STUDY GUIDE 03

King of The North/Time of the End Magazine

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Note that Lesson 3 includes:

·         The chapter in The Time of the End magazine (TE) entitled, “History in Transition”

·         Notes chapter, “Daniel Chapter 11”

·         Book, The Final Rise and Fall of the King of the North, pages 19-24

·         Scripture on which this lesson is based:  Daniel 11: 1-45, and Daniel 12:1-4.

Introduction

 In this lesson we see that the eleventh chapter of Daniel holds important information for us to know as we see changes occurring in our world, today.  The chapter discusses history as it changed from Medo-Persia to Greece and on to Pagan and then Papal Rome until Rome comes to her end with none to help. We especially focus on Daniel 11: 30-36 as history that will be repeated in verses 40-45.  Some find history difficult to study.  Don’t let that attitude keep you from this interesting and most important study.  So let’s begin.

1.    Read Hosea 4:6.  Does it matter whether or not we study prophecy and history?  (TE11/13MR394)  Answer:  Yes, God has counseled us to understand His Word including history and prophecy.  God’s people have been destroyed for lack of knowledge.  History will be repeated.  By understanding what has happened in the past we can better prepare for what will come in our day.

2.    Read Daniel 11: 30-36. What is the reason that Ellen White points out this passage as being especially important for us to understand?  (TE11/13MR394)  Answer:  Scenes similar to those described will take place.  She goes on to state Daniel 12:1-4 as the time upon which we are now entering.  To understand these verses we will have to review the whole chapter.

3.    When Sister White speaks of the complete fulfillment of Daniel 11, to which verses is she referring?  How much of Daniel 11 did the pioneers believe was already fulfilled? (TE11)  Answer:  They believed that Daniel 11: 1-the first part of verse 40 was fulfilled.  Everything up to the phrase “the time of the end.”  The verses, then, those were yet to be fulfilled were verses 40-45.  It is clear from 5T212-213 that probation is closed at the time that Michael stands up in Daniel 12:1.

4.    Read Daniel 11:1-13.  What is significant in the history of verses 1-13 of Daniel 11?  Answer:  The ebb and flow of kingdoms rising and falling is portrayed.  Verse 1 shows Medo-Persia being defeated by Alexander the Great, his kingdom divided into 4. Only two of the four kingdoms are mentioned, Seleucus and Ptolemy, from verse 5 on.  Their struggle begins

·         the struggle for world domination from then on, and

·         the battle between the north and the south.

So we see that the north and the south are based on kingdoms established by Alexander the Great of Greece.

5.    How does the Scripture identify who is the king of the north and south?  (Book p. 21)  Answer:  From Dan. 11:5 on we see the kings of the north and south.  They are 2 of Alexander the Great’s generals.  Seleucus controlled the north area including Babylon while Ptolemy controlled Egypt in the south.  By comparing recorded history with Daniel’s prophecy we discover the geographical key to use in understanding how to figure out who the king of the north and south is. 

·         The king of the North is the kingdom that controls the geographical area of Babylon.

·         The king of the South is the kingdom that controls the geographical area of Egypt.

6.    Read Daniel 11:16.  Who is the power that comes against the king of the north that none shall stand before?  (Book 21)  Answer:  Pagan Rome arrives on the scene and stands in the glorious land (Judea) and takes control of the former dominion of Alexander the Great making him the king of the north (since Babylon is in his dominion).  From this point onward Rome is the king of the north throughout Daniel 11.  Notice in verse 22 that the prince of the covenant was broken.  This is Christ who was broken at the cross by pagan Rome’s authority. 

7.    Read Daniel 11:24.  What is the significance of this verse and explain the time prophecy.  (Book22/Notes4/TE12)  Answer:  Pagan Rome did what none before had done in taking the world captive through developing alliances.  The phrase, “even for a time” means a year in prophecy, which is 360 days or 360 literal years.  History shows us that Augustus Caesar won the battle of Actium in 31BC.  This begins the 360 years of Pagan Rome’s rule.  It ended 360 years later in AD330 when the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople at the “time appointed” (verse 29).  So verse 24 gives us the prophetic period in which Pagan Rome was to rule.

8.    Read Daniel 11:30.  What was the “indignation against the holy covenant” that Constantine made at the very end of the Pagan Roman Empire?  (Book22/Notes5)  Answer:  Constantine issues the first Sunday laws which progressively became more stringent.  The Roman Empire began to crumble after this and did not win over their enemies.  The parallel of this in our day is that the United States will first pass a national Sunday law.  National ruin will follow this national apostasy. 

9.    Read Daniel 11:30-36.  What history is this?  (Book23/TE13)  Answer:  These verses give the history of the transition from Pagan Rome to Papal Rome.  This history will be repeated in our day as the “man of sin” (2 Thes. 2:3), the “abomination that maketh desolate,” returns to power.

10.  Read Daniel 11:30.  Explain the “ships of Chittim” and how they relate to Daniel 7:8.  (TE12/Book23/Notes5)  Answer:  The “ships of Chittim” refers to the Vandals’ war using Carthage as a base of operations against Pagan Rome.  This war was the beginning of the plucking up of the 3 horns that had to be removed before Papal Rome could come to power.  These 3 horns were 3 tribes of Arian beliefs, which opposed Catholicism; the Vandals, Goths, and Heruli.  These three nations fell between 508 and 538 AD when Clovis, king of France, dedicated his army and his country to help the Papacy get rid of them so it could come to power.  France became the first Catholic nation.

11. Read Daniel 11:31.  What does the daily symbolize?  (Book24/TE13)  Answer:  It symbolizes paganism’s resistance to Christianity.

12. Read Daniel 11:32-35.  What does the “time of the end” mean in Daniel?  (Book24/Notes5,6)  Answer:  It means the end of a time period.  It is used here as the end of Pagan Rome’s rule of the world in 530, and later in verse 40 it refers to the end of Papal Rome’s rule of the world in 1798.  We can know that the “time of the end” in verse 40 refers back to verse 35 “a time appointed” which is 1798 the end of the 1260 years in this way:

·         Go back to verses 30,31 and see the transition of Pagan Rome to Papal Rome,

·         Then refer to Daniel 7:8,20,23,24 to confirm that this is talking about the kingdom that came out of Pagan Rome that was “different” from it.

·         You can also go back to Daniel 2 and see that the iron of the legs goes all the way to the feet.  While the kingdom was still iron, still Rome, it was in a different form, mixed with clay.

13. Read Daniel 11:40.  What does it mean that the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind?  (TE14)  Answer:  This means that the Papacy would come against atheism rapidly.  The atheistic nation that was prominent after 1917 was no longer France but the Soviet Union, the new king of the south.  Economic and military strength were supplied to the Papacy (chariots, horsemen, many ships) by the United States to accomplish the overthrow of the Soviet Union.  The United States came to the aid of the Papacy as shown in Revelation 13:3,12, &14 when she supported the Papacy in helping to heal the deadly wound.

14.  How does Daniel 11:40-42 show the three steps to be taken by the Papacy in here return to the throne of the world in our day?  (TE14,15/Book26)  Answer:

·         Verse 40, the first of the three steps, implements the fall of the Soviet Union (atheism), the king of the south.  This is now past history as of 1989.

·         Verse 41, the second step, is where the Papacy (king of the north) takes control of the glorious land, the United States, the second beast of Revelation 13.  The United States has already entered into an unholy alliance with the Vatican when she joined the Papacy in bringing about the fall of the Soviet Union.  This ended the United States being a Protestant nation since you cannot protest against the one you are allied with.

·         Verse 42, the third step, in which the Papacy will bring down the wall of national sovereignty in order to take control of the entire world, is already being established in the United Nations (it has legal principles in place to remove national boundaries).

14. We will see in coming lessons that Daniel 11:43 speaks of the deadly wound fully healed for the first time since it was inflicted in 1798.  Verse 44 speaks oft eh latter rain and the persecution of God’s people.  Verse 45 describes the division of the world into two classes as we approach Armageddon.  Whoever believes and obeys the Word of God will be persecuted (GC581). 

Summary:

In this lesson we have reviewed Daniel 11.  We have seen especially the transition of power from Pagan Rome to Papal Rome and that it will parallel the transition back to Papal Rome again in our day (verses 40-45).  We have discussed the basis for interpreting the king of the north and the king of the south as the nation at the time that rules either Babylon (north) or Egypt (south).  Knowing that our God saw all this ahead and warned us to prepare for events to come gives us increased confidence and trust in Him to see us through to the end (Matthew 28:20).

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