Egypt in the Bible

The news has been filled this week, of course, with events in Egypt. Today we're going to talk about Egypt from several perspectives. First of all, to get a little bit of a historical background and founding. Egypt's one of the oldest nations in history and was perhaps the greatest civilization in the ancient world. Egypt was named for a son of Ham, Miseram, and let's notice that in Genesis 10 and verse 6. In Genesis 10 and verse 6, and the son of Ham, Kush and Miseram. So the Hebrew word that is translated to Egypt in the Bible is from this son here of Ham. The sons of Ham, Kush and Miseram, and Foot and Canaan. And so that's where the word originated. And of course, Egypt, Miseram and Kush and that northern part of Africa and all of Africa are closely associated together because mainly the sons of Ham settled in Africa. Egypt is about the size of Texas and New Mexico combined, so it's a big place. It borders both the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Red Sea. So it is one of the most strategically located nations on the face of the earth. In that it borders one of the most important shipping lanes, the Mediterranean Sea, along with the Suez Canal, the Red Sea. It's used to, they had to go all the way around Africa to get to the Far East. But now with the Suez Canal, you can come into the Mediterranean, go down to the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, into the Persian Gulf, and out to the Far East. The population of Egypt is about 85 million.

90% of Egypt is Muslim, and they are of the Sunni faith. They are of the Sunnis. There are two main divisions of Islam in the world. The Sunnis are the predominant denomination, if you want to use the word denomination, sect of the Islamic world. They comprise roughly 70-75% of Islam. The Sunnis believe that the successor to Mohammed should be selected by the, quote, community, the leaders of the community. Whereas the Shiites comprise about 20% of the Islamic world, they believe that the successor to Mohammed is an inherited position.

Some of the kings of the Arab nations claim that they are descendants of Mohammed. In particular, the most direct descendant is claimed to be of Mohammed is King Abdullah of Jordan. The Jordanian kingdom is called the Hashemite Kingdom. Saudi Arabia has a king also. He's 87 years old. He is also named Abdullah. Abdullah is a very popular name in the world of Islam. There are about 9% Coptic Christians in Egypt and about 1% other types of Christian denominations, but 90% Sunni. Egypt was taken over by the descendants of Ishmael. Remember, Ishmael is a son of Abraham.

And Abraham is a father of the Arabs. The Arabs descended from Ishmael. The Arabs took over Egypt in the 600s AD. So, for centuries, the Islamic world has controlled Egypt. Egypt also became a part of the Ottoman Empire.

And then after the World War I, Britain played a heavy role in Egypt. Most of the people in Egypt today of the educated class can speak English, and also a lot of them can speak French as well. So, we see that Britain played a role in the 1900s. And of course, after World War II, the United States was the great victor along with the Allies in World War II. And the United States has played a great role in the history of Egypt, especially since World War II. As we already stated, the father of the Arabs is Abraham, and Ishmael and Isaac are half-brothers. So, if you want to look and say, okay, I can trace my genealogy back to Abraham, then Ishmael and the Arabs, they are a part of your blood kin, as you might say. Egypt is paradoxically a land that is a paradox when it comes to the people of God. On the one hand, Egypt symbolizes sin and death. And on the other hand, it has been a land of refuge at times for God's people. Let's notice now, Genesis 12, verse 10, after Abraham was told to get up out of his native land, Ur of the Chaldees, which is currently modern-day Iraq, he crossed the Great River. He came down toward the southwest into the land of Canaan, as it was called in those days, the land of the Philistines at that time.

And Abraham was a sojourner and a pilgrim.

And he came into what we would call maybe the modern world called Palestine.

And there was a famine in the land. And notice what happens in Genesis 12, verse 10.

And there was a famine in the land, and Abraham went down into Egypt.

So dating back, this goes back almost 4,000 years right here, to sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in the land.

It came to pass when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai, his wife, behold, now I know that you are a fair woman to look upon.

So that's where Abraham, where some say well, he told his half, lie about his wife, Sarah.

The land of Egypt, because of the Nile Delta, served as a breadbasket of the Middle East, to some degree, for centuries.

But now Egypt is highly dependent upon the United States and other nations, even for green. Only three and a half percent of the land in Egypt, three and a half percent, is cultivatable.

That is very... so you take three and a half percent of New Mexico and Texas combined, and that's how much of the land is cultivatable, and you're going to feed 85 million people and a population that is growing. Egypt is plagued by periodic droughts, frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, hot driving windstorms, blinding that occurs in the spring. There are several environmental issues.

Agricultural land is being lost to urbanization. The cities are continuing to expand as they are all over the world. Windblown sands increasing soil salination at salt water.

Because of below the Aswan Dam, the desert is greatly expanding. There's oil pollution, threatening coral reefs, beaches, marine life, other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, industrial elements, limited natural water resources. Once you get away from the Nile, the Nile is about the only perennial natural water source in Egypt. So it's a pretty bleak-looking situation when you really look at it from an environmental perspective and agriculture. How are they going to feed the people? Politics aside, Egypt is a ticking time bomb along with the rest of the African continent. Now, because of the Islamic faith, I guess this would be the main reason Egypt and those nations along the northern part of Africa are not plagued with AIDS as the rest of the African continent is. It has a very small percentage of the people in Egypt that have contacted AIDS. You remember that Joseph's brother sold him into slavery into Egypt. God was with Joseph and eventually he was made ruler of all of Egypt under Pharaoh.

Now we want to go to Genesis 41, another part of our heritage. We are closely related to the Egyptians. We've already seen how that Ishmael was descended from Abraham and half brother of Isaac. And if we want to trace our lineage back to Abraham, and maybe some of us can, then we are related, of course, to the Arabs. And notice this in Genesis 41 and verse 50. And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath, the daughter of Potipharah, priest of on, bear unto him. So Joseph married a woman, an Egyptian woman, who was the daughter of a priest. I assume this priest, the official religion in Egypt through the centuries, has been the worship of the sun god Ra, and the various deities associated with that.

So we see that Joseph marries this Egyptian woman, and Joseph called the name of the firstborn, Manasseh. We probably heard that name before. Firstborn was Manasseh, for God said, He hath made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. And the name of the second, he called Ephraim, for God had caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

So Ephraim and Manasseh are half Egyptians. So you have Ephraim and Manasseh half Egyptians.

Of course, they traced their lineage back to Abraham. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph was the son of Jacob. And we trace our lineage back to Abraham. At least some do.

Abraham, and remember that he was promised the son of promise. When Sarah didn't get pregnant right away, they decided they would try to work it out by the flesh. Abraham went into Hagar, Hagar, barer's son, named Ishmael. And Ishmael is the father of Arabs.

So, half brothers Isaac and Ishmael.

Joseph made Pharaoh one of the most powerful and richest rulers on the earth. And, of course, it centers on this dream that Pharaoh had where he saw the lean cows and the fat cows and all of that. And Joseph interpreted the dream and instructed Pharaoh what to do to plant so much more to Bill Barnes because a great famine was coming upon the land. And they stored the grain for seven years. And the famine came. Because of the famine that came upon the land, Jacob and his family wound up in Egypt because the brothers eventually went down into Egypt to buy grain.

And Egypt became a cocoon for Israel to flourish and multiply for circa 200-plus years. Some say more. That's a debatable figure, but that's really not all that germane at the moment.

So, in Genesis 47, verse 13, one of the things that Joseph did, that Joseph sort of did what our government has done in recent times, it took over, our government has taken over the automobile industry. It's tried to take over, and unless the Congress is able to nullify it, the health care system of the nation.

But in Genesis 47, verse 13, the nations of the world, that is, the Middle East and the Mediterranean world, began to come down into Egypt to buy grain.

Genesis 47, verse 13, and there was no bread and all the land, for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine, and Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the corn which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.

And when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph and said, give us bread. So they ran out of money. They couldn't buy the bread.

There was bread, but they had no money. So what did Joseph do? Joseph said, give us your land, we'll give us, and we'll give you bread.

And one of the great things that's coming upon the earth and the Great Tribulation will be the challenge to get bread, because the beast system will impose an economic system that the only way that you can buy and sell is to receive the mark of the beast, either in the forehead or in the right hand, as it says in Revelation 13.

Whereas this is not the mark of the beast, per se, but it shows how that those who are in charge, and if you control the food, and of course, you've got to have, first of all, you've got to have oxygen, you've got to have water, and you've got to have food, and then you need shelter.

Those things are necessary for survival, and people do most anything to survive.

Verse 14 again, Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the corn which they bought, and Joseph bought the money in the Pharaoh's house, and when the money failed in the land of Egypt, in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came under Joseph and said, give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money failed. And Joseph said, give your cattle, and I will give you for your cattle if money fails.

And they brought their cattle under Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread and exchanged for horses, and for flocks, and for the cattle, and for the herds, and for the asses, and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. And when the next year ended, they came unto him the second year and said unto him, we will not hide it from my Lord how that our money is spent, and my Lord has our herds and our cattle. There is nothing left in the sight of my Lord but our bodies and our lands.

Why should we die?

Buy us in our land for bread, and we in our land will be servants unto Pharaoh, and give us seed that we may live and not die. That the land be not desolate. And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them.

So the land became Pharaoh's. Verse 24, when it came to pass an increase that you shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own. So they became eventually sharecroppers.

I know what sharecropping is like when I was born. My mother and father were sharecropping, but in the poorest state reported to be the poorest state in the Union as far as money is concerned. Within 10 years sharecropping, they bought their own place and went from there.

So there's another side here about Joseph that some people maybe have overlooked. He was a very shrewd, very shrewd businessman. And because of the famine was so great, Jacob and his family wound up in Egypt, and Egypt became a cocoon for Israel to flourish and multiply. Now in Exodus chapter 2, Exodus chapter 2 and verse 23, Israel eventually becomes slaves in the land of Egypt. In Exodus chapter 2 and verse 23, it came to pass in the process of time that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. Also in chapter 3 verse 7, chapter 3 verse 7, and the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

Egypt, on the one hand, is a land of great riches, especially at that time, as we have seen, with a highly developed civilization. On the other hand, it was almost totally given over to the rule of Satan and the demons, because you read the next several chapters in Exodus, how that when all of these supernatural events began to come upon Egypt, the Egyptian soothsayers, magicians, were able to duplicate virtually all of the miracles that God was performing through Aaron and Moses.

God raised up Moses and Aaron to lead them out of slavery and from the gods of Egypt. Notice 2 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 23. 2 Samuel chapter 7 verse 23. If you look up the word Egypt, you do a word study. The word Egypt is used in the Old Testament, like 644 times, something like that. And in the New Testament, 24 times.

We're going now to 2 Samuel 7, 23. Time after time, the reference is made to bringing them up out of the land of Egypt, freeing them from the land of Egypt. Look what I did, the land of Egypt, that reference over and over again. 2 Samuel 7, 23.

And what nation in the earth is like your people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible for the land before your people, which you redeemed to you from Egypt, from the nations and their gods. Interestingly, the first thing that Solomon did, no, Solomon succeeded David as king of Israel. And the first thing that Solomon did was to marry Pharaoh's daughter. I'll turn forward a few pages. You know the great downfall of Solomon, 1 Kings 3, verse 1. 1 Kings 3, 1. The great downfall of Solomon was that he married many strange wives and had many concubines from the various nations, and these women turned his heart from the true God.

Solomon got off to a great start. His prayers and his intercession, him asking for wisdom instead of a long life and so many things. God gave him wisdom, blessed him, off to a great start. Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had made an end of building his own house.

Eventually, Solomon built a house for this wife, this wife of Pharaoh, until he'd made an end of building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

As mentioned earlier, Egypt is synonymous with sin and death and the Bible.

And that symbolism is present to the end of the age. We go now to Revelation 11 and verse 8.

Revelation 11 verse 8. And Revelation 11 speaks to the two witnesses, and the two witnesses being killed and their dead bodies lying in the streets of Jerusalem. Notice how it references that in Revelation 11 and verse 8. Revelation 11 verse 8, and their dead bodies, that is, of the two witnesses, shall be in the street of the great city. There are two main places in the Bible that identifies the great city. One is Babylon and the other, and mainly the reference of the great city is to Jerusalem. And their dead bodies shall be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt. You know for sure it is Jerusalem by the next phrase. Where also our Lord was crucified. So even at the time that the two witnesses are killed, Egypt and Sodom are known for their debauchery. Egypt has played an important role in the history of Israel. Two main allies and or enemies of Israel for centuries were either Assyria and Babylon to the north or Egypt to the south. At times Israel made league covenant with Assyria, sometimes with Egypt. Sometimes Israel fought against Assyria, sometimes fought against Egypt. And the same thing is true with Judah. Sometimes against Assyria, sometimes against Egypt, sometimes trying to ally itself with Egypt against other nations. Notice now in Matthew chapter 2 that even Jesus Christ himself came out of Egypt at one point. You remember the story of how Herod made the decree to kill all the babies two years of age and under. And an angel appeared to Joseph and Mary and told them to flee into Egypt. In Matthew chapter 2 and verse 13.

And when they were departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, arise, arise, take the young child and his mother, flee into Egypt.

See, we have seen Joseph, well, Abraham first of all, fled into Egypt and the famine. Joseph wound up in Egypt. Eventually, Israel did. Here, even Christ himself, as a young child, his parents fled into Egypt. And be there until I bring you word. Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt.

And there they were until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying. Now, this is a quote, if you want to write it in your margin. It's a quote from Hosea chapter 11, verse 1. Out of Egypt have I called my son.

That's how that verse in Hosea 11.1 was fulfilled.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, exceeding and was exceeding man, and sent forth, slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under according to the time, which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Then was fulfilled, which was spoken of by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, and Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because they are not.

But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and saying, arise, arise, take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead, which sought the young child's life.

So you see how Egypt has played a key role in and out with the people of God through the ages.

When the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar were besieging Judah, the people of Judah, the Jews, were warned not to go down into Egypt.

Let's notice in Isaiah, I think it's, I don't know how these wrong references, I believe it's Jeremiah 42. Jeremiah 42 in verse 7. In Jeremiah 42 and verse 7. Do you really remember the story of Jeremiah, what was happening with Jeremiah?

Jeremiah was telling the leadership of Judah, do not resist the Babylonians, because God has determined that you're going into captivity. Do not resist. But of course, they continued to resist, and some tried to flee, and some tried this, and some tried the other, as they say. And Jeremiah became really a pariah and outcast. You remember they threw him down into a pit because of his prophecies, because he was even considered a traitor to the nation because of what he was saying. In Jeremiah 42 and 7. It came to pass after 10 days that the word of the Lord came into Jeremiah, then called He Jeohannan, the son of Correa, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least of the greatest, and said unto them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, whom you sent me to present your supplication before him, if you shall abide in the land, then will I bill you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up, for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Be not afraid of him, says the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand. And I will show mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. But if you say, we will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God, saying no, but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, and hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger or bread, and there will we dwell. And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, you remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, if you wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there, then it shall come to pass the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and famine, whereof you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt, and there shall you die. And it continues to talk about what's going to happen to them if they flee into Egypt, but they did, and that happened. So God through Jeremiah was saying, look, if you obey me and do the things I say, even though you go into captivity, I will bring you back, I will plant you in the land, but this thing is of me. You need to learn your lesson.

Egypt was a part of the Greco-Macedonian Empire under Alexander the Great. In other words, Alexander eventually conquered most of the known world, as they say. He started in what we would call southeastern Europe in Greece, and he pushed eastward. He pushed toward Turkey. He pushed toward Turkey. He pushed toward the Middle East, Palestine, modern-day Iraq. He went down into North Africa. He conquered Egypt. He went all the way into India. He went Afghanistan, India, and conquered so much of the world. And of course, one of the great cities in Egypt is named after Alexander.

Alexandria is on the Mediterranean Sea coast. It was one of the great cities, one of the great learning centers of the ancient world. After Alexander died, his empire was divided into four regions and placed under the rule of four of his generals. Let's go now to Daniel chapter 8. Daniel chapter 8. In Daniel chapter 8, we see a ram pushing, and then eventually a goat comes up and pushes against the ram. In Daniel chapter 8, verse 1, In the third year, the reign of the king of Belshazzar, a vision appeared unto me, and even unto Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw a vision.

And it came to pass when I saw that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is the province of Elam, and I saw a vision. And I was by the river of Yalai. I lifted up my eyes and said, and saw behold there before the river a ram which had two horns. Remember Medo-Persian Empire, the Medes and the Persians. And the two horns were high. One was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward, so that no beast might stand before him. Neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his will and became great. And as I was considering, behold an he-goat, and as we shall see, the he-goat was Alexander the Great.

Back when I first came in contact with the church and was listening to Mr. Armstrong on the radio mainly out of New Orleans, Nashville, Tennessee, and also the Mexican stations, mainly on Sunday night. And at some point, Daniel 8 was mentioned. I don't know whether I either I first heard it or read about it in the church's literature, and I always had had an interest in history. One of my miners in history was history.

And when I turned to Daniel 8 and saw how that this prophecy was so specifically fulfilled, it was one of the great things that just convinced me that here is the truth.

This man is speaking the truth. Of course, many of the things that said in some times are not true. I remember one of the big things that got me off the fence, as it were, I was like doing everything but really keeping the Sabbath for about six or seven years because I was in teaching and coaching and all of that.

A lot of what we did was Friday night or Saturday or Saturday night. And I just we stopped keeping Christmas and Easter and stopped going to church on Sunday, and I stopped teaching Sunday school and BTS and all that stuff and began this intense study of the Bible, even more intense than in the past. And this Daniel 8 was one of the big turning points because it is so clear here what Daniel writes before it happened and what then happened. Daniel is writing a circle somewhere between 587 and 515 BC, and these prophecies about Alexander occurred in the 330s BC. So continuing here, the he-goat, verse 5, and as I was considering behold a he-goat from the west on the face of the whole earth and touched not the ground, and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes, and he came to the rim that had two horns which I had been seen standing before the river and ran into him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close into the rim. And of course, you've seen any of those movies about the battle between Alexander the Great and the Medes and the Persians who read into the books.

Many a great battle in which basically Alexander outsmarted the Medo-Persian generals and smote the ram and broke his two horns. There was no power in the rim to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and stepped upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hands. And the goat waxed very great, and when he was strong, the great horn was broken. And for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. Now this vision is going to be explained by an angel. And in the sermon, I don't have time to cover all of this, so the next talks about how he... and it's somewhat of his duality here, of going into the holy place, which eventually was done by Antiochus Epiphanes, and polluted the altar, which led to the revolt of the Maccabees. But that's a little bit ahead of the story. Alexander, when he conquered a nation, generally was quite kind to the leadership and to the religious leaders, teaching and accepting a type of pluralism. That is, you could continue to worship as you had worshipped in the past. So, Egypt held on basically to their gods of the past, and Alexander didn't do a lot to do away with the religion that was taking place at the temple. See, he didn't destroy the Restoration Temple. It was later when his empire was divided, in which the temple was polluted and the daily sacrifice taken away. Now, after Daniel sees this vision, an angel comes along and reveals to him the vision. I'm not going into the 2300 days right now, and gets sidetracked on that. Verse 15, it came to pass when Eve and I, Daniel, had seen the vision and sought for the meaning, Behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.

And I heard a man's voice between the banks of July, which called and said, Gabriel. Gabriel is a messenger angel. Remember, there are three archangels. Gabriel, the archangel.

Micah, who brings messages as well. Gabriel is mainly the angel that interprets and brings messages from God. And you have Michael, which stands up for Israel.

And we continue here in verse 17. So he came near where I stood, and he came, and I was afraid, and fell on my face. But he said in me, Understand, O Son of Man, for the time of the end shall be the vision. And that word for end is in the Hebrew, or it may be Aramaic, I'm not sure, but it's Q-E-T-S, and it means the end of the age. This vision is for the time of the end. You can look it up.

Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground, but he touched me and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make you know what shall be in the last end.

Now, this word is a different word from the word in verse 17. This word is Moed, it means appointed time. I'll make you know what shall be in the appointed time of the indignation for the time appointed, the end, and that's back to Quetz, the end of the age. Now, verse 20. The angel explains what this vision is. The realm which you saw having the two horns are the kings of media and Persia. Remember that Daniel, that the Nebuchadnezzar had had this dream in Daniel 2 of the statue and those four kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greco-Macedonian, and Roman Empire, those four successive kingdoms. And so this one that Daniel saw that was coming was Greco-Macedonian.

The Derems represented the media and Persian empires that defeated the Babylonians.

The rough goat is the king of Grecia, and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king, Alexander the Great. Now that being broken, where as four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. There was no immediate successor to Alexander. Alexander had some sons scattered about because he had been with a lot of different women. And now the son who might be the most acceptable, he really didn't have what we might say his right mind. So when Alexander the Great died, his all of that territory, basically from Greece, stretching all the way to India and all the way north-south from someplace north of Turkey all the way down to south of Egypt, that was Alexander's empire. To be divided among the four generals. I'll give you the foreign generals names and the territory that they were given.

First one is Ptolemy, called the Ptolemaic Empire. P-T-O-L-E-M-Y. Ptolemy's empire included Egypt, Palestine, which would be Israel, and some parts of Asia Minor.

Cassander was Macedonia in Greece. That would be the westernmost part of the empire in Europe.

Lysimatius was given Bithynia, Thrace, Mycia would be largely between Macedonia, Greece, and Palestine, mainly Asia Minor in that area through there.

And Seleucius was given Syria, Armenia, and territory east of the Euphrates. The Seleucid Empire stretched all the way to India, from Syria to India. Now, why is this significant? Because of the king of the north and the king of the south. The Seleucid Empire becomes the king of the north.

The Ptolemaic Empire becomes the king of the south.

Once again, we're basically going to ignore the other two. The two of Lysimatius and Cassander will focus on the empires of Seleucid and Ptolemy.

Once again, the Seleucid Empire included Syria, Turkestan, what might be modern day, points north, points east, all the way to India, including much of Africa, including Egypt.

Seleucid Empire became known as the king of the north, and the Ptolemaic Empire became known as the king of the south, and Bible prophecy, which we'll get to in just a moment.

Now we come to verse 23.

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, and his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. He shall destroy wonderfully, and shall destroy, and the more accurate translation of the word, destroy, is corrupt.

He doesn't destroy them in the sense that he kills them all. He corrupts the mighty and the holy people. So he corrupts the people of Israel, and through his policy, through his policy, he shall cause craft to prosper, or craft shall prosper in his hand. That word craft really has to do with deceit. He shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many. Now notice this. You could put in your margin Revelation 1714.

This is the Beast. Because of Revelation 14, it talks about those, the Beast's power standing up against the Prince of princes. We'll turn there in just a moment. We'll read the rest of this verse.

Shall corrupt many, he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes. That's Jesus Christ. But he shall be broken without hand. He will be supernaturally broken.

Now you hold your place there. We'll go to Revelation 17. Verse 14. Revelation 17 and verse 14. In Revelation 17 and verse 14, these shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings. And they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful.

So this one stands up against the Prince of princes, and he is broken without hand.

Now you notice in Revelation 19, the last verse there.

Well, the last two verses.

Revelation 19 and 20. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, that wrought rickles before him, which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and then that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, who sits upon the horse, Jesus Christ, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. And with him is a great army, who are also on white horses, the saints of God, which sword proceeded out of his mouth, see it's without hand, and all of the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Now we go back to Daniel 8.

And through his policy, through his skill in cunning, he shall magnify in Seth's heart, and by peace shall destroy many, and shall also stand up against the Prince of princes.

But he shall be broken and without hand.

Now you remember, this is somewhat of an inset.

You remember in 1 Thessalonians 5, where Paul says, and when they cry, cry, when they cry, peace, peace, then sudden destruction comes upon them.

Apparently, there's going to be a great deal of bloodshed, and a great deal of fighting among the nations, to set up this beast power, new order. But there apparently comes a time in which it looks like, well, the world's problems have been solved, and we have peace.

Then all of a sudden, all of these things break out again. Verse 26, In the evening and the morning, which was told is true, wherefore shut it up in a vision, for it shall be for many days.

And I, Daniel, fainted.

I mean, what was revealed to Daniel here was so innervating to him that he fainted and was sick certain days.

Afterward, I rose up and did the king's business, and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.

Now, Chapter 9, Daniel fast and prays to understand the vision of Jeremiah concerning the 70 years, and he's given the self what we call the 70 weeks prophecy.

And in the near future, speak on that, I hope.

And then, in Chapter 10, he once again sees a vision, and he fasts for quite a long time to understand.

And because one of the demonic fallen angels withstands the one who was trying to come to his aid to reveal to him the message, it was delayed for 21 days.

In Daniel 10, verse 13, But the prince of Persia withstood me 21 days.

But lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Now I am come to make you understand what shall befall your people in the latter days, for the vision is for many days.

So, you remember Chapter 8 closes with nobody understood it.

Daniel 9 goes into understanding Jeremiah's 70 weeks prophecy, which then becomes, well, the 70 years prophecy becomes a 70 weeks prophecy.

And the 70 weeks prophecy is really a 490 year prophecy, because it's seven times seven, 490 years. And so now continuing from here, especially through Daniel 11, having to do with mainly the king of the north and the king of the south, and the end time beast power.

Verse 15, Daniel 10, 15, When he had spoken much words unto me, I had my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. And behold, one like the similitude of the Son of man touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke and said unto him, that stood before me, O my Lord, by the vision, by sorrows, or turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my Lord talk with this my Lord?

For as for me straight where there remain no strength in me, neither is there a breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me, one like the appearance of man, and he strengthened me, and said, O man, greatly beloved, fear not, peace be unto you, be strong, yes, be strong. And when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened and said, Let my Lord speak, for you have strengthened me.

Then said he, Know you wherefore I came unto you, do you know why I am coming to you? And now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia? And when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grisha shall come.

That's Alexander the Great. But I will show you that which is noted in the Scripture of truth. And there is none that holds with me in these things, but Michael our prince. And also, in the first year of Garias and Mede, even I stood to confirm and to strengthen him.

And now I will show you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia. And the fourth shall be far richer than they all. And by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Grisha. And the mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. So it goes back and recaps a little bit of chapter 8 about these powerful kings of the Medes and the Persians.

And then this mighty king, Alexander the Great, stands up against him in verse 4. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven. We've already talked about that. Lysimatius, Cassander, Seleucid, and Ptolemy. But Daniel 11 focuses on the Seleucid kingdom and the Ptolemaic kingdom. So it's divided toward the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion, which he ruled, for his kingdom should be plucked up even for others beside those.

There was no dynasty. And the king of the south shall be strong. The Ptolemaic kingdom. Remember parts of Asia Minor, southern Syria through Palestine, Egypt all the way down to Nubia. So that's the Ptolemaic kingdom. The kingdom of the south shall be strong, and out of the princes he shall be strong above him, and have dominion.

His dominion shall be a great dominion. And in the end of the years they shall join themselves together, for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. Remember the king of the north, Seleucid. But she shall not retain the power of the arm, neither shall he stand nor his arm, but he shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.

But out of the branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail. And shall also carry captives into Egypt, their gods with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.

So this warfare went back in two, between the king of the north and the king of the south, and Seleucid and the Ptolemies. At first it seemed like the Ptolemies would get the upper hand. Verse 10, but his son shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, and one shall certainly come and overflow and pass through. Then shall he return, and be stirred up even to his fortress. The king of the south shall be moved with color, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north, and he shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand.

And when he hath taken away the multitude, his art shall be lifted up, and he shall cast down ten thousands, but he shall not be strengthened by it. The king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with great riches. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south. Also the robbers of your people shall exalt themselves to establish a vision, but they shall fall.

Now in Rawlings, Rawlingson's history of the ancient world, he attempts, and we have this in our literature in the Worldwide Church of God, to name all of these people and the events that we just read here. Now whether or not that's absolutely accurate or not, I don't know. But here's what we do know with regard to this. Eventually, the Seleucids gained the upper hand. Seleucids defeated the Ptolemies. The Seleucid Empire eventually extended, as we've already said, from Syria northward and then eastward all the way to India, which includes modern-day Iran.

Now how does this figure into the end times? Well, the various churches of God have their theories today about who is the king of the south. One, I will read what he writes here. Daniel 1142 implies that Egypt will be allied with the king of the south or Iran. Let's read Daniel 1142. Daniel 1142, he shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries of the land of Egypt, shall not escape. I do not understand how you see that he is allied with Iran. That's what he says. The king of the south or Iran is going to push at him, that is, the king of the north, which he says is the European Union.

The king of the south is about state-sponsored terrorism. That is how Iran became the king. So, the Philadelphia Church of God says that Iran is the king of the south because it sponsors terrorism. That is not biblical proof. It is about a nation that is always pushing in its foreign policy. It pushes until it starts a war. Having such power means that it must be a large oil-producing country. This king is close to Jerusalem, Egypt, Ethiopia, extremely radical. And the king over radical Israel, the king of the south, which he says is Iran.

Iran was a part of, mark this well, Iran is a part of Persia. It's a part of the Seleucid Empire. The Seleucids were the king of the north.

The Ptolemies were the king of the south.

Eventually, the Seleucids conquered Palestine and drove the Ptolemies back down to Egypt.

So, you have to have a consistent hermeneutical rule. That is a rule of interpretation, I believe. The way whereby we say that so-and-so is king of the north, or king of the south, to a large degree has to do with who defeated whom.

The Seleucids, no question, according to the Bible, king of the north. The king of the north defeats the king of the south, the Ptolemies, and pushes him out of Palestine. So, are they now the king of the north and the south?

Then the Romans come along, and the Romans defeat the king of the north and the king of the south. They take over that part of the world and Egypt. Then, in World War II, the Allies and the United States defeats all that part of the world. So now, is the U.S., the king of the north and the king of the south, something to think about?

Obviously, they aren't, but anyhow. So, let's go back here.

The battles that ensued between the king of the north and the king of the south are described in the next several verses. We left off reading there in verse 12 and Daniel 11 and verse 12.

In Daniel 11-21, there's a sudden shift, and some commentators contend that the vile king is Antaeus Epiphanes. It seems that, and no doubt, that Antaeus Epiphanes was a type of the one who is going to come and the one who pollutes the sanctuary and sets up the abomination of desolation. You notice in Daniel 11 and verse 21, And in his estate shall stand up a vile person to whom they shall not give the honor and kingdom, and he shall come in peaceably, similar to remember Daniel 8, that through peace he shall deceive many, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overthrown from before him, and shall be broken, yes also the prince of the covenant.

Now, Mr. Armstrong, writing in the plain truth, wrote the following about verse 21.

He specifically taught that Daniel had final, that Daniel 11 21 had final fulfillment in a 1967 article on the king of the north.

And Daniel 11 21, referring in original, typical fulfillment to Antigua's epiphanies, there's a stand-up, a vile person. So, once again, before the second coming of Christ, I'm quoting now from this plain truth article by Mr. Armstrong. So, once again, before the second coming of Christ, a vile leader will stand, will stop the daily sacrifices being offered. This same prophecy spoken by Jesus is also reported by Luke 21 verses 20 through 24. His personal in the plain truth magazine, June 1967. So, he clearly stated that verse 21 of Daniel 11 had a future fulfillment. In other words, it was dual. That entire epiphanies fulfilled this in type, and yet there is one to come who will do it again. Verse 31. An arm shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and they shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate. We know that Jesus Christ prophesied that an abomination of desolation would be placed that would signal the countdown for the end of this age.

And we're going, if you will, turn to Matthew chapter 24 in verse 15. So, Antigua's epiphanies in circle 167 BC offered swine's blood on the altar in the temple in Jerusalem, and therefore polluted the sanctuary.

There is another one coming and another abomination of desolation that is going to be set up, which will mark the countdown of this age in Matthew chapter 24 verse 15. When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, who so reads, let him understand. This introduces the great tribulation. So, you look down, verse 21. It talks about people fleeing and this, that, and the other, verse 21. For then, when that abomination of desolation is set up, then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this time, no ever, nor ever shall be. And except those days shall be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. Now we go back to Revelation, I mean, I'm sorry, Daniel chapter 11.

Daniel chapter 11 verse 32, and such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries, but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. So, when Antigua's epiphanies did this, the Maccabees revolted the leaders there in Judah at that time, and eventually they were able to drive the Seleucids out of Israel and regain control of the temple. And then the Romans, of course, came and finished the job, as it were, in the 30s BC, and the Romans also conquered Judea, and Judah became a vassal of Rome and eventually destroyed the temple. 69-70 AD.

In verse 36, so there's coming a period of time in duality that a great trial, once again, is coming upon God's people as you read between verses 32 and 35, who is going to remain strong? Who will be deceived during this period of time? Christ says, if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 10 and 11, that if you don't love the truth, God will send you grand delusion that you should believe the lie. The lie being that that one sitting in the temple of God saying that he is God is Jesus Christ, and some will believe it. Verse 36, And the king shall do according to his will, a willful king. He shall exalt himself, magnify himself above every God, shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished, for that that is determined shall be. That is almost parallel to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 3 and 4. Also, Revelation chapter 13, verses 4, 5, 6, and 7. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any God, for he shall magnify himself above all. And in his estate shall he honor the God of forces. He may feign to be a representative of Christ, but really he is not. And a God whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold and silver with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strongholds with a strange God, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory, and he shall cause him to rule over many and shall divide the land for gain. Of course, one of the big things now with regard to Israel and the peace process is that Israel willing to give up land for peace.

Now eventually, verse 41, he shall enter also into the glorious land. Many countries shall be overthrown, but these shall escape out of his hand. Edom, Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. The modern-day nation of Jordan controls all three of those areas where Edom, Moab, and Ammon settled.

And the Jordanians have been friends of Israel, walking a fine line, and also friends of the U.S. Of course, they have been rioting, to some degree, protesting in Jordan against King Abdullah. And he shall have power of the treasures of gold and of silver and over all the precious things of Egypt and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. And he plants his headquarters, you see, in verse 45, in the glorious holy mountain. So today they are celebrating in Egypt. The celebration continues, but who knows what the outcome is going to be? Who knows what kind of government is going to be set up? The events that happened in Egypt were not by accident. It was not suddenly a grassroots movement among the students and professors of the universities. It was planned all along. It is a part of a march toward the New World Order. There are certain non-integrating nations in the world today that they want to bring into this sphere and join the global economy. The peoples of the world have basically already been conquered without firing a shot because we're all intricately linked to the global economy. And what happens in the stock market in the U.S. affects the one in Singapore, Hong Kong, or any other place that you want to name. So what will happen in the next few days? Who knows? Hopefully some type of peace will settle out and we will have more time to preach the gospel to the world before the world begins to go up in flames. But, brethren, we are living in critical crucial times, tough traditional times. It is not a time to bury your head in the sand. It is not a time to say that all things continue as from the beginning. It is a time to do what we're admonished to do in Luke 21, 36. That is, to watch and pray always that we may be accounted worthy to escape the things that are going to come upon the peoples of the world.