01.19. CHAPTER 19 - Two Hundred Years of Fulfilled Prophecy
CHAPTER 19
Two Hundred Years of Fulfilled Prophecy LESSON TEXT - - Daniel 11:25-35
What the Revealing Angel Made Known to Daniel Concerning the Four Divisions of Alexander’s Divided Empire -- The Struggle Between the Kings of the North and the Kings of the South Lasted for About Two Hundred years As Prophetically Foretold in the First Part of This Chapter -- A Prophetic Announcement of the Wicked Deeds of Antiochus Epiphanes Commonly Called the Antichrist of the Old Testament -- The Later Portion of the Chapter is Pure Prophecy and Relates to the Future -- Verses thirty-six to forty-five Refer Prophetically to the Deeds of the Coming Antichrist -- Only by Accepting the Last Portion of the Chapter As Prophetic Can It Be Intelligently Understood -- The Four Groups of Nations in the End Time of the Present Dispensation -- The Roman Empire to Be revived to a Place of World Dominion -- Palestine Holds a Very Important Place in Prophecy.
Our last lesson in the Book of Daniel, was based on Daniel 11:1-20.
WAR BETWEEN THE TWO DIVISIONS OF ALEXANDER’S EMPIRE
In this portion of Daniel 11:25-35, the revealing angel made known unto Daniel a long series of events, showing what would happen to the four kingdoms of Alexander’s divided empire. Only two divisions of Alexander’s divided empire became prominent in history. These were Syria and Egypt. The successive kings of these kingdoms became known respectively as the King of the South and the King of the North, thus, designating their geographical position to the North and South of Palestine, which is geographically the center of the earth.
FULFILLED PROPHECY IS A DIVINE WARNING
Daniel 11:1-20 are now a matter of prophetic history because all the events set forth in this passage have already come to pass. These events covered a period of about 200 years, and show how the Kings of the South (namely the Kings of Egypt and the kings of the North,) who were the kings of Syria, fought against each other. This portion of history has found a place in the divine record merely to show how these wars affected the Jewish people and the Holy land. The thing which impressed us in our study of this historical portion of the 11th chapter was the unerring accuracy with which these things were fulfilled. The argument of the passage, therefore, is that, if GOD was able to foresee and foretell and bring to pass the events foretold in other prophecies recorded in the Word of GOD, which belong to the present or the future. Remember, my friends, there is no stronger argument for the divine inspiration of the Scriptures than fulfilled prophecy.
A FURTHER PROPHECY
Now, with these thoughts in mind, we are ready to advance in our study by reading and considering what is written in Daniel 11:21-35, where it says, "And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. And both of these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 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" TO WHOM THE PASSAGE REFERRED
In this rather lengthy but interesting passage of Scripture our attention is called to the person and work of Antiochus Epiphanes, who is sometimes spoken of as the Antichrist of the Old Testament. Therefore, what we have in reality here is a description and fulfillment of those things attributed to the little horn of Daniel the 8th chapter, which we have already studied.
To confirm this, all we need to do is to read Daniel 8:9-12, where it says, "And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of Heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it was cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised and prospered."
CONFIRMED BY HISTORY
By comparing these two passages, it is not difficult to see that all of these things recorded in Daniel 11:21-35 were brought about by Antiochus Epiphanes. He did come in and obtain the Kingdom by flatteries. After the league made him, he did work deceitfully and became strong with a small people. He did enter in peaceably upon the fattest places of the province. He did take away the daily sacrifice of the Jews in Jerusalem and he polluted their sanctuary, and for a time he prospered in his wickedness. No one doubts, therefore, that Antiochus Epiphanes was the one referred to prophetically, in Daniel 11:20-35.
Since these things are a matter of prophetic history, we shall pass over this portion of the chapter with only these brief comments concerning these things which have already come to pass. Suffice it to say, however, that Antiochus Epiphanes who rose to power and persecuted the Jewish people in their land was a true type of the coming Antichrist, who will treat them in a similar way when he comes into power!
THE LATTER PORTION OF THE CHAPTER IS STILL PROPHETIC
We are now ready to study the latter portion of the chapter from verses 36-54, which introduce to us the coming Antichrist of the End-time, who was typified by Antiochus Epiphanes.
A WILLFUL KING TO ARISE
Please give careful attention to our reading of this portion of the chapter. In Daniel 11:36-45, it says, "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. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."
THE COMING ANTICHRIST
We know that these words are prophetic and apply to the coming Antichrist of the End-time because there is no way of applying them to Antiochus Epiphanes or to any other character in history. And effort to do this will fail because they simply do not fit, if we try to apply them to any person or set of circumstances in the past. TO BE UNDERSTOOD THE CHAPTER MUST BE DIVIDED
We assume, therefore, that so far as the interpretation of this chapter is concerned, there is a great interval of time between Daniel 11:35 and Daniel 11:36, which must be taken into account, if we hope to make an intelligent interpretation of the passage. In other words, the history of Antiochus Epiphanes ends with Daniel 11:35 and the prophetic description of the coming Antichrist and the account of his exploits begins with Daniel 11:36. This latter part of the chapter therefore is purely prophetic and the events recorded here are yet future.
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO CONSIDER
Before taking up a discussion of the Antichrist and his military exploits as outlined in this passage, I wish to make a general survey of some of the important things suggested to us in this portion of the chapter.
THE COMING ANTICHRIST -- HIS CHARACTER
First of all the Antichrist is referred to here as the king which shall rule according to his will. In other words, he will be a willful king who shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the GOD of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.
THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE OPPOSED
Mention is also made in Daniel 11:40, of the king of the south and the king of the north, who shall come against the wilful king in the end-time of the present dispensation.
THE FOUR GREAT POWERS OF THE END TIME
This passage therefore is very suggestive as related to the four great powers of the End-time, and of the final conflict in which they will engage.
It is quite generally accepted by students of Bible prophecy that in the end-time there will be a great Mediterranean power of importance, which will, of course, be headed up by the revived Roman Empire.
The expression "the king of the north" implies a great northern confederacy of nations which will no doubt be headed up by Russia. The expression, "the king of the south" indicates a confederacy of nations to the south of Palestine.
The Bible also speaks of a fourth political and military group of nations spoken of in Revelation 16:12 as "the kings of the east."
Now let us consider each of these briefly and see for ourselves just how the world stage is being set for the fulfillment of those things suggested to us in our lesson text. If the alignment of world powers is taking place, as set forth in the Scriptures, then we have a right to look forward to a speedy fulfillment of these things.
WHAT ABOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE?
Please remember that Daniel was given to see the march of empire throughout the time of the Gentiles. One of the first things we learned in our study of the Book of Daniel was, the revival of the Roman Empire as prophetically foretold, by the image of the man which Nebuchadnezzar saw and which was interpreted by Daniel.
This is confirmed in Daniel 2:40-42 where it says, "And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken."
Not only does the Book of Daniel teach the revival of the Roman Empire, but it teaches also that a great ruler will arise to be head of the Roman Empire in its revived form. In Daniel 7:1-28, he is spoken of as the "little horn." In Daniel 8:23 he is referred to as a "king of fierce countenance," who will understand dark sentences. In Daniel 8:24, it says, "And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." In Daniel 9:26, he is spoken of as “the prince that shall come” who shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and who shall confirm the covenant with many of the Jews for one prophetic week of seven years, and who shall in the midst of the week break his covenant with the Jews and cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, on the Jewish sanctuary in Jerusalem. In Daniel 11:1-45, which we are now studying this great head of the last world Empire is spoken of merely as the “willful king”, who shall do according to his will.
Thus, my friends, we see that the revival of the Roman Empire and the rising of a great king, who shall rule over it, and who shall make the Mediterranean Sea a Roman lake has been prophecied in the Scriptures, and no person who is familiar with current events can deny but what these things are coming to pass. A NORTHERN FEDERATION OF NATIONS
The second of the four great powers of the end-time is named in Daniel 11:40 as "The king of the north."
Here again, we wish to quote the words of Alva J. McClain as recorded in his booklet entitled "The Four Great Powers of the End-time." He says, "In the attempted identification of this northern power several things should be kept in mind.
First, the term "north" in Daniel’s prophecy invariably means north in relation to the land of Palestine.
Second, we should recall that the historical "kings of the north," whose conflicts are traced in Daniel 11:5-35, ruled over a vast Syrian Empire which included not only the present Syria, but also much of the territory of modern Turkey in Asia Minor, and stretched up far to the north into the Russian Caucasus.
Third, while it is not yet possible to fix, with absolute certainty, the precise geographical locations of all those peoples which are associated with the northern power, in Ezekiel’s prophecy in Ezekiel 38:1-23 (Gog, Magog, Meshach, Tubal, Gomer, Togarmah, and Rosh; yet we can say with assurance that these names point to peoples stretching north from Palestine through Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and far into the present territory of modern Russia.
Fourth, it should be noted that the prophecy of Ezekiel declares that the gigantic military forces of this predicted northern end-time power will come in large part from the uttermost parts of the earth. All this description points unmistakably to Russia, for there is no other power in the north which is even remotely comparable to the great Soviet colossus.
THE KING OF THE SOUTH
The third power of the end-time is referred to in Daniel 11:40 as the king of the south.
Historically speaking according to Daniel 11:5-35 the king (or the kings) of the south were the rulers of Egypt who ruled over that part of Alexander’s empire after the kingdom was divided.
AN EASTERN FEDERATION ALSO
It now remains for us to call your attention to one more group of nations, which will play an important part in the military set-up of the last days. We have reference to the "kings of the east," mentioned in Revelation 16:12. These kings are also referred to no doubt in Daniel 11:44 where it says, (concerning the willful king or Antichrist: ) "But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many."
It is a matter of current knowledge that Japan has had a phenomenal rise to power in the east. The Oriental peoples who number over six hundred millions in population are being consolidated under the leadership and control of the Japanese Empire. This certainly constitutes a new problem in international affairs for the future.
There is no doubt in my mind but what these things are coming to pass in fulfillment of Scripture prophecy in order to prepare the way for the fulfillment of those things recorded in the Word of GOD in the end-time of the tribulation period as suggested in Revelation 16:1-21.
PALESTINE THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
Now having called your attention to the general alignment of nations, in preparation for the great conflicts, which have been prophecied in the Word of GOD, and which will come to pass during the end of this age, let me remind you once again that Palestine is the center of the earth geographically and spiritually as well. The four great powers or groups of nations therefore who are to play an important part in the military conflicts of the present and future, completely surround the land of Palestine, which has been promised, in the Scriptures, to the Jewish people. A remnant of the Jewish people are now returning to the land in unbelief. Their religious convictions and their political ambitions based upon the Scriptures will not allow them to fully agree with any of the powerful groups of nations with which they are surrounded. It stands to reason, therefore, that before long those Jews who have returned to Palestine will find themselves in the very vortex of the present international conflict. This will certainly lead them into the time of Jacob’s trouble which is clearly foreseen and foretold in the Scriptures.
Having called your attention to these things, we will have to close our study, but in our next lesson the Lord willing, we shall bring a message concerning the exploits of the coming Antichrist as outlined in Daniel 11:36-45.
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