Sister Ann states: We now come to the part of Daniel's prophecy that most of Christendom applies to the second coming of Christ. However, take a look at the evidence and see if that is really the case.
"The King (of the north), will exalt --himself above every God and he will prosper until the indignation is finished; for that which is decreed will be done" (Dan 11:36). The third Macedonian War, June, 168 B.C.E., brought victory to Rome, and ended the centuries old monarchy and established four republics in Macedonia. Rome now became king of the North. Enc. Brit., 1972 Ed., Vol. 18, pg. 891, par. 6. In the years 30 to 9 B.C.E. Rome extended its Empire as king of the North.
"He entered countries, overwhelm them and passed through…will enter the beautiful land (Palestine)…pitch his tents…and the beautiful holy mountain (Jerusalem) …and come to his end." Rome came to its end in about 400 B.C. Dan 11:40-45. The Roman occupation allowed the death of Christ (Michael) on the torture stake in 33 C.E. "The child was caught away to God and to the throne" Rev 12:5. The risen Christ, as Michael, "begin war in heaven" Satan lost sanctioned authority over the kingdoms of this world he was cast out down. Rev 12:7-12.
In Reply, the difficulty I see here is a failure to recognize the two distinct elements which would NOW compose the King of the North (the Roman Empire) a failure to differentiate between these two characters is what has led most bible scholars to misinterpret this prophecy.
Following the return of Emperor Aurelian to Rome after the defeat of the King of the South (Queen Zenobia), and after his death at the hands of his generals as recorded in Verses 25, 26, and 28 we now wish to take special note of,
Verse 27 “Both of these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time.”
This is a rather strange verse to be inserted here in between verses 26 and 28, who are these two kings’ found sitting at the same table?
Certainly it is not the King of the North and the King of the South who are found eating at the same table, there is no King of the South she was defeated, deposed, and taken captive by Aurelian (the nation itself still remains but its king or ruler-ship has been removed now being governed by Rome). Once again the Lord carefully seals up and closes the prophecy by so arranging the order of things so as to conceal the truth from the worldly wise and to hide it from those for whom it was intended, until the due time for its disclosure, “the time of the end”. (Dan 12:4, 9, 10)
“Verse 27 (as we had stated earlier) applies NOT to Rome and Egypt, but to two kings or powers IN the Roman empire--the Imperial power gradually dying AND the Clerical power slowly coming to life and ambition (2 Thess 2:7). Each sought to use the other for its own selfish ends, while denying such designs. It reads:
"And the heart of the two kings shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper [then], because as yet the end is unto another time."
Or, to express the thought more plainly, a certain period of 1260 years had been appointed of God as the length of Papacy's persecuting power; hence the union or league between the clergy and the civil power could "not prosper" then, because the 1260 years if counted from that date would bring "the end" too soon; therefore it must be put off, or held back, and allowed to come about gradually by the decay of the empire in Italy.
We see on the pages of ecclesiastical history the scheming of the Christian bishops for power in the Roman Empire; and evidently the emperors debated much whether it would not be to their advantage to recognize the new religion. Apparently Constantine merely acted out, at a riper time, what others had more or less thought of. But even Constantine was hindered by the temper of the people from accomplishing at once and as rapidly as was desired a union of the forces of church and state.” (C 34, 35)
We will continue with this in our next post.
