Ancient Empires

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Daniel 4:34-35 "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? "

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Ancient Empires and Bible History. God had a plan with the world powers that existed in ancient times. The Bible declares that God worked mightily with the nations and the Kings that existed around Israel. Looking back from our time period we can see this clearly, God was working to bring a savior to the world, Jesus Christ. According to the same prophets who spoke about these various kingdoms and nations and empires, they also spoke about the coming of the Messiah. According to their words one day Messiah will come a second time to set up a world kingdom that will never pass away.

The Empires of the Old Testament. The empires that ruled the world during Old Testament times were the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the Persians. But there were other kingdoms that were very powerful like early Egypt, and later after the Old Testament ended with the times of Alexander the Great and the Grecian Empire. The Roman Empire began to form during the middle of the first century BC and it was Augustus who supposedly brought peace to the whole world. It was during his reign that Jesus was born, the Prince of peace.

Daniel the Prophet. The prophet Daniel made an astounding prophecy that came true exactly as he said. He predicted that the empires that would rule the world would be the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman Empire. He also declared that at the end of time that would be another Roman Empire before the Messiah returns to set up His Kingdom on earth that will never pass away.

Israel. The land of ancient Israel was actually right in the middle of all the world empires in ancient times. If you look at a map of the primary world kingdoms you can easily see this. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Look carefully and you will see that Israel is right in the middle. God had a powerful plan in making this little area the focal point of his activities in ancient history. The land of Israel did not go unnoticed by the great kingdoms of the ancient world.

The Egyptian Empire. In the earliest times Egypt was the first most powerful kingdom in the ancient world. Egypt was the land of the Nile River and it was called Mizraim in Hebrew, and there are some 30 dynasties in Egyptian history. In the Old Testament when the famine hit the land of Canaan that was during the period of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt or the 11-12th dynasties (2050-1750 BC).

The Assyrian Empire. Ancient Syria was the territory of the Aramaeans, it was located north of Israel and its capital was Damascus. Syria was a powerful nation and a threat to Israel, and they went to war many times throughout the period of the Kings.

The Babylonian Empire. It was king Nebuchadnezzar who made Babylon a world empire. The Babylonian Empire reached its peak during the time of Daniel during the sixth century BC. Its boundaries were the territory of the Medes and Persians on the east, the Persian Gulf on the south, the land of Israel and Syria on the west, and the eastern portion of the Black Sea of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea in the north.

The Persian Empire. the Persian Empire was actually a mixture of the Medes and Persians. Cyrus was the original king of Persia who made it into an empire. All this happened the night to Daniel interpreted the handwriting on the wall in the palace of ancient Babylon. Queen Esther was a Jewish queen in the Persian Empire in the fifth century BC. At its greatest extent under Darius (521-486 BC) the Persian Empire stretched from Egypt and Cush in the south, to Thrace in the north, and all the way to India in the East. The Old Testament ends with Israel being a satrapy of the Persian Empire.

The Grecian Empire. The Greek empire was actually a Macedonian empire. The Greeks began defeating the Persians shortly after the time of Queen Esther in the fifth century BC. But It Was Alexander the Great, the Macedonian conqueror who moved his armies south and then westward in the middle of the fourth century BC. He dominated over the entire Persian Empire and added to it more territories in the north, east and south.

The Roman Empire. The ancient Roman Empire came to its greatness during the time of Julius Caesar and ultimately Augustus Caesar (Octavian). After the third Punic war against Carthage they dominated the entire Mediterranean Sea. If you look at a map of the Roman Empire it covers the entire world around the Mediterranean, and all the lands that existed there.

The study of the Old Testament is very important in the study of the Bible, let's pray:

Dear Jesus, we thank you that you are the same God yesterday today and forever. Your Word declares in the Old Testament that you are awesome in power, fearful and praises, and doing wonders. It also says that your mercies are new every morning, and we need your mercy today Lord. Everything in the Old Testament happened for a specific reason, and the ultimate goal was that you would lead us to Christ. We thank you Lord that your plan is the wisdom of the ages. Help us to trust your wisdom and to be thankful for your mercy. We love you. In Jesus name? Amen!

Map of the Ancient Empires of the Bible for Bible Study

Kid's Bible Maps
Bible History Online

The Geography of the Bible