TIME OF THE END!

5- The Time of the End

By Jeff Pippenger

AND at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over." Daniel 11:40. Previously we identified the time of the end as 1798. We noted that throughout Daniel 11, the power which controlled or did the spiritual work of Egypt was the king of the south, and the power controlling or doing the work of Babylon was the king of the north.

In 1798, the power which controlled the spiritual characteristics of Egypt--according to Revelation 11:7-11 and The Great Controversy, 269-270--was France. And at that same point in history the power which controlled the spiritual characteristics of Babylon was the Papacy, according to Revelation 17:1-6 and The Great Controversy, 382.

We found that the word "push" in the first part of Daniel 11:40 means to "war against." When Napoleon had the pope of Rome taken captive in 1798, the first clause of verse 40 was fulfilled: "And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him." We will now take up the rest of this verse.

The next portion of the verse predicts that the king of the north will "come against" the king of the south "like a whirlwind," implying a counterattack at some future point. However, not simply a counterattack, but a mighty reversal of this war is represented, for in the final words of the verse the king of the north "shall overflow and pass over."

We will see below that the word "whirlwind" means to take away fearfully like a storm. This word is placed with the word "against," illustrating not only a powerful sweeping away, but also an ascendancy.

The final clause of the verse represents that the king of the north will overrun and remove the southern king, for to "overflow" is to conquer, rush, or wash away, and to "pass over" is to cross over or to overrun.

Let us examine Strong's Hebrew dictionary definitions for some of the key words in Daniel 11:40:

"whirlwind--8175: a primary root; to storm; by implication to shiver, i.e. fear:-be (horribly) afraid, fear, hurl as a storm, be tempestuous, come like (take away as with) a whirlwind.

"against--5921: same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural, often with prefix or as a conjugation with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against. . . .

"5920: from 5927. . . .

"5927: Prim. root; to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literally and figuratively. . . .

"overflow--7857: a primary root; to gush; by implication to inundate, cleanse; by analogy to gallop, conquer. . . .

"pass--5674: a primary root; to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, or causative); specifically to cover. . . ." Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. All boldface emphasis supplied.

Verse 40 teaches that sometime after 1798 the northern king would sweep away the southern king in a very powerful fashion, while also ascending, in some sense.

In previous articles we have suggested that Daniel 11:40-45 is a prophecy which was designed by God to be a catalyst for His people's awakening at the end of the world. We proposed that as a parallel to the Millerite movement we should expect to see repeated some of the events which transpired under the pioneer movement. We referred specifically to Josiah Litch's prophecy of the fall of the Ottoman Empire as an illustration of what impact the fulfillment of prophecy has on God's people and the world.

In connection with that historic event and the prediction that some of the experiences of the pioneer movement will be repeated, we suggested that the recent fall of the Soviet Union was a possible modern counterpart to the fall of the Ottoman Empire, with the exception that this prophecy lacked the element of specific prophetic time, and so God's people were not benefited by an advance public prediction of the event. This proposition raises the question, How did the king of the south begin as France and then become the Soviet Union?

Throughout the ebb and flow of history, as marked out in Daniel 11, the kings of the north and south rose and fell as new powers emerged to overthrow the previous kingdoms. After 1798, the crown of the south also changed hands.

France wore the crown of king of the south in 1798 as it manifested the spiritual characteristics of Egypt (atheism). Yet after the French Revolution the philosophy of atheism began to grow and refine, while the government of France moved away from atheism as the fundamental principle of its philosophy of government.

Beginning in the seedbed of France, atheism eventually spread across Europe, and even the whole world. Though growing in its intellectual influence, atheism had ceased to have a voice, for to have a voice prophetically requires a government.

"The 'speaking' of the nation is the action of its legislative and judicial authorities." The Great Controversy, 442.

The king of the south is not seen again until another nation fulfills the qualifications necessary to assume the crown, through exalting and incorporating the characteristics of atheism into their government.

It is interesting to note that one characteristic of atheism's work as a force in the history of nations is that it was always accompanied by revolution. Beginning with the French Revolution, atheism placed the palace of the king of the south in France; however, by 1917, atheism moved the palace of the southern king to Russia in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. In 1917, the king of the south came out of exile and continued its ongoing battle against the forces of Catholicism. Sister White implies that these principles of atheism would continue and reach a higher state of importance than simply the French Revolution:

"The centralizing of wealth and power; the vast combinations for the enriching of the few at the expense of the many; the combinations of the poorer classes for the defense of their interests and claims; the spirit of unrest, of riot and bloodshed; the worldwide dissemination of the same teachings that led to the French Revolution--all are tending to involve the whole world in a struggle similar to that which convulsed France." Education, 228. All emphasis supplied unless otherwise noted.

Tracing the history of the Soviet Union's conquests through the following years is enlightening in many ways. First is the fact that as country after country came under the control of this kingdom, the primary mode to accomplish such a feat was revolution. The design of Communism was to infiltrate, indoctrinate, and bring about a revolution.

Another aspect of this growth is that almost all the countries which were eventually brought under the umbrella of the Soviet Union had previously been Catholic-dominated nations. One by one, Catholicism was losing its power base.

As communism's revolutions spread throughout the world, the Papacy was provided with a tool to identify the Soviet Union as a common enemy of themselves and the United States. This common enemy ploy prepared the way for the alliance described in verse forty, which is also the alliance more broadly addressed in Revelation 13.

Verse 40 teaches that the king of the north would eventually sweep the king of the south away--"with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships." Identifying these prophetic symbols points to the role of the United States in this war.

We understand that "chariots" and "horsemen" are symbolic of military power in Bible prophecy: "Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him." 1 Kings 1:5. "And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it." 1 Kings 20:1.

"Ships" are often associated with economic strength in Bible prophecy: "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters." Psalm 107:23. "For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate." Revelation 18:17-19.

The king of the north (the Papacy) was "grieved" when it lost its political power in 1798. In Daniel 11:30, the emperors of the Roman Empire had been grieved by their inability to resist the onslaught of the three horns of Daniel 7, representing the Goths, Vandals, and Heruli. France became the first Catholic nation when its king, Clovis, dedicated his nation to removing these three horns. The recent historical record describing the fall of the Soviet Union echoes the history of Clovis as it identifies the military and economic pressure supplied by the United States coming to the aid of the Papacy to sweep away the southern king.

Daniel 11:40 states that when the king of the north sweeps away the southern kingdom, "he shall enter into the countries." This clause pinpoints that the kingdom of the south would be a confederacy of countries. That was certainly true of the former Soviet Union and its many satellite countries.

Prophecy Fulfills

Sister White makes a statement which will allow us to test the scenario we have just set forth against the testimony of the historical record.

"Historical events, showing the direct fulfillment of prophecy, were set before the people, and the prophecy was seen to be a figurative delineation of events leading down to the close of this earth's history. The scenes connected with the working of the man of sin are the last features plainly revealed in this earth's history." Selected Messages, book 2, 102.

As the "historical events" associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union were recorded by the secular press, we find the history of the ongoing war between atheism and Catholicism described. The alliance between the United States and the Papacy is addressed, including the military and economic role played by the United States. Incredibly, we find the authors of these secular articles were frequently led to choose words in illustrating their stories which are the same words found in the biblical description of verse 40. God intends for His people to see that these "historical events" are a "direct fulfillment of prophecy." God would have us recognize this sequence of events as a wake-up call to Laodicea.

Confirmation in the Secular Press

"Gorby's Bow To The Roman Legions"--Title in the U.S. News & World Report.

"When the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV decided to seek pardon of Pope Gregory VII in 1077, he stood barefoot for three days in the snow outside the papal quarters in Canossa, Italy. Gorbachev's concordat with the church was no less significant in its way." Time, December 11, 1989.

"The Soviet president's session Friday with Pope John Paul II is the latest development of a revolution in the Communist world that the pope helped spark and Gorbachev has allowed to happen." U.S.A. Today, cover story, 1989.

"Until recently, the battalions of Marxism seemed to have the upper hand over the soldiers of the Cross. In the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Lenin had pledged toleration but delivered terror. 'Russia turned crimson with the blood of martyrs,' says Father Gleb Yakunin, Russian Orthodoxy's bravest agitator for religious freedom. In the Bolsheviks' first five years in power, 28 bishops and 1,200 priests were cut down by the red sickle. Stalin greatly accelerated the terror, and by the end of Khrushchev's rule, liquidation of the clergy reached an estimated 50,000. After World War II, fierce but generally less bloody persecution spread into the Ukraine and the new Soviet bloc, affecting millions of Roman Catholics and Protestants as well as Orthodox." Time, December 4, 1989.

"In private meetings with heads of state, back room consultations with dissident groups and persistent propagandizing for his crusade against tyranny, he [John Paul II] has helped bring about the greatest policy change since the Russian Revolution." Life, December 1989.

"His [Pope John Paul II] triumphant tour of Poland in 1979, says Polish bishop, altered the 'mentality of fear, the fear of police and tanks, of losing your job, of not getting promoted, of being thrown out of school, of failing to get a passport. People learned that if they ceased to fear the system, the system was helpless.' Thus was born Solidarity, backed by the church and led by such friends of the pope as Lech Walesa and Tadeusz Mazowieke, who subsequently became the Soviet bloc's first Christian Prime Minister." Time, December 4, 1989.

"In 1935 Josef Stalin, absolute ruler of the Soviet Union, was given some unsolicited advice. Make a propitiatory gesture to the Vatican, he was told. Pushed too far, his country's Catholics might become counterrevolutionary. Stalin's great mustache amplified his sneer. 'The Pope. And how many divisions has he?' The answer then was that he has none. The answer now is that he needs none. The structures of Communism are crumbling to the touch." Life, December 1989.

"The rush to freedom in Eastern Europe is a sweet victory for John Paul II." Life, December 1989.

The word "rush" is the verb used to describe the spread of this freedom. He "shall overflow [rush] and pass through." The word "pushed" was chosen by this author to describe the war that Communism was waging against Catholicism.

"Of all the events that have shaken the Soviet bloc in 1989, none is more fraught with history--or more implausible--than the polite encounter to take place this week in Vatican City. There, in the spacious ceremonial library of the 16th century Apostolic Palace, the czar of world atheism, Mikhail Gorbachev, will visit the Vicar of Christ, Pope John Paul II.

"The moment will be electric, not only because John Paul helped inflame the fervor for freedom in his Polish homeland that swept like brush fire across Eastern Europe. Beyond that, the meeting of the two men symbolizes the end of the 20th century's most dramatic spiritual war, a conflict in which the seemingly irresistible force of Communism battered against the immovable object of Christianity." Time, December 4, 1989.

"While Gorbachev's hands-off policy was the immediate cause of the chain reaction of liberty that has swept through Eastern Europe in the past few months, John Paul deserves much of the longer-range credit." Time, December 4, 1989.

Here the word "swept" is used, and to sweep away is the definition for "come against like a whirlwind." This event is described as the twentieth century's most dramatic spiritual war, while identifying Gorbachev as the czar of world atheism as synonymous with being the czar of world Communism. Secular authors recognize Communism as--atheism.

"The Triumph Of John Paul II--The tide of freedom washing over Eastern Europe answers his most fervent prayer." Life, December, 1989.

The word "overflow" means to "wash away," as with water. Who was choosing the words for these secular reporters?

"Days of the Whirlwind" Title in Newsweek, December 25, 1989, for an article that is a chronology of the fall of Communism. The author thought the best title for the article was the same word Daniel twice used--to prophetically describe the very same event.

Chariots and Horsemen

"In 1981, the Communist bloc got another shock. A new American President, Ronald Reagan, began fulfilling his promise to challenge the Soviets, not placate them. Over the next few years, he accelerated the military buildup and announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a space-based system for protecting against missile attack. He backed anti-Communist rebels in Nicaragua, Angola, Cambodia, and Afghanistan. And with American troops, he liberated the island of Grenada from Communist thugs.

"The Soviets' confidence was shaken. . . .

"The Western Europeans also pressured the Soviets. NATO forged ahead with military modernization. German voters spurned Soviet 'peace overtures' and elected a government that voted to deploy new intermediate-range missiles. . . .

"Military pressure from America and its Western allies had caused the Soviets to flinch." Reader's Digest, March 1990.

With Many Ships

"Gorbachev has also grasped the fact that political and economic survival depends upon the goodwill of the Soviet people, among whom Christians have always outnumbered Communists. Gorbachev, moreover, needs the cooperation of the West, observes Father Mark, a reform-minded Orthodox priest in Moscow, who considers Gorbachev's program within the U.S.S.R. 'a result of foreign policy necessity.' " Time, December 4, 1989.

"In the 1980s, communist economies, always inefficient, went belly up. Before, they had lacked consumer and luxury goods. Now perennial shortages of staples worsened as well. When Soviet miners went on strike in 1989, their demands included soap, toilet paper, and sugar." Reader's Digest, March 1990.

"For Gorbachev, the ferment in the Baltics is shaking not just a small corner of the empire built by Lenin and Stalin, but the foundations of the empire itself. The nationalities question is a potent distillation of many other signs, from a crumbling economy to violent ethnic clashes, that the breathtaking disintegration of the Soviet empire in Eastern Europe may not stop at the Soviet border. As the economy deteriorates and shortages grow, public disillusionment with Communism and with Gorbachev himself is rising, and hostile republics, nationalities and interests groups are competing more fiercely for political power and for shares in the shrinking economy. Corruption and crime are rampant; miners and railway workers threaten to cut off fuel supplies during the bitter winter; Azerbaijanis cut the rail line to an Armenian enclave in their midst; farmers hoard food, leaving city shelves bare." U.S. News and World Report, January 15, 1990.

The Whirlwind Begins

"In Poland the freedom movement was born almost three decades ago when the bishop of Krakow sought approval to build a new church. When Communist authorities denied his application, the bishop had a giant cross erected and celebrated open-air masses. The Communists tore it down. The church members replaced it over and over until finally the Communists gave up." Jubilee, April 1990.

Who was that bishop of Krakow? None other than Pope John Paul II.

"When Tadeusz Mazowiecki took over in August 1989 as Poland's first non-Communist prime minister in forty-five years, he was asked if he was a socialist. 'I am a Catholic,' he answered tersely." U.S. News and World Report, May 21, 1990.

"Last year Lithuania's two leading bishops were returned to head dioceses after a combined 53 years of internal exile, and the cathedral in Vilnius, previously used as an art museum, was restored for worship. This year the Belorussian republic got its first bishop in 63 years. That paved the way for Archbishop Angelo Sodano, who oversees the Vatican's foreign relations, to make the arrangements for Gorbachev's historic visit to the Holy See.

"These concessions to Catholicism are only part of Gorbachev's religious liberalization." Time, December 4, 1989.

"Three new Catholic bishops have recently been named in Czechoslovakia. And this month Gorbachev meets Pope John Paul II during a visit to Italy--the first face-to-face encounter between leaders of the Kremlin and the Vatican. The sessions may lead to legalization of the long-banned Ukrainian Catholic Church in the U.S.S.R." Life, December, 1989.

"The revival of religious freedom is expected to include lifting of an official ban on the five-million-member Ukraine Catholic Church, which has survived underground since 1946 when Stalin ordered it absorbed into the Russian Orthodox Church. Winning legalization for the Ukrainian Church has been a primary aim of the pope's. Officials in the Soviet Union say they will clear the way for legalization by permitting Ukrainian Catholics to register, as other religious groups are now required to do under Soviet law." U.S. News and World Report, December 11, 1989.

World news presents that Catholicism allied itself with the United States, using economic, social, religious, political, and military pressure to bring about the collapse of Communism. In spite of the wonderful stories of evangelistic triumphs in Eastern Europe we can rest assured that the Catholic Church is rapidly moving to reclaim its former stranglehold upon those countries. Our window of opportunity is indeed very short, for this verse teaches that Catholicism will overrun and cross over these countries as she "overflows and passes through."

Time magazine, February 24, 1992, chose the title, "Holy Alliance," to discuss this coming together of the United States and the Vatican as they sought to bring down Communism.

The magazine elaborates on the secret nature of this alliance, and the closeness of the Vatican and the leadership of the United States. It draws the connection between the Vatican and the labor unions, identifying Solidarity as one of the main players in this intrigue. It also labels the use of our military, the CIA, labor unions, and finance, as key tools in this collaboration.

"Only President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II were present in the Vatican Library on Monday, June 7, 1982. It was the first time the two had met, and they talked for fifty minutes. . . .

"In that meeting, Reagan and the pope agreed to undertake a clandestine campaign to hasten the dissolution of the Communist empire. Declares Richard Allen, Reagan's first National Security Adviser: 'This was one of the great secret alliances of all time.' . . .

" 'Reagan came in with very simple and strongly held views,' says Admiral Bobby Inman, former deputy director of the CIA. 'It is a valid point of view that he saw the collapse (of Communism) coming and he pushed it--hard.' During the first half of 1982, a five-part strategy emerged that was aimed at bringing about the collapse of the Soviet economy. . . .

"[1] The U.S. defense buildup already under way, aimed at making it too costly for the Soviets to compete militarily with the U.S. Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative--Star Wars--became a centerpiece of the strategy.

"[2] Covert operations aimed at encouraging reform movements in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.

"[3] Financial aid to Warsaw Pact nations calibrated to their willingness to protect human rights and undertake political and free-market reforms.

"[4] Economic isolation of the Soviet Union and the withholding of Western and Japanese technology from Moscow. The Administration focused on denying the U.S.S.R. what it had hoped would be its principal source of hard currency in the twenty-first century: profits from a transcontinental pipeline to supply natural gas to Western Europe.

"[5] Increased use of Radio Liberty, Voice of America and Radio Free Europe to transmit the Administration's messages to the peoples of Eastern Europe.

" 'Like all great and lucky leaders, the Pope and President exploited the forces of history to their own ends.' " Time, February 4, 1992, 29-30.

An incredible part of this history is that God, through Daniel, concisely described these events in just one verse, containing only fifty words.

In his book, Keys of This Blood, Malachi Martin, a Vatican insider, goes to great pains to illustrate that the attempted assassination of the pope was viewed by John Paul II as divine evidence that he should be the pope to ascend to the throne of the world. The pope saw his attempted assassination as a sign from Mary, confirming the message sent to the Catholic Church and to the world--through the supernatural manifestation of the so-called "virgin" of Fatima, Portugal. This miracle, and the messages connected to it, are the guiding force for Catholicism as it prepares for the next millennium of peace. The Fatima miracle has specific information concerning Communism, Russia, and the conversion of the world. Strangely enough, this miracle occurred in 1917--the very year of the Bolshevic Revolution.

The healing of the deadly wound identifies the restoration of power unto the Papacy as a geopolitical power. The Vatican lost its throne in 1798, when the king of the south began a war against the king of the north. It is also noteworthy that the 1981 assassination attempt against the Pope--the king of the north--was apparently ordered by the king of the south--the Soviet Union.

In a caption connected with two photographs showing the assassination attempts of both the pope and of Ronald Reagan, the following statement was made:

"A Common Brush With Death--At their first meeting, Reagan and John Paul II discussed something else they had in common: both had survived assassination attempts that occurred only six weeks apart in 1981, and both believed God had saved them for a special mission. And both referred to the 'miraculous' fact that they had 'survived.'

"In May 1981, before a vast audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul was shot and severely wounded by Mehmet Ali Agea. There was immediate speculation that the Turkish gunman had been sent by East bloc plotters from Bulgaria, sponsored by the Soviet secret police. Their aim: to silence the one man capable of shaking the foundations of international Communism." Life, December 1989.

"With the Pope's support, Solidarity (Polish Labor Union) was formed, and John Paul II sent word to Moscow that if Soviet forces crushed Solidarity, he would go to Poland and stand with his people. The Soviets were so alarmed that they hatched a plot to kill him. . . . The Pope cautioned Solidarity leaders, particularly his friend Lech Walesa, to proceed slowly. They did. In 1988 General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the Polish Communist leader, went to them offering a deal. Solidarity insisted on an election, which it carried with some 80 percent of the vote. When the Communist government fell, the impact on Eastern Europe was electrifying." Reader's Digest, March 1990.

The final movements in the healing of the deadly wound of the Papacy have begun, and ironically, the reigning pope himself received a deadly physical wound during this time period. The fulfillment of Daniel 11:40 is the first step of three steps which are necessary for the complete healing of the Papacy's deadly wound. The first step is now past history. The historical record of the war between these two kingdoms confirms that it continued to the very end. The next area of conquest for the Vatican is the glorious land of the United States.

Possibly the most significant point of verse 40 is that the United States has already formed an alliance with the enemy which is preparing to bring her under his control. This is an echo of how the Papacy originally came into the control of the world, for just as Clovis surrendered his pagan beliefs when he came to the aid of the Papacy, likewise the United States surrendered its Protestant beliefs when it came to the aid of the Papacy. This is true because to meet the definition of Protestant, one must protest popery, and maintain a firm denial of any type of alliance with Catholicism. We will address the consequences of this alliance as we continue this series.