We live with millions of believers who are waiting for the world to end according to a certain script. Mayhem and death on a global scale has always been a feature of that script. While all Christians look forward to the end times, one particular group, a very powerful one, particularly in the US, goes much further by scouring the bible, looking for a blueprint, clues and agents. Their danger lies in their power in influencing foreign policy and forming international alliances based on Hebrew writings. The “business” of putting pulling together a script for the end times from the Bible is not new but over the last few decades it has become mainstream. While the futuristic scenario is made up from interpretation of verses from many books in the Bible, two book in particular are the most important: Daniel and Revelation. The former from the Old Testament gets less attention compared to the latter, a favorite book at the end of the New Testament.
If you are an Evangelical Christian, you believe that a great part of
For Evangelical Christians, two things make a significant part of their faith:
If you are an Evangelical Christian, you give two particular ideas shared with Christians throughout the ages extreme emphasis:
1. The Bible is inerrant and its text should be (almost always) taken literally.
1. The rapture, tribulations and the end times are happening soon and the Bible gives us clues to that Divine plan.
With the above in mind, you approach the Book of Daniel aware that there is a vision, a prophecy, from chapter 10 to 12 that ends with the “literal” end of the world. Daniel 11:40 (below) begins the verse with “at the time of the end…” The following chapter, in Daniel 12:1, the text speaks of the Final Judgement: “your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.” As such, going through the (war) events preceding to the end days, you realize that they are of the Final Conflict. (Fady: Who speaks the following?)
The glorious one says: That shall be the end-times, a period of great distress but Michael the protector of Israel will rise. Some will be saved while others will be damned.
Daniel 12
1 “At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase.”
The author of the Book of Daniel claims to be writing during the Babylonian period and prophesying about the future, detailing specific events that actually happened, including their persecution under the Seleucid Empire of the Syrian Greeks. However, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that this is true. Prophetic or not, the final vision provides a succession of Empires that present a challenge to the reader. The succession starts with the Babylonian Empire and, as elsewhere in Chapters, 2, 7 and 8, it always reaches the Greek Empire established by Alexander the Great, though not explicitly mentioning his name. So the warrior king, the Prince of Greece, who will conquer the Persians (Daniel 10:20) and lead an empire (Daniel 11: 2—4) is Alexander the Great. Ironically, Evangelicals and critical Biblical scholars would agree that the first 35 verses of Daniel 11 are historical events-long gone and done!
Daniel 10:5
5 I looked up and saw a man clothed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the roar of a multitude.
Daniel 10:12
12 He said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me twenty-one days. So Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia, 14 and have come to help you understand what is to happen to your people at the end of days. For there is a further vision for those days.”15 While he was speaking these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless. 16 Then one in human form touched my lips, and I opened my mouth to speak, and said to the one who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision such pains have come upon me that I retain no strength. 17 How can my lord’s servant talk with my lord? For I am shaking, no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.”
18 Again one in human form touched me and strengthened me. 19 He said, “Do not fear, greatly beloved, you are safe. Be strong and courageous!” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” 20 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I am through with him, the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I am to tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth. There is no one with me who contends against these princes except Michael, your prince.
The glorious one continues: A warrior king’s empire shall be broken into two; the kingdoms of the North and South will be allies initially
Daniel 11: 2—6
2 “Now I will announce the truth to you. Three more kings shall arise in Persia. The fourth shall be far richer than all of them, and when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a warrior king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and take action as he pleases. 4 And while still rising in power, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted and go to others besides these. 5 “Then the king of the south shall grow strong, but one of his officers shall grow stronger than he and shall rule a realm greater than his own realm. 6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to ratify the agreement. But she shall not retain her power, and his offspring shall not endure. She shall be given up, she and her attendants and her child and the one who supported her.
The glorious one continues: The king of the South shall wage a war against the king of the North
Daniel 11
“In those times 7 a branch from her roots shall rise up in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall take action against them and prevail. 8 Even their gods, with their idols and with their precious vessels of silver and gold, he shall carry off to Egypt as spoils of war. For some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north; 9 then the latter shall invade the realm of the king of the south, but will return to his own land.10 “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance like a flood and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. 11 Moved with rage, the king of the south shall go out and do battle against the king of the north, who shall muster a great multitude, which shall, however, be defeated by his enemy. 12 When the multitude has been carried off, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall overthrow tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, larger than the former, and after some years he shall advance with a great army and abundant supplies.
14 “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south. The lawless among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. 15 Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks, and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, not even his picked troops, for there shall be no strength to resist. 16 But he who comes against him shall take the actions he pleases, and no one shall withstand him. He shall take a position in the beautiful land, and all of it shall be in his power. 17 He shall set his mind to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of peace and perform them. In order to destroy the kingdom, he shall give him a woman in marriage; but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage. 18 Afterward he shall turn to the coastlands, and shall capture many. But a commander shall put an end to his insolence; indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. 19 Then he shall turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.
20 “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an official for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he shall be broken, though not in anger or in battle. 21 In his place shall arise a contemptible person on whom royal majesty had not been conferred; he shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom through intrigue. 22 Armies shall be utterly swept away and broken before him, and the prince of the covenant as well. 23 And after an alliance is made with him, he shall act deceitfully and become strong with a small party. 24 Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province and do what none of his predecessors had ever done, lavishing plunder, spoil, and wealth on them. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. 25 He shall stir up his power and determination against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall wage war with a much greater and stronger army. But he shall not succeed, for plots shall be devised against him 26 by those who eat of the royal rations. They shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall slain. 27 The two kings, their minds bent on evil, shall sit at one table and exchange lies. But it shall not succeed, for there remains an end at the time appointed. 28 He shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. He shall work his will, and return to his own land.
The glorious one continues: The king of the North will persecute those loyal to God and profane their temple (abomination of desolation)
Daniel 11
29 “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but this time it shall not be as it was before. 30 For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart and withdraw. He shall be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay heed to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the abomination that makes desolate. 32 He shall seduce with intrigue those who violate the covenant; but the people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take action. 33 The wise among the people shall give understanding to many; for some days, however, they shall fall by word and flame, and suffer captivity and plunder. 34 When they fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely. 35 Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed, until the time of the end, for there is still an interval until the time appointed.
From here onward to the end of the chapter, Hal Lindsay fabricated the apocalyptic nuclear plot in his book. He conveniently never mentioned any of the above verses (anything in Chapter 11, before verse 36) since it would not fit the plot. For example, the King of the North (Russia) profaning the temple, while in Hal’s book, it is the Antichrist from the Revived Roman Empire (a European Federation).
Actually, that is another reason why Hal never mentions the above verses in his book because it would mess with his script. He does mention the “Abomination of desolation,” an event that refers to the profaning of the holy temple and offering pagan offerings by the King of the North, a real event by Antiochus IV, however in Hal’s script based on the last passage in Daniel 11, the king of the North is Russia and her invading forces of Israel. It would not makes sense that a Russian leader would make pagan offerings there. So he does mention the abomination of desolation but he finds a different verse elsewhere in the Book of Daniel and that’s when he puts the accusation of the offensive act on the West European Antichrist.
By the time, you get here, as an Evangelical Christian, you are in a trap. You know that the ending is coming up and it is THE END, but what about all the other empires that we have encountered in history and perhaps are yet to see. Where is the Roman Empire that persecuted Christians? Where are the “sword-carrying” Islamic caliphates that emerged after the seventh century? Where is the Islamist empire of the Ottomans that held control of Jerusalem for four centuries? What about the modern empires of the 19th and 20th centuries including the British or Nazi Germany? Not to mention the European Union, the papacy, USA and the United Nations, Islamic terror…just so much seems to be missing!
Evangelical Christians would tell you that “the first 35 verses” are history, but what follows for the rest of Chapter 11 has to be the future, and the ultimate end, of the world as we know it. Then comes one of the most bizarre Biblical interpretation one could encounter, between verse 36 (above) and 35 (below) is a jump of 2000 years. They claim that the same figure (the King of the North) who they aknowledge as Antiochus Epiphanes is all of the sudden an evil “leader” or the Antichrist of the future. Mid-scenario, all characters now are pointing to different people!
The Evangelical Christian would assure that whatever they speculate about next must be true since they can demonstrate that “135 specific prophecies fulfilled with amazing accuracy in the first 35 verses of the chapter”!
When it comes to speculation, some Evangelicals will admit “a challenge in interpretation” while affirming that the rest of the chapter is about the end days, that is around the corner. They might shrug their shoulders and say regarding the kings of the South and the North that “the end-time identities of these nations are yet to be determined.”
But others whose audience in the millions, go before their audience, and make claims based on the latest news.
The glorious one says: The king of the North will consider himself greater than any god
36 “The king shall act as he pleases. He shall exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god, and shall speak horrendous things against the God of gods. He shall prosper until the period of wrath is completed, for what is determined shall be done. 37 He shall pay no respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to the one beloved by women; he shall pay no respect to any other god, for he shall consider himself greater than all. 38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these; a god whom his ancestors did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall make more wealthy, and shall appoint them as rulers over many, and shall distribute the land for a price.
The glorious one says: The king of the South will rise up to destroy the king of the North
40 “At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him. But the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He shall advance against countries and pass through like a flood. 41 He shall come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands shall fall victim, but Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall follow in his train. 44 But reports from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to bring ruin and complete destruction to many. 45 He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.
https://daniel11truth.com/
40 “At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him. But the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He shall advance against countries and pass through like a flood.
MILESONE: Israel is under the control of a false Messiah, allied with the Roman Dictator (the Antichrist); an Arab-African confederacy, led by Egypt, attacks Israel, triggering an invasion of Israel by Russia and her allies
One can not tell whether Lindsey is actually confused about the verse or deliberately distorting its meaning, however the “him” in “the king of the South shall rush upon like him” does not refer to Israel but to a conflict with the “king of the North” which is clear in the following line and also that is the theme of most of that particular chapter in the Book.
There is no indication in the passage that “the king of the South” (Egypt in Lindsey’s interpretation) will have allies but it makes for a better apocalyptic scenario. It also makes sense to him at the time, since many Arab nations were united front led by Egypt in their military conflicts with the State of Israel. But if that seems unreasonable to extract from the verse, he went a step further: he claims that “black Africa” will also be in that alliance. Shamelessly, he claims “the Bible says that Egypt, the Arabic nations, and countries of black Africa will form an alliance.” (p. 72) Where does the Bible say that? Don’t ask!
MILESTONE: A northern confederacy led by Russia, will ally with a confederacy of Arabs and Africans (headed by Egypt, “the King of the South”) to invade Israel
Lindsey: “…but the king of the north shall rush upon him (the Israeli leader) like a whirlwind, with chariots (mechanized army) and horsemen (cavalry), and with many ships” (Daniel 11:40b)
The above is another distortion. “Him” is a reference to the “king of the South,” not a leader of Jews.
Lindsey: The sobering conclusion is this: many of the African nations will be united and allied with the Russians in the invasion of Israel. This is in accord with Daniel’s graphic description of this invasion (Daniel 11:36-45).
The problem is that claim is that nowhere does the author claim that the warring kings of the North and South will ally to attack the land of Judea (Israel). In the next verse, we see the prophecy specifies that Judea (“the beautiful land”) will fall victim to that attack from the King of the North.
When Lindsey reads the passages, perhaps, he can not see that Judea is central to that conflict between the two kings but he perhaps he could somehow make it so.
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41 He shall come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands shall fall victim, but Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power.
“The beautiful land” according to Daniel’s prophecy will be attacked along the way by the King of the North. The second half of that verse is ignored by Lindsey. The Edomites, Moabites and Ammonites (ancient peoples in today’s Jordan) could not be fit into his apocalyptic script. Put into its original context, the mention of these people make sense since they are also along the path of the King of the North’s army, which is the Seleucid Army (or any Northern army you might pick at that time).
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42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall follow in his train.
MILESTONE: But Russia will double-cross its allies, conquering and taking over Egypt and attacking its allies. It conquers the Arab and African armies and invades Egypt.
Lindsey: He speaks of Arab Africa and black Africa, he says that “indicates one of two things: they will be next in line for conquest, or they will submit totally to the Russian will and be assimilated into the northern confederacy.”
Lindsey then grabs another Biblical verse from an entirely different context to support his theory: “And a sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia (Cush), when the slain fall in Egypt, and her wealth is carried away, and her foundations are torn down. Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league shall fall with them by the sword” (Ezekiel 30: 4,5)
Lindsey: Ezekiel describes the same invasion as follows: “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog [the Russian leader]. Thus says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, you will bestir yourself and come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north [Darnel’s king of the North], you and many peoples with you [i.e., the European iron curtain countries], all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army; you will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days, T will bring you against my land . , (Ezekiel 38:14-16). As previously quoted the Russians will make both an amphibious and land invasion of Israel, The current build-up of Russian ships in the Mediterranean serves as another significant sign of the possible nearness of Armageddon, They now have more ships in the Mediterranean than the United States, according to several recent news releases. The amphibious landings will facilitate a rapid encirclement of the middle section of “the land bridge.” (p. 157)
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44 But reports from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to bring ruin and complete destruction to many. 45 He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.
It is not clear what the author of Daniel meant by “reports from the east and the north” but ultimately, he’s bringing news to his persecuted people that the evil “King of the North,” that is Antiochus IV Epiphanes would die in Judea (“between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain”) following his conflict with “the King of the South.”
“Complete destruction to many” in verse 45 to Lindsey meant the annihilation of Jewish people by the invading Russians.
MILESTONE: The Russians consolidate their forces in Jerusalem after they get alarming news that the Western camp under the Antichrist, along with Eastern allies (Red China and other Asian nations) are readying for their attack. Now they seek to destroy all Jewish people.
MILESTONE: In response to Russian invasion of the Middle East, the Roman Antichrist will mobilize a huge army from the Roman Confederacy and from Red China. They will destroy the Russian army in Israel. God guides/allows the West, which is under the control of the Antichrist, to destroy the Russian army with nuclear weapons. Russia and her confederates are completely destroyed.
Verse 45 according to Lindsey is indication that the Russians (“the King of the North”) take Jerusalem (the Second Temple) as their headquarters. As for “the reports from the east and the north,” they became the Antichrist and his armies, based in Western Europe and the Asian nations congregating to attack the Russians.
Lindsey: As the Russian commander confidently prepares to meet the forces of the revived Roman Empire in Palestine, he seeks to utterly destroy the Jewish people. This is the apparent meaning of verses 44 and 45.
The problem for Hal Lindsey is that Verse 45 seems anticlimactic. Based on the last sentence of the chapter, he could claim that the Russians die there but it is lacking details, particularly the sensational type. The other problem which Lindsey, of course, will not mention is that the following passage of Chapter 12, the author speaks of the Final Judgement. That’s it! But wait, there should be more to the script.
“Perhaps no other great army of history has ever been so totally destroyed as this one will be.” When he write a sentence like that speaking of the defeat of the Russian army in Jerusalem, you know he’ll find himself another great battle in the Bible to represent Armageddon.
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In response to Russian invasion of the Middle East, the Roman Antichrist will mobilize a huge army from the Roman Confederacy and from Red China. They will destroy the Russian army in Israel. God guides/allows the West, which is under the control of the Antichrist, to destroy the Russian army with nuclear weapons. Russia and her confederates are completely destroyed.
(Ezekiel 38:18-22)
(Ezekiel 39:3-5)
The Antichrist of Rome takes over Egypt after Russia is destroyed
(Isaiah 19:4 RSV)
(Isaiah 19:20).
Either resulting nuclear exchange will destroy nations or God will send torrents of fire; USA could be annihilated
(Ezekiel 39:6 Amplified)
Two thirds of Jews in Israel would have perished. The remaining Jews of Israel view their salvation as an act of God leading many Jews to turn to Christ.
(Ezekiel 39:6-8).
(Zechariah 13:8, 9)
(Zechariah 12:2, 3; 14:1, 2)
(Isaiah 63:1-4)
(Revelation 14:20)
Ezekiel 38:15
(Ezekiel 38:8, 16)
(Zechariah 12:10).
The annihilation of both the Russian and Arab-African armies will leave only two great powers fighting over world domination: the combined forces of Western Civilization under the Roman Antichrist’s leadership and the Orient led by Red China sending vast hordes of marching fighters (200 million) to attack the Antichrist in the Middle East.
(Revelation 16:13, 14, 16 NASD)
Revelation 16:12
(Zechariah 12:2, 3; 14:1, 2).
(Isaiah 63:1-4),
(Revelation 14:20).
The Battle of Armageddon: The two armies will fight in the final battle for world control in an ancient Middle Eastern place called Armageddon. The thermonuclear holocaust will bring apocalyptic destruction to the planet. The Tribulation culminates in the holocaust of Armageddon
(Revelation 9:18)
(Revelation 9:15-18)
(Revelation 9:15-18).
Isaiah 24 (verses 1, 5, 6 ).
Isaiah 24 (verses 19, 20)
(Joel 3:9-14).,
At the climactic moment of the Battle of Armageddon, Christ will return with the Church to destroy all the ungodly and to set up the millennial kingdom of God, which He will rule out of Jerusalem.
(Revelation 1:7 NASB)
(Matthew 26:64 NASB)
(Daniel 7:13, 14 KJV)
(Matthew 24:30 NASB).
Zechariah 14:5
(Revelation 19:14 NASH)
(Revelation 19:8 NASB)
Christ launches a thousand-year reign (the the millennial kingdom of God). He rules the world out of Jerusalem.
Zechariah 14:9
(Zechariah 14:16-21; Isaiah 2:3; Micah 4:1-3).
(Zechariah 8:20-23; Isaiah 66:23)
Revelation 20:4-6
Revelation 20:7-10
Revelation 20:7, 8
Revelation 20:1-6; cf. Matthew 25:41-46
Revelation 21; Isaiah 65:17; II Peter 3:8-13
II Peter 3:10-13 NASB
