Chapter 11
v.1. Presumably the one whom the angel stood up to confirm and strengthen was “the Prince of Greece”. We can imagine that this should be so, for when Alexander the Great assumed power he was quite a young man (only 33 when he died) and what he accomplished in his brief lifetime was prodigious.
In 11:2 the angel gives to Daniel such a detailed description of what was going to develop, that the critic says without hesitation that it was written after the events described and not before! We do not propose to go through this in detail, for it has been done many times, and for it would refer the reader to Elpis Israel p.362 or Exposition of Daniel p.46. But let us explain who are the kings of the North and South.
In the vision of the ram and the goat in chapter 8, the “notable horn” on the goat represented Alexander. This was broken, and four horns sprang up in its place. These four horns represented the four generals of Alexander, who divided the empire between them. Ptolemy seized Egypt and Seleucus obtained the northern portion embracing Syria and adjacent provinces. From that time Syria became “the king of the North” and Egypt became “the king of the South”, and the early part of the chapter describes the battles and intrigues of these two powers, the land of Palestine being the battleground between them.
In v.35 we come to “the time of the end” and it is at this point we resume our exposition. Let us realise that there have been several times to which “the time of the’ end” could apply. Dan. 11.35 most probably refers to the end of the Maccabean period when Rome stepped into the picture. Ezekiel says with regard to Israel, “An end, an end is come”. Amos says, “An end is come upon my people”. Paul, writing to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 10:11) says, “… we, upon whom the end of the ages is come”.
In v.36, for the time being, the kings of North and South disappear, and are replaced with “the king”, and it is generally agreed that this refers to the power of Rome. When the Maccabees realised that the forces against them were becoming too great, Rome was invited to come in and help, and Rome responded very readily. Dan. 11:36-39 is a remarkably compressed summary of the Roman power, and the key is in v.37 (R.S.V.) “. he shall not give heed to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all”. The old Roman gods were no longer regarded, for emperor worship became the religion of the empire, not only after they were dead, but also when they were alive.
We must remember that, commencing A.D. 378, the western half of the Roman empire was gradually dismembered by the invading barbarian tribes like the Goths, Huns, Vandals, etc. The eastern half, centered in Constantinople, continued until 1453 when it was successfully invaded and held by the Turks. Meanwhile, a new force had arisen. This was the power of the Papacy which became a major force in western Europe and was centered in the Roman Catholic Church. In the east Rome had not the same power and the Eastern Catholic Church was centered in Constantinople.
While the head was styled the Pope in the west, in the east the head was called the Patriarch of Constantinople. In the west all the Middle Ages were occupied with a continual struggle for supremacy between the Papacy and the empire. The “empire” was the Holy Roman Empire, commencing in A.D.800 when Charlemagne was crowned emperor in St. Peter’s in Rome on Christmas Day, and lasting until A.D.1805 when it was “extinguished” by Napoleon. Prophecy required that it has to be revived in some way in our own day.
The Papacy certainly divided the “land” for gain, no matter whether we regard the “land” as referring to God’s land, or all the countries which were subservient to the Papacy. In Palestine today it is nauseating the way all the “holy places” are commercialised and used as a source of profit. If regarded in the larger sense, all the Papal-dominated countries are divided up into bishoprics, parishes, etc., all of which contribute to the Papal wealth. “Peter’s Pence” have to be paid by the poorest of the Papal flock.
In Dan. 11:40 “the end” is most probably the end of the Roman empire. To what, however, do the subsequent verses refer?
There are two major viewpoints regarding these verses. Probably the one which is the oldest established is that the king of the North (v.40) refers to the same power as Ezekiel 38, although the phrase “king of the North” is unique to Daniel. The other viewpoint is that the king of the North refers to the power of Turkey. Let us review the evidence for both these points of view.
Let us first take the older theory, that v.40 onwards is parallel with Ezekiel 38, and is going to be fulfilled in our own day. Dr. Thomas has much to say about the Sultan of Turkey and Constantinople, which the history of the last 70 years or so has disproved. He also shews that the Gog and Magog of Ezekiel are not the same powers as those of a similar name referred to in Revelation. He identifies the nations given in Ezekiel 38 with the various modern nations, as for example Gomer with France, and the Merchants of Tarshish with England. On p.76 of the Exposition of Daniel he has the following paragraph:
“Proof of the Russian Power being King of the North Summary”
- Their geographical position is the same.
- They are both adversaries of Israel.
- They invade the land at the same time.
- The same people are named as components in their armies.
- Hostile tidings from the east and north to both.
- Both are similarly antagonised.
- Both meet with the same fate.
The doctor then says, “. these seven particulars prove that Gog and the King of the North are but different titles for the same power”.
Readers of the Doctor have had different opinions about his conclusions. Some are satisfied that he is 100% right, while others prefer an alternative explanation, at which we will now look.
The alternative explanation suggests that it is the power of Turkey which is referred to. What is the evidence?
It is generally agreed that Revelation, chapter 8, deals with the Barbarian invasions into western Europe, and chapter 9 deals with first the rise of the Saracens (5th trumpet) and then (6th trumpet) the superseding of the Saracens by the Turks. Both Saracens and Turks were Mahometans. The story commences in 622 A.D. when Mahomet fled from Mecca to Medina, and began converting followers with the “believe or die” method which was so highly successful that in a very few years they had spread along the north of Africa, through Spain, and were halted by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732. Although they conquered Jerusalem in 637 and occupied Palestine, they were not equally successful with Constantinople. Twice they beseiged the city, but on neither occasion could they take it. This was the “pushing of the king of the South”. Their power lasted for 300 years, and then the Turks took over. They came in four successive waves comprising Seljuks, Moguls, Tartars and Ottomans. Gibbon records that Ghengis Khan, one of their rulers, ruled over more territory than any man either before or since. His rule extended as far as the middle of China eastwards, and westwards over a large portion of Europe. He was a Mogul. Mohammed II was successful in taking Constantinople in 1453, and that was the end of the Roman empire. The power wielded by these Turkish rulers was colossal. Let us see some of the details.
Ishmael the Seljuk offered to help Mahmoud with 200,000 horse. In 1098-9 the Crusaders’ 100,000 horse were met with 300,000 by Soliman. Timorer had an army of 400,000 men. Such was the fulfilment of Daniel 11:40. At the battle of Lepanto the Turks had 300 ships. (We are not forgetting the present size of the Russian navy!) In an earlier conquest the captives were set to work to build a navy of 200 ships — larger than the Spanish armada! “Tens of thousands shall fall” (v.41). Of the crusaders, 300,000 perished before a single city was taken.
“These shall be delivered out of his hand” (v.41) “Edom, Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon.” Many expositions, like those of Dr. Keith, Bishop Newton, Sir Isaac Newton, have commented on the remarkable fulfilment of this prophecy. Summarised, they say that these districts have never been subject to tribute, and have never formed part of the settled government of the Turks, who have attempted in vain to subdue them. Rather, the reverse has been the case. 40,000 crowns of gold used to be paid to them as a yearly pension by the Ottoman Sultans to permit the pilgrim caravans for Mecca a free passage.
V.42 tells us, “the land of Egypt shall not escape”. Certain facts stand out prominently.
A decisive battle between the Turks and Egypt was fought at Aleppo on August 24, 1516, and the Egyptians were utterly defeated. The Egyptian army, or rather the remnants of it, retreated through Palestine. The Turk followed, and a further crushing defeat on the Egyptians was inflicted in a battle near Cairo on January 22, 1517, when both Egypt and Syria became provinces of the Ottoman empire.
V.43 continues, “He shall have power over the treasure of gold and silver, and all the precious things of Egypt”. It is an outstanding fact that the Turk drained Egypt of its wealth — the desolating Turk lived up to his reputation! Egypt had to pay Turkey an annual tribute of £500,000 — power over the “precious things” indeed.
The decline of Turkey was long. It began definitely with the slaughter of the Janessenes, described as the “flower of the Turkish army”. This was almost a century before the final collapse took place. Much of Turkey’s trouble came from Russia in successive wars in 1764, 1787, 1854 and 1877. For years Turkey was described as “the sick man of Europe”.
In the years 1908-9-10 the Balkan States fell away like ripe fruit falling off a tree, and then when the First World War came along, Turkey finally committed suicide by allying herself with Germany. Now Turkey is but a shadow of her former self. After the First World War, Kemal was thrown up by the revolution and he entirely reorganised Turkey. The capital was moved to Ankara, the whole country was modernised, the women were emancipated, European solar dating was introduced and the old lunar dating abolished —singularly when it had attained to 1335. Kemal did a great work and his statue is to be found in all Turkish cities of any size. Their modern hotels are excellent.
V.45 says, “He shall plant his tabernacle between the seas and the glorious holy mountain”. Anyone who has seen the Dome of the Rock (incorrectly called the Mosque of Omar) in Jerusalem, has no doubt what v.45 means. It is between the Mount of Olives and the sea, and it is described as the most beautiful building in the world. It is built over the rock on the top of Mount Moriah which originally was the centre of Solomon’s, Zerubbabel’s and Herod’s temples. It can accommodate 3,000 worshippers.
Turkey certainly came to her end, with none to help. That fact needs no elaboration.
It would appear, therefore, that the power of Turkey fits all the items defined in vv.40-45 of Daniel 11. It is equally evident that the alternative suggestion is not so satisfactory, and the suggestion that it is parallel with Ezekiel 38 is not adequately supported. One further point emerges. Daniel, chapter 11, gives us a continuous prophecy from Daniel’s day right up to the present time. Chapter 12 is an unbroken continuation from chapter 11, and v.1 tells us how, from 1897 onwards, the Archangel Michael has been “standing up” for Israel. This will be fully explained in the exposition of chapter 12.
Daniel The Prophet – (Part 3)