Seven Empires |
The King of the North |
DANIEL 8, DANIEL 10-12 |
Both Daniel
8 and Daniel 10-12 describe the founding and fracture of the Greek Empire.
These two passages describe the northern division's savage oppression of the
inhabitants of |
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Since we definitely have a time gap in Daniel 10-12, and possibly in Daniel 8, what regions should we watch for the fulfillment of the predicted events? Despite the widespread belief among Christians who identify the "willful king" in Daniel 11-12 as the final anti-Christ from a revived Roman Empire, both passages instead describe the Greek Empire not the Roman. The northern Seleucid division is spot-lighted in both, from which comes the King of the North, the heart of which is modern Arab Syria. The Greek Empire of Daniel 8 and 10-12 is related to an empire at the end of the age. That end-time empire must be Islam, not a proposed revived Roman Empire. There is nothing in the text which says the "willful king" is to be identified as anyone but the final King of the North from the regions of the old Greek Empire. And we might recall that very early in the life of the Islamic Empire that Hellenic learning was surging through its veins. Islam became a transmitter of Greek culture. The regions of both the King of the North and the King of the South of Daniel 10-12 are now Islamic, and the Little Horn of Daniel 8 corresponds to the King of the North. Moreover, the empire of the Little Horn—King of the North roughly conforms to the combined territory of the ten invaders of Psalm 83. Then recall that these ten have already been identified with the fourth terrible beast (power bloc) of Daniel 7. All are found in the Islamic Empire. |
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These images of a future tyrant of the North, and his empire of subordinate kings correspond with another symbolic beast in Revelation 13. This beast rules for forty-two months, which is three and a half years, the same as the three and a half "times" of the fourth terrible beast of Daniel 7:25 (and is also linked to Daniel 12:7,11,12). The ten horns of this beast of Revelation 13 are crowned, signifying sovereignty over the ten kings. The beast and the ten arise for a short period called "one hour," Revelation 17:11-13, which three and a half years would satisfy. The beast of Revelation 13 never ruled the seven empires of the Middle East so his seven heads are not crowned, but Revelation 13:2 explains that when he arises the dragon gives his authority to him, that is why his ten horns are crowned. The dragon, Satan, did rule over the seven empires so his heads are crowned, but he gave his authority over the final ten kings to the beast, so the dragon's horns are not crowned. The dragon and the beast rule jointly. Like the
story of the fourth terrible beast in Daniel 7, these visions portray an
inhuman tyrant within the Islamic Empire. He arises from the territory of the
old Seleucid kingdom, the heart of which is Revelation
13 says the dictator-beast will impose all encompassing economic and social
measures for absolute control of the region's population, to the point where
only members of his party will be able to buy or sell. Those who join his
party will be forced to take a special "mark" in their hand or
forehead (which, in this day of implanted electronic identification
micro-chips is well within reason). This special "mark" includes
the number 6-6-6, a number which has already been identified in certain
versions of the universal "bar-code" system. It should also be well
noted that in October of 1994 it was reported that Sadaam Hussein of |
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A glorious vision of resurrection for those beheaded for their faith in Yeshua the Messiah is presented in Revelation 20:4. Modern Arab-Muslim countries still practice this capital punishment for criminals, and in certain Islamic countries it is a capital crime to leave the Islamic faith for another faith. It just may be that this vision not only speaks of first century persecution, but also hints of a vast turning to Yeshua the Messiah in the Arab-Muslim world, with fanatical reaction against it. Multitudes will whole-heartedly accept the tyrant, yet Scripture also tells of faithful servants who truly know God, who will be strong in their faith and carry out godly exploits of defying his oppression, who understand what is happening and instruct others, that they might not fall under the tyrant's spell. Daniel was told to "seal" his book of prophetic revelation until the time of the end, Daniel 12:4, the time when "knowledge would increase." It is reasonable to believe that as knowledge of Israel's glorious future increases and a sizeable remnant of Israelis come to acknowledge Yeshua as Israel's soon-returning Messiah, so also large numbers of surrounding Arabs will be led to the same faith. Other passages of prophecy say the future tyrant will boast of his divinity and will not be able to bear "subversive" conduct from his subjects. Like so many past autocrats in this region, he will try to crush all minority groups showing any sign of disloyalty, venting his fury on all who will not recognize him as their savior. It is also foreseeable that such a maniacal leader might be fully cognizant of the prophecies against him and strive to punish followers of Yeshua in a way similar to the prophecies just out of spite. |
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The last
verses of Daniel 11 tell us the tyrant will lead a tremendous assault against
the Glorious Land, the land of Israel. The possibility of invasion is
currently under discussion in Apart from
nuclear considerations, some Israeli leaders feel the mighty Israel Air Force
is a major deterrent to threats of invasion since air strikes could
"check-mate" near-by capital cities if regional enemies dared to
invade. However, certain end-time prophecies tell of cataclysmic natural
phenomenon, including strange darkness and dense smoke. A local volcanic
eruption, similar to the Santorin eruption of 1425 BCE or Krakatau of 1883
CE, might fill the skies over Translations
of Daniel 11:44 usually say the King of the North will be
"frightened" by reports, but the Hebrew word translated frightened
also means hastened. The clearest example is found in an almost identical
invasion situation in 2 Chronicles 35:21. As Pharaoh Neco and his army passed
through |