Daniel has told world history in advance

Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoftref , "Belshazzar,"
Belshazzar (550?-539?BC), in the Old Testament, Babylonian prince mentioned in Daniel 5 as the last Chaldean king of
Babylon. He was slain when Babylon was captured by the Medes and the Persians. Although no ancient historian mentions his
name as one of the successors of the second Chaldean king, Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions gave
the name Belsaruzar as that of the son of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon. A later inscription suggested that Belshazzar
was associated with his father on the throne.

In this encyclopedia article we have seen that:
A. Babylon was captured by the Medes and the Persians as foretold by Daniel and Isaiah.
Isaiah's ministry ended around 701 BC . The Medes entered Babylon around 539-550 BC. This means Isaiah foretold the
rising of the Medes against Babylon about 150-160 years before it actually happened.

B. Belshazzar was associated with his father on the throne. In other words Nabonidus and his son Belshazzar were co-rulers of
Babylon. This is why Daniel was told he would be made the 3rd ruler of the kingdom. Nabinidus and Belshazzar were the first
two rulers. Daniel would have been the 3rd ruler if their kingdom had not been over thrown. Remember the promise of being the
3rd ruler came from the pagan king Belshazzar not as part of Daniel's prophecy. This does however give credibility to the
historical part of Daniel.

Enclopaedia Britanica, Multimedia CD 98, Belshazzar, Neo-Babylonian
BEL-SHAR-USUR, Greek BALTASAR, or BALTHASAR (d. c. 539 BC),
coregent of Babylon who was killed at the capture of the city by the Persians.
Belshazzar had been known only from the biblical Book of Daniel (chapters 5, 7-8) and from Xenophon's Cyropaedia until
1854, when references to him were found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. Though he is referred to in the Book of Daniel
as the son of Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian inscriptions indicate that he was in fact the eldest son of Nabonidus, who was
king of Babylon from 555 to 539, and of Nitocris, who was perhaps a daughter of Nebuchadrezzar. When Nabonidus went into
exile (550), he entrusted Belshazzar with the throne and the major part of his army.

In this encyclopedia article we have seen that:
A. Babylon was captured by the Persians as foretold by Daniel.

B. King Belshazzar was very likely related to King Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus and Nitocris.
Notocris being the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar would make Belshazzar the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. This would fulfill the
Babylonian kingdom lasting until the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar as foretold by Jeremiah 622 BC.

C. Before 1854 which is a couple of thousand years later our main reference for the existence of Belshazzar was the Bible.
This is not an isolated event by any means. This alone should help us to recognize the credibility of the Bible.

The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, 1990.
BABYLON (CITY OF); BABYLONIANS One of the most important cities of Mesopotamia, whose ancient name probably
meant 'the gate of the gods'. ....................... It was not until the downfall of Assyria that Babylon, in the time of
Nebuchadnezzar II, rose again to the status of the most important city in Mesopotamia. Cyrus, King of Persia,
conquered the city, which then became part of the Persian Empire. In 331 bc Babylon was conquered by Alexander the Great,
who attempted to rebuild the venerated but decaying city. With his untimely death its long decline set in and in the Roman
period it was no more than a famous heap of ruins.

In this reference work we seen:
A. Babylon was conquered by Persia as foretold by Daniel
B. Although Babylon was once considered the most important city in Mesopotamia it was left a heap of ruins and uninhabited
as foretold by Isaiah approximately 701 BC.

From Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia 2000 © 1999 The Learning Company, Inc. (Babylon) Babylon lost its
independence forever when it fell to Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539 BC, but it continued to be a center of trade and culture. It
was still fairly prosperous when Alexander the Great took up his residence in Nebuchadnezzar's palace, where he died in 323
BC. His successor, Seleucus, built a new city, Seleucia, nearby on the Tigris, because it had a deeper channel for navigation.
From this time Babylon rapidly decayed. Its structures, which were faced with glazed brick, were torn down to provide brick for
building elsewhere, and the once proud capital was reduced to a vast ruin. The ruins are near the town of al Hillah in Iraq.

In this encyclopedia article we have seen that:
A. Babylon was conquered by the Persians as foretold by Daniel
B. The city of Babylon is left still uninhabited in Iraq as foretold by Isaiah

So far we have covered the first two kingdoms in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom is the head of gold.
(BABYLON). The second kingdom represented by the breast and arms of silver was the Medes and the Persians. The 3rd
kingdom in Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue was its belly and its thighs of bronze. (Dan.2: 32 & 39) We do not have to
guess as to the interpretation of who this kingdom of bronze is either. We can see that the kingdoms starting from
Nebuchadezzar represented as the head of gold are following in consecutive order. We also know who the first two kingdoms
are. Babylon being the first and the Medes and the Persians being the second. Daniel has a vision that we find in chapter 8
where these kingdoms overlap.

Dan 8:4-7 4 I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before him, nor was
there anyone to rescue from his power; but he did as he pleased and magnified himself. 5 While I was observing, behold, a
male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a
conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6 And he came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of
the canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath. 7 And I saw him come beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he
struck the ram and shattered his two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and
trampled on him, and there was none to rescue the ram from his power.

In this text we see that the ram was the one in power. Then comes along the male goat that strikes the ram. We also see the
ram had no strength to withstand the goat. in other words the goat overcame the ram. So who is the goat and the ram? The
following text tells us.

Dan 8:16-22   16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, "Gabriel, give this man
an understanding of the vision." 17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on
my face; but he said to me, "Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end."
18 Now while he was talking with me, I sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me
stand upright. 19 And he said, "Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it
pertains to the appointed time of the end. 20 "The ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and
Persia. 21 "And the shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first
king. 22 "And the broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his
nation, although not with his power.

In this text we see that the ram represents the Medes and the Persians. We have already seen the Medes and the Persians as
the ones who would conquer Babylon in the writing on the wall seen by Belshazzar in Daniel chapter 5. Now we see that the
shaggy goat that represents the kingdom of Greece is the one that would conquer the Medes and the Persians. So the next
question is "Did the kingdom of Greece conquer the Medes and the Persians in history?"

Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft®,"Ancient Greece"
B2 Macedonian Supremacy (359-323 BC) Two Macedonian kings, Philip II (ruled 359-336 BC) and his son Alexander the
Great (ruled 336-323 BC), filled the power vacuum in Greece by turning their formerly weak kingdom into an international
superpower. The
mountainous kingdom of Macedonia, north of the central Greek heartland, eventually became the leader of Greece and
conqueror of the Persian empire.

From this encyclopedia article we learn that:
A. Alexander the Great was the leader of a Greek empire.
B. Alexander conquered the Persian empire.

Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft®, "Persia,"
III ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE SELEUCIDS
Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conquered the Persian Empire in a series of battles between 334 and 331 BC.
Alexander integrated Persia into his empire, and by 323 BC, when he died, Alexander ruled most of the civilized world.

From this encyclopedia article we learn that:
A. Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire 334-331 BC.
B. Keep in mind that Nebuchadnezzar reigned approximately 605-561BC. Daniel interpreted his dream during this time
period. This means that Daniel foretold the Medes and the Persians being conquered by the Greeks at least 200 years before
it actually happened.

The text we looked at in Daniel chapter 8 goes into further detail concerning the Greek empire. (verse 22) We are told that four
kingdoms would arise from the Greek empire. This division is not mentioned in our text in Daniel chapter 2. As one reads
Daniel, especially the detail in chapter 11, it is easy to see that there is much more detail than what I am covering here.
However that would be a book in itself. For the sake of brevity I am sticking to the basic outline as seen in Daniel chapter 2.
This division actually still falls within the Greek empire in the text as well as what took place in history.

The Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy, page 380
After Alexander's death in 323 and the eventual fall of his leading general Antigonus in 301, the empire divided into some four
major areas, controlled by Greek generals: Macedonia under Cassander, Asia Minor under Lysimachus, Syria and eastward
under Selecus, and Egypt under Ptolemy.

These Greek generals are also listed as successors of Alexander the Great by the first century Jewish Historian Josephus. The
Works of Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 12, Chapter 1.
Concerning Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel chapter 2.
We have now covered the first 3 kingdoms.
(1) Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon were represented by the head of gold.
(Daniel 2:32 & 38)
(2) Babylon was then conquered by the Medes and the Persians which was said to be an inferior kingdom and represented as
the breast and arms of silver.
(Daniel 2:32-39, & Daniel 5:28)
(3) The Medes and the Persians were then conquered by the Greeks represented as the belly and thighs of bronze.
(Daniel 2:32 & Daniel 8:20-21)

The fourth kingdom is unlike the first three kingdoms where we were specifically told who they were. The fourth kingdom is not
interpreted and named for us in scripture. However we know the succession of the first three kingdoms.
(1) Babylon (2) The Medes and the Persians (3) The Greeks. History tells us that the empire that followed the succession of
these three empires was the Roman empire. All we have to do is look at the description given to us in the Bible and see if it
correlates with the Roman empire. First we will give a couple of references showing that the Roman empire did indeed follow
the Greek empire.