Prophetic Lights

MEDO-PERSIA AND GREECE

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his; and he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings.... He revealeth the deep and secret things.” Daniel 2:20-22. PROLI 75.1

“AND after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.” Daniel 2:39. PROLI 75.2

These were the words which followed the brief statement of the extent and the fall of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. We have already learned that this “inferior” kingdom which was to succeed Babylon in the dominion of the world was the kingdom of the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:28), and that Cyrus the Persian did actually conquer Babylon, placing upon the throne his uncle, Darius the Median. Daniel 5:30, 31. The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus was effected in B.C. 538, and two years afterward, when Cyrus himself took the throne, he said:— PROLI 75.3

“Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of Heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” Ezra 1:2. PROLI 75.4

This shows that all of the dominion over which Nebuchadnezzar had ruled, passed into the hands of Cyrus, king of Persia (compare Jeremiah 27:4-7; Ezra 1:2), and that the Persian Empire was universal. It was not inferior to Babylon in extent, but only in wealth and magnificence. Under this monarchy the prophecies which foretold the restoration of the Jews to their own land were fulfilled. Most of the Persian kings, although noted for their cruelty, treated the Jews with great favor. An account of the dealings of the Persian kings with the Jews, is found in the books of Esther, Nehemiah, and Ezra. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah uttered their prophecies after the return from the captivity, but before the complete restoration. Not a single prophecy foretelling the restoration of the Jews to Palestine and old Jerusalem, has any application this side of the decree issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, recorded in Ezra 7. Those who are looking to the future for a time when all the Jews on earth will flock to Jerusalem and the land of Palestine, will look in vain. PROLI 75.5

But the prophet did not dwell for a moment upon the empire of Persia. He mentioned its rise, only to foretell its fall. “And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.” History tells us very clearly what universal empire followed that of Medo-Persia, but we will not forestall the prophecy; the Bible shall be its own interpreter. PROLI 76.1

In the eighth chapter of Daniel, verses 3-8, is a record of part of a vision which Daniel saw. Let the reader examine the passage carefully at his leisure; we shall here give only a summary of what the prophet saw. He saw a ram standing by a river. The ram was so very powerful and fierce that no beast could stand before him, “but he did according to his will, and became great.” While the prophet was still looking, he saw a rough goat with a notable horn between his eyes, come from the west, running with incredible swiftness, so that its feet seemed not to touch the ground. This goat came with fury to the ram, and smote him, and cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him; and there was no power that could save the ram from the wrath of the goat. PROLI 76.2

In verses 20, 21 this is explained as follows: “The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.” Then since the goat overpowered the ram, the prophecy teaches that Grecia succeeded Medo-Persia as mistress of the world. PROLI 76.3

This is attested by all history. There is no other fact of history so well known as that Alexander the Great conquered the world. “But,” says one, “Alexander was king of Macedon, and it was Greece, according to the prophecy, that overthrew Medo-Persia.” Very true; but it was as king of Greece, and not as king of Macedon, that Alexander started out on his career of conquest. If he had not had united Greece at his back, even he could not have become master of the world. Grote says:— PROLI 76.4

[NO PAGE NUMBER] PICTURE AND TEXT
MEDO-PERSIA.
“And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it.” Daniel 7:5. See page 88.

“After displaying his force in various portions of Peloponnesus, Alexander returned to Corinth, where he convened deputies from the Grecian cities generally.... Alexander asked from the assembled deputies the same appointment which the victorious Philip had required and obtained two years before — the hegemony or headship of the Greeks collectively for the purpose of prosecuting war against Persia. To the request of a prince at the head of an irresistible army, one answer only was admissible. He was nominated imperator with full powers, by land and sea. Overawed by the presence and sentiment of Macedonian force, all acquiesced in this vote except the Lacedaemonians. PROLI 77.1

“The convention sanctioned by Alexander was probably the same as that settled by and with his father Philip. Its grand and significant feature was, that it recognized Hellas [Greece] as a confederacy under the Macedonian prince as imperator, or executive head and arm. It crowned him with a legal sanction as keeper of the peace with Greece, and conqueror abroad in the name of Greece.” — History of Greece, chap. 91. PROLI 77.2

Philip, Alexander’s father, had succeeded in securing the headship of the Greeks, but his death followed immediately after, so that he never made any use of it. Alexander, therefore, is properly styled in the Scriptures the first king of Greece. PROLI 77.3

We have no space to devote to an account of Alexander’s victories at the Granicus, and at Issus, by which he gained Egypt and all of Asia west of the Euphrates, and brought Darius, the last king of Persia, to sue for peace. Alexander did not wish for a peace which would leave a rival to him; and the last battle, which resulted in the complete overthrow of the Persian kingdom, was fought near Arbela. Of the results of this battle, Grote says:—
“The prodigious army of Darius was all either killed, taken, or dispersed at the battle of Arbela. No attempt to form a subsequent army ever succeeded; we read of nothing stronger than divisions or detachments. The miscellaneous contingents of this once mighty empire, such at least among them as survived, dispersed to their respective homes and could never be again mustered in mass. The defeat of Arbela was in fact the death-blow of the Persian Empire. It converted Alexander into the great king, and Darius into nothing better than a fugitive pretender.” — History of Greece, chap. 93, paragraphs 87, 88. PROLI 77.4

The Grecian Empire, therefore, with Alexander as its first king, was the power that succeeded Medo-Persia. The battle of Arbela, which made Grecia supreme, was fought in the year 331 B.C. The Medo-Persian Empire had therefore enjoyed universal sway for two hundred and seven years, from 538 to 331 B.C. PROLI 77.5

“Which shall bear rule over all the earth.” These were the words by which Daniel described the Grecian Empire, which corresponded to the brazen portion of the image. Does history bear out the prediction of the prophet? and did the empire of Greece actually bear rule over “all the earth”? A few quotations will suffice to answer this question. PROLI 77.6

Rollin says of Alexander’s eager desire to reach Babylon, a few years after the battle of Arbela:— PROLI 78.1

“He knew that there were arrived in that city, ambassadors from all parts of the world, who waited for his coming; the whole earth echoing so with the terror of his name, that the several nations came, with inexpressible ardor, to pay homage to Alexander, as to him who was to be their sovereign.... So that he set forward with all possible diligence toward that great city, there to hold the states-general, as it were, of the world.” — History of Alexander, sec. 18. PROLI 78.2

The “Encyclopedia Britannica” says of his march to the city of Babylon:— PROLI 78.3

“As he advanced on his road he was met by ambassadors not only from Illyrians and Thracians, from Sicily and Sardinia, from Libya and Carthage, but from Lucanians and Etruscans, and, as some said, from Rome itself. The lord of all the earth could scarcely look for wider acknowledgment or more devout submission.” PROLI 78.4

Grote says:—
“So widely had the terror of his name and achievements been spread, that several of these envoys came from the most distant regions. There were some from the various tribes of Libya [west of Egypt] — from Carthage [west of Libya] — from Sicily and Sardinia — from the Illyrians and Thracians — from the Lucanians, Bruttians, and Tuscans, in Italy — nay even (some affirmed) from the Romans, as yet a people of moderate power. But there were other names yet more surprising — Ethiopians from the extreme South, beyond Egypt — Scythians from the North, beyond the Danube — Iberians [from Spain] and Gauls [from France], from the far West, beyond the Mediterranean Sea.... The proofs which Alexander received, even from distant tribes with names and costumes unknown to him, of fear for his enmity and anxiety for his favor, were such as had never been shown to any historical person, and such as entirely to explain his superhuman arrogance.” — Chap. 94, paragraph 79. PROLI 78.5

What further proof is needed to show that the dream and interpretation thereof, which accurately predicted these wondrous changes in the empire of the world scores and hundreds of years before they took place, were given by the “God in Heaven, that revealeth secrets,” and who will do nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets? See Amos 3:7. PROLI 78.6