Daniel Unlocked #82

The Final Events as portrayed in the final section (Dan 11:40–45) shows that the long war between the king of the north and the king of the south reaches its climax in the time of the end. By then, the king of the north overcomes the king of the south and launches the final attack on Mount Zion. Because most of the events described lie in the future, their interpretation remains tentative; thus, we should avoid dogmatism. However, we Have followed the pattern of the book from chapter one. Furthermore, it is possible to delineate the broad contours of the prophecy by applying two basic principles of interpretation.

First, we must understand that the events foretold in the prophecy are portrayed with language and imagery derived from the reality of Old Testament literal Israel and its institutions. Second, such imagery and language must be interpreted as symbols of the universal church brought about by Christ in the new covenant and applied to a universal spiritual Israel – the church of which He is the head. According to the principles we have established, the king of the south stands for Islam, as consistently indicated throughout the prophecy. The king of the north in turn must be identified with Babylon, which appears in the Old Testament as the power from the north (Jer. 1:14; Jer. 4:5–7; etc). Founded by Nimrod, Babylon became a centre of pagan religion and the archenemy of Jerusalem. In scripture it is the tale of two cities. In apocalyptic symbolism, Babylon came to symbolize both pagan and papal Rome. Thus, at this point in the prophetic timeline, which is the time of the end, Babylon, or the king of the north, symbolizes the papacy and its supporting forces. Islam, in turn, represents the forces that make opposition to it, but eventually are overpowered.

As the king of the north invades the “glorious land,” we are told that “Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon” (Dan. 11:41,) escape from his overwhelming power. Because these three nations have long ceased to exist, they must be interpreted as symbols of broader last day entities. To better understand the symbolism related to those nations, we should note that ‘Zion’ and the “glorious land” is not a geographic entity in the Middle East, but a symbol of God’s remnant people. In the same vein, “Edom, Moab, and Ammon” are not ethnic entities, but they represent those who will resist the seduction of Babylon and come from different faiths and philosophical traditions to join the remnant in the last days.

The final battle of the long war will take place when the king of the north will “plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain” (Dan. 11:45). This scenario recalls the foreign kings who, coming from the north, attacked Jerusalem. Sennacherib, for example, set up his military tents at Lachish, which was between the Mediterranean Sea and Jerusalem. These images symbolize the final confrontation between the forces of spiritual Babylon (the papacy and its allies) and God’s people. The “glorious holy mountain” represents God’s people under the lordship of Christ. So, with language evocative of the experience of old Israel and Judah, the prophecy portrays the attack of the end-time Babylon against God’s people. But the enemy will fail; “he shall come to his end, and no one will help him” (Dan. 11:45).