©Shannon Gist
Chapter 11:40-45 (ESV) - “At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train. But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.
Question to consider: Which horn of the fourth beast was ruler at the time Christ was born?
As I mentioned yesterday, Luther didn’t consider historical events regarding today’s passage, for he considered the “time of the end” to be the final days before the resurrection of the dead and the judgment of Christ. However, I would submit that before Christ physically returns to judge the world, the LORD judged Jerusalem with the fourth beast (Rome) in the same way He judged it with the first beast (Babylon). In this, it would be the “time of the end” of the earthly temple and holy city. While the current city of Jerusalem may be historical in nature, it is not the holy city, for the only temple that exists in it is the Dome of the Rock.
Daniel was an Old Covenant prophet— the prophet to the Gentiles. It stands to reason that “the time of the end” given to Daniel would be the earthly end of the Old Covenant temple since Christ would have become the mediator and high priest of the New Covenant temple. This temple is built with Christ as the cornerstone and the apostles and prophets as its foundation. It continues to fill the earth and heaven by the living stones of the saints.
A modern-day battle between the king of the south (Egypt) and the king of the north (Syria) which involves Edom and Moab doesn’t even make sense today. However, during the reign of the fourth beast with the ten horns, we can match up the horn being attacked by the ruler of the south and the ruler of the north in the battle of Actium. Octavius (Caesar Augustus), would have been the second horn of the fourth beast and the ruler when Christ (the stone that was cut from no human hand in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream) was born. The ruler of Egypt at this time was Cleopatra. In the battle of Actium, Anthony (the ruler of Syria) brought a large force of chariots and cavalry. However, Augustus drew the battle out to sea which explains the “many ships.” Anthony and Cleopatra ended up committing suicide, and Augustus became emperor.
After the battle of Actium, Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon were delivered out of the hand of Caesar Augustus (the willful king). Augustus gained control over Egypt and Libya and enslaved the Nubians of Napta. He also brought all of the wealth of Egypt to Rome.
Since all of the horns were of the same beast (Rome), it is not out of line to consider the “he” of the final part of today’s passage to be a different horn. In this case, the one who went out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction and pitched his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain could be referring to Nero (the sixth horn) who began the war with the saints. Nero was also the one who came “to his end, with none to help him” since he committed suicide.
Ultimately, the war against the saints would end with Domitian, but for the sake of the “time of the end” of Daniel’s vision, we can consider Vespasian to be the tenth horn that oversaw the destruction of the holy city.
As I’ve mentioned previously, I don’t believe this is a subject to divide over, but this is certainly an order of events that seems to coincide with the fourth beast.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for bringing about the events necessary for the incarnation of Your Son who was willing to become the servant of all. May we now recognize Him as the name above every name who is worthy of all glory, laud, and honor. Amen.