Kings of the North and South (Part 3)

You can read part 2 here: http://www.assyrianhorn.com/2009/10/kings-of-north-and-south-part-2.html

As we discussed during parts 1 and 2, the 11th chapter of Daniel is important because it shows us the "roots" of the antichrist to come. These "roots" started as the 4 divisions of the Grecian Empire, and this chapter has narrowed it down to 2 regions (North and South). These 2 regions were know as the Seleucid (North) and Ptolemaic (South) empires.

Part 2 ended with Daniel 11:20, so we will continue from there...



Part 3


Daniel 11:21-30 is an often disputed section of scripture. The issue of this dispute lies with the identification of the king being described here. Some say it is a description of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, while others believe it to be a description of the antichrist to come. I believe that Antiochus Epiphanes certainly meets some of the characteristics found here, and I believe he is certainly a foreshadow of the antichrist to come. However, for our purposes today, it doesn't matter. What is important is to note that this section tells us it is describing the king of the NORTH. That much is indisputable.
You can read Daniel 11:21-30 here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=daniel%2011:21-30&version=NIV




DANIEL 11:31
There can be little question that the antichrist to come is the subject of Daniel 11 starting in verse 31, and this is where we will focus our attention today.

Daniel 11:31 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation."

This is how we know that the antichrist is now the subject of this section. The "abomination of desolation" is to be found in the last days.

We can see this in Matthew 24, when Jesus is telling his disciples what the signs of the last days would be.

Matthew 24:3 - As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples

came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen,

and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

Jesus replied in Matthew 24:15- "So when you see standing in the holy place

'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through

the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those

who are in Judea flee to the mountains."

Some have proposed that the instruction given by Jesus in verse 15, is what saved the early Christians from death when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. When they saw the city surrounded, they fled to the mountains. This is a misinterpretation based on the context of this discussion. The context given in verse 3 is clearly of the end times. If the early Christians did in fact use verse 15 as an instruction to them, it was a fortunate misinterpretation.

So Matthew 24 clearly tells us that this "abomination of desolation" is an end times occurrence.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

This is important for 2 reasons:

1. If we know the subject of verse 31 is the antichrist, then we know that the remainder of Daniel 11 is regarding the antichrist. This will give us clear "clues" that we will be able to use to identify him when he is revealed.

2. If we know that the context of verses 21-30 is regarding the "king of the North", and we know that verse 31 describes the antichrist, then we know that the antichrist is a "king of the North"!

We can therefore conclude that the origin (roots) of the antichrist to come will be the Seleucid Empire (Northern kingdom).

The modern day countries that may be included in the former Seleucid Empire (yellow on the map below) would be:

• Syria



• Turkey



• Lebanon



• Iraq



• Jordan



• Saudi Arabia



• Arabian Peninsula



• Israel



• Iran



• Turkmenistan



• Pakistan



• Afghanistan

What do all of these countries (except Israel) have in common?

ISLAM