"After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. But Necho sent messengers to him, saying,
'What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you
and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time,
but the house with which I am at war. God has told
me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me,
or he will destroy you.'
Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.
Archers shot King Josiah, and he told his officers,
'Take me away; I am badly wounded.'
So they took him out of his chariot, put him in his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died...Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah."
- Second Chronicles 35:21-25
609-604 BC, Josiah Dies and 23 years of Disaster and Judgment Begin (609-586)
Josiah had been promised death before the coming of the disaster the Lord had vowed to bring on Jerusalem and the Temple. The prophetess Huldah spoke these words to the king's messengers
in 2 Kings 22:20 because Josiah's heart had been humble and he responded by tearing his robes in repentance when he read the Book of the Law, or the Word of God in the book of Deuteronomy.
(2 Kings 22:14-20) Josiah was still trying to save Judah and lead them in the right way when he was fatally wounded on the Plains of Megiddo (Armageddon).
609 BC
Nabopolassar’s son, the crown prince and general, Nebuchadnezzar, defeats Assyria at Carchemish.
This is the death blow to the Assyrian Empire.
Josiah dies trying to prevent Pharaoh Neco from arriving at Carchemish to assist the collapsing Assyrians.
Pharoah Neco drives General Nebuchadnezzar out of
Carchemish. Carchemish is now an Egyptian stronghold.
Nebuchadnezzar Assyria Falls
Josiah Dies
608 BC
Jehoahaz, Josiah’s evil 23 year old middle son, becomes king for 3 months.
Jehoahaz goes up to Riblah on Orontes River and is put in chains by Pharaoh Neco.
Jehoahaz is taken to Egypt and never returns.
Neco makes Josiah’s oldest son, Jehoiakim, the king of Judah.
Jeremiah is 40 years old.
Daniel is 15 years old.
Ezekiel is 14 years old.
Jeremiah chapters 22, 26, 27 are written.
Jeremiah 22
Jeremiah 26-27
King Jehoahaz,
King Jehoiakim
606 BC
Habakkuk is written. Habakkuk speaks to God concerning the apparent unjustness of God’s prophecy to Habakkuk regarding the coming Babylonian invasion.
Habakkuk
Habakkuk 1, 2, 3
605 BC
General Nebuchadnezzar returns to face Pharaoh Neco at Carchemish. Nebuchadnezzar moves up the east bank of the Euphrates early in August to surprise Neco.
General Nebuchadnezzar drives Pharaoh Neco back into
Egypt and takes control of the Middle East.
August 16 Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar’s father, dies. Nebuchadnezzar has to return quickly to Bablylon to claim the throne. He sets his newly acquired lands in order.
First Captivity: Nebuchadnezzar also takes captives from the royal families of Judea, Phoenicia, Syria, Egypt, Philistia and others to insure no government revolts in his absence. The captives are sent to Babylon under heavily armed military.
Nebuchadnezzar takes a personal escort and travels 580 miles back to Babylon in 3 weeks.
Daniel is one of the royal children taken from Judea. Daniel is 18 years old.
King Jehoiakim is taken captive but will be sent back to his throne as a vassal of Nebuchadnezzar.
September 7, Nebuchadnezzar secures his throne in Babylon.
October 1, Nebuchadnezzar is back in Syria leading his military.
Prophet Uriah flees and is captured and killed. (Jer. 26:20)
Nebuchadnezzar returns to Babylon in February. While there he meets some of his royal captives including Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. (Daniel 1:1-20)
Daniel is put into service in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace.
Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of the statue with the head of gold. Daniel interprets the dream.
Jeremiah 45-49
Jeremiah
35-36
Jeremiah
25
Daniel Appears before Nebuchadnezzar
Statue Dream – Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron & Clay
“No other document in the possession of mankind offers so much to the reader – ethical and religious instruction, superb poetry, a social program and legal code, an interpretation of history, and all the joys, sorrows and hopes which well up in men and which Israel’s prophets and leaders expressed with matchless force and passion.”
– Gabriel Sivan
Around 250 BC the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) were translated into Greek in Alexandria Egypt for the Jews who could no longer read Hebrew. This was one of the first major translations of a
book in history.
Hellen (Gr) – Greeks (Eng) – in the Greek language the word hellen referred to the descendants of the Grecian King Hellas (or, Hellen with two “L’s not the one “L” Helen of Troy) who was the
son of Deucalion and Pyrrha who survived the flood sent by Zeus to wipe out mankind by
climbing on a floating chest and riding it to the peak of Mount Parnassos.
The word hellen was used to distinguish Greeks from barbarians in Romans 1:14.
Eventually, the word hellen referred to any Gentile who spoke Greek which was the
universal language, thus in some writers’ perspective hellen was used to identify all Gentiles: Romans 2:9-10; Galatians 2:3; Galatians 3:28; John 7:35; 1 Corinthians 10:32 and 12:13.
The tomb of Daniel is said to be in Susa. There is quite a colorful history that follows this tradition.
Am I committed to serving God with my whole life for all my days?
I will follow God's Word as I do my part to advance his kingdom on earth.
I will live in righteousness until it is my time to be taken from my assignment here on earth.
"I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people.”
- Proverbs 5:13-14
Toni points at the covering stone of the sacrificial altar located in the imitation temple, or the High Place, in Arad from 700 BC. This altar had been buried in the days of Hezekiah or Josaih to prevent its use in false worship.
(more here) (VIDEO of this Arad High Place of worship BELOW)
