Kings of the North and South: Taking Another Look at Daniel’s Prophecy (Resources & Notes)
[Note: Claiming that sacrificing of swine on the temple altar was the fulfillment of the abomination of desolation lacks any biblical credibility considering the context given to us by Jesus.] [Note: To say that the deeds of Antiochus Epiphanes were a “partial” fulfillment of the “abomination of desolation” is an interpretation that tries to make his actions the “first” in a series of partial fulfillments of the abomination that makes desolate, which places this prophetic event in an historical context, which also assumes that what was fulfilled cannot come forward into the future, which means that some parts of the prophecy were fulfilled historically and other parts are yet to be fulfilled in the future.] [Note: Jesus only spoke of one event called the “abomination of desolation,” and he made no historical reference to it except in the prophecy of Daniel, which does not allow us to claim that there were past fulfillments of this event in the times of the divided kingdoms of the former Greco-Macedonian Empire. Because Jesus stated that: “Whenever, therefore, ye may see the abomination of the desolation, that was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever is reading let him observe) then those in Judea—let them flee to the mounts; he on the house-top—let him not come down to take up any thing out of his house; and he in the field—let him not turn back to take his garments. And woe to those with child, and to those giving suck in those days; and pray ye that your flight may not be in winter, nor on a sabbath; for there shall be then great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world till now, no, nor may be” (Mt. 24:15-21, YLT).] [Note: It is in the times of the gentiles that we should expect to see the rise to power of such a future ruler, which portends to a great many changes in the current geopolitical structures and political configurations that now supervise and oversee world affairs today, particularly in the Middle East. These changes are generally depicted in the statements made by Daniel in the prophecy regarding the kings of the north and south, which speaks of agreements, betrayals and conflicts among coalitions of governments that eventually lead to greater troubles in the Middle East.] [Note: The concept of dualism in prophecy is based on historical typologies that seem to indicate some limited form of fulfillment of prophecy, but it should be understood that even though some historical events do resemble what is stated in prophecy on some scale it doesn’t mean that it is a fulfillment of the prophecy—partial or otherwise—because if it was a fulfillment then it would not come forward to happen again in the future. This concept is sometimes applied to Daniel’s prophecy regarding the kings of the north and south, which has led to an erroneous interpretation that there has already been a “first” and “second” fulfillment of the “abomination of desolation” spoken of by Jesus. That is to say that the first was the action of Antiochus Epiphanes having swine sacrificed on the temple altar, and the second was the placing of an idol on the ruined temple after the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans, and the third is yet to occur in the future.] [Note: What is missed in many interpretations is that the “abomination” is the desolator, and the armies that come to surround Jerusalem is by the work of his hands, and by bringing desolation to Jerusalem he will cause an unprecedented conflict in the future with a returning Jesus the Christ.] [Note: The concept of typology does exist in Scripture, and we see an example of this with John the Baptist who was regarded as another Elijah, and in this context we see that John the Baptist was a fulfillment of a prophecy. But it could also be said of Elisha who was the successor to the office of Elijah, but in his case the prophecy of Malachi does not apply because the prophecy came after the death of Elisha and therefore the typology was applied to the time of Jesus’ ministry that began at Jerusalem. Also, the prophecy of Malachi points to a future typology of Elijah by placing it in the context of the time period called “the dreadful day of the Lord,” which would apparently refer to the days of vengeance spoken of by Jesus (Mal. 4:5).] [Note: In Daniel’s prophecy we do not have the concept of dualism for the “little horn” because it has no historical context, and because Daniel was told that: “at the time of the end is the vision,” which is a statement that tells us that we are not able to find an historical typology in any of the rulers that descended from the successors of the Diadochi (Dan. 8:23). Understandably then we see that the angel Gabriel was explaining the future rise of a world leader, and Gabriel said to Daniel: “Behold, I will make you know what shall happen in the last end of the indignation. For it is for the time appointed for the end. The ram which you saw with two had horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the shaggy goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. And as for that which was shattered, and four stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in its power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king, strong of face and skilled at intrigues, shall stand up” (Dan. 8:19-23, LITV).] [Note: It is reasonable to conclude that Daniel wrote about a king of the north who is in conflict with a king of the south, and each king represents a coalition of governments and nations who are confronting each other over