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| Dan. 11:5-9 |
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Lesson # Dan. 11:5-9 Study Material - Dan. 11:5-9 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Dan. 11:5-9 5 'Then the king of the South will grow strong, along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed. 6 'And after some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out a peaceful arrangement. But she will not retain her position of power, nor will he remain with his power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in, and the one who sired her, as well as he who supported her in those times. 7 'But one of the descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display great strength. 8 'And also their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years. 9 'Then the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land. Remember that we are looking at the specific history following Daniel's time, and then its parallel to our own future history which will pertain to the Tribulation period, which is the last week of Daniel's seventy weeks prophecy. This passage introduces the two principle powers that will have impact on Judea at that historic time, that time just following Daniel's time and the fall of Alexander the Great, and the two principle powers that, by parallel, will impact the Judea territory in the future (our current day Israel). It also introduces immediately the conflict which will ensue between the two, the phony alliance and is failure, and more conflict and patterns of deceit, etc. Lots of big names in this list of players. No real easy way to get around them all. So here goes. The king of the south, and one of 'his' (not the king of the south but a prince of Alexander) princes, are here introduced. Their introduction establishes their respective dynasties. The Southern kingdom is Egypt led by the line of Ptolemy - one of Alexander's four generals (princes). The Northern kingdom is a reference to Syria which will be led by the Seleucid line. Seleucus is another of the four generals of Alexander. Seleucus Nicator was driven out of Syria (Babylon) and went to find refuge and help from Ptolemy in Egypt. Ptolemy gave him aid and an army and Seleucus returned to recapture not only Babylon but he defeated the Eastern portion of Alexander's kingdom, thus eliminating the third of Alexander's generals, Lysimachus. This left the Seleucid empire (Syria) in the North, Greece and Macedonia (Turkey) in the west, and Egypt in the south. The two rising powers are in the North ands the South now. 'After some years', about seventy years pass and a subsequent king of Egypt, Ptolemy Philadelphus, advances into Judea and attempts to take it. This upsets the subsequent ruling Seleucid king, Antiochus Theos (Antiochus II). Ptolemy has a daughter, Berenice whom he sent to Syria to marry Antiochus to calm the waters so to speak. Antiochus was already married (surprise, surprise) to Laodice. Guess who got upset over the 'arranged' marriage??? Only one guess now. The alliance sought was anything but an alliance. Trouble ensued. Problems in the home of Antiochus grew such that he finally, and after Ptolemy Philadelphus died (remember, he is the dad of Berenice), then Antiochus divorced Berenice. Does this satisfy Laodice? Ever heard of a 'woman scorned?' So anyway, Laodice poisoned her husband (probably gave him chicken soup with a smile. Her with a smile, not the soup), Antiochus and had Berenice and her son by Antiochus, murdered. Then Laodice set in the palace and on the throne her own son, Seleucus Callinicus. So much for the alliance. And the end of verse six in our passage. Verse seven and eight. Remember that Daniel wrote these events several hundred years prior to their occurrence. The son of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and brother of Berenice, who was Ptolemaeus Euergetes, became king over Egypt. He was a little upset at the events in the north, and came a knocking ... with an army. He just hammered Syria and took lots of booty and slaves. This all occurred over a period of years. Then Ptolemy returned to Egypt and left Syria alone for many years. Ptolemy ruled for 46 years. The Syrian king died much sooner leaving two sons. And we should probably stop there. We'll get the harassment of, and a very upset Egypt tomorrow. Who can remember all of these names anyway. Good thing for notes! You ought to see the margins of my Bible! So what of all of this? Remember the four winds of heaven drive human history. Jesus Christ controls history. He allows man to make his own decisions and thus nation after nation is caught up in the hands of various power seekers, both man and woman. But God allows people to go only so far before interrupting their advances or tyrannies. Death is the ultimate instrument of control, and God alone controls that. Just as He controls life. When man chooses to live in this jungle environment (see the separate study on the jungle), then power, wealth, rule, etc. all come and go like the tide, and there is certainly no safety or blessing for anyone. One power advances then recedes as another power follows the pattern. Only those who follow Gods Word in their life are elevated out of the jungle, or at least out of the jungles grip, and Gods authority, Gods refuge, Gods blessing, etc. become dominant in our lives. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
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