Study: John MacArthur's The Reign of Rebellion

I've just spent a couple of hours listening to & researching John MacArthur's brilliant sermon, The Reign of Rebellion Part 1. It is a study of Daniel 11:1-35. This prophecy, which has since been fulfilled, is so detailed and so fascinating that I thought I'd share it here, with my notes so that you too can benefit from God's amazing words!

You can listen to and/or read John MacArthur's sermon by clicking here: The Reign of Rebellion Part 1

Below are my notes from the sermon + some details that I researched on the internet.

Summary Notes on John MacArthur’s

The Reign of Rebellion Part 1

(Daniel 11: 1:35)

[Daniel lived ± 607BC)

The key kings mentioned in Daniel 11:

3 prominent kings before the rise of the 5 “A” kings:

• Cambyses (son of Cyrus)
• Pseudo-Smerdis (was an usurper & impostor)
• Darius Hystaspes

1. Xerxes aka Ahasuerus [486 – 465 BC] (verse 2)

·         Found in Book of Esther

·         One of greatest oriental rulers

·         Very wealthy

·         Commanded largest army in Ancient World

·         Wanted to attack Greece

·         Defeated by Power of Greece

·         150 years later, the Greeks retaliated & came led by Alexander the Great (verse 3)

Xerxes aka Ahasurerus (486 - 465 BC)

2. Alexander the Great of Macedon (Greece) [336 – 323BC](verse 3)

·         Seized entire Persian Empire

·         By age of 33, he had conquered the known world & changed the course of history

·         He overran Israel

·         He died at 33 with no legitimate descendants (verse 4)

·         His kingdom was divided into 4 parts:

v      Cassandra took Macedonia

v      Lysimachus took Thrace & Asia Minor

v      Ptolemy took Egypt (i.e. south of Israel)

v      Seleucus took Syria (i.e. north of Israel)    (verse 5)

·         Egypt & Syria warred with each other for ± 200 years on Israeli soil. (verse 20)

·         Antiochus Theos of Syria divorced his wife to marry Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt. Antiochus’s 1^st wife murdered Berenice by poison. (verse 7)

Alexander The Great of Macedon (Greece) (336 - 323 BC)

3. Antiochus III The Great of Greece [223 – 187BC](verse 10)

·         King of North

·         Conquered by Ptolemy of Egypt & ruled Israel

·         Son of Callinicus

·         Had 75,000 soldiers

·         Attacked Egypt (verse 11)

·         Gave his daughter, Cleopatra, to Ptolemy in marriage (verse 17)

·         Attacked Greece, which was then ruled by Rome (verse 18)

·         Syria then had to pay taxes to Rome (verse 20)

Antiochus III The Great of Greece (223 - 187 BC)

4. Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Greece [175 – 164BC](verse 21)

   (brother of Cleopatra)

·         Gained power through intrigue

·         Devastated Egypt (verse 22)

·         Broke friendship with Egypt (verse 23)

·      Committed “Abomination of Desolation”, i.e. with help of apostate Jews he attacked Jerusalem (verse 28), slayed women & children & slaughtered a pig on the temple alter & made the priests eat the pork. (verse 31). In 3 days he killed 40,000 Jews & sold 40,000 into slavery.

·         Israel helped by Hasidic Jews (Judas Maccabeus) (verse 34) [also see First Maccabees 2)

Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Greece (175 - 164 BC)

    

5.            Anti-Christ [Still to come sometime in the future!]

The Anti-Christ (Still to Come)

You can listen to and/or read the equally brilliant The Reign of Rebellion Part 2 by clicking here:  http://www.gty.org/resources/Sermons/27-29#.Tko91GG6nlg