A History Lesson and Bible Truth

“The Bible is full of stories that are supposed to make you a better person and inspire you; it’s when you start over-analyzing it is when there are problems…God is too big for me.” – Mila Kunis, May 2012

Do those sentiments resonate with you, too? Sometimes, even believers in Jesus Christ struggle with the Bible and it’s unerring truth. You shouldn’t feel ashamed about that…the Bible is a long book of sometimes complex topics, and it’s ok for you to have questions and doubts. It’s not ok for you to sit in those doubts and not seek answers.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. - James 1:5

Recently, I completed Beth Moore’s study on the book of Daniel. (As a side note, it was incredibly good – intense, but a deep study into a hard book of prophecy.) I love books like Daniel – they’re an incredible picture of prophecy that we can prove out in history – which can secure our faith in trusting what God says is to come.

Daniel was taken captive in Babylon around 605 BC when he was about 15 years old. The book of Daniel covers his life living in a culture of excess and sin, while he maintains his convictions to God. This book documents 4 different prophecies given to Daniel covering future events…most of which have already played out in history. I wish I had time to go through the details of each one – but that took 12 weeks with a serious Bible teacher to get through. So instead, if you’re even a little bit intrigued I will encourage you to embark on the Daniel study with Beth Moore.

That being said – I can understand why it’s hard for some to believe a book that takes so much work to understand how it applies to us personally. The world has a way of watering down the messages in the Bible, and creating enough space between truth and fiction to confuse those trying to understand. I thought it would be fun to pick out one small section of a prophecy Daniel received, and walk you through the historical events that fulfilled this prophecy. Personally, I was left in awe at the study of these few passages and their detailed accuracy in historic events. I don’t expect that this brief review will turn you into a Bible Scholar, but I do hope it sparks a flame in you to be passionate about studying God’s word.

I’m going to focus on Daniel 11:5-9…but first, the history lesson.

The 4 prophetic visions that Daniel saw in his book were related to the earthly kingdoms that would control much of the earth from 626 BC to 476 AD, with each vision giving more detail to the story that would eventually play out in history.

•       Babylonian Empire, 626-539 BC: led by King Nebuchadnezzer

•       Medo-Persian Empire, 539-331 BC: led by Cyrus the Great

•       Greek Empire, 331-63 BC: led by Alexander the Great

•       Roman Empire 63 BC-476 AD: Famous leaders including Octavian (Augustus), Tiberius, Nero

Today’s scripture focuses on the Greek empire. Alexander the Great is one of the most well documented figures in history. He rose to power quickly, but died at a very young age. At his death, his kingdom was divided among his 4 highest ranking Generals. We’re going to focus on Ptolemy (who controlled Egypt and parts of Minor Asia – the South) and Seleucus (who controlled Syria, Isreal, and Mesopotamia – the North).

The Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties spent years fighting. During this verse segment, the Ptolemaic dynasty controlled current day Palestine and they wanted to pursue peace with the King of the North. So the King of the South, Ptolemy II, sent his daughter Berenice to marry Antiochus II, the King of the North. Antiochus II was already married to Laodice, so he had to divorce her to marry Berenice. They had a child, and in fine soap opera fashion, Antiochus II’s ex-wife has Berenice, their child, and Antiochus II killed. She installs her son, Seleucus II on the throne. Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III, avenges her death by attacking Seleucus II, killing Laodice and plundering their treasure (idols, precious metals, etc). Later, Seleucus II tries to retaliate, but he fails and returns to his kingdom.

Phew. DRAMA. And you’re probably wondering why I decided a history lesson was a great blog post. I want to show you how scripture aligns with these historical events. Below is the scripture, with my annotations tying all of it back to history. Let’s go to Daniel 11:5-9:

5 “The king of the South (Egypt) will become strong, but one of his commanders (Ptolemy I) will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. 6 After some years, they (Ptolemy II and Antiochus II) will become allies. The daughter (Berenice) of the king of the South (Ptolemy II) will go to the king of the North (Antiochus II) to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last (both killed by Laodice). In those days she will be betrayed (by Laodice), together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her (Antiochus II).

7 “One from her family line will arise to take her place (her brother, Ptolemy III). He will attack the forces of the king of the North (now Laodice’s son, Seleucus II) and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. 8 He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. (plundering their treasure) For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. 9 Then the king of the North (Seleucus II) will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country (he lost that battle and returned home).

(If Beth Moore ever happens to read this post, I used minimal notes to get through this…I hope she’d be proud.)   

Bible study isn’t easy – it’s why I’m so grateful for teachers who are willing to spend the time teaching me to break it down in regular people terms, be it Bible studies or commentaries. And this story isn’t particularly important, but it is exciting and it does cross over to real history. I don’t know about you, but I cherish every piece of the Bible that I can prove as truth; when I’m struggling with doubt, it gives me assurance that I can trust my God who knows what has come and what is to come.

I will close with this encouragement – the more intentional you are about reading and studying scripture, even in small doses, the easier it becomes to decipher…and when it’s just plain hard, there are plenty of resources from very smart people to help you get through it. The Word of God is not full of stories or fairytales…it’s full of living truth. As Christians today, we can stand on the Word as truth, full of promises for us and for God’s chosen people, Israel.

Daniel’s vision closes with the kingdom that is to come – when Christ returns to establish his everlasting kingdom on earth. To date in history, Daniel accurately covers 4 of the 5 kingdoms given in vision…those are good odds that the final kingdom will come just as described.

There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. – Daniel 12:1b-2