Prophecies of Daniel 11, Part 18

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

We are moving along, folks! In our last part, we began looking at Daniel 11:40, but we have more to say on that particular verse. Here is the verse again.

“At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood,” Daniel 11:40

We noted that in this verse, even though Antichrist has gained the supreme position as ruler over all the world, and initially, the seven remaining kings of the earth submit to him, it seems that the kings of the South and the North both have better ideas. First, the king of the South attacks Antichrist’s troops and the king of the North follows suit. It almost appears to be a simultaneous attack.

Let me make a comment about the colloquial terms “chariots” and “cavalry” here. Had the angelic messenger used (our) modern terminology to describe the implements of war, Daniel would likely not have understood. He would have had absolutely no context, so the angelic messenger uses terms that Daniel would have been familiar with to explain that there would be an engagement of war between the kings of the South and the North and Antichrist.

People seem to love pointing these things out in their never-ending quest to dismantle approaching the Scriptures with a literal meaning in view. The key word is “meaning” here. If we read Daniel 11:40 for meaning, what it tells us is that the king of the South (area of Egypt) and the king of the North (area of Syria) will come against Antichrist and his troops for war. Clearly, since the war the messenger is speaking of to Daniel wasn’t going to happen until the end of the age (this age), then modern weaponry and implements would be the focus of that. No one uses a chariot today except possibly in battle re-enactments. Today’s wars include drones, battle ships, tanks, and other heavy armored vehicles, along with weaponry.

The meaning of the verse clearly references an upcoming war between these three individuals and their armies. So that Daniel could understand that in his day, the angelic messenger used terminology that was appropriate then.

If we look carefully at the book of Revelation, there is really a different thing happening. In most cases, the apostle John was actually privy to future events because he saw them as they occurred. Because of that and having little to no context to place those events in, a great deal of the language in Revelation seems allegorical, but isn’t. It is due to the limitation of John’s understanding. At the same time, God inspired John to write what he wrote using descriptions that made sense to him.

Daniel 11:40 highlights war and since that war is still in the future, it will use weaponry and implements from that coming period of time, based on the technology that is available then. It’s really that simple. Because I understand the text in that way, it does not mean I’m not taking the text literally. It means I’m not taking the text in a literalistic way, which is completely different. The true meaning of the text is not lost and supports the notion that there will be war. All right, let’s move along.

By the way, it’s important to realize that this war or conflict comes at a time toward the very end of the final “week” (Daniel 9:27), or seven-year period. Just as Antichrist is preparing to fight off the physical return of Jesus, he then has to turn his attention to the kings of the South and North. It will be at this point – as noted in the text – that this individual will then turn his attention to other countries and essentially do what Adolf Hitler did, by running through and conquering one country after another. Clearly, his anger is aroused and will allow nothing to stand in his way of achieving his goals.

Most students of the prophetic Bible discourse have opinions on how all of this comes together. Some include aspects of the Northern Invasion of Ezekiel 38-39 here in this conflict as well.

“Ezekiel described a great military force descending on Israel from the far north in the future (Ezek. 38—39; 38:15). Ezekiel did not mention a power from the South. Part of the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy is probably the same invasion Daniel recorded here. I believe part of what Ezekiel prophesied to take place in his description of the battle of Gog and Magog will find fulfillment at the end of the Tribulation and part of it at the end of the Millennium. This aspect of the fulfillment will probably occur in the second half of the Tribulation, when Israel is suffering intense persecution.” [1]

For myself, I see the Northern Invasion occurring prior to the entire coming Tribulation, but I could certainly be wrong about that. As Constable notes in the above quote, Ezekiel never mentions an invader from the South (Egypt) in his description, but focuses solely on Gog of Magog, from the North. It is difficult to know, but one of the reasons I favor this invasion occurring prior to the Tribulation itself is due to the following:

1. the tremendous earthquake that occurs in Ezekiel 38:19
2. the understanding that God will wipe out Israel’s enemies without Israel even fighting for themselves

An earthquake of the magnitude described in the text makes me believe that nothing would be left standing on the Temple Mount as a result. If that is the case, with the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosques both leveled, then the path is clear for the Jews to build a new Jewish temple that will stand during the coming Tribulation.

The second point is reflective of the fact that the entire world will witness the destruction of all those forces bent on attacking Israel under the leadership of “Gog.” Israel will come out of it completely unscathed, yet the armies that will have amassed to see Israel’s destruction will be completely destroyed by God Himself through a variety of ways.

I firmly believe that, whenever this event occurs with those results, the entire world population will take notice of the fact that “something” or “someone” stepped in and went to bat for Israel. Would this be enough to welcome a truly “peaceful” solution to the problems in the Middle East? Would it allow a man such as Antichrist to come to the fore and broker peace with Israel and the surrounding Arab nations? It could easily do that.

Yes, my reasoning is the result of a bit of speculation and though I believe my scenario is a distinct possibility, I certainly am not saying that even I’m dogmatic about it, but that it is merely a strong possibility. Only God knows the exact order of the events leading up to and taking the world through the coming Tribulation and Millennial periods.

Let’s start unpacking Daniel 11:41-43, but we’ll get to more of it next time and then Daniel 11:44 will wrap this entire series up!

“41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. 42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites in submission.”

Verse 41 tells us that this king – the Antichrist – will invade the “Beautiful Land,” which is another term for Israel (see also Daniel 8:9). Antichrist has ultimately wanted to control Israel and the Temple Mount specifically. Notice that the text tells us that “Many countries will fall…” just like countries fell during the time of Hitler. In fact, every time there has been a change of “ownership” from one empire to another, those lands “fell” from the previous ruler’s control into the hands of the new rulers. This coming series of conflicts toward the end of the Tribulation will be nothing new. It’s the way the “game of thrones” has always worked in history.

Interesting that we learn that Edom, Moab, and Ammon will not fall to Antichrist. It could be due to the fact that these countries will be largely Arab and support Antichrist.  As Constable notes, “These nations were to the east and south of Israel. Today Jordan occupies this region.”

Egypt – the king of the South – will not escape being conquered by Antichrist. Yes, Egypt is largely Arab too, but let’s not forget that the coming “dictator” of Egypt alive during the time of the Antichrist will attack him (as noted in Daniel 11:40) so his demise is established based on that alone. Not only will he conquer the king of the South, but as the text notes, Antichrist will gain control of all the riches and treasures of Egypt as well.

It’s interesting to note that Libya is still called Libya today, (though it was also known as Put in Scripture), but Cush is called something different. It lies south of Egypt and is known as Ethiopia. Both of these areas will end up submitting to Antichrist. See the map.

We are going to focus on Daniel 11:44-45 as we complete this series with our next installment. Join me!

[1] Dr. Thomas Constable’s Notes on Daniel, p. 143

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective