"Palestine was as of old the battle field for the king of the
north and the king of the south.... The history of these times
is lost in its details."--_Ninth edition, Vol. XV, art.
"Macedonian Empire," p. 144._

We shall not follow the details of this contest as foretold in the
prophecy, nor yet the outline of events after the coming of the Roman
power ended the rivalry between Syria and Egypt. It is necessary only
that we fix the events and geographic terms of this early portion of the
prophecy. Then we shall have the key to the closing portion, dealing
with events of the last days, when the king of the north again appears.


The Modern King of the North

In the last verses of the chapter we find the king of the north a chief
actor in this same region, "at the time of the end." Verse 40. And we
are told that when this power comes to its end, it is the signal that
the great day of God is at hand. (See Dan. 12:1.)

It becomes a vital question, therefore, what power in these last days is
the king of the north, whose end is the signal of the swift ending of
the world. Inspiration gives the basis for the answer. The king of the
north in the early portion of the prophecy was the power that ruled in
Syria and Asia Minor, from the Euphrates to the shores of the
Dardanelles. The king of the north, then, of the later portion of the
prophecy, must be the power that has been ruling in this same region
during the time of the end.