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What the Bible says about Greek Empire
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Daniel 2:38

Each of the other portions of this image represent powerful kingdoms that, in terms of time, would follow Babylon in dominating the Western world through the centuries: Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. They did not dominate the entire world—perhaps they could have—but there is no doubt they dominated the part of the world that the Bible is concerned with, the one that the Israelitish descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in.

But because the head represents Babylon—and the head directs the entire body—the image in Daniel 2 also shows the continuation of the same general Babylonish system right to the end of the kingdom represented by the feet and the toes. In other words, that image shows that the pattern established under Nimrod continues right on down until today.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Where Is the Beast? (Part Two)

Daniel 7:6

The leopard, a predator, is the among the fastest of carnivores, and with the addition of four wings, becomes especially swift. This illustration describes the astounding pace of Alexander's conquest from Greece to Egypt to India. In twelve years (334-323 BC ), he subjugated by conquest or voluntary submission the entirety of the Persian Empire and then some. This feat becomes especially astounding when it is known that this period included a seven-month siege of Tyre and three years subduing Bactria. Along with his military victories came Greek or Hellenistic culture and language, which later paved the way for the spreading of the Gospel throughout the world.

When Alexander suddenly died without an heir, his generals divided the empire into four primary kingdoms (the "four heads"). Ptolemy took Egypt and nearby lands. Seleucus received Syria, Asia Minor, and the conquered eastern nations. Lysimachus ruled Thrace and surrounding territories, and lastly, Cassander controlled Macedonia and Greece.

Thrace was later absorbed by the Seleucid Empire, and Macedonia's power was checked by the rising power of Rome. Thus, both prophecies in Daniel 2 and 7 speak of the same divided empire, the former showing political and military dominance, as well as prophetic relevance to the Holy Land, and the latter the initial governmental situation after Alexander's death.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Nebuchadnezzar's Image (Part Three): 'Belly and Thighs of Bronze'

Daniel 8:21

Daniel 8 also contains a prophecy of Greece, highlighting two major eras of the Greek Empire: its rise under Alexander and the career of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. A goat with an unusually impressive horn between its eyes—later identified as Greece and its first king, Alexander—flies powerfully out of the west and smashes against a ram with two horns, Persia. The ram, with its two horns broken, cannot fight and is trampled by the goat.

The prophecy then accurately records that Alexander died at the height of his power. Some historians contend that his drunken debauch and subsequent pneumonia, which led to his death, came as a result of there being no more lands to conquer. Others opine that though he could conquer and rule the world, he could not rule himself. Notwithstanding, since he had named no clear successor, his generals ("four notable ones," Daniel 8:8; 11:3-4), after years of intrigue and war, parceled the world among themselves.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Nebuchadnezzar's Image (Part Three): 'Belly and Thighs of Bronze'


 




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