In part one, we briefly considered how the Kings of the North and South originated with the breakup of the empire Alexander the Great had established when he unexpectedly died in 331 BCE. Originally, the empire fragmented into four regions. Then, it was consolidated into two. In time, the Roman Empire swallowed up both Syria and Egypt, which had been the prophetic Kings of the North and South, respectively.
When Jesus was on earth, there was no King of the South. Before considering historical developments in the Christian era it is important to recognize that the conflict does not originate between earthly kingdoms or even humans. The countless wars, religious and political strife that has afflicted mankind down through the centuries are merely a reflection of an ongoing enmity in the invisible realm.
Just as is the case on Earth, where there are brief periods of relative peace that are interrupted by spasms of conflict, so too, in the heavens. This unseen reality was vividly portrayed in the last book in the Bible – Revelation. In the 12th chapter it reveals that powerful angels of heaven became combatants. Yes the angels became embroiled in a civil war as it were. The scripture reveals:
“And war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels battled with the Dragon and the dragon and its angels battled. But they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan who was misleading the entire inhabited earth. He was hurled down to the earth and his angels were hurled down with him.”
No wonder mankind has been plagued with warfare and violence all during its relatively brief existence. There is strife in the invisible domain between angels and demons. How could there ever be peace on earth when the gods are at war?
We are first introduced to Michael, otherwise known as the archangel in the prophecy of Daniel. It is Michael who was destined to wage war against the King of the North and conquer him. But we will get to that in another presentation.
It is not possible to understand history or the development of religion, or even the Bible, without taking into consideration the influence of the symbolic Great Dragon, the one called Devil and Satan.
When Jesus was on earth, immediately after he was anointed and born again the holy spirit led him into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. With the third temptation, the Devil tried to bribe Jesus into bowing down to him. And as a reward for his worship, Satan offered to give Jesus authority over all the kingdoms of the world. After imposing upon Jesus mind a vision of all the kingdoms on earth, Satan said: “I will give you all this authority and their glory because it has been handed over to me. And I give it to whomever I wish. If you therefore do an act of worship before me it will all be yours.”
Jesus wisely refused the offer. It is noteworthy, though, that Jesus did not take issue with Satan’s statement that he had been given dominion over all earthly kingdoms, and it is by his authority that humans rule.
On another occasion, Jesus even referred to the Devil as the ruler of the world. It certainly explains why the world is in such a twisted mess. But Satan’s rulership is not absolute. Jehovah God has not relinquished his authority nor abdicated his throne. God has only allowed the wicked one to rule temporarily and to a limited extent. In order to advance his purpose or defend his interests, Jehovah occasionally intervenes. No doubt, sometimes in ways that are not so apparent. On the other hand, divine intervention was on full display. About 3 500 years ago when God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
The Egyptian gods were shown to be powerless when Jehovah brought the ten plagues upon them and ultimately destroyed the pharaoh and his elite charioteers in the Red Sea.
Less dramatic, but every bit as impactful is what took place in the invisible realm when the Jews were captive in Babylon and Persia. While in Persia, Daniel discerned from the writings of the prophet Jeremiah that the 70 years of exile had expired. The aged prophet had been intensely praying for God’s intervention when an angel appeared to him. After allowing Daniel to recover from the terror of standing before the glorious manifestation of this supernatural presence, the angel spoke to him.
“Do not be afraid O Daniel. Your words have been heard from the first day that you gave your heart to understanding and to humbling yourself before your God. And I have come because of your words. But the prince of the royal realm of Persia stood in opposition to me for 21 days. But then Michael one of the foremost princes came to help me. And I remained there beside the kings of Persia. I have come to make you understand what will befall your people in the final part of the days, because it is a vision yet for the days to come.”
The angel spoke of two different rulers of Persia. The prince of the royal realm of Persia and the kings of Persia. Typically, a prince is the son of a king, but not in this instance. No human could successfully oppose a mighty spirit. Angels are not cute little babies with wings or effeminate fairies. They are powerful servants of the Almighty, as was demonstrated when a single angel killed the entire Assyrian army in an instant. The prince of Persia who resisted the angel had to have also been a spirit—but an opposer. One of Satan’s angels. Otherwise known as a demon.
Centuries later, the apostle Paul wrote that a Christian struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places. The demonic ruler of Persia was trying to prevent Jehovah’s angel from strengthening the human king of Persia. That is evident from what the angel went on to say:
“As for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to strengthen and fortify him. What I will tell you now is the truth.”
But why would an angel support a king who was the ruler of Satan’s earthly empire? In order to do the work of God. It was God’s will for Darius to act on behalf of his people at that time, who were the Jews. And the angels strengthened Darius to do just that. Neither Satan nor his army of angels could prevent it. As Proverbs 21:1 says: “A king’s heart is like streams of water in Jehovah’s hand. He directs it wherever he pleases.”
So now. Back to the King of the North and the Christian era.
After the corrupted form of Christianity was co-opted by Constantine, and eventually established as the state religion of the decadent Roman Empire, and infused with paganism thereafter, the Empire itself dissolved, leaving in place the Pontificis Maximus as the supreme authority. Europe gradually fragmented into thousands of fifedems ruled over by feudal lords, ultimately by the Vatican in the West and Constantinople in the East.
The general trend is that civilizations advance and develop. But not always. Sometimes, civilizations regress. The destruction of the two libraries in Alexandria, Egypt, which housed tens of thousands of scrolls and books was an epic disaster for humanity. The first and largest library was destroyed around 50 ce. And the second on the order of Theodosis around 391 ce. Much of the collective knowledge and history of the ancient world was lost in the flames.
The intentional disaster set the stage for a prolonged Dark Age that enveloped Europe. For well over a thousand years the heart of Christendom was immersed in backwardness, superstition, illiteracy and ignorance. No doubt, casting a pall of darkness over the keepers of the Book of light was the intention of the demonic rulers of the darkness.
It was not until the Italian Renaissance, which was essentially a rediscovery of lost knowledge and culture, that the Holy Roman King of the North faced a challenge. Most significantly, the Renaissance gave birth to the creation of the modern nation-state—republics dedicated to the education of their citizens and the common good.
Francis king Louis Xi, who reigned from 1461 to 1483, developed the first modern republic. The oligarchic system is based upon the demonic-inspired myth that the human rulers are a higher species and that the masses of commoners are beasts to be bred, herded, and called at the whim of the elite. The notion that mankind was originally created in the image of God had been deliberately deleted from human consciousness.
One footnote in history is the appearance of a French peasant girl named Joan of Arc, born in 1412. At a young age, she began seeing visions that became more vivid until, eventually, she was impelled to go to the king of France to embolden him to save France. France at the time was embroiled in what is known as the hundred years war with England. As a mere teenager, Joan of Arc understood herself to be a messenger of God. And she may well have been used by him. Her mission was to save France from ruin. But her short life had a much further-reaching impact than she ever could have imagined. The reluctant king listened to her. And she was given a horse and armor and sent into battle. At the age of 17 the young peasant girl rallied generals and noblemen to the cause of God. And in the process revealed herself to be a military genius.
The maiden, as she called herself, was only 19 years old when she was betrayed by the English and burned at the stake as a witch. But the unlikely heroine Joan of Arc changed the course of history and set in motion developments which ultimately led to the formation of the nation-state system.
No doubt divine intervention was involved as the inspired apostle revealed that there is no authority except by God. The existing authorities stand placed in their relative positions by God.
At the close of the 15th century, another person of importance came on the scene, Christopher Columbus. If any one event marked the end of the Dark Ages, it was the successful voyage of Columbus and the discovery of the Western Hemisphere. It was the Apollo moon mission of its time. Soon afterward, many explorers ventured out on the vast oceans and mapped the world. Thus, the age of colonialism began. The kingdoms of Europe became locked in fierce competition to establish colonies abroad to exploit the natives and bring back the riches. England, Spain, France and the Netherlands were the foremost colonizers. Ultimately, the British Empire became the dominant colonial master—eventually wielding control over a quarter of the earth’s land mass and population.
Along with the Renaissance came a renewed interest in the Bible, which up until then had been locked away in the dying Latin language by order of the church. Translating the Bible into the common languages of Europeans was strictly forbidden under penalty of death. But an invention changed the world. The development of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440 had a profound far-reaching impact on the world and especially on Christianity. Appropriately, the first book ever published on the revolutionary printing press was the Bible.
And with colonialism, the Bible came into reach of peoples all over the earth. It is especially noteworthy that the original English and Dutch settlers in North America were devout Christians, so-called Pilgrims and Puritans, who brought their King James Bible with them. They fled the tyranny of the churches of Europe and sought freedom to practice their faith.
Although european society was slowly coming out from under the feudal system, the landed aristocracy stayed in power. A few forward-thinking persons realized that the new world offered a unique opportunity to create a new nation based upon European culture but without the oligarchic system.
The Declaration of Independence and the American revolution were revolutionary in more ways than one. A government of the people, by the people and for the people had never existed in Europe. And was the realization of the hopes of many people who came before. God blessed America.
From the standpoint of Bible prophecy, the repudiation of the British empire and the creation of the United States of America marked the renewed conflict between the Kings of the North and South.
The struggle between America and the British Empire continued after the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 when British soldiers burned down the president’s mansion.
While textbook historians cite the issue of slavery as the sole reason for the American Civil War, the real underlying conflict was between the American system of economy and the British system. The fundamental difference between the two is that in the American system, the government is constitutionally bound to use its power for the benefit of the general welfare of all of its citizens.
The British colonial system merely seeks to extract interest and rent while exploiting cheap labor through varied forms of slavery. Otherwise known today as globalism and free trade.
Leading up to the Civil War, the United States was determined to abolish the system of slavery it had inherited from the original colonial powers. Even though Britain had already outlawed the slave trade in the early 1800s, in reality, they outsourced the merchandising of humans to Spain and continued to profit from it, as England’s cotton mills were the primary beneficiaries of slave-produced cotton from the South.
A little-known fact of history is that the British monarchy supported the confederacy in an attempt to divide and conquer the Union of the United States. Had it not been for Czar Alexander’s threat to use the Russian navy to prevent any British blockade of Union ports, the war might have had an entirely different outcome.
From then until the present, the British Empire has been determined to prevent any lasting alliance between the United States and Russia—a policy that has now brought the nations to the brink of nuclear war.
It was during the American Civil war that Abraham Lincoln embarked on an accelerated program of railroad construction and nation-building that set the United States on track for further conflict with London. As human schemes go, the American system is vastly superior to the British system because it nurtures the divine spark of human creativity. And so other nations began to industrialize, and to aspire to the American economic model; namely, Germany, Japan, Russia and China. The British empire was forced to take action to thwart the spread of the American system—Or else it faced eventual extinction.
At the dawn of the 20th century, the proposed Berlin-Baghdad railroad was the last straw. The British merchant navy possessed a near monopoly over maritime commerce and was determined to establish control over the newly discovered oil fields in the Middle East. An overland rail route linking the Middle East with the heart of Europe was unacceptable to the Lords of London. British geopolitical machinations under king Edward Vii finally succeeded in dividing Europe into two opposed military blocs—much like NATO and non-NATO aligned nations today. If one member of an alliance was attacked the others were treaty-bound to join in the fray.
Although king Edward did not live to see it, he set the stage so that a single assassin with a pistol provided the spark to set off the conflagration that became known as the First World War. And by means of that war, the United States was subverted from its historic mission of opposition to oligarchism and drawn into fighting on behalf of its former colonial master.
With the historical foundation for the epic conflict between the two inimical systems having been established, modern events may now be better situated in the context of the prophecy of the King of the North and the King of the South:
“And he will muster his power and his heart against the King of the South with a large army. And the King of the South will prepare himself for the war with an exceedingly large and mighty army. And he will not stand because they will plot schemes against him. And those eating his delicacies will bring his downfall. As for his army it will be swept away and many will fall down slain.”
The renewal of conflict between the King of the North and South involving an exceedingly great and mighty military force certainly describes the great war of 1914. From a broad historical perspective, the First World War was an epic clash between the remnants of the Roman empire and the burgeoning power of the republican form of government, which was born during the Renaissance and unleashed by the American Revolution. As is well known, the First World War was the most intense episode of bloodletting in world history, up to that point.
Over 35 million men were killed or wounded in the slaughter. Even as the prophecy of Daniel says: “And many will certainly fall down slain.” Vast numbers of men were mobilized for the war. Some estimates put the total number of men under arms during World War I at 65 million. Certainly, that fits the angel’s description of an “exceedingly great and mighty military force.”
But since the United States and Great Britain were victorious allies in the First World War, if America represents the King of the South, in what way could it be said that the King of the South succumbs to the schemes of the King of the North?
And the answer to that question may astound you.
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