Continued from previous post
Verse 36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.”
“Napoleon was not a king, but the term king is a general one to indicate a powerful ruler. He did, perhaps, as nearly "according to his will" as any man that ever lived; he was noted for his willfulness and determination, which conquered almost insurmountable difficulties. To get the proper meaning of the above verse, it must be remembered that the word "god" signifies a mighty one; and that it is frequently used in Scripture in referring to kings and rulers, as in this verse: "god of gods." Here the word "gods" refers to rulers, kings and princes, and the expression, "god of gods," or ruler of rulers, refers to the pope.
Most men have acknowledged some religious superior, but Napoleon acknowledged none. He had a will of his own, and a plan of his own, which was to exalt himself above every other ruler. Even the "god of gods" (i.e., the ruler of rulers--the pope) he addressed in a marvelous way; commanding his obedience as his servant, in a manner which shocked the superstitions of the world at that day, and the dignity of the papal hierarchy as well. And, as here declared, he prospered until he had accomplished his mission of scourging Papacy (“till the wrath has been accomplished”), and breaking its influence over the minds of the people.” (C 40, 41)
“We have been led by the hand in Scripture from the birth of the baby, the “man-child”, in (A.D. 314 See Revelation Chapter 12, Part 12) to the point of time when the child grew up to become the MAN of sin in 539 A.D. In 800 A.D. under Charlemagne, the man of sin (Papacy) had the supremacy over civil power. In 1517 A.D. the Protestant Reformation occurred in Germany. Meanwhile, the Reformation was taking place in England under Tyndale. Then the year 1799 A.D. marked the defeat of Papacy by Napoleon (temporal dominion was taken away) and marked the beginning of the Time of the End.”
In describing Papacy, 2 Thess 2:4 says,
“Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God [a god] sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God [a god].”
This text helps to show us that the term “God of gods” in Daniel 11:36 refers to Papacy.
Roman Catholics are very happy today (looking to the past) with the explanation of Antiochus Epiphanes as the abomination of desolation in the B.C. era. Whereas on the other hand, Evangelicals look to the future for a LITERAL man of sin.
Thus neither group properly identifies the man of sin.”
Verse 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.”
A number of verses are devoted to both Napoleon and Marcus Aurelius in order to nail down a secure point on the pages of history. Here we continue with Napoleon. “Neither shall he [Napoleon] regard the God [Papacy] of his father’s [past emperors].” “Nor [did he] regard any god [except himself]: for he shall magnify himself above all.”
“Neither shall he regard… the desire of women.” Although Napoleon had a child, he was not influenced by that child. Spiritually speaking, the “women” would be Protestantism. Thus he had no regard or desire for women, either Roman Catholicism (the mother) or Protestantism (the daughters).
Verses 38 and 39 “But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.”
“But in their place [instead of any of these gods] he shall honor the God of [military] forces.”
The army, of which he was the intellectual leader, was his “god.” Napoleon was instrumental in both wounding and restoring Papacy. The wound was so deep that eventually, in 1870 A.D., Papacy lost all temporal power. In 1798 A.D. he struck a death blow against the pope, undercutting the authority and reverence for Papacy. On one occasion, instead of swearing by the God of heaven, by Papacy, or by France, he said, “I swear by myself.” Thus Napoleon recognized the god of forces, his army, under his control; that is, he recognized himself. Napoleon was a genius and a brilliant tactician—in fact; he was very learned on many, many subjects. Incidentally, Napoleon was the one who first made the statement “An army travels on its stomach.”
“A god whom his father’s knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.” Napoleon’s strategy was to reward his generals with benefices. (Similarly the pope used to give out domains as simony.) Napoleon set his generals over various provinces. In their positions of power, they absorbed or appropriated the revenues that were available under their charge or jurisdiction. The quantity of Napoleon’s own captured loot was tremendous. He distributed the provinces in lieu of a fixed salary. Thus did he “divide the land for gain” (Verse 39). The Book of Daniel, Page 145
“Having thus furnished grounds for establishing the identity of this character (Napoleon), whose deeds mark the beginning of the "Time of the End," the prophecy proceeds to show which particular event of that time is to be understood as definitely marking the exact date of the beginning of the "Time of the End."
This event is shown to be Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, which covered a period of a year and nearly five months. He sailed May, 1798 A.D. and, returning, landed in France Oct. 9, 1799 A.D. This campaign is graphically described in a few words in Verses 40-44.” (C 44)
Continued with next post.
