Tag: Hasmonian

Clash of empires

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 2 – The Kingdom Revealed– Chapter 10 – The Class of Apparitions

Clash of empires

[Bible references: Daniel 11]

The Promised Land was on a tract of land that served as a trade route between Africa, Asia and Europe and so was much desired by empires that emerged in that area of the world.

  • ASSYRIAN EMPIRE:  The Northern 10 tribes were conquered by the Assyrians (722 BC). Most of the Northern tribes were scattered throughout the Assyrian empire never to be heard from again in history, but some of the poorest were left behind. The Assyrians then brought in some of their own tribes to rule the area, diluting the culture of the conquered tribes when the remaining Israelites intermarried with the Assyrians.
  • BABYLONIAN EMPIRE: The Babylonian Empire then overtook the Assyrian empire and then conquered the Southern two tribes, Judah, and Benjamin, and in a couple of waves, took the best and brightest of those tribes into captivity in 605 BC and then in 586 BC. It was at this time that the Israelites, now predominately from the tribe of Judah, were called Jews.
  • PERSIAN EMPIRE: In 537 BC, the Persian empire then overtook the Babylonian empire and allowed the exiled Jews to return. After being settled in for many years, only of the Jews returned to the “Promised Land.” Most of the Jews decided to stay in Babylonia. So ever since the time of captivity, the majority of Jews have lived outside their homeland.
    • The Jews who returned from Babylon rejected the Samaritan Jews because the Samaritan Jews intermarried with foreigners.
    • The temple, now called the second temple, was rebuilt between 586-515 BC. The second temple was not built in as grand a fashion as the temple Solomon built. Neither did the Glory of the Lord enter the second temple as it did in the Tabernacle or in Solomon’s temple.
    • In 430 BC Nehemiah and Malachi were the last books written for the Hebrew scriptures.
  • GREEK EMPIRE:[1] The Greeks, under Alexander the Great, start their empire building in 336 BC, capturing Israel in 332 BC. Alexander tried to export the Greek language and culture[2] onto conquered territories. When Alexander died in 323 BC the Greek empire was split up under four of his generals. Israel is caught in a tug-of-war between two of the generals:
    • PTOLEMAIC EMPIRE: Ptolemy in Egypt first ruled over the Jews in 308 BC. The Ptolemaic kings, who had a great library in Egypt, added to it by commissioning a translation of the Hebrew texts (including Hebrew scriptures) in Greek– this translation, done around 250 BC is known as the Septuagint.[3]
    • SELUCID EMPIRE: In 195 BC, Seleucus ruled over Israel. When the Seleucids ruled over the Jews, they began a campaign to force the Greek culture onto the Jews and consequently trying to eliminate the Jewish culture. This eventually escalated onto desecrating the Jewish temple and then trying to force the Jewish leaders to participate by slaughtering pigs on the altar.
  • HASMONEAN KINGDOM: The effort by the Seleucids to eliminate the Jewish culture caused a rebellion in 166 BC begun by Mattathias the Hasmonean when he killed the Jew who was going to perform the sacrifice and then killed the official directing the sacrifice. Mattathias then fled into the wilderness with his family and began a rebellion which in 142 BC succeeded in overcoming the Seleucids and establishing an independent Jewish kingdom.
  • ROMAN EMPIRE: General Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BC. The Roman Empire continued to use Greek as the international language but did allow local cultures to persist as long as they did not oppose Roman rule.
    • The Hasmoneans were originally allowed to rule under the protection of Rome.
    • The Hasmonean dynasty ended when King Herod (the Great) was installed in 40 BC. Herod began many building projects including the rebuilding of the Temple, which began to be built in 18 BC and was not completed until after the reign of Herod the Great in AD 63

[1] Guzik, David. “Daniel 11 – Antiochus and Antichrist revisited” Enduring Word enduringword.com/bible-commentary/daniel-11; Truth According to Scripture. “Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Daniel 11” Truth According to Scripture www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/commentaries/bcc/daniel-11.php#.ZApRkkPMI2w

[2] It may surprise you that Greeks don’t call themselves “Greek”. Instead Greeks refer to themselves as “Έλληνες”— Hellenes. The word “Greek” comes from the Latin “Graeci”, and through Roman influence has become the common root of the word for Greek people and culture in most languages…. “Hellenism”, however, is something bigger. From ancient times, the language, culture, and values of the Hellenes has significantly impacted the world. Throughout history non-Hellenic people have adopted and assimilated the values and aesthetics of the Hellenes. Through this contact, the culture of the Hellenes has not only transformed other cultures, but has been transformed itself. This relationship is Hellenism. In fact, an openness to new ideas and embracing beauty and truth wherever you find it are fundamental features of Hellenism (National Hellenic Museum “What is Hellenism” )

[3] Reeves, Ryan, “What is the Septuagint?” ?”  The Gospel Coalition August 12, 2018, thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/ryan-reeves/what-is-the-septuagint

Observe

Read Daniel 11. This so accurately reflects the actual history of the Persian, Greek and Roman empires that many think it must have been written after the events occurred. But in fact, the book of Daniel was translated into the Greek version of the Bible, the Septuagint, 200 years before Christ.