NEWS FROM THE EAST AND THE NORTH SHALL TROUBLE HIM
Part XIX
Rise or Fall of American Empire
by
Doug Krieger
Part 2
Pray tell, just who on earth are going to continue to buy our bogus mortgages—even if they are now wrapped in Americans’ personal savings and checking account money? Of course, the Russians and the Chinese. These giants believe in America more than the Americans! Why this keeps happening – foreign investors “investing big” into Americana, then loosing big – is anyone’s guess…but I highly suspect that it’s the manipulative power of our merchandiser himself, the King of Tyre. Frankly, I cannot surmise otherwise. Remember the Japanese who bought up everything American and then lost it all? Pebble Beach, Rockefeller Center . . . high profile properties . . . but today’s “sovereign” purchasers (i.e., Government Central Banks of Russia and China, etc.) are going after “financial and other distressed assets.” Just remember Japan, after she bought America, went bust herself and they haven’t recovered since!
“Popular alarm typically accompanies high-profile foreign investment in the United States. Remember back in the 1980s, when it was the Japanese who were going to take over the United States? That turned out to be an over inflated worry (but it did produce one of the most lovable of Michael Keaton’s movies, Gung Ho).
“But
sovereign wealth fund investments (a.k.a.
government-involved/owned entities like Central Banks) are of a very different
type than those made in the 1980s by the Japanese. Back then, the Japanese
mostly bought cyclical assets at the top of the bubble — trophy properties
such as Pebble Beach and Rockefeller Center. Sovereign wealth
funds appear to have a different strategy.
“The first difference is the nature of their investment. Lately, sovereign wealth funds have not bought controlling stakes in assets. Rather, the paradigmatically fund investment in the past year has been a 5 percent to 20 percent stake in a public company. In many of these investments, the securities purchased by the fund did come with voting rights or seats on the company’s board of directors. In other words, sovereign wealth funds thus far are making largely passive, noncontrolling investments. (”Passive” here refers to the actual rights the funds are receiving, not any “soft” influence they may now wield due to their stakes.)
“The second difference is that sovereign wealth funds are eschewing the trophy assets the Japanese purchased. Instead, the funds appear to be making smarter, longer-term investments in financial and other distressed assets that are likely to benefit both their funds and possibly their countries (Editor’s Note: Alas! “Financial and other distressed assets” like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which demand USA-Treasury and ultimately Fed backing – otherwise, the “piggy banks” will no longer support the financing of our debt!” (Telling Friend from Foe in Foreign Investments, Steven M. Davidoff, New York Times, Deal Book, April 2, 2008)
WHO WILL BAIL OUT AMERICA?
The Russians and Chinese are relatively new to “buying America” – juxtaposed to the ever obliged Saudis who’ve mastered the art of American investment—so we are told. So, let’s get a closer look at Fannie and Freddie and see just how tenuous a proposition it is and the stark reality that going bust is NOT an option! This article is peppered with my cynicisms – I just can’t help it!
“What are Fannie and Freddie—and why should we care? The two behemoths sponsor about half of the nation’s home mortgages, mostly of the old-fashioned, fixed-rate variety. They’ve guaranteed three-quarters of recent mortgages since the credit crisis began, up from 40 percent a couple of years ago, when investors were so optimistic about housing prices that they didn’t find the guarantees necessary. These mortgage guarantees, as well as the companies’ borrowing to support their own investments in mortgages, account for virtually all of Fannie’s and Freddie’s $5.4 trillion in liabilities.
“A trillion here, a trillion there, and soon you’re talking about real money—more than one-third of the annual gross domestic product (USA GNP approximates $14Trillion – world GNP is $55Trillion), in fact. Yet this mass of obligation sits on a razor-thin base. Fannie and Freddie hold only about $80 billion in actual capital, or under 2 percent of all of those potential liabilities. They get the rest of their money through borrowing. And because their borrowing matures regularly, they must raise new billions every month. (Editor’s Note: From guess who?)
“What this precarious capital structure means is that Fan and Fred have scarcely little room for error. If the value of the mortgage loans they hold or guarantee declines by just a few percent, their capital is wiped out. William Poole, former chief of the St. Louis Fed (Editor’s Note: The fox in the hen house syndrome—“let me count the eggs!”), helped set off a run on the firms’ shares last week by noting that Freddie was already technically insolvent, thanks to the decline in home values over the past two years (though the situation had been clear in May). Why did lenders (the Russians and the Chinese, et al) and shareholders, then, give such dangerous companies money to play with, especially on Fan’s and Fred’s customarily cheap terms?
“The answer is that while Fannie and Freddie are technically private firms, their debt has come with an implied government guarantee. Everyone has long believed that Fannie and Freddie are ‘too big to fail’: that is, that the Feds would never let them fall into bankruptcy, for two reasons. One, they’re crucial to the nation’s mortgage markets, partly because it’s hard for other firms to compete with their once-implicit government backing. Two, they’re crucial to the nation’s broader financial markets, having wrapped themselves in a web of guarantees, insurance contracts, and derivatives that makes Bear Stearns’s business look as straightforward as a lemonade stand. (Editor’s Note: That’s precisely why governments like Russia and China are infatuated with their “bond notes.”)
“As for shareholders, sure, back in March (2008) the Fed allowed Bear Stearns’s shareholders to lose nearly everything while rescuing its bondholders, and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has said that he doesn’t want Fan’s and Fred’s shareholders to benefit from any bailout. (Editor’s Note: But sovereign states like Russia and China holding these bogus bundled bonds can “rest assured” – who cares about the little guy, even the hedge fund manager – let’s bail out the Central Banks of Russia and China, etc.). But the government’s role is more complicated in this case (Editor’s Note: What’s complicated about ripping off shareholders while keeping the foreign Central Banks happy campers?). Uncle Sam could never find someone to buy Fannie or Freddie in a crisis at a cut-rate price the way JPMorgan bought Bear; Fannie and Freddie are just too big. (Editor’s Note: Therefore, Russia and China step up to the plate!) The financial disaster that their failure would create, however, would mean near-certain depression, and the government’s alternative, a federal takeover that would mean increasing the national debt by half (Editor’s Note: Our current NATIONAL DEBT as of July, 2008, is around $9.5Trillion or around “half” – i.e., $15 Trillion because Freddie and Fannie hold around $5 Trillion in mortgages), is only slightly more attractive. The Bush administration’s move this week—asking Congress to allow the federal government to step in, if necessary, to buy shares of the two companies and lend them potentially hundreds of billions of dollars—bears out this stark reality.” (America to Big to Fail…Probably, Nicole Gelinas, City Journal, July 16, 2008)
So – the USA is too big to fail – and that’s what Russia and China are banking on. But at a certain point, “things begin to unravel!” For you see, there is an incredibly vibrant connectivity between “trading” and “violence.” Try the “Golden Rule” – “He who has the gold, has the rule!” Or, listen to what Scripture displays in ever concentric circles targeting him who is confined to the center of this inspiration: The King of Tyre – Lucifer, Son of the Morning:
“By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within and you sinned” (Ezekiel 28:16) (Here’s hoping you’re getting the connection between “trading and violence.”)
You see, it is simply impossible in the “world of trade” (notwithstanding the notion that “nations who trade together, stay together”) – as the Devil would have it – that military conquest and suppression follows commercial aspiration – why do you think that the USA has the largest military in the world? Well, somebody’s got to police this “thing” – and why not the world’s super power, the world’s super commercial basket?
This leads us back to a most interesting exchange regarding the pursuit of “news from the east and the north” from well-known evangelical eschatologists of the past. And, no, I do not take umbrage with those who are aghast at my ancient citings and declare: Why does he quote such old and obscure sources—why can’t he be up to date? Why? Because “these old guys” knew what they were talking about, that’s why. No, I don’t concur with all they say—they surely don’t with me—but their serious study of the Scripture is awesome, intricate and deeply appreciated. Now, let’s continue…for the timing of “rumors from the east and north” are of keen interest, or should be, for some…
DANIEL 11
Timing
of the Gog-Magog War, as it turns out—for thereafter, if our
Daniel 11 calculations are correct—because it is immediately following the
Gog-Magog War that “news from the North and East” (as seen in the adjacent
map) “trouble him” and, to such an extent that “he shall go out with great
fury to destroy and annihilate many” (Daniel
11:44). Therefore, an even more exhaustive deliberation on these biblical
passages is warranted.
Where the figure of Antiochus IV Epiphanes morphs into the figure of the Antichrist in Daniel 11:20 has been earnestly debated among well-intentioned scholars. For example, John Walvoord affirms that “And in his estate shall stand up a vile person” commences the transition to the Antichrist of the Latter Days; whereas the great Brethren scholar Dr. S. P. Tregelles’ Remarks on the Prophetic Visions in the Book of Daniel asserts that there is an “unnoticed interval found between verses 4 and 5, not between 33 and 34 (where others are convinced the transition occurs).”
“That at ver. 5 the thought passes direct from the days of the ancient Grecian empire to the end of days. That verses 5 to 20 foretell the political events that will lead up direct to Antichrist, and that verses 21 to the end give his career” (The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel, G. H. Lang, London, the Paternoster Press, 1950, p. 154).
There is little contestation as to Antichrist’s whereabouts, however, among evangelical scholars such as Walvoord, Lang, Tregelles, Peters, Anderson, Pember, Pentecost, Pink, Ironside and Culver when it comes to Daniel 11:40-45—the subject is wholly the future Antichrist, yet to come. We are now going to plunge into some heavy eschatology here—bear with it, if you wish, but let me warn you, it is tough following but mandatory to understand the complexities of the Gog-Magog War and its occurrence at the commencement of the Seventieth Week of Daniel and the subsequent “news from the east and the north” which shall “trouble him.”
ARTHUR W. PINK
The
precise understanding of these texts is at issue. Is this the Gog-Magog War
mentioned in
Daniel 11:40-43? And, is this the “Campaign of Armageddon” mentioned in
Daniel 11:44-45?
Arthur W. Pink (the famed British-born expositor, trained at the Moody
Bible Institute) appears all over the eschatological map on this one. He,
however, sees all occasions of this “vile person” as prototypes of the future
Antichrist – the King of Babylon (p. 117, The Antichrist, Arthur W.
Pink, 1923)…
“‘But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many’ (Daniel 11:44). What these troublous tidings are we learn from Jer. 51. A serious attack will be made upon his Babylonian headquarters (Pink holds to a literal Babylonian headquarters in Iraq), and during his absence from there, the kings of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz—no doubt emboldened by the insubordination of Egypt—will besiege and capture one end of the Capital. The time is nigh at hand when God shall utterly destroy the City of the Devil (Babylon the Great), and a preliminary warning of this is now given: “And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 51:24) (Ibid., Pink, p. 116).
From this vantage, Pink believes that Antichrist will turn his attention toward a regathered Israel…so furious is he that Babylon the Great has been destroyed (Editor’s Note: Babylon the Great persists until the very end and even after the Seventieth Week of Daniel—the 30-days of “wrath” between the 1,260th Day and the 1,290th Day of the latter half of the Seventieth Week—Daniel 12:11):
“The fury of the Antichrist at the destruction of Babylon will know no bounds. Enraged at his loss, and incensed against God, he will now turn his face toward Palestine, and at the head of his vast forces will bear down upon the glorious land” (Ibid. p. 118)
Of worthy note is the chronological discovery by Pink – i.e., he affirms that Armageddon follows Daniel 11:44:
“We now come to the closing scene. The following morning the Man of sin leads his forces to the famous Armageddon, there awaiting his final reinforcements, before attacking Jerusalem. (Note: Pink then quotes from Joel 3:14.) (Ibid., Pink, p. 119)
Pink takes note that Antichrist and his forces will “plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him” as the Armageddon termination of Antichrist occurs—with this we concur; however, how it “plays out” may be in question but coming after the aforementioned conflict involving the King of Babylon (Antichrist) and other assorted powers which we affirm to be Gog-Magog vs. Antichrist. At least Antichrist as King of Babylon is the antagonist in these subsidiary conflicts prior to Armageddon.
Pink quotes G. H. Pember to reinforce Armageddon’s conclusions:
“Hitherto proud boastings have issued from the lips of Satan’s king; but now he falls helplessly to the ground, blasted by the lightening which steams from the King of kings; and together with the False Prophet and in the full sigh of his countless armies, he is seized by the angels of the Lord, to be hurled alive into the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone” (Ibid., Pink, p. 122)
Again, Armageddon follows these initial conflicts mentioned in Daniel 11:40-43, with Armageddon holding forth in fullness by Daniel 11:45, while commencing in Daniel 11:44.
DWIGHT PENTECOST
The
extensive work by
Dwight Pentecost of Dallas Theological Seminary is perhaps one of the
finest pre-tribulational/dispensational works ever compiled (certainly the
most exhaustive). Pentecost’s differentiation between Gog and Armageddon is
noteworthy and his expansion on these topics is excellent (paragraphed for
easier ready):
“There are a number of considerations that make it clear that this invasion by Gog (Ezek. 38) is not the same as the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:16).
(1) In the battle of Gog definite allies are mentioned, while in Armageddon all nations are engaged (Joel 3:2; Zeph. 3:8; Zech. 12:3; 14:4).
(2) Gog comes from the north (Ezek. 38:6, 15; 39:2), while at Armageddon the armies come from the whole earth.
(3) Gog comes to take spoil (Ezek. 38:11-12), while at Armageddon the nations assemble to destroy the people of God.
(4) There is protest against Gog’s invasion (Ezek. 38:13), but at Armageddon there is no protest for all nations are joined against Jerusalem.
(5) Gog is the head of the armies in his invasion (Ezk. 38:7 R.V.), but at Armageddon the Beast is the head of the invasion (Rev. 19:19).
(6) Gog is overthrown by convulsions of nature (the armies at Armageddon are destroyed by the sword that goes out of Christ’s mouth (Rev. 19:15).
(7) Gog’s armies are arrayed in the open field (Ezek. 39:5), while at Armageddon they are seen in the city of Jerusalem (Zech. 14:2-4).
(8) The Lord calls for assistance in executing judgment on Gog (Ezek. 38:21), while at Armageddon He is viewed as treading the winepress alone (Isa. 63:3-6).” (Things to Come, Dwight Pentecost, Dunham Publishing Company, Findlay, Ohio, 1958, pp. 344-5).
The placement of the Gog-Magog War, juxtaposed to Armageddon, in Pentecost’s line of thinking, brings Gog-Magog to the midst of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. After concluding that such a military exchange has never occurred in Israel past or present history, he convincingly suggests its mandatory futuristic trajectory. He notes in Ezekiel 37 that Israel is restored to her land (i.e., modern national Israel)…
“It is a regathering in unbelief, for the prophet observes that there was no life in the assembled carcass (Ezek. 37:8). Chapter forty carries us on to the millennial age. Thus the movements of Gog and Magog are seen, from the context, to transpire between the time of the beginning of the restoration of Israel to the land and the millennial age.” (Ibid., Pentecost, pp. 345-6) (My emphasis.)
Pentecost nails the Gog-Magog War within the confines of the Seventieth Week of Daniel—NOT before that week.
“The specific statements in the passage…Twice a reference is made in chapter thirty-eight to a time element. It is said to take place ‘in the latter years’ (v. 8) and ‘in the latter days’ (v. 16). This has specific reference to the latter years and days of God’s dealing with the nation Israel, which, since it is before the millennial age (ch. 40), must place it during God’s dealing with Israel in the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy…it will be after the beginning of the restoration, for Israel is seen to be inhabiting their own land (38:11). This would indicate that it takes place after the covenant made by the ‘prince that shall come’ of Daniel 9:27…it will be connected with Israel’s (ultimate) conversion, which is obviously future, for the destruction of the invader is a sign to that nation which opens their eyes to the Lord (39:22). Since the final removal of the blindness does not come to that nation until the Second Advent, this prophecy must have a definite relation to that event…it is our conclusion, then, from the passage itself, that the events herein described must take place in the future, at a time when God is again dealing with Israel as a nation.” (Ibid., Pentecost, p. 346)
Pentecost devastates fellow pre-tribulationists who demand that the Gog-Magog War occur BEFORE the rapture of the Church at the beginning of the Seventieth Week (see below in our article under RAY GANO). He also explores our time lines for the Gog-Magog conflict by other expositors; to wit:
(1) The Gog-Magog War takes place at the end of the tribulation; but concludes that the Gog-Magog War cannot be identified as the events of Zechariah 14 and Revelation 19 at the end of the tribulation (i.e., the Battle of Armageddon is not the same as the Gog-Magog War);
(2) The Gog-Magog War takes place at the beginning of the millennium era—a position held by Arno C. Gaebelein; but ultimately refuted by Pentecost in that Ezekiel’s seven months (39:12) cleansing of the land of the dead bodies caused by the conflict mitigates against the entire concept of the millennium wherein such “cleansing” would be unnecessary due to the immediate cleansing accomplished by Messiah” (cf. Jer. 25:32-33 wherein “the Lord will destroy all the wicked on the earth at His return”); also, Pentecost’s additional arguments on this theory are exhaustive and commendable (see p. 349, Things to Come); and,
(3) The Gog-Magog War takes place at the end of the millennium—which theory Pentecost refutes because the Gog-Magog of Ezekiel and that of Revelation 20:8 are not the same in so far as the scope of their militaries…in Revelation “all the nations of the earth are gathered together” – in Ezekiel 38 – 39:1-16 Gog-Magog constitutes a northern and southern confederacy of nations whose identities are clearly presented and expanded upon in Daniel 11:40-43…likewise, Pentecost subverts this end-of-the-millennium thesis by pointing out that Ezekiel shows “that this invasion is before the institution of the millennium” itself; whereas “in Revelation the millennium has been in existence for a thousand years” – and, finally, “In Ezekiel the invasion is seen to be followed by the millennium (ch. 40-48), whereas in Revelation this movement is followed by the new heaven and the new earth—certainly the new earth could not conceivably be corrupted by unburied corpses for seven months.” (Ibid. Pentecost, pp. 349-50).
Pentecost expands his timing of the Gog-Magog War by an exhaustive analysis that its occurrence takes place at the middle of the seventieth week (Things to Come, pp. 350-5). His analysis concludes:
1. The Gog-Magog War “will come some time after this covenant is confirmed.” (i.e., the Defense Pact with Israel’s majority and the Antichrist –signed at the commencement of the Seventieth Week of Daniel) (Ibid. p. 350).
2. The “false peace” guaranteed by the false Messiah, Antichrist (Isaiah 28:18), is at issue here; therefore, the nation of Israel could be “dwelling in peace” (“unwalled villages”) at the commencement of the Seventieth Week of Daniel, and not at the end of the Tribulation period, prior to the millennium, as some propose, and as Pentecost refutes.
3. Since Ezekiel uses expressions which connote time frames occurring within the context of Daniel’s Seventieth Week juxtaposed to other Scriptures which do the same (e.g., John 6:39-40, 44, 4; 11:24; 12:48; Isa. 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-7; Deuteronomy 4:27, 30; Daniel 2:28; 8:19, 23; 10:14; 11:40) – especially noteworthy is Pentecost’s assertion that Daniel 11:40 “seems to have reference to the same period (i.e., the Gog-Magog War), for the prophet places these events ‘at the time of the end’…This expression seems to separate the event from ‘the end’ itself” – therefore, this places the Gog-Magog War within the confines of Daniel’s Seventieth Week, perhaps at its mid-point.
In
sum, Pentecost takes a mid-point within the Seventieth Week of Daniel as the
timing of the Gog-Magog War, stating the following:
“Many commentators interpret Daniel 11:41 with reference to the occupation of the land of Palestine by the Beast. The event that causes the Beast to move in is the invasion of Palestine from the north by the King of the North (Dan. 11:40) (Editor’s Note: Later on Pentecost confuses this “King of the North” with the Beast.). The covenant made by the Beast (Dan. 9:27) has evidently guaranteed Israel an inviolate right to the land. Some event must be necessary to cause the Beast to abrogate his covenant. Since the covenant is said to be broken in the middle of the week (Dan. 9:27) and the invasion from the north is seen to be the cause of the breaking of the covenant (Dan. 11:41) it may be concluded that this invasion takes place in the middle of the week (i.e., the Gog-Magog War occurs in the middle of the Seventieth Week of Daniel).” (Ibid. p. 352) (Editor’s Note: Pentecost’s “the invasion from the north is seen to be the cause of the breaking of the covenant” is pure conjecture—it could be argued that the “breaking of the covenant” at the Abomination of Desolation is, in point of glaring fact, why the covenant is broken…declaring himself as God in the temple of God and terminating the sacerdotal rites of the Jews is more than sufficient to terminate the covenant by “the prince of the covenant” (Daniel 11:22—i.e., Antichrist) during the first 3.5 years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week.)
Pentecost further substantiates his mid-point Gog-Magog thesis by seeing Satan being cast out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-13) as an occasion for his first act to counter the King of the North’s invasion of Israel… “This is the beginning of a great campaign which begins in the middle of the week and is continued until the destruction of Gentile powers at the return of the Lord” (Ibid. p. 352). Here Pentecost ties in his Greek word for “campaign” juxtaposed to “battle” and affirms that from here on out (i.e., from the Gog-Magog War occurring in the middle of the Seventieth Week of Daniel until the final Battle of Armageddon) commences the entire “Campaign of Armageddon” as “news from the east and north will trouble him.” We do not discount the connection between Gog-Magog and immediately following it, the Campaign of Armageddon; however, its placement within the Seventieth Week is at odds with the biblical chronology—i.e., the Gog-Magog War takes place during the first forty days of the Seventieth Week, followed immediately by “news from the east and north will trouble him” or the Campaign of Armageddon; it does not take place in the middle of the Seventieth Week at the Abomination of Desolation.
The elaborate use of virtually all of Pentecost’s texts used to prove a mid-point for the Gog-Magog War do not in the least mitigate their positioning of that same conflict at the commencement of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. He sums up his final argument for a mid-point of the Gog-Magog conflict (I’ve separated Pentecost’s text for easier reading.):
“To place the events in the middle of the week (i.e., the events of the Gog-Magog War) is the only position consistent with the chronology of these extended passages (Rev. 12:7-13; 16:14; Isaiah 30:31-33; 31:8-9; Micah 5:5; Isaiah 28:18; Daniel 9:27; Revelation 7:4-17; Ezekiel 38:23; 39:22; Revelation 13:7; Psalm 2; Revelation 19:20; Isaiah 30-31; Isaiah 33-35; Joel 2-3—(Editor’s Note: All of which can just as well substantiate a Gog-Magog Conflict at the commencement of Daniel’s Seventieth Week and not at its mid-point). Such a view would lead us to this chronology of events:
(1) Israel makes a false covenant with the Beast and occupies her land in a false security (Dan. 9:27; Ezek. 38:8, 11). (Editor’s Note: Israel’s land is NOT immediately occupied after the signing of the Defense Pact between Israel and Antichrist.)
(2) Because of a desire for spoil at the expense of an easy prey, the King of the North, satanically motivated, invades Palestine (Ezek. 38:11; Joel 2:1-21; Isaiah 10:12, 30:31-33; 31:8-9). (Editor’s Note: Yes, but this King of the North is working in concert with the King of the South—and together they comprise Gog-Magog immediately following the Defense Pact signed between Israel and the Antichrist.)
(3) The Beast (Editor’s Note: Pentecost must assert this entitlement of “The Beast” juxtaposed to “Antichrist” for in Pentecost’s scenario of a mid-point Gog-Magog War, it is The Beast who confronts Gog-Magog—however, Antichrist is not entitled “The Beast” until after Satan is incarnated into the body of Antichrist (Rev. 13)…but if we commence the Gog-Magog War at the start of the Seventieth Week, immediately following the signing of the Defense Pact between Antichrist and Israel, then Pentecost’s argument is unnecessary and, in point of fact, falls apart—i.e., there is no mid-point Gog-Magog War, it occurs at the beginning of the Seventieth Week, with the Armageddon Campaign launched against “the east and the north” immediately following Gog-Magog—Pentecost’s “Armageddon Campaign”).
(4) The King of the North is destroyed on the mountains of Israel (Ezek. 39:1-4).
(5) The land of Palestine is occupied by the armies of the Beast (Dan. 11:45).
(6) At this time the great coalition of nations takes place that forms one government under the Beast (Rev. 13:7) (Editor’s Note: Naturally, this would not be the case if the Gog-Magog War occurs at the commencement of the Seventieth Week – for the Ten Kings do not give their authority to the Beast until mid-way through he Seventieth Week, as per Pentecost’s assertion.).
(7) The Kings of the East are brought in against the armies of the Beast (Rev. 16:12), evidently as a result of the dissolution of the government of Gog (Editor’s Note: This is true, however, such a disillusionment could just as easily occur at the commencement of the Seventieth Week juxtaposed to a mid-point occurrence.).
(8) When the nations of the earth are gathered together around Jerusalem (Zech. 14:1-3) and the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:2), the Lord returns to destroy all Gentile world powers so that He might rule the nations Himself (We concur.). This is further described in Zechariah 12:1-9; 14:1-4; Isaiah 33; 34:17; 63:1-6; 66:15-16; Jeremiah 25:27-33; Revelation 20:7-10.” (Ibid. Pentecost, pp. 354-5).
All of Pentecost’s arguments to prove his mid-point Seventieth Week thesis of the Gog-Magog War can just as well be used to validate an immediate commencement of the Gog-Magog War at the start of the Seventieth Week itself. In point of glaring fact: Pentecost’s arguments to validate an inclusion of the Gog-Magog War within the confines of the Seventieth Week of Daniel are amplified by placing the conflict immediately following the “Treaty of Hell and Death!” The invasion of Gog-Magog does bring the armies of Antichrist to Israel’s rescue via the imminence of the Defense Pact; however, such intervention does not occur mid-way through the Seventieth Week; and, as well, the pre-positioning of Antichrist’s forces in the Middle East is a fate accompli already!
Pentecost
openly admits his confusion here regarding
Daniel 11:40-45 as placement for the Gog-Magog War – for then he would
have to place the conflict of Gog-Magog at the commencement of Daniel’s
Seventieth Week? I so conjecture.
“It is difficult to determine the activities of the nations involved in this chapter (Daniel 11). Many have felt that the above invasion (i.e., Daniel 11:40b-45) records that the King of the North and of the South (i.e., the Gog-Magog War) (Editor’s Note: Here, Pentecost makes a “tactical mistake” – his hermeneutic collapses.). However, in verse 36 the ‘Willful King,’ previously identified as the Beast, is introduced to us and his activities seem to be outlined in what follows. Verses 40-45 can hardly describe the activities of the combined forces of the Kings of the North and the South, for the pronoun “they” would have been used. Since “he” is used, the passage must describe further activities of the Willful King.” (Ibid. 355-6)
(Editor’s Note: No, Daniel 11:40-45 precisely describes the activities of Gog-Magog as “Kings of the North and the South” with the expansion of “Egypt” as the dominant member of the southern forces arrayed against Antichrist (the “him” and the “he” of Daniel 11:40-45 refers to Antichrist—there is no need for a “they” in that the “they” includes both the “King of the North” and the “King of the South” so designated within the context itself.), whereas in Ezekiel 38:5 only Cush and Put (modern Sudan and Lybia) are designated—but clearly, as falsely purported by Walvoord hereunder, the battle definitely includes the King of the South—not just King of the North—both these Kings are arrayed against Antichrist, the “he” and “him” of Daniel 11:40-45)
Pentecost claims that Daniel 11:40-45 does not describe the activities of the combined forces of the Kings of the North and the South in simultaneous opposition to Antichrist; however, his arguments to substantiate that claim are superficial at best, and confusing at their worst. Israel is the target of Gog-Magog (King of the North), allied with the King of the South in Ezekiel 38:2-6; whereas, Antichrist (allied with Israel) is the target of Gog-Magog in Daniel 11:40-43. (Again, paragraphed for easier reading.):
“From this passage several features concerning the movement of this invasion are to be seen.
(1) The movement of the campaign begins when the King of the south moves against the Beast-False Prophet coalition (11:40), which takes place “at the time of the end.’
(2) The King of the south is joined by the northern confederacy, who attacks the Willful King by a great force over land and sea (11:40). (Editor’s Note: Here, apparently, Pentecost let’s the cat out of the bag and claims that both the King of the South and the King of the North are in alliance (as Gog-Magog?) against the Willful King, who in point of fact is the Antichrist.) Jerusalem is destroyed as a result of this attack (Zech. 12:2) (Editor’s Note: We do not concur with Pentecost here—Jerusalem is not immediately destroyed after Gog-Magog—in point of fact, she is spared and is fully assured to commence the building of her Third Temple by Antichrist.), and, in turn, the armies of the northern confederacy are destroyed (Ezek. 39; Zech. 12:4) (Editor’s Note: Zechariah 12:4 has nothing to do with the “northern confederacy” being destroyed – it clearly is the prelude (Armageddon) to the Second Advent and the unveiling of the Messiah to Israel (Zech. 12:10-14; 13:1-2).
(3) The full armies of the Beast move into Palestine (11:41) and shall conquer all that territory (11:41-42) (Editor’s Note: “Entering the Glorious Land” does not necessitate conquering Israel/Palestine – it demonstrates Antichrist’s pre-positioning of his forces on behalf of Israel against the forces of Gog-Magog.). Edom, Moab, and Ammon alone escape (Editor’s Note: Pentecost does not say why they escape—it is the position of this author that these ancient designations comprise modern-day Jordan who will be either “neutral” or “allied” with Sheba and Dedan and the Ships of Tarshish—amazingly, this fits the current geo-political reality in so far as the belligerents aligned against Antichrist are resisted by Sheba, Dedan and a neutral Jordan). It is evidently at this time that the coalition of Revelation 17:13 is formed. (Editor’s Note: No, it is not “evidently at this time.” That coalition occurs mid-way through the Seventieth Week—so, naturally, Pentecost would demand this formation—however, if the Gog-Magog War occurs within Daniel 11:40-43 at the commencement of the Seventieth Week, then this obviates that possibility.)
(4) While he is extending his dominion into Egypt, a report that causes alarm is brought to the Beast (11:44) (Editor’s Note: Again, Pentecost is forced to use the expression “The Beast” because of his mid-point placement of the Gog-Magog War – which placement he begrudgingly and confusingly accords in Daniel 11:40-43 but places the entire affair/conflict as mid-way through the Seventieth Week.). It may be the report of the approach of the Kings of the East (Rev. 16:12), who have assembled because of the destruction of the northern confederacy to challenge the authority of the beast. (Editor’s Note: As with Walvoord, Pentecost concludes that the “northern invasion” does NOT include the “King of the South” but only the northern confederation of nations and peoples—this is absolutely incorrect because Ezekiel 38:5 clearly mentions that “Persia, Ethiopia (Cush or today’s Sudan), and Libya (ancient Put) are with them”).
(5) The beast moves his headquarters into the land of Palestine and assembles his armies there (11:45) (Editor’s Note: The timing of this does take place during the latter half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week; however, it does NOT occur immediately following the Gog-Magog War, but after the Abomination of Desolation or mid-way through the Seventieth Week.).
(6) It is there that his destruction will come (11:45) – we concur.
It appears throughout Pentecost’s exposition of Daniel 11:40-45 he confuses the King of the North with his Beast—i.e., the King of the North is the Beast in Pentecost’s exposition. He previously states that the “he” is the Willful King, but that this “he” – as the Willful King – is the King of the North solely, and that he will be challenged by the King of the South and defeat the King of the South. Pentecost quotes Peters in his exposition and should have stuck to Peters’ synthesis:
“‘And he shall enter into the countries’—this is perhaps the clause which has caused the greatest difficulty to critics, owing to the sudden transition from one person to another. If we were to confine ourselves to this prophecy (i.e., Dan. 11:40-45), it would be impossible from the language to decide what king this was that is to enter into the countries; whether the King of the North (Pentecost’s interpretation), or of the south, or of the Roman Empire (i.e., the West), but we are not left to conjecture upon this point. The king who is thus victorious at the time of the end we find in Dan. 2 and 7 and Rev. 17 to be identified with the fourth beast, the Roman power. Taking other prophecies as interpreters, it refers to the Roman power under its last head, who shall invade other countries, thus implying that the King of the South AND the King of the North have been unsuccessful against him.” (My emphasis.) (Editor’s Note: Pentecost completely overlooks the totality of Peters’ remarks by going right into his argument thereafter claiming that it is the King of the North as the Beast who confronts the King of the South (solely) and, therefore, this is NOT the Gog-Magog War?) (G. N. H. Peters, Theocratic Kingdom, II, p. 654)
Pentecost could argue that Peters’ Roman power confronting these kings occurs on separate occasions—not within the simultaneous confines of Daniel 11:40-45—i.e., the Gog-Magog War; however, to attribute the title of “King of the North” as the future Beast, stretches the eschatological hermeneutic to the max.