World History, Chapter 7: The birth of the 4th beast!

World History, Chapter 7: Edited 12/7/23.

The birth of the 4th beast!

Its belly was of brass (Alexander’s rule) and its (two) thighs of brass (Division of the Greek Empire), and its (two legs) of iron. 

After Alexander’s death the kingdom was split as Nebuchadnezzar’s image foretold it would be; the belly of brass would divide into the (two) thighs of brass. New kingdoms were established, and Israel lay between two of the most powerful of them, Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria.

The coming of Rome spelled disaster to any ambitious men, and was hailed by many as the day of liberation from Greek rule. Rome never made the mistake that cost the Seleucids; they would not allow religious convictions to become political.

Psalms 2:2, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD, and against his anointed.”

Daniel 2:40, “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaks all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise (crush).”

Rome in all its cruelty conquered and swallowed up the lands and peoples that had been part of the three previous empires of Babylon; the Medes and Persians and the armies of Greece.

Rome in the 1st century had dominion over Israel.  In 63 B.C., Rome pushed the Greeks back to their original borders, then invaded and conquered Jerusalem. In order to keep control, Caesar and the Senate installed Herod as King over the Galilean and Judean peoples; some three years later he ruled over the whole of the region. He expanded the Temple, making it more grandiose, Greek and Roman in style, and also imposed a sacrifice that the Jewish priests would make on behalf of Rome and the emperor; he named cities, built imperial temples and fortresses making strong Roman control.  For his building projects, he taxed the people into poverty and also required the people to pay tithes and sacrifices to the Jews to the religion of Judaism. 

Horsley wrote: “The demand for tribute to Rome and taxes to Herod in addition to the tithes and offerings to the Temple and priesthood dramatically escalated the economic pressures on peasant producers, whose livelihood was perennially marginal at best.  After decades of multiple demands from multiple layers of rulers many village families fell increasingly into debt and were faced with loss of their family inheritance of land.  The impoverishment of families led to the disintegration of village communities, the fundamental social form of such an agrarian society.  These are precisely the deteriorating conditions that Jesus addresses in the Gospels: impoverishment, hunger, and debt.”

After Herod’s death in 2 B.C., Rome appointed Antipas to rule, and the Jews responded by appointing governors and client-kings; also, the Sadducees and the Herodian’s would compromise their standards in order to please their leaders and Rome.

Roman is considered one of the greatest civilizations in history, it having a major influence on the characters and writers of the gospels; the book of Acts; Paul’s epistles, and Revelation.  In Luke there are obvious references to Roman authority and its interaction with Christ.  Caesar Augustus was emperor during the time of the Lord, and is the earliest figure of Roman authority. Following the murder of Julius Caesar, a period of political unrest took place as Rome struggled in a civil war when Octavian (later called Augustus) took the throne.  Octavian was the adopted heir of Julius Caesar, ruled in the same manner his surrogate father did, with dictatorial authority. After his death, Caesar was officially made a god.

The Roman’s left many contributions to civilization, here are a few of them. They gave to the world new forms of architecture; arches, columns, domes, mosaics: they discovered concrete, mortar and developed efficient highway systems. They introduced mass entertainment; amphitheaters and stadiums, are credited with the building of aqueducts, viaducts; bridges that cross over valleys; thermal baths; central heating; floor heating and wine making, a trade that left its mark on France, Spain and Italy.

Then there’s the Roman alphabet which is the world’s most widespread writing system; Latin was the language of the people; the legal system and the development of the Senate has inspired modern Democracy, also the Calendar including the names of each month. So their inventions, innovations and discoveries left a lasting mark on every civilized nation that was to follow.

Rome also had their bad boys; each having washed their hands with the blood of the Jews, and Christians. Herod the Great ruled from 37 B.C.E. to 2 B.C., four B.C. two years after the birth of our Lord. He had a long and impressive reign when looking at it from a political and architectural perspective, was ambitious, brutal, and very successful; tolerated no opposition, either with family or those in power.

Thanks to the political connections of his father, he married into the ruling family in Judea. It was under his kingship that post-Biblical Israel was raised, and as long as he paid tribute to Rome and stood at their side in any quarrels they had with others, he was able to protect the political independence and liberty of the Jews.

He finished the Temple in Jerusalem which was the political and religious heart of the country. His work on the Temple gave him a prominent place in Jewish history, and in refurbishing it, he is credited with having built one of the architectural marvels of the ancient world.

Beautiful buildings and other architectural spaces were created, they accommodating a great number of pilgrims and tourists enabling Judea to have a positive balance of trade and become one of the major centers of tourism for both Jews and gentiles. The Temple made a statement to the gentile world not only about Israel and its people, but about their God. Herod is one of the real untold ironies of Jewish history; He was the king you could love to hate!

When Herod heard of the Christ child who was to be King, he decreed that every child in the land under the age of two was to be killed. During this reign of terror, Jesus was taken into Egypt by his parents and returned to Israel after Herod’s death. Very little is known concerning Jesus as a child until he comes into full view at the age of 30 with John the Baptist at the river Jordon. 

After Herod’s death his kingdom was subdivided among three of his sons. Herod Antipas took the northern territories of the Galilee and those on the east side of the Jordan River. Phillip took the areas to the east of the Sea of Galilee, the area now called the Golan Heights. Archelaeus the third son took the greater portion and most important cities in the area we now call Judea. Archelaeus didn’t fare as well as his father, and within ten years, he was removed by the Roman overlords, and replaced with military governors referred to as Procurators, or Prefects. They were placed in these positions by the Roman administration to oversee the political activities of the Israel.

Pontius Pilate the fifth procurator became governor to the province of Judea, once it was given over too Roman military governorship. He is of special interest because of his part in the tragedy at Calvary. He had a Temple built for Emperor Tiberius, as part of the Imperial Cult and for ten years was kept in office by Tiberius.

Tiberius died in 37 A.D. and was succeeded by his young grandnephew Gaius (Caligula). Caligula appointed Agrippa, the grandson of Herod.

At the time of our Lord, Judea was a burgeoning economy, but there was also a great deal of religious tensions, many of them focused on the Temple. The Temple was the center of Jewish devotion, yet the center of a great deal of religious controversy.  

Jesus was born into a pluralistic society and culture, its population consisting of Roman’s, Greek’s, Samaritan’s, and Hebrew’s, yet He never involved himself in any of their practices or thought. But what He brought with him was love, truth and hope, but what He received was injustice, cruelty and death.

Born a lowly child during the reign of the powerful Augustus, His entire life takes place in the context of being part of a people ruled by foreign invaders. This was nothing new for the Jews who had previously been subjected to Babylon, Assyria, Persia and Greek rule.

Keep in mind, Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold, silver, brass, iron and clay covers a period to this day december 2023, 2628 years, and each kingdom from the head of gold to the feet and toes of miry clay will have had a part in Jewish history and/or the development of the Christian Church and will continue to do so until the stone made without hands crushes it to pieces.

The Persians allowed the Jews to return to their homeland after 70 years in exile. But freedom had not arrived for the Jews; Greek and Roman dominance would only be a new kind of exile, never feeling they had been liberated.

Luke wrote, 2:40, “And the child (Jesus) grew, and waxed strong in spirit, was filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him.”

At the age of 30 Jesus was baptized by John in the river Jordan, and by the Holy Spirit. Then,

Matthew 4:1, “Jesus (was) led up of the (Holy) Spirit into the wilderness (forty days) to be tempted of the devil.”

Luke 4:5-6, “And the devil, taking him (Jesus) up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power (authority) will I give you, and the glory of them (the kingdoms), for that is delivered unto me; and to whosoever I will I give it.”

Our Lord was about to turn from the quite life of a young man and was about to begin His mission given to by His Father.

Daniel 7:23, and “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be diverse (different) from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread (trample) it down, and break it (the earth) in pieces.” 

The whole lower half of Nebuchadnezzar’s image to the feet, unlike the upper half was of one material gold, silver and brass and lower legs of iron, but now an iron mixed with miry clay. This forth beast with his ten toes has been around now for 2000 years, having taken on many forms. the human race is now being made ready for the return of Jesus Christ who will dash the empires of the earth to pieces, and His Kingdom established. 

Luke reveals in his narrative that the “kingdoms of the world” including Rome are ruled by the devil.

Ephesians, 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” 

Phil LaSpino   www.seekfirstwisdom.com