The Four Gentile World Empires

The Medo-Persian Empire

The Medo-Persian Empire- Zec 7:1-14DARIUS I (HYSTASPES) Zec 7:1-4 1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; 2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? 4 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,

• About two months short of two full years from the prophecies of Zechariah 1:7-6:15, the Lord gave Zechariah his third prophecy on the 4th day of the ninth month in the fourth year of Darius (Zec 7:1), which corresponds to November 19, 519 BC

• The Jews had sent men to the unfinished temple to pray before the Lord and speak to the priests and prophets (Zec 7:2-3)

• Zechariah’s third prophecy begins at Zechariah 7:4 and runs through chapter 14 (7:4-14:21)

• Zechariah 7= because Israel did not obey the voice of the former prophets, the Lord brought great wrath upon them in the form of the 70-year captivity

The Medo-Persian Empire- Zec 8:1-11:14DARIUS I (HYSTASPES) • Zechariah 8:1-8= Jerusalem will be restored and be more marvellous than ever

one day • Zechariah 8:9-17= those who heard the words of the prophets who preached

during the time the foundation of the temple was laid (i.e.- Zechariah and Haggai) should strengthen their hands because the Lord will do good to Jerusalem and make the land fruitful for them again

• Zechariah 8:18-23= The Lord promised that Jerusalem would become the center of worship for all nations

• Zechariah 9:1-8= judgment will come upon Tyre and the cities of the Philistines • Zechariah 9:9-17= the King of Jerusalem will come riding upon a colt the foal of

an ass, and will come to save his people, destroy their enemies, bring worldwide peace, and reign over the entire earth

• Zechariah 10:1-4= the Lord will judge the false shepherds and punish the goats • Zechariah 10:5-12= the Lord will regather the house of Judah and the house of

Joseph to their land, and they shall form an invincible army because the Lord is with them

• Zechariah 11:1-14= the breaking and cutting asunder of the two staffs, Beauty and Bands, representing Judah and Israel; and the betrayal of the Messiah for 30 pieces of silver

The Medo-Persian Empire- Zec 11:15-13:9DARIUS I (HYSTASPES) • Zechariah 11:15-17= the Lord will raise up the foolish and idol shepherd (i.e.-

the Antichrist) in the land who will do to the flock the exact opposite of what a true shepherd should do

• The Lord will bring the sword upon the idol shepherd rendering his arm completely lame and taking out his right eye cf. (Rev 13:3,14)

• Zechariah 12:1-8= Jerusalem will become a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone for all people; all the armies of the earth will gather together against Jerusalem, but the Lord will come and smite them all

• Zechariah 12:9-14= when the Lord comes to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem, there will be great mourning in Jerusalem as they look upon him and realize he is the one whom they pierced (i.e.- their Messiah is Jesus Christ whom they crucified)

• Zechariah 13:1-6= there will be not be any idols in the Messianic kingdom, nor any prophets or unclean spirits; the Lord will bear the scars of his piercing as a remembrance to everyone what salvation cost

• Zechariah 13:7-9= the Lord’s shepherd will be smitten and the sheep scattered and persecuted; the time will come that 2/3 of all Jews in Israel will die and 1/3 will go through a fiery trial and be saved in the end

The Medo-Persian Empire- Zec 14:1-21DARIUS I (HYSTASPES) • Zechariah 14:1-21= details regarding the day of the Lord • Zechariah 14:1-5= the coming of the Lord with his armies and the final battle

against all nations gathered together against Jerusalem • Zechariah 14:6-11= the Lord will be King over all the earth, Jerusalem will be

safely inhabited, and the earth will be restored to an Edenic state • Zechariah 14:12-15= the plague that the Lord will smite all the people with who

fight against Jerusalem (sounds like being vaporized by a nuclear explosion) • Zechariah 14:16-21= in the Messianic kingdom, the entire world will be

required to observe the feast of tabernacles annually and send representatives with gifts to worship the Lord

The Medo-Persian Empire- Ezr 6:15DARIUS I (HYSTASPES) Ezr 6:15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

• About two years and three months after the last prophecies of Zechariah, work on the second temple was finished on the third day of the month Adar (i.e.- the twelfth Jewish month) in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, which corresponds to February 18, 516 BC

The Medo-Persian Empire- Dan 11:2DARIUS I HYSTASPES • Darius quenched numerous revolts in the aftermath of the dynastic change,

including those in Bactria, Persis, Elam, Babylon, Media, Parthia, Assyria, and Egypt (i.e.- most of the empire)

• He killed Intaphernes, one of the seven conspirators, because he attempted to violate their agreement by coming in to see the king after he had gone to bed with his wife

• In 515 BC, the 7th year of his reign, he extended the empire into the Indus Valley by conquering the lands surrounding the Indus river- if this is true, then Darius Hystaspes did not reign over INDIA in the THIRD year of his reign as the Ahasuerus of Esther did (Est 1:1,3), which means he is not this Ahasuerus

• In 513 BC, he invaded European Scythia and conquered enough territory to intimidate the Scythians not to attempt an attack on the Achaemenid empire

• From 499 BC to 493 BC, he deployed forces to put down the Ionian Revolt • Aristagoras, a native tyrant of Miletus who was appointed by the Persian satrap

Artaphernes, instigated the revolt following a failed attempt to conquer Naxos • Knowing he would be removed from his position, he chose to incite all of Ionia

in a rebellion against Darius I Hystaspes and Persian rule • In 498 BC, the revolt spread following the burning of the Lydian capital of Sardis

The Medo-Persian Empire- Dan 11:2• The Ionian colonies were supported

by Athens and Eretria, which further infuriated Darius

• In spite of the support of Athens and Eretria, the Persian forces captured Miletus in 493 BC, ending the revolt

• The Ionian Revolt was the first major conflict between Greece and Persia, and constituted the first phase of what would eventually become the Greco-Persian Wars

• The Ionian Revolt severely threatened the stability of the empire since the mainland Greek states would continue to resist Persian expansion and rule

• Darius determined that a complete conquest of Greece was necessary, beginning with the destruction of Athens and Eritrea for supporting the revolt

The Medo-Persian Empire- Dan 11:2

• In 492 BC, Darius ordered the first Persian invasion of Greece and his forces , led by Mardonius, crossed the Hellespont (i.e.- the Dardanelles) and re-subjugated Thrace and then Macedon

• Further advancement w a s s t a l l e d w h e n Mardonius’ fleet was wrecked by a storm off the coast of Mount Athos

The Hellespont

The Medo-Persian Empire- Ezr 6:15

Marathon

The Hellespont

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