Hear the man of God and His introduction to the greatest conqueror the world has known. Daniel 11:3 “Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.”

Born in Pella, Macedonia

No greater description than the angel’s could be given of the third Macedonian ruler called Alexander, son of Philip II and Olympias, born in Pella, Macedonia, 356 BC. The Greek way, Hellenic civilization, had “conquered” Macedonia and the surrounding regions by the time Alexander arrived. It was for him to take this Greek message to the ends of the mazedonische Sprache earth, though he lived and died a Macedonian. Before him had come Homer, during the days of David and Solomon; the Hellenic states, towards the end of Israel’s kingdoms; and of course the Persian Wars, which stretched from 500 BC until reaching their finale with Alexander. Pericles and Socrates have already come and gone.

Of the great names we remember in Greek history, Aristotle still lives and in fact in 343 becomes Alexander’s tutor for four of his formative teen years. This was Dad’s doing, as was also the decision to break with these formalities and start Alexander’s military career. At 16, the son commands the father’s army in his absence.

Philip’s job since taking the throne in 359 is to keep Macedonia from its former turmoil, and embarrassing defeats by neighboring states. Once Macedonia is controlled, Philip turns his eyes to southern neighbors, suddenly very sensitive to his growing power. Slowly Philip hacks away at Greek independence. A major event is Chaeronea, 338, where the outnumbered Philip overwhelms the soldiers of both Athens and Thebes, leaving only Sparta as a major Grecian threat to the growing Macedonian control.

Plans are now able to be made for further conquest, and especially the living out of a dream dormant within all emerging western powers, the overthrow of the 200-year reign of Persia. Yes, perhaps even a reversal of the Xerxes march, with of course a much better ending for Greece than Xerxes’ dead-end.

The die is cast. In 336, Philip declares war on Persia, with the expressed purpose of retaliating for Persia’s invasion so long ago. 10,000 troops are sent to Asia Minor as a preview of what shall be. They quickly liberate the Persian-held Greek cities. Whether she likes it or not, Greece is on her way to world conquest.

Emperor, Darius

The last Persian Emperor, Darius III, takes the throne this year. But in a scenario reminiscent of the first Darius and his son Xerxes, Philip’s light is put out as he is about to embark on history. Some say it was an agent of Darius himself that set up the assassination. At any rate, the murderer trips and falls and is himself killed on the spot. It’s one of those things that we shall never comprehend, though everyone, including Alexander and his mother, is blamed for Philip’s demise. Months pass. Alexander is 20. He has the training of Aristotle, the skill of his conqueror father, and in a strange throwback to the last mighty march, he has the vision of Xerxes. But his march westward differs in several ways from that of Xerxes’ eastward push. First, Alexander stays the course, dying “on the field” before his return to the starting place. He had been on the trail 11 years! Second, he conquers territory almost all of the way. Even Greece has to be put in the win column before he sets out. Most of the East has to be taught harsh lessons about who is now in charge. Third, though the general pathway from East to West is the same as West to East, the incredible diversionary trails he takes to subdue all the peoples along the way make Xerxes’ walk to Greece seem a bit mild by comparison.

Antipater is left behind as regent of Macedonia. Olympias, not your typical loving mother type, tries to overpower him, and save her little boy Alexander’s place in the people’s heart. More of this later.

The march begins. And from beginning to end it is clear that God has foreseen him. He is a true study in self-determination. If he sees it, he wants it If he wants it, it’s his. Riches, land, glory. He does according to his will, in the words of Daniel’s text.

In 332, after settling local scores he sets out north and east, across the Hellespont. Down to Phoenicia where a 7-month siege of mighty Tyre finally tires that city to its end. In Egypt, on down the road, the people are so glad to be rid of Persian rule that they declare Ale xander to be the son of their god Ammon. They even dedicate a temple to, and name a city after, the conqueror. You may have heard of Alexandria.

Palestine is on this part of the tour of the Middle East. Josephus relates the story of the Jewish High Priest who along with many other Jews, is happy to greet the King. Alexander, so the story goes, has even seen this man in a dream, and receives him politely. The relationship grows when the excited priests bring out a copy of the book of Daniel (hence giving a farewell again to the notion that this book was written during the days of Epiphanes some 175 years later!) and show Alexander the portions that declare that a Greek shall destroy the Empire of the Persians! Josephus suggests that such passages as Daniel 7:6, 8:3-8,20,21,22, not to mention 11:3, the verse under consideration, are used.

Alexander allows the Jews to keep their own laws. He receives them so well, that the Samaritans, says Josephus, are on record as praising the Jews in an unprecedented way, so that they might receive similar favor from Alexander!

The city and Persian province of Babylon fall next, in 331. Then comes Arbela. It is at this decisive battle that historians draw a line under Persia and say, Finished. Persia is now Alexander’s. Macedonia’s. Greece’s. The invaders burn great portions of Persepolis, perhaps in exchange for the damage done to culture-packed Athens by the Persian counterparts. Now it is north into Media, where the capital, Ectabana, is occupied, 330. Darius, for some time now on the run, fleeing Alexander’s army, is weakened to the point of actually being captured and stabbed by his own cousin and the accompanying nobility of Persia. It is really over now.

0