“The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. (Daniel 11:36)

“At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.” (Daniel 11:40)

Three separate kings are in view in Daniel 11:36 & 40 and their identities must be discovered to fully understand what will happen in the days leading up to the end. They are the King who exalts himself,  King of the North, and the King of the South.   All of Daniel 11:4-35 has been taken up with a discussion of various generations of the King of the North and the King of the South.  The King who exalts himself is neither, and yet subdues them both.  Let’s see if we can identify these three kings.

First, the King who exalts himself. The angel told Daniel this king would exalt and magnify himself above every god.  In 2 Thes. 2:4 Paul said the anti-Christ will exalt himself over everything that is called god or is worshiped.  The angel also told Daniel he would say unheard of things against the God of gods.  In Rev. 13:6 John said the anti- Christ will blaspheme God and slander His name.  So it’s clear that the king who exalts himself is the anti-Christ.

Now for the other two. The vision of Daniel 11 was given in 536BC and begins with an angel telling Daniel what would happen to the Persian Kingdom then in power.  The angel told Daniel that after 3 more Persian Kings, a fourth one would arise, an especially rich and powerful king. This Persian King, who we know as Xerxes I, took as his queen the Jewish woman Hadassah, called Esther in the Persian language (Esther 2:16-17). He put together a mighty army and mounted an unsuccessful attempt to conquer Greece in 480BC.  About 150 years later the tables would be turned and a King from Greece would conquer the Persian Empire. This prophecy was fulfilled by Alexander the Great.

Then the angel said that Alexander’s Kingdom would be divided into four pieces according to the four winds of heaven, not going to his offspring. (After Alexander’s death his four generals divided up the Kingdom among them.) The next 30 verses are devoted to the families of two of the four, Seleucus, known in Daniel 11 as the first King of the North and Ptolemy, the first King of the South. 135 historically confirmed prophecies are contained in the first 35 verses of Daniel 11, most having to do with the descendants of these two men. The other two generals, Cassander and Lysimachus are not mentioned here, but in fact they both eventually lost their portions to Seleucus.

So the first kings of the North and the South were Seleucus and Ptolemy. For territory Seleucus eventually got control of what we now know as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Turkey. Reigning for a time from Babylon in modern Iraq, he built a new capital city 20 miles to the south east on the Tigris river and named it Seleucia. Ptolemy took Libya, Egypt, the Sudan, Israel and Jordan, and chose Alexandria in Egypt as his capital.

The descendants of these two kings fought each other for control of the known world for the next several hundred years. Then Daniel 11:33-35 brings us to the Macabean revolt when the last important King of the North, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, was defeated.

History To Prophecy

Although it was all in the future when the angel revealed the first 35 verses to Daniel, it’s all history where we’re concerned. But beginning in Daniel 11:36 we fast forward to the time of the end when modern versions of these two kings will go after the anti-Christ. What would make them do that?

Evidence continues to indicate that the dominating End times religion will be Islam. The goal of Islam is to bring about a single Islamic World Empire, or Caliphate, and there’s fierce competition among leaders in the Middle East to see who can make this happen.

I believe the current unrest in the Islamic Middle East will soon result in the re-emergence of these two ancient powers in a final contest for leadership of the Islamic world.  Turkey and Iran are both part of the territory once identified with the King of the North, and are obvious contenders for that title. They will both be involved in the battle of Ezekiel 38, but since Daniel 11 follows Ezekiel 38 in time, this tells us their defeat on the mountains of Israel won’t put them out of contention.

Ezekiel’s phrase “ send down fire” (Ezekiel 39:6), which many believe to be a reference to nuclear warfare, is directed at Magog (Russia), the distant coastlines (somewhere beyond the Mediterranean) and the battlefield in Israel. No mention is made of any such destruction in Persia (Iran) or Turkey (Togarmah). Whatever forces they have in Israel will be decimated, but Iran and Turkey will both survive to fight another day.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia will not participate in Ezekiel 38 but will likely join forces to form the new King of the South. Within the last few weeks, the Saudis have rebelled against US policy and embarked upon an independent course of action, promising to defend the Gulf States against Iranian meddling themselves. This was due partly as an expression of anger over the way the US helped oust Egypt’s Pres. Mubarak, a close friend of the Saudi King, and partly over their frustration with America’s lack of action against Iran.  Saudi Arabia does not want Iran to emerge as the leader of the Islamic Middle East and is determined to make sure that doesn’t happen, even if it comes to war.  So far they’ve backed up their promises by moving troops and weaponry into Bahrain, posing a direct threat to Iran.

Things are currently so fluid in the Middle East it’s hard to know what’s going to happen next. For example, some western intelligence sources are saying it’s already too late to save the Assad regime in Syria, and that Hezbollah has begun moving its long-range missiles and other weaponry out of Syria into Lebanon for protective purposes.  Also, it has been reported that Egypt will open its borders with Gaza to permit more freedom of movement for Hamas.  The unity agreement Palestinian Pres. Abbas has just signed with Hamas in Egypt will provide another clue, since the Palestinian government is secular while Hamas is decidedly religious. It will be interesting to see who winds up with the real power.   If secular governments continue to be pushed aside in favor of Islamic leadership, it could mean the Kings of the North and the South are returning.

Then What Happens?

When the anti-Christ first comes on the scene in the aftermath of the Battle of Ezekiel 38-39, he’ll look to the world like a great peacemaker. He’ll deceive people by distributing gifts of power and influence and will even confirm a treaty allowing Israel to build the third Temple and reinstate their worship of God there.  As he gains public support he’ll start attacking countries who don’t fall into line. He’ll make his close followers into rulers, giving them conquered lands as a reward for their faithfulness (Daniel 11:39).

At the time when he moves to consolidate his grasp on the Earth by going to Jerusalem, the King of the North and the King of the South will both try to stop him (Daniel 11:40).  But he’ll bring them into submission and, after invading many other countries, he’ll arrive in Jerusalem and set up his headquarters there, where he’ll walk into the New Temple and claim to be God.

Daniel 12:1, Matt. 24:15 and 2 Thes. 2:4 confirm that this will all happen right at the threshold of the Great Tribulation. And as Daniel said, the anti-Christ will be successful until the time of wrath is completed because this is the way God has determined it will happen (Daniel 11:36). No one will be able to stand against him (Rev. 13:4).

But when his time has come to an end, he’ll be defeated. Where the Kings of the North and South will have failed, the King of Kings will be successful and at the end there will be no one to help him (Daniel 11:45).

If this view is correct and the current unrest in the Islamic Middle East is leading to the re-appearance of the ancient Kings of the North and South, then the appearance of the anti-Christ cannot be far behind. And that’s another reason for us to believe that the days of the Church on Earth are truly numbered.

Some form of the phrase “then you will know that I am the Lord” appears in the Book of Ezekiel 50 times. Prior to the Babylonian captivity (605-535 BC) the Lord used it most often in the context of judgment, whether against Israel’s leaders (Ezekiel 11:10), the nation as a whole (Ezekiel 12:20) or its enemies (Ezek 25-35).

The Lord had given the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar authority over the whole world (Daniel 2:36-38) to be His agency for judgment (Jeremiah 25:8-9). This action began the period of time known as Gentile Dominion that continues to this day and will not be fully concluded until the 2nd Coming.  He ordered Israel and all its neighbors to either surrender to Nebuchadnezzar or be destroyed (Jeremiah 27:1-8).

The Lord had determined to punish Israel and all the surrounding nations and make His existence known to all people, even if it took destroying them to do so. In some cases that’s exactly what happened.  By the time Nebuchadnezzar was finished, Israel had gone into captivity, Tyre and Sidon (Lebanon) had been laid waste, Egypt had been scattered, and Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia no longer existed.

Israel was punished was for practicing idolatry.  The surrounding nations were punished for celebrating Israel’s punishment. The Lord felt the need to remind all of them who was God and who was not.

That Was Then, This Is Now
But beginning in Ezekiel 36, after Nebuchadnezzar had taken the Jews to Babylon and burned Jerusalem to the ground, the Lord began using the phrase in a different way.  He said the restoration of Israel in the latter days would be the way He would show both Israel and the nations of our day that He is the Lord.

Although the Lord’s promise of restoration was partially fulfilled during the time between Israel’s return from Babylon and the Lord’s first coming, the language in chapters 36 and following make it clear Ezekiel was speaking of the time preceding the Second Coming.  Here are some examples.

Speaking to the mountains of Israel, the Lord said. “No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign LORD” (Ezek. 36:15).

Obviously Israel fell to the Romans after their return from Babylon.

‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.  I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. (Ezekiel 37: 21-22)

During the time of their captivity the Jews were held in Babylon, and they were the ones who resettled the land afterward.  There was no official regathering from all the nations as Ezekiel prophesied will take place after the Gog Magog battle (Ezekiel 39:28).

Also, prior to the first coming the promised land was divided among various members of the Herod family and Rome. It was not a single entity with a single king.

Here’s How You Will Know
Each step along the way to Israel’s complete restoration is meant to be a sign to show both Israel and the nations that God is the Lord. Each of these signs is identified by some form of the phrase “You will know that I am the Lord”.

He said, “You will know that I am the Lord,

When I settle people in the land and they become fruitful and prosperous (Ezekiel 36:11)

When I show Myself holy through Israel before the eyes of the nations (Ezekiel 36:23)

When I have rebuilt what was destroyed and replanted what was desolate (Ezekiel 36:36)

When I fill the rebuilt cities with people  (Ezekiel 36:38).

When I bring back to life a people long dead (Ezekiel 37:6)

When I open their graves and bring My people up from them (Ezekiel 37:13)

When I put My spirit in them and settle them in their own land (Ezekiel 37:14)

When My sanctuary stands among them forever (Ezekiel 37:28)

When I defeat the Gog Magog coalition (Ezekiel 38:23)

When I have finished calling My people back to Israel, not leaving any behind” (Ezekiel 39:28).

Here’s How It All Began
The desire for a Jewish homeland was awakened in the hearts of Jewish people toward the end of the 19th Century with the First Zionist Congress organized by Theodor Herzl in 1897.   The 1917 Balfour declaration made Great Britain’s support for the creation of a Jewish homeland official. Then in 1948 the United Nations declared Israel to be a sovereign nation.

During this 50 year interim Jewish people from all over the world had been coming to Israel to help reclaim the promised land. Barren land was made fertile and malaria infested swamps were drained and cultivated.  Since then cities have been rebuilt, more desolate land reclaimed, millions of trees planted, and what had been largely wasteland has been made into some of the most productive farmland on the planet.  People have come to fill the cities and a nation long considered to be dead was brought back to life and resettled in its historic lands after an absence of nearly 2,000 years.

This was the beginning of God’s plan to reveal Himself to Israel and the nations in the end times.  It had first been foretold in a prophecy that was ancient even in Ezekiel’s time.  Centuries earlier, Moses told the Israelites,

Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back.  He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers (Deut. 30:4-5).

And then the Lord had Ezekiel tell the people,

It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone (Ezekiel 36:22).

Though scoffers continue to deny it, the rebirth of Israel is a conspicuous fulfillment of prophecy.  It’s a sure sign that the end of the age is upon us because to a greater or lesser degree these ten signs, intended by God to show Israel and the nations that He is the Lord, are all evident today.  Obviously they are not in chronological order, but are listed as they appear in the Book of Ezekiel. Some are already fulfilled and others won’t be completely fulfilled until the Second Coming, but all are somewhere in the process of fulfillment as you read this.

Ten is one of the perfect numbers and signifies the perfection of divine order. These ten signs are the Lord’s way of saying, “Here is everything that’s necessary for Israel and the nations to know that I am the Lord.”   Are you getting the message?