Daniel 11 shows that this king of the north is a modern-day successor to the Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. This further confirms that this leader arises in Europe. (For more information about the Daniel 11 prophecy, request our free booklet History and Prophecy of the Middle East.)
Further confirming this analysis, Isaiah 10:5-19 give a similar prophecy, clearly describing the same leader. This passage adds that this leader shall be “the king of Assyria.” This makes the national identity of this king much clearer: Assyria refers to the ancestors of modern Germany. (For proof, request our reprint article “The Remarkable Identity of the German People.”)
Isaiah 10 partially refers to Assyria’s ancient attack on Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah. But many details of Isaiah’s prophecy were not fulfilled in that time period. It remains partially unfulfilled—until this end-time fierce king comes to power.
This leader, then, will arise in Germany. And he will lead this coming European power.
What will he be like? In his free booklet A Strong German Leader Is Imminent, Mr. Flurry writes:
This soon-coming ruler could literally be called a king. Even if he is not, the Bible gives him that label. When the Bible talks about a king, in most cases it’s saying that this is not a democratic government. Even if he doesn’t have that title, he is going to lead like a king. This vision in Daniel shows that the European empire is about to become a lot more authoritative.
Modern Europe appears to be very democratic. How, then, could such an autocratic leader dominate such a sophisticated region? If a fierce king is prophesied to seize power, he must do so at a time when European democracy is in crisis.
Daniel 11:21-31 tell us how. Most Bible commentaries correctly say this passage refers to Antiochus Epiphanes, who reigned around 175 to 164 b.c. These scriptures forecast exactly what Antiochus Epiphanes ended up doing. They prophesied that he would “pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate” (verse 31). Antiochus infamously assaulted and slaughtered the Jews and attacked the Jewish religion. He attempted to stamp out Jewish worship at the temple and set up a pagan statue to Jupiter Olympius in front of the altar.
Jesus Christ clearly refers to this verse in Matthew 24:15, making explicit reference to “the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet.” But He talks about it not as something that had already happened, but as something that will happen in the future.
If this prophecy was fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes nearly two centuries earlier, why did Christ tell His disciples to watch for this event? Why have His words been preserved for 2,000 years?
If this prophecy was fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes nearly two centuries earlier, why did Christ tell His disciples to watch for this event? Why have His words been preserved for 2,000 years? This prophecy had an ancient fulfillment, but it will also have a modern one.
Like Isaiah 10, this prophecy had an ancient fulfillment, but it will also have a modern one—like many prophecies that are dual. This refers both to Antiochus Epiphanes and to a future emergence of a modern-day Antiochus. As the rest of Matthew 24 makes clear, this modern-day Antiochus will attack Jerusalem—just like the king described in Isaiah 10 and Daniel 8 and 11. The modern-day Antiochus and this king are the same man.
This man is a fearsome leader. And with a modern superpower under his control, he will be deadlier and more destructive than any before him!
Daniel 11:21 describes how this man will come to power. The European people “shall not give” this Antiochus “the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.” The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary says that “the nation shall not, by a public act, confer the kingdom on him, but he shall obtain it by artifice, ‘flattering.’” Barnes’ Notes on the Old and New Testaments states, “[I]n other words, it should not be conferred on him by any law or act of the nation, or in any regular succession or claim.”
“This man doesn’t come to power the honorable way—by being voted into office,” Mr. Flurry wrote in November 2002. “He takes it dishonorably! He will work behind the scenes and come to power by flatteries—not votes!”
This fierce king was certainly not elected by the German people in the messy 2017 federal election. The inconclusive election has led to complex coalition negotiations and an ineffective coalition government in Germany. This provides the exact situation that will lead to these prophecies to be fulfilled. If the nation remains politically paralyzed while troubles multiply at home and Europe burns around it, Germany will desperately need a strong leader, and will be willing to find a sophisticated-sounding rationale for “progressing past” or “temporarily suspending” democracy, perhaps, and reverting to the Continent’s ancient method of go-to government: Crown a king.
Germany’s current political torpor and Europe’s crises are leading to the covert rise of a fierce king!
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