The King of the South

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.
(Dan 11:40 KJV)

Recent events in the Muslim world have led prophecy pundits to speculate whether we’re seeing Daniel 11 unfold before us. Surely that’s an understandable perspective. Tension between the western nations and the Islamic nations has been simmering for 1400 years, but never before has there been a time where the Islamic world had access to weapons and economic clout that could bring on a worldwide conflagration. The King of the South does appear to be pushing, and it’s normal to wonder what it all means.

In fact, I have my own ideas on what all this might mean. But I would offer a word of caution. If you are inclined to interpret today’s news in light of Bible prophecy, be very careful about the specifics, and certainly don’t get dogmatic about them. Not too many years ago some prophecy buffs were identifying Saddam Hussein as a key figure in end time events, and we know how that one turned out.

Theory upon theory is being floated today, everything from an alliance between the Vatican and Islam to speculation on the 12th Imam, and how all of these things might bring about end time events. Some of these ideas will prove to be wrong, some might prove to be right. The caution is not to get locked into any one prophetic interpretation, but to watch the play unfold before us with our Bibles and minds open. As for me, I’m not sharing my theories just yet, except to note that the tug of war between the King of the South and the King of the North has been going on since the days of Alexander the Great, and Islam has been trying to dominate Europe since the 700s.

And remember too that the Bible doesn’t have much good to say about either side.