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 Israel. Both texts also declare the ultimate triumph of faithful saints by the power of God. These reasons permit us to consider both passages at the same time. Jewish and Christian commentators admit that Daniel 10-12 contains a vast time gap from the days of the Greek Empire until the day of a cataclysmic battle followed by a resurrection of the dead. The passage speaks of consecutive events until a particular point, then the narration jumps far ahead to what is still future, though it continues to speak of the King of the North. The other passage, Daniel 8, is often believed to describe the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes over Israel from 167 to 164 BCE. But reference is made to the "time of the end," 8:17, and to the "latter time of the indignation, for it belongs to the appointed time of the end," 8:19. These phrases have led some scholars to believe there is a double picture in this section, both the days of the ancient Greek Empire and the final empire just before the Kingdom of God.

The Land of the King of the North

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.

Corresponding Images from Revelation 13

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 Syria (though areas of Turkey and Iraq cannot be ruled out). Israeli reserve general Aryeh Shalev, under the auspices of Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, describes Israel's tenuous relationship with Syria and its current president, Hafez Assad, in his book, Israel, and Syria: Peace and Security on the Golan. Shalev's description of Assad certainly aligns well with the prophetic picture of the future King of the North. President Assad of Syria today aspires to be the leader of the Arab world and continually announces that the "comprehensive peace of the brave" between Israel and Arab neighbors will only be realized through the leadership of Syria.

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 Iraq ordered facial mutilation of army deserters, including the cutting off of ears and scar-marking of foreheads. In the near future the Middle East will see yet another tyrant like Assad or Hussein.

Persecution to Death for Faith in Messiah

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.

The Invasion of Daniel 11

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 Israel in relation to the return of the Golan Heights to Syria in the course of the current "peace process." Admittedly, there is a widespread belief among the nations of the world that Israel possesses nuclear weapons, despite declarations by Israel of not being the first country to introduce nuclear weapons into the region. At the time of this writing Israel continues to refuse to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty which requires U.N. supervision of nuclear programs, yet recent persistent calls for Israel to sign the treaty could be a harbinger of the near future, if indeed a "comprehensive peace of the brave" is realized. Israel’s recent prime minister, Shimon Peres, was quoted as saying, "Give me peace, we will give up the nuclear option. That’s the whole story." The elimination of Israel's nuclear option would remove a major obstacle for invasion by neighboring Arab countries.

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 Israel with abrasive ash clouds which would ground the air force. Volcanic ash clouds could also play havoc with modern radar systems, such as those being tested for anti-missile defense systems. At the same time the many thousands of Arab battle tanks in the region could be fitted with special air filters relatively easily and ballistic missiles would be virtually unaffected by such atmospheric conditions. Geological Factors

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 Judah, in 608 BCE, he warned King Josiah to leave him alone, saying, "God has given command to hasten me." Pharaoh advanced north with haste, not with fear. The Egyptians did defeat Judah and kill Josiah, but they were defeated in the battle of Carchemish. In a similar way the final King of the North in Daniel 11-12 hears reports which hastens him to annihilate many, no doubt because of his confidence in coming reinforcements. Revelation 16:13-14 says this final dictator makes broad appeals for allies, the kings of the Middle Eastern world, and will succeed initially in his invasion of Israel. He will kill two powerful prophets in Jerusalem, Revelation 11:7-8, and will sit in the rebuilt Jewish Holy Place and blaspheme, claiming that he is God, 2 Thessalonians 2:4. But he will meet his end by the direct judgment of the true and living God. According to Daniel 12 those faithful servants of God, which would include all those killed for their faith in Yeshua, will be resurrected during this time of terrible tribulation. Others who were not disciples of Yeshua will be chosen by God to survive this final cataclysmic battle.
 

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