Introduction
In Part 1, we outlined the dispute between Ellen White and Uriah Smith regarding the identity of the King of the North in Daniel chapter 11. We also saw how Daniel 2, 7, and 8 all point to Rome as a consistent fulfilment of prophecy from its original rise to the end of time. Obviously imperial Rome is long past, but a study of chapters 7 and 8 in Daniel also mention a "little horn" which grows out of imperial Rome. As Seventh-day Adventists we have always understood this "little horn" to be the papacy, and that it will endure from its emergence till the end of time. It would thus seem logical to interpret Daniel 11 and 12 along the same lines.
Our explanation of the relevant texts will have to be brief, as a full study of these chapters would require many additional pages.
Daniel 11 - The Setting
As we know, this vision was given after the fall of Babylon and in response to Daniel's prayer as recorded in Daniel 9. This prayer was a result of concern over the 2,300 days (years) prophecy, and the prophet’s wondering if it applied to how long Israel would have to wait in Babylon. Daniel 10 continues this theme of mourning and concern regarding this lengthy time prophecy. In response to Daniel's prayers and mourning, his final vision is given (Dan. 10:7).
The vision should thus be interpret against the above background. The vision covers events from the time it was given (during the reign of Cyrus) to the final close of human history.
These are difficult chapters to interpret in full detail; thus commentaries of them tend to be sketchy. Nonetheless, we can derive from them a general picture.
Daniel 11 - The Beginning
Daniel 11:1 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, [even] I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. 11:2 And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than [they] all: and by his strength through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. 11:3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 11:4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
This is very simple to follow. It starts by stating that this part is about Medo-Persia. The part about a great king whose kingdom is divided is obviously about Alexander the Great, once we compare it with the historical pattern that begins with the statue in Daniel 2 and the beasts in Daniel 7 and 8
Daniel 11:5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and [one] of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion [shall be] a great dominion.
Here the kings of the North and South are introduced, beginning with the breakup of Alexander's kingdom into the four kingdoms ruled by his generals. Eventually, of course, his kingdom dwindled to two parts, the northern territory ruled by a general named Seleucus and the southern portion ruled by another general, named Ptolemy. The northern empire encompassed the territory from India to Greece, while the southern empire encompassed Egypt. Thus the pattern is set for interpreting the rest of the prophecy. Thereafter, the king of the north is a power north of the Holy Land (Palestine), while the king of the south is a power located south of the same [1].
Relating the activities of each king verse by verse is very difficult, and there is little consensus among students of the book of Daniel regarding some of the details. However, there is general agreement among Adventist Bible students—based on the template found in early chapters in Daniel—that the king of the north is initially the northern part of Alexander’s original empire (the Seleucid Empire), then Rome, while the king of the south is consistently Egypt.
When it comes to A.D. 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome and the Jews dispersed, we then have difficulty relating the kings of the north and south to geo-political powers with respect to Palestine [2]. But the solution to this problem should be obvious. The dispensation of the Jews had ended and the dispensation of the Christian Church (spiritual Israel) had begun (Rom. 11; Gal. 3:29). Thus from A.D. 70 onward, the Holy Land (called the “glorious land” in Daniel 11:41,45) is the people of God, and the kings of the north and south are powers that oppose them. Interpretation thus moves from geo-political to spiritual, and depicts a struggle of spiritual forces [3].
To be consistent, we must apply what Daniel says about the "little horn" (Daniel 7 and 8) to determine who the spiritual king of the north can be. Therefore, for the rest of the prophecy, the king of the north must be the Roman papacy. To revert to geo-political interpretation relative to the rest of the prophecy, as Uriah Smith and others have done, is both illogical and inconsistent.
REFERENCES
1. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4 (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 1976), p 866
2. Timothy J. Hayden, Daniel 11 Essentials: God’s Sabbath Under Siege (Timothy J. Hayden, Publisher, 2021), p 45
3. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 874.
Tony Rigden, a former atheist/deist, came into the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1980 as the result of a miraculous conversion and the reading of the book The Great Controversy by Ellen G White. He has since been a regular Sabbath School teacher, very part-time lay preacher, elder and briefly head elder. Formerly an electronics technician and computer programmer, Tony is currently still part-time programming but mostly retired. Former hobbies included diving and private flying. Currently he is a volunteer guard (train conductor) for one of New Zealand's leading vintage railways.