This sermon delves into the detailed prophecies given to Daniel in chapters 7 and 8, outlining the rise and fall of world-dominating empires such as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. It highlights the significance of Alexander the Great and the future rise of a king with fierce countenance who will stand against the Prince of Princes. The sermon emphasizes the accuracy of God's prophetic word and the anticipation of the glorious kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Well, we're going through the Bible on Sunday nights, and this night we're in Daniel chapter 7 and chapter 8. And these are interesting prophecies that were given to Daniel, and so we read here in chapter 7, that in the first year of Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed, and then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, there were four winds of the heaven striving upon the great sea, or the nations that would come out of the Mediterranean area that would be world-dominating nations or empires. And so the four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. Now as we look at these four nations that Daniel will talk about here, going back to the second chapter of Daniel when he is interpreting the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, we see that they are the same nations that are involved, and he talks about their ruling over the world at that time, and so this is sort of a parallel. Only in the Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he sees them as a man. Here Daniel sees them as beasts out of the earth, and so out of the sea, diverse one from another. And the first was like a lion, it had eagle's wings, and I beheld it until the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on its feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. This is the world empire under Nebuchadnezzar, and again it just parallels Daniel chapter 2 verses 37 and 38. And so he said, I beheld another beast, a second like a bear, it raised itself up on its side, it had three ribs in its mouth, and between the teeth of it, and they said thus unto it, arise and devour much flesh. So this second world empire is the Medo-Persian empire that followed the Babylonian empire, and then the third world empire is the Grecian empire. After this I beheld another like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a fowl, and the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. And this I saw in the night visions, and behold the fourth beast, it was dreadful, it was awesome, and it was strong, exceedingly strong, it had great iron teeth, and it devoured in broken pieces, stamped the residue with the feet of it, and it was diverse from the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. And I considered the horns, and behold, he said, there came up among them another little horn, before whom three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots, and behold, in the horn there were eyes like the eyes of a man, and in a mouth speaking great things. So he is talking about these nations that were going to rise and become world-conquering nations, those nations that would rule over the world, starting with the Babylonian, passing it on to the Medo-Persian, and then on to the Grecian, and ultimately to the Roman Empire. So, I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, and the garment was white, and his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like pure wool, and his throne was like the fiery flame, and wheels as a burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him, and thousands and thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him, and the judgment was set, and the books were opened. Ten thousand times ten thousand, a hundred million, and we find that same number again given to us in the Book of Revelation as it tells us the number of those that would be around the throne of God there in heaven. So, I beheld, and then because of the voice of the great words which the horns spake, I beheld even until the beast was slain, and the body was destroyed, and given to the burning flame. And as concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, and yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. And I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, he came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him, and there was given unto him a dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed. So, he sees now the glorious kingdom of Jesus Christ in this night vision. One like the Son of Man, of course, who is Jesus, coming with the clouds of heaven, establishing another kingdom upon the earth, the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and there's so much in the Bible that tells us about the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ. And we are excited in the prospect of this glorious kingdom of righteousness, joy, and peace. Daniel said, I was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body. My visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of them that stood by. I asked him the truth of all of this, and he told me and made me to know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, that is the Roman Empire, that was diverse from all of the others, and it was exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were like iron, whose nails were like grass, and he devoured and broke into pieces and stamped the residue with his feet. And the ten horns that were in his head, and the others which came up, and before whom three fell, even of that horn that had eyes and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld in the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them. Until the Ancient of Days came, judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. And thus he said, the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be diverse from all of the kingdoms. It will devour the whole earth, shall tread it down and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. Another shall arise after them, and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, will wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change the times and the laws, and shall be given into his hand until a time and a times and a dividing of a time, or three and a half years. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all of the dominions shall serve and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. And as for me, Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance was changed in me. But I kept the matter in my heart. So, God is giving to Daniel sort of an advanced preview of the nations that would be ruling over the world and those that would be coming out of these nations. And of course, we do have here this one that comes up, diverse out of the ten horns, and he shall speak great words against the Most High, whereof the saints of the Most High think to change the times, the laws, and shall be given into his hand for three and a half years. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints. And the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, all of the dominions shall serve and obey him. That is the glorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He's going to ultimately rule. Hitherto is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was much troubled, and my countenance changed in me, but I kept the matter in my heart. As we get into chapter 8, he again sees basically the same vision, only he doesn't really, in this one, see the Babylonian Empire. He goes right on into the vision of the Medo-Persian Empire and those empires that would follow that, the Grecian Empire and the Roman Empire. So, in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, so this is a couple of years after the first vision of chapter 7, Daniel gets another vision, and this is, it appeared to him as at the first, I saw in a vision, it came to pass when I saw it, that I was in Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam, and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. And then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram that had two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. And I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, southward, and no beast that might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his will, and he became great. This is the Medo-Persian Empire that rises and begins to conquer the world at that time. And so the second horn came up last, but yet it was greater than the first horn. And so the Medo-Persian began with the Medes in control, but gradually the Persians became in control of that kingdom, and thus the second horn raised higher than the first. And so he's giving you sort of a preview of what was going to be happening. Of course, remember, when Daniel wrote these things, this was all prophecy. These things had not yet transpired, but he was just speaking prophetically from the Lord, and it is a very interesting prophecy that he gives to us. So, when I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth. This would be the Grecian Empire, Alexander the Great. And he touched not the ground, and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. That notable horn would be Alexander the Great. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran into him, and the fury of his power. And I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with color against him, and he smote the ram and broke the two horns, and there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But he cast him down to the ground and stomped on him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. So, the conquest by Alexander the Great of the Medo-Persian Empire. Therefore, the he-goat waxed very great, and he was strong. And the great horn was broken, and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. Alexander the Great died when he was about, well, 32 years old, just shy of his 33rd birthday. And he had actually been in a drunken stupor. He was an alcoholic, it would appear. And he was drinking until he just was out of it, and he was out in the rain and didn't bother to come in, and he contracted pneumonia and died as a result of pneumonia. So, Alexander the Great becomes a very important person in this whole story here, and so we would like to look a little bit at Alexander the Great. The great horn, Alexander the Great was broken when he was young, and the kingdom of the Grecian kingdom was divided among four of the Grecian generals. Syria was under General Seleucus, Egypt was under General Ptolemy, and Macedonia under General Cassander, and Asia Minor under General Lysimachus. And so these are the generals that took over at the death of Alexander the Great. The fourth beast, of course, is representing the Roman Empire, and this was a terrible, dreadful beast, and it had strong iron teeth, which, of course, correspond to the legs of iron of the image that Daniel saw. And the beast had ten horns, which paralleled the ten tolls of the image in chapter two. In contrast to Greece, the rise and the fall of the Roman Empire was slow. It began in 241 BC with the occupation of Sicily. Gradually it expanded throughout the whole Mediterranean world, and it included Western Europe, Britain, Gaul, Spain, Western Asia, and as far as the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. It formally ended in the year 410 when the Visigoths sacked Rome. However, its government influence persisted as late as the year 1453, when the last Roman ruler died in the battle at Constantinople. It will awaken in the form of ten nations during the Great Tribulation under the leadership of the Little Horn, which is known as the Antichrist. And, of course, here is a picture of the Antichrist, and it's this little horn that rises and conquers some of the other horns that are here in chapter eight. And these horns that are conquered, actually three rise to power and then one rises above them, Antiochus Epiphanes, and he is a type of the Antichrist. And so as you look at him and study his record, you get an idea of what the Antichrist is going to be, exalts himself, blasphemes against God, and he comes to the temple and he profanes the temple. He offers a pig as a sacrifice on the altar and profanes the temple and causes the daily sacrifices to cease. And so the influence and insight of the Little Horn is given to us here. The ten horns were ten kings who were reigning over the ten kingdoms, and this federation is yet future, and John may have also seen the same confederation of kings in Revelation. He said, I stood upon the sand of the sea, I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and the horns had ten crowns, and upon the heads the name of blasphemy, and the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, mouth like the mouth of a lion, and the dragon, Satan, gave him his power and his authority, and great authority, his throne and great authority. The three horns or kingdoms will be plucked up by their roots, they will be defeated, and, you know, in Psalm 6, 2, 6 to 9, the Lord said, Yet have I set my king upon the holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree the Lord has said to me, Thou art my son, this day I have begotten thee. Ask of me, I'll give you the heathen for thine inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, and thou shalt dash them in pieces like the potter's vessel. In Revelation 21 to 6, I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit, a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and he bound him a thousand years. He cast him into the bottomless pit, shut him up, and set a seal upon him that he should not deceive the nations anymore till the thousand years should be fulfilled, and after that he must be loosed for a little season. I saw the thrones and those that sat upon them. Judgment was given to them, and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark in their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, but the rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection. On such, the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. So, looking sort of at a picture of the future, the next major prophetic event that is going to happen is the rapture of the church. We who are alive and remain will be caught up together with the saints, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Not forever in heaven. We'll be with the Lord for seven years in heaven, and there we will be celebrating what is called the marriage supper of the Lamb. When this is over, during this time, of course here on the earth, there will be these tremendous convulsions of nature and wars and bloodshed as the nations will be battling. This is when the battle of Armageddon will be taking place, and Christ will come with his church to establish his kingdom over the earth, and that's what we've been praying for when we follow the advice of the Lord, who said, when you pray, say, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. So we're looking forward to this glorious day when we will come with Christ back to the earth, and he will live and reign over the earth for a thousand years. We will be living with him on this renewed earth, and actually we will be enjoying the world as God intended, and wanted the world to be when he first created it. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, let no man deceive you by any means. That day will not come unless there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that as God, he sits in the temple of God showing that he is God. So here on the earth, this man of sin, the Antichrist, will be revealed, and at the beginning, he will deceive the Jews. He will help them rebuild their temple. They will believe that he is their Savior, the Messiah, and they will begin to acclaim him and acknowledge him as the Messiah, but after three and a half years, he will come to that rebuilt temple. He will stand in it, and he will stop the daily sacrifices, and he will declare that he is God and demand to be worshiped as God, and that's when the Lord warns the Jews that happen to be there, get out of there as quick as you can because it's going to usher in the great tribulation period, the judgment of God upon the earth. This is the final blasphemy. So it's things that are coming to pass in the future, and Daniel is giving us insight into these things that will be coming to pass, and these personages that will be really a part of the future. So the goat, he said, waxed very great, and when he was strong, the great horn was broken, that is Alexander the Great, and it came up the four notable ones, the four generals who took over after Alexander the Great, and out of one of them came forth a little horn which waxed exceeding great toward the south, toward the east, toward the pleasant land, and it waxed great even to the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and the stars to the ground, and it stomped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of the transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it practiced and prospered. And then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint unto that certain saint which spoke, and said, How long shall the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation give both to the sanctuary and the host be trodden underfoot? And he said unto me, Two thousand three hundred days, and then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. It is interesting that the Antiochus Epiphanes when he did this blasphemous act sacrificing a pig on the altar in Jerusalem and causing them to stop the daily sacrifices from that day twenty three hundred days later the Jews under the Maccabees were so incensed against the blasphemy that Judas Maccabeus revolted against the Antiochus Epiphanes and he actually conquered Jerusalem and they reinstituted the true sacrifices in the temple and at that time it was twenty three hundred days from the year one hundred one sixty six B.C. twenty three hundred days they had he had purged the temple and reinstituted the sacrifices. So we have here the story of Alexander the Great this great horn that was broken and the four that came up out of it and so he said it came to pass when I even Daniel had seen the vision and I sought the meaning then behold there stood before me as the appearance of a man and I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Uli and he called and said Gabriel make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood and when he came I was afraid and I fell on my face but he said unto me understand oh son of man for at the time of the end shall be the vision. In other words this is yet future time of the end. And now as he was speaking with me I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground but he touched me and set me upright and he said behold I will make thee to know what is going to happen in the last end of the indignation for the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which you saw having the two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. So the Lord is identifying now these animals and the the ram is actually the Medo-Persian empire. The rough goat is the king of Grisha which would be Alexander the Great and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king Alexander the Great. Let's just take a look at Alexander the Great he's a very interesting person in history and what history tells us about this man. His parents wanted the best for their son so they hired the finest tutors that they might give him a good education and when Alexander was just 13 years old he started learning from Aristotle and from him he learned the ways of the Greeks he incorporated into his life from that point on he found interest in other countries philosophy, ethics politics, plants, animals, a wide range of other topics and Alexander also acquired a love for the works of Homer. Alexander read and he learned the Iliad taking Achilles as his role model once he had learned enough from Aristotle his parents thought it was time to move to a different teacher and so Leonidas who was most likely related to Olympias and possibly Alexander's uncle was his next tutor. Leonidas was harsh and he did not last that long because Alexander did not particularly care for him. His final tutor was Lysimachus and from him he learned many cultural aspects of the world around him he found an appreciation for fine arts such as drama, poetry, music Lysimachus also taught Alexander how to play the lyre and by this time Alexander's life was well rounded and he was a very intelligent teenager. Alexander rose to power rather quickly at an early age when he was just 16 years old he was already given some large responsibilities when his father King Philip left him in charge while he was way on an extended period of time one of their colonies revolted and Alexander quickly took hold of the situation marched the troops to the area and by the age of 16 he had founded the first colony and he named it Alexandropholos his rise to power the famous young man's ultimate rise to power came in June of 336 he was only 20 years old King Philip was killed at the theater and many speculated Alexander may have played a role in his father's death but most likely Alexander's mother Olympias had more to do with his father's death. Alexander became the king of Macedonia he took the title of Alexander the Great he soon showed his power when the large city of Thebes revolted in 335 he stormed the city with a mighty force using 30,000 as slaves or taking 30,000 as slaves Alexander could never really be a dominant force in the area as long as the Persian ruler Darius was still living and so after beating Persia the second and the final time in 332 Darius had managed to survive and fled to the mountains where he died when he was killed by one of his own noblemen Abessus. With Darius out of the way Alexander was crowned the king of Persia in November of the same year and became known as king of all of Asia Alexander had developed into quite an individual he was a very generous man he demonstrated extreme loyalty towards his friends and at the same time he was very cautious and smart Alexander also had excellent sense of humor and though he was simple and almost childlike it usually helped him win the favor of his troops he was very popular with his army which made him an effective commander and leader Alexander's physical accounts show that he had a strong athletic build but he was shorter than the average Macedonian he was fair skinned and he was clean shaven face, he had a ruddy tinge to it, his eyes were gray and he was said to be a very handsome man and while leading his army he would always wear something so that the enemy troops could recognize him from a long distance his brightly shining armor would glisten in the sun he wore two large white plumes in his hat to distinguish him from the other soldiers and while not in battle the Macedonian actually wore Persian clothing and at least during his late 20s and early 30s his silk Persian clothing consisted of a long robe, a cape and sash and a headband in the royal purple and white colors this Macedonian king loved drama, music, poetry and wine, Alexander also liked the various exercises such as hunting and ball games and running he was said to be an Olympic quality runner but he declined to run unless he was matched up against other kings because his pride was so great it would not allow him the possibility that someone might let him win and though he generally liked to play sports he disliked athletic competitions Alexander the Great respected women and treated them fairly Aristotle's early teachings may have had something to do with Alexander's attitude toward women when taking young women captive after raiding a city he would protect them from his troops and treat them as though they were his daughters often when addressing the older queens Alexander would refer to them as mother showing his respect to them as being a part of a close family one of Alexander's finest acts when he took his enemy Darius's mother and other family members when he had conquered Persia and thinking that Alexander was going to kill them Darius was much relieved to find that Alexander treated them royally with respect as guests of his kingdom living through all of these battles was another great feat Alexander always rode in the front line of his army and in the battle against the Malians when the arrow pierced Alexander's lung his troops thought that their leader was killed they were so enraged they ran through the city killing in a bloody mess many people Alexander made it through with a splintered rib and a torn lung this was not the only time Alexander was struck by an arrow while invading Samarkand an arrow split his leg bone making it impossible for him to ride back and so the cavalry got the honor of carrying Alexander back home but then the infantry became jealous of that privilege and so Alexander decided to let each unit take turns sharing the honor so Alexander also lived through various other serious as well as minor wounds and illnesses along his many journeys Alexander the Great founded many cities and colonies quite possibly the most famous is the one that bears his name Alexandria there in Egypt and when Alexander reached Egypt the Egyptians viewed him as their deliverer from the Persian rule crowned him as their pharaoh and Alexandria which is located on the mouth of the Nile River in Egypt was established as a center of commerce and learning with all of these new nations under Alexander's rule he needed to unite these nations together to keep things running smooth so he encouraged intermarriages, he set the example by marrying a second wife a satyria who was Persian he also drew soldiers from all of the different provinces to mix the cultures within his army a uniform currency system was also used in the region under Alexander's rule Alexander in a final attempt to unite his nation chose a common religion in which he received all of the worship to himself his loss and influence of respect eventually Alexander the Great started to lose some of his power a lot of his troops wanted to go home again but Alexander was greedy, he kept pushing them to conquer more and thus losing their support Alexander's dream of world conquest were the nightmares of others who died in battle, in one incident while drunk Alexander fought and killed his friend Cletus at this point he lost the trust from many of his unhappy troops not only were some of his soldiers unhappy with him but a lot of the Macedonians started to dislike him and this was caused by his adoption of Persian ways, though he was pulling together his vast empire the Macedonians felt that they were losing their leader and also by accepting his promised deification after his death he started to feel as though he was a god while he was still living he started self-worship to help unite his varied territories with a common religion but he took too far with the Prokonosis Prokonosis is the act of bowing before someone and Alexander had the people of his empire do so and after all this Alexander still retained much of his power but it would soon be taken from him in June the 10th 323 BC a little more than a month from his 33rd birthday Alexander the Great died actual cause of his death remains unknown but it seems likely that the 32 year old man actually died of natural causes even for his time in history. One more colorful account tells us how Alexander drank a cup of wine which was poison and started gasping and choking and died soon after but most likely he died from complications of the flu or was struck by malaria while in Babylon and at that time though during his downfall many soldiers still loved their leader and they all sat around outside of his tent as his condition deteriorated the day before he died his soldiers marched past his deathbed honoring their great leader. They embalmed him and placed his body in a gold sarcophagus which was taken to Memphis, Egypt later it was transported to his final destination in Alexandria but unfortunately the tomb was not left untouched in 89 BC Ptolemy the 9th needed money so he opened the tomb and melded down Alexander's sarcophagus to make gold coins people were so enraged that Ptolemy would do such a thing to a legend Alexander the Great that Ptolemy was killed soon after Philip's army now became Alexander's army it was in a class all by itself it had been Philip's greatest achievement but it was different from other armies in a number of ways at least eight and each difference was an improvement by itself the sum of all of the improvements made Alexander's army something very special it was a standing army this is what we call a professional army in today's world there were no harvest or crop plantings to disrupt the routines of the soldiers there was virtually no Macedonian navy to compete for funds, the army was preeminent and the prime expenditure of the state and they knew it the army was paid all of the soldiers were subject of the king and so it was a national army drawing from the many landed barons who were under allegiance to the king this provided a much larger manpower base than any Greek city state and the army was always in being and not scattered doing something else this created enthusiasm and a closeness that surpassed other armies by a considerable degree Alexander's parents wanted the best for their son so they hired some of the finest tutors that were around to give him good education when Alexander was just 13 he started learning from Aristotle and from him he learned the ways of the Greeks which he incorporated into his life from that point on. He found interest in other countries, philosophy ethics, politics, plants animals, a wide range of other topics Alexander also acquired a love for the works of Homer Alexander read and learned the Iliad taking Achilles as his role model and once he learned enough from Aristotle his parents thought it time to change his teacher which they did this famous young man ultimate rise to power came on June 336 when he was just 20 years old King Philip was killed at the theater and many speculate that Alexander may have had a role in his father's death but most likely his mother Olympias had more to do with it. With his father dead Alexander became the King of Macedonia took the title Alexander the Great and he soon showed his power in the large city of Thebes in which he stormed the city with a mighty force taking 30,000 slaves Alexander could never be a dominant force in this area as long as the Persian rule, Darius was still living and so after beating Persia the second and final time in 332 Darius managed to survive, fled to the mountains but he died there and was killed by one of his own noble ones. When Darius was out of the way Alexander was crowned King of Persia in November of the same year and became known as the King of all of Asia and so the training of his army was constant, the flanks which was a body of heavily armed infantry and the cavalry both honed their skills as only a standing army could. Their 15 foot spears made them lethal, moreover they trained together to coordinate their objectives the a sort of a light infantry as opposed to the heavy infantry of the flanks were troops with special tactics to exploit battle opportunities by their very rapid control movement and it appears that no other army of the time had units that could had the same capabilities. It had a cavalry and this was the main shock unit of the army but by no means the only one. Mounted on horses bred in the Macedon on the lower pastures the cavalry was best unit in the world the horses were not large by our present standards but neither were the riders of the day. There were no stirrups and still over 600 years in the future. The saddle was rudimentary but the horse and the rider loomed over the foot soldier a squadron of cavalrymen moved en masse at a fast pace and was an asset any general would prize above everything in his arsenal. The training of the cavalry created cohesive units immediately responding to the commands on the field of battle. They were disciplined troopers who would drive home a charge and reform ready for the next attack. In other Greek armies the flanks was the main shock unit. In Alexander's army it was the cavalry. Alexander had always been a commander who could move his troops with unheard of speed. For those times we need to only recall his march to Thebes and Athens by way of Thessaly. In the days immediately following Philip's murder he moved so rapidly that the city states were unprepared to really stand up to him and encamped before the walls of their cities should there be an ingredient which affirms his genius. It was startling rapidity with which he always acted. No situation caused him to pause. All difficulties were immediately stormed through. Risks were immense but to him success seemed foreordained. The battle tactics of the army of Alexander were generally aimed at the force of rapid decision. The attack for the Macedonian forces was generally made in an oblique battle formation with an advanced right flank and refused a left wing. A fierce charge of the heavy horse on a small portion of the enemy's forces was intended to break the morale of the enemy and create panic among the units which were not yet engaged in combat. Success depended to a large extent on sapping the morale of an opponent and the use of surprise was an important means to undermine the confidence of the enemy. Unexpected maneuvers were employed to surprise the opposing forces at the Granicus and Issus and the Hydapees and also important to gauge the enemy when his forces were fatigued by long marches or lack of sleep. There was a love for Alexander that kept the army loyal to his dream when all of theirs had been fulfilled or lost. Living his dream with him carried them through the Hindu Kush into India and the critical confrontation and the other side of Alexander's heroic leadership was his careful planning for the supply of his army. The Macedonians did not pillage the Persian Empire in a sense that it was stripped bare of all manner which was the manner of the conquerors at that time. Alexander came to stay and to rule the Persian Empire ruining the economy and enslaving the people would not give him an empire to continue to grow as he certainly intended it to do. At the same time, the careful supply of the army even in the deserts and mountains was managed by Alexander's staff. This care on the part of the commander was to the men in the ranks another reason why they loved Alexander to the extreme that we see during the campaigns. Having supply zones, the men did not have to carry as much weight enabling them to move swifter. Unnecessary comforts and hindrances were removed. Personal servants, women and even food were severely restricted. Living off the land undergoing forced marches with 30 pound backpacks and eschewing the use of carriages for the officers created an army that could go as far as the ends of the earth. The logistics and the Macedonian army were as much a marvel as the army that was so well served by them. Siege weapons were well known long before Alexander and Philip and Alexander were the first commanders to take advantage of the siege weapons on a scale that was smaller and more mobile as a part of the order of battle in the field. Not only in a siege the Macedonians used small versions of catapults firing both large arrows that could be aimed at a single man or stones that could have the potential of killing or wounding a number of men with a single shot. At times the catapults threw bags of stones which became a part of the process and allowed the stones to act like shrapnel and thus it is taken from Lieutenant Henry Shrapnel of the British army who invented the hollow shell containing lead bullets, the shrapnel in 1784 AD. Instances of hornet's nest and poisonous snakes are recorded which if not ingenious at least they are adventuresome and some of the catapults on the field of battle by Alexander was akin to what is called the assault artillery in the armies of the late 20th century. The leadership was in a class by itself the Macedonian army was the first scientifically organized military force in history. Alexander's father Philip displayed leadership that was so good that only Alexander could outperform him. In the 20 years or so that Philip molded and gave battle to the Macedonian army before his assassination it became his army in spite of the national flavor of the troops. Alexander grew up around the army always displayed unimpeachable bravery acting as a commander of a section of the army conquered his first city when he was just 16 years old. No other army in history has had better leadership than did the Macedon under Philip and Alexander. His conquests strain our frame of reference even today we can view events in real time as the far side of the earth. Alexander was a benefactor of having a colossal luck to be born a true son of Philip. These 8 reasons are the key factors of the speed of Alexander's army. Alexander the Great is brought into the picture here in chapter 8 and he is referred to as the Grecian king who was one of the world leaders in that period of time. Daniel is having these visions and he sees the kings that are conquering and again as we said he doesn't deal with the Babylonian kingdom but he does deal with the Medo-Persian and the Grecian and of course the Roman Empire. So it came to pass Daniel said when even I Daniel had seen the vision and I sought for the meaning behold there stood before me the appearance of a man I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Uli and he said Gabriel make this man to understand the vision. This is the first time Gabriel is mentioned in the Bible and he is one of the angels and a very important angel. So he came near where I was standing and when he came I was afraid and I fell upon my face but he said to me understand oh son of man for the time of the end shall be the vision. In other words what you're seeing is things that are going to happen at the time of the end. So really the vision are for these days in which we are living. Now as he was speaking with me I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground but he touched me and he set me upright and he said behold I will make thee to know what shall be in the last end of the indignation at the time appointed the end shall be. The indignation is a reference to the great tribulation period. God's indignation against man who has defied God and refuses to submit to him and the great tribulation is known as the indignation. So this is concerning the time of the great tribulation. The ram which you saw having the two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. So he now identifies the Medes and the Persians. The rough goat is the king of Grisha and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king or Alexander the Great. Now that being broken whereas there are four that stood up the four kingdoms shall stand up and the nation but not in his power. So as we mentioned at the death of Alexander the Great his four generals took over each one a fourth part of the kingdom and ruled over a fourth part of the kingdom of Alexander the Great. So in the latter time of their kingdom when the transgressors are come to a full a king of fierce countenance and understanding and dark sentences shall stand up. His power shall be mighty but not by his own power. He shall destroy wonderfully shall prosper and practice and destroy the mighty and the holy people and through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand and he shall magnify himself in his heart and by peace shall he destroy many. He will also stand up against the prince of princes that is Jesus but he will be broken without a hand and the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true wherefore shut thou up the vision for it shall be for many days. We're still waiting for this vision to be fulfilled it hasn't been yet but it is I told it shut it up it's far in the future and I Daniel fainted and I was sick for certain days afterward I rose up and did the king's business and I was astonished at the vision but none understood it so these interesting visions that God gave to Daniel in which he told him of the future of the world the kingdoms that would rule over the world and gave him the details of things that were going to transpire in the future and it's absolutely amazing to me how that people can read these things and then you know say well you know it doesn't prove anything one of the things that they often say is that Daniel wrote after the fact that they have invented what that there are two authors of Daniel one was Daniel who wrote at the time that it was happening and that a second fellow wrote the second part of Daniel but he wrote it after the fact and how did they know he wrote it after the fact because they say no one could get the facts so accurately unless they had written it after it happened rather than before it happened so denying the fact that God knows the end from the beginning they have invented the two Daniels and so forth and try to discount the fact that God did reveal the future to Daniel and that it is an amazing amazing prophecy that we have here in the book of Daniel so next week probably one of the most amazing of all of the prophecies of Daniel as we get into chapter 9 and so we encourage you don't miss next week as we look at chapter 9 and these amazing amazing predictions that Daniel gives in which he tells the very day that the Messiah would come and the very day that he prophesied Jesus did come made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem so some exciting things ahead as we continue through this interesting book of Daniel and as we see how God in advance was able to tell things that were going to be going to happen and as we look at it from our standpoint we look back on it and much of it is now history we see that it did happen just like the Lord said some is yet future and that will be happening it would appear very soon so we have some exciting days ahead as we watch God's word unfold before our very eyes Father we thank you that you have given to us the clear word of prophecy so that Lord when these things come to pass we know that you are God and that you dwell outside of our time continuum you know the end from the beginning and thus you have demonstrated that fact by telling us things that were going to happen down the line in the future and Lord what a joy to live in these days and to be able to see your prophecies coming to pass before our very eyes and so Lord as we are here tonight again looking at the scriptures and looking at your word and seeing how accurately Lord you have told of the future Lord help us that we might realize that you know these things that you said about the coming of our Savior about his kingdom that he is going to set up will indeed come to pass very soon and that we are living really Lord on the brink or the verge of glorious days of the coming kingdom of Christ that will come to reign over the earth and so Lord we pray that you'll help us that we might surrender and submit ourselves unto allowing you Lord to rule in our hearts and in our lives may we indeed Lord acknowledge you as king of our lives and that thine shall the glory be and lest we forget your thorn crown brow Lord lead us to Calvary bless your people go before us use us Lord as you see fit in these days and we thank you for it in Jesus name Amen