...
And your "
Papal Rome" is foolishness on it's face. The fact is, you can't get through the identification of Darius, and the three more and fourth in
11:1-2, but you can "arrive" to
11:31? -- Balderdash.
Dan. 11:1 And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him. 2 “And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia; and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them; and when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.
Give me concrete HISTORICAL EVIDENCE of
Darius the Mede in the Medo/Persian Empire (not some supposition of "Gobryas"), and also identify the "
three more" and the "
fourth".
And I'm not holding my breath,
Bobby Jo
The context of Daniel 11:1-2, is in the context of Daniel 10:1, in the third year of Cyrus II the Great, and it was he who was then ruling during the time as the angel Gabriel was speaking to Daniel. Daniel's 10-12 is really one long chapter. Therefore:
[0] Cyrus II the great (the then ruling king of Persia, in the third yea, Daniel 10:1
[1] Ahasuerus (Cambyses II, son of Cyrus II) of Ezra 4:6
[2] 'false' Artaxerxes (false Smerdis) of Ezra 4:7
[3] Darius I Hystaspes the Persian of Ezra 4:4,24, and chapters 5-6
[4] Ahasuerus, aka: Xerxes I the Great, husband of Queen Esther [Hadassah, Esther 2:7], the son of Darius I Hystaspes the Persian, had massive wealth, inheriting from the wealth of Cyrus [II] in the conquering of Babylon & Lydia [King Croesus] [Isaiah 45:3; Daniel 7:5, 8:4], from inheriting from the wealth of Ahasuerus / Cambyses [II] in the conquering of Egypt [Daniel 7:5, 8:4], from the wealth obtained falsely by [False] Artaxerxes / False Smerdis [Ezra 4:13,14,16,22], and through the wealth of Darius I Hystaspes [Ezra 6:1], even having a feast for 180 days and 7 more! [Esther 1:3-5], and laid a tribute upon the “Isles” [Greeks, Javan] [Esther 10:1] 486 BC - 465 BC
More detail:
Darius The Mede[ian] [son of 'Ahasuerus'; Daniel 9:1, not the 'Ahasuerus' [aka Cambyses II] of Ezra 4:6, nor the 'Ahasuerus' [aka Xerxes I The Great] of Esther 1:1-2,9,10,15,16,17,19, 2:1,12,16,21, 3:1,7,8,12, 6:2, 7:5, 8:1,7,10,12, 9:2,20,30, 10:1,3] -
539 BC – 538/7 BC (about 2 years; AM 3689 – AM 3690/1); see Daniel 5:31, 6:1,6,9,25,28, 9:1, 11:1
Cyrus II, The Great, King of the Medes [and later Persians] [King of the East] [son of Cambyses I; nephew of Darius The Mede] -
600 BC [kinged backwards through tradition] or 576 BC–530 and in Babylon 537/6 BC (AM 3691/2); see 2 Chronicles 36:22,23; Ezra 1:1,2,7,8, 3:7, 4:3,5, 5:13,14,17, 6:3,14; Isaiah 44:28, 45:1; Daniel 1:21, 6:28, 10:1 and Daniel 11:2 [the currently reigning King of Babylon, after which were to follow 3 kings [Cambyses II, False Smerdis, Darius I of Hystaspes The Persian] and then a 4th Richer king [Xerxes I The Great, aka "Ahasuerus" of Esther]]
He Reigned ca.
559 BC – 530 BC [co-ruling Media/Persia until ca. 549 BC, then overruling the Medes, then later Babylonia]
Cambyses II [Cyrus II son] the “Ahasuerus” of Ezra 4:6 [not the Ahasuerus, the 'father' of Darius the Mede of Daniel 9:1, and neither the Ahasuerus of Esther [Xerxes I, The Great], “...which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, [over] an hundred and seven and twenty provinces...”] see also "Prophets and Kings", Page 572-572 [342-343]; see also Daniel 11:2 [the 1st of the 4 kings that had “yet” to Reign in Persia after Cyrus II The Great] and see also See also Ezra 4:5 “...all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.” for context and period of between...
He Reigned 530 BC – 522 BC [Babylon] (AM 3697 - AM 3705) reigned about 7 1/2 years (rounded to 8)
He Reigned 525 BC – 522 BC [Egypt]
False Smerdis [aka Pseudo Bardiya [or Gaumata the Usurper/sorceror] aka [false] “Artaxerxes” of Ezra 4:7-23 [4:7,8,23]] -
522 BC (AM 3705), about 6 months to 1 year or so, before being killed, found as an impostor - [Haggai [the LORD's Messenger] and Zechariah [the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the Prophet] the Prophets begin during the reign of this Usurper; Ezra 5:1, 6:14] Prophets and Kings Page 573 [343] [“...During the reign of Cambyses the work on the temple progressed slowly. And during the reign of the false Smerdis (called Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7) the Samaritans induced the unscrupulous impostor to issue a decree forbidding the Jews to rebuild their temple and city. ...” [Prophets and Kings, page 572-573]]; see also Daniel 11:2 [the 2nd of the 4 kings that had “yet” to Reign in Persia after Cyrus II The Great] and Ezra 4:7; “Artaxerxes” [reigned in between Cyrus II The Great and Darius I Hystaspes The Persian The Great, see Ezra 4:5 “...all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.” for the two 'bookend' kings] and see Ezra 4:7-24 [[false] Artaxerxes decree to cease building, which went against the Law of the Medes/Persians which changes not] and see Ezra 6:8-12 [Darius I Hystaspes The Persian The Great, after eliminating False Smerdis, has to re-issue the Decree of Cyrus II]
Darius I The Persian, [of] Hystaspes, The Great -
522 BC – 486 BC (AM 3705 - AM 3741) [Ezra 4:5,24, 5:5; Haggai 1:1; Zechariah 1:1; wife was Atossa [daughter of Cyrus II, The Great] [not to be confused with Darius The Mede of Daniel]] [Haggai [the LORD's Messenger] and Zechariah [the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the Prophet] the Prophets continue during the reign of this King; Haggai 1:1 [even unto the 2nd year; Haggai 1:15]; Zechariah 1:1 [even unto the 4th year; Zechariah 7:1]; etc]; see also Daniel 11:2 [the 3rd of the 4 kings that had “yet” to Reign in Persia after Cyrus II The Great]
Xerxes I, The Great -
486 BC - 465 BC (AM 3741 - AM 3762) [aka; Persian: Ḫšayāršā; Hebrew: 'Achashverowsh; Bible: “Ahasuerus” [“I will be silent and poor”, or “lion-king” [Gesenius's Lexicon]] [son of Darius I Hystaspes The Persian The Great; aka "Ahasuerus" [Husband] of Esther [Hadassah] of 127 Provinces; Esther 1:1] of Esther 1:1-2,9,10,15,16,17,19, 2:1,12,16,21, 3:1,7,8,12, 6:2, 7:5, 8:1,7,10,12, 9:2,20,30, 10:1,3 [not to be confused with the father of Darius the Mede in Daniel 9:1], but rather, “Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this [is] Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, [over] an hundred and seven and twenty provinces” Esther 1:1; Queen was Vashti, and then Queen was [Hadassah] Esther [whose uncle was Mordecai the Jew]; Xerxes was the son of Darius The Persian and Atossa] [Esther, the Book of happens during the reign of this King], [“...Xerxes,—the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther...” [Prophets and Kings, page 598.2]] [“...Darius Hystaspes, under whose reign the Jews had been shown marked favor, was succeeded by Xerxes the Great. ...” [Prophets and Kings, page 600.1]]; see also Daniel 11:2 [the 4th of the 4 kings that had “yet” to Reign in Persia after Cyrus II The Great]; [“...the fourth shall be far richer than [they] all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.”]
History has repeated itself as shown here -
Study Notes – Appendix 7 – Daniel 11.1-20 KJB, 3 Angels Messages, a work in progress (PDF)