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Thermopylae and the Invincible Kingdom
Thirty-six years after the restoration and rebuilding of the Temple (516 B.C.), one of the greatest military battles of all time took place – the Battle of Thermopylae (480 B.C.). In recent years, the conflict has come to be of interest since the production of movies like 300, but it has been infamous through the ages as the ultimate “last stand.”
The Battle involved a contest between a mixed Greek force and an indomitable Persian force. The Greeks totaled around 7,000 including a unit of 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas. The Persians, led by Xerxes, numbered between 100,000 and 150,000. The Greeks were destined to lose. However, Thermopylae was an exceedingly narrow passage that the Persians had to funnel through if they hoped of continuing their march on Athens. Consequently, the well-equipped and well-trained Greeks gained the upper hand because of the topography of the pass.
The allied Greeks held out seven days. After intense battle, a traitor named Ephialtes revealed a hidden goat path to the Persians and they routed the Greeks. Knowing the battle was lost Leonidas dismissed the majority of his troops and held out with a minute force until the last man. Some contend that this weeklong delay of the Persians and the last stand of Leonidas was just enough inspiration to align Greek forces that would ultimately defeat the Persians later at Salamis and Mycale.
The struggle between these two major world empires was prophetically foreseen and detailed in Daniel 8:1-27. The kingdoms of the Medo-Persians and the Greeks were formidable and ruled the world but they would destroy each other; after all, that is the nature of kingdoms of men. During the days of the next human kingdom (i.e. Rome), God promised to establish a kingdom that was high and exalted. It would not be of this realm and its nature would not be human. It would be as a stone uncut by human hands. It would stand forever and crush all manmade kingdoms (Dan. 2:44f). Despite its small corps of human fighters (cf. Matt. 7:13f), it would hold off the enemy forces just like the Greeks at Thermopylae. Unlike the Greeks though, the Divine Commander and the angelic host would assist this army. Furthermore, this force would not only delay the enemy, it would decimate the forces of wickedness (cf. Eph. 6:10-13). We are God’s people, we are a part of this kingdom, and we will see this battle won because this battle belongs to the LORD!
