Many have speculated as to the causes of Alexander’s death. Was it malaria, poisoning or perhaps just physical and emotional exhaustion? Whatever the case may be, the histories agree that Alexander began to suffer a fever which he couldn’t shake, after which he died towards evening on the tenth of June, 323 B.C.
“Most of this account follows the version that is given in the journals almost word for word. Nobody had any suspicion at the time that Alexander had been poisoned, but it is said that five years afterwards some information was given, on the strength of which Olympias put many men to death.”
Plutarch
As ancient evidence stands, it seems probable that the immediate cause of Alexander’s death was as a result of a bout with malaria which claimed his life after so many years of hardship and physical exhaustion.
Michael Wood declares:
“There are other possibilities: pleurisy, inflamed by the wound he received at Multan; typhus, helped by alcohol abuse; excessive grief even. All or any could have fatally undermined his immune system. But, as always, we interpret evidence to suit the concerns of our own time.”[1]
According to the prophetic Scriptures, Alexander’s death was inevitable; for after God had removed the supernatural anointing, which alone animated Alexander’s accomplishments, there was no alternative but for the king to die as he had lived, shrouded in mystery.
The following points seem significant:
The immediate cause of Alexander’s death came, no doubt, as a result of a bout with malaria which he could not resist in a now exhausted condition.
Alexander’s death was preceded by his own inner realization that the favor of God, which he had known since his youth had now sadly lifted from his life.
As Incarnations of Christ’s redemptive love, we are to be salt and light in the very midst of the world. We are always to be at the very center of things.
Darrell L. Guder declares:
“This Good news is rooted in God’s self-disclosure as loving, saving, reconciling and redeeming. The incarnation of Jesus is the climax of that self-disclosure.” (The Contining Conversion of the Church p. 2)
Structures must always be subservient to that mission! We are to focus on the function not so much the structure of the Church. There is no final or perfect structure.
Kent S. Knutson reminds us that “we are an incarnational community”:
The institutional forms through which this community seeks to express itself may and do vary, but these forms are to a large degree irrelevant insofar as the essential nature of the community is concerned.”
pg 57
Gospel Church Mission
Kent S Knutson
Augsburg publishing house Minneapolis Minnesota 1976
Church Polity – Leading God’s Dream
New Testament believers are exhorted to obey their leaders. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation (Heb 13:7)
Their leaders were to watch over the flock (Acts 20:28). They were to be servants and not demi-gods. (1 Peter 5:2-3) But who were these people who ran the affairs of the Church?
Leadership in the Church
The New Testament uses three different terms for the same office. Episkopos, is translated “bishop” and “overseer, the term emphasizing administrative oversight. Presbuturos, is translated “elder”. It is a term denoting maturity and wisdom (1 Peter 5:5; Acts 2:17; Acts 4:8). It is the term most associated with the function of what we think of as the “pastor” (Acts 14:23; Acts 15:2; Acts 20:17). Poimen is translated “pastor” and “shepherd”. This term emphasizes spiritual leadership, and in its verb form, is used to show the feeding/teaching ministry of church leaders (John 21:16; Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 9:7).
All three terms are used interchangeably and of the same persons. The Ephesian “elders” were identified as “overseers” and told to “feed” (pastor) the flock (Acts 20:17, 28). The “elders” ordained by Titus are identifies as “bishops” (Titus 1:5,7). The “elders” are instructed to “feed the flock” and to “take the oversight” of their churches (1 Peter 5:112). The qualifications for the church’s spiritual leaders are clearly set forth in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. They demand a man with an exemplary personal life. He is to be “blameless,” “unaccused” “not ashamed”[5]. He is to be the “husband of one wife” (not a polygamist). He must rule his own house “well”. He is to be vigilant, of watchful sobriety, known for good behavior and must have a “good report of them which are without.”
The Christian leader is to be an example rather than an executive. In 1 Peter 5:3, Peter contrasts “control” with “impress”. The shepherd cannot be a “lord,” one who desires to subjugate others. Jesus specifically prohibited this type of leadership (Matt 20:25; Mark 10:42). The shepherd is to be an “example,” literally “a die cut, a stamp, a mold.” A leader who shepherds must lead with his life not control with his commands.
This concept is amplified by other qualifications for the bishop. He must be “patient,” “appropriate” and “mild” (2 Cor 10:1; Phil 4:5; James 3:17) and “gentle to all men”. He must be “affable” and “kind” (2 Tim 2:25; 1 Thes 2:7; 1 Tim 2:2). He is not to be quarrelsome (1 Tim 3:3), not of violent passion (Titus 1:7; Col 3:8; 1 Tim 2:8). He is not to war, to quarrel or dispute (2 Tim 2:25). He is to be “apt to teach”, which demands maturity in the Scriptures. He is not to be “greedy of money”, literally “shameful profit”[6].
Timothy was commanded to be an “example” to the church, (1 Tim 4:12) in word, behavior, love, attitude, faith and purity.
And as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground. (Dan. 8:15)
The prophet is said to have beheld the great he-goat coming “from the west over the face of the whole earth,” and also “touching not the ground,” reminiscent of the four wings in Daniel 7:6. These facts are significant for it was from far west of Persia that the swift Macedonian power originated.
The Notable Horn
The angel’s interpretation of Daniel’s vision offers further evidence which helps the reader identify a clear allusion to Alexander himself.
And the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. (Dan. 8:21)
This text describes the first king of the Grecian Empire, a king whose identity can historically match only one man: Alexander of Macedon.
The power succeeding the Persian Empire is identified in chapter 8:21 as ‘Grecia.’ This ‘Grecia’ must not be confused with the Greece of the classical period, insomuch as that period preceded the fall of Persia. The ‘Grecia’ of Daniel was the semi-Greek Macedonia Empire of Alexander the Great which inaugurated what is called the Hellenistic period. Not until Alexander’s day could reference be made to the ‘first king’ (Chapter 8 :21) of the Grecian Empire who was ‘a mighty king’ with ‘great dominion.’
Since Greece did not become a monarchy before Alexander’s time, but only after the defeat of the Persian Empire, the identification of Alexander as the “notable horn” or first king of Greece (Dan. 8:21) can then be considered an established fact.
Baldwin points out:
The specific identification of the two beasts provides the writers’ own understanding of the sequence of future events. He envisions one Medo-Persian Empire followed by a Greek Empire, inaugurated by one powerful king, the great horn, who in the event was Alexander the Great.
It is evident then scripturally, as well as historically, that the notable horn (or first king) upon the forehead of the he-goat, Grecia, represents Alexander the Great, the first king of the Greco-Macedonian Empire.
In Daniel Chapter 7, Daniel sees a vision of four beasts rising out of the sea of nations. The first beast is a lion with the wings of an eagle. The second is a ferocious bear with three ribs in its mouth,[1] its right side rising up higher than the other. The third beast is a leopard with four heads and four wings, and feet which never touch the ground due to its speed in conquest. The fourth non-descript beast seems the most terrible of all. It has ten horns and devours its prey in unparalleled strength while stamping the residue with its feet.
PICTURE of FOUR BEASTS
Let’s let Daniel tell us his own story:
2 … I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. (Daniel 7:1-7)
A terrifying picture indeed. The four beasts of Daniel Chapter seven correspond exactly to the four metals of Daniel’s image in Code Key #1. The head of gold in Daniel’s image matches perfectly with the first beast of Daniel Chapter 7. The gold head and the lion with eagle’s wings speak of Babylon, the first kingdom considered in Daniel’s prophecies. The silver chest and arms of Daniel’s image correspond to the two-fold division of the Medo-Persian Empire, pictured as a ferocious bear raised up with one side higher than the other. In Code Key #2 the third beast holds the greatest interest, for in the image of the leopard we discover detailed predictions of a kingdom which corresponds to the belly and thighs of brass in Daniel’s image. It is the kingdom of Greece.
Even a cursory glance at the contents of Daniel’s prophetic book reveals the supremacy of Jehovah over all Gentile world powers. The fact of God’s absolute sovereignty is stressed throughout the book in order to reveal to all peoples that history is HIStory.
I will now introduce you to Three Code Keys designed to make Daniel’s prophecies concerning Alexander clear and understandable. Three images from Daniel’s book will provide an outline of information identifying Alexander the Great as the subject of many of Daniel’s most important prophecies. When these three Code Key pictures are understood, an astonishing portrait of Alexander’s conquests emerges.
Code Key #1 – Daniel’s Image. The first key of the Alexander Code is found in a statue image made of four metals, which Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon saw in a prophetic dream. (Daniel 2:32,39)
Code Key #2 – The Four Beasts. The second key of the Alexander Code is found in a portrait of four beasts Daniel saw rising out of the sea of nations. Each of the four beasts corresponds to one of the four metals of Daniel’s image. (Daniel 7:6)
Code Key #3 – The He-Goat. The third and final key of the Alexander Code is found in the portrait of the He-Goat, a clear symbol of Alexander’s Grecian kingdom. (Daniel 8:1-6; 15-21)
When these three Code Keys are put together, they provide a prophetic overview of Alexander’s brief but significant reign.
“For I myself believe that there was at that time no race of mankind, no city, no single individual, to which the name of Alexander had not reached.”
Arrian
Alexander’s reign began in June 336 B.C., with the death of his father Philip II of Macedon. Over a period of twenty-three years, Alexander’s father single-handedly revolutionized the idea and art of warfare. He transformed his rugged homeland of Macedonia into one of the greatest kingdoms of his age. Twenty-five hundred years ago, Macedonia occupied the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula, (portions of modern Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria). Macedonia was a wealthy kingdom providing lumber for the ships of Greece, metals for Grecian weaponry and jewelry. Macedonia was also famous for its horses. Alexander’s mother, Olympias, was not a Macedonian by birth. She came from the strange kingdom of Epirus. Alexander’s parents did not get along, yet he inherited the best qualities of both parents.
Agnes Savill notes:
“From his father came his sober judgment, clear intellect, reliable, systematic and practical methods of work; from his mother was derived his passionate, warm-hearted, romantic, emotional nature.”
Alexander would never have been able to conquer the world apart from the almost miraculous advances his father secured through his wealth, leadership and military might.
Philip II was assassinated in June of 336 BC. Alexander was twenty years old.
“I will turn aside and see this great sight.” Exodus 3:3
Moses was a man of many passions. He was so sympathetic to the needs of his people that he spent his powers killing an Egyptian then burying him in the sand. (Exhausting work!) Yet this was not the kind of power God wanted Moses to represent.
R.H. Strachan used to say, “There is a spiritual power which blazes and burns, yet does not exhaust itself.” We along with Moses will have to “turn aside” if we wish to see “the great sight” that will transform our idea of power. The burning bush was ablaze yet unconsumed. Can this be said of the way we are burning?
Holy ground is both a privileged yet painful place. Moses’ feet must have hurt after he removed his sandals and exposed them to the heat and rocks.Just so our hearts become absolutely vulnerable after even one second in God’s true presence. For those who would carelessly step upon holy ground, there is a warning. You self-life may be irreparably harmed. Moses was in desperate need of a” personal revelation.” It was a revelation which could only be found by “turning aside” to see a great sight. What was this strange sight? A bush on fire yet unconsumed. Thousands of people could have spoken to Moses about God saying: “HE IS.”(Information) But Moses had to personally come to a place where God could intimately say to him: “I AM.”(Revelation) Moses had to meet God in an unusual place and in an unusual way to gain a true view of Kingdom power.
We all need a “secret history: with God. We are only as great as the last time we “turned aside” to meet him on blessed yet painful ground. Holy ground usually appears when and where we least expect it. Moses was living a life as a powerless defrocked former prince of Egypt. As a shepherd, He was just “doing the next right thing”. One day he caught site of something that drew him into a life of unsought and undeserved adventure! Keep your eyes open. Keep living your life. Watch for the unusual. And always be ready to “Turn aside” for God encounters! If God can transform a common desert sight into a life producing “Window” of true power, then he can certainly use you! The burning bush was ablaze yet unconsumed. Can this be said of the way we are burning?
“And she made him sleep upon her knees…and he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.” (Judges 16:19,20).
Samson, the great judge of Israel, slept a costly sleep. His story and example are clear for all to see.
Samson was a great leader, yet he fell into a lifestyle of ‘transgression’. To transgress means ‘to pass over a limit or boundary.’ Transgression is an ‘infringement’ or ‘violation of a law, duty or command.’
I would add to these definitions the words: ‘over time.’ It is only ‘over time’ that a seed flowers enough to reveal its true character. It is only ‘over time’ that the true harvests of our lives appear. It is only ‘after awhile,’ as one sleeps a ‘sleep of transgression,’ that Ecclesiastes 8:11 becomes a reality:
“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
Just as Jonah went down in his ‘sleep of escape,’ so Samson runs red light after red light, until he finally crashes into the inevitable wall of sins’ consequences!
When a leader hits bottom, he has usually been falling for a long time! God is gracious. He protects us even in inappropriate seasons of slumber. We sleep the sleep of ‘escape,’ He sends grace. We sleep the sleep of ‘presumption,’ and He shows mercy.
God gave Samson opportunity after opportunity to repent of his sin, but he would not! Stepping over the line one too many times, the great judge of Israel slept a sleep of transgression from which he would never fully wake.
Satan, after shearing Samson’s locks of influence and power, quickly led him off to the grinding mill of slavery, bound and blind!
Please don’t fall prey to the deep sleep of transgression. Repent now. Let God’s gracious work of restoration begin!
“Awake thou that sleepest and Christ shall give thee light.” (Eph. 5:14).
Sin, in any form, is an abomination to God. Sin stains the conscience, betrays sacred associations, ruins our moral influence in the world, and defiles all that is holy. John Bunyan rightly says, “Sin is the dare of God’s justice, the rape of His mercy, the jeer of His patience, the slight of His power, and the contempt of His love.”
Whenever a leader sins, he drops a stone into the moral waters surrounding him, whose ripples go on indefinitely! Place a tarred hand on a Rembrandt then try to restore it to its original condition! Paste two pieces of paper together, let them dry, then separate them without doing damage to either. Impossible! You’re right, it is impossible with men!
That’s why God is just about to move! Only the God of the ‘impossible’ can redeem ‘impossible pasts.’
As admittedly horrifying as sin is, what’s done is done and cannot be undone! Even God can’t change your past, but that does not mean He cannot redeem it! In the final analysis with regard to restoration to ministry, there is only one formula that stands the test of time. “When God says yes, nobody can say no.”
Jacob was a ‘passive aggressive,’ ‘controller’. Do you try to control people and things so that situations will work out the way you want them to?
Jacob wasted decades of ‘nervous energy’ worrying about the fulfillment of a promise that was already his! Are you exhausting yourself in stress and anxiety trying to ‘earn’ a blessing God has freely promised?
Jacob reaped consequences in his life due to his deceptiveness. Can you clearly see some of the negative consequences you have brought upon yourself through your own sin?
Jacob’s life was an intricate webbing of sin and grace. Yet, his life concluded with twelve sons who would become the twelve tribes, of which one, (Judah), would eventually carry on the lineage of the Messiah! It all worked out in the end! Do you have faith that God will work everything out for you?
As you prepare to pray again, open yourself completely to Him and believe for a complete restoration of your past! Let’s be totally honest about our wasted years, knowing that He will always bless us if we choose to walk in the light. God offers you the possibility of a bright future, no matter where you’ve been. Why not take Him up on it? From this Day Forward, Your Future Is More Important Than Your Past!