The prophet Daniel wrote about a future confrontation between the king of the north and the king of the south. The king of the north will be comprised of the United States of Europe. But which nations will form the king of the south? Is this power now forming?
The king of the north and the king of the south are two powers prophesied to clash in this end time. “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). Both powers are rising fast on the world scene right now. This clash is going to shake this world as never before! And that is the good news. The bad news is it’s going to lead to World War III—unless we heed God’s prophecy and repent!
Islamic extremism is almost certainly going to be the king of the south. And I believe all indications point to radical Islam, headed by Iran as this king.
The king of the south is going to push at him—that is, the king of the north. Gesenius’ Lexicon says the word “push” means “to strike—used of horned animals,” or “to push with the horn.” It is “used figuratively of a victor who prostrates the nations before him.” It also means “to wage war with anyone.” Push is a violent word!
The king of the south will most likely use oil as a big part of his push. Europe is almost totally dependent on Middle East oil! So the push will likely involve a cutting off of their oil supply.
The New York Times, in an article entitled “Rebounding Iranians are Striving for Regional Leadership in Gulf” (Nov. 7, 1992), reported, “Rebounding from the war with Iraq, which lasted from 1980 to 1988 and devastated Iran’s oil industry, Iran under [former] President Hashemi Rafsanjani…has reclaimed its place as the world’s second largest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia, which exports about seven and a half million barrels a day. Producing roughly four million barrels a day, up from a wartime low of less than two million, Iran exports about 75 percent of this, mainly to Japan and Western Europe.”
The stage is being set for an Islamic group of nations to be led by Iran as the prophesied king of the south which will push at the king of the north, the European Union. Iran has a foreign policy with a lot of “push.” And since the end of their war with Iraq in 1988, Iran has accumulated a massive arsenal of military weapons to back up their aggressive foreign policy.
The Islamic followers of the world are comprised of a population second only to China. They inhabit a geographic area larger than Russia. The Islamic world also controls much of the world’s oil resources. And now they have nuclear weapons! The European newspaper on May 7, 1992, in a front page article entitled, “Iran Has N-Bomb,” stated: “Iran has obtained at least two nuclear warheads out of a batch officially listed as ‘missing’ from the newly independent republic of Kazakhstan, formerly part of the Soviet Union.”
Iran’s main strategic aim is to be the dominant power in the Middle East. Becoming the undisputed leader of the radical Islamic camp is a step in that direction.