STUDIES IN DANIEL 11“Identifying the King of the North”

Basic Chronology of Daniel 11 Dan. 11:2 Persia (4 Persian kings) Dan. 11:2-3 Greece (Alexander) Dan. 11:4 4 Hellenistic Kingdoms Dan. 11:5-15 Syria vs. Egypt Dan. 11:16-30 Pagan Rome Dan. 11:30-39 Papal Rome (538-1798) Dan. 11:40-45 Time of the End (1798-

end) Dan. 12:1 Close of Probation

Time of Trouble

God’s People Delivered

NOTE – In this study we will seek to identify the power in Dan. 11 known as the “king of the north.”

POINT – The FIRST point that we must realize is that God is actually the TRUE “King of the north”!

Ezekiel 1:4-5, 26-28Isaiah 14:12-14

Identifying the “King of the North” God is the TRUE “King of the North” – He

occupies the highest position. Satan is the first counterfeit “king of the

north,” who desires to sit in God’s place. Satan has also used certain earthly powers

as counterfeit “kings of the north” to persecute and enslave God’s followers.

One such earthly power was that of ancient Babylon, which took ancient Israel captive.

JEREMIAH 4:6-7 “(6) Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. (7) The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.”

JEREMIAH 25:9 “Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.”

NOTE – Daniel 11 also contains THREE more earthly counterfeit “kings of the north” that have persecuted and enslaved God’s faithful followers.

NOTE – The FIRST earthly counterfeit “king of the north” in Dan. 11 is the Hellenistic power of Seleucid Syria, located north of ancient Israel. The activities of this power are mentioned in Dan. 11:5-15, as it warred against Ptolemaic Egypt (the “king of the south”) for control of Israel.

NOTE – Dan. 11:5-15 discusses the activities of several Seleucid-Syrian kings as they warred against several Ptolemaic kings and eventually defeated Egypt for control of Israel. Pagan Rome later conquered Syria, an event brought to view in Dan. 11:16.

Daniel 11:16 (KJV)“But he [Pagan Rome] that cometh against him [Seleucid Syria] shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land [Israel], which by his hand shall be consumed.”

NOTE – The SECOND earthly counterfeit “king of the north” in Dan. 11 is Pagan Rome, the next power after Seleucid Syria to persecute and enslave God’s followers.

NOTE – Pagan Rome as the second earthly counterfeit “king of the north” is further confirmed in the passage of Dan. 11:25-28, which describes the war between Rome under Octavian (the “king of the north”) and Egypt under Mark Antony (the “king of the south”). Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC.

Daniel 11:25 (KJV)“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 great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.”

NOTE – The THIRD earthly counterfeit “king of the north” in Dan. 11 after Seleucid Syria and Pagan Rome is the next power in sequence, i.e. Dark Age Papal Rome (538-1798), which comes into view in Dan. 11:30-39.

Daniel 11:30-31 (KJV)“(30) For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. (31) And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.”

NOTE – The power of Dark Age Papal Rome as the next earthly counterfeit “king of the north” is further confirmed by the fact that this power persecuted and enslaved the people of God.

Daniel 11:32-33 (KJV)“(32) And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. (33) And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.”

Daniel 11:34-35 (KJV)“(34) Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. (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.”

NOTE – The power of Dark Age Papal Rome as the next earthly counterfeit “king of the north” is also confirmed by the fact that this power has magnified itself above the God of heaven, thus seeking the highest place and position (the “north”).

Daniel 11:36-37 (KJV)“(36) And the king 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. (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.”

Papal Rome as the “King of the North” This power equates itself with God. Like Satan, therefore, it desires to

sit in the sides of the “north,” i.e. in God’s place, the highest position.

Like Seleucid Syria and Pagan Rome before it, the Dark Age papacy also sought to persecute and enslave the faithful people of God.

NOTE – There is one final passage in Dan. 11 that discusses the “king of the north.” This is the well-known passage of Dan. 11:40.

Daniel 11:40 (KJV)“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north 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.”

KEY QUESTIONWhat is the identity of the “king of the north” in Dan. 11:40?

The “King of the North” in Dan. 11:40 The “king of the north” is still Papal

Rome in Dan. 11:40. There are several reasons as to why

this power is still Papal Rome. There is no transference to another

historical power taking place between Dan. 11:30 and 11:40.

The “King of the North” in Dan. 11:40 Ellen White stated that Dan. 11:30-36

will be repeated, a text dealing with the history of Dark Age Papal Rome.

Dan. 11:40-45 deals with the actual repetition of this history; since Papal Rome will repeat its Dark Age history at the end of time, the “king of the north” must still be this power!

The “King of the North” in Dan. 11:40 Again, Dan. 11:30-39 deals with the

history of the Dark Age Papacy as the “king of the north” (538-1798).

Dan. 11:40-45 describes the last-day phase of Papal Rome as the “king of the north,” spanning the deadly wound, the healing of this wound, and its end-time activity (1798-End).

The “King of the North” in Dan. 11:40 The first earthly counterfeit “king of the

north” was ancient Babylon, while the final earthly counterfeit is spiritual Babylon, a symbol of Papal Rome.

The final power in each of Daniel’s prophecies is Papal Rome; since the “king of the north” is the final power in Dan. 11, it must be a symbol of Papal Rome; this is the biggest reason as to why this power could not be Turkey!

James White, Signs of the Times, 22 July 1880

“The field of Daniel’s prophecy embraces five universal kingdoms. These are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome, and the eternal kingdom of God. The ground of the four perishable kingdoms, reaching to, and introducing the immortal kingdom, is covered by four distinct lines of

James White, Signs of the Times, 22 July 1880, cont’d

prophecy. These are given in chapters two, seven, eight, and eleven. The eleventh chapter of Daniel closes with the close of the fourth monarchy with these words: [Dan 11:45-12:3 quoted]. . . . The student of prophecy is thus born down the stream of time from Babylon in the height of the

James White, Signs of the Times, 22 July 1880, cont’d

glory of that kingdom, past Media and Persia, the kingdom of Grecia, and the Roman Empire which comes to its end at the second coming of Christ.”

James White, Review & Herald, 29 November 1877

“Let us take a brief view of the line of prophecy four times spanned in the book of Daniel. . . . [The] same ground is passed over in chapters two, seven, eight, and eleven, with this exception, that Babylon is left out of chapters eight and eleven. We first pass down the great image of chapter 2, where

James White, Review & Herald, 29 November 1877, cont’d

Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome are represented by the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron. All agree that these feet are not Turkish but Roman. And as we pass down to the lion, the bear, the leopard, and the beast with ten horns, representing the same as the great image, again all will agree that it is not

James White, Review & Herald, 29 November 1877, cont’d

Turkey that is cast into the burning flame, but the Roman beast. So of chapter 8, all agree that the little horn that stood up against the Prince of princes is not Turkey but Rome. In all these lines thus far Rome is the last form of government mentioned. . . . Now comes the point in the argument

James White, Review & Herald, 29 November 1877, cont’d

upon which very much depends. Does the eleventh chapter of the prophecy of Daniel cover the ground measured by chapters two, seven, and eight? If so, then the last power mentioned in that chapter is Rome.”

James White, Review & Herald, 3 October 1878“And there is a line of historical prophecy in chapter eleven . . . beginning with the kings of Persia, and reaching down past Grecia and Rome, to the time when that power ‘shall come to his end, and none shall help him.’ If the feet and ten toes of the metallic image are Roman, if the beast

James White, Review & Herald, 3 October 1878, cont’dwith ten horns that was given to the burning flame of the great day be the Roman beast, if the little horn which stood up against the Prince of princes be Rome, and if the same field and distance are covered by these four prophetic chains, then the last power of the eleventh chapter which is to

James White, Review & Herald, 3 October 1878, cont’d‘come to his end and none shall help him,’ is Rome. But if this be Turkey, as some teach, then the toes of the image of the second chapter are Turkish, the beast with the ten horns represents Turkey, and it was Turkey that stood up against the Prince of princes of the eighth chapter of

James White, Review & Herald, 3 October 1878, cont’dDaniel. True, Turkey is bad enough off; but its waning power and its end is the subject of the prophecy of John [the 5th and 6th trumpets] and not Daniel.”

Basic Chronology of Daniel 11 Dan. 11:2 Persia (4 Persian Kings) Dan. 11:2-3 Greece (Alexander) Dan. 11:4 4 Hellenistic Kingdoms Dan. 11:5-15 Syria vs. Egypt Dan. 11:16-30 Pagan Rome Dan. 11:30-39 Papal Rome (538-1798) Dan. 11:40-45 Papal Rome (1798-End) Dan. 12:1 Close of Probation

Time of Trouble

God’s People Delivered

A Summary of the “King of the North” God is the TRUE “King of the north.” Satan is the counterfeit “king of the north.” Satan has also used several earthly

counterfeit “kings of the north,” beginning with ancient Babylon, to persecute and enslave God’s faithful followers.

In Dan. 11, Seleucid-Syria, Pagan Rome, and Papal Rome are three counterfeit “kings of the north” that have persecuted the faithful.

A Summary of the “King of the North” Papal Rome is the “king of the north” in

Dan. 11:30-45, which describes both its Dark Age phase (vs. 30-39, 538-1798) and its end-time phase (vs. 40-45, 1798-end).

Like Satan, Papal Rome has desired to equate itself with God and sit in the position of the “north,” a position that only God is qualified to occupy; it has also sought to persecute and enslave God’s faithful followers in its self-exaltation.

APPEAL AND COMMITMENT On a personal level, only God can be the

TRUE “king of the north” of our lives. This means we must allow God and His

Word to have the highest place/position. God and His Word must have supremacy,

pre-eminence, and governing-power. Will we allow God to be the true “king of

the north” of our lives by giving Him and His Word the highest place and position?