (KoS) center eventually drove the Syrians back and soon Antiochus(KoN) realized that his judgment was wrong. Antiochus(KoN) tried to ride back, but by the time he rode back, his troops were routed and could no longer be regrouped. The battle had ended.

After the battle, Antiochus(KoN) wanted to regroup and make camp outside the city of Raphia but most of his men had already found refuge inside and he was thus forced to enter it himself. Then he marched to Gaza and asked Ptolemy (KoS) for the customary truce to bury the dead, which he was granted.

According to Polybius, the Syrians suffered a little under 10,000 foot dead, about 300 horse and 5 elephants, 4,000 men were taken prisoner. The Ptolemaic losses were 1,500 foot, 700 horse and 16 elephants. Most of the Syrian elephants were taken by the Ptolemies.' (KoS)

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Clearly the King of the South won!   Who took away the multitude?  The king of the South!

But…
Dan 11:12 '...but he shall not be strengthened by it.'
Dan 11:13  For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.
Dan 11:14  And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

Did this happen as Scripture said it would?  Did this prophecy come true? It's God's prophecy, it came true!

'The Battle of Panium (also known as Paneion) was fought in 200 BC between Seleucid (KoN)  and Ptolemaic (KoS) forces as part of the Syrian Wars. The Seleucids were led by Antiochus III the Great, while the Ptolemaic army was led by Scopas of Aetolia. The Seleucids (KoN)  won the battle. Details of this battle are not clear, but it is known today that major factor in the Seleucid victory was that the Seleucid army used the cataphract in a decisive manner. The cataphracts attacked the Egyptian cavalry on the flanks and drove the enemy cavalry off, leaving the backs of the enemy infantry to the front of the line exposed. The Seleucid cataphracts then attacked their infantry in the rear, thus leading to an Egyptian rout. The specific equipment used by these relatively early cataphracts is not clearly known.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Panium

Now we have to realize all the time passing here- soon another force was going to come into play and it came in gradually not all at once, kingdoms were formed by winning battles. Great kingdoms are formed by winning A LOT of battles and conquering many.  We know from our previous prophetic visions that after Greece, and after the four divisions and after that kingdom begins to wan then the Roman kingdom would begin its rise.

Let's see if this isn't the beginning of Rome's influence here-

Dan 11:15  So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.

'Palestine had passed from the Egypt-based Ptolemaic rule to that of the Syrian-oriented Seleucids after Antiochus III was first checked at battle of Raphia in 217 B.C., but then succeeded against his Egyptian foe at Panion in 198 B.C. Antiochus III’s triumph in Palestine was to be short-lived, however, for his ambitions in Greece crossed the Roman dare-line. '

'The Romans thrashed the Syrian monarch in Thrace in two land battles and a naval campaign at Corycus that served notice that the Romans were now a factor to be considered on water as well as land.'

'A client of Rome, Ptolemy V Epiphanes (KoS) assumed the throne of Ptolemaic Egypt in 205 BC at the tender age of 5, only to see his dominion wracked by civil war and reduced by the invading armies of Antiochus III (KoN) of Persian and Philip V of Macedonia, who had plotted a secret alliance to divide the Ptolemaic kingdom between them. In 201 BC, an attempt by Antiochus (KoN) to seize Palestine and Gaza was rebuffed by the Ptolemaic army.(KoS) In 200 BC, Antiochus again struck out from Syria with an army of invasion. The Ptolemiac army under Scopas (Skopes) marched north to block their route at the head of the Jordan valley. But Antiochus had already reached the high ground at Mt. Hermon and made his camp there to await the Ptolemiac approach.'

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Rome steps into the picture but not the all conquering Rome we know of history- this was its beginning and in its beginning there were failures.

Dan 11:15  So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, (ROMANS) neither shall there be any strength to withstand.

Neither his chosen people- why are these the chosen people, because the King of the South chose Roman to align with, these was also God's chosen to become the next great kingdom.

Antiochus (KoN) prevailed over the KoS (Ptolemiac Army) and the Romans help them.

So what happened next?

Dan 11:16  But he that cometh against him (KoN) shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him (KoS -Roman power rising) : and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.

'War against Rome and death Main article: Roman–Syrian War

Antiochus (KoN) then moved to Asia Minor, by land and by sea, to secure the coast towns which belonged to the remnants of Ptolemaic (KoS) overseas dominions and the independent Greek cities. This enterprise brought him into antagonism with Rome, since Smyrna and Lampsacus appealed to the republic of the west, and the tension became greater after Antiochus (KoN) had in 196 BC established a footing in Thrace. The evacuation of Greece by the Romans gave Antiochus his opportunity, and he now had the fugitive Hannibal at his court to urge him on.

In 192 BC Antiochus invaded Greece with a 10,000 man army, and was elected the commander in chief of the Aetolians. In 191 BC, however, the Romans under Manius Acilius Glabrio routed him at Thermopylae and obliged him to withdraw to Asia. The Romans followed up their success by attacking Antiochus in Anatolia, and the decisive victory of Scipio Asiaticus at Magnesia ad Sipylum (190 BC), following the defeat of Hannibal at sea off Side, delivered Asia Minor into their hands.

By the Treaty of Apamea (188 BC) the Seleucid king (KoN) abandoned all the country north of the Taurus, which Rome distributed amongst its friends. As a consequence of this blow to the Seleucid power, the outlying provinces of the empire, recovered by Antiochus, reasserted their independence. Antiochus mounted a fresh expedition to the east in Luristan, where he died in an attempt to rob a temple at Elymaïs, Persia, in 187 BC.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_III_the_Great

'The Battle of Pydna in 168 BC between Rome and the Macedonian Antigonid dynasty saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenic/Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back to Alexander the Great.

Paul K. Davis writes that "Pydna marked the final destruction of Alexander’s empire and introduced Roman authority over the Near East."[1]'

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The Iron rule of Rome was coming up fully doing away with the last remnants of Greece rulership.

Dan 11:16  But he that cometh against him (KoN) shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him (KoS -Roman power rising) : and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.

The dividing rule of North and South was slipping away as Rome became ruler over all the land.

Within the Roman rule however there was a lot of internal strife and there were many years of fighting amongst themselves.

Now we have to look at prophecy and it say- HE shall stand in the glorious land.  Where is the glorious land?

Eze 20:6  In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands

Jer 3:19  But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.

Zec 2:12  And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.

So the one to rise and none stand against him would do so in the glorious land (Palestine)- let's look at history but first let's read this--

Dan 11:16  But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.

'Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey  ... (September 29, 106 BC – September 29, 48 BC), was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. '

'Pompey in the east
'Pompey in the Temple of Jerusalem, by Jean Fouquet

At Pompey's approach, Mithridates strategically withdrew his forces. Tigranes the Great refused him refuge, so he made his way to his own dominions in the Cimmerian Bosporus. Pompey secured a treaty with Tigranes, and in 65 BC set out in pursuit of Mithridates, but met resistance from the Caucasian Iberians and Albanians. He advanced to Phasis in Colchis and liaised with his legate Servilius, admiral of his Euxine fleet, before decisively defeating Mithridates. Pompey then retraced his steps, wintered at Pontus, and made it into a Roman province. In 64 BC, he marched into Syria, deposed its king, Antiochus XIII Asiaticus, and reconstituted this, too, as a Roman province.[34] In 63 BC, he moved south, and established Roman supremacy in Phoenicia and Coele-Syria.[35]

In Judea, Pompey intervened in civil war between Hyrcanus II, who supported the Pharisee faction against Aristobulus II and the Sadducees in Judaea's civil war. The armies of Pompey and Hyrcanus II laid siege to Jerusalem. After three months, the city fell.[36]

"Of the Jews there fell twelve thousand, but of the Romans very few.... and no small enormities were committed about the temple itself, which, in former ages, had been inaccessible, and seen by none; for Pompey went into it, and not a few of those that were with him also, and saw all that which it was unlawful for any other men to see but only for the high priests. There were in that temple the golden table, the holy candlestick, and the pouring vessels, and a great quantity of spices; and besides these there were among the treasures two thousand talents of sacred money: yet did Pompey touch nothing of all this, on account of his regard to religion; and in this point also he acted in a manner that was worthy of his virtue. The next day he gave order to those that had the charge of the temple to cleanse it, and to bring what offerings the law required to God; and restored the high priesthood to Hyrcanus, both because he had been useful to him in other respects, and because he hindered the Jews in the country from giving Aristobulus any assistance in his war against him." (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, book 14, chapter 4; tr. by William Whiston, available at Project Gutenberg.)

During the war in Judea, Pompey heard of Mithridates' suicide; his army had deserted him for his son Pharnaces.[34] Rome's Asian protectorates now extended as far east as the Black Sea and the Caucasus. Pompey's military victories, political settlements and annexations in Asia created Rome's new frontier on the east.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompey

But Pompey had others that would stand before him - who is this person?  Who would continue what Pompey had begun?

Dan 11:17  He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
Dan 11:18  After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him.

'Gaius Julius Caesar[2] (13 July 100 BC[3] – 15 March 44 BC)[4] was a Roman general and statesman. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.

In 60 BC, Caesar entered into a political alliance with Crassus and Pompey that was to dominate Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power through populist tactics were opposed within the Roman Senate by the conservative elite, among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar's conquest of Gaul, completed by 51 BC, extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine. Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both when he built a bridge across the Rhine and conducted the first invasion of Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse Pompey's standing.

The balance of power was further upset by the death of Crassus in 53 BC. Political realignments in Rome finally led to a standoff between Caesar and Pompey, the latter having taken up the cause of the Senate. Ordered by the senate to stand trial in Rome for various charges, Caesar marched from Gaul to Italy with his legions, crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC. This sparked a civil war from which he emerged as the unrivaled leader of the Roman world.

After assuming control of government, he began extensive reforms of Roman society and government. He centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity". A group of senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus, assassinated the dictator on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, hoping to restore the constitutional government of the Republic. However, the result was a series of civil wars, which ultimately led to the establishment of the permanent Roman Empire by Caesar's adopted heir Octavius (later known as Augustus). Much of Caesar's life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar

'REIGN OF JULIUS CAESAR (48 - 44 BC)
Julius Caesar, who lived from 100 - 44 BC, finally settled his struggle with Pompey in 48 BC at the Battle of Pharsalus. In this battle Pompey was killed, and Julius Caesar then became the undisputed ruler of the Roman Empire. Antipater, who had previously supported Pompey, was an excellent diplomat and managed to convince Julius Caesar that he was now loyal to him. Julius Caesar allowed him to remain in his position of power in Palestine.

Julius Caesar also manifested a very lenient attitude toward the Jewish people throughout his kingdom, and granted them many special favors, among which was the right of full religious freedom. A year after Julius Caesar came to power Antipater died, and his son Herod became Procurator of Judea. Three years later, in March, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated.'

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Dan 11:17  He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
Dan 11:18  After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him.

The upright ones?  God's chosen people.  The Jewish people and Julius Caesar got along well together.

Who was the daughter of women?

'Cleopatra VII Philopator (...Late 69 BC[1] – August 12, 30 BC) was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.

As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name.'

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'...but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him.' (Dan. 11:17,18)

After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus). '

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'Caesar even took steps to transform Italy into a province, and to link more tightly the other provinces of the empire into a single cohesive unit. This addressed the underlying problem that had caused the Social War decades earlier, where individuals outside Rome and Italy were not considered "Roman", and thus were not given full citizenship rights. This process, of fusing the entire Roman Empire into a single unit, rather than maintaining it as a network of unequal principalities, would ultimately be completed by Caesar's successor, the emperor Augustus. '
*
'On the Ides of March (15 March; see Roman calendar) of 44 BC, Caesar was due to appear at a session of the Senate. Mark Antony, having vaguely learned of the plot the night before from a terrified Liberator named Servilius Casca, and fearing the worst, went to head Caesar off. The plotters, however, had anticipated this and, fearing that Antony would come to Caesar's aid, had arranged for Trebonius to intercept him just as he approached the portico of Theatre of Pompey, where the session was to be held, and detain him outside. (Plutarch, however, assigns this action to delay Antony to Brutus Albinus.) When he heard the commotion from the senate chamber, Antony fled.[74]

According to Plutarch, as Caesar arrived at the Senate, Tillius Cimber presented him with a petition to recall his exiled brother.[75] The other conspirators crowded round to offer support. Both Plutarch and Suetonius say that Caesar waved him away, but Cimber grabbed his shoulders and pulled down Caesar's tunic. Caesar then cried to Cimber, "Why, this is violence!" ("Ista quidem vis est!").[76] At the same time, Casca produced his dagger and made a glancing thrust at the dictator's neck. Caesar turned around quickly and caught Casca by the arm. According to Plutarch, he said in Latin, "Casca, you villain, what are you doing?"[77] Casca, frightened, shouted, "Help, brother!" in Greek ("?de?f?, ß???e?!", "adelphe, boethei!"). Within moments, the entire group, including Brutus, was striking out at the dictator. Caesar attempted to get away, but, blinded by blood, he tripped and fell; the men continued stabbing him as he lay defenceless on the lower steps of the portico. According to Eutropius, around 60 or more men participated in the assassination. He was stabbed 23 times.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar

'Cause it to turn upon him'  Dan. 11:18   Indeed Julius Caesar caused those he thought his own to turn upon him.  

Prophecy- History.

So much to learn, so much to study and by the grace of God we will understand this as we are meant to understand.  Step by step, bit by bit it does unfold and will continue to unfold.

You might have notice I'm taking a lot of my reference from the online- wikipedia.  Why? Because it's a source that EVERYONE can contribute to, not just one person's opinion.  We need to have a source that is non-bias in a lot of way and strictly informational. Not that people don't post their opinions but if any one finds out it is just an opinion and not a fact then they're called on it right away.  Is it perfect, no, not by any means.  By the grace of God we will be able to learn truth and only His truth.


In His amazing LOVE!


Through HIS righteousness, only HIS righteousness!


Amen.

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.

Pasted from <http://www.teachinghearts.org/dre00maps.html>

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.

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'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.'

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucus_I_Nicator>

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.'

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenice_(Seleucid_queen)>

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.'

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenice_(Seleucid_queen)>

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.'

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenice_(Seleucid_queen)>

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.'

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy_III_Euergetes>

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.

If you happen upon this prophecy study- please read.

In the following study there is a lot of historical reading. Why? Because history is prophecy unfolded.  Predicted before it occurs and verified afterwards, this is prophecy.  You don't have to read it all if you don't want to- no one will force you to read anything, but if you've happened upon this study by the grace of God and the Holy Spirit's leading, please consider allowing yourself to be bored and confused by it if necessary. The fact exists that God predicted our history and He did so to lead us to comprehend that all that has been predicted will come to pass inevitably.  He will save us, we will gain eternal, everlasting life through His Son, our Savior. That salvation will be undeserved, unmerited, a gift to us. Our Savior will return and a last trump will sound and all who die will rise to meet the Lord, their Savior in the air. Those who are alive when He returns will also rise and all will be changed to immortality. This isn't a MOVIE of the week, this is reality, this is truth.   All this will come to pass and for people to say they had never been warned, that they never had a chance to know the truth, that will be a lie.

We have a chance to know the truth.

By the grace of God may we take the chance on the truth.

All through the mercy of our Lord, our Savior, now and forever!!!

Amen.

******* 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! *******


Dan 10:18  Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,
Dan 10:19  And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.
Dan 10:20  Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
Dan 10:21  But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

Strengthened, Daniel is given further information- information he was to record for us, for those in the future, for those who would live through these times to look back and know that the God of Daniel was truly the One and Only God we could believe in without fail.  Is there any other reason for prophecy?

 It warns, it reveals, it removes doubt IF the listener allows the truth of the matter to be understood.

You could show all this to someone and they'd still shrug it off, they'd still be defiant against believing in God. People will twist things until they can get their own opinions across, the opinions that shout to the world they will not be swindled by anyone or anything, they're too darn smart for that. Whatever the reason people choose to disbelieve, whatever the reason people decide they'd rather believe in themselves than a proven God, their decisions are influenced by Satan and they are deceived by him. A whole world except a very few will be deceived. Knowing this fact, we have to pray unceasingly that we are not among those deceived.

Prophecy allows us to believe that if the prophecies come true in all the past, then the future prophecies will also come to pass- there is no stopping them.

Daniel predicted the world's future from that point on until its end ushered in by God claiming victory over evil, by God's kingdom being realized.  Because God knew many would doubt, He gave many, many facts, many pieces to the puzzle to be put together throughout time.  We who are living now have the advantage over so many who lived as the history was being made. We who are living at the end will have no excuse to give for why we have not been able to see God's hand at work. We who are living at the end cannot hold ignorance up as an excuse. There are no excuses for unbelief, none.

Let's go through more of these prophecies given and pray unendingly for understanding, for enlightenment into ALL TRUTH!  We do not want to be deceived by Satan, we do not want to be among those fooled into losing our eternal lives.

Dan 11:1  Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
Dan 11:2  And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.

Three kings in Persia would stand up and then a fourth richer than all the others.  Through the fourth's strength and riches -Greece would be affected.

Is this history? Do we have an historical account of this occurring?

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1st King-

When Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.E., Cambyses was employed in leading religious ceremonies.[4] In the cylinder which contains Cyrus' proclamation to the Babylonians, Cambyses' name is joined to his father's in the prayers to Marduk. On a tablet dated from the first year of Cyrus, Cambyses is called king of Babylon, although his authority seems to have been ephemeral. Only in 530 B.C.E., when Cyrus set out on his last expedition into the East, did Cyrus associate Cambyses with the throne. Numerous Babylonian tablets of the time date from the accession and the first year of Cambyses, when Cyrus was "king of the countries" (i.e., of the world).
After the death of his father in August 530, Cambyses became sole king. The tablets dating from his reign in Babylonia run to the end of his eighth year, in March 522 B.C.E. Herodotus (3.66), who dates his reign from the death of Cyrus, gives him seven years five months, from 530 B.C.E. to the summer of 523.[5]

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2nd King-

Bardiya (Greek: Smerdis) (Old Persian: Bardiya;[2] Ancient Greek: Sµ??d??) (possibly died 522 BCE) was a son of Cyrus the Great and the younger brother of Cambyses II, both Persian kings. There are sharply divided views on his life, he may have ruled the Achaemenid Empire for a few months in 522 BCE, or he may have been impersonated by a magus called Gaumata.[3]

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3rd King-

Darius I Hystaspes, or Darius the Great, king of Persia [522-486 BCE]. Through his father Hystaspes, Darius belonged to the Achaemenid family, as did Cyrus The Great and his son Cambyses II, but to a different branch of this family. When Cambyses was in Egypt, during the last year of his reign, a certain Gaumata usurped the throne by pretending to be Bardiya, Cambyses' brother, who had been assassinated secretly before Cambyses started out for his Egyptian campaign in 525 BCE. When Cambyses learned of this usurpation he immediately set out for Persia, but on the way, while in Syria, he died in July, 522 BCE, as the result of either an accident or suicide, leaving no heir. Darius, a distant cousin of Cambyses, at once set out to gain the throne for himself. With some helpers he slew the Smerdis/Gaumâta or false Bardiya in September, 522 BCE, and assumed the kingship. However, he had to fight against a number of other pretenders and rebels. It took more than a year (522-521 BCE) of hard fighting to put down revolts associated with Bardiya's claim to the throne. Almost every province of the empire was involved in the conflict, including Persia and, most particularly, Media. He finally emerged from the struggle the

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4th King-

Immediately after seizing the kingship, Darius I of Persia (son of Hystaspes) married Atossa (daughter of Cyrus the Great). They were both descendants of Achaemenes from different Achaemenid lines. Marrying a daughter of Cyrus strengthened Darius' position as king.[1] Darius was an active emperor, busy with building programs in Persepolis, Susa, Egypt, and elsewhere. Toward the end of his reign he moved to punish Athens, but a new revolt in Egypt (probably led by the Persian satrap) had to be suppressed. Under Persian law, the Achaemenian kings were required to choose a successor before setting out on such serious expeditions. Upon his great decision to leave (487-486 BC),[2] Darius prepared his tomb at Naqsh-e Rostam and appointed Xerxes, his eldest son by Atossa, as his successor. Darius' failing health then prevented him from leading the campaigns,[3] and he died in October 486 BC.[3]

Xerxes was not the oldest son of Darius, and according to old Iranian traditions should not have succeeded the King. Xerxes was however the oldest son of Darius and Atossa hence descendent of Cyrus. This made Xerxes the chosen King of Persia.[4] Some modern scholars also view the unusual decision of Darius to give the throne to Xerxes to be a result of his consideration of the unique positions that Cyrus the Great and his daughter Atossa have had.[5] Artobazan was born to "Darius the subject", while Xerxes was the eldest son born in the purple after Darius' rise to the throne, and Artobazan's mother was a commoner while Xerxes' mother was the daughter of the founder of the empire.[6]
Xerxes was crowned and succeeded his father in October–December 486 BC[7] when he was about 36 years old.[2] The transition of power to Xerxes was smooth due again in part to great authority of Atossa[1] and his accession of royal power was not challenged by any person at court or in the Achaemenian family, or any subject nation

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Invasion of the Greek mainland
Main article: Greco-Persian Wars

Darius left to his son the task of punishing the Athenians, Naxians, and Eretrians for their interference in the Ionian Revolt and their victory over the Persians at Marathon. From 483 BC Xerxes prepared his expedition: A channel was dug through the isthmus of the peninsula of Mount Athos, provisions were stored in the stations on the road through Thrace, two bridges were built across the Hellespont. Soldiers of many nationalities served in the armies of Xerxes, including the Assyrians, Phoenicians, Babylonians, Indians, Egyptians and Jews.[11]
According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Xerxes' first attempt to bridge the Hellespont ended in failure when a storm destroyed the flax and papyrus bridge; Xerxes ordered the Hellespont (the strait itself) whipped three hundred times and had fetters thrown into the water. Xerxes' second attempt to bridge the Hellespont was successful.[12] Xerxes concluded an alliance with Carthage, and thus deprived Greece of the support of the powerful monarchs of Syracuse and Agrigentum. Many smaller Greek states, moreover, took the side of the Persians, especially Thessaly, Thebes and Argos. Xerxes set out in the spring of 480 BC from Sardis with a fleet and army which Herodotus exaggerated to be more than two million strong with at least 10,000 elite warriors named Persian Immortals. The actual Persian strength was around two to three hundred thousands. Xerxes was victorious during the initial battles.

     Thermopylae and Athens

At the Battle of Thermopylae, a small force of Greek warriors led by King Leonidas of Sparta resisted the much larger Persian forces, but were ultimately defeated. According to Herodotus, the Persians broke the Spartan phalanx after a Greek man called Ephialtes betrayed his country by telling the Persians of another pass around the mountains. After Thermopylae, Athens was captured and the Athenians and Spartans were driven back to their last line of defense at the Isthmus of Corinth and in the Saronic Gulf. The delay caused by the Spartans allowed Athens to be evacuated.

What happened next is a matter of some controversy. According to Herodotus, upon encountering the deserted city, in an uncharacteristic fit of rage particularly for Persian kings, Xerxes had Athens burned. He almost immediately regretted this action and ordered it rebuilt the very next day. However, Persian scholars dispute this view as pan-Hellenic propaganda, arguing that Sparta, not Athens, was Xerxes' main foe in his Greek campaigns, and that Xerxes would have had nothing to gain by destroying a major center of trade and commerce like Athens once he had already captured it.

At that time, anti-Persian sentiment was high among many mainland Greeks, and the rumor that Xerxes had destroyed the city was a popular one, though it is equally likely the fire was started by accident as the Athenians were frantically fleeing the scene in pandemonium, or that it was an act of "scorched earth" warfare to deprive Xerxes' army of the spoils of the city.
At Artemisium, large storms had destroyed ships from the Greek side and so the battle stopped prematurely as the Greeks received news of the defeat at Thermopylae and retreated. Xerxes was induced by the message of Themistocles (against the advice of Artemisia of Halicarnassus) to attack the Greek fleet under unfavourable conditions, rather than sending a part of his ships to the Peloponnesus and awaiting the dissolution of the Greek armies. The Battle of Salamis (September 29, 480 BC) was won by the Greek fleet, after which Xerxes set up a winter camp in Thessaly.

Due to unrest in Babylon, Xerxes was forced to send his army home to prevent a revolt, leaving behind an army in Greece under Mardonius, who was defeated the following year at Plataea.[14] The Greeks also attacked and burned the remaining Persian fleet anchored at Mycale. This cut off the Persians from the supplies they needed to sustain their massive army, and they had no choice but to retreat. Their withdrawal roused the Greek city-states of Asia.

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Clearly this happened AS predicted by God.

Dan 11:3  And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

What mighty king of note stood up next?

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Alexander the Great--

Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He succeeded in being awarded the generalship of Greece and, with his authority firmly established, launched the military plans for expansion left by his father. In 334 BC he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns lasting ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. Subsequently he overthrew the Persian king Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire.i[›] The Macedonian Empire now stretched from the Adriatic sea to the Indus River.

Following his desire to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea", he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back by the near-mutiny of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, without realizing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following Alexander's death a series of civil wars tore his empire apart which resulted in the formation of a number of states ruled by the Diadochi - Alexander's surviving generals. Although he is mostly remembered for his vast conquests, Alexander's lasting legacy was not his reign, but the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered.

Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic culture, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire until the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which generals, even to this day, compare themselves and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactical exploits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great

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Dan 11:4  And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.

4 others--

1) Cassander is first recorded as arriving at Alexander the Great’s court in Babylon in 323 BC, where he had been sent by his father, Antipater, likely to the help uphold Antipater’s regency in Macedon, although a later contemporary suggestion hostile to the Antipatrids was that Cassander had journeyed to poison the King.[1]

Whatever the truth of this suggestion, Cassander certainly proved to be singularly noted amongst the diadochi in his hostility to Alexander's memory.[1] Alexander IV, Roxana, and Alexander’s supposed illegitimate son Heracles would all be executed on his orders, and a guarantee to Olympias to spare her life was not respected.[2] So too, Cassander would restore Thebes, which had been destroyed under Alexander. This gesture was perceived at the time to be a snub to the deceased King.[3] It was even said that he could not pass a statue of Alexander without feeling faint. Cassander has been perceived to be ambitious and unscrupulous, and even members of his own family were estranged from him.[4] He was taught by philosopher Aristotle at the Lyceum in Greece.

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2) Lysimachus was born in 362/361 BC, the son of the Thessalian Agathocles from Crannon. He was granted citizenship in Macedon and was educated at the court in Pella. He was probably appointed Somatophylax during the reign of Philip II.[1] During Alexander's Persian campaigns, he was one of his immediate bodyguards. In 324 BCE, in Susa, he was crowned in recognition for his actions in India.[2] After Alexander’s death in 323 BCE, he was appointed to the government of Thrace as strategos.

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3) Seleucus I (given the surname by later generations of Nicator, Greek : S??e???? ????t?? (Hindi: ????????), 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.

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4) Ptolemy I Soter I (Greek: ?t??eµa??? S?t??, Ptolemaios Sot?r, i.e. Ptolemy (pronounced /'t?l?mi/) the Savior), also known as Ptolemy Lagides,[1] c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt (323 BC – 283 BC) and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty. In 305/4 BC he took the title of pharaoh.

His mother was Arsinoe of Macedon, and, while his father is unknown, ancient sources variously describe him either as the son of Lagus, a Macedonian nobleman, or as an illegitimate son of Philip II of Macedon (which, if true would have made Ptolemy the half-brother of Alexander). Ptolemy was one of Alexander's most trusted generals, and was among the seven somatophylakes (bodyguards) attached to his person. He was a few years older than Alexander, and had been his intimate friend since childhood. He may even have been in the group of noble teenagers tutored by Aristotle.[citation needed]

Ptolemy served with Alexander from his first campaigns, and played a principal part in the later campaigns in Afghanistan and India. At the Susa marriage festival in 324, Alexander had Ptolemy marry the Persian princess Artakama. Ptolemy also had a consort in Thaïs, the Athenian hetaera and one of Alexander's companions in his conquest of the ancient world.

When Alexander died in 323 BC Ptolemy is said to have instigated the resettlement of the empire made at Babylon. Through the Partition of Babylon, he was appointed satrap of Egypt, under the nominal kings Philip Arrhidaeus and the infant Alexander IV; the former satrap, the Greek Cleomenes, stayed on as his deputy. Ptolemy quickly moved, without authorization, to subjugate Cyrenaica.

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Four major generals- four divisions.


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This is history. Factual. We cannot afford to ignore this in favor of soothing tales and ear pleasing words.  We cannot shove all this aside because we'd rather just read of love. We need to realize that THIS is all given to us as a result of the love of our Savior.  Remember Jesus spoke of Daniel who lived a long, long time before He ever did.


Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)


Jesus' words.


Jesus was directing us to Daniel's prophecies. How can we dare to ignore this?


More tomorrow by the grace of our Savior!

In His amazing, wondrous love!

Daniel’s Prophecy Spanned Through Your Lifetime.

Jesus talked about the prophet Daniel- and Daniel was used by God to give us a prophecy spanning 2300 years and more- right to the birth of Jesus our Savior, His death, and resurrection and then through all of our lives up to the second coming of our Savior Jesus Christ!

This magnificent, incredible prophecy is worth all the study we can give to it, Jesus wants us to understand. Jesus mentioned Daniel by name and Daniel had died long before Jesus was born.

By the grace of God we will gain knowledge that we need to be fully and wholly our Savior's.

All through His amazing love.

******* 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! *******

Daniel Chapter 10 -

Dan 10:1  In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.

Dan 10:2  In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.

A thing was revealed.

The thing was true.

He understood the thing.

The time appointed was long.
He understood the vision.

Remember in chapter 8 and 9 the angel Gabriel was explaining things to Daniel but it was hard for Daniel to comprehend it all- understandably so. Daniel understood that this vision would not be completed for a long, long time - do you think perhaps this caused some of the mourning?

We have lived approximate 2500 years after Daniel lived. If Daniel had some comprehension of just how long it would be until the prophecy would be fulfill how daunting that would have to be. Even now if I had to imagine 2300 years into the future, if I had to imagine 1260 years into the future it's just…wow.

Maybe it's 'wow' to me because I'm living in the hope and expectation of my Savior's soon return, not life ongoing another 2000 years. Daniel was living with the expectation of things to take place as well. Think about it…  he'd been thrust from his home at Jerusalem and taken captive to Babylon. While there He interprets a dream given the king of Babylon and that first dream, that first vision was an overall grand picture. Then Daniel lived during the time of the Medes and Persians take over of Babylon - as predicted. And He was told about Grecia coming up to take over from Medes and Persians. To His comprehension, for at least a short while there, it could easily be considered the entire vision would be completed in relatively short order and our Savior would usher in a whole new world. The end of all evil.  How fantastic to imagine it all. Daniel was human and he had ideas and he struggled with comprehension even after he was told things.  That Daniel was mourning isn't surprising at all really.

Dan 10:3  I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

For 3 weeks Daniel didn't allow himself any luxuries at all whatsoever. He was so upset by it all, very understandable.

Dan 10:4  And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;

Dan 10:5  Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:

Dan 10:6  His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

Just imagine this Daniel is standing by the great river and when he looks up he sees a man, and what a man! This wasn't any ordinary person by a long shot.

Dan 10:7  And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

Such an extraordinary sight this man was that those people who were with Daniel couldn't see him but a fear overcame them  such a great fear they ran away to hide.

Dan 10:8  Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.

Left alone, Daniel faced this vision and he had no strength left, it's no wonder is it? Something that could be unseen by others yet cause extreme fear, at the least had a strength sapping affect on Daniel.

Dan 10:9  Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.

Fainted at the sound of the man's voice? 

Dan 10:10  And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.

The man touched Daniel, the man pulled him up onto his hands and knees- waking him obviously to the point that he could understand what was said next.

Dan 10:11  And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.

Stand upright he was told and Daniel stood but not without shaking in fear.

Dan 10:12  Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

The man in the vision does not want Daniel to be scared, he tells him not to fear.  He tells Daniel from the FIRST day when Daniel's heart was determined to understand and he abased himself before God-  his word were heard!  His words…were…heard.   The man CAME because of what Daniel petitioned God for- understanding.

Dan 10:13  But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

The man in the vision would have come sooner BUT he was warring with a prince of the kingdom of Persia for 21 days.

Who was this man?

Who was the prince the man was fighting with, who prevented the man from going to Daniel- IN A VISION?

We can't for a moment allow ourselves to believe that this vision man unseen by any but Daniel, was contending with a flesh and blood prince of Persia and that flesh and blood prince was able to prevent this vision man from going to Daniel.  This had to be a spiritual battle and we KNOW that beyond a doubt the spiritual world is REAL and mostly unseen. We fight in this spiritual battle all the time remember this verse--

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

This spiritual Prince of Persia hindered the spiritual vision man before Daniel -  read this…

1Th 2:18  Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

Satan hindered 'us'. This was Satan hindering flesh and blood.  If Satan hindered flesh and blood it's only understandable that Satan could contend with this man of God - a spiritual force with spiritual force.  What force controls the kingdoms of this world? We've studied this before.  The kingdoms of this world belong to Satan. Satan offered them to Jesus when he was tempting Him in the wilderness.  The Prince of the ruling kingdom of Persia would be Satan, and what freed the spiritual man of God from this battle with Satan?

Dan 10:13  But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Michael a chief prince came to help him.  Another spiritual force.  This spiritual battle is more real than Satan would have any of us really, truly believe.

Dan 10:14  Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

Dan 10:15  And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.

Dan 10:16  And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.

Dan 10:17  For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.

Dan 10:18  Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,

Dan 10:19  And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

Dan 10:20  Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

Dan 10:21  But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

This wasn't easy! As a prophet Daniel suffered. He knew that the visions were growing more and more complex and the things he was seeing, the understanding he was being given wasn't pleasant. The visions foretold of a future where Satan would rule the earth and God's people would be in the minority. There would always be a people that would belong to God, but they would not rule, they would suffer and great so.  The future which was to take place over a LONG time, didn't predict wondrous things but rather great horrors that Daniel was allowed to foresee. Is it any wonder that Daniel was frightened, so incredibly frightened it's guaranteed that He would have died of his fear if he hadn't been strengthened by these amazing spiritual beings sent by God.

Daniel would be shown a vision even more complex than any he'd seen prior to this and now that he was strengthened he'd be able to understand, he'd be able to endure what was being required of Him. Remember- Daniel prayed for this! Daniel was the one who initiated this vision that had taken all his strength from him.  This wasn't an unwanted vision. This wasn't a forced vision. This was what Daniel was praying for and had continued to pray for- depriving himself of all luxurious things, of all comfort thing- for three weeks!  He wanted this and yet, feared it and doesn't that sound like so much we deal with in our own lives?  I'm not putting us on par with Daniel by any means, but in a small way we can understand a bit about wanting and fearing at the same time, right? 

More tomorrow when we begin chapter 11 and by the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ may we have understanding just as Daniel prayed for understanding- we too need to pray earnestly for understanding.  All by the grace of our God, all by the righteousness of our Lord, guide us! Let the Holy Spirit reveal all truth to us as far as we need to understand to know God's will now and forever.

Amen!

Blotting out sin

The blotting out of our sins.

Christ died on the cross for us and our sins died with Him.

We must believe.

We must sacrifice self, THROUGH Christ, living in CHRIST. We must have FAITH.

When we lose faith, we lose hope.

Our hope is in Christ and Christ our High Priest is right now in the Heavenly Sanctuary and probation is going to close, probably a lot sooner than we think.

When probation closes and our opportunity to choose to love our Savior is gone, we've made our choice to live for self, not Christ.

We need comprehension, we need to believe. We need to watch, to pray.

Lord, please!

******* 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! *******

The judgment we all face.

Act 3:19  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Act 3:20  And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you

Sins are recorded but they can be BLOTTED out.  Just as they can be blotted out, they can also be left to remain.  If they're not blotted out then the person must account for them and as we well know, a person has no righteousness in which to save themselves. We are only saved by the grace of our Savior through His sacrifice, by His forgiveness there is no other way. We can try to blot out our own sins but it'll never happen.  We can even try to blot out another's sins, but that won't happen either. The record made of our sins can only be blotted out by Jesus Christ.

Psa 51:1  ...Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

David wanted his transgressions to be blotted out.

Psa 51:9  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Isa 43:25  I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

And then we have verses about NOT blotting sins out.

Neh 4:5  And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.

Jer 18:23  Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.

Again we are drawn to the Day of Atonement, why? Because the blotting out of sin, the cleansing of the record of sin is typified in that Day of Atonement. Jesus is our High Priest in heaven and as such He has the work of a High Priest to undertake. That work is has been shown to us through the earthly sanctuary services. Why else would we be told Jesus is our High Priest? Why?

Heb 8:1  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

Heb 8:2  A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

Maybe it feels as if I'm repeating the same things over and over and I probably am. It's just so incredibly important for us to realize all this as factual, not some man-made concoction.  Jesus our prophet, our priest, and our king. Right now our Savior has the role of our high priest and as such we will be judged by a record of our acts, a record of our choices, whether or not we have our Savior as our Advocate, whether or not we've chosen Him as our great Sacrifice, to cover our sins, and be our Righteousness. 

As every day passes by we are ONE day closer to our Savior's return. We are one day closer to all probation closing. These are FACTS. We have to know that the signs of time and those signs only reveal the ever deepening deception, the ever widening acceptance of evil as good, the unsteadiness of our very earth all are wake up calls - calls to snap out of the stupor we've fallen into. Every single day we are confronted by evil, it surrounds us in so much and it threatens to consume us. Only our Savior can protect us, only our Savior can keep us from that evil. The world needs to realize but it won't, those who emphasize the truth are ridiculed and rejected.

Just recently in the news there was an article about a woman who is going to run for president of the U.S.- Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (Five years ago).  The article was about her quitting her church, why? Because her church holds the belief that the Papacy is the beast of Revelation, that Catholicism is of the devil.  The VERY thing we've been studying and have proven through prophecy and history to be true!  This fact is brought into the public's eye, right there into the public's spotlight and the fact along with it- that the potential presidential candidate QUIT her church rather than be associated with a church that holds an unpopular belief. She doesn't want to lose the Catholic vote come race time and why? Because there are millions of Catholics, millions of potential votes she'd alienate from herself.  Do you see it? Do you understand that a wakeup call has been given and just how many will believe it? How many will turn from their belief in apostasy? How many will turn into apostasy? A cry has gone out for those willing to acknowledge it. In the article about this it was mentioned that the belief about the Catholic church as the beast dates back to Martin Luther and the Protestant reformation.  Our history proves that it goes back that far and further but the more common knowledge of it didn't begin to come to light until the Bible was allowed to be read by more than just the Catholic church. We know for a fact it had a great resurgence when knowledge was increased in the very late 1700 early 1800's. We've studied this, and it isn't a coincidence!!!!!!!! You can shrug all this off as if it were, but we are asking for truth! We are asking for enlightenment! We are watching! We are praying!  We must not close our eyes just because it's more comfortable to do so!

Please God help us! Help us as we continue to study Your truths! Please…please Lord we want our names in Your Book of Life, never to be stricken from it, never!!!!  We acknowledge Jesus as our Prophet, our Priest, our King, our Righteousness! 

By Your love, Your grace always!

Amen.

We are all on human probation.

As we get older the reality of death, our own death becomes more clear. Often the young look upon death as something far, far away and not to be thought about in any real serious manner.  Death surrounds us though, and not just for the very old. The youngest to the oldest death does not play favorites. The surety of death does come with aging, the sense of time running out begins and we allay those fears with all sorts of things.  Death comes for us all and with death the end of our life's probation. We are all placed on probation upon birth.  There is the good news of the Gospel but not all want to believe in that good news, not all want to believe in God. We all make a choice and we have time to make that choice until we die. Once we are dead we can no longer make the choice for Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior, we can no longer accept the grace He's extended to us, the mercy He's shown to us, the love He gives to us.  The time for making that choice is before death and no matter our age- we do NOT know when our death will occur.

Another factor we are going to touch on in this study is the truth that probation is going to close at some point for ALL people, and ALL at once it will close. The time of choosing Christ will be over for everyone.  For all of us living in the last days - the days so very close to Christ's return- we know that probation will close.

When Christ returns, He returns already knowing all those who are still alive and have chosen to believe in Him, in His truth. Christ isn't returning in order to bring the good news of the gospel to people again. People are NOT going to see Christ at His return and be able to suddenly accept Him.  His word tells us otherwise. His word tells us to watch and pray…

Mar 13:32  But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Mar 13:33  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

We are to be HIS already, not waiting to choose.

We have to always be HIS, right now, be His!

By His GRACE and MERCY may we choose life in choosing HIM!


******* Continuing our prophecy study--  Please GO back as far as you need to 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! *******

Jesus said-
Luk 21:36  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

The year 1844 -  about 172 years ago.  Is 172 years a long time? In some respects it is, right? It's about 2 and 1/2 average lifetimes, if 66 was about the average lifespan.

As a child I can remember my great grandmother who was born in the late 1800's she married my great grandfather who was born in 1876- 140 years ago he was born. He married in 1904, had children- my grandfather- born in 1910 who had my mother  born in 1938 who then had me born in 1963. We all have histories comparable to this and truly 172 years can seem like a long time - but it's not in the grand scheme of things. When we think of 2300 years then 172 doesn't seem like a whole lot of years does it? So when people say - Where is the Lord, why does He delay- they are not thinking prophetically-

Luk 12:45  But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
Luk 12:46  The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

The Lord does NOT delay and we cannot believe that He does.  Our Lord is longsuffering, not sadistic!

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

He would that we would ALL come to repentance.  He wants us to be His, to love Him, to be loved by Him and so much evil goes on and on in the heart of man. When all who would be saved have decided to love the Lord with all their hearts and be loved by Him, saved by Him, then He will have no choice but to close probation for the human race. The judging will be over. The Sanctuary cleansed-  God's people forgiven and cleansed able to join Him in the air to be His forever more, immortal, to live with Him eternally in His righteousness.

Right now we are living in probationary time- but there WILL come a time when probation is closed and we are still living. Remember yesterday we had this verse in our study-

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

We which are ALIVE and REMAIN.  There will be those who are not dead who will never taste death, who never have part in the second death.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Knowing some will be living when probation closes for them -means understanding that time does run out on people.  Without a doubt all probation ends for the dead when they die - because they can never from then on find grace, find forgiveness, find righteousness in Christ. The dead know nothing.

We know prophetically there are many things that take place before our Lord returns. We are given many signs and we are told to watch. We are given prophecy and expected to study. If that 2300 years drew to a close in 1844 and a new phase in history was begun drawing us one step closer to our Lord's return, then PRAISE GOD!  No, we do not have an exact date but you can count on the reality of our Savior returning.

We are studying the judgment in connection with all this because at some point between 1844 and the time our Savior returns that Sanctuary will be fully cleansed, and that means - 'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. ' Rev 22:11

We can choose to ignore all prophecy and just hope for the best, or we can watch as our Savior instructed us to watch so that we are NOT taken unaware, so that we are NOT caught off guard as the greatest deception we can ever imagine takes place and deceives all but a very few of the billions of people alive today.

More tomorrow by the grace of God, more in-depth studying, studying that we cannot blow off as unimportant. We make choices all the time, we have to choose to seek the knowledge the Lord has for us, we must watch and pray always!

By the grace of our Lord and Savior!

Amen!