“The time of the end” (ch. 11:35).
WE have now reached that important part of the prophecy to which all that precedes has been leading step by step. The period of Antiochus Epiphanes has been especially dwelt on, for he it was that typified the last and yet future king of the north. His history has been described down to the end of verse 32.
But now a break of a most distinct kind occurs in the chapter. The next three verses (33-35) describe a long and protracted period of Jewish history extending from the days of Antiochus Epiphanes right on to “the time of the end.” During this period the prophetic word foretold that the Jewish people should be persecuted and scattered, “They shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil many days.” The protracted nature of their dispersion and suffering is here predicted. Nevertheless they were not to be utterly abandoned, “they shall be holpen with a little help.”
Besides this a band of faithful men were to be raised up, “they that understand among the people,” and these were to “instruct the many.” These men of wisdom and spiritual understanding for the times are referred to in chapters 11:33, 35, and in chapter 12:3, 10. Doubtless the Maccabees of the time of Antiochus Epiphanes were men of this nature, even as there will be faithful men in the time to come, who will be used of God to encourage and strengthen the persecuted remnant. Some even of these “wise” ones will be allowed to fall, which will put, the faithful remnant to a terrible test. It will seem to them as though God Himself had forsaken them, and indeed it is this mocking taunt that their enemies amongst the ungodly nation of Israel will throw in their face. During the time of the great tribulation this will be specially the case. Psalms 42 and 43 give a vivid description of it. Driven out of Jerusalem because of the fearful idolatry under Antichrist (see Matt. 24), oppressed by their enemies, apparently forgotten by God, the taunt of unbelief, “Where is thy God?” will be as a sword in their very bones.
But this great tribulation will immediately precede the moment of their deliverance. We shall not continue this subject here, but merely point out again the striking parenthesis in our chapter, separating the days of Antiochus Epiphanes from the last days under Antichrist. The whole of the present period of Israel’s dispersion is included in verses 33, 34, and 35.
The next four verses (vers. 36-40) introduce with remarkable abruptness an individual who may be truly said to exert the most baneful influence upon the affairs of Palestine, and indeed of Western Europe, “The king shall do according to his will” (vs. 36). The king here spoken of must not be confounded with any of the kings of the north or south which we find mentioned in our chapter. verse 40. clearly proves that he is distinct from these, for “at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him;” evidently then he is not the king of the south, inasmuch as that king attacks him. But further it is added, “And the king of the north shall come against him,” &c., so that here we have a king distinct from those two who hold sway over the regions north and south of Palestine. He is one dwelling between the two who becomes the point of attack by each of them. In other words he has the land of Palestine itself as his kingdom. Further proof of this will be given as we proceed.
In Isaiah we find the same individual introduced in the same abrupt manner. In chapter 30, after a description of Israel’s desolate Condition, the bright day of Jehovah’s intervention on their behalf is foretold, He who “bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.” Jehovah in that day will take up their cause, and will deal in a summary manner with all their enemies. “A song as in the night” and “gladness of heart” will then be the portion of His repentant people. “The Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard,” and through that voice that then will speak in judgment upon their foes shall the Assyrian be beaten down, who once had smitten them with a rod. The Assyrian is the same as the king of the north, and in these chapters of Isaiah we find described the judgment of the last king of the north. The devouring fire shall be his portion (Isa. 30:30-33, 31:8, 9), but not his only, “For Tophet is ordained of old; for the king also it is prepared; He hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it.” “The king” shares the same awful fate as the Assyrian. He is the same individual, we believe, as is elsewhere spoken of as the false prophet (Rev. 19), who is cast alive into the lake of fire.
Again, in Isaiah 57 this same terrible king of apostate Israel’s choice is referred to. The unclean spirit of idolatry (Matt. 12:43-46) will yet take possession of the nation, and in that day the Antichrist, who will be reigning in Jerusalem as the false Messiah, will be the chief object of their idolatrous veneration. “Thou wentest to the king with ointment”— this same wicked king—but this acknowledgment on their part of one so evil, will in the eyes of God, be as though they debased themselves unto hell (Isa. 57:9).
One chief characteristic of this king is that he “shall do according to his will.” It was this doing of his own will that was the essence of man’s first fall, and ever since then has been the cause of his moral ruin and departure from God. It is the snare into which every son and daughter of fallen Adam is constantly liable to fall, and against it every one should watch, be they old or young. It may seem but a slight matter, but it is the root principle of sin, for sin is lawlessness and not merely the transgression of the law. Lawlessness is simply man doing his own will, and nothing is more terrible than an unbridled will. In this the Antichrist will be the direct opposite to the Christ of God, who came not to do His own will but the will of Him that sent Him. “Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God” (Heb. 10).
That this willful king is none other than the man of sin or Antichrist is manifest from a comparison of what is said of each in Daniel 11:36. and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 respectively. Almost the identical words are used by the Spirit of God in each case: “He shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.” Here, then, we have one who seeks to usurp the place of God Himself. Some of our readers might be disposed to say that this must be the papacy, if not the Pope of Rome personally. Now while it is true that this latter does assume a place that belongs to God alone, yet there are weighty reasons why he and the man of sin are two separate individuals.
It is evident that “the king” here described, as well as the man of sin of 2 Thessalonians, are in close connection with Palestine and the Jewish nation. Of the latter it is said that “he sitteth in the temple of God.” This is not St. Peter’s at Rome, but the temple at Jerusalem, which, according to the prophetic word, is to be rebuilt, while of the former we read that he “shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.” This is the time so repeatedly spoken of by the prophet Isaiah in connection with the Jews (Isa. 10:5-25; Dan. 8:19).
Further evidence of his Jewish connection is afforded by the verses that follow: “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers;” for a godly Jew this was of all moment, his confidence was in the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, but the Antichrist will not regard Him, “nor the desire of women.” This latter phrase points to the true Messiah who was the object of hope for all who waited for redemption in Israel, and of whom pious women amongst the Jews desired to be the mother. More than this, “the king” will be utterly infidel, for he will not “regard any god,” whether the true God or any of the false gods of the heathen. “He shall magnify himself above all.” What a terrible thing is man without God!
The next verse at first sight seems a contradiction of what has just been said, for we are told that “in his estate shall he honor the God of forces,” that is, instead of regarding the true God, the Antichrist will have an idolatrous object of veneration, here called “the god of forces.” This is a somewhat obscure expression, which seems to point to something of a military character. Some have thought that the word here used (Mahuzzim, see margin) signifies hidden forces, and in this case there may be an allusion as well to the forces of spiritism and the occult sciences, so-called. At any rate, we know from 2 Thessalonians 2. that the man of sin will be possessed of a power to work miracles, and we can easily understand how this may produce a spirit of superstitious veneration amongst those who have given up belief in the true God, as revealed in Christ, His Son.
In this passage (Dan. 11), as we have before observed, the reference is to matters purely Jewish, “He shall divide the land for gain” — the land, this is Palestine, for none other would so be spoken of by the Spirit of God in this connection. At the same time other Scriptures show that the Antichrist comes into close contact with apostate Christendom (see 2 Thess. 2).
It is a solemn thing to see at work today all the influences that are so soon, it may be, to produce the veritable personage here described. Infidelity is rampant, spiritism is on the increase, the Jewish people are moving Zionwards in a spirit of unbelief, ready to accept the false king, who will be revealed as soon as the Lord removes the Church to heaven, and the Spirit of God, the hindering power, is taken out of the way.
We are not here (Dan. 11) informed how “the king” comes to an end, for in the verses that follow (40-45) it is the king of the north, and not “the king” or Antichrist that is described. The New Testament tells us that it will be at the manifestation of Christ, when He comes in glory, that “the wicked one,” this very king, will be consumed.