Seleucid and Ptolemaic Tribulation War is Near
The Ptolemaic King indeed has good reason to Fear
Seleucid Antichrist will take revenge on Ptolemaic King
Ptolemaic Kingdom a Caliphate song will soon loudly Sing
As Antichrist’s praises from Cairo to Damascus do loudly Ring
Christ Will return at the Battle of Armageddon to End the Thing
June 11, 2008
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
A Brief Outline of History from Daniel 8:21 to 9:26
Daniel’s Prophecy some 270 years before it began to be fulfilled
Daniel 8:21-26 – And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. [22] Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. [23] And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. [24] And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. [25] And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. [26] And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
Alexander the Great was the Grecian King and great horn on the rough goat.
The four kingdoms were those ruled by four of his generals after his death, named in the article which follows by Al Maxey, and they are also the four heads on the beast in Daniel 7:6. The little horn that comes one of the four kingdoms was Antiochus Epiphanes, who performed the acts of Daniel 8:9-14. Some say it is the Antichrist, and one can be justified in saying he was “a type or forerunner” of the real Antichrist of Daniel 11:36 to 45, but the eighth chapter of Daniel has already been fulfilled.
The fierce king of Daniel 8:23-26, who was to come in the latter days of the four horned kingdom, was Antiochus Epiphanes, ruler of Syria from 175 to 163 B.C. He imposed Greek culture and desecrated the Jewish Temple. The vision of the 2300 evenings and mornings of Daniel 8:26 refers to a period of 2300 days which ended when the temple was cleansed in 171.
Daniel 8:13,14 – Then I heard one saint speaking, and an other
saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? [14] And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
The 2300 days in verse 14, which is a “transgression of desolation,” is a spiritual desolation regarding the spiritual condition of the Temple in its sacrifices to God. This leads me to believe it fitted in at some point in time between the murder of Onias III, the High Priest murdered in 171 B.C., and when Judas Maccabeus, acting as the High Priest, spiritually cleansed the Temple Sanctuary in 164 B.C., which would have been more than six years, but less than seven. Judas was the third son of a Jewish Priest.
The following events occurred from the beginning of the reign of the King of Syria to the cleansing (rededication) of the Temple in 164 B. C. This particular king was Antiochus Epiphanes (AE).
175-164 B.C. the rule of AE (he died in 163).
171 – Onias is murdered by Menelaus (who had bribed AE in exchange for being made high priest). The day he was killed marks the day the sacrifices on the Temple Altar were no longer accepted by God.
169 – AE attacks Jerusalem, butchers many of its inhabitants, and loots the temple
167 – December (25 Kislev) AE orders the cessation of all ceremonial observances. The sacrifice of a pig was performed on the altar to Zeus which had been erected on the altar of burnt offering in the temple.
164 – December (25 Kislev) three years to the day after it had been profaned, Judas Maccabeus, having led a successful revolt against AE, re-dedicated the temple and a new altar of burnt offering.
The following excerpt came from an article by Al Maxey
THE SILENT CENTURIES
Greek Rule — The Ptolemies & Seleucids (332 – 168 BC)
by Al Maxey
PERIOD OF STRUGGLE & THE DIADOCHOI (323 – 168 BC)
When Alexander died in 323 BC he left no heir to the throne. Thus, a period of intense struggle broke out among his many generals over who would control the vast empire. This was all complicated even more when Roxana, Alexander’s wife, g ave birth to
a son, who was now the rightful heir to the throne. Cassander, one of the generals, quickly solved the problem by killing both Roxana and her baby.
This struggle among the generals continued until 315 BC, at which time it was decided to divide the kingdom four ways among the top four generals. This four way division of the empire was predicted long beforehand in Daniel 8:21,22. These four generals were known as the Diadochoi, which in Greek means “Successors.” They were:
Ptolemy Lagi — who ruled over Egypt, Palestine, Arabia, and Peterea. He was assisted by a general named Seleucus, who had originally been given Babylon, but who was later forced out by Antigonus.
Antigonus — who controlled Syria, Babylonia, and central Asia.
Cassander — who ruled over Macedonia and Greece.
Lysimachus — who was the ruler of Thrace and Bythinia.
Even though the kingdom had been divided between them, these Diadochoi still continued to fight with one another. There were frequent outbursts of violence as they sought to gain each other’s territory. Antigonus was probably the worst of the generals. The others finally allied themselves together and drove him out in 312 BC. Members of his family managed to flee to Macedonia where they set up a small kingdom, but it is of l
ittle significance to this study.
General Seleucus seized upon this opportunity and took back the territory which had originally been given to him. This area, Syria and Babylonia, now became the Seleucid Dynasty. At the same time, Ptolemy Lagi extended his boundaries northward from Egypt to include the area occupied by the Jews. Thus, the Jews came under the rule of the Ptolemies, which rule they held until 198 BC.
After the Battle of Ipsus (301 BC), Seleucus succeeded in taking all the territory previously held by Antigonus; the kingdom of Lysimachus was also absorbed into the Seleucid Dynasty. Thus, with the exception of the small Macedonian kingdom, the entire empire was now controlled by the Seleucids in the North and the Ptolemies in the South. Caught right in the middle of these two struggling factions was Palestine, and it became the source and site of constant conflict between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies. For the first 100 years or so the Ptolemies held the upper hand in the struggle over Palestine, the home of the people of Israel.
THE PTOLEMIES CONTROL PALESTINE (323 – 198 BC)
The first group to maintain any real consistent control of Palestine after the death of Alexander was the Ptolemies, who ruled from the land of Egypt. For the most part, they were very good to their Jewish subjects, although they did tax them quite heavily.
PTOLEMY I, SOTER (323 – 285 BC)
This ruler was also known as Ptolemy Lagi, and was one of the Diadochoi. Palestine came under the dominion of the Ptolemies during his reign. He also relocated many of the Palestinian Jews to the land of Egypt where Greek soon became their native language.
PTOLEMY II, PHILADELPHUS (285 – 246 BC)
This ruler was the son of Ptolemy I. Under his rule the Jews, both in Egypt and Palestine, enjoyed a lengthy period of quiet, and also some degree of prosperity. These first several Ptolemies were more concerned with intellectual pursuits than with military matters. In Palestine, the High Priest, aided by a council of priests and elders, was allowed to rule as a political underlord of the Ptolemies. As long as they paid their annual tribute of 20 talents, they were left pretty much alone.
In Egypt, the Jews were allowed to build Synagogues to worship and study in, and Alexandria soon became an influential Jewish center. Under the rule of Ptolemy II, the Jewish Scriptures were translated into the Greek language. This translation is known as the Septuagint (LXX), a translation which would become the most popular version of the Scriptures among the Jews of the dispersion, and which would be used a great deal by the writers of the New Testament books.
ANTIOCHUS I (280 – 262 BC) — In the year 280 BC General Seleucus was murdered, and his son, Antiochus I, took the throne of the Seleucid Dynasty. Five years later his empire was invaded by Ptolemy Philadelphus. This war lasted almost four years, with neither side winning a decisive victory over the other.
ANTIOCHUS II (261 – 247 BC) — In 261 BC this man succeeded his father to the throne, and immediately war broke out again between the two halves of the empire. In 252 BC a peace agreement was finally reached after neither side was able to defeat the other. To complicate matters even further, as part of the peace agreement Ptolemy II’s daughter, Berenice, was given in marriage to Antiochus II, thus uniting the two houses.
PTOLEMY III, EUERGETES I (246 – 221 BC)
At about the same time, both Ptolemy Philadelphus and Antiochus II died. The former was succeeded by Ptolemy III, also known as Euergetes I, and the latter was succeeded by his son SELEUCUS II (247 – 226 BC). Once again war broke out between the two parts of the empire. The cause was — Laodice (the half-sister, and also the wife, of Antiochus II) wanted her son to one day take the Seleucid throne, rather than the son of Berenice. Therefore, Laodice killed Berenice and her infant son.
This outraged the Ptolemies of the southern kingdom, and thus the famous Laodicean War broke out. The Ptolemies were very successful and managed to capture a large part of the Seleucid Empire, including all of Syria, before local problems called Ptolemy III back to Egypt. With Ptolemy III no longer on the battlefield, Seleucus II managed to recapture much of his territory. He tried to capture Palestine, but was unable to do so. Peace finally was declared in 240 BC.
Seleucus II was succeeded in 226 BC by SELEUCUS III (226 – 223 BC) who reigned only 3 years before being poisoned. He was then succeeded by his younger brother who was known as ANTIOCHUS III, THE GREAT (223 – 187 BC) ….. more about this ruler later.
PTOLEMY IV, PHILOPATER (221 – 203 BC)
In the year 221 BC, Ptolemy III died and was succeeded by Ptolemy IV, Philopater, who was without a doubt the most cruel and vicious ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. He hated the Jews, and as a result persecuted them without mercy. He even attempted to force his way into the Holy of Holies in the Jewish Temple and thus defile it.
The Jews detested this madman, and celebrated with great rejoicing at his death in 203 BC.
PTOLEMY V, EPIPHANES (203 – 180 BC)
Ptolemy V, also called Epiphanes (“the illustrious one”), was the last of the Ptolemaic rulers to hold control over Palestine and the people of Israel. He was not the last of the Ptolemaic rulers, however. The Ptolemaic Dynasty did not come to an end until 30 BC when the famous CLEOPATRA died.
In 198 BC the Seleucids, under Antiochus III, finally took control of Palestine, which control they held, more or less (mostly less), until the coming of the Romans in 63 BC.
THE SELEUCIDS CONTROL PALESTINE (198 – 168 BC)
We’ve already examined the rulers of the Seleucid Dynasty who were contemporaries of the Ptolemies during the latter’s control of Palestine. Following are the Seleucid rulers who held control over Palestine and the people of Israel after it passed into their hands from the Ptolemies.
ANTIOCHUS III, THE GREAT (223 – 187 BC)
This ruler was only 18 years old when he ascended the throne of the Seleucid Empire in 223 BC. Even though young, he was nevertheless experienced in government as he had served as Governor of the province of Babylonia under his brother Seleucus III. Antiochus immediately began an effort to conquer the troublesome empire of the Ptolemies. Although he was unable to completely destroy them, yet at the Battle of Panion in the Jordan Valley (198 BC) he was able to gain complete control of Palestine.
The Jews were at first happy by this state of affairs. The constant warring between the two dynasties seemed finally to be at an end, and they welcomed Antiochus with open arms. Little did they realize, however, that the Seleucids would prove to be even harsher masters than the Ptolemies.
At about this same time, Hannibal, who had been defeated by the Romans at Zama, fled to the court of Antiochus for protection. Still interested in stirring up trouble for Rome, however, he convinced Antiochus to invade Greece, whereupon Rome promptly declared war on Antiochus. The Romans defeated Antiochus in 190 BC, and made him pay dearly for his alliance with Hannibal. He was forced to pay enormous amounts of money, and to surrender his navy and his war elephants. To insure that Antiochus continued making his payments, the Romans took his youngest son to Rome where they kept him hostage for twelve years. This young boy was later to return to the Seleucid Empire and assume the throne under the name Antiochus Epiphanes.
SELEUCUS IV (187 – 175 BC)
Three years after his defeat by the Romans, Antiochus the Great died and was succeeded by Seleucus IV, who ruled for the next twelve years. His situation was a most precarious one — somehow he had to come up with fantastic amounts of money to send to the Romans. To raise this money he heavily taxed the people of the land, including the Jews of Palestine.
This created a moral dilemma for the Jews. Some felt it was morally allowable to give money to the government, whereas others felt it was sinful. Thus, two opposing factions formed among the Jews over this issue. The Oniads, under the leadership of the High Priest Onias, were opposed to help ing the Seleucids
in any way. The other group, led by a man named Jason, felt the opposite, and set about making many false, slanderous reports to the king concerning Onias, in the hopes of undermining him.
Jason, who was the brother of Onias, was only interested in one thing — becoming the High Priest in his brother’s place. He hoped to accomplish this by offering the Seleucids large amounts of money (see — II Maccabees 3-4 and Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews, Book 12, Chapters 4-5). King Seleucus IV ignored the Jewish squabble, for the most part, and refused to get that deeply involved.
ANTIOCHUS IV, EPIPHANES (175 – 163 BC)
In the year 175 BC, Antiochus IV, also known as Epiphanes, murdered Seleucus IV and took the throne. He immediately took advantage of Jason’s offer of money, and removed Onias from the office of High Priest, installing Jason in his place. Three years later, a man named Menelaus offered Antiochus even more money, so the king removed Jason and made Menelaus the High Priest.
Those Jews who were still trying to be faithful to their God were infuriated by this state of affairs, and their hearts were pained that the position of High Priest could be bought by the highest bidder. Those who were outspoken concerning these abuses were known as the Hasidim (“the pious ones”). It is from this group that the Hasidic Jews of today trace their roots. They renamed Antiochus — “Epimanes” (“the madman”).
In the year 169 BC Antiochus invaded Egypt in an attempt to destroy once and for all the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Soon it was reported back in Palestine that the king had been killed in battle. When this news reached Jason, he returned from exile and threw Menelaus out of the city and once again assumed the office of High Priest. The news of Antiochus’ death was false, however, and when he returned to Jerusalem he utilized his army to forcibly remove Jason from office and reinstall Menelaus. At this time Antiochus also entered the Temple and stole a great deal of valuable treasure, an act which the pious Jews looked upon as an abomination before God.
The following year (168 BC) Antiochus renewed his campaign against the Egyptians, but he was stopped by the Roman representative Popilius Laenus, and was ordered to leave Egypt and never come back. This so infuriated Antiochus that he came back and took out his frustration on the city of Jerusalem. He tore down the city walls, slaughtered a great many of the Jews, ordered the Jewish Scriptures to be destroyed, and he and his soldiers brought prostitutes into the Temple and there had sex with them in order to defile the Temple. He also issued orders that everyone was to worship the Greek gods, and he established the death penalty for anyone who practiced circumcision, or who observed the Sabbath or any of the Jewish religious feasts and sacrifices.
The cruelty of Antiochus in enforcing these new laws against the Jews became legendary. An aged scribe by the name of Eleazar was flogged to death because he refused to eat the flesh of a swine. In another incident, a mother and her seven young children were each butchered, in the presence of the Governor, for refusing to worship an idol. In yet another incident, two mothers, who had circumcised their newborn sons, were driven through the city and then thrown to their deaths from the top of a large building.
The final outrage for the pious Jews of the land came when Antiochus sacked the Temple and erected an altar there to the pagan god Zeus. Then, on December 25, 168 BC, Antiochus offered a pig to Zeus on the altar of God. This was the last straw! The Jews had taken all they were going to take from these oppressors. The stage was set for a large-scale rebellion of the Jews against the Seleucids. This famous rebellion is known in history as the Maccabean Revolt.
End Excerpt from Article by Al Maxey
During the silent years (time of no inspired scripture written between the Old and New Testaments) the Seleucid kings became known as the kings of the north, and the Ptolemaic kings were called the kings of the north.
In Daniel 11:40 to 45 the king of the north represents the old Seleucid kingdom, which at its maximum extent included the countries known today as Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and Afghanistan.
The king of the south today is known as Israel.
Daniel 11:40-42 – And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. [41] He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. [42] He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
We begin this Blog with Israel having already lost some 2/3 of its population while being driven into the Negev wilderness by 10 Arab nations led by the antichrist. Once he has driven Israel into the Negev and secured the northern periphery of it to stop a breakout from it, he will leave Israel trapped in it and proceed to his most important military objective, the Suez Canal.
Zechariah 13:8 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
There is no more important zone in the entire Middle East from a military, political, and economic standpoint than the narrow strip of water known as the Suez Canal. World shipping passes through it from the south into the Mediterranean Sea on its way to European ports, and to the ports of the northern Atlantic. It carries southward through its banks the shipping commerce that services the ports of the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Siam, the South China Sea, and the vast Pacific Ocean.
The sudden lightning Jihad strike from the north will catch the western world by complete surprise. The short period of false peace in the Middle East, following a period of no peace since 70 A.D. for the Jewish nation, will lull Israel and those nations that are friendly to her into a false sense of security. Furthermore, I am convinced that the lengthy chain of worldwide earthquake activity will begin at this time with the occurrence of the first earthquake in the book of Revelation, found in 6:12, and that the worldwide activity will continue until the last earthquake of Revelation, found in conjunction with Armageddon in 16:16-18.
Revelation 6:12 – And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Revelation 16:16-19 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. [17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. [18] And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
This surge of worldwide earthquake activity, acting with the element of surprise, and pushing an already weak economy over the edge, will cause the western world and Europe to be more concerned with their own national interest of survival, than in the survival of Israel. Besides, I assure you that, immediately upon the antichrist’s conquest of the Suez Canal, the plans will already have been laid to instantly announce that the status quo
of the Suez Canal operations will remain unchanged, and that all nations will have free access through it.
I have always believed that the 10 toes of Daniel’s statue and the 10 horns of his fourth beast are the same as the 10 horns found in Chapters 13 and 17 of Revelation. There is no question in my mind that in the last days of this age the 10 horns were to arise out of the southern flank of the area dominated by the fourth beast of Daniel, which represented the Roman Empire of John’s time. The great Roman Empire, at its maximum expansion, extended into parts of all the nations that I believe will be involved in the support of the antichrist when he drives Israel into the Negev, and then takes over the Suez Canal. I believe those 10 nations will be Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Turkey, and Sudan, and that the Palestinians will attack Israel in coordination with them from within the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
EGYPT WILL PAY A PRICE FOR ITS PEACE WITH ISRAEL!
Begin Jerusalem Post Article
‘Mubarak shuns summit to avoid Assad’
Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST
June 10, 2008
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak will stay away from an Arab mini-summit in Libya to avoid an encounter with Syria’s president, government officials said Tuesday.
The mini-summit in Tripoli on Tuesday was initiated by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to work out an Arab response to a French proposal to set up a European, Middle Eastern and North African strategic bloc.
“In view of the President’s engagements and tight schedule, he cannot participate in this summit,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.
But other officials said Mubarak dodged the summit to avoid a reconciliation with Syria’s Bashar Assad. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to speak to the media.
Relations between Egypt and Syria have been strained since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and Mubarak and Saudi King Abdullah boycotted an annual Arab summit in Syria in March.
Sunni Muslim powerhouses Egypt and Saudi Arabia accuse Syria of backing the Shi’ite terror group Hizbullah in Lebanon.
Several Arab governments including Kuwait and Libya have been mediating between Damascus, Cairo and Riyadh, but their efforts have so far been shunned by Mubarak and Abdullah.
Assad was participating in the meeting in Tripoli, along with the presidents of Tunisia and Algeria and the prime ministers of Morocco and Mauritania.
Though the proposed union would be focused on economic ties, it was also expected to involve discussions on such issues like human rights, illegal immigration and Middle East peace.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy foresees the proposed union consisting of 39 partners – the 27-nation EU, plus a dozen on the Mediterranean’s southern shores, from Mauritania to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Gadhafi called for Tuesday’s Arab summit to discuss Israel’s role in the proposed union.
Initial Arab reactions to include Israel in the union have varied, with some countries such as Algeria and Syria – which do recognize the Jewish state – balking at the idea. Egypt and Jordan, which have peace treaties with Israel, have not said they have a problem with Israeli membership.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
You may use material originated by this site. However, if you wish to use any quoted copyrighted material from this site, which did not originate at this site, for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner from which we extracted it.