“Then King Philip of Macedonia planned a great war to conquer the Persian Empire, with an army made up mostly of Grecians. He died before the plans were completed. But his son, Alexander the Great, took over his plans, and invaded Persia. He met the Persian army at the Battle of Issus, 333 B.C. (Daniel 8:2, 5-6). Then he swept down into Egypt, and then to a final crushing defeat of the Persian Empire at the Battle of Arbella, 331 B.C., after which Alexander marched on a conquest clear to India, sweeping all before him.” Daniel 11:4 continues the story: “And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.” Mr. Armstrong then wrote, “How marvelously—how accurately—that came to pass.” He quoted from A Manual of Ancient History, by George Rawlinson, an authoritative history: “Cut off unexpectedly in the vigor of early manhood [the 33rd year of his age, June 323 B.C.], he [Alexander] left no inheritor, either of his power or of his projects.” Mr. Armstrong continued: “The empire was left leaderless and in confusion, but out of this emerged, by the year 301 B.C., FOUR DIVISIONS, just as prophesied, by a division of the empire into four divisions by Alexander’s generals. They were: “1. Ptolemy (Soter), ruling Egypt, part of Syria, and Judaea. “2. Seleucus (Nicator), ruling Syria, Babylonia, and territory east to India. “3. Lysimachus, ruling Asia Minor. “4. Cassander, ruling Greece and Macedonia. “Thus,” Mr. Armstrong wrote, “was the prophecy of verse 4 fulfilled to the letter.” He continued: “Now notice what follows. From here the prophecy foretells the activities only of TWO of these four divisions, Egypt, [anciently] called ‘king of the south,’ because it is south of Jerusalem; and the Syrian kingdom, [anciently] the king of the north, just north of Judaea.” Today I believe that much of the king of the south’s land area will be south of Jerusalem, but not all. For example, Sudan is already in the radical Islamic camp. Algeria may be there very soon. But all of the king of the south’s land area is south of the end-time king of the north. Mr. Armstrong continued, “It is because the Holy Land passed back and forth between those two divisions, and because their different wars were principally over possession of Judea, that the prophecy is concerned with them.” Notice Daniel 11:5: “And the king of the south [Egypt, the ancient type of the end-time fulfillment] shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.” Mr. Armstrong said of these two kings that “their different wars were principally over possession of Judea,” called Israel today. And it appears they go to war again over the land of Judah—specifically Jerusalem. During the Crusades, Jerusalem was always the main prize. This city is of supreme religious importance to Jews, Christians and Muslims. The so-called Christian Crusades were really Catholic crusades. The Roman Catholics generally clashed with Muslim armies. It is important that we understand this history. It is about to be repeated—again. After prophecy, history is our next indication of what the future holds. Jerusalem was the capital of Israel. And in the end-time prophecies about Jerusalem, America and Britain are included. The British peoples (biblical Ephraim), America (biblical Manasseh) and Judah are all prophesied to fall at the same time (Hosea 5:5). (A thorough explanation of the modern identity of these biblical names can be found in our book The United States and Britain in Prophecy . Request your free copy.) Shortly after the king of the north conquers the king of the south, its ambition will grow beyond just conquering Jerusalem. (Request our free booklet Jerusalem in Prophecy .) Mr. Armstrong wrote, “In actual history, we learn that the original Ptolemy I, called Soter, became very strong and powerful, developing Egypt beyond the greatest dreams of Alexander. One of his princes, or generals, Seleucus Nicator, also became very strong and powerful. And, in 312 B.C., taking advantage of Ptolemy’s being tied up in a war, he established himself in Syria, and assumed the diadem as king.” Let’s drop down to verses 34 and 35 of Daniel 11. “Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, EVEN TO THE TIME OF THE END: because it is yet for a time appointed.” Mr. Armstrong wrote, “Here is described in general the whole course of God’s people, from the days of Christ to the present. Compare with such passages as Revelation12:6, 11,13‑17. And notice the vision carries on down to this presentTIME OF THE END.” Daniel 11:36: “And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.” Mr. Armstrong continued, “The king of the north—who is he, now in the early and middle NEW TESTAMENT times, to which our prophecy has come? In 65 B.C., Syria was swallowed up by the ROMAN EMPIRE, and became a Roman province. The Roman emperor now controlled Judaea, and therefore the king of the north, here referred to, is, at this time, the emperor of the ROMAN EMPIRE.” This is a critical piece of the puzzle. The Bible prophesies of 10 resurrections of this Roman Empire, the last seven of which are guided by the Roman Catholic Church (request our free booklet Who or What Is the Prophetic Beast? ). History shows that all but one of those resurrections has already happened. The last resurrection is nearly upon us. This fits perfectly with the prophecy that the king of the north would cause great tribulation. The “time of the end” discussed in Daniel 11:40 through chapter 12 involves the king of the north, which is the seventh resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire. The king of the north will inflict that tribulation on the nations of biblical Israel (primarily the U.S., Britain and the Jews of the Middle East). After all of the prophecy in Daniel 11 that has already been fulfilled, the prophecy skips forward to this present day, or the “time of the end.” Verse 40: “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south PUSH at him .…” This refers to a king of the south that is yet future. The king of the north is comprised of several nations, led by one nation, Germany. It makes sense that the king of the south would have a similar composition. All indications point to Iran as the nation that produces the king of the south. Since the early 1990s, we have believed and taught that Iran would lead the radical Islamist world and be the king of the south. Today Iran is “king” in the Middle East.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 12:10:30 +0000
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