Dictionary of Bible Themes – 5305 empires
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5305 empires

5305 empires

Spheres of influence of major powers in the ancient world. The most important empires to relate to the history of the people of God are those of Assyria, Babylon and Rome. Scripture stresses that the grandeur and power of such empires are temporary; only God remains.

Empires of biblical times

The Hittite empire Jos 1:4 Canaan was still known as “the land of the Hittites” for centuries after the Hittites withdrew to the north. See also Ge 23:10; Ge 49:29-30; Ge 50:13; 2Sa 11:3-24 Hittites continue to feature in the OT histories, despite the earlier withdrawal of the Hittites to Anatolia. The Hittite most commonly referred to in the OT is Uriah, husband of Bathsheba.

The Egyptian empire Ge 12:10; Ex 12:40-41; Dt 6:21; 2Ch 35:20; 2Ch 36:3

The Assyrian empire 2Ki 15:19-21; 2Ki 16:7-18; 2Ki 17:3-6,23-27; 2Ch 32:1-22; Isa 7:17-20; Isa 36:1-18; Hos 11:5; Hos 14:3

The Babylonian empire Ezr 5:12-17; Ne 7:6; Est 2:6; Ps 137:1; Isa 39:1-7; Jer 20:4-6; Jer 21:2-7; Jer 27:6-22; Jer 29:10

The Roman empire Ac 16:37; Ac 18:2; Ac 19:21; Ac 22:25 Roman citizenship brought considerable privileges to those who possessed it; Ac 23:11; Ac 25:25; Ac 28:16

The transience of human empires

Da 2:44 See also Isa 13:1-22; Isa 40:6-8; Jer 51:37-40; Da 2:31-45 The references to “Babylon the Great” in Revelation are probably meant to be understood as references to the Roman empire, at a time when Christians were being persecuted by the Roman authorities for their faith: Rev 14:8; Rev 18:1-8

See also

1105God, power of
4215Babylon
4263Rome
4945history
7216exile in Assyria

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