Intro
At the end of the 7 year tribulation Jesus returns to Earth (Revelation 19:11-13). The evil forces of this world attempt to stop the coming of his kingdom at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:19-21) but fail. He sets up his 1,000 year kingdom (Daniel 2:44-45, Daniel 7:13-14, Micah 5:2-5, Jeremiah 23:5-8, Jeremiah 31:31-40, Matthew 25:31-46) often referred to as the millennium kingdom. During this time Satan is locked away in the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:2-3). This prevents Satan's deception of the nations. Unlike today when Satan continues to deceive nations and leaders of nations (1 Peter 5:8 and Ephesians 2:2). Those martyred for Christ in the great tribulation along with OT and NT believers will reign with Jesus (Revelation 20:4, 1 Corinthians 6:2, 2 Timothy 2:12, Romans 8:17, Matthew 19:28, Matthew 25: 21, Matthew 27:52-53, Daniel 12:1-3).
What Will It Be Like
Starting out the millennium will only contain believers (Matthew 25:31-46). As Revelation 20:5 states the rest of the dead (unbelievers) will not live until the 1,000 years are finished. Once a year people will travel to Jerusalem to worship Jesus (Zechariah 14:16). There will be a temple during the millennium and sacrifices will take place (Ezekiel 40–48, Isaiah 56:7, Isaiah 60:7, Jeremiah 33:17-18, Zechariah 14:19-21).
The world will be very different to what what we know today. There will be extended life during the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 65:18-25). A person that lives to only 100 will be considered young. Also, there will be no more war under the righteous leadership (Isaiah 2:1-4, Micah 4:1-8). Things will be so peaceful that wolves will dwell with lambs, little children will lead lions and nursing children will play in asp holes (Isaiah 11). It will be a glimpse of how the original garden of Eden was like before sin tainted the world.
How It Will End
At the end of 1,000 years Satan will be released (Revelation 20:7). Even though only believers started out in the millennium kingdom those believers have children. Not all the children will become believers even though they are complacent to Jesus' leadership. These are the ones that Satan recruits for his final war with Jesus. After Satan is defeated he is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are already (Revelation 20:10). Here they are tormented for eternity. He is far from being a ruler in hell as sometimes portrayed in books and TV.
After Satan is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone there is the white throne judgement (Revelation 20:11-15). This judgement is only for unbelievers unlike the judgement seat of Christ. The judgement seat of Christ takes place right after the rapture and is only for believers where they will be judged for the works they have done and awarded crowns (Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10). The unbelievers during the white throne judgement will be judged by their works. Since nobody's works can save them they will be condemned (Romans 3:12, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-9). They and hell will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone with Satan, the beast and the false prophet. After all of this is finished there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1) which will be discussed in a future article.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Print Page Daniel 11:2-35
Daniel 11:2-35 takes place over a few hundred years. All of it takes place after Daniel wrote the book of Daniel before 530 B.C. Because the prophecy is so detailed and would prove the supernatural origin of the Bible liberals have tried to say Daniel didn't write Daniel. They state this even though their arguments are weak and have no Biblical basis.
The scene starts out with Israel in the middle of 4 kingdoms. Daniel 11:2 mentions 4 Persian kings. The kings are Cambyses (530–522 B.C.), Psuedo-Smerdis (522-521 B.C.), Darius I Hystaspes (522–486 B.C.) and Xerxes I, called Ahasuerus in Esther (486–465 B.C.). Xerxes was the richest and it was reported he had an army of 2,641,000 men.
The mighty king mentioned in Daniel 11:3 is Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.). He conquered the Persian Empire in 331 B.C. He rose up in Greece to avenge the Greeks against Persia for Xerxes’ past invasion. After he died in 323 B.C. his land was divided among 4 generals (Daniel 11:4) because Cassander killed two of Alexander’s sons, preventing them from succeeding their father.
Daniel 11:5 refers to Seleucus I Nicator (312-281 B.C.) Syria king of the North and Ptolemy I Soter (323-285 BC) Egypt king of the South. The daughter of the South mentioned in Daniel 11:6 is Berenice daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.) The king of North was Antiochus II Theos (261-246 B.C.). This didn't last because of former wife of Antiochus who's name was Laodice. Theos divorced her to marry Berenice. She was involved in a conspiracy to kill with poison Berenice, her baby son, Antiochus, and her father Ptolemy. This brought Laodice's son Seleucus II Callinicus, to the throne. Later king Egypt Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-222 B.C.) succeeded Philadelphus. He was the brother of Berenice. He conquered Syria (Northern kingdom) in 240 B.C. to avenge the death of his sister (Daniel 11:7). Ptolemy III reportedly returned to Egypt with 40,000 talents of silver, precious vessels and 24,000 images which included Egyptian idols that Cambyses took from Egypt to Persia. Ptolemy III ended up living 4 years longer than Seleucus II Callinicus (Daniel 11:8-9).
In Daniel 11:10-12 the sons of Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus III the Great (223-187 B.C.) assemble a great army. Ceraunus died so Antiochus instituted the war with Euergetes's son Ptolemy IV Philopater (221-203 B.C.). After taking all of Syria Antiochus attacked the border of Egypt and won. Philopater then waged war against Antiochus at Raphia which is a city between Rhinocorura and Gaza with an army of 70,000 on each side. The result was Egypt destroying the entire army of Antiochus. According to John Gill “Antiochus lost ten thousand footmen, and three hundred horsemen; four thousand footmen were taken, three elephants slain, and two wounded, which afterwards died.”
Daniel 11:13-16 is the account of Egypt being defeated 14 years later at Paneas by Antiochus III who assembled an even more powerful army and siege works again the fenced cities. Antiochus took Sidon in 199-198 B.C. Egypt attempted to conquer Syria ad Eopas, Menacles and Damyoyenus but failed. Some Jews allied with Antiochus and went against Ptolemy's garrison in Jerusalem They also hoped to make Judea an independent state, but failed.
The “upright ones” in Daniel 11:17 likely were Jews who allied themselves with Antiochus. Rome started to grow in power so Antiochus gave his daughter Cleopatra for marriage to Ptolemy V Epiphanes John Gill wrote “finding he could not obtain the kingdom of Egypt by force of arms, for fear of the Romans, who were the guardians of the king of Egypt, he proposed to give his daughter Cleopatra to him (Ptolemy) in marriage, a beautiful virgin; and therefore called the daughter of women.” The plan backfired because Cleopatra ended up siding with her husband instead of her dad.
Daniel 11:18-19 talks about Antiochus and his war with the Romans where he took many of the isles. Antiochus though ended up being killed by his own soldiers in an insurrection as he tried to take money for Rome from the temple of Jupiter in Elymais .
After Antiochus was killed his oldest son Seleuceus IV Philopator (187-175 B.C) ruled. He raised taxes a thousand talents a year to pay the Romans tribute money. His tax collector/treasurer was Heliodorus. Heliodorus ended up poisoning Antiochus (Daniel 11:20).
Seleuceus IV Philopator's son Demetrius was suppose to be the next ruler but was a hostage in Rome. Instead Philopator's brother Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.) took the throne after after Andronicus killed Philopator's baby Antiochus to secure the throne for Epiphanes. Antiochus IV struggled against Egypt and Rome. His nickname was Epimanes which means madman (Daniel 11:21).
Antiochus IV was attacked by Egypt but was able to defeat them. He then attacked Egypt 5 years after becoming king. Antiochus won at Pelusium near the Nile delta with a force like a "flood". After that a treaty was attempted but was not successful because both had only their own interests in mind (Daniel 11:22).
Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria pretended to befriend Ptolemy Philometer of Egypt only to betray him. Ptolemy ended up being defeated. (Daniel 11:23-25) Philometer's own men turned on him and many were slain. (Daniel 11:26) Daniel 1:27 is a summary of Antiochus' and Ptolemy's dealings with each other. Antiochus Epiphanes returned to Syria with riches from Egypt (Daniel 11:28). Antiochus would return to Egypt later but not as successful. Chittim refers to the islands of Agean, Cyprus, and Phoenicia (Daniel 11:30).
Antiochus sent forces to Jerusalem and massacred 80,000 men, took 40,000 prisoners and sold 40,000 slaves. Along with some of the Jews the forces polluted the temple by drunkeness, sacrificing a pig on the alter, committed fornication with harlots and created an idol to Zeus. Jews that didn't obey the forces were slain. (Daniel 11:31-34) The prophecy ends stating that the time for all of these things to occur has been appointed (Daniel 11:35). In a future article we'll discuss Daniel 11:36 and beyond which is prophecy that has not yet occurred.
The scene starts out with Israel in the middle of 4 kingdoms. Daniel 11:2 mentions 4 Persian kings. The kings are Cambyses (530–522 B.C.), Psuedo-Smerdis (522-521 B.C.), Darius I Hystaspes (522–486 B.C.) and Xerxes I, called Ahasuerus in Esther (486–465 B.C.). Xerxes was the richest and it was reported he had an army of 2,641,000 men.
The mighty king mentioned in Daniel 11:3 is Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.). He conquered the Persian Empire in 331 B.C. He rose up in Greece to avenge the Greeks against Persia for Xerxes’ past invasion. After he died in 323 B.C. his land was divided among 4 generals (Daniel 11:4) because Cassander killed two of Alexander’s sons, preventing them from succeeding their father.
Daniel 11:5 refers to Seleucus I Nicator (312-281 B.C.) Syria king of the North and Ptolemy I Soter (323-285 BC) Egypt king of the South. The daughter of the South mentioned in Daniel 11:6 is Berenice daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.) The king of North was Antiochus II Theos (261-246 B.C.). This didn't last because of former wife of Antiochus who's name was Laodice. Theos divorced her to marry Berenice. She was involved in a conspiracy to kill with poison Berenice, her baby son, Antiochus, and her father Ptolemy. This brought Laodice's son Seleucus II Callinicus, to the throne. Later king Egypt Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-222 B.C.) succeeded Philadelphus. He was the brother of Berenice. He conquered Syria (Northern kingdom) in 240 B.C. to avenge the death of his sister (Daniel 11:7). Ptolemy III reportedly returned to Egypt with 40,000 talents of silver, precious vessels and 24,000 images which included Egyptian idols that Cambyses took from Egypt to Persia. Ptolemy III ended up living 4 years longer than Seleucus II Callinicus (Daniel 11:8-9).
In Daniel 11:10-12 the sons of Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus III the Great (223-187 B.C.) assemble a great army. Ceraunus died so Antiochus instituted the war with Euergetes's son Ptolemy IV Philopater (221-203 B.C.). After taking all of Syria Antiochus attacked the border of Egypt and won. Philopater then waged war against Antiochus at Raphia which is a city between Rhinocorura and Gaza with an army of 70,000 on each side. The result was Egypt destroying the entire army of Antiochus. According to John Gill “Antiochus lost ten thousand footmen, and three hundred horsemen; four thousand footmen were taken, three elephants slain, and two wounded, which afterwards died.”
Daniel 11:13-16 is the account of Egypt being defeated 14 years later at Paneas by Antiochus III who assembled an even more powerful army and siege works again the fenced cities. Antiochus took Sidon in 199-198 B.C. Egypt attempted to conquer Syria ad Eopas, Menacles and Damyoyenus but failed. Some Jews allied with Antiochus and went against Ptolemy's garrison in Jerusalem They also hoped to make Judea an independent state, but failed.
The “upright ones” in Daniel 11:17 likely were Jews who allied themselves with Antiochus. Rome started to grow in power so Antiochus gave his daughter Cleopatra for marriage to Ptolemy V Epiphanes John Gill wrote “finding he could not obtain the kingdom of Egypt by force of arms, for fear of the Romans, who were the guardians of the king of Egypt, he proposed to give his daughter Cleopatra to him (Ptolemy) in marriage, a beautiful virgin; and therefore called the daughter of women.” The plan backfired because Cleopatra ended up siding with her husband instead of her dad.
Daniel 11:18-19 talks about Antiochus and his war with the Romans where he took many of the isles. Antiochus though ended up being killed by his own soldiers in an insurrection as he tried to take money for Rome from the temple of Jupiter in Elymais .
After Antiochus was killed his oldest son Seleuceus IV Philopator (187-175 B.C) ruled. He raised taxes a thousand talents a year to pay the Romans tribute money. His tax collector/treasurer was Heliodorus. Heliodorus ended up poisoning Antiochus (Daniel 11:20).
Seleuceus IV Philopator's son Demetrius was suppose to be the next ruler but was a hostage in Rome. Instead Philopator's brother Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.) took the throne after after Andronicus killed Philopator's baby Antiochus to secure the throne for Epiphanes. Antiochus IV struggled against Egypt and Rome. His nickname was Epimanes which means madman (Daniel 11:21).
Antiochus IV was attacked by Egypt but was able to defeat them. He then attacked Egypt 5 years after becoming king. Antiochus won at Pelusium near the Nile delta with a force like a "flood". After that a treaty was attempted but was not successful because both had only their own interests in mind (Daniel 11:22).
Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria pretended to befriend Ptolemy Philometer of Egypt only to betray him. Ptolemy ended up being defeated. (Daniel 11:23-25) Philometer's own men turned on him and many were slain. (Daniel 11:26) Daniel 1:27 is a summary of Antiochus' and Ptolemy's dealings with each other. Antiochus Epiphanes returned to Syria with riches from Egypt (Daniel 11:28). Antiochus would return to Egypt later but not as successful. Chittim refers to the islands of Agean, Cyprus, and Phoenicia (Daniel 11:30).
Antiochus sent forces to Jerusalem and massacred 80,000 men, took 40,000 prisoners and sold 40,000 slaves. Along with some of the Jews the forces polluted the temple by drunkeness, sacrificing a pig on the alter, committed fornication with harlots and created an idol to Zeus. Jews that didn't obey the forces were slain. (Daniel 11:31-34) The prophecy ends stating that the time for all of these things to occur has been appointed (Daniel 11:35). In a future article we'll discuss Daniel 11:36 and beyond which is prophecy that has not yet occurred.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Print Page Daniel: When was it written?
Introduction
Daniel is probably the most debated book of the Bible. If Daniel is really written by Daniel before 530 B.C. it gives exceedingly great evidence that the Bible is a supernatural book that can be trusted. For example Daniel 11 gives really detailed information on 200 years worth of wars between Egypt and Syria which start 200 years after the book was written! The late Bruce Metzger who is a big name behind the modern Bible versions is one of many liberals that deny that Daniel really wrote the book or that it was even written around 530 B.C. They instead claim a date of around 167 B.C. which of course takes place after the fulfilled prophecies.
General Overview of Daniel
Hundreds of years after after the 2 kingdoms, Israel and Judah, split (1 Kings 12:20) Babylon started to become a super power. The northern kingdom of Israel already had fallen to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. (2 Kings 17). Then the Assyrians where conquered by Babylon. As a part of royalty in Judah Daniel was taken into captivity as a teenager in 605 B.C. by the Babylonians (Daniel 1:3-4). He lived until about the age of 85 in Jerusalem. Daniel's writing takes place during the reign of 2 Babylonian kings, Nebuchadnezzar 605-562 B.C. and Belshazzar 553-539 B.C. It also covers the first years of Persian rulers Darius and Cyrus.
Biblical Evidence
Daniel claims he wrote Daniel.
Daniel 8:15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
Daniel 8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
Daniel 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Daniel 10:2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.
Daniel 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.
Daniel 12:5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.
Ezekiel mentions Daniel.
Ezekiel 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
Ezekiel 28:3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
Jesus attributes the book to Daniel.
Matthew 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:)
Mark 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
The Dead Seas Scrolls
The Dead Seas scrolls are from the community of Qumran. They split from the rest of Judiasm between 171 and 167 B.C. which is right before the time the critics claim the book was written. Because of this it is telling that there are 8 manuscripts containing Daniel. This is a high number for a single book of the Bible. A large acceptance of a book would be really odd if Daniel was written at the time of the split. One manuscript 4QDanc is dated 165 B.C. or later. The manuscripts have parts of all chapter of Daniel except 12. There is a reference to Daniel 12 though in 4QFlorilegium. 4QFlorilegium supports the early canonicity of Daniel by stating "which written in the book of Daniel the prophet".
Additional Evidence
The first century Jewish historian Josephus in Againt Apion 1.8 mentions the number of prophets which Daniel would have been a part of.
The Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament called the Septuagint contains Daniel. Some believe it was being written around the 3rd century B.C.
Melito, Bishop of Sardis, listed Daniel as a prophet in 70 A.D.
Other Arguments by Liberals
Liberals throw out other arguments that have been refuted later on by archaeology. For example they questioned the leadership of Belshazzar. Archaeological discoveries proved the liberals wrong. I won't go into the other arguments further. I don't espouse everything on the site but you can read more in-depth arguments to common arguments here.
Conclusion
As shown there are mountains of evidence that Daniel was written early and by Daniel. Jesus himself claimed such. We can either believe the words of Jesus or the words of men like Bruce Metzger. If you put your trust in Jesus you'll never be let down. If you put your trust in man you will certainly be disappointed.
Daniel is probably the most debated book of the Bible. If Daniel is really written by Daniel before 530 B.C. it gives exceedingly great evidence that the Bible is a supernatural book that can be trusted. For example Daniel 11 gives really detailed information on 200 years worth of wars between Egypt and Syria which start 200 years after the book was written! The late Bruce Metzger who is a big name behind the modern Bible versions is one of many liberals that deny that Daniel really wrote the book or that it was even written around 530 B.C. They instead claim a date of around 167 B.C. which of course takes place after the fulfilled prophecies.
General Overview of Daniel
Hundreds of years after after the 2 kingdoms, Israel and Judah, split (1 Kings 12:20) Babylon started to become a super power. The northern kingdom of Israel already had fallen to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. (2 Kings 17). Then the Assyrians where conquered by Babylon. As a part of royalty in Judah Daniel was taken into captivity as a teenager in 605 B.C. by the Babylonians (Daniel 1:3-4). He lived until about the age of 85 in Jerusalem. Daniel's writing takes place during the reign of 2 Babylonian kings, Nebuchadnezzar 605-562 B.C. and Belshazzar 553-539 B.C. It also covers the first years of Persian rulers Darius and Cyrus.
Biblical Evidence
Daniel claims he wrote Daniel.
Daniel 8:15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
Daniel 8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
Daniel 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Daniel 10:2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.
Daniel 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.
Daniel 12:5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.
Ezekiel mentions Daniel.
Ezekiel 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
Ezekiel 28:3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
Jesus attributes the book to Daniel.
Matthew 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:)
Mark 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
The Dead Seas Scrolls
The Dead Seas scrolls are from the community of Qumran. They split from the rest of Judiasm between 171 and 167 B.C. which is right before the time the critics claim the book was written. Because of this it is telling that there are 8 manuscripts containing Daniel. This is a high number for a single book of the Bible. A large acceptance of a book would be really odd if Daniel was written at the time of the split. One manuscript 4QDanc is dated 165 B.C. or later. The manuscripts have parts of all chapter of Daniel except 12. There is a reference to Daniel 12 though in 4QFlorilegium. 4QFlorilegium supports the early canonicity of Daniel by stating "which written in the book of Daniel the prophet".
Additional Evidence
The first century Jewish historian Josephus in Againt Apion 1.8 mentions the number of prophets which Daniel would have been a part of.
The Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament called the Septuagint contains Daniel. Some believe it was being written around the 3rd century B.C.
Melito, Bishop of Sardis, listed Daniel as a prophet in 70 A.D.
Other Arguments by Liberals
Liberals throw out other arguments that have been refuted later on by archaeology. For example they questioned the leadership of Belshazzar. Archaeological discoveries proved the liberals wrong. I won't go into the other arguments further. I don't espouse everything on the site but you can read more in-depth arguments to common arguments here.
Conclusion
As shown there are mountains of evidence that Daniel was written early and by Daniel. Jesus himself claimed such. We can either believe the words of Jesus or the words of men like Bruce Metzger. If you put your trust in Jesus you'll never be let down. If you put your trust in man you will certainly be disappointed.
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