The Self-Destruction of a Tyrant Text: Daniel 11:40-45
Introduction: History Has a Plot
We live in an age that wants to believe history is a random, drunken stumble. To the modern mind, the rise and fall of empires is just one meaningless thing after another, a chaotic tale told by an idiot. But the Word of God tells us a very different story. History has a plot because history has an Author. God is not a nervous spectator, wringing His hands in the cheap seats of heaven. He is the sovereign playwright, and He has written the script from beginning to end. Every tyrant, every emperor, every legion, and every battle moves according to His decreed purpose.
The book of Daniel is one of the clearest demonstrations of this truth. With breathtaking precision, Daniel sketches out the course of empires centuries in advance: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and finally Rome. And as we come to the end of chapter 11, the prophetic lens zooms in with startling clarity on the final convulsions of the old covenant age. Many want to take these verses and rocket them into our future, looking for a revived Roman empire and a computer-chipped antichrist. But this is to miss the point entirely. This is to rip the prophecy out of its context and ignore the timeline that both Daniel and the New Testament give us.
The "time of the end" spoken of here is not the end of the space-time universe. It is the end of an age, the end of the Judaic aeon, which came to a bloody and catastrophic conclusion with the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. This passage is a play-by-play of the final act of that great drama. The king of the North, who has been looming over this whole chapter, is now revealed in his final form. This is not Antiochus Epiphanes, though Antiochus was a true and wicked foreshadowing. No, the final king of the North is the iron empire of Rome, the fourth beast, terrible and dreadful and strong exceedingly. This passage describes the final campaign of that beast against the holy people, a campaign that would result in the desolation of Jerusalem, but which would also paradoxically break the teeth of the beast and seal its own ultimate doom.
We must read this not as a crystal ball for our headlines, but as a history book written in advance, showing us the absolute sovereignty of God over the geopolitical turmoil of the first century. It shows us that when empires rage against God and His Christ, they are not fighting against a helpless victim; they are dashing themselves to pieces against the Rock of Ages.
The Text
And at the time of the end, the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter lands, overflow them, and pass through. And he will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon. Then he will send forth his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. But he will rule over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the desirable things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels. But reports from the East and from the North will dismay him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and devote many to destruction. And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.
(Daniel 11:40-45 LSB)
The Final Collision (v. 40)
The final act begins with a great military confrontation.
"And at the time of the end, the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter lands, overflow them, and pass through." (Daniel 11:40)
Here, "the time of the end" fixes our location. This is the terminus of the old covenant world. The king of the North is Rome, the great pagan empire that surrounds the Mediterranean. The "him" that is collided with is this Roman power. Who is the king of the South? In the context of the first century, this refers to the various powers and rebellions on the southern and eastern frontiers of the Roman empire, particularly those stemming from Egypt and the surrounding regions, which constantly vexed the Roman peace. There were numerous revolts and conflicts in that part of the world that required Rome's military attention.
But the main action is the response of the North. Rome's reaction is not a gentle nudge; it is a storm. The imagery is of overwhelming, irresistible force: chariots, horsemen, many ships. This is a perfect description of the Roman military machine. When Rome decided to quell a rebellion or conquer a territory, it moved with methodical and terrifying efficiency. The angel says this power will "enter lands, overflow them, and pass through." This is the language of total conquest, like a flood that sweeps everything away before it. This describes the general state of Roman expansion and consolidation of power in the first century, setting the stage for its ultimate focus on Judea.
The Invasion of the Beautiful Land (v. 41-43)
The flood of Roman power then turns toward its primary target in this prophecy.
"And he will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon." (Daniel 11:41 LSB)
The "Beautiful Land" is, of course, the land of Israel, Judea. This is the fulfillment Jesus warned His disciples about in Matthew 24, when He told them they would see the "abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" standing in the holy place. That abomination was the Roman legions, with their pagan standards, surrounding and ultimately entering Jerusalem. This prophecy is fulfilled in the Roman-Jewish wars from A.D. 66 to 70, under the command of Vespasian and his son Titus.
Many "countries" or regions would fall to this Roman advance. But interestingly, Edom, Moab, and Ammon are "rescued." Why? Historically, these regions to the east and south of Judea were not the central focus of the Roman campaign. The main thrust of the war was against the heart of the Jewish rebellion in Galilee and Judea. Furthermore, when the Christians in Jerusalem heeded Jesus' warning, where did they flee? They fled to Pella, a city in the region of the Decapolis, east of the Jordan. They escaped through these very lands. God, in His providence, provided an escape route for His faithful remnant through the territories that were spared the brunt of the Roman storm.
The prophecy continues, detailing the extent of Rome's dominion.
"Then he will send forth his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. But he will rule over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the desirable things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels." (Daniel 11:42-43 LSB)
This is a summary of Rome's total domination of the region. Egypt, once a great power, had by this time become the personal breadbasket of the Roman emperor. It was completely subjugated, and its immense wealth was systematically plundered to fill the coffers of Rome. The Libyans and Ethiopians, nations on the periphery of Egypt, were also client states or subjugated peoples who followed in the train of Roman power. This is not a prediction of a single, future battle, but a description of the geopolitical reality of the first century. Rome was the undisputed master of this world, and all its wealth flowed toward the imperial center.
The Tyrant's Anxious End (v. 44-45)
Even at the height of its power, the pagan empire is never at peace. It is an anxious beast, full of paranoia and rage.
"But reports from the East and from the North will dismay him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and devote many to destruction." (Genesis 11:44 LSB)
The Roman Empire was constantly troubled by threats from its frontiers. The Parthians in the East were a perpetual thorn in their side. The Germanic tribes in the North were a constant source of anxiety. Even as Rome was prosecuting its war in Judea, it had to keep a worried eye on these other fronts. This internal anxiety and external pressure fueled Rome's characteristic brutality. The "great wrath" to "destroy and devote many to destruction" was the standard Roman operating procedure for dealing with any perceived threat. The destruction of Jerusalem, in which over a million Jews were slaughtered, was a horrific outworking of this imperial fury.
The final verse describes the tyrant's blasphemous pride and his ultimate, lonely end.
"And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him." (Genesis 11:45 LSB)
The Roman commander, Titus, pitched his camp on the Mount of Olives, directly overlooking the "beautiful Holy Mountain," the Temple Mount. He set up his headquarters "between the seas" (the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea) and the holy mountain. This is a picture of ultimate blasphemous arrogance. The pagan king plants his flag on God's holy ground, declaring himself master. This is the very pinnacle of humanistic pride, the creature setting himself up in the place of the Creator.
And what is the result? "Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him." This does not mean that Titus died on the Mount of Olives. It means that the empire he represents, this God-defying system, has sealed its own doom. By destroying the temple, Rome thought it was destroying a rival. In reality, it was simply taking out the trash for God. It was the instrument of God's judgment on an apostate covenant people. But the instrument of judgment is not thereby glorified. Rome, in its pride, set itself against the God of heaven, and in so doing, it began its own long, slow, and inevitable decline. The empire that defied God would be eaten from the inside out by its own corruption, decadence, and tyranny. When it finally fell, there was no one to help it. All pagan empires that set themselves against Christ will come to the same end. They have a built-in, self-destruct mechanism.
The Unhelped Tyrant and the Helped Saint
The final phrase of this chapter is a thunderclap of gospel truth. The proud king of the North, the blasphemous emperor, the arrogant tyrant, "will come to his end, and no one will help him." This is the fate of every man, every institution, and every empire that stands on its own strength and defies God. When the day of reckoning comes, they are utterly alone. Their power, their wealth, their armies, their sycophants, all of it evaporates. There is no one to help.
This is the state of every man outside of Christ. You may build your own little kingdom, you may pitch your tent in defiance of God, you may live according to your own will. But you will come to your end, and on that day, no one will help you. You will stand before the judgment seat of God in the stark reality of your own rebellion, with no advocate, no savior, and no help.
But the story does not end there. For right after this, in the very next verse, Daniel 12:1, we are told about another reality. "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise." While the pagan king is coming to his unhelped end, the great Prince, our Lord Jesus Christ, is standing up for His people. The central contrast of all history is right here: the unhelped tyrant and the helped saint.
Rome came to its end. The Caesars are dust. Their empire is a museum piece. But the kingdom that Michael the great Prince defends, the Church of Jesus Christ, is still here. It has outlasted every persecutor. It has buried all of its undertakers. Why? Because we do not stand in our own strength. Our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was a terrible judgment, but it was also a glorious liberation. It was the final removal of the scaffolding of the old covenant, revealing the glorious temple of the new covenant, the Church, a building made of living stones with Christ as the chief cornerstone. The tyrant came to his end with no help, so that the people of God might live forever with all the help of heaven at their disposal.
Therefore, do not fear the raging of the nations. Do not be dismayed by the arrogance of modern-day tyrants who pitch their tents against the beautiful holy mountain of God's truth. They are all on a trajectory described in this ancient prophecy. They will come to their end, and no one will help them. But we belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and our Prince stands guard over us forever.