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# The Book of Daniel - Number One-Hundred and Sixty-Five

Unveiling the Prophetic Tapestry: From Alexander the Great to Modern Rome

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

March 29, 2024

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Key Takeaways

- The aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death led to the division of his empire into two primary kingdoms, symbolized as the king of the north and the king of the south.
- The prophetic narrative in Daniel 11 portrays the ongoing struggle for dominance between these two kingdoms, which continue throughout the chapter.
- The king of the south and the king of the north engage in alliances, betrayals, and conquests, describing historical events between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties.
- Specific verses in Daniel 11 correspond to historical occurrences, such as the marriage alliance between the king of the south and the king of the north, followed by betrayal and murder.
- Seleucus Nicator, a general under Ptolemy, establishes himself as the first king of the north after conquering three geographical obstacles, typifying the later empires of pagan Rome and papal Rome.
- The reign of the first king of the north lasts for thirty-five years, symbolizing the duration of certain historical periods, including papal rule.
- Sister White’s interpretation affirms that much of the history recorded in Daniel 11 will be repeated, indicating the cyclical nature of human empires and divine judgment.

We will now consider the history that took place in the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s sudden death, which represents the year 538 unto the time of the end in 1798.

> And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those. And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion. And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. Daniel 11:4–9.

Eventually, after Alexander the Great’s kingdom was broken, those who struggled for control of the former kingdom devolved into two primary kingdoms. The one kingdom controlling the south of Alexander’s former empire and the other controlling the north. From that point on in the prophetic narrative they are identified simply as the king of the south and the king of the north. Once the struggle for world dominance has reached the point where it is only portrayed between the king of the north and the south, the symbols of those two kingdoms continue through the entire chapter.

In verse five, the king of the south is established, and he is strong, but the king of the north is also strong and his kingdom is larger. Then in verse six, the king of the south proposes an alliance with the northern kingdom. The peace treaty is secured by the king of the south giving his daughter to the king of the north, so the king of the north could marry her and ratify their alliance with a family bond. The king of the north agreed, and set aside his wife, and married the princess from the south, and the alliance was initiated.

Eventually the southern princess bears a male-child, but ultimately the northern king grew tired of his new wife, and set her aside, as he had done with his first wife, and takes his first wife back, but as soon as the original wife is restored, and has opportunity, she kills the king of the north, his southern bride, her child, and her entire Egyptian entourage. The act of the original wife murdering the southern princess and her child enrages the southern princesses family, and one of her brothers raises up an army and attacks the northern kingdom.

The southern army prevails over the northern king, and the first wife that murdered the northern king, his southern bride and child is then executed. The original wife’s son, who had been installed as the ruling king of the north at the death of his father, is captured and carried back to Egypt by the southern king, along with some Egyptian artifacts and idols that had been taken from the southern kingdom by the northern kingdom in earlier battles. Once in Egypt the captured northern king falls from a horse and dies. Uriah Smith identifies the history as follows.

> “‘VERSE 6. And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.’

> “There were frequent wars between the kings of Egypt and Syria. Especially was this the case with Ptolemy Philadelphus, the second king of Egypt, and Antiochus Theos, third king of Syria. They at length agreed to make peace upon condition that Antiochus Theos should put away his former wife, Laodice, and her two sons, and should marry Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Ptolemy accordingly brought his daughter to Antiochus, bestowing with her an immense dowry.

> “‘But she shall not retain the power of the arm;’ that is, her interest and power with Antiochus. And so it proved; for some time shortly after, in a fit of love, Antiochus brought back his former wife, Laodice, and her children, to court again. Then says the prophecy, ‘Neither shall he [Antiochus] stand, nor his arm,’ or seed. Laodice, being restored to favor and power, feared lest, in the fickleness of his temper, Antiochus should again disgrace her, and recall Berenice; and conceiving that nothing short of his death would be an effectual safeguard against such a contingency, she caused him to be poisoned shortly after. Neither did his seed by Berenice succeed him in the kingdom; for Laodice so managed affairs as to secure the throne for her eldest son, Seleucus Callinicus.

> “But such wickedness could not long remain unpunished, as the prophecy further predicts, and further history proves.

> “‘VERSE 7. But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: 8. And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. 9. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.’

> “This branch out of the same root with Berenice was her brother, Ptolemy Euergetes. He had no sooner succeeded his father, Ptolemy Philadelphus, in the kingdom of Egypt, than, burning to avenge the death of his sister, Berenice, he raised an immense army, and invaded the territory of the king of the north, that is, of Seleucus Callinicus, who, with his mother, Laodice, reigned in Syria. And he prevailed against them, even to the conquering of Syria, Cilicia, the upper parts beyond the Euphrates, and almost all Asia. But hearing that a sedition was raised in Egypt requiring his return home, he plundered the kingdom of Seleucus, took forty thousand talents of silver and precious vessels, and two thousand five hundred images of the gods. Among these were the images which Cambyses had formerly taken from Egypt and carried into Persia. The Egyptians, being wholly given to idolatry, bestowed upon Ptolemy the title of Euergetes, or the Benefactor, as a compliment for his having thus, after many years, restored their captive gods.

> “This, according to Bishop Newton, is Jerome’s account, extracted from ancient historians, but there are authors still extant, he says, who confirm several of the same particulars. Appian informs us that Laodice having killed Antiochus, and after him both Berenice and her child, Ptolemy, the son of Philadelphus, to revenge those murders, invaded Syria, slew Laodice, and proceeded as far as Babylon. From Polybius we learn that Ptolemy, surnamed Euergetes, being greatly incensed at the cruel treatment of his sister, Berenice, marched with an army into Syria, and took the city of Seleucia, which was kept for some years afterward by garrisons of the kings of Egypt. Thus did he enter into the fortress of the king of the north. Polyaenus affirms that Ptolemy made himself master of all the country from Mount Taurus as far as to India, without war or battle; but he ascribes it by mistake to the father instead of the son. Justin asserts that if Ptolemy had not been recalled into Egypt by a domestic sedition, he would have possessed the whole kingdom of Seleucus. The king of the south thus came into the dominion of the king of the north, and returned to his own land, as the prophet had foretold. And he also continued more years than the king of the north; for Seleucus Callinicus died in exile, of a fall from his horse; and Ptolemy Euergetes survived him for four or five years.” Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, 250–252.

A prophetic characteristic of Rome, and therefore the king of the north, is that in order to be established upon the throne, three geographical obstacles must be conquered. The first king of the north in the aftermath of Alexander’s broken kingdom was established by Seleucus Nicator who had served as a general to Ptolemy (the king of the south) for a little while between 316 and 312 BC. Verse five addresses this fact when it states, “And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him.” Ptolemy was the king of the south, and he had a general (one of his princes), that was destined to become stronger than Ptolemy, and the final phrase of verse five says, “and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.” Ptolemy’s general Seleucus was to become the first king of the north. But for Seleucus to become the king of the north, he would need to separate from the southern king, and thereafter conquer three geographical areas.

The first area conquered by Seleucus was the East in 301 BC. He then conquered the West (that had been held by Cassander’s successor) in 286 BC, and he then took his third territory in the North when he conquered Lysimachus in 281 BC. The king of the north was established on the throne in 281 BC.

The peace treaty that was later formed with the southern king occurred in 252 BC. Six years later in 246 BC, Berenice (the southern princess), her son, and all her entourage were put to death. The southern king thereafter captured Laodice’s son, Seleucus Callinicus and took him back with him to Egypt, where he died falling from a horse. The reign of the first king of the north was from 281 BC until 246 BC, which equates to thirty-five years.

The first king of the north in chapter eleven, conquered three geographical obstacles in order to be established upon the throne. Pagan Rome also conquered three geographical obstacles in order to be established upon the throne [See Daniel 8:9], and Papal Rome conquered three geographical obstacles in order to be established upon the throne [See Daniel 7:20]. Modern Rome also conquers three geographical obstacles in order to be established upon the throne [See Daniel 11:40–43].

Once established upon the throne, the first king of the north ruled for thirty-five years. Once established upon the throne, pagan Rome ruled for a “time” (three hundred and sixty years). Once established upon the throne, papal Rome ruled for “a time, times and dividing of time” (twelve hundred and sixty years.) Once established upon the throne, modern Rome will rule for a symbolic forty-two months (also noted as “an hour”).

Sister White informs us that “much of the history recorded in Daniel chapter eleven is to be repeated.” She then quotes verses thirty-one through thirty-six, and says, “scenes similar to those described in these words will take place.” In those verses papal Rome (the abomination that maketh desolate), is “placed” upon the throne in 538, and then it persecutes God’s people for “many days” (twelve hundred and sixty years), until the first “indignation is accomplished” in 1798. The history of verses thirty-one to thirty-six is repeated in the last six verses of chapter eleven, but the history was also perfectly typified in verses five through nine.

The establishment of Seleucus as king of the north in 281 BC, aligns with the year 538. Both represent the enthronement of the king of the north at the conclusion of the conquering of three geographical obstacles. The period of papal rule is expressed in several ways; twelve hundred and sixty days, forty-two months, time, times and dividing of time, a space, and three and a half years. Seleucus’ rule was for thirty-five years, and a tenth, or a tithe, of thirty-five, is three and a half. A tenth of thirty-five years is also expressed as “three-point-five” (3.5) years. “Three and a half” is a symbol of the period of papal rule.

The papacy received its deadly wound in 1798 when the king of the south, Napoleon Bonaparte (meaning the “fortunate son”), sent his general to take the pope captive. A year later in 1799 the pope died in exile, as did the first king of the north who had also been taken into captivity by the king of the south. Seleucus Callinicus died by falling off a horse while captive in Egypt. The pope is the one who rode upon the beast. The beast represented the political system that the pope employed to accomplish his satanic works. That beast was slain in 1798, and the pope who had ridden upon and reigned over the beast died a year later. Seleucus Callinicus died falling off a horse (the beast he rode upon.) The captivity of the papacy in 1798 and 1799, was perfectly typified by the captivity of the first king of the north.

What brought the wrath of the king of the south upon the northern king was a broken peace treaty, represented by the setting aside of Berenice (the southern bride) and her subsequent death at the hands of Laodice. Napoleon had entered into a peace treaty between Revolutionary France and the papal states in 1797. The treaty was named after the town of Tolentino in Ancona, Italy, where the treaty had been signed. It officially ended in February, 1798 when France took the pope captive. The reason why the treaty was disannulled was France’s effort to spread its Revolution.

Napoleon’s General Duphot, was in Rome in 1797 as part of the French expeditionary force sent by the Directory, the ruling government of France at the time. The purpose of the French expedition to Italy, which included General Duphot’s presence in Rome, was to support the Roman Republic, a short-lived client state established by French revolutionary forces in the Italian Peninsula. The French were actively involved in supporting revolutionary movements and spreading revolutionary ideals across Europe during this period. In Italy, they sought to overthrow monarchies and establish republics modeled after the French Republic.

Duphot’s presence and actions in Rome provoked opposition from conservative factions, including supporters of the Papal States and local aristocrats. In December, 1797, during a confrontation between French troops and supporters of the Papal States, General Duphot was assassinated, and thus the pretense for Napoleon to send General Berthier to take the pope captive the next year was established. A broken peace treaty between the kings of the south and north provided the motivation in both histories for the king of the north being taken captive by the king of the south.

Verse eight says, “shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold.” When Ptolemy returned to Egypt in fulfillment of this verse, the Egyptians gave him the title of “Euergetes” (the Benefactor), as a compliment for his work in returning their idols and artifacts that had previously taken from them by the king of the north. In 1798, the plundering of Rome by the French took place. On one day alone the historians record that five hundred horse-drawn vehicles, under a strong military guard, was seen leaving the city.

The procession contained an immense number of antique sculptures and Renaissance paintings that France was appropriating in accordance with the broken peace treaty of Tolentino. Those artworks included the Laocoon group, the Belvedere Apollo, the Dying Gaul, Cupid and Psyche, Ariadne on Naxos, the Medici Venus, and the colossal figures of the Tiber and the Nile; tapestries and paintings by Raphael, including the Transfiguration, the Madonna di Foligno, the Madonna della Sedia, Titian’s Santa Conversazione; and many other works. It was not till several years after that, these stolen treasures were exhibited in the Musee Napoleonian in the Louvre, which was opened in 1807. As Ptolemy was celebrated for returning the Egyptians treasures, the treasures carried from Rome were placed in the portion of the museum named after Napoleon.

Verses five through nine, are a perfect parallel to the history beginning in the year 538 and ending in 1798 and 1799. They align with verses thirty-one to thirty-six, which is represented in the last six verses of the chapter, which describe the final empowerment of modern Rome as it conquers three obstacles, and ultimately comes to its end with none to help. Verse ten then addresses the history of 1989.

> But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. Daniel 11:10.

The historical fulfillment of verse ten typifies 1989, when the papacy, in secret alliance with Ronald Reagan, “overflowed” and “passed through” the Soviet Union, leaving only its fortress (Russia), as the Soviet Union (USSR) dissolved in the wake of Perestroika.

> 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.

The history of verse ten represents a retaliation against the conquering of the king of the north by the king of the south in 246 BC, and typifies a retaliation against the conquering of the king of the north by the king of the south in 1798. Verse forty began with the time of the end in 1798 when the king of the south (atheistic France) delivered the deadly wound to the king of the north (the papal power), and was fulfilled with the collapse of the Soviet Union at the time of the end in 1989. The time of the end in 1798 is represented in verse forty by the phrase, “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him.” The “colon” (:) that separates the last part of the verse, marks the next “time of the end” in 1989. “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.”

We will continue this study in the next article.

> “Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that it might be seen whether it would fulfill the purpose of ‘the Watcher and the Holy One.’ Prophecy has traced the rise and fall of the world’s great empires—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. With each of these, as with nations of less power, history repeated itself. Each had its period of test, each failed, its glory faded, its power departed, and its place was occupied by another. . . .

> “From the rise and fall of nations as made plain in the pages of Holy Writ, they need to learn how worthless is mere outward and worldly glory. Babylon, with all its power and its magnificence, the like of which our world has never since beheld,—power and magnificence which to the people of that day seemed so stable and enduring,–how completely has it passed away! As ‘the flower of the grass’ it has perished. So perishes all that has not God for its foundation. Only that which is bound up with His purpose and expresses His character can endure. His principles are the only steadfast things our world knows.” Education, 177, 184.

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