IS BIBLE PROPHECY IN DANIEL 11
ABOUT END-TIME FULFILLMENTS?
I understand Daniel chapter eleven to be
prophetic of (1) the origin of the Arab Empire (Muslims)
in the 7th century A. D. and that (2) the ultimate source of the "Little
Horn" (Antichrist, per 11:21-45) is the northern area of the
Middle East. In my book, NOT ONE STONE (page 27) I refer to
Clarence Larkin, H. A. Ironside, and Arthur W. Pink who held this latter view.
Larkin calls the Antichrist the "Syrian Horn" (The
Book of Daniell, page 248, unabridged edition).
1. Daniel 11:5, 6 is "key" to the view that 11:5-45 focuses on the Arab Empire's Arabian origin in the 7th century and the eventual rise of the end-time Antichrist who takes control of the Middle East countries and builds his "palace" in Jerusalem before he is destroyed (verses 41-45). The "SOUTH" in Daniel 11:5, 6 refers to Arabia, not Egypt. Notice this example: The "queen of the SOUTH" (Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31) was the queen of SHEBA, located in southern Arabia,"the uttermost parts of the earth." So "The South" refers to Arabia, not Egypt.
2. The first Muslim "king of the SOUTH" [Arabia] was ABU BAKR (632-634 A. D.), the father of AISHA, the favorite wife of Muhammad. The second king, or caliph, was OMAR (634-644 A.D.), also a father-in-law of Muhammad. During these few years following the death of Muhammad in 632, in the SOUTH (Arabia) a "great dominion" originated, even greater than any previous Middle East empire, according to Sir John B. Glubb's history, "The Empire of the Arabs." You can find more information on these two Caliphs on Wikipedia. The "SOUTH" in Daniel 11 (negeb; see Strong's Dictionary #5045) refers to the vast desert called "ARABIA," where the cities of Mecca and Medina are located. AISHA, Muhammad's favorite wife, was the daughter of Abu Bakr -- therefore, she was the "king's daughter of the SOUTH" (11:6). Her opposition to Ali (Muhammad's son-in-law who was married to Fatima) helped create the South vs North Muslim division which has lasted ever since -- Sunni vs Shia. Shiites believe that direct descendants of Muhammad thru Ali's lineage are qualified to be "caliph" in Islam, whereas Sunnis believe direct lineage is not essential to being "caliph." See Wikipedia for information on this split among the Muslims.
4. Contrary to the view that the Ptolemies, Seleucids (332-168), and
Antiochus Epiphanes somehow fulfill much of Daniel 11, the prophecy does not
refer to them. Rather, the "north" refers to the northern division of the Arabs
and the "south" to the southern (Early Islam by Desmond Stewart, page
63)
5. The "Abomination of Desolation" (Dan. 11:31) is yet in the
future, according to Jesus (Matthew 24:15). The idea that it
was fulfilled by Antiochus derives from Jewish presumptions in First Maccabees
1:54 in the Apocrypha, uninspired Jewish writings before the
first coming of Christ. A supposed "chronology" is presented by Solomon Zeitlin
in The Rise and Fall of the Judean State). Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary on Daniel cites historical inaccuracies in this chronology.
6. The supposed "restored Holy Roman Empire," or the "European
Union," is not in Daniel 11. There are 27 nations in the EU, and
none of them is in the Middle East. Daniel eleven does
not mention any nation except those in the Middle East. The EU theory was
championed by the late Herbert W. Armstrong and is perpetuated by his followers
such as Gerald Flurry and the "Philadelphia Church of God."
7. The two legs in the image of Daniel chapter
2 are not Rome, but rather they correspond to the two divisions which
arose among the 7th century Arabs -- the southern Arabs and northern
Arabs (EARLY ISLAM by Desmond Stewart, page 63). The ten
toes of the image represent Arab nations which
developed thru "mingling" of "seed," according to
Daniel 2:43: the word
"mingle" in the
original is "ARAB." (See Strong's Hebrew Dictionary
#6151). Islamic polygamy "Arabized" the Middle East
countries from the 7th century A. D. -- Bob L. Ross (713)
477-2329
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