Prophecies of Daniel 11, Part 6

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

It’s been a while since we last visited Daniel 11, so I’ve been wanting to get back to it. There are a total of 45 verses in this one chapter and including our last article – Prophecies of Daniel 11, Part 5 – we have only gotten up to verse 14. We need to get going so without further ado, let’s get back into the mindset provided by the angelic messenger who visits Daniel with information regarding the future.

Of course, we need to understand that from Daniel’s perspective, what we now understand as past history was future to him! There are a number of things listed in Daniel 11 that have not yet occurred even up to and including our day, but much of the events in that chapter have taken place.

If you have not read the first five parts of this series, you may wish to do that and the individual articles can be found at the following links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

Before I get into more verses of Daniel 11, I’d like to mention a teaching that a friend of mine recently sent me as a link to a video titled “Repairing the Breach” by Walter Veith. He did so because he was previously part of the Seventh Day Adventist sect and his parents still are part of it. Please be aware that if you choose to watch the video or anything from Seventh Day Adventism (available through YouTube, understand that I am not recommending anyone watch it because it is devoid of truth. This is something that Seventh Day groups often do with Scripture. They allegorize it often, removing truth far from it.

Regarding the above mentioned video, it is part of a 15 DVD set that details the prophecies of Daniel 11. Here is their blurb they use to describe the video.

“This new 15-DVD series includes an in-depth study on the king of the north found in Daniel 11, and discusses Biblical prophecies and their modern applications. Veith unveils the king of the north as the head of a global, religio-political system that encompasses all religions. Also revealed will be the true identity of the king of the south. Is it Islam, as many claim? Is Allah the same as our God, as many proclaim him to be? Learn the similarities between Catholicism and the Qur’an, and be informed about the unifying measures that many world religions are participating in that diminish the truth about Jesus. Most importantly, be confirmed in the truth God has given His remnant and prepare for the soon coming of Jesus Christ.”

Note that without going into any great detail, the blurb proclaims that Dr. Walter Veith, will identify the “true identity” of the king of the south. Dr. Veith is referring to the identify of the king of the south starting with verse 36 of Daniel 11 and following. Beginning there, we switch to the distant future, which is the last seven years of human-led history just prior to the physical return of Jesus. We need to avoid doing what Dr. Veith does. He simply fails to understand biblical text in its most plain and ordinary sense, preferring allegory instead.

As one example, during the video presentation, Dr. Veith refers to Psalm 89:12 which speaks of the “north” and the “south” and attempts to tie this in with Ezekiel 21:3-4 where it specifically speaks about Israel. Unfortunately for Dr. Veith, this particular reference to the “north”and “south” has nothing to do with the “king of the South” or “king of the North” as referenced in Daniel. The use of “south” and “north” here is personified by the psalmist’s reference to Tabor and Herman, which are juxtaposed with the former as being a very low spot spot on the earth at 1900 feet, compared to the latter, a rather high spot on God’s earth at 9000 feet. Directions need to be understood within their original context, like anything else.

But let’s pick things up where we left off last time. Below is the text from Daniel 11:15-16.

“15 Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. 16 But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.”

The king of the North, according to history at this time, turns out to be Antiochus III the Great (223-187 B.C., who attacked and defeated Sidon in 200 BC. The king of the South (Ptolemy V Epiphanes, at this time; 203-181 B.C.), in Scripture normally refers to Egypt because that nation is nearly due south of Israel (the “Beautiful Land”) and the king of the North normally refers to the area of Syria because that is the area essentially due north of Israel. This never really changes and if people would simply understand this, their interpretations of Scripture would be more biblical and therefore, correct.

It’s a fascinating trip that gets us from Antiochus I through the III. Ultimately though, God is going to get us to Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who is a type of Antichrist, or final “man of sin” whom Paul refers to in 2 Thessalonians 2. To me, it is fascinating how the Lord leads us right to the Antichrist’s door, but gets us there through concrete history. Remember, all of this involves Israel, which is why Daniel is learning about it from the angelic messenger.

Verses 15 and 16 above appear to be fairly specific. Do we have anything in history that provides that information and verifies God’s Word (not that it needs verification, but that’s always helpful and it is also the reason Daniel was given this information)? Yes, we do.

According to Dr. Thomas Constable, after Antiochus III defeated Sidon, “he forced the Egyptian General Scopas, whom he had recently defeated at Paneas (biblical Dan), near the headwaters of the Jordan River, to surrender.” [1] There was also a different king of the North at this time – Seleucus IV Philopator (187-175 B.C.) – so it would appear that Antiochus III is without a country, but appears to be fighting for Palestine.

Even though others tried to free Gen. Scopas from Sidon, the attempts were failures. Antiochus III continued using Sidon to his own ends and gained more control over Palestine with little to no opposition from Egypt (the king of the South). Interestingly enough, Scopas essentially surrendered to Antiochus III, which placed control of the Holy Land itself into the hands of the Syrians (king of the North).

“When Antiochus III entered Jerusalem, the populace welcomed him as a deliverer and benefactor.” [2]

We will cover the 17th through 20th verses of Daniel 11 in our next article because takes us right up to Antiochus Epiphanes IV, the very man referred to by Jesus in His Olivet Discourse. Please join me then!

[1] Constable’s Notes on Daniel, p. 133

[2] Ibid, p. 134

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective