Daniel Chapter 11, Part 7

Daniel Chapter 11, Part 7

Verse 40And at the [fixed or appointed] time of the end shall the king of the south [Egypt] push at him: and the king of the north [England] shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen [the Egyptian Mamelukes, etc.], and with many ships [the English forces consisted of a navy under Admiral Nelson]; and he [Napoleon] shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over [victoriously].”

“The “king of the south” was Egypt. The “king of the north” can be interpreted two ways: as either England under Lord Nelson with his ships or as Napoleon himself, who also had many ships. In other words, when Napoleon went to Egypt, he took his army with him and that required a great armada. While he was busy fighting Egypt, his ships were in the harbor unprotected.” (The Book of Daniel, Page 146)

“History informs us that the Egyptian army under Murat Bey “after a most determined struggle was repulsed; the success of the French struck terror far into Asia and Africa; and the surrounding tribes submitted to the conqueror… But fortune was preparing for him a terrible reverse. His fleet, consisting of thirteen ships of the line [war vessels], besides frigates, was found in Aboukir Bay by Nelson, the English admiral, who had long been in pursuit, and was attacked on the evening of Aug. 1, 1798, with a degree of vigor and activity [“like a whirlwind“] which was never surpassed in naval warfare.” (C 45)

“As a result, Napoleon found himself and his troops landlocked and in a dilemma. After he won the Battle of the Pyramids and got booty, he left a capable general in charge (General Kleber) and then proceeded along the coast, but inland a little, to Gaza and on up to Mount Tabor in northern Israel.” (The Book of Daniel, Page 146)

Thus once again Daniels people find themselves caught between the warring kings of the North and the South.

Now let us recall what the Pastor previously said about Verses 29 and 30:

“We regard Verses 29 and 30 as a parenthesis, thrown in to conceal the meaning for a time by breaking the order of the narrative, and believe it to apply to a then far future collision between the representatives of the Roman Empire and Egypt. No further conflict between these would occur except one, and it would be just at “the time appointedthe time of the end, 1799.” (C 35)

The Pastor connected Verses 29 and 30 with the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt.

Verse 29 “At the (prefixed) time appointed he (the King of the North) shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.”

“Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt did not result either like that in the days of Cleopatra, or like that in the days of her descendant, Queen Zenobia. Napoleon, though successful as a general in Egypt, achieved no such victories as his predecessors; and the reason is described in the next verse.” (C 47)

Verse 30 “For the ships of Chittim [“of the Romans” Douay Version] shall come against him (The English navy harassed Napoleon and hindered his conquest. Since England as well as France had been a part of the old Roman Empire, and since France was at war with the remainder of that empire, endeavoring to conquer it, we see the propriety of these being called Roman ships): therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.”

These two verses, referring to Napoleon in Egypt, were a roadblock to the understanding of Daniel 11. The ships of Chittim refer to Lord Nelson’s going down to Egypt with his armada and destroying all of Napoleon’s vessels. “Chittim” (Hebrew Kittim Strong’s #3794  a general term for all islanders of the Mediterranean Sea; See marginal reading; western lands especially Cyprus) Chittim refers to England, which was a part of the old Roman Empire at that time.

The purpose of this whole chapter is to fix the point of the beginning of the time period known as the Time of the End. In Marcus Aurelius’s day, the Time of the End was aborted. Hence Verses 29 and 30 were inserted as an afterthought, for Marcus Aurelius also went to Egypt and returned. The Pastor reasoned that Verses 29 and 30 were a parenthetical thought, like a side remark, that the king of the north (Napoleon) would be back again.” (The Book of Daniel, Page 146)

Verses 41- 43: “He shall enter also into the glorious land [Palestine], and many shall fall: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab, and the principality of the children of Ammon. [Napoleon kept to the coast, and did not enter but passed by these lands.] He shall stretch forth his hand upon the countries, and Egypt shall not escape. And he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians will follow at his steps.”

Verses 44 and 45: “And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace [his palatial tents] between the [two] seas [the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee], in the glorious holy mountain [Mount Tabor].” This statement might refer to either of two mountains–Mt. Tabor or Mt. Sinai–both of which might be called glorious and holy. On Mt. Tabor, glorious and holy as the place of our Lord’s transfiguration, and called by Peter “the holy mount,” Napoleon’s tents were pitched, one of his most important battles being fought there. Mt. Sinai, holy and glorious as being the place where the Law Covenant between God and Israel was ratified, was visited by Napoleon and his “scientific corps” and select guard.

But tidings [or rumors] out of the East and out of the North [France] shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many [nations]. Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”

While in Egypt tidings of fresh alliance against France reached Napoleon, and he at once set out for France. With reference to this history says, “Intelligence from Europe now induced him to abandon Egypt; and, leaving his army under Kleber, he returned to France with secrecy and dispatch. …A reverse of fortune had taken place in French affairs; a second coalition had formed against France, composed of England, Russia, Naples, the Ottoman Porte and Austria.” Compare these words of history with those of prophecy: “But tidings out of the East and out of the North shall trouble him; therefore shall he go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many [nations].” Napoleon’s great fury, and his attempted destruction of all the nations of Europe, are too well known to require repetition here. He almost succeeded in his ambitious designs; yet, as predicted by the Prophet, in a few years this most notable man of his day died an exile, forsaken by all.”(C 45, 46)

“Eventually he conducted a campaign to Russia, conquering all others as he went along. However, with the severity of the winter in Russia, he lost almost his entire army and barely escaped back to France with his life…The account about Napoleon is not always sequential. It tells of various things he did and even repeats. Enough information however is presented to pin down Napoleon as the character being described… After losing the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon died in exile on an island in the Mediterranean. It is felt that he was poisoned.

What part of Daniel 11 specifically points to the date 1799?

Verse 40 pinpoints Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt as marking the date 1799, the beginning of the Time of the End. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him [Napoleon]: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind.”

Daniel 11 started with Alexander the Great as the head of the horn, or empire that was broken and divided into four; that is, the empire had four divisions with a different general over each part. Then the account jumped down to Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. Next the account pointed out Augustus Caesar, the raiser of international taxes to keep Rome on a stable basis. He died a natural death in contradistinction to those who both preceded and followed him, their deaths being caused by poison, slaying, or violence. Then the account skipped to Marcus Aurelius and Zenobia. Next two kings (civil and ecclesiastical Rome) were shown conniving at a table with ulterior motives. After that came Napoleon.

By grasping the date 1799, we are helped in understanding the next chapter, Daniel 12, with its time periods (the 1260, 1290, and 1335 days of Daniel), likewise we are aided in understanding God’s thinking and method. Just as with Chapter 11 one event did not immediately follow another, so Michael did not stand up immediately at the beginning of the period designated as thetime of the end” following the French Revolution, but this would come later in this period, nevertheless still considered at (or during) the time of the end.

Verse 12:1And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

At that time” is the time of Jacob’s Trouble, which will occur at the end of the period known as the Time of the End, (At the end of the Great Time of Trouble, just prior to the pouring out of the Seventh and final plague, Armageddon).

At that time, Michael will “stand up” “for the children of thy people” to stop Jacob’s Trouble and to deliver the Holy Remnant. Chapter 12 is in fact a continuation of the prophecy that began in the tenth chapter.” (The Book of Daniel, Page 146-148)

The Pastor never claiming to be a prophet under any type of divine inspiration or etc. at one time (back in 1890) had imagined that the “time of the endwould end in 1914 (C 59), likewise he had assumed that the harvest would have ended at this time as it was his thought that this same date (1914) would bring about the great time of trouble, Armageddon (thus logically “Jacob’s Troubles”), and that the “Times of the Gentiles” having expired by that time this present order would give way to the new order, this of course as he stated in the 1916 foreword of that same Volume, “was merely a supposition, which proved without warrant”, that is to say if the harvest continued beyond 1914 then obviously 1914 was not the date of Armageddon, but rather (as he later wrote) merely the beginning of the great time of trouble, which, eventually, as birth pangs upon a woman in labor would accumulate or reach the time of “Jacob’s Troubles” ending the period designated as the “time of the end” with Armageddon, which shall bring about the destruction of the present order.

 The “Times of the Gentiles” did indeed end in 1914 as in accordance with the true bible chronology, however the other events mentioned would have to await a future fulfillment.

Thus we concluded our perspective as to the “time of the end” when Michael shall stand up.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.