Daniel 7:1-7 (NKJV) 7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. 2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s

Daniel 7:1-7 (NKJV) heart was given to it. 5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’ 6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

Daniel 7:1-7 (NKJV) 7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

Knowing God’s Word Between The Testaments

Knowing God’s Word Last week we began a study of the Intertestament Period The Intertestament Period is the 400 or so year period that lapsed between the last book of the Old Testament and the opening of the New It’s also referred to as the Silent Period

Knowing God’s Word We looked last week at some prophecy in Daniel 2 that points toward this specific time period We recognized some of the history contained in the OT referring to the Babylon and Medo-Persian Empire Greece was the next world power

Knowing God’s Word Here is where we begin to see some influences upon the Jews Philip the Macedon was successful in uniting the Greek city-states into the Grecian Empire His son, Alexander, was brought up in the Greek culture, taught by Aristotle

Knowing God’s Word When Alexander took over, he was a big believer in Hellenization Hellenization was the spreading of the Greek culture to other countries or cultures We see this word in Acts 6:1 as well as 9:29

Knowing God’s Word Alexander was known for his many conquests There is a story that comes from Josephus regarding Alexander and the Jews Alexander came to conquer Jerusalem after Jaddua the High Priest refused to pledge allegiance to Alexander

Knowing God’s Word Jaddua came out to greet Alexander in his priestly garb, hoping to find favor with him When Alexander saw him, he prostrated himself before Jaddua Alexander had a dream in which he had seen Jaddua dressed in his priestly garb

Knowing God’s Word If this is true, it just shows that God was still involved, protecting His promise Eventually Alexander would die and the Grecian Empire would be divided into 4 parts This breaking into 4 parts is prophesied about in Daniel 7

Knowing God’s Word Out of this division arose 2 groups; the Seleucids and the Ptolemys They battled for control of Palestine, certainly this affected the Jews Daniel 11 is a very specific prophecy concerning these two groups and some of their leaders

Knowing God’s Word Out of this division arose 2 groups; the Seleucids and the Ptolemys They battled for control of Palestine, certainly this affected the Jews Daniel 11 is a very specific prophecy concerning these two groups and some of their leaders

Knowing God’s Word Through all of this, the Hellenization of the Jews continued There even became a bidding war for the high priesthood This is when we see the Maccabean revolt take place against the Seleucids and the Hellenization of the Jews

Knowing God’s Word The Maccabean revolt stemmed from the wicked Antiochus IV Epiphanies and the Abomination of Desolation He came into Jerusalem and looted the temple, built an idol to Zeus, offered pigs on the altar and killed anyone opposed It’s no wonder that there was a revolt

Knowing God’s Word It’s at this point that we begin to see groups such as the Pharisees form The Pharisees began as a group that wanted to push the Jews back to the strict adherence to the law The Pharisees were mainly scribes and were the more liberal group according to the law

Knowing God’s Word The Sadducees were the more conservative group, made up of the elite upper class, who wanted to cling to political power and influence The Pharisees resisted Hellenization while the Sadducees welcomed it The two groups were mainly at odds but came together when it benefited them