"A PUSHING" IN THE TIME OF THE END

"In the time of the end the king of the south will engage with him in a pushing," the angel told Daniel. (Daniel 11:40a)  Has the king of the south 'pushed' the king of the north during the time of the end"?  (Daniel 12:3, 9) Yes, indeed. After the first world war, the punitive peace treaty imposed upon the then king of the north-Germany-was surely "a pushing," an  incitement to retaliation. After his victory in the second world war, the king of the south targeted fearsome nuclear weapons on his rival and organized against him a powerful military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).  Concerning NATO's function, a British historian says:  "It was the prime instrument for the 'containment' of the USSR, which was now perceived as the principal threat to European peach.  Its mission lasted for  40 years, and was carried out with indisputable success."  As the years of the Cold War went by, the "pushing"  by the king of the south included high-tech espionage as well as diplomatic and military offensives.

How did the king of the north react? "Against him the king of the north will storm with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he will certainly enter into the lands and flood over and pass through."  (Daniel 11:40b)  The history of the last days has featured the expansionism of the king of the north.  During  the second world war, the Nazi "king" flooded over his borders into the surrounding lands.  At the end of that war, the successor "king" built a powerful empire. During the Cold War, the king of the north fought his rival in proxy wars and insurgencies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  He persecuted genuine Christians, hindering-but by no means stopping-their activity. And his military and  political offensives brought a number of lands under his control.  This is exactly what the angel had prophesied:  "He will also actually enter into the land of Decoration [the spiritual estate of Jehovah's people], and there will be many lands that will be made to stumble."-Daniel 11:41a.

Nevertheless, the king of the north did not achieve world conquest.  The angel foretold:  "These  are the ones that will escape out of his hand, Edom and Moab and the main part of the sons of Ammon." (Daniel 11:41b)   In ancient times, Edom, Moab, and Ammon were situated between the domains of the Egyptian king of the south and the Syrian king of the north.  In modern times they represent nations and organizations that the king of the north targeted but was unable to bring under his influence. 

Next time: EGYPT DOES NOT ESCAPE

From the book:  PAY ATTENTION TO DANIEL'S PROPHECY! 1999