Prophecy Moves Forward
In 400 B.C., at the close of the Old Testament, the mighty Persian Empire which began under the reign of Cyrus the Great (559 to 530 B.C.) was still going strong. Persia, as was predicted through Daniel's famous prophecies, was the great empire to follow the Babylonians (Daniel 2:32, 39, 7:5, 8:3 - 4, 20).
As the middle of the 4th century B.C. arrived, a new ruler came to the throne of the kingdom of Macedonia. King Philip II of Macedon, who ruled from 359 to 336 B.C., was able to conquer and consolidate most of classical Greece. Around 338 B.C. He became the head of a Greek confederation of states allied to fight against the Persians. Although his assassination in 336 B.C. ended his preparations to invade Asia Minor, his young son Alexander would take up his cause and fulfill prophecy.
A Global Empire
Alexander, soon after assuming his father's throne in 336 B.C., began one of the most fascinating and successful military campaigns in history. His lightning-fast conquest of Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Egypt, Mesopotamia and even the mighty Persians was a fulfillment of prophecy. He became the empire Daniel predicted would come after Persia.
And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat (symbolizing Alexander the Great) came from the west, over the face of all the earth, and did not touch the ground. And the he-goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
And he came to the ram that had two horns (symbolizing the Persian Empire), which I had seen standing before the river, and ran at him in the fury of his power.
And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram and shattered his two horns . . . Then the he-goat became very great . . . (Daniel 8:5 - 8, HBFV).
Alexander's death in 323 B.C. was part of a transition to yet more Biblical prophecies being fulfilled! As was predicted (Daniel 11:4), his kingdom was not given to any of his descendants. His empire, instead, was carved up among his four generals Ptolemy, Antipater, Seleucus and Antigonus. They became the four pieces of his kingdom foretold in prophecy.
And the shaggy goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, then four stood up in its place; four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with its power (Daniel 8:21 - 22).
The Rise of Rome
It was also during the time between the Old and New Testaments that the Roman Republic's great expansion took place. In 275 B.C. the republic took control of the Italian peninsula. In 241 Sardinia and Corsica become the first Roman provinces after Carthage was defeated. Rome then continues to fight wars that give it control of the Iberian peninsula, Macedonia, parts of northern Africa and western Asia Minor. By 30 B.C. Egypt is conquered.
The Roman Republic ends and the Roman Empire begins when Augustus is granted extraordinary powers by the senate and becomes the first emperor in 27 B.C. The Roman Empire fulfills prophecy by becoming the fourth great empire predicted by Daniel (Daniel 2:33, 40 - 43, 7:7, 23 - 24).