1. WORLD KINGDOMS OF BIBLE TIMES Roman Empire 164 to 476 AD
Greek Empire ( BC)
Medo-Persian Empire (539 to 331 BC)
Babylonian Empire (625 to 539 BC)
Assryian Empire (--- to 525 BC)
600 BC
500 BC
400 BC
300 BC
200 BC
100 BC
100 AD

2. BABYLONIAN KINGS Hammurabi et al. - approximately 1200 BC
• Greatest king of the first Babylonian Empire. • Wrote the Code of Hammurabi
Nabopolazzar - ?-605 BC
• First king of the Chaldean (or Neo-Babylonian) Empire
• The father of Nebuchdnezzar
Nebuchdnezzar BC
• The greatest king of the Chaldean Empire
• Took Judah into captivity and destroyed the city
• Mentioned 88 times in the Bible
Evil-Merodach BC
• Mentioned in 2 Kings as releasing Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison
Nabonidus and Belshazzar BC
• Father and son co-regents
• Last king of the Chaldeans. Saw handwriting on the wall

3. BABYLON AND THE FATE OFJERUSALEM (2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chron 36)
605 BC - In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
597 BC At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner. And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
586 BC Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. Then the city wall was broken through and in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD and the king's house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around. Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.

4. MEDO-PERSIAN KINGS Darius the Mede (Gubaru?)
• Possibly a general or co-regent with Cyrus
Cyrus the Great BC
• Greatest Persian ruler
• Defeated Babylon
• Allowed the Israelites to return to their landCambysses Cambysses BC
• Not mentioned
Smerdis BC
Darius I BC
Xerxes (Ahasuerus) BC
• The Persian king in the book of Esther
Artaxerxes I BC
• Authorized rebuilding the city, temple, and city walls
Darius II BC

5. CHRONOLOGY OF THE RETURN FROM EXILE KING YEAR DATE EVENT
Cyrus Issued proclamation allowing Jews to return
1 538 Zerbubbal and 42,360 others returned
2 536 Laid the foundation of the temple
Ahasuerus 1 -- Enemies wrote accusations and got the king to stop work on the temple
Enemies got the king to stop work on the temple
(Esther was queen at this time)
Darius Haggai and Zechariah caused the work to be restarted
2 521 Darius issued a decree authorizing the work
6 515 The temple was completed
Artaxerxes Ezra and others were sent to Jerusalem with the king’s decree
7 408 Ezra dealt with marriage issue
Nehemiah returned to rebuild the walls
-- -- Malachi serves during this period
Nehemiah returns to Babylon

6. DANIEL IN BABYLON
Daniel lived and prospered in Babylon during the rules of at least
four kings of the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empires
BABYLONIAN RULE
Nebuchdnezzar BC
Evil-Merodach BC
Nabonidus and Belshazzar BC
PERSIAN RULE
Darius the Mede (Gubaru?)
(Daniel 5:31)
Cyrus the Great BC
(Isa 45; Daniel; Ezra)

7. PROPHECIES OF DANIEL
In the book of Daniel, God uses a series of prophecies
to reveal the destiny of men and kingdoms
Chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great image
Chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of a great tree
Chapter 5 The letter to Belshazzar
Chapter 7 Daniel’s vision of the four beasts
Chapter 8 Daniel’s vision of the ram and male goat
Chapter 9 Daniel’s vision of the 70 weeks
Chapters Daniel’s vision of Israel’s future

8. THE DREAM OF FUTURE KINGDOMS
Daniel 2
BABYLONIAN EMPIRE
MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE
GREEK EMPIRE
ROMAN EMPIRE

9. THE DREAM OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S HUMILIATION AND RESTORATION
Daniel 4
“This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king:
They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.
And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules” (Daniel 4:24-26)
Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream
BOANTHROPY - A type of insanity in which a man thinks he is an ox.

10. BELSHAZZAR’S LETTER (Daniel 5)
“In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
This is the interpretation of each word.
MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;
TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;
PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Dan 5:5, 25-28
Belchazzar, the last king of the mighty Babylon Empire, was the son of Nabonidus and perhaps the grandson of Nebuchdnezzar. He served for about ten years as co-regent with his father. His judgment is prophesied in Daniel 5.
Belshazzar had a letter, -
He never had but one;
Belshazzar's correspondent
Concluded and begun
In that immortal copy
The conscience of us all
Can read without its glasses
On revelation's wall.
Had a Letter
By Emily Dickinson
Belshazzar

11. VISION OF THE FOUR BEASTS
Daniel 7
Babylonian
Empire
Medo-Persian
Empire
Greek
Empire
Roman
Empire
LION
With eagles
wings
BEAR
With ribs in
its mouth
LEOPARD
With four wings
And four heads
TERRIBLE
BEAST
With horns
THE TERRIBLE BEAST
• Dreadful, terrible, strong, different
• Devouring, breaking, trampling
• Speaking pompous words against God
• Made war against the saints; Prevailed
• Changing times and seasons
• Eventually judged by God and his dominion taken away

12. THE RAM AND THE MALE GOAT
Daniel 8
MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE
The ram had two horns; one higher than the other and coming up later.
It pushed northward and southward and became great. No beast could withstand him
GREEK EMPIRE
The male goat came from the west; not touching the ground; a single notable horn
Attached the ram with rage and broke his horns
When the male goat became strong, his horn was broken and replaced by four notable smaller ones.
One of the little horns grew up and exalted himself against the sacrifices and the temple
Daniel 8:19 And he said, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.
20 "The ram which you saw, having the two horns--they are the kings of Media and Persia.
21 "And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.
22 "As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.
23 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

13. VISION OF THE SEVENTY WEEKS Daniel 9 SEVENTY WEEKS 639 BC 70 AD
• To finish the transgression
• To make an end of sin
• To make reconciliation for iniquity
• To bring in everlasting righteousness
• To seal up vision and prophecy
• To anoint the Most High
639 BC
70 AD
SEVEN WEEKS
SIXTY-TWO WEEKS
ONE WEEK
The streets and
walls will be
built again
See the prophecies
of chapters 10-12
• Messiah the Prince
will come
• Messiah will be
cut off
• People of the prince
will destroy the city
• Covenant is
confirmed
• Sacrifices and
offerings are ended

14. VISION OF THE DESTINY OF ISRAEL Daniel 10-12
2 "And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.
3 "Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
4 "And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.
5 "Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion.