After Alexander the Great’s death around 323 B.C., his massive empire was divided among his top generals into four smaller empires. Two of them, Macedon and Asia Minor, are inconsequential Biblically speaking.
In Daniel 11, God goes to great length to impress upon us the identity of the two remaining divisions of Alexander’s empire: the Syrian empire whose leader the Bible calls “the king of the North,” and the Ptolemaic Egyptian empire, whose king is the king of the South.” Syria lay on Israel’s northern border, while Egypt lay on Israel’s southern border.
Daniel 11 details the continual conflict between Egypt and Syria, with little Israel stuck in between. It was the northern Syrian kingdom which would impact Israel the most. From this kingdom would arise a ruler named Antiochus Epiphanes, who is a foreshadow of the coming Antichrist.
The lands making up the vast Syrian empire comprised what are today the areas of Lebanon-Syria, Iraq, & Iran. These same lands are the center of conflict in the current Middle East war!
In Revelation 13, the beast which rises from the Abyss is described as having the body of a leopard, feet of a bear, and mouth of a lion (verse 2). As modern nations, these translate to Syria/Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq. But the ruling crowns of the beast are on its 10 horns (verse 1). Rulership is by a board of 10 kings/horns. And the supreme head of the beast is one who suffered an apparent wound, but lived (verse 3).
Who will emerge from the present Middle East conflict, as the dominant power over Iran & its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq? Whoever it is will gain the Biblical distinction of “the king of the North.”
In the end times, “the king of the North” will respond to an attack by Egypt, just like in ancient times.
“AT THE TIME OF THE END, the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through,” (Daniel 11:40).
Daniel shows us“the king of the North” overwhelming Egypt with a massive show of “chariots, horsemen, and many ships.” In modern terms, these are planes, drones, soldiers, and an armada of navy vessels. Sound familiar?
From there, he will enter the land of Israel: “He shall also enter the Glorious Land…” (Daniel 11:41a).
…and set up his headquarters in Jerusalem: “…And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him,” (Daniel 11:45).
This leads to the greatest time of trouble that Israel has ever seen: “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time,” (Daniel 12:1).
The time of Israel’s great tribulation begins when “the king of the North” enters Israel. He proceeds to set up an idol of abomination in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, just like the ancient villain— Antiochus Epiphanes of ancient Syria— once did.
Right now, the world is expecting the rogue regime of Iran and its proxies to suffer defeat by a large, western-led alliance of nations. If that happens, the proposed peace initiative— the Abraham Accords— could go forward quickly among “many” nations. A short honeymoon of global gratitude toward Israel for her strategically important role in defeating Iran, could give Israel the golden opportunity to build her temple on the open area of the Temple Mount plaza. This is immediately next to the Dome of the Rock, with a flat outcropping of Mt Moriah bedrock on it. It is also in direct line to the famed Eastern/Golden Gate.
The Temple Institute in Jerusalem— which has prepared all the furniture, vestments, and utensils for the next temple— recently changed their sign from “The Temple Institute” to “The Holy Temple Visitors Center.” Jewish prayers, singing, and prostrations on the Temple Mount— though once forbidden— are now regular occurrences. Road signs pointing the way to future temple are up, while some IDF soldiers proudly wear the badge of the temple on their uniforms.
In the world of finance, digital banking has become a matter of course. And have you noticed how thin the plastic cards are becoming? The next step will be the insertion of a chip into one’s body, doing away with the need to carry a plastic card on your person.
The latest fear-mongering rant from the Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, Candace Olsen crowd concerns the aspirations of the Jews to build a temple, in order to usher in their long-awaited Messiah. However, both Jesus & Daniel warned that the “abomination of desolation” will appear instead, triggering “the great tribulation” or “time of Jacob’s trouble.” But we also know that following this, the King— the true Messiah— will appear in the sky, to deliver Israel from her enemies once and for all!
Of course, God holds the timing of all this in His hands. He can delay everything through a myriad of unforeseen events, in order to allow more time for people to come to repentance. But if I am to gauge things by the sum total of prophetic events starting to shape up in this world, I’d say it’s time to get real serious, very quickly with our faith.
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