Verse 40 “And at the [fixed or appointed] time of the end shall the king of the south [Egypt] push at him: and the king of the north [England] shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen [the Egyptian Mamelukes, etc.], and with many ships [the English forces consisted of a navy under Admiral Nelson]; and he [Napoleon] shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over [victoriously].”
“The “king of the south” was Egypt. The “king of the north” can be interpreted two ways: as either England under Lord Nelson with his ships or as Napoleon himself, who also had many ships. In other words, when Napoleon went to Egypt, he took his army with him and that required a great armada. While he was busy fighting Egypt, his ships were in the harbor unprotected.” (The Book of Daniel, Page 146)
“History informs us that the Egyptian army under Murat Bey, "after a most determined struggle was repulsed; the success of the French struck terror far into Asia and Africa; and the surrounding tribes submitted to the conqueror... But fortune was preparing for him a terrible reverse. His fleet, consisting of thirteen ships of the line [war vessels], besides frigates, was found in Aboukir Bay by Lord Nelson, the English admiral, who had long been in pursuit, and was attacked on the evening of Aug. 1, 1798, with a degree of vigor and activity ["like a whirlwind"] which was never surpassed in naval warfare.” (C 45)
“As a result, Napoleon found himself and his troops landlocked and in a dilemma. After he won the Battle of the Pyramids and got booty, he left a capable general in charge (General Kleber) and then proceeded along the coast, but inland a little, to Gaza and on up to Mount Tabor in northern Israel.” (The Book of Daniel, Page 146)
Thus once again Daniels people find themselves caught between the warring kings of the North and the South.
Now let us recall what the Pastor had previously said about Verses 29 and 30:
“We regard Verses 29 and 30 as a parenthesis, thrown in to conceal the meaning for a time by breaking the order of the narrative, and believe it to apply to a then far future collision between the representatives of the Roman Empire (at the time France and or England) and Egypt. No further conflict between these would occur except one, and it would be just at "the time appointed”—the time of the end, 1799 A.D.” (C 35)
“The Pastor connected Verses 29 and 30 with the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt.
Verse 29 “At the (prefixed) time appointed he (the King of the North) shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.”
“Napoleon's invasion of Egypt did not result either like that in the days of Cleopatra, or like that in the days of her descendant, Queen Zenobia. Napoleon, though successful as a general in Egypt, achieved no such victories as his predecessors; and the reason is described in the next verse.” (C 47)
Verse 30 “For the ships of Chittim [“of the Romans” Douay Version] shall come against him (The English navy harassed Napoleon and hindered his conquest. Since England as well as France had been a part of the old Roman Empire, and since France was at war with the remainder of that empire, endeavoring to conquer it, we see the propriety of these being called Roman ships): 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.”
These two verses, referring to Napoleon in Egypt, were (designed) as a roadblock to the understanding of Daniel 11. The ships of Chittim refer to Lord Nelson’s going down to Egypt with his armada and destroying all of Napoleon’s vessels. “Chittim” (Hebrew Kittim Strong’s # 3794 a general term for all islanders of the Mediterranean Sea; See marginal reading; western lands especially Cyprus) Chittim refers to England, which was a part of the old Roman Empire at that time.
The purpose of this whole chapter is to fix the point of the beginning of the time period known as the Time of the End. In Marcus Aurelius’s day, the Time of the End was aborted. Hence Verses 29 and 30 were inserted as an afterthought, for Marcus Aurelius also went to Egypt and returned. The Pastor reasoned that Verses 29 and 30 were a parenthetical thought, like a side remark, that the king of the north (Napoleon) would be back again.” (The Book of Daniel, Page 146)
We will take a look at Verses 41-45 in our next post.
