WORLD KINGDOMS OF BIBLE TIMES

1. WORLD KINGDOMS OF BIBLE TIMES Roman Empire 164 to 476 AD Greek Empire (331-164 BC) Medo-Persian Empire (539 to 331 BC) Babylonian Empire (625 to 539 BC) Assryian Empire (--- to 525 BC) 600 BC 500 BC 400 BC 300 BC 200 BC 100 BC 0 100 AD

2. BABYLONIAN KINGS Hammurabi et al. - approximately 1200 BC • Greatest king of the first Babylonian Empire. • Wrote the Code of Hammurabi Nabopolazzar - ?-605 BC • First king of the Chaldean (or Neo-Babylonian) Empire • The father of Nebuchdnezzar Nebuchdnezzar - 605-562 BC • The greatest king of the Chaldean Empire • Took Judah into captivity and destroyed the city • Mentioned 88 times in the Bible Evil-Merodach - 562-556 BC • Mentioned in 2 Kings as releasing Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison Nabonidus and Belshazzar - 556-539 BC • Father and son co-regents • Last king of the Chaldeans. Saw handwriting on the wall

3. BABYLON AND THE FATE OFJERUSALEM (2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chron 36) 605 BC - In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 597 BCAt that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner. And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 586 BCNow it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, thatNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. Then the city wall was broken through and in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which wasthe nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD and the king's house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around. Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive the rest of the peoplewho remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.

4. MEDO-PERSIAN KINGS Darius the Mede (Gubaru?) • Possibly a general or co-regent with Cyrus Cyrus the Great - 559-530 BC • Greatest Persian ruler • Defeated Babylon • Allowed the Israelites to return to their landCambysses Cambysses - 530-521 BC • Not mentioned Smerdis - 521 BC • Not mentioned Darius I - 521-486 BC Xerxes (Ahasuerus) - 486-465 BC • The Persian king in the book of Esther Artaxerxes I - 464-423 BC • Authorized rebuilding the city, temple, and city walls Darius II - 423-404 BC

5. CHRONOLOGY OF THE RETURN FROM EXILE KING YEAR DATE EVENT Cyrus 1 538 Issued proclamation allowing Jews to return 1 538Zerbubbal and 42,360 others returned 2 536 Laid the foundation of the temple Ahasuerus 1 -- Enemies wrote accusations and got the king to stop work on the temple -- 534 Enemies got the king to stop work on the temple (Esther was queen at this time) Darius 2 521 Haggai and Zechariah caused the work to be restarted 2 521 Darius issued a decree authorizing the work 6 515 The temple was completed Artaxerxes 7 457Ezra and others were sent to Jerusalem with the king’s decree 7 408 Ezra dealt with marriage issue 20 444Nehemiah returned to rebuild the walls -- -- Malachi serves during this period 32 432 Nehemiah returns to Babylon

6. DANIEL IN BABYLON Daniel lived and prospered in Babylon during the rules of at least four kings of the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empires BABYLONIAN RULE Nebuchdnezzar - 605-562 BC Evil-Merodach - 562-556 BC Nabonidus and Belshazzar - 556-539 BC PERSIAN RULE Darius the Mede (Gubaru?) (Daniel 5:31) Cyrus the Great - 559-530 BC (Isa 45; Daniel; Ezra)

7. PROPHECIES OF DANIEL In the book of Daniel, God uses a series of prophecies to reveal the destiny of men and kingdoms Chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great image Chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of a great tree Chapter 5 The letter to Belshazzar Chapter 7 Daniel’s vision of the four beasts Chapter 8 Daniel’s vision of the ram and male goat Chapter 9 Daniel’s vision of the 70 weeks Chapters Daniel’s vision of Israel’s future 10-12

8. THE DREAM OF FUTURE KINGDOMS Daniel 2 BABYLONIAN EMPIRE MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE GREEK EMPIRE ROMAN EMPIRE

9. THE DREAM OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S HUMILIATION AND RESTORATION Daniel 4 “This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses. And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules” (Daniel 4:24-26) Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream BOANTHROPY - A type of insanity in which a man thinks he is an ox.

10. BELSHAZZAR’S LETTER (Daniel 5) “In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” Dan 5:5, 25-28 Belchazzar, the last king of the mighty Babylon Empire, was the son of Nabonidus and perhaps the grandson of Nebuchdnezzar. He served for about ten years as co-regent with his father. His judgment is prophesied in Daniel 5. Belshazzar had a letter, - He never had but one; Belshazzar's correspondent Concluded and begun In that immortal copy The conscience of us all Can read without its glasses On revelation's wall. Belshazzar Had a Letter By Emily Dickinson

11. VISION OF THE FOUR BEASTS Daniel 7 Babylonian Empire Medo-Persian Empire Greek Empire Roman Empire LION With eagles wings BEAR With ribs in its mouth LEOPARD With four wings And four heads TERRIBLE BEAST With horns THE TERRIBLE BEAST • Dreadful, terrible, strong, different • Devouring, breaking, trampling • Speaking pompous words against God • Made war against the saints; Prevailed • Changing times and seasons • Eventually judged by God and his dominion taken away

12. THE RAM AND THE MALE GOAT Daniel 8 MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE The ram had two horns; one higher than the other and coming up later. It pushed northward and southward and became great. No beast could withstand him GREEK EMPIRE The male goat came from the west; not touching the ground; a single notable horn Attached the ram with rage and broke his horns When the male goat became strong, his horn was broken and replaced by four notable smaller ones. One of the little horns grew up and exalted himself against the sacrifices and the temple Daniel 8:19 And he said, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be. 20 "The ram which you saw, having the two horns--they are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 "And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. 22 "As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power. 23 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise . . . 24 He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

13. VISION OF THE SEVENTY WEEKS Daniel 9 SEVENTY WEEKS • To finish the transgression • To make an end of sin • To make reconciliation for iniquity • To bring in everlasting righteousness • To seal up vision and prophecy • To anoint the Most High 639 BC 70 AD SEVEN WEEKS SIXTY-TWO WEEKS ONE WEEK The streets and walls will be built again See the prophecies of chapters 10-12 • Messiah the Prince will come • Messiah will be cut off • People of the prince will destroy the city • Covenant is confirmed • Sacrifices and offerings are ended

14. VISION OF THE DESTINY OF ISRAEL Daniel 10-12 2 "And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. 3 "Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 4 "And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these. 5 "Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion.