October 2: THE KING OF THE SOUTH FINDS A VOICE
At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him with a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. Daniel 11:40
It is crucial to distinguish between the end of time—the Day Jesus returns—and the time of the end: the days leading up to His return. We are currently living in the time of the end, which began in 1798 (see also 8:17; 11:35; 12:4,9).
Today’s verse highlights the event that marked the end of the 1260 years* of papal rule. During those years, the Church’s influence extended well beyond spiritual matters, controlling the political and military actions of the nations across Europe. The unhindered rule of the papacy began in 538 when the third of three opposing powers was destroyed; they were plucked up by the roots (7:8). But on February 20, 1798, by order of Napoleon Bonaparte, his general Berthier marched into Rome, arrested the pope, and carried him off to France where he died in captivity on August 29, 1799 (see Revelation 13:10). In the eyes of the world at the time, this was the end of the papacy. It brought an end to papal orders for military powers to spring into action for the enforcement of papal dogma. How ironic that France had been the staunchest supporter of the papacy, but now we see France as the instrument that issued its deadly wound (Revelation 13:3).
During the 1260 years of papal supremacy, the king of the South was quiet. But verse 40 represents a pivotal point on the timeline. The king of the South was understood to be Egypt, whose foundational mindset is revealed in the words of Pharaoh to Moses: Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go (Exodus 5:2 ARV). During the French Revolution, that same spirit of unbelief and defiance was manifested. Part of the attack was the burning of Bibles in the streets accompanied by rejoicing and celebration over the “death” of the two witnesses, meaning the Old and New Testaments (see Revelation 11:3-10). Egypt and Sodom have become symbolic for the spirit of atheism and all philosophies which deny the existence of God and/or the authority of His law.
The rest of today’s verse, and the king of the North shall come against him with a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through, is yet future. But there are more and more signs which indicate that the king of the North (the papacy and his allies) will surely retaliate against the king of the South, which, in the context of today, encompasses atheism, communism, secularism, evolution, and all religions that deny the God of the Bible, including Islam, the dominant religion of Egypt and the Middle East. The kingdoms of the North and the South are spread all over the world today. These kingdoms manifest within the minds and actions of individuals, and both are under the control of Satan. The only way of escape is a total, daily surrender to Christ. The lamp of His word, illuminated by the oil of His Spirit, exposes the contradictions, fallacies, failures, and foolishness of both sets of ideas (see Ephesians 5:8-11).
Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. Matthew 25:3
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1a
*The Lord wants us to understand this period of time. It is mentioned in Scripture seven times: Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Revelation 11:2,3; 12:6, 14; 13:5