“That Which is Noted in the Scripture.”

Introduction: The Tapestry of Prophecy

Daniel 11 is particularly intricate, weaving together centuries of political intrigue, spiritual conflict, and Divine intervention. For us, Seventh-day Adventists, this chapter is not merely a historical account — it is a living guide, illuminating the path from ancient empires to the climactic events of the last days.

In this article, we will journey through the prophetic narrative of Daniel 11, exploring its key players, pivotal events, and the spiritual lessons it holds for us.

Persia, Greece, and the Four Divisions

Daniel 11 opens with a sweeping vision:

Dan. 11:2–4 – “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. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do 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 others beside those.”

Clear it is, from these verses, that the Medo-Persian Empire was to be subdued by the “mighty king” of Grecia (Alexander the Great), and subsequently be divided into four parts (to the south, to the north, to the east and to the west).

Thus it was that after Alexander’s untimely death, his short-lived empire was split up —

“and one part assigned to each of the four generals who formed the league. First, Ptolemy assumed the regal power in Egypt; second, Seleucus, in Syria and Upper Asia; third, Lysimachus, in Thrace and Asia Minor as far as Taurus; and fourth, Cassander took as his share Macedonia.” — Universal History, p. 100.

Point of Compass: The Mediterranean

It is now clear from the Scriptures that the Grecian division south of the Mediterranean, the Ptolemaic, first receives the title, “king of the south,” whereas the division north of the Mediterranean, the Lysimachian, first receives the title “king of the north.”

In relation to the territories of these two lines of rulers, the Mediterranean, therefore, becomes the point of compass from which they must be reckoned.

It is well to remember that aside from stating the geographic locations of the four Grecian divisions, the prophetic record of the entire chain of events is devoted to the king of the south and to the king of the north. As the narrative narrows, it traces the destinies of these two lines of rulers as they vie for control over the “glorious land” — Palestine.

The acts of the king of the north, however, are especially emphasized showing that the whole prophetic account is given particularly to expose his meddling with holy things.

Beginning with the ancient Medo-Persian Empire (Dan. 11:2, 3), the chain of events of this prophecy reaches on to the time that the “king of the north” plants “the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain” (Dan. 11:45), and culminates, as the angel explained, with the events of Daniel 12: the time of trouble.

The Anger Of The Nations And The Time Of Trouble Such As Never Was - Introduction Amos 3:7 — “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” Hos. 12:13 — “By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.” 2 Chron. 20:20 — “Believe in the Lord your God, so…

Seeing that no human being has lived on and on throughout these centuries, it is obvious that the titles, “king of the south” and “king of the north,” are applicable to two lines of rulers.

Seeing also that no government or kingdom has stood intact throughout the ages, it likewise is obvious that these two lines have undergone many supersessions of sovereigns — many regimes. For this reason, the Bible differentiates them by their lineal-geographic titles:

The King of the North and the King of the South

In 281 B.C., Lysimachus, the first northern king, added to his dominion Cassander’s; then in 279 B.C., Seleucus defeated Lysimachus and seized his kingdom, whereupon the eastern, the northern, and the western divisions became one. Thus, Seleucus was the second northern king.

Then in 190 B.C., Pagan Rome defeated the Seleucid dynasty at the decisive Battle of Magnesia. Pagan Rome, therefore, ushered in the third northern regime, whereas the Ptolemaic dynasty continued to be the first southern regime.

Remember now, to begin with, the king of the south rules the “glorious land,” Palestine, along with Egypt, and the king of the north takes the glorious land twice (Dan. 11:16, 41). If he takes it twice, then he must have lost it once.

Consequently, both kings ruled it twice, and lost it twice. But the king of the north, the last to rule it rules it “in the time of the end,” the time many run to and fro, and the time knowledge has increased (Dan. 12:4) — the time of the end.

The simple and positive way not to lose sight of the identity of these two kings, is to let the pen of Prophecy trace on the map of history, the successive rulers of Egypt and Palestine; because the titles of the kings who conquered and who lost these ancient countries, are meticulously chronicled in this prophetic chapter to preserve the identity and to expose the evil intents of both of these kings.

North Defeats South — Takes Egypt and Palestine.

The third regime of the king of the north (Pagan Rome) defeated the first regime of the king of the south (the Ptolemaic dynasty) and occupied Egypt and the glorious land — Palestine (Dan. 11:15, 16).

“In the year 63 B.C. the Roman general Pompey… marched against Jerusalem…Syria… had become a Roman thing.” — The Battleground, by Helaire Belloc.

With the defeat of Anthony, and the death of Cleopatra about 27 B.C., the noted dynasty of the Ptolemy’s came to its end finally, in 31 B.C —

“Egypt became a Roman Province.” — New Student’s Reference Book.

With this supersession of regimes, we are brought down to about 31 B.C., at which time Pagan Rome ruled Alexander’s entire empire.

In the Glory of the Kingdom

 Dan. 11:20  — “Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom.”

Augustus Caesar, the Roman emperor, is the one who taxed the world (Luke 2:1–4). As this raiser of taxes was to stand when the kingdom was in its glory, the statement implies that its glory was to wane.

The Second Regime of the South; Defeats the Fourth Regime of the North

Dan. 11:25, 26, 28–30 — “And he [the king of the north] shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he [the king of the north] shall not stand…”

As Pagan Rome never waged war against any other power of the south, two points stand out clearly:

• First, following the Ptolemaic regime, another king of the south must have risen; and
• Second, the war against this king of the south was waged by the regime subsequent to Pagan Rome, that of Christianized Rome, the fourth regime of the north.

The only regime that has risen from the south since the Ptolemaic dynasty went down, and that has ruled Egypt and Palestine, is that of the Mohammedans (Muslims).

Moreover, verses 25, 26, 28–30 credit victory to the king of the south, and history shows that, at the exact time the scripture points out, the Mohammedans arose from Africa and invaded the Christian nations north of the Mediterranean. This incursion of the Mohammedans began “in 639 A.D.,” when they

“invaded the country, and Egypt became a Mohammedan province.” — The New Student’s Reference Book.

Muslims had also gained control of Jerusalem by 638 A.D. when the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the city as part of a larger Muslim expansion into the Levant.

By 814 A.D., Rome (the king of the north) had already ceded Egypt and Palestine to the Mohammedans (to the king of the south).

Thus, following the Ptolemies, the Mohammedans, whose rule was the second southern regime, came into the title, “king of the south.”

Conscience-dominating Christianity from the north, and conscience-dominating Mohammedanism from the south, have ever since been in territorial and religious conflict. And whichever one took a slice of the other’s dominion, he forced, upon penalty of death for nonconformity, his religious beliefs upon his captives.

As the “he” of Dan. 11:29 returns at the appointed time and comes toward the south, “he” is therefore the king of the north gone down for another battle. These are the particulars which history confirms:

The Fifth Regime of the North Defeats the Second Regime of the South

Dan. 11:40 –“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at… the king of the north.”

The angel that dictated Daniel’s writings, explains that in the time of the end these prophecies were to be revealed, and that at that time “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Dan. 12:4.

The present increase of knowledge, therefore, shows that we are now living in the time of the end.

When Does The Time Of The End Begin? - Let us read Dan. 11:35  —  “And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge them, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.” Here you note that God’s people were to fall,…

At the beginning of it, declared Inspiration, (in the eighteenth century) the king of the south “shall push” at the king of the north — the time in which the king of the north shall —

Dan. 11:40–43 –“…come against him [against the king of the south] like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land [Palestine], and many countries shall be overthrown… and the land of Egypt shall not escape…”

Passing beyond the prophetic declaration of the Mohammedan victories, and coming to “the time of the end,” in the eighteenth century, we find that the Christianized king of the north in his fifth regime (the Christian governments independent of the church) is at the outset to overrun the king of the south (the Mohammedan Empire), and is finally to retake from him Egypt and Palestine and many other countries besides those which comprised the Mohammedan Empire.

The map below emphasizes the Turkish Empire in its greatness, and also gives the dates the various provinces fell. According to the map, the decline of the Empire commenced in 1699 (at the time of the end — Dan. 12:4).

“Until 1915, when England declared Turkish suzerainty at an end and established a protectorate, Egypt was nominally a Turkish dependency. But since 1883, following Arabi Pasha’s rebellion, Egypt had been practically ruled by Great Britain under a consul-general.” — The New Student’s Reference Book.

“Palestine [the glorious land], for long years the home of the Hebrew race, was under control of Rome in the time of Christ. In the seventh century it passed under the Moslem power, and from 1516 to 1919 was in the hands of the Turks and a part of the Turkish Empire.” — The World Book.

In order to fix the truth in our minds before passing from prophecy fulfilled to prophecy unfulfilled, it is expedient to attend to the following

Review:

After the dividing of Alexander’s dominion, Egypt and Palestine were, as previously seen, ruled first, by the Ptolemies; second, by Pagan Rome (Dan. 11:15, 16); third, by the Muslims (Dan. 11:22); and fourth, again by the Christians — specifically by Great Britain (Dan. 11:41).

These are the only historically and prophetically recorded supersessions involving the ancient lands of Egypt and Palestine. The surrendering of these countries, by one prophetic king to the other, unmistakably identifies “the king of the north” and “the king of the south” from the time of the dividing of Alexander’s empire to the present time, and leaves no room for doubt or for argument.

Here is simple proof that in modern times the Mohammedan rulers are in prophecy called the “king of the south,” while England’s kings, along with the disrupted family of Christianized kings whom prophecy says will not cleave one to another (Dan. 2:43), are called “king of the north.”

In her Pagan period, Rome is symbolized by the great image’s two legs of iron, and in her Christianized period, by its feet and toes of iron mixed with clay.

That the “king of the north” (Dan. 11:7) and the little-horn-power (having the eyes of man and a mouth speaking great things — Dan. 7:25) are one and the same power, is again shown by the fact that “time, times, and an half,” is the time given in both instances (Daniel 12:7). The twelfth chapter is simply but a continuation of the eleventh.

The King of the North Declares War

But Not Against the King of the South

So far in this chain of events, each link has been a prophecy fulfilled, but the verses which we are next to consider, contain the links of prophecy unfulfilled. Through the eye of faith, therefore we are now to look into the future:

Dan. 11:44  —“But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.”

The king’s final trouble is not to arise from the king of the south’s pushing at him, but from “tidings out of the east and out of the north,” showing that he is drawn into this last struggle for supremacy, not by anyone’s declaring war against him, but by his declaring war against many because “tidings out of the east and out of the north” have troubled him.

There is no doubt that Germany’s aggressive activities on the north of the Mediterranean (our point of reference as established in the previous article), and the Japanese on the east of it, are the tidings which led England into war against many.

The United Kingdom declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, after Germany invaded Poland, beginning the conflict in Europe. The United States later entered the war in December 1941 after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

The second world war therefore led to the fulfillment of almost the entire chapter of Daniel 11.

His Last Act

Dan. 11:45 — “And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”

It is self-evident that planting “the tabernacles of his palace” cannot mean planting his capitol. The tabernacles, therefore, may denote a branch of his palace.

And his choosing to plant them “in the glorious holy mountain,” indicates that the place is intended to attach to his tabernacles the holiness of the Christian’s God. Investing the tabernacles of his palace with such sanctity, can mean that it is to house the headquarters of the soon-coming ecclesiastical world-government, which we have already considered.

12. A World Government, And The Only People Who Will Not Bow Down To It - This symbolic forecast of the world government to be set up, plainly points out that the coming world government is to be neither the U.N., nor Communism, but an ecclesiastical power. We know that it is not Communism, because Communism is against religion, and the beast is for it.

But one location, perhaps Mount Sinai, is “between the seas” — the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. His choosing it instead of Jerusalem, implies that it is because Palestine, as well as Edom, Moab and Ammon, shall “escape out of his hand.”

The statement, “he shall come to his end, and none shall help him,” shows that he has previously been helped by some other power, and that he will not continue long thereafter, and most likely means that his ecclesiasticism will be overthrown by the horns of the scarlet-colored beast (Rev. 17:16).

It now being apparent that “the tabernacles of his palace” are supposed to represent holiness, and that the woman riding the beast (Rev. 17:3), settles the world’s social, economic, political, and religious problems, the truth is clear that the present Christian governments are to be reorganized, and ruled by an ecclesiastical head.

13. The Final World Government, Communistic Or Capitalistic — Which? - Though Communism appears to be the next power to rule the world, this symbolical prophecy points out that the world will next be ruled by an international religious system, by Babylon the Great, a rival of the religion of Christ, and a counterfeit of the woman in Revelation chapter 12:

Our prayer, therefore, is that all make sure that their names be in Michael’s Book of Life, for those whose names are not there, will be left to go down in eternal ruin.

Conclusion

TAKE IT TO HEART AND PROFIT

As parting reassurance that we are now living in the time of the end, and as that time is about to pass into eternity, we quote the angel’s solemn words:

Dan. 12:1 — “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

Those who expect to be led and to be saved by the Word of Truth, also to be delivered from the time of trouble, by Michael’s standing up, which trouble the present distress of nations is about to bring forth, should not hesitate now to take their stand on the side of right and truth. For this cause, Brother, Sister, is the light now shining on your path.

To those who take to heart the Lord’s warning and who stand on His side, is made the promise:

Dan. 12:3 — “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

Dan. 12:10 — “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”

And now having heard “the conclusion of the whole matter, fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Eccles. 12:13.