Decoding Prophecy: Unveiling the Historical and Prophetic Significance of Daniel 11:10 and Beyond
Key Takeaways
This article delves deep into the intricate details of Daniel chapter eleven, focusing particularly on verse ten and its historical and prophetic implications. It draws parallels between historical events, such as the Napoleonic era and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and biblical prophecies, highlighting how they align with the sequence of events outlined in Daniel’s vision. The article also explores the symbolic meaning of key terms and phrases, such as “overflow and pass through,” shedding light on their significance in understanding the unfolding of prophecy. Through a meticulous analysis of scripture and historical events, the article provides insights into the geopolitical landscape and the spiritual significance of current global events in light of biblical prophecy.
- Verse forty of Daniel chapter eleven marks the “time of the end” in 1798, symbolized by the deadly wound inflicted upon the king of the north.
- Historical parallels are drawn between the year 246 BC, when Ptolemy retaliated against the northern kingdom, and Napoleonic France capturing the pope in 1798.
- The article highlights the significance of the phrase “overflow and pass through,” which appears in both Daniel 11:10 and Isaiah 8:8, underscoring their interconnected prophetic meanings.
- Biblical passages in Isaiah further elucidate the symbolic meaning of “the head,” representing both the king and the capital of a kingdom.
- The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 is identified as the “time of the end,” initiating a sequence of prophetic events outlined in Daniel chapter eleven.
- Daniel chapter eleven, particularly verses one through four, are interpreted in the context of modern geopolitical developments, such as the rise of globalist powers and the dissolution of kingdoms.
- The article outlines a prophetic timeline leading up to the present day, analyzing the significance of key historical and geopolitical events in light of biblical prophecy.
- Three battles in Daniel 11:10-15 are interpreted as symbolic representations of Cold War conflicts, with parallels drawn between historical wars and future prophetic events.
- The article concludes with a call to interpret current events through the lens of prophecy, emphasizing the need for spiritual discernment and reliance on God’s word amidst tumultuous times.
Verse forty of Daniel chapter eleven, begins at the time of the end in 1798, when the king of the north is delivered his deadly wound at the hands of the king of the south. That history was typified by the year 246 BC, when Ptolemy brought revenge upon the northern kingdom, and also by Napoleonic France taking the pope captive in 1798. After the king of the south returns to Egypt in verse nine then verse ten, identifies that the king of the north would mount a counter-attack against the king of the south.
So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. Daniel 11:9, 10.
Before we consider Uriah Smith’s commentary upon the history that fulfilled verse ten, we note the expression of “overflow, and pass through.” The Hebrew phrase that is translated in this fashion, is also translated in verse forty, as “overflow and pass over.” It is the same phrase in the original Hebrew. It is only found one other place in the Scriptures.
And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. Isaiah 8:8.
In Daniel chapter eleven, verse ten and verse forty, and then again in Isaiah chapter eight, verse eight, the identical Hebrew phrase is translated three different ways, though they represent the same meaning. The last word of the phrase, the Hebrew word “abar,” is either represented as “pass through,” in verse ten, “pass over,” in verse forty, and then as “go over,” in Isaiah. The meaning is essentially the same in each of the three references, but in Isaiah there is also another prophetic connection between the references.
The verse in Isaiah, was fulfilled when the king of Assyria conquered Judah and came to Jerusalem, but never conquered the city itself. He came up “to the neck,” but he never conquered the “head.” In the very same prophecy, Isaiah sets forth a prophetic symbol of what a “head” represents, and he identifies a “head,” as the capital of the kingdom, and the king of the kingdom is also the “head.” He provides two witnesses of the prophetic truth that a head, is a king, and a kingdom, and then cryptically identifies that if the student of prophecy will not accept and understand this truth, he will not be established. The cryptic verse is part of the very same prophecy that identifies that the king of the north would overflow and go over, but only up “to the neck.”
For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. Isaiah 7:8, 9.
The “head” of the nation of Syria was its capital city “Damascus,” and the “head” of “Damascus” (the capital city) was “Rezin,” the king of Syria. Also, the “head” of the nation of Ephraim was its capital city “Samaria,” and the “head” of “Samaria” (the capital city) was “Remaliah’s son” (Pekah), the king of Samaria. In the same prophecy, in the next chapter, in verse eight, King Sennacherib of Assyria surrounded Jerusalem, and in verse eight, it identifies his surrounding of Jerusalem as coming up to the neck.
Verses seven and eight, which set forth upon two witnesses, the prophetic symbol of a “head,” representing both the king and the capital of the king’s nation is the prophecy of sixty-five years that identifies the starting point of both prophecies of twenty-five hundred and twenty years against the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. It is therefore, a very complex verse, for it connects with verse ten, and forty, of chapter eleven of Daniel, which both also identify engagements of a northern king attacking a southern king, just as Sennacherib, a king of the north, attacked Judah, a southern king in verse eight, of Isaiah chapter eight.
The key that connects these engagements of northern and southern kings together is the “head,” and the “overflowing and passing over.” When the king of the north retaliates against the king of the south in verse ten, of chapter eleven, he wins the battle, but he leaves the “head,” for he “comes, and overflows, and passes through” “to” the king of the south’s “fortress.” The history of verse ten represents the northern king’s victory over the southern king, but he does not enter into Egypt (the fortress), the capital—the “head.”
When the southern king previously defeated the northern king in verses seven and eight, he “entered into the fortress of the king of the north, and” “prevailed and” “carried captives” back to “Egypt.” In the king of the north’s retaliatory victory, he did not enter into Egypt, thus typifying that when the Soviet Union was swept away in 1989, Russia, its capital—its head was left standing. “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.” It is Russia, represented as the king of the south in verses eleven and twelve, that wins the battle of the borderland, which in antiquity was Raphia, and today is Ukraine.
“‘VERSE 10. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.’
“The first part of this verse speaks of sons, in the plural; the last part, of one, in the singular. The sons of Seleucus Callinicus were Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus Magnus. These both entered with zeal upon the work of vindicating and avenging the cause of their father and their country. The elder of these, Seleucus, first took the throne. He assembled a great multitude to recover his father’s dominions; but being a weak and pusillanimous prince, both in body and estate, destitute of money, and unable to keep his army in obedience, he was poisoned by two of his generals after an inglorious reign of two or three years. His more capable brother, Antiochus Magnus, was thereupon proclaimed king, who, taking charge of the army, retook Seleucia and recovered Syria, making himself master of some places by treaty, and of others by force of arms. A truce followed, wherein both sides treated for peace, yet prepared for war; after which Antiochus returned and overcame in battle Nicolas, the Egyptian general, and had thoughts of invading Egypt itself. Here is the ‘one’ who should certainly overflow and pass through.” Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, 253.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, marked the “time of the end,” and the two sons in the verse, represent the two waymarks of Reagan and Bush the first. Since the “time of the end,” in 1798, which is where verse forty of Daniel eleven began, the whore of Rome has been forgotten, for she, as Jezebel, remains behind in Samaria, while her husband Ahab addresses Elijah at Mount Carmel. She was in hiding, but secretly pulling the strings, as she was in World War One and World War Two. Her husband is her proxy army against the king of the south. When she retaliated in 1989, she, as the king of the north, brought chariots, ships and horsemen.
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. Daniel 11:40.
Her proxy in the retaliation is represented by “ships,” which are economic power, and by “chariots and horsemen,” which are military might. Military might and economic power are the two prophetic attributes of the United States in the prophecies of the last days, for the United States will forbid those who will not bow to Jezebel from buying and selling, and if they still refuse Jezebel’s mark of authority, they will be put to death. It was the economic power and military strength of the United States that was employed in cooperation with the papacy that brought about the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989, though Russia was left standing.
The history which fulfilled verse ten of Daniel chapter eleven is repeated in the history of the second part of verse forty which identifies the time of the end in 1989. The history of verses six through nine represent the history that led to the time of the end, which is identified in the first part of verse forty. Verses five through ten of Daniel chapter eleven perfectly illustrate the history of verse forty of Daniel eleven, for as Sister White recorded, “much of the history that has been fulfilled in the eleventh of Daniel will be repeated.”
Verses one through four of Daniel eleven identify Cyrus, the second king of the two-horn nation at the time of the end in the last days. The “time of the end” in the last days was 1989, and the second president, represented by Cyrus, establishes a prophetic sequence that allows a student of prophecy to count to the sixth president after 1989, who would be the richest president, and who would stir up (awaken), the globalist dragon powers whether they be the globalists of the world, or those in the United States. That prophetic history then jumps to the seventh kingdom of Bible prophecy, the ten kings of the United Nations, and identifies its primary and first king, as represented by Alexander the Great (meaning “The Warrior of Men”), and the ultimate dissolution of his kingdom when the four winds of Islam are fully released at the close of human probation.
Then verses five through nine illustrate the history represented by the period that preceded the establishment of the papacy upon the throne in 538, for first the power who is to become the king of the north must overcome three geographical obstacles, as did Seleucus, who then was established as the king of the north. Thereafter for three and a half years, as represented by thirty-five actual years, the king of the north ruled, until the king of the south entered into his fortress and took him captive, where he later died in Egypt from falling off a horse. Thus, the verses identify the history that concluded at the time of the end in 1798.
Verse ten identifies the history of the time of the end in 1989, and together with verses five through nine, they represent the history of verse forty, as does the history of verses thirty to thirty-six. Therefore, from verse one to verse ten, line upon line, there are two prophetic lines. The first addresses the leaders of the sixth and seventh kingdoms, though there is an empty space between the sixth and richest president of the sixth kingdom and the seventh kingdom.
The second line covers the history of the removal of the three obstacles, the period the king of the north reigned, and who was then removed in 1798, and up to 1989, and the second president, represented in the previous line by Cyrus.
Verses eleven and twelve represent a third line of history that occurs after the rich president of verse two, but sometime after the collapse of the Soviet Union at the time of the end in 1989, and somewhere before the Sunday law in the United States as represented in verse sixteen.
The history after the time of the end in 1989, is taken to the sixth and richest president who stirs up the globalists beginning in 2016, in the first line. The prophetic history is taken to 1989, in the second line. The Battle of Raphia (“The Borderline”) in verses eleven and twelve, precedes verse thirteen, where the recently defeated king of the north restores his army and then defeats the king of the south, just before the Sunday law of verse sixteen. The king of the north who restores his army in verse thirteen, by context, is the last of the eight presidents that reign from 1989 to the Sunday law. Verse thirteen must therefore take place at or after the election of the eighth president, who is of the seven. Verses eleven and twelve begin just before the sixth, richest president, and likely ends just before the election of that very same president, who becomes the eighth that is of the seven, and is victorious in the third battle of the Cold War, in verses thirteen to fifteen.
The retaliation of the king of the south in verses eleven and twelve, is in response to the defeat the king of the south suffered in verse ten. Verse ten identifies the victory of the king of the north in 1989, which was brought about by the secret alliance of the United States and the Vatican. The victory for the northern army was the first battle of the Cold War. The literal hot war that was fulfilled in antiquity typified a Cold War in the last days, and the victory of verse eleven and twelve will therefore be a victory for the southern king, in the second battle of the Cold War.
There are three battles in verses ten through fifteen, and they were all fulfilled in antiquity by literal hot wars, but they represent three battles in the Cold War in the last days. The first battle was won by the secret alliance of the beast and false prophet, against the dragon in 1989. The second battle of the Cold War will be won by the atheistic dragon power of the king of the south, against the alliance of Francis the woke-pope, and his proxy army. The third battle of the Cold War will be won by the proxy army of the king of the north, as represented in verses thirteen through fifteen.
Prophetically there are three hot world wars, one Cold War, consisting of three battles, and the warfare of the three Woes of Islam. There is also a Civil War and a Revolutionary war. The second battle of the Cold War is now under way in the Ukraine, “The Borderline”, as represented by Raphia, which was the borderline between the king of the south and the king of the north, when verses eleven and twelve were first fulfilled in history.
At the very same time that the second battle of the Cold War in the Ukraine is being carried out, the second of three attacks of Islam against the glorious land is also occurring. The first attack of the third Woe arrived on September 11, 2001, and the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand began. The sealing time ends at the soon coming Sunday law in the United States, when Islam of the third Woe will once again strike the United States. The first and last strikes are the same, and they both mark a voice of the angel of Revelation eighteen, which is also the voice of the third angel, which is also the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, which is also the third Woe.
In the middle of those two attacks, which are two voices, which are the sound of the Seventh Trumpet, Islam of the third Woe attacked, not the modern spiritual glorious land, but the ancient literal glorious land on October 7, 2023.
The warfare that then began, is now taking place in the exact area where the Battle of Raphia occurred as described in verses eleven and twelve. The Gaza strip is the borderline between the southern kingdom of Judah and Egypt. October 7, 2023, is a wheel within the other wheels that marks the rebellion, or thirteenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet that together with the first and the last letters creates the word “Truth.”
The second attack against the glorious land by Islam of the third Woe, took place on October 7, 2023, and it took place in the exact area that the ancient Battle of Raphia occurred in fulfillment of verses eleven and twelve. The second attack upon the glorious land, is through prophetic geographic symbolism, connected to the second battle of the Cold War, as represented by the war in Ukraine.
Line upon line, the second battle of the Cold War that is now under way in the Ukraine (The Borderland), includes the second note of the trumpet of the third Woe (October 7, 2023), that is accomplished in the final period of the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. That sealing experience is illustrated by Daniel in chapter ten, when he sees the “marah,” vision after the twenty-one-day period of mourning, which is the three and a half days that the two prophets were dead in the street. The vision was interpreted as the explanation of “what was to befall God’s people in the last days.”
The truth that is represented by the vision of the Hiddekel River, which is the sealing truth, is fulfilled in the prophetic history of verses eleven through fifteen. It is the history of verse forty that begins in 1989, and continues to verse forty-one and the soon coming Sunday law. It is the history of the sixth, richest president in verse two that is represented until the seventh kingdom of “Alexander the Great” as noted in verse three.
The history which began at the commencement of the second battle of the Cold War in 2014, that was followed by the richest president beginning his campaign in 2015, is the empty area of verse forty, from 1989 unto the Sunday law in verse forty-one, and it is also the empty area from the sixth, richest president in verse two, unto the seventh kingdom. It is the history that began with the first voice of Revelation chapter eighteen on September 11, 2001, and ends with the second voice at the hour of the great earthquake in chapter eleven of Revelation. That history is also the period of history identified by Ezekiel in chapter twelve, where every vision is fulfilled. That period of time is the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. The sanctification of God’s people is accomplished through His word.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17.
We will continue this study in the next article.
“This vision was given to Ezekiel at a time when his mind was filled with gloomy forebodings. He saw the land of his fathers lying desolate. The city that was once full of people was no longer inhabited. The voice of mirth and the song of praise were no more heard within her walls. The prophet himself was a stranger in a strange land, where boundless ambition and savage cruelty reigned supreme. That which he saw and heard of human tyranny and wrong distressed his soul, and he mourned bitterly day and night. But the wonderful symbols presented before him beside the river Chebar revealed an overruling power mightier than that of earthly rulers. Above the proud and cruel monarchs of Assyria and Babylon the God of mercy and truth was enthroned.
“The wheellike complications that appeared to the prophet to be involved in such confusion were under the guidance of an infinite hand. The Spirit of God, revealed to him as moving and directing these wheels, brought harmony out of confusion; so the whole world was under His control. Myriads of glorified beings were ready at His word to overrule the power and policy of evil men, and bring good to His faithful ones.
“In like manner, when God was about to open to the beloved John the history of the church for future ages, He gave him an assurance of the Saviour’s interest and care for His people by revealing to him ‘One like unto the Son of man,’ walking among the candlesticks, which symbolized the seven churches. While John was shown the last great struggles of the church with earthly powers, he was also permitted to behold the final victory and deliverance of the faithful. He saw the church brought into deadly conflict with the beast and his image, and the worship of that beast enforced on pain of death. But looking beyond the smoke and din of the battle, he beheld a company upon Mount Zion with the Lamb, having, instead of the mark of the beast, the ‘Father’s name written in their foreheads.’ And again he saw ‘them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God’ and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
“These lessons are for our benefit. We need to stay our faith upon God, for there is just before us a time that will try men’s souls. Christ, upon the Mount of Olives, rehearsed the fearful judgments that were to precede His second coming: ‘Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.’ ‘Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.’ While these prophecies received a partial fulfillment at the destruction of Jerusalem, they have a more direct application to the last days.
“We are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Prophecy is fast fulfilling. The Lord is at the door. There is soon to open before us a period of overwhelming interest to all living. The controversies of the past are to be revived; new controversies will arise. The scenes to be enacted in our world are not yet even dreamed of. Satan is at work through human agencies. Those who are making an effort to change the Constitution and secure a law enforcing Sunday observance little realize what will be the result. A crisis is just upon us.
“But God’s servants are not to trust to themselves in this great emergency. In the visions given to Isaiah, to Ezekiel, and to John we see how closely heaven is connected with the events taking place upon the earth and how great is the care of God for those who are loyal to Him. The world is not without a ruler. The program of coming events is in the hands of the Lord. The Majesty of heaven has the destiny of nations, as well as the concerns of His church, in His own charge.” Testimonies, volume 5, 752, 753.
