DANIEL 11

In Daniel 11 we have revealed a great panorama of events.

This chapter speaks of kingdoms of men that have tried to exercise power throughout a long period that ranges from the wars of Persia and Greece, (the Ram and Goat) to the ascendancy of Greece and Alexander (the notable horn); the dividing of his Greek kingdom into 4 parts (horns); 2 of these parts, King of the south and King of the north, making war over the people and land of Israel; the coming of power and authority of a god-king (the little horn) to the time of the end when the King of the south and King of the north reappear, and the little horn (Catholicism) and the King of the north (Russia) form one power; and in their might invade the land of Israel and camp before the holy mountain.

Bro David Clubb

Chapter 11 is a detailed history of the conflicts between the king of the south and the king of the north - the two parts of Alexander's Empire - Egypt and Syria - between which lay Palestine - the Holy Land - their common battleground, just as today.

As time passes on, nations come and go. And Rome enters the picture, as the king of the north, by the conquest of that territory. The Roman power develops into the Papal power, into whose hands the people of God are given for 1260 years. Much history is telescoped into a few verses.

In verse 40, our attention is turned to the time of the end. There is still a king of the north and a king of the south. The ancient enmity still exists, and God's land is still the crossroads and the battleground, just as we see today.

As the final crisis arises (verse 40), the king of the south pushes against the king of the north. Then the latter, the king of the north, comes forth like a whirlwind and carries all before him.

At the zenith of his power, he meets his end, (verse 45) between the seas in the glorious holy mountain.

Bro Growcott - Daniel, the man beloved

Exposition of Daniel
By Dr. John Thomas, 1868

Paraphrase Of The Eleventh Of Daniel To The Thirty-Fifth Verse Inclusive

"I shall give it in the form of paraphrases, incorporating the prophecy with the <interpretation>, but at the same time giving the angel's words.

I may remark as to the date, that the revelator introduces his discourse with an allusion to "the first year of Darius the Mede". This was also the first year of Cyrus, who reigned conjointly with Darius; so that the third year of Cyrus was the first of his reign by himself. The reigns of Darius and Cyrus will therefore count as one, after which four are to be reckoned."

1 " Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede"

— Gabriel reminds Daniel that two years earlier (cp. ch. 10:1; 9:1),when the prophet sought for Divine revelation, the angel was already at work. This was BC539/538 (see pp.215-217). Daniel had prayed for Yahweh's mercy on his nation, after learning of Jeremiah's prophecy of the 70 years' captivity, and now was to receive further details.

"Even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him"

— Apparently the mind of Darius was not wholly decided on what should be done with regard to Israel. He was in a difficult position in Babylon. It was not he who had conquered

the city, but Cyrus — and Darius was merely a puppet ruler in a hostile environment. He may have faced adverse influences, perhaps counsellors of his realm who advised against the proposed measures. But, unseen by Darius or any others in his realm, Gabriel "stood by his side" to confirm him in his purpose, and to secure the execution of his plan.

The word "confirm" (Heb. chazaq) means, to be strong; defined as "to be strong in a prevailing degree, by soundness and cohesion of every part, so as to be firm and compact." The word "strengthen" (Heb. maoz ) has reference to "a fortified place, a defence."Gabriel determined to set Darius firmly in his place, so that his purposes should be achieved. Isaiah had earlier proclaimed that Yahweh would strengthen the Persians:

"for Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect" (Isa. 45:1-4).

God gave them power to over-run Babylon, and to establish their control. But, with his work accomplished, Darius was, after only two years, removed to make way for Cyrus, who would organise the return of the exiles. In this comment by Gabriel, Daniel learnt first-hand that the favour shown him by Darius was by angels motivated.

The Christadelphian Expositor

Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia,

<namely, Ahasuerus, Smerdis, and Darius;>

and the fourth,

<or Xerxes>,

shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And

<Alexander the Macedonian>,

a mighty King, shall stand up, ruling with great dominion and doing according to his will. 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 other

besides those

<of his family>.

And the King of the South shall be strong, and shall be one of his,

princes

and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion,

And in the end of

<52>

years

, they,

shall,

themselves together; for

<Berenice,>

the king's daughter of the south, shall come,

to the king of the north, to make

agreement; but she shall not retain the power of the arm

Neither shall

stand;

Nor shall his arm,

<Berenice, stand;>

but she shall be given up

and they,

that brought her and he that begat her

< to Syria; and he, her son, whom she brought forth,>

and he that strengthened her in these times,

<shall die; and thus leave her to the mercy of Laodice, which will be treachery and death>.

7. But out of a branch of her

roots,

shall stand up in his estate,

come with an army, and shall enter into

the fortress of the King of the north, and shall deal,

against them,

and shall prevail:

shall also carry captive into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and gold: and he shall continue

more years than the King of the north,

So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land,

<B.C. 244.>

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

<into Galilee, and possess himself of all that part of the country which was formerly the inheritance of the tribes Reuben and Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasseh. Then, the season being too far advanced to prolong the campaign>,

shall he return

to his fortress.

Thus shall the king of the south be moved with choler, and come forth and fight with

the King of the north shall set forth a great multiude,

but the multitude shall be given into

<the hand of the King of Egypt>.

12 .And when he,

<,the King of the south, had >

taken away the multitude

his heart shall be lifted up,

he shall cast down ten thousands,

shall not be strengthened by

13 <For Antiochus 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,

< and shall subjugate all the Holy and Coele-Syria.>

14. And in those times

many shall stand up against the

king of the south,

to establish the vision.

they shall fall.

15. So the king of the north,

shall come

and cast up a mount

and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand

< Antiochus. v 16. But Antiochus who cometh against Ptolemy Epiphanes >

shall do according to his own will

and none shall stand before him: and he shall

which by his hand shall be consumed.

17 .He shall also set his face to enter

with the strength of his whole kingdom,

with him. Thus shall he do

the daughter of women,

corrupting her

not stand, neither be for him,

18 After this shall

<Antiochus, at the earnest solicitation of the Aetolians, >

turn his face unto the isles

and shall take many: but

shall cause the reproach offered to him to cease: without his own

shall cause it to turn upon

<Antiochus, by defeating him at Mount Sipyllus, and repulsing him from every part of Asia Minor. As the condition of peace, the Romans required him to pay 15,000 talents--500 down, 2,500 on the ratification of the treaty, and the rest in twelve years at 1,000 talents per annum.>

19. <These terms being acceded to>,

he shall turn his face toward the fortress,

of his own land,

But he shall stumble, and fall, and not be found;

20. Then shall stand up

the glory of the kingdom;

But within few days,

he shall be destroyed, neither in anger nor in battle,

<being poisoned by Heliodorus, his prime minister, having reigned long enough to pay the last instalment to the Romans.>

21. And in his,

shall stand up

<Heliodorus, >

a vile person,

shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but

shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries

Suffering the desecrations of Antiochus

More than two centuries passed, as the exiles continued to be favoured under the suzerainty of Persian and then Seleucid rule. They were permitted to practise their religion, the temple services were held, and the priestly courses were preserved. But this period of relative stability was all to change, as it so often had in previous epochs where the House of Asaph had helped to maintain the spirit of the Truth.

This time, however, it was not an evil king in Judah who endangered their cause, but the advent of a foreign despot, whose rulership of the land threatened the very survival of their faith. The ascension of Antiochus IV to the kingship marked a turning point, for so hostile was he to the Jewish people that holy writ itself would describe him as a "vile person". 7

Subsequent events would only vindicate how terribly true the Spirit's epithet was. Antiochus chose the name Epiphanes ('the illustrious'), but was nicknamed by his enemies Epimanes ('the frantic'), a title well earned by the recklessness of his expenditure, the foolishness of his projects, and the intolerance of his persecutions. The most severe of these fell upon the Jewish nation, for the people of the holy covenant excited his greatest indignation.

After an expedition into Egypt to extend his influence, he returned to Jerusalem and decimated their sanctuary, plundering all the temple vessels which were used in worship. The nation was left in mourning, but this first act of hostili ty was only the forerunner of far worse to come.

Two years later, Antiochus sent a collector of tribute to Jerusalem, who first spoke peace, but then attacked the city, killing multitudes, and sending countless more into slavery. Antiochus issued an edict, expressly forbidding the observance of the Law of Moses, on pain of death. If the Sabbath was kept, or dietary laws upheld, if a circumcision was performed, or scrolls found, then the whole family involved were put to death.

The king had embarked upon a policy of spreading Greek culture in every place, in the hope that a common spirit would create a peaceable bond throughout his realm. Some nations welcomed the change, but not so the Jews, whose way of life and religious laws were the very antithesis of such pagan belief and behaviour.

Their stubborn resistance enraged the king, who was determined to enforce his will upon them. His new laws did everything possible to profane their sanctuary, but his crowning iniquity was to erect a desolating sacrilege upon the altar of burnt offering. On the twenty-fifth day of Kislev 8 he offered a pig on the altar of burnt offering, sprinkled its blood in the Most Holy, poured its broth over the temple scrolls, then cut them in pieces and burned them.

There was no middle road in a time . when there was either assimilation or annihilation. What choir could sing at the temple under such an edict of death? What song could be sung when neither sacrifice could be offered nor Sabbath observed? But silence at the sanctuary did not mean that the House of Asaph had forgotten their songs or forfeited their role. Their skill in preserving their songs in private was as legendary as their performing of them in public.

7 Daniel 11:21.

8 The date was chosen by Antiochus because it was the birthday of Zeus, the god to whom he offered sacrifice on this occasion. The year of his action has been debated as being either 168 BC or 167 BC, but dating the dedication of the temple in 163 BC suggests the latter date.

Bro Roger Lewis - The House of Asaph Ch 12

Launching a spiritual reformation

"When therefore they perceived these things, they were sore afraid, and seeing also the host of Judas in the plain ready to fight, They fled everyone into the land of strangers. Then Judas returned to spoil the tents, where they got much gold, and silver, and blue silk, and purple of the sea, and great riches. After this they went home, and sung the song of thanksgiving, and praised the Lord in heaven: because he is good, because his mercy endureth for ever. Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day." (1 Maccabees 4:21-25) 9

It was not possible for the faithful to endure such repression without protest, despite the death sentence which threatened any violation of the king's edict. But what was needed, was a man of decision and courage, who could light the flame of faithful resistance among his brethren. That leader emerged in the form of Judas Maccabeus, whose exploits would result in the temple being returned to Jewish control, after an amazing series of events that witnessed to God's hand upon His people.

Judas was one of five sons of Mattathias, an aged priest from Jerusalem, who had retired into the country town of Modin to mourn the desolation of the temple and the profanation of its services. His credentials were impeccable, for his lineage was of the family of Jehoiarib, the first of the priestly courses in the line of Eleazar. 10 Commanded to sacrifice to heathen divinities, and incensed by the readiness of a renegade Jew to comply, he rose in his indignation and slew both the offender and the king's commissioner, with the burning zeal of Phinehas his predecessor.

Inviting the faithful to join him, he then fled into the mountains with his five sons, who were quickly joined by others who were zealous for the law. Mattathias died within a year of the revolt, but on his advice the family appointed Simon to be their counsellor, and Judas to be their captain.

Their choice was crucial, for Judas Maccabeus, brilliant in battle and fearless in faith, transformed his small band of insurgents into a fighting force, who defeated the governor and rapidly threatened the power of Antiochus in the holy land. 11

Driven frantic by the success of Judas, the king sent his generals to destroy the Jewish nation, root and branch. It proved to be an impossible task, for time and again Judas routed his armies and defeated his generals as, in three famous "battles of the passes", 12 he laid the foundation for Jewish independence. Of these, the battle of Emmaus was of the greatest significance in setting the Jewish nation on that pathway.

The Seleucid armies were so confident of victory that slave merchants accompanied them, in readiness to buy the Jewish slaves they expected to capture. But the Maccabees, after a time of prayer and fasting in Mizpeh, marched through the night, like Joshua of old, and took their enemies by surprise.

One part of their army they routed, putting their camp to the fire, and the other part they so shocked by the swiftness of their attack that they fled in terror without striking a blow, leaving behind a treasure trove of riches.

But, just as Judas and his men had prayed before this battle, so they remembered to give thanks afterwards, and there was every reason to believe that the House of Asaph led the song. They had been present in the past to celebrate victory on the day of battle, 13 and their identity was revealed in the music of this day also. What they sang told the tale, for the words came from their famous family psalm:

"0 give thanks unto Yahweh; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever."

Who might have lifted up their voice at such a time of spiritual darkness? Who would have known these words to sing in offering the sacrifice of praise? There could only be one answer. This song came from the special family of singers who had returned from the captivity. It was not the Houses of Heman or Jeduthun which were singled out for comment in the records of the return. It was the House of Asaph, whose passionate faithfulness was the key to the revival of the songs of worship in the land. And now, almost three hundred years after the time of Nehemiah, it was this family who again led the zealous in praise.

Their presence was inevitable, for whenever a strong and spiritual leader arose to restore the true worship of Yahweh, there, seemingly out of nowhere, this family appeared to fulfil their ancient role and sing their timeless song. Judas Maccabeus was but another leader who sought to return the nation to its ancient spiritualcentre. When he did, the House of Asaph were immediately there.

9 The events recorded in this chapter fall into the Inter-Testamental Period. The quotations used here from 1 Maccabees are not part of inspired scripture, and are not quoted here with any suggestion that they are. It is accepted, however, that of the apocryphal writings, 1 Maccabees especially is considered to be a reliable historical account of the times. It is quoted here in the same way that we might refer to Josephus, Edersheim, Mosheim or other historians in seeking information about the period under review.

10 1 Maccabees 2:1; 1 Chronicles 24:7.

11 "A better leader could not have been found. Enemies flew terror-stricken before him; friends entered at his call upon projects which in their cooler moments they would have pronounced impracticable. He combined in a remarkable way a military genius with absolute faith in God. To such a man nothing was impossible" (From the Exile to the Advent, William Fairweather, page 135).

12 The battle against Seron at Beth Horon, the battle against Gorgias at Emmaus, the battle against Lysias at Beth Zur (Judas Maccabeus, Claude Conder, pages 89-101).

Bro Roger Lewis - The House of Asaph Ch 12

22. And with the arms of a flood,

< by which they shall be formidably invaded, shall they, the Egyptians,>

be overflown from before

<Antiochus, whom they excite to war, by demanding the restitution of Coele-Syria and Palestine.>

And they shall be broken,

Prince of the

Covenant,

23. And after the league made with

shall work deceitfully after

for he shall come up

shall become strong with a small people,

<or army>.

24. <By his deceit,>

he shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province

and he,

<Antiochus>,

shall do that which his fathers,

have not done, nor his fathers' fathers;

<namely,>

he shall scatter among his followers the prey, and spoils, and riches: yea, he shall forecast his devices against the strongholds

even for a time.

25. 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

mighty army, but he shall not stand: for

shall forecast devices against him,

26. Yea, they that feed of the portion of

<Philometer's>

meat,

<even his courtiers, shall separate, or renounce, him;> and his

<Antiochus'>

army shall overflow

<Egypt;>

and many

shall fall down slain.

27 <And the hearts of both>

these kings shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table, but shall not prosper; for the end

at the time appointed.

28 Then shall

return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the

and he shall do

he return to his own land,

29. At the time appointed,

he shall return and come towards the south,

But it,

shall not be as the former or as the latter.

<He raised the siege and marched towards Memphis, where he installed Philometer as king. As soon, however, as he had departed, Philometer came to an understanding with Euergetes, and they agreed to a joint reign over Egypt. This coming to the ears of Antiochus, he led a powerful army against Memphis, for the purpose of subduing the country. Having nearly accomplished his project, he marched against Alexandria, which was the only obstacle to his becoming absolute master of Egypt.

But the Roman Embassy, sent at the request of the Ptolemies, met him about a mile from the city. They had left Rome with the utmost diligence. When they arrived at Delos they found a fleet of Macedonian, or Greek, ships, on board of which they embarked for Alexandria, where they arrived at the crisis of his approach: Popilius delivered to Antiochus the decree of the Senate, and demanded an immediate answer. Sorely against his will he agreed to obey its mandate, and draw off his army from Egypt. Thus, his invasion terminated very differently from the former and the latter; >

30. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him,

therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the

< Covenant of the Holy; for in his return-march, through Palestine, he detached 20,000 men under Apollonius with orders to destroy Jerusalem, B.C. 168. >

So shall he do; he shall even return and have intelligence with them that forsake the

the Holy.

31. And arms shall stand on his part

and they,

and they shall place

the abomination making desolate

<As soon as Antiochus Epiphanes was returned to Antioch, he published a decree by which all his subjects were required to conform to the religion of the State. This was aimed chiefly at the Jews, whose religion and nation he was resolved to extirpate. Atheneus, a man advanced in years, and extremely well versed in all the ceremonies of Grecian idolatry, was commissioned to carry the edict into effect in Judea and Samaria. As soon as he arrived at Jerusalem he began by suppressing the Daily, or evening-morning sacrifice, and all the observances of the Mosaic Law.

He caused the sabbaths and other festivals to be profaned; forbade the circumcision of children; carried off and burned all copies of the Law and the Prophets wherever they could be found; and put to death whoever acted contrary to the decree of the king. To establish it the sooner in every part of the nation, altars and chapels filled with idols were erected in every city, and sacred groves were planted.

Officers were appointed over these, who caused the people generally to offer sacrifice in them every month, on the day of the month on which the king was born, who made them eat swine's flesh and other unclean animals sacrificed there. The temple in Jerusalem was dedicated to Jupiter Olympius, whose statue was placed in it. Thus he did in his great indignation against the Covenant of the Holy Nation and its Land.>

We have now arrived at the end of the thirty-fifth verse, the events of which bring us down to the conclusion of 430 years from the destruction of the city and temple in the 19th of Nebuchadnezzar. There is here a change of topic in the prophecy.

No more is said about Judah's warfare with the Greek Powers of the north or south. History, but not the prophecy, informs us that Judah became a kingdom, under princes of the Asmonean family, until it passed under the sceptre of Herod the Idumean, in the 39th year of whose reign Jesus CHRIST was "born KING OF THE JEWS".

Not long after this event the sceptre of Judah was transferred to the Romans, whose emperor became the reigning king (John 19:15). But the sceptre was only temporarily departed; and its return is earnestly desired and expected by all who believe the gospel of the Kingdom of God. When Jesus was 26 years old, the things revealed by Gabriel (Dan. 9:24, 27), in relation to the seventieth heptade, began to be accomplished.

During that seven years Judah's heart was stirred up from its lowest depths. John the Baptist and Jesus, the greatest personages of the time, turned all minds to that great kingdom, which, in the hands of the Prince Royal and the Saints, is to rule over all. But even then, "the end was still for a time appointed".

About 1,835 years have passed since the expiration of the seventieth heptade. Judah has been broken, but their "breakers" have not been "ground to powder" by the Stone. The time, however, fast approaches; and the nearer it arrives, the more important do all questions become bearing upon Judah's land, and Zion, the city of their king.

About 95 years after the end of the 430 years previously indicated, the Asiatic kingdom of the north, which had so terribly afflicted Judah, was annexed by Pompey to the empire of the Romans, which, by the absorption of Greece, had now become Romano- or Latino-Greek; and in about thirty-five years after that, Egypt experienced the same fate. The kingdom of the Jews still survived. Two powers alone existed. The Four Horns of the Goat had disappeared; and nothing of the symbol remained but that which answered to the Romano-Greek Asiatic Power, waxing exceeding great toward the east, and looking with a fierce and threatening countenance upon the little kingdom of Judea.

What shall this power be called ? Gabriel styled it "a Little Horn" budding forth out of one of the four horns of the Goat--"little" in its Asiatic beginning, but "exceeding great" when it had ceased to grow. In relation to the Holy Land it appeared as a power, first in the north. History therefore shows, that the horn of the north was the one of the four upon which Daniel beheld it. But it did not content itself with merely looking fiercely at Judah. It fought against Judea and conquered; and so firmly had it established itself in the Holy, that when Jesus was arraigned before it, Judah clamoured for his death, crying, "We have no king but Caesar".

From the annexation of the Holy Land to the Roman empire by Pompey until the present time, it has been mainly subject to Rome and Constantinople--to Rome until the throne of the empire was transferred by Constantine the Great to the city called by his name. Because, therefore, the Holy Land and city have been in the main possessed by the Romano-Constantinopolitan power, and because that power crucified the King of the Jews, and destroyed the holy soon after the seventieth heptade; and because it is the same (though administered by a different race and generation, that is, the Moslem) that will stand up against heaven's Commander in Chief in the approaching consummation--the power is represented by one and the same symbol, which is styled "the Little Horn" of the Grecian Goat, or nation.

34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

Antiochus Epiphanes decreed that the whole kingdom should be one people, and abandon the laws peculiar to smaller communities. To this the various nations subject to his rule agreed. Many Israelites also consented to his religion, and sacrificed to idols, and profaned the Sabbath.

In those days the king's officers came to Modin to make the people sacrifice to idols. Among these was a priest named Mattathias, who resided at Modin, and who was deeply moved at the tyranny of Antiochus, and the apostacy of his people, who crowded to the altar erected by his decree.

Mattathias being present, the king's officers endeavoured to make him conform by fair speeches and promises of high honours and rewards. Upon which Mattathias cried out with a loud voice,

"Though all the nations under the king's dominion obey him, and fall away every one from the religion of their fathers, and give consent to his commandments, yet will I and my sons and my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers. God forbid that we should forsake the law and the ordinances. We will not hearken to the king's words to go from our religion, either on the right hand or the left."

Now, when he had ceased, one of the bystanding Jews came forward in the sight of all to sacrifice on the altar according to the king's decree.

When Mattathias observed this, his zeal was inflamed, and he could no longer forbear "to show his anger according to judgment," wherefore he ran, and slew him upon the altar. Also the king's commissioner, who compelled men to sacrifice, he killed at the same time, and demolished the altar.

"Thus," saith the writer of Maccabees,

"dealt he zealously for the law of God, like as Phineas did unto Zambri, the son of Salon" (see Numb. 25).

This event illustrates the era of the Asmoneans, when Israel were "holpen with a little help," about the conclusion of Ezekiel's 430 years, during which they were to "eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles."-Dan. 11:34; Ezek. 4:4; 6:13. - Reprinted from Herald 1857

The Christadelphian, June 1886

35 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.

The imperial Constantinopolitan catholic power

THE KING AND THE "STRANGE GOD"

This Little Horn power, or "king of fierce countenance," is, in the thirty-sixth verse of the eleventh chapter [Daniel], styled, "the king who doth according to his will." This federal potentate must be studied in his secular and ecclesiastical characters. His secular, with a hint or so of his spiritual, character, is given in the eighth chapter; while his ecclesiastical is exhibited more fully in the eleventh, from the thirty-sixth, to the thirty-ninth, verses inclusive. His policy was to be of a remarkable description; for

"through his policy he shall cause craft to, prosper by his power."

Hence, his doings with regard to another, and that person's words and deeds, are all affirmed of this wilful king; for, it is by his power, as well as through his policy, that this person is enabled to do. Thus, putting them both together, for they are one in policy and action, the power is thus outlined by the prophet, who says,

"And the King shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god," or ruler, "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. He shall disregard all the gods of his fathers (Septuagint) and the desire of wives, nor shall he regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all."

This is evidently not descriptive of the pagan Roman power, but of that power invested with a new ecclesiastical character. In other words, it is descriptive of the imperial Constantinopolitan catholic power. Of all who swayed this sceptre from Constantine, the founder of the city, to Palaeologus, who lost it to the Turks, the emperor Justinian is the best illustration of the wilful king in his secular aspect.

"Never prince," says Dupin, "did meddle so much with what concerns the affairs of the church, nor make so many constitutions and laws upon this subject. He was persuaded that it was the duty of an emperor, and for the good of the State, to have a particular care of the church, to defend its faith, to regulate external discipline, and to employ the civil laws and the temporal power to preserve it in order and peace."

"Justinian," says Gibbon,

"sympathised with his subjects in their superstitious reverence for living and departed saints; his code, more especially his novels, confirm and enlarge the privileges of the clergy; and in every dispute between the monk and the layman, the partial judge was inclined to pronounce, that truth and innocence are always on the side of the church.

In his public and private devotions, he was assiduous and exemplary; his prayers, vigils, and fasts, displayed the austere penance of a monk; his fancy was amused by the hope, or belief, of personal inspiration; he had secured the patronage of the virgin, and St. Michael, the archangel; and his recovery from a dangerous disease was ascribed to the miraculous succour of the holy martyrs, Cosmas and Damian.

Among the titles of imperial greatness, the name of Pious, was most pleasing to his ear; to promote the temporal and spiritual interest of the (Greco-Roman) church was the serious business of his life; and the duty of father of his country was often sacrificed to that of defender of the faith.

While the Barbarians invaded the provinces, while the victorious legions marched under the banners of Belisarius and Narses, the successor of Trajan, unknown to the camp, was content to vanquish at the head of a synod."

"The reign of Justinian was an uniform yet various scene of persecution; and he appears to have surpassed his indolent predecessors, both in the contrivance of his laws, and rigour of their execution. The insufficient term of three months was assigned for the conversion or exile of all heretics; and if he still connived at their precarious stay, they were deprived under his iron yoke, not only of the benefits of society, but of the common birthright of men and christians."

Antiochus Epiphanes and Justinian represent "the king" as he will be manifested, when, as the king of the north, he appears upon the arena, standing up to contend with the Prince of princes, on the field of Armageddon, for he is to "prosper till the indignation be accomplished" against Israel. Impious and cruel as Antiochus, and superstitious and fanatical as Justinian, with the arrogance, ambition, and profanity of the Roman Bishop in his halcyon days, this incarnation of the sin-power in the crisis of its fate, will fully answer to all that has been predicated of this king who does according to his will, and "for whom Tophet is ordained of old" (Isaiah 30:27-33; 31:8, 9).

... But when the Little Horn's sceptre is wrested from his feeble grasp by the Autocrat, we shall see in him a potentate, unrivalled in presumption and impiety by any of his fathers, not excepting Pharoah of the olden time.

Elpis Israel 3.4.

The Man of Sin

36 And the king (the Dragon-Power of the Apocalypse) 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.

According to his will

Justinian the first King to give primacy of the Roman See over Constantinople

37 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.

...a Latin Pontifical Kingdom, whose Pontiff-King claims to be Christ's Substitute on earth, and Successor to the Apostle of the Circumcision; the Name of Blasphemy whose pontifical throne has been for ages established on the Seven Hills; and though reigning in a country whose vernacular is the Italian, ignoring this language, and "speaking" only in that of his pagan fathers to whom he was unknown (Dan. 11:38): could any name be more appropriate to such a power than Latin, in the sense of the Latin Power, or the Antichrist? No other, I believe.

Eureka 13.35.

The king would not be bound nor restrained by the religion of his fathers. Constantine's fathers were pagan, but he embraced Christianity to further his political ambitions. The doctrines espoused by Constantine, and subsequently developed within the Catholic Church, renounced paganism (though its system was incorporated in a modified form into the Catholic teachings).

The popes of the Church established themselves as infallible, and as the "vicars of God" - thus in honouring them, these emperors of Constantinople respected a new god.

- The doctrine of the papacy includes the celibacy of a priesthood, and the institution of a celibate order of nuns. This attitude has its basis in paganism, for Hislop records:

"Strange as it may seem, yet the voice of antiquity assigns to the abandoned queen (Semiramus) the invention of clerical celibacy, and that in its most stringent forms" (The Two BabyIons, p. 219). Concerning the church-approved separation of women in nunneries and convents, a personal report is contained in Forgotten Women in Convents, p. 109:

"I shrink at the memory of the awful struggle back to normalcy which I, in common with every other ex-nun went through. With no business training, no knowledge of homemaking, no sense of values without which any life is a failure; with no decision, a prey to a thousand terrors, afraid of myself and everyone else; timid, cringing, physically emancipated but mentally chained, the unfortunate ex-nun, returns to her cell voluntarily, because there are no decisions to be made there.

Rome clips the wings of her victims so that they cannot fly, then tells the believing world that they stay because they like it."

Daniel's prophecy is defined by Paul, who declares that this unnatural attitude would develop out of the ecclesial sphere, and become a great movement:

"The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry..." (1 Tim. 3: 1-3).

When the Truth was converted by Constantine into a pagan-orientated Christianity, church practice fulfilled both prophecies.

The Christadelphian Expositor - Acts

38 But in his estate (or empire) shall he honour the god of <guardians> (the Bishop of Rome): and a god (pagan) whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

Bazaars of Mahuzzim

39 Thus shall he do in the <Bazaars of the Guardians > (temples dedicated to fictitious saints and angels) , whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

The buildings pertaining to this God of Guardian Saints and Angels are styled by Daniel, "the Bazaars of the Guardians." The noun mivtzahr, is derived from the root bahtzar, which among other meanings signifies to enclose with a wall.

As a noun betzer signifies ore of gold and silver, precious metals, store, or treasure so secured.

...Holy Father" of Christendom so-called... a foreign god, and all the ecclesiastical edifices of his bishoprick dedicated to the dis embodied ghosts of reputed saints, into Bazaars, or places of traffic in spiritual merchandise, and in "the bodies and souls of men!" (Apoc. 18:13).

The churches, chapels, and cathedrals, then, are "the most strongholds" of the King's superstition, which has spread itself over Europe and America. They are the houses of business dedicated by the prospering craft to "Guardian Spirits". There are laid up in store the images and pictures of reputed saints.

They are Saints' Houses in which are deposited their shrines; silver, gold and ivory crucifixes; "religious articles" of all sorts; together with old bones, and various kinds of votive trumpery.

They are literally, "Dens of Thieves," without ever having been houses of the Father - dens, where people are hoodwinked, and by "sharp practice" robbed of their money under divers false pretences. They are places where pews are sold by auction, the proudest sittings being knocked down to Mammon's greatest favorites; places where fairs of vanity and deceit are held for "pious objects;" and whose spiritual empirics pretend to "cure souls" in consideration of so much per annum.

In view of these facts, the Scriptural epithet bestowed upon the ecclesiastical edifices of the Apostasy , is most appropriate. They are truly bazaars of spiritual merchandise; and the prospering craft, "the great men of the earth," papal, catholic, and protestant, made rich by trading in their wares, are the Bazaar-Men, who extort all kinds of goods from their deluded customers by putting them in sulphurous and mortal fear; and comforting them with counterfeits upon some transpatial bank when time shall be no more!

They "buy and sell" under license from the Ecclesiastical Power, having received its "mark upon their foreheads, or on their right hands. " The reader may find their inventory of merchandise in Apoc. 18:12,13. Among the articles received in exchange for their "spiritual things," are tithes, bodies (somata) and souls of men. But the trade of these soul-and-body merchants is in anything but a satisfactory state at present.

Great numbers of their customers have discovered that the profit is all upon one side; nor are they backward in proclaiming that when a favorable opportunity presents they will break up the iniquitous concern, and make the cheats disgorge their unhallowed gains.

This will be to them a sad day - a day of universal bankruptcy for the weeping and wailing merchants of "Babylon the Great;" for "no man buyeth their merchandize any more." When a man's trade is thus extinguished, nothing but ruin stares the shattered tradesman in the face.

This is the fate that awaits the preachers of all the "other gospels" of the bazaars - gospels other than Paul preached, and which leave men in ignorance and disobedience; gospels which make them partisans of human crotchets and traditions; and the apologists of anything sincerely professed as a substitute for the truth.

Eureka 12.17.

Divide the land for gain

This treatment of the holy land is particularly characteristic of the Ottoman power which has possessed the country since 1509, when it was incorporated with the Turkish empire by Selim IX. It has been divided by his successors to their pashas literally "for gain;" by which the ruin of the country was made sure and expeditious.

Having purchased principalities in it at enormous prices, they make a conscience of reimbursing themselves in the shortest possible time by every kind of extortion; well-knowing, in past times at least, that if a higher price were offered than they had given, their heads would soon appear at Constantinople, in attestation of their dangerous posts being occupied by equally unscrupulous exactors.

But, is the holy land to continue for ever as it is at this day? Is the Little Horn of the Goat always to divide it for a price among his pashas? These are questions of great interest to all who believe the gospel of the kingdom of God and his Christ. If the reader have accompanied me through this volume, he will, I doubt not, be ready to answer in full assurance of faith and hope, with an emphatic " "No," it is impossible."

Yea, verily, it is impossible that it can always be desolate and subject to the horns of the Gentiles. If it were, the kingdom of God could never be established; for the Holy Land is the territory of the kingdom. To all, then, who believe "the things of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ," how intensely interesting must the future destiny of this country be! Well may it be said by the prophet,

"Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth" (Isaiah 62:6,7).

But when and how shall the land of Israel be wrested from the Little Horn of the Goat? As to the when, the prophecy contained in the last six verses of the eleventh chapter plainly informs us, that it shall be in the Time of the End;

"for to the time of the end shall be the vision" (Dan. 8:17).

Elpis Israel 3.5.

40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south [Territory of Egypt (Tarshish and the young lions)] push at him [the Turkish desolator 1914?] : and the king of the north [Russia having exanded into Seleucid territory Syria/ Turkey] 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.

THE HAGIA SOPHIA (CHURCH OF DIVINE WISDOM)

This colossal and magnificent temple with its great dome, gates and lofty pilasters was built by Justinian AD533 as the HQ of eastern Christendom.

Until the Turkish inundation l453, Justinian , boasted

" Solomon I have surpassed thee,'

This building Russia desires to possess and to reestablish the latter: day Byzantine Empire, For this policy she will invade Turkey (Dan 11: 40) before overflowing and passing over to take the Middle east and destroy Israel, and gain rich in spoil.

The Apocalyptic Messenger, July 2023

The third sign is the existence of the Egyptian power.

It is written in Dan. 11:40, that

"at the time of the end the king of the south shall push at" the power exercising sovereignty over the Holy Land. When Daniel wrote this, he was residing in Babylon which was situated one degree and twenty-three minutes, or 83 miles north of Jerusalem. The kingdom south of these cities was that of Egypt.

For several hundreds of years previous to 1820, when "that determined" began to be "poured out upon the Desolator" of the Holy Land, Egypt had ceased to be a kingdom. But not long after the termination of the Russian war in 1829, Mehemet Ali rebelled against the Sultan of Turkey, and succeeded in establishing himself as King of Egypt, or of the South, including Palestine and Arabia.

He conquered Syria, and was, for a time, lord paramount of the East. This exaltation from a Turkish Pasha to the sovereignty of Egypt, opened new prospects to his ambition, and he aspired to the throne of Constantinople.

The "time of the End" was just at hand, there being only five years of the 2300 years of Dan. 8:14*, to expire. In 1838, Mehemet Ali, King of the South, "pushed at" the Sultan. Hitherto he had confined his operations to Egypt and Syria, but now at the closing of the war he pushed for Constantinople, and advanced as far as Smyrna; and but for the interference of the "Great Powers" unconsciously "to establish the vision," he would doubtless, have dethroned him.

*2 400 years - Elpis Israel 3.5 See note Dan 8: 14

Wearied of this state of affairs which endangered the balance of power," England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, undertook to establish peace, and to place things on a permanent footing. They ordered the king of the South to surrender Syria, including Palestine; and to restore the Turkish fleet, which had revolted from the Sultan during the war.

Mehemet Ali refused to do either; contending that Syria was his as a part of his kingdom for ever by right of conquest; and the fleet, as the spoils of war. These great powers, however, were not to be trifled with. They were willing that the throne of Egypt should be hereditary in his family; but determined that he should only be Pasha of Syria for life.

But Mehemet would not yield, and the result was, that the allied fleet bombarded the cities of the Syrian seaboard, and took possession of St. Jean d'Acre. They again offered him "all that part of Syria, extending from the Gulph of Suez to the Lake of Tiberias, together with the province of Acre for life," if he would restore the Turkish fleet.

But he still refused, and in the autumn of 1840, they compelled the Egyptian forces to evacuate the country, and determined that he should not have it at all; and threatened that if he did not restore the fleet in ten days, they would bombard him in Alexandria.

Prudence, which is said to be the better part of valor, at length overcame the obstinacy of Mehemet; he therefore yielded, and surrendered the ships within the time. Thus, the Land of Israel was restored to the Sultan of Constantinople, and Mehemet was restricted to the kingdom of Egypt.

..."The land is mine, saith Yahweh;"

so that no gentile power can by any possibility retain more than a temporary dominion over it. The hand of God may be clearly discerned in the events of this epoch.

He hardened the king of Egypt's heart, not to accept the land upon any other terms than his own, which were certain not to be granted.

If they had yielded to his demand, "the Eastern Question" would have been diplomatically settled, and the course of events regarding Israel turned into a different, and perhaps opposite channel; but as the belligerent diplomacy of 1840 has left the country, the policy or fate of the Sultan will affect the current and future fortunes of the land.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Dec 1860

Christ is properly described as "the King of the South" because he will first invade Egypt before moving north to Jerusalem against the assembled armies of the Russian Gog. Moreover, as by that time Gog will have occupied Constantinople, he can be aligned with the "him" of Daniel 11:40

The term "King of the South" of Daniel 11 invariably denotes a foreign power in occupation of Egypt. In 1829, Mehemet Ali established his authority there and thereby became a "King of the South" as correctly interpreted in Elpis Israel p. 417.

He proceeded to "push at him", the power in occupation of Constantinople that is, Turkey and which then dominated the whole of the Middle East. His "push" would have succeeded but for the intervention of England, Russia, Prussia and Austria which powers ordered him back into Egypt.

The Author of Elpis Israel saw this as a temporary fulfilment of Daniel 11:40 (see p. 418). But the complete fulfilment of the "push" of the King of the South was by Britain in 1917 when Turkey was driven from the Middle East, and the way opened for the Jews to return and the nation of Israel being revived. That "push" witnessed such an outstanding fulfilment of Bible prophecy as being without doubt the fulfilment required.

The next event as listed by that prophecy is the attack of the King of the North against "him", that is, against Turkey. Russia will occupy Constantinople, to become identified as the Dragon power of the last days.

From there he will invade the "glorious land" and drive south to Egypt (Dan. 11:40- 43). But "tidings out of the east and north" troubling him, he will leave an occupying force in Egypt, and move north against Jerusalem (v. 45).

Meanwhile, Christ will invade Egypt, and so become the King of the South in the sense mentioned in Eureka above (Isa. 19). As such, he will "push" against the power in occupation of Constantinople but who then will be in Jerusalem.

Logos Publications

Note: Struggling to find scripture to support "Christ is properly described as "the King of the South" because he will first invade Egypt before moving north to Jerusalem" or "Christ will invade Egypt, and so become the King of the South"

No writer on prophecy, whose opinion is worthy of any respect from the biblical student, denies that "the King of the North," contemporary with "the Time of the End," testified of in Dan. 11:40, is "the Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tobl" of Ezekiel, or the "Autocrat of all the Russias."

This may be regarded as a settled interpretation; and any speculation that disputes it, is not worth the time of its reading.

This truth ascertained beyond doubt, it is easy to discern the destiny of the Russian power. It matters not what present obstacles encounter her, nor what disasters befal her, she will override them all, and rise to the ascendant ultimately; and in so doing, bind Europe to her chariot-wheels for a little season preceding her destruction by the hand of God.

... "Russia triumphant and Europe chained" is no fancy-sketch, or fiction of the brain.

The king of the North is to "come against him," or that Power that "divides," or apportions, "the Land (of Palestine) for a price."-Dan. 11:39; Joel 3:2. This power is, and can be, no other than the Ottoman, or Euphratean, which is "drying up." But, mark how the king of the north is to go against him,-

"He shall rush like a tempest upon him with chariots" yistahair ahlahv berekev.‭

If this simply meant artillery,‭ ‬there would be nothing peculiar in this attack of the king of the North compared with that of the king of the South who‭ "‬pushed at‭" ‬the same power before him.‭ ‬The king of the South,‭ ‬or Egypt,‭ ‬drove his artillery-wheels against the Sultan with disastrous effect in‭ ‬1840‭; ‬but he did not rush with locomotive-speed in trains of chariots.‭ ‬But this the king of the North is to do‭; ‬for we believe that the‭ "‬chariots‭" ‬in the text are‭ ‬iron-horsed cars.‭

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Feb 1857

‭ "‬iron-horsed cars" - a fine description of tanks long before they existed.‭

41 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.

42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

In the approaching scramble for the effects of the expiring Sick Man of Ottomania, she [Britain] will most likely secure for herself, or at least take possession of, Egypt and Syria. But Daniel shows that whatever power may primarily become seized of these countries, will not be able to prevent their being stamped by the Feet of the Bear.*

Eureka 13.11.

43 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.

From this conquest he will proceed into the Holy Land. The war between the belligerents will then be transferred to this country, upon which the Oriental Power must necessarily retire. The conflict waged will be furious; for the Northern Power, symbolized by John's Scarlet-colored Beast, will..."go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many".*

44 But tidings out of the east [Tarshish and the young lions] and out of the north [Israel] shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.

This brings him to Jerusalem, which he besieges and captures (Zech. 14:2). Upon this the Oriental Leopard falls back upon Edom, Moab and Ammon, beyond the Jordan and the Dead Sea.*

Tarshish North (North West of Babylon [Britain] from where Daniel uttered the prophecy) and Tarshish East (India)

...in the latter days Israelites to some extent are dwelling in the Holy Land prosperously and securely; and that this prosperity tempts the ambition and covetousness of a great potentate, who desires to make a spoil of them, and to possess their land.

On making his purpose known, which the prophet terms "an evil thought," a power is represented as interfering in behalf of the inhabitants of the land. It puts a question to the power about to invade, which may be termed a question of defiance, as much as to say,

"Thou shalt not invade Palestine, and spoil the inhabitants, if we can prevent."

This intimation is styled,

"tidings out of the east and out of the north" by Daniel; which "trouble him."

They do not, however, prevent the invasion of the land, but tend to make him more desperate; for the prophet adds,

"therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many."

When Daniel and Ezekiel wrote these things they were captives in Babylon; which is about the same parallel of north latitude with Jerusalem. "The east" from these stand points directs our attention to India or Tarshish, which Isaiah indicates as "from beyond to the rivers of Cush;" while "the north," from whence the tidings come to trouble "the king of the north," or Gog, must be taken as being west as well as north, or the threatening would come from himself against himself, which cannot be supposed.

About 35° 15° west & north from Jerusalem, are the British coasts of Tarshish. Hence Daniel in indicating the points of the compass whence the tidings issue, leads us to conjecture that a power occupying the coasts originally peopled by the sons of Tarshish may be the friend of Israel in the latter days. But conjecture is reduced to certainty by Ezekiel, who tells us plainly the name or designation of the power in the east and north which lifts up its voice against the invader. He styles it

"Sheba and Dedan, and the Merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof."

This points out the countries in the east where the power is to be sought for; it also indicates the character of the power; and where in the north it is to be found. It is a merchant power like that of Tyre,

"whose merchants were princes, and her traders the honorable of the earth." "The young lions of Tarshish, Dedan, and Sheba," or "thereof,"

is a phrase which informs us that the power established in those lands is represented by a Lion. This is the symbol of the Tarshish power in the latter days, as the Frog is of the French, or the Eagle of Austria. We look then to Sheba or Aden, and to Tarshish or India, and inquire "What is the symbol of the power in the ascendant there?" The answer is "a Lion"-the Lion-power of England, or the Lion of the north.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, March 1858

45 And he shall < pitch> the <tents of his entrenched camp> between the seas <unto the mountain of the glory of the holy>; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

At this crisis the face of Yahweh is flushed with fury, and he goes forth against the invader (Ezek. 38:18; Zech. 14:3). As the Stone-Power, he smites the Image upon the feet, and shatters it into fragments.

The Bear, the Lion and Leopard, inclusive of the British section of the last, lose their dominion; but as Assyria and Egypt are annexed to Israel (Isa. 19:23-25) and the tide of war is rolled back from Syria, north and west, upon the countries of the Ten Horns, and of the Two-Horned beasts, over which the Name of Blasphemy presides as their prophet, priest and king.

This solution of the Eastern Question ushers in the solution of the Roman Question, neither of which can be finally disposed of until the Ancient of day's, that is, Jesus Christ, come; and he give authority and power to his brethren, the Saints, to execute the judgment written in ch. 13:10; which is, as David expressed it, to slay the beast (the Fourth Beast in Apocalyptic manifestation) , destroy his body in the burning flame, and take away the dominion of the Lion, the Bear and the Leopard (ch. 7:11,12).

Eureka 13.11

...the Lord loves those who heartily believe the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, and ardently desire the promised salvation, and who, having attained to a knowledge of the will of God, are anxious on the subject of conforming to it in all particulars.

...Let us hold fast our confidence then without wavering, for He is faithful who has promised. The events of our own day show that we are on the verge of the consummation.

The dense cloud masses that overhang the political sky; the unparalleled state of armament among the nations; the heavy swell of the democratic sea, and the roar of its breakers on every strand; the impotence of the beast and his image to touch the hair of a single saint against whose community they made deadly war in past times

...these things tell us plainly that the end is at hand, and that God is about to perform His long-promised work of deliverance on behalf of the whole house of Israel, of which Jesus and his brethren are the true kernel.

Seasons 2.31.