(Continued from chapter III)

5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on the brink of the river on this side, and the other on the brink of the river on that side. 6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swear by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. 8 And I heard, but I understood not; then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the issue of these things; 9 And he said, Go thy way Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but they that are wise shall understand. 11 And from the time that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 13 But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest and shalt stand in thy lot, at the end of the days" (Dan. 11:36-12:13).

Some expositors interpret this willful king mentioned in the passages above as the personal Antichrist, a Jew who reigns over Israel and who enters into a covenant with the Roman dictator, the head of the world empire. Other scholars who have a knowledge of the prophetic word are of the opinion that the Antichrist is none other than the world dictator who rules the Roman empire in the time of the end. Regardless of which position one may take he is in good company--excellent men being on both sides of the question. For a long time I was undecided; but after much study and research, together with prayer and earnest supplication, I have come to the conclusion that the evidence seems to favor the latter position. This willful king, therefore, I understand to be the final world ruler, or the Antichrist.

It is to be remembered that, according to Daniel 7, the fourth beast seen by the prophet symbolizes a fourth empire which succeeded the Grecian, and which continues through the centuries until the time that the Son of Man is revealed from heaven at the end of the tribulation. According to verse 23 of this marvelous outline of the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24), Rome in the end becomes a world empire, embracing every nation, tribe, tongue, and language. When the world is thus incorporated into one great colossal government, it splits into ten divisions, as indicated by the ten horns of the fourth beast. Among them arises one which symbolizes the man of destiny, who eventually, after being associated with these ten dictators, gradually seizes all civil powers and becomes the final Caesar. Thus the ten kings with the Antichrist reign, in all probability, during the first half of the tribulation. In the middle of it there is a terrific political upheaval. The king of the south (of Palestine) comes up into the land of Israel. At the same time the king of the north goes down into it. Then this willful king, or the Antichrist, comes against them and pitches his tent in the glorious land. Thus one can see that there is to be a mighty upheaval in the political situation at the time here foreseen.

At what time is this? If the reader has perused carefully the quotation at the beginning of this section, he will see that it occurs at the time that Michael shall "stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people" (Dan. 12:1). This precipitates great activity, for as we learn in the rest of this verse, "There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that time."

When Daniel wanted to know how long these strokes of judgment would continue, the angel informed him that they last for "a time, times, and a half (of a time)" (Dan. 12:7). This passage read in the light of Daniel 9:27 and our Lord's statement in Mathew 24:15 shows that this great upheaval in the political world, which causes the Antichrist to go to Jerusalem and set up his image in the Jewish temple, occurs in the middle of the tribulation.

From all these facts, as presented in the various passages of Scripture, it is very clear that the invasion of Palestine foretold by Daniel, in the quotation given above, occurs in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel (Dan. 9:24-27).

From this investigation it seems clear that we must differentiate between the invasion which is recorded by Ezekiel and the one mentioned by Joel and Daniel. But we must always bear in mind that the invasion described by Joel cannot be determined with such exact precision as those by Daniel and Ezekiel. As we have seen, the evidence is very clear and convincing that the invasion by the forces of Gog and his associates occurs before the day of Jehovah.

Since Gog marches into Palestine before the tribulation, how does this prediction fit in with the general scheme of events of the end time as set forth in other passages? This question will be answered in my forthcoming book on Daniel 7, which will issue from the press as soon as I have time to finish it. Ezekiel's prophecy fits perfectly into the prophetic outline of things as set forth by Daniel and other prophets.

(Continued on the next page)