WHAT SHALL BEFALL THY PEOPLE?

 Daniel 10-12 Series

In our first study in Daniel 10 we were trying to emphasize that Daniel, among other things in this chapter, as a prophet, was symbolizing God’s people at the end of the world—the 144,000.

Desire of Ages 55, 56: "These humble worshippers had not studied the prophecies in vain. But those who held positions as rulers and priests in Israel, though they too had before them the precious utterances of prophecy, were not walking in the way of the Lord and their eyes were not open to behold the light of life. So it is still. The events upon which the attention of all heaven is centered are undiscerned. Their very occurrence is unnoticed by religious leaders and worshipers in the houses of God."

PRESENT TRUTH

In the days of Christ, God’s people by and large, were not recognising the events that were fulfilling prophecy, identifying the present truth for that time. That is being repeated today. One of the primary purposes of this study in Daniel 10-12, is to identify the events that are Present Truth for us at the end of the world, the events that transpire in the final verses of Daniel 11, that lead up to the close of human probation. These events lead up to the world being divided into two classes before the 7 last plagues.

In order to do that we need to look at the history that’s set forth in the prior verses of Daniel 11 that lead up to these concluding verses. Sister White is clear that there are histories within Daniel 11 that will be repeated. MS Releases Vol. 13 pg. 394, we see the passage where she emphasizes this. After she opens with her own statement, she starts quoting right in the middle of verse 30 of Daniel 11.

"We have no time to lose. Troublous times are before us. The world is stirred with the spirit of war."

No time to loose; probation is about to close. When was it in our experience as Adventists that we actually saw the USA President telling the world, ‘You are either for us or against us’, Very few people in the world understand the implications of that except for Seventh-day Adventists, because we knew there would come a time when the United States was going to force the whole world to do its will and here we have the president of the United States on a regular basis saying that you’re either for us or against us.

In a Washington Post article from the ‘Americans United for Separation of Church and State’, in their Church and State magazine, pointing out that since Pat Robertson has stepped down as leader of the Christian Coalition, the figurehead leader of the Christian Coalition today is this same President Bush, that is telling the world this. The Christian Coalition of today is no doubt the modern version of the National Reform Movement of Sister White’s day and age. It was pushing for amendments to the constitution in order to bring in a Sunday Law and when you look at the characteristics of that movement that Sister White identified, you can see that the Christian Coalition is their modern-day counterpart. The leader of that movement now, at least symbolically, is the same President that’s telling the whole world, "You either do what we say, or you are against us, and we’re going to deal with you." We ARE in troublous times as this quote says. We have no time to loose and the world is stirred with the spirit of war.

HISTORY TO BE REPEATED

"Soon the scenes of trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place. The prophecy in the eleventh of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfillment."

Now in Sister White’s day and age, if you read Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith or Haskell’s ‘Daniel the Prophet’, that verse 40 and onward of Daniel 11, was still future to the pioneers and Ellen White, so when she’s talking about the future fulfilment of Daniel 11, she’s talking about those final verses.

"Scenes similar to those described in these words will take place. We see evidence that Satan is fast obtaining the control of human minds who have not the fear of God before them. Let all read and understand the prophecies of this book, for we are now entering upon the time of trouble spoken of: [Dan. 12:1-4, quoted.]"

So she’s very specific that some of the histories in Daniel 11 will be repeated as Daniel 11 is fulfilled. But more specific in that context she quotes verses 30-36, and the pioneer understanding of those verses is that they are describing the history of the transition from Pagan to Papal Rome. In other words, there’s something about THAT history of Rome that is paralleling or prefiguring what’s going to take place in the final verses of Daniel 11.

But, not just exclusively that, she says much of the history that has taken place in the fulfilment of this prophecy, so there is no doubt other history in Daniel 11 that will have a parallel to the last six verses, but after she quoted those six verses—30-36, she says scenes similar to those described in these words will take place. And of course, this history is where we find the "Daily" and the ‘abomination of desolation’ and because of this, it is one of the subjects that we’ll have to take up in this study if we are going to address it fully.

We want to begin going through this history because we are told here that we should be studying these prophecies. "Let all read and understand the prophecies of this book", This book being the book of Daniel, but you could understand her words to be saying this book—of Daniel 10-12—his final testimony.

TIME APPOINTED

We will now begin our study and hope to get through the history of the Medes and Persians and Greeks and get up to the time period of Rome. We’re going to identify that the ‘time of the end’ and ‘the time appointed’ in the book of Daniel is a very specific, prophetic truth. We’re going to look at how Sister White understands the ‘time of the end’ and see that she’s in full agreement with Daniel.

This is significant in my mind because those in Adventism that get into Daniel 12 and seek to apply the time periods there at the end of the world in a day for day fashion, in opposition to the pioneer understanding, they do things with the ‘time of the end’ that are outside the definition of how Daniel understood the ‘time of the end’ and ‘the time appointed’. We’ll show you clearly that these are interchangeable ideas.

We need to look at one thing here in chapter 10 just to make a point. In the first verses it says "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long:" This ‘time appointed’ is not the same Hebrew word that is used in the ‘Time appointed’ that you’ll find further on in chapter 11 or previously in chapter 8. There is a difference, we’re going to look at the ‘time appointed’ later in our study. But this particular ‘Time Appointed’ in verse 1 in Daniel 10 we want to consider; it is the Hebrew word ‘Saba’. It gives the sense of an army or warfare or service and some of the other translations that take up this ‘time appointed’ in verse 1 say, ‘Even the great warfare was long’; RSV, ‘it was a great conflict’; Moffatt’s says ‘a true revelation of a great conflict’.

What I am hoping you see here is what Daniel was shown is a great conflict. The truth of these verses that take up the history in Daniel 11:2 and onward is that it is a history of the conflict between different powers struggling for control of the world. This truth needs to be scrutinized very closely.

GLORIOUS LAND

There are many different ideas about the last 6 verses of Daniel 11 that come to different conclusions. These last 6 verses of Daniel 11 is where this ministry draws its prophetic understandings, because of this we have become familiar with many of the opposing views. One that comes up often is in verse 41, we identify the ‘Glorious Land’ as the United States of America.

We use the definition of the Glorious Land as the land that God has provided for His people. This land had certain characteristics, designed by God, to allow God’s people to take the gospel to the world—whether it was ancient Israel or modern Israel. The ‘Glorious Land’ was the Promise Land, the Land flowing with milk and honey. Milk and Honey symbolized wealth which allowed Israel to have the finances necessary to take the gospel to the world. The ‘Glorious Land’ of ancient Israel was at the crossroads of the ancient world. It was not an accident that it was placed there where it could easily take the gospel throughout the world. It wasn’t in some obscure corner of the globe.

We applied those same characteristics to the United States, identifying the Seventh-day Adventist church as modern Israel placed in the ‘Glorious Land’, the United States, providing the finances necessary to take the gospel to the world. Also, United States is at the crossroads of the modern world. We probably hear more people that oppose the ‘Glorious Land’ of our understanding of the last 6 verses of Daniel 11, than any other issue.

One of the strongest arguments against their position, that the ‘Glorious Land’ is the Seventh-day Adventist church, will be developed as we go through the history of this great conflict that Daniel understood. We are not going to go into every fine detail of the different kings and the different struggles; we are going to look at an overview, but you will find that the history recorded from verse 2 onward to verse 42 and 43 of Daniel 11, when it’s showing different powers in conflict with one another, every single time the conflict is concerning a geographical area. It’s a conflict where one power is attempting to take control of a geographical area and one power looses a geographical area. From the beginning the struggle is geographical, over and over.

Then those that are unwilling to recognise the ‘Glorious Land’ as the United States, a geographical area, come to the conclusion that the ‘Glorious Land’ is the Seventh-day Adventist church. I want to point out here at the beginning that unless there’s some kind of specific information in this prophecy that says, ‘All right, in verse 41 we’re going to make a 180 degrees turn, and what’s being conquered here is no longer a geographical area, for the first time in all these verses, the history that’s being set forth to Daniel is suddenly a spiritual entity instead of a geographical area. Then, to top it off, the very next verse goes back to a geographical area.

I don’t know many of the ‘theological rules’ and ideas that are used in the colleges that teach theology, nor do I really have a desire to understand those rules—but, from my study of prophecy, when the Lord is developing a sequence of events or symbols and those events are geography, geography, geography for an extremely long period of time and suddenly it switches without any interior reasoning within the passage to do this, it switches from a geographical entity to a spiritual entity and immediately back to geographical entity, there’s something wrong there. There’s something that doesn’t fit. The Lord doesn’t do that.

Now I’m not saying the Lord couldn’t change the focus of what was coming under attack in verse 41, but I’m saying, if He did so, within that prophetic information He would need to identify, why and how, and it just isn’t there. So we’re looking at this history as we go through, to bring to bear our understanding of verse 41 when we get there.

DANIEL 11:1

Let’s look at verse 1:

Gabriel in chapter 10 has already described a struggle that was going on with the king of Persia against the ‘prince of Persia’, which Ellen White identifies as Satan. There’s a warfare going on here that’s consistent with the story of Michael, emphasizing the Great Controversy. In verse 1, Gabriel tells Daniel that he was also supporting Darius the Mede. He confirmed and strengthened him in his first year.

1. Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.

History tells us that Cyrus is the one that came and conquered Babylon and evidently, and this is one of the historical understandings that I haven’t found an absolute proof positive on; I’ve come across three different variables on this. Darius the Mede may have been a relative of Cyrus, or maybe one of his generals or some other relation to Cyrus; but evidently he was put in charge of Babylon after Cyrus conquered it, because Darius is the one that has Daniel thrown in the lion’s den. And it’s Darius the Mede. He must have been a ruler of Babylon, but under the authority of Cyrus, and in that context it would be OK for Daniel still in Babylon to refer to him as the king, he was the king of Babylon, but he wasn’t the king evidently of the entire empire of the Medes and Persians—Cyrus was. But as we look at these kings, we’re going to run into another Darius, and it’s a different Darius.

2. And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.

Now these are three kings following Cyrus, the king that conquered Babylon. We don’t want to loose track of the fact that Cyrus was specifically called by the Lord to accomplish bringing down Babylon, to begin the work of letting the Jews go back to Jerusalem. We see this in these kings as they march through history, the Lord was interacting with them in a very specific way.

Cyrus had already been named in the Bible, long before he existed, this truth was part of what gave him the insight and understanding to work in favour of the Jews. But there were going to be three kings that stood up in Persia after him and then a forth that would be far richer. The son of Cyrus, Cambyses, is the first of these three kings. He started a campaign to conquer Egypt. He came to the throne by assassinating or murdering his brother so that there was no question about who was going to follow Cyrus.

He murdered his brother, became king and made his attack on Egypt. He was successful and gathered some of the Egyptian idols and wealth, silver and gold and he was coming back from Egypt. Whether it was an accident or he committed suicide on his way back from Egypt, he found that a man pretending to be his brother that he had murdered, had taken the throne. This man was called Smerdis which was his brother’s name, but in history he’s called false Smerdis, he wasn’t Smerdis, but he took the throne.

On his way back from Egypt, Cambyses realized that this impostor had taken his throne and some historians say he committed suicide, some say that he died of an accident. This Smedis was a Mede and he wasn’t sympathetic to the work of the Jews. Seven or eight months later he was dead and the third king comes up, Darius, not Darius the Mede, but Darius the Persian and he, once again is sympathetic to the need of the Jews to return to Jerusalem.

He put forth the second of the three decrees that allow the 2300 day prophecy to begin, that allow the Jews to have full autonomy in their country. After him it says there would be a fourth king that was far richer. This fourth king, Xerxes, is wealthy but he put together a great army and decided to attack Greece and he was frustrated in his plans.

But the verse says he’s the one that stirs up the realm of Greece and begins the Greek’s preparation to ultimately come and sweep away the kingdom of the Medes and Persians. Now there were 9 other kings that followed in the history of the Medes and Persians but only these are mentioned in this verse because they’re the points of reference that the prophetic record wants to give us.

3RD DECREE

The king that did follow Xerxes was the king that ultimately gave the third and final decree, Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes. If you look at these kings that were writing these decrees in the Bible record, they have Hebrew names and Persian names. Cambyses is the Artexerxes of Ezra 4, Darius the king that was 3rd in line after Cyrus, is Xerxes, the king that was much richer and stirs up the realm of Greece against the Medes and Persians is the Ahasuarus of Esther.

Every one of these kings, except for Smerdis, the biblical record shows a direct connection between them and the work of bringing the Jews back to Israel. They were being influenced by Gabriel no doubt and other angels to accomplish this work. One of the things that I believe we need to understand at the end of the world is, no matter what leader and what kingdom takes place, the Lord is fully in charge of the situation.

GOD DIRECTS HISTORY

There are Adventists on both sides of the issue that would argue that in the election of Bush that Gore should have won or they say Bush should have won. Those kind of political questions are outside of the scope of present truth for Adventism at the end of the world. The understanding that we should have that’s being conveyed here in Daniel 11, is that God is ruling and overruling in who the leaders are and what they accomplish.

I believe we have to understand that, because the time of trouble that is just before us is the greatest time of trouble there ever will be and we need to have the confidence of Daniel. Daniel could walk into a crisis situation like he did with Belshazzar, when the handwriting was on the wall and he obviously knew this was going to be a tremendous crisis. Daniel had it figured out, that if not then and there, in a very short time, Cyrus and the Medes and Persians were going to come and conquer Babylon.

He had the faith, the patience, the character to walk into that crisis situation and tell Belshazzar, ‘No, I don’t want your gifts but I’ll read this to you’, and he explained it to him. He was symbolizing what God’s people are going to have to do at the end of the world. In a crisis situation, the 144,000 are going to be the people that understand the true perspective of the powers that be and the interacting of the different struggles going on in the world. We’re going to have to have the same confidence, the same trust that Daniel had, in order to sort these things out and give the faithful witness and the faithful testimony at the Latter Rain period.

One of the truths of the Bible put forth in verse 2, is that God was directly involved with the leaders of the world. He’s directly involved with Bush, He’s directly involved with the Pope, and all the others. We need to understand that, if we’re going to have the mental attitude necessary to stand.

3. "And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will."

We understand this correctly to be Alexander the Great, and when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken. Alexander the Great, finally conquered the world and drinks himself to death. His kingdom is broken up. The next verse talks about 4 winds and the previous prophecies of Daniel say that his kingdom was divided into the four winds. In reality, at that time there were 36 generals that began to strive to take control of Alexander’s kingdom and it ultimately got down to the four that we traditionally share. (Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Ptolemy.)

These four continued to struggle for the former dominion of Alexander’s kingdom and it gets down to two kingdoms, Ptolemy, in control of the southern area of Egypt. Ultimately he represents the kingdom in Daniel 11 that we know as the King of the South. The other general that takes control of most of the area is Seleucus. His kingdom symbolizes the kingdom of the north, his capitol, and point of reference was Babylon and this is where the rule is established in this history of the struggle between Alexander’s generals as they go throughout time, that the King of the North, is the power that controls Babylon and King of the South, the Power that controls Egypt.

4. "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."

We see that his kingdom isn’t going to be left to his posterity, to Alexander the Great’s family, and sure enough, one of those generals had Alexander’s family executed; so they’re out of the story. It’s simply a struggle for these different Generals. Ultimately it gets down to two of them and Verse 5 begins the story of the King of the North and the King of the South.

5. "And the king of the south 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."

Now Uriah Smith, Haskell, virtually everyone that I’ve read tells you that verse 5 is saying, and the King of the South, Ptolemy, shall be strong and one of his princes, one of Alexander the Great’s princes, Seleucus, so it’s making a distinction here, the King of the South, Ptolemy, one of his princes, Seleucus, and sure enough, his kingdom was larger and stronger, more powerful than Ptolemy’s and that’s where the story starts. The King of the North is the stronger, larger kingdom. But they’re struggling with one another and in Verse 6 it says;

6. "And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times."

"He that begat her" if you look in your margin, it says "and whom she brought forth". Where it says ‘he that begat her’, is really saying her child.

What’s being described here is ‘at the end of years’, after a certain time period, Seleucus and Ptolemy struggling with one another, they decide to form a treaty. So Ptolemy sends his daughter to the King of the North and says, "Marry her."

In order for the King of the North to do this, he has to put away his wife. His wife’s name is Laodice and the daughter’s name that was sent to the King of the South is Bernice. This was their agreement of peace. But it says, ‘She shall not retain the power of his arm". ‘She’ is the King of the South’s daughter, Bernice. She’s not going to retain the power with the King of the North, Seleucus. History shows in time Seleucus decided that he wasn’t happy or satisfied with Bernice from the South, so he set her aside, and brought his former wife, Laodice, back into marriage.

She decided ‘this guy is unstable and I can’t have confidence in what he’s going to do next, so I’m going to kill him.’ So she had him killed, and she had Bernice and Bernice’s child killed, and turned the kingdom over to her son. That’s what’s being described here in Verse 6, the daughter of the king of the South will not retain the power of arms, and she’s going to be set aside, by the King of the North, as a wife. ‘Neither shall he stand’; the King of the North isn’t going to stand, because his ex, but newly retrieved wife, is going to assassinate him, and she shall be given up—the daughter of the King of the South shall be given up; she’s going to be executed. ‘And those that brought her’; the attendants that came from Egypt with her, all the people that were brought to support her as the ‘Queen of the North’, they were all executed. And her son, that she had while she was there, he was executed. And ‘he that strengthened her in these times’, the King of the North. Everything about that relationship was assassinated by Laodice, and she places her son of Seleucus in control.

BRANCH OF HER ROOTS

7. "But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:

A branch of the place where the King of the South came from; ‘her roots’ meaning the King of the South, shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the King of the North, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail.

Sure enough, after the King of the North went back on the agreement that they had made; and ultimately, Laodice executed Bernice, Bernice’s brother, then King of the South, because his father had died, was enraged at the treachery of the King of the North. He came out of the same roots as Bernice had come out of, they were brother and sister. So ‘out of a branch of her roots will stand up in his estate, in the estate of the King of the South, shall come with an army and shall enter into the fortress of the King of the North. History is very clear that this is exactly what took place.

8. "And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north."

If you go to this history, the Egyptians, after this King of the South had marched on the King of the North and went all the way to Babylon, entered his fortress, and conquered that area. The booty that he was bringing back is the very booty that had been carried out of Egypt way back when Cambyses, the second king in verse 2, that was going to stand up after Cyrus, had conquered Egypt and brought back booty. It ended up there in the domain of the King of the North and this King of the South went and conquered Babylon and brought it back. He was made a hero because he was bringing back all these treasures that had been lost so many years before.

10. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.

These sons that shall be stirred up in verse 10 are sons of the King of the North, his sons are going to be stirred up and they’re going to assemble a multitude of great forces. The sons of the king that was conquered and lost the booty that was carried back into Egypt, are stirred up to retaliate against Egypt, the King of the South. ‘Sons’ is in the plural, but by the end of the verse it is in the singular, ‘and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.’

History says there were 2 sons of the King of the North at that time and the one was inept; he was the one that began the preparation for war. His generals were so frustrated with his abilities that they poisoned him. Then the second son takes up the task and he builds a might army and he comes to return back onto the King of the South in response to what they’ve done.

MOVED WITH CHOLER

11. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand. 12. And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.

Now the King of the North brings a great multitude, the King of the South, angry about the situation in verse 11 would come and fight against him and he prevailed against the King of the North. Even though the King of the North had a great army, it’s still given into the hand of the King of the South. He prevails, and the story of him casting down the ‘many ten-thousands’, is worth considering because it does impact our understanding of how God was still controlling and working with these kings.

This is from the historian Prudeau, the chapter is ‘Connections’ under the 217 time period. This King of the South, that had marched in verses 11,12, into the King of the North and retaliated— defeated their great multitude, and we’ll take up the historian’s information about him at this point.

"Philopater, was a fellow of abandoned lust and dissipation. He was so elated by his victory over Antiochus that he held processions through the provinces." The provinces he had recovered. He went and conquered a bunch of provinces and as he was coming back to Egypt, as he goes through each area, he’s celebrating. He enters Jerusalem and after a blasphemous act of offering sacrifices to God, he attempted to enter the Most Holy Place of the temple, in spite of the protest and entreaties of the Jews in charge.

SMITTEN FROM GOD

So he comes to Jerusalem. He’s going to celebrate there as well, and he offers some blasphemous offerings. Then he wants to go in the Most Holy Place, and this is what the historian says; "He was smitten from God with such a terror and confusion of mind that he was carried out of the place in a manner half dead. On this he departed from Jerusalem, filled with great wrath against the whole nation of the Jews for that which happened to him in that place and venting many threatenings against them for it."

In verse 12, it talks about him casting down many ten-thousands and it’s describing his retaliation against the Jews for this incident. One of the points that is important for me in this, is that even in the condition Israel is at during this time period of history, God is still involved with His people at this time. He protected the Most Holy Place from being entered by this king.

"In vengeance for his disgrace at Jerusalem he returned to his country and endeavoured to force the many Jews in Egypt to sacrifice to Egypt’s heathen gods and renounce their worship of Jehovah. When 300 Jews adopted the heathen religion, they were excommunicated by the Jewish society. Regarding this as a further insult to himself, Philopater determined to destroy the Jews in his dominion and commanded that as many as could be rounded up, be brought in chains to Alexandria.

"These were placed in a large arena, and it was proposed that on a certain day, a great public spectacle would be made, by turning wild and drunken elephants upon them. The devout Jews earnestly called upon God and when the appointed time came, the drunken and maddened beasts were let loose. But they turned their rage upon all those who came to see the show and destroyed great numbers of them. Besides, several appearances were soon seen in the air, which much frightened the king and all the spectators. All which, manifesting the interposal of Divine power in the protection of those people. Philopater durst not any longer prosecute his rage against them, but ordered them to be all set free and fearing the Divine vengeance upon him in their behalf, he restored them to all their privileges, rescinding and revoking all his decrees, which he had published against them. Three years afterwards however, in 213 BC, Philopater, on another pretext slew 40,000 Jews." Thus he cast down ten-thousands.

The point being in this history, if you look closely, God is still interacting, watching over His people, and remind yourself, His people at this time are not in a righteous condition, but God is still watching over His church, until the seventy weeks are accomplished. This is for the honor of His own Name.

You can see this in prior history with Alexander the Great also. This is from Josephus. It had been predicted in the bible that Tyre was going to be totally destroyed and Alexander the Great was the man the Lord used to do it. The story in connection with that is worth bringing in at this point to once again emphasize this point that God was involved with His people throughout history.

"While conquering Tyre, Alexander sent to Jerusalem for supporting forces but being subjects of the Persians, they declined. Whereupon, Alexander marched on the city, intent upon annihilating it, like Tyre. The Jews fasted and prayed, entreating God to deliver them from the fury of Alexander.

"God directed the high priest in meeting the emergency. The high priest led a procession of the priests with the official guard and a multitude of citizens out to meet Alexander. Josephus records that Alexander, when he saw the multitude at a distance in white garments, and the high priest in purple and scarlet clothing with his mitre on his head, having a golden plate whereupon the name of God was engraved, he approached by himself and adored that Name, and first saluted the high priest.

"The Jews also did altogether with one voice salute Alexander and compassed him about. Whereupon the kings of Syria and the rest were surprised at what Alexander had done and supposing him disordered in his mind. However Parmenio alone, went up to him and asked him how it came to pass, that when all other adored him, he should adore the high priest of the Jews; to whom Alexander replied, "I did not adore him, but that God, who hath honoured him with his high priest-hood. For I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit, when I was at Deus in Macedonia. Who, when I was considering with myself, how I might obtain the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay but boldly to pass over the sea thither for that he would conduct my army and would give me the dominion over the Persians. Whence it is, that having seen no other in that habit and now seeing this person in it and remembering that vision and exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under the divine conduct and shall therewith conquer Darius and destroy the power of the Persians and all things shall proceed according to what is in my mind."

Josephus tells us that Alexander went into the temple and followed instructions by the high priest in how to offer sacrifices and basically acknowledged the God of heaven. But the testimony here in the book of Daniel is that after that interaction with God, he went on into Egypt and allowed himself to be named the son of Jupiter, accepting praise as an Egyptian and Greek God and he ‘did his own will’. He had opportunity to repent as did Nebuchadnezzar did and understand truth, but he rejected it.

The point being, as you look at this history, these kings are still being interacted with by the God of heaven. This history is still being directed and influenced by the God of Heaven. And as you look at the Jews during this time period, there’s no evidence that they were in a righteous condition. This is the history that is growing and developing into the great darkness that precedes Christ coming to earth as a little child, but still God is dealing with them as His people. This kind of truth needs to be factored in where God’s people are today. It’s the same God and we are modern Israel as they are ancient Israel.

13. For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. 14. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

CHILD KING

So after the King of the South went in and retaliated on the King of the North, he made his triumphant march back to Egypt, and tried to enter the Most Holy Place and had this interaction with God. In time the King of the North returns and he puts together a great army, and that king of the South, ultimately dies and his son is heir of the throne, but his son is only five years old.

In verse 14, ‘In those times’, in the times when the King of the South is only five years old, he’s very vulnerable and the King of the North is ready to retaliate against the King of the South. In those times, there shall many stand up against the King of the South and the ‘many’ was the Macedonian king at this time Philip of Macedonia, makes an agreement with the King of the North and says, ‘let’s go in and take the King of the South, and the geographical area that’s close to me, I get when we conquer him and geographical area closer to you, you get. So they’re forming an alliance and at the same time men in Egypt, seeing the vulnerability of the King of the South, are making plans to do away with him and usurp the throne of the King of the South.

So in those times, that’s the times it is taking place, ‘there shall many stand up against the king of the south:’ The people in Egypt stand up against the King of the South, against this five year old child, the King of the North stands up against him, Philip of Macedonia in confederacy with the King of the North stands up against him; also the ‘robbers of thy people’ shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

Now let me address one phrase here. Uriah Smith says, and I believe it is so, if you look at the history of Philip of Macedonia and his alliance to the king of the North to go ahead and attack the vulnerable five-year-old King of the South; they ultimately fall.

ROBBERS

So this last phrase could be applied to them, ‘they shall fall’. ‘They were under discussion in this verse, it could apply to them. But the premier application of this ‘shall fall’ is that it is a characteristic of Rome. Rome is here introduced for the first time into chapter 11 as the ‘robbers of thy people’, and if you look at the history of Rome you can see why the term ‘robbers’ fits so well.

The Italian peninsula at that time in History was known to be where a band of robbers and thieves would hide out and they would strike out from their base in Italy and not only steal gold and booty, but they were famous for stealing wives and women. They were known throughout that area as thieves and robbers. They had come, basically from Greek heritage; Italy was basically a place for them to hide out.

It reminds me of the stories, of the Pirates having certain islands out in the Caribbean that they would use as their point of attack. Well this is the case of the beginnings of Rome. So when we see the term ‘robbers’ applied to them, it’s very fitting; ‘The robbers of thy people’. This is Rome coming into the prophecy.

And it says that Rome shall exult themselves, certainly one of the characteristics of all these pagan powers in the book of Daniel is they exult themselves. But the premier power that exults itself is, once again Rome.

The most important phrase in these first fourteen verses in some ways is that these people, ‘The robbers of Thy people’ that exult themselves, they are the ones that establish the vision. This, to me, is one of the main focuses in Daniel 11, is that this vision, whether it’s talking about Medes, Persians, Greeks, or whatever, the power that makes this vision stand is Rome; it is the point of reference.

MISCONCEPTION

Uriah Smith, Haskell, everyone that addresses this verse speaks in the same terms that I am. Unfortunately, you find Uriah Smith, when he gets to the conclusion of Daniel 11, he sees no place for Rome involved in it, he talks about literal Turkey and literal Egypt. We’ll deal with Uriah Smith in one presentation here and address some of his concepts of Daniel 11. But he can’t get around verse 14, the truth that’s in verse 14, is that the focus of Daniel 10, 11 and 12, is Rome, these other kingdoms are the history that leads to Rome and from verse fifteen onward, Rome is going to become King of the North and it will remain the King of the North until it comes to its end, until it falls, that’s what verse 14 says.

It’s always amazed me that even Uriah Smith can make this emphases about verse 14, but then when he gets into the concluding verses, he doesn’t recognise that Rome is involved as a player, he’s identifying the country of Turkey, making a march against the country of Israel and when this takes place, human probation closes. This is the conclusion he draws.

One of the rules of Bible prophecy that we’ll look at when we address Uriah Smith more fully, is a rule that William Miller uses and this is a paraphrase but this is basically what he says, "If you have an understanding of prophecy and it makes sense as far as the history you’re describing and it fits in the rest of the Bible, then, if it’s not contradicting anything, but it also needs to make sense, then you can trust that it’s a legitimate understanding.

But we’re obviously at the end of the world, the United States is beginning to do its work of placing the Papacy back in its former position of power, and it’s just not sensible to see the country of Turkey, somehow making a march against Israel. The country of Turkey is bankrupt. The country of Israel could eliminate it in a heartbeat. The country of Israel has the allies of the United States, it just doesn’t make sense.

What does make sense is to use verse fourteen of Daniel 11 as the point of reference that establishes the vision, and the vision of Daniel 10,11,12 is about Rome and we must see Rome as a player in these final verses, that come to a conclusion and Turkey just isn’t sensible.

We’ll take up Rome in our next presentation.

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