Daniel 11.40a-The Prophecy of Egypt and Syria Attacking the Antichrist During the Last Three and a Half Years of the Seventieth Week
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday July 15, 2014
Daniel: Daniel 11:40a-The Prophecy of Egypt and Syria Attacking the Antichrist During the Last Three and a Half Years of the Seventieth Week
Lesson # 361
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 11:40.
Daniel 11:40 “At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through.” (NASB95)
Daniel 11:40 “Now, during the end time, the king ruling the south will cause himself to go to war against him. Also, the king ruling the north will cause himself to storm against him with a military chariot group, with a cavalry as well as with a large armada of ships.” (Author’s translation)
After providing Daniel with an extensive description of a king in Daniel 11:36-39 who will be an absolute world ruler and oppose God and deify himself, the angel informs Daniel that during the end time the king ruling the south will go to war against this king.
Also, he tells Daniel that the king ruling the north will attack him as well during the end time with a military chariot group, a cavalry as well as a large armada of ships.
This prophecy will take place during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week and reveals that both Egypt and Syria will attack the Antichrist during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week.
“The end time” refers to the last three and a half years of the seventieth week since the Antichrist will be a world ruler at this time from the final stage of the Roman Empire according to a comparison of Daniel 7:23-25, Daniel 9:26-27, 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 13.
There are several interpretative issues in Daniel 11:40.
The first problem is the identity of the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû(ʾ), “him” and the second is the identity of the king ruling the north.
Some say it is a reference to Antichrist while some argue that it is Russia while others contend that it is a reference to Syria.
Most conservative scholars identify the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû(ʾ) in Daniel 11:40 as the king described in Daniel 11:36-39.
Therefore, in Daniel 11:40, we would have three subjects, namely the king ruling the south, the king ruling the north and the king described in Daniel 11:36-39 who is the Antichrist.
Consequently, we would have both the king ruling the south and the king ruling the north attacking the Antichrist during the end time, i.e. the last three and a half years of the seventieth week.
Some argue for only two subjects in the verse, which is possible grammatically.
The two subjects would be the king ruling the south and the king ruling the north which would indicate that during the end time, the king ruling the south will attack the king ruling the north.
Those who adhere to this view contend that the king ruling the north is the Antichrist.
Many who hold to this interpretation argue that the king of the north is a reference to Russia.
However, the problem with this is that Daniel chapter seven and Daniel 9:26 make clear that the Antichrist will be the final ruler of the final stage of the Roman Empire during the seventieth week.
Throughout chapter eleven, the king of the north is consistently identified with the Seleucid Empire and the Antichrist is always connected with the Roman Empire throughout the book of Daniel (Daniel 7:23-25; 9:26-27).
Many argue that the king of the north is not the Antichrist and the war described in Daniel 11:40 is between two kings but this has problems as well which would mean that the king described in Daniel 11:36-39 is not the subject of the action in Daniel 11:40-45.
This untenable since it is hard to believe that the angel would describe a king extensively in Daniel 11:36-39 and then suddenly drop him out of the picture and not mention him again in Daniel 11:40-45.
Of course, the angel describes this king extensively in Daniel 11:36-39 because he is major player in the events described in Daniel 11:40-45.
The angel is not going to describe this king in detail in Daniel 11:36-39 and then not mention his ultimate destruction in Daniel 11:40-45.
The second interpretative issue in Daniel 11:40 is the identity of the king of the north.
One of the most popular interpretations of the king of the north here in Daniel 11:40 is that this is a reference to Russia.
Those who adhered to this interpretation connect Daniel 11:40-45 to Ezekiel 38-39 and argue that these two passages describe a northern confederacy that will be composed of Russia and other eastern European nations and will attack Antichrist during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week.
There are problems with this interpretation since if you notice in Ezekiel 38-39 no invasion from Egypt is mentioned as is the case in Daniel 11:40.
Also, the army invading Israel in Ezekiel 38-39 comes from the remotest parts of the north of Israel whereas in Daniel 11:40 the Antichrist is attacked by an army from the north with no mention as to how far north as was the case in Ezekiel 38-39.
Now, as we noted the king of the north throughout Daniel chapter eleven is referring to the Seleucid Empire which was located to the immediate north of Israel, which was Syria as it is today.
Why is it that expositors consistently identify the king of the north in Daniel 11:5-35 as being a reference to Syria but then in Daniel 11:40 they interpret the king of the north as Russia?
It is hermeneutically inconsistent to interpet the king of the north this way.
In fact, many of these expositors who argue that the king of the north in Daniel 11:40 is Russia, also say that the king of the south in Daniel 11:40 is Egypt since Egypt has been referred to throughout chapter eleven as the king of the south.
Why does this reasoning not apply to the king of the north?
What is consistent is to identify the king of the north as Syria since this is how the king of the north was used throughout Daniel 11:5-35.
Therefore, the identity of the king of the north in Daniel 11:40 should be determined in light of the Seleucid Empire or in other words in light of the fact that throughout Daniel 11:5-35, the king of the north is a referene to this empire which was located to the immediate north of Israel, which today would be Syria.
There is another question we must ask regarding these first two prophetic statements in Daniel 11:40 that Egypt and Syria will attack the Antichrist, namely where will the Antichrist and his armies be located when this attack is launched against him.
Will he be in Israel or will he be located in Rome or somewhere else in Europe?
The prophetic statements in Daniel 11:40b-45 would indicate that the Antichrist will be in Israel when Egypt and Syria and their allies attack him.
This is indicated by two major factors.
The first is obvious in that Egypt is located to the immediate south of Israel and Syria to the immediate north of Israel.
Though, its possible, it is highly unlikely that these two nations would attack the Antichrist and his revived form of the Roman Empire in Europe.
It is more likely they attack him while he is occupying Israel since this occupation would give these two nations a more sound motive to attack him.
The second major factor indicating that Egypt and Syria will attack Antichrist while he is occupying Israel is that Daniel 11:41 says that he will enter the Beautiful Land which is Israel and then in Daniel 11:42, he exercises his military might against Egypt.
In fact Daniel 11:43 says that he will gain control of Egypt economically.
Therefore, it would appear that Egypt and Syria will attack the Antichrist while he is occupying Israel since chronologically Egypt is defeated by him after he enters Israel.
Interestingly, Daniel 11:44 says that rumors from the East and North will disturb him.
The rumors from the North in Daniel 11:40 is Syria and her allies since we have already determined from the context of chapter eleven that the king of the north is a reference to Syria and not a reference to the northern king who attacks Israel as prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39.
The army from the east is more than likely the same army mentioned in Revelation 16 which comes over the dried up Euphrates River to attack the Antichrist.
This army from the east is a reference to “the kings from the east” in Revelation 16:12 who cross the Euphrates which will be dried up.
This is a poetical expression signifying the kings from where the sun rises, as China, Japan, India, Persia, and Afghanistan.
Therefore, it appears that the first two prophetic statements in Daniel 11:40 that the kings of the north and south will attack the Antichrist is a summary statement which is developed later in Daniel 11:41-45.
Thus, when the angel says in Daniel 11:44 that rumors from the north will disturb the Antichrist he is referring back to his prophetic statements in Daniel 11:40 that the king of the north, who is Syria, will attack him.