A ministry of the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church

Lee Swor, Pastor

Dr. Joseph Speciale, Instructor

The Revised Roman Empire- Daniel 2:38• Nebuchadnezzar ruled the Babylonian empire for 45 years (i.e. 606 BC- 562 BC) • This is based on Jehoiachin king of Judah being taken into captivity during the eighth

year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and Evil-Merodach (i.e.- the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar) beginning to reign in the 37th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity

2 Kin 24:12 And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

Jer 52:31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,

Note: Donald Trump is the 45th president of the USA and has many things in common with Nebuchadnezzar. • Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son Evil-Merodach (i.e.- Amel-Marduk) (2

Kin 25:27) who ruled for just 3 years (i.e.- 562 BC- 560 BC) • In his Antiquities Of The Jews (Book 10, Chapter 11, Verse 2), Josephus states that

Evil-Merodach reigned 18 years, but it is possible that 15 of those years were as crown prince under his father Nebuchadnezzar

• Evil-Merodach released king Jehoiachin from prison, set his throne above the other kings at Babylon, and allowed him to eat at the king’s table (Jer 52:31-34)

The Revised Roman Empire- Daniel 2:38• Berossus, a priest of Bel (Marduk) and Babylonian writer of the 3rd century BC,

wrote that Evil-Merodach “governed after an illegal and impure manner”, possibly alluding to the reforms he made to his father’s policies that infuriated the priests, including his favorable treatment of Jehoiachin

• Evil-Merodach was assassinated and succeeded by his brother-in-law Nergal-sharezer (i.e.- Neriglissar), who was one of the princes of Babylon (Jer 39:3,13) and married to Kashshaia, one of the two known daughters of Nebuchadnezzar (the other was Nitocris, the wife of Nabonidus)

Jer 39:3 And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.

• Nergal-sharezer was a Chaldean and the son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar but not of Nebuchadnezzar’s blood line

• He conducted a successful military campaign against Cilicia, engaged in public works including the restoration of temples, and brought much more stability to the throne than his predecessor

• He reigned 4 years (i.e.- 560 BC- 556 BC) and was succeeded by his son Labashi-Marduk

The Revised Roman Empire- Daniel 2:38• Labashi-Marduk assumed the throne at a young age but was quickly deemed unfit to

rule due to his ill temper and practices • A band of conspirators led by Nabonidus staged a coup and assassinated the young

ruler after only nine months on the throne (i.e.- 556 BC) • The conspirators and members of the noble court gave the crown to Nabonidus, who

ruled for nearly 20 years (i.e.- 556 BC- 537 BC) and was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian empire

• Secular history states that Nabonidus was not a Chaldean but either Aramean or Assyrian- he said in his own inscriptions that he was of unimportant origins but his preoccupation with the former Assyrian city of Haran and Assyrian deities seems to support the latter

• He angered the priests and common people by neglecting Marduk, the city’s chief deity and elevating Sin, the Assyrian moon god (i.e.- the predecessor to Allah)

• Nabonidus was not a popular king due to such controversial actions and frequent absences from the capital to engage in archaeological excavations

• Nabonidus is regarded as the first “archaeologist” and initiated the world’s first archaeological work- he even displayed his discoveries in museums

• Each time he was away from Babylon he left his son Belshazzar in charge, who sought to placate the people by restoring the patron deity Marduk and holding festivals

The Revised Roman Empire- Daniel 2:38

• It is interesting that Josephus states Belshazzar was another name for Nabonidus (Antiquities Of The Jews, Book 10, Chapter 11, Verse 2)

• This is highly unlikely because Belshazzar offers to make the man who can read and interpret the handwriting on the wall the THIRD ruler in the kingdom, this implies that he is a vice-regent (i.e.- the second ruler) ruling as king in place of the actual king (i.e.- the first ruler) (Dan 5:7,16,29)

Dan 5:7,16,29 7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 16 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. 29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

• In the first year of Belshazzar’s reign (i.e.- 555 BC), the Lord gave Daniel a night vision of four great beasts representing the four Gentile world empires (Dan 7:1-28)

The Revised Roman Empire- Daniel 2:38

• In the third year of Belshazzar’s reign (i.e.- 553 BC), the Lord gave Daniel another night vision, where a ram with two horns was defeated in battle by a goat with a notable horn on its head coming from the west (Dan 8:1-27)

• The angel Gabriel gave Daniel the interpretation and told him that the ram with the two horns represented the kings of Media and Persia and the goat with the notable horn was the king of Greece (Dan 8:20-21)

• Daniel knew that the kingdom that would conquer Babylon would be the dual kingdom of the Medes and Persians and that the Persians would be the stronger of the two, even though Media was a former ally of Babylon and Persia was a regional power subject to the Medes in 553 BC

• Daniel also knew that the kingdom that would conquer the Medes and Persians would be Greece, even though there was no single kingdom of Greece in 553 BC but numerous city-states (e.g.- Sparta); and it was more than 50 years before the first of the Greco-Persian wars

• Nabonidus’ longest departure from Babylon took place around this time, when he left for 10 years (i.e.- 553 BC- 543 BC) to build and restore temples in the desert city of Tayma (i.e.- Tema)

• It was also during this time that the kingdom of Media became a viable threat

The Revised Roman Empire- Daniel 2:38

• The once great alliance between the two kingdoms that brought down the Assyrian empire began to crumble after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, as Babylon floundered under weak leadership but Media flourished under Astyages, the son of Cyaxares I

• The kingdom of the Medes was expanding under the military leadership of a dynamic leader from Persia named Cyrus

• Nabonidus returned to Babylon after 10 years in Tayma possibly because of the mounting threat posed by Cyrus and his armies

• Nabonidus was married to Nitocris, the queen mother who informed Belshazzar of Daniel (Dan 5:10-12), and another of the two known daughters of Nebuchadnezzar (the other was Kashshaia, the wife of Nergal-Sharezer)

Dan 5:10 Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:

• This means Belshazzar was Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, which is why he is called HIS SON (i.e.- grandson) 1x in Daniel 5 (v.22) and Nebuchadnezzar is called Belshazzar’s FATHER (i.e.- grandfather) 5x (v.2,11,18)

The Revised Roman Empire- Daniel 2:38Dan 5:2,11,18,22 2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. 11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; 18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: 22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;

• Belshazzar was the last Babylonian king from the bloodline of Nebuchadnezzar, fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah 27:7 that three generations of kings would rule during the extent of the Babylonian empire (i.e.- 70 years) cf. (Jer 25:11)

Jer 27:6-7 6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. 7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.







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