Libya, Egypt and Jordan in real-politics and real-prophecy of Daniel

Koot van Wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Visiting Professor

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

Conjoint Lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

11 April 2011

[The following interpretation is not the official Seventh Day Adventist one, although there are here and there scholars suggesting all kinds of opinions that may overlap with what is said here, this view is exclusively the personal views of this interpreter. No other denomination or religion teaches this view. The editors of this website do not necessarily agree with the view expressed here. Readers are cautioned]

The rest of the world will probably not understand what is going on in this writing. Historicism is the hallmark of the model of interpretation of Adventism and is different than Futurism, mostly favored by the churches that the Bushes attended, is that prophecy is understood to be fitting a case, after history or sources completely and clearly supporting the event's connection with the text of Daniel's case. And that is going on right now. Scholars in the past has deviated from the interpretation of Daniel by following the suggestions of the heathen interpreter of Daniel, Porphyry (233 - 304 CE) that everything of Daniel was a concoction of earlier than Daniel events on the basis of preterism and not historicism and thus, pointing to Antiochus Epiphanes (167-164 BCE). The early church was divided and you got your pro-Porphyry interpreters like Apharahat, Ephrem Syrus and Polychronius in the Syriac tradition and your anti-Porphyry interpreters like Cyrianus, Lactantius, Eusebius, Cyril, Chrystostom and Theodoret in the Latin Fathers of the West. The Eastern Syriac fathers felt it is Antiochus Epiphanes and the Western Latin fathers felt it is not Greece but Rome that is involved in Daniel. Jerome was such a Latin father. He vehemently attacked Porphyry in his commentary on Daniel (340-420 CE written in 396 CE).

And that brings us to chapter 11. And especially the last part of Daniel 11 from vv. 36-45. In all denominations, Jewish and Christian of all kinds, it is admitted that vv. 36-45 is unfulfilled prophecy and that we have to wait and see what will happen. In Adventism this is also the case. Adventists like Uriah Smith followed a literal approach and said wrongly that the "he' of these last verses is France. Around the 1950's Adventism in a series of meetings, rejected the literal interpretation of Uriah Smith and replaced it with a allegorical or symbolic one. The "he" is the Vatican. Nearly all commentaries since then followed this approach. Although this researcher do think the Vatican will play a significant part during the last events, since the 666 identification is undoubtedly in Revelation 13 a reference to the vicarius filii dei = 666 Roman calculation, and it is a reference to the atoning power of the clericals in the Vatican, he thinks that Uriah Smith's literalism was the correct approach. It is from this vantage point that the comments of the Peace Plan  by South African president Zuma today and tomorrow is considered.

According to the last verses of Daniel 11, Afghanistan (king of the South = south of Sushan where Daniel was) and Iraq (king of the North of v. 40 = North of Sushan where Daniel was) and Iran (East = east of Sushan where Daniel was) would be involved in a fierce battle, never giving up. But Libya, Jordan, Egypt, Ethiopia [current Sudan, Somalia, Darfur and Ethiopia] would be all following the USA, who is the empire through all this since verse 36 (qualified by historicism as the second beast of Revelation 13 who will give power to the Vatican or the first beast after the deadly wound of 1798).

Libya already changed their heart after the capture of Saddam on the 13th of December 2003 and in March of 2004 we see Ghaddafi shaking hands with Tony Blair of England, one of the allies of the USA. The current dominoes falling in the Arabic belt came not by American instigation or its allies but internally by the youth who are netnics and who had access to Wikileaks and came to the selfunderstanding that if the USA = Wikileaks then their own dictators are in the wrong since they are not transparent enough. So, dictators have to go and that is why Ghaddafi is also on the list. But Daniel 11:43 says that Libya would follow the USA. And even in this so-called supportive offensive by Nato on Libya, Ghaddafi made it on Thursday 6 April 2011 clear in a letter to Obama of the USA, that "you are our brother and we still respect you". This is a clear link that Daniel 11:43 is talking about. Then there is the actions of President Zuma and others from the African Union today and tomorrow trying to establish a peace plan with Ghaddafi. Again, this happens within the frame work of the prophet Daniel who foresaw that Libya will cooperate and will follow a peace plan with the USA. In this way, this researcher does not expect that Libya will be controlled by Islamists of an Iran or Iraq kind. Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran are of the same feathers and the next serious war predicted in Daniel 11:44, is Iran and believe it or not, again forces in Iraq (who is the north but not king of the north, just north since there is no more a king there). The American forces will come out of Iraq and that is when the hen will breed the chickens that will disturb the USA one more time. Netanyahu of Israel today said in the Jerusalem Post that Iran is disturbing since it is continuing with the subversion of attention of the West to other locales in the Middle East. He does not know but he is analyzing it correctly since the prophet Daniel already saw it that way in 536 BCE.

Egypt will not be ruled by Islamist some leader of the opposition said today in Egypt but that is what Daniel predicted in Daniel 11:42-43. Jordan will also remain an ally of the USA according to Daniel 11:41.

The Palestine problem, probably due to the two-state implimentation is a future problem outlined in Daniel 11:45 and the USA embassy will move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem at that time. Historicism asks us to put on brakes and wait and see.

Daniel is thus a navigational map for real-politics as we speak and an exciting one since the vertical Messiah is coming in Daniel 12:1 during a Time of Trouble, also future which is probably a reference to a Third World -World order for a short time until His appearance to resurrect the dead.

Source:

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=216138