The King of the North

The text of Daniel 11:40–44 doesn’t make clear who’s being referred to, making it difficult to determine who’s attacking who. Translators struggle with this section, with some English translations using “and” instead of “but” in verse 40.

At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, [and] the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through.

Daniel 11:40 [modified] (ESV)

That changes the sense of the sentence. Reading it this way, it’s clearer that we’re reading about three characters—the king of the south, the king of the north, and Antichrist, who’s attacked by the kings of the south and north. That is our view.

The king of the south could be Egypt, or it could be a powerful terrorist organization in the Sinai Peninsula. This has been an unpleasant reality lately for the Egyptian government. More than a dozen violent Islamist groups in the Sinai, including ISIS, have waged low-grade war against Cairo since 2011.

Although Egypt, which is mostly Sunni, appears to want Israel as an ally against Iran, the Shia power in the region, it holds a special place in Jewish minds as the nation that enslaved their ancestors. Until recently, Egypt was still one of Israel’s most dangerous enemies, fighting Israel alongside Muslim allies in the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. When the Muslim Brotherhood ousted former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011, with the approval and behind-the-scenes assistance of the Obama administration, it was a reminder that Egypt is only a regime change away from becoming an enemy again.

The king of the north probably represents a Muslim coalition against Israel. And here’s where we begin to see the interlocking pieces of Muslim, Jewish, and biblical prophecy. Other than Egypt and occasional raiders from the southern desert like the Edomites, Midianites, and Amalekites, invaders have usually attacked Israel from the north. Syria, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome all came into the Holy Land from the north because marching an army across the desert east of Israel is suicide.

It’s not hard to imagine Sunni nations to Israel’s north, or violent factions within those nations, forming an alliance as they did in 1948, 1967, and 1973—some combination of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq (or parts thereof), Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan, with the Palestinian enclaves in Gaza and the West Bank already positioned to launch terror attacks inside Israel. With the rise of Islamist sentiment in the land of Baal’s holy mountain, we can add Turkey to that list. Given the apocalyptic expectations of Sunnis in the Middle East, it’s conceivable that these nations could unite behind a charismatic leader whose followers declare him the Mahdi.

In a two-king scenario, where the king of the north is the Antichrist, our picture must be modified a bit. The king of the south—say, a powerful Saudi ruler—leads a Muslim coalition, perhaps using his status as protector of Medina and Mecca to lead the world’s Muslims into war. Based on the recent Syrian civil war, one can see volunteers from all over the planet signing on to fight against the Dajjal. 

Bear in mind that the king of the north doesn’t have to be “northern” in the physical sense, say, from Turkey or Russia. The Antichrist will be “northern,” no matter where his human form is from, because his boss, Satan, is based at “cosmic north,” Mount Zaphon (har tsaphon, literally “Mount North”).

So, however we get there, we’re going to get there—a Middle East war triggered by an attack on Israel followed by a swift, devastating counterattack. Psalm 83 is the most likely precursor of the Daniel 11 “wars of Antichrist” scenario.

O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”

For they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Asshur also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.

Psalm 83:1–8 (ESV)

According to author Bill Salus, who first suggested its possible prophetic significance,^[1] Psalm 83 appears to name Israel’s immediate neighbors, all of which are majority Muslim nations.

These verses name all the Muslim nations in the immediate vicinity of Israel. If Psalm 83 does foretell a future event, it’s probably a precursor to Daniel 11:40–45, a wider regional war that ultimately goes global. To lay out the sequence, let’s bullet-point a potential series of events triggered by a Psalm 83/Daniel 11 war:

• Muslim nations launch a surprise attack against Israel (Psalm 83:1–8; Daniel 11:40).
• A dynamic military and/or political figure leads Israel to an overwhelming victory (Daniel 11:40–43).
• This leader “comes into the glorious land” as a victor (Daniel 11:41).
• “News from the east and the north” provokes next phase of Antichrist’s war, possibly strikes against Muslim nations farther away such as Turkey, Iran, or even Pakistan (Daniel 11:44).
• Jordan is spared (Daniel 11:41), but Israel’s territory may be expanded (Obadiah 1:9).

You’ll see in our next installment why the role envisioned for Muslims in the last days by Allah, Inc., is tragic. They’re being set up as sacrificial victims of the most insidious double-cross in history.

^[1] Bill Salus, Psalm 83, the Missing Prophecy Revealed: How Israel Becomes the Next Mideast Superpower (La Quinta, Calif.: Prophecy Depot Publishing, 2013).