The prophet Daniel wrote about a future war that is to come that will ultimately see the nations of the world engaged in a war unlike any other war in history. The weapons of mass destruction will no doubt be deployed. Daniel writes; “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.” (Daniel 11:40)
In recent years, the U.S. and Iranian navies have had numerous tense encounters in the Persian Gulf, where 30 per cent of the world’s seaborne-traded crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz every day. An intentional or inadvertent incident at sea could quickly escalate into a direct military confrontation, and risk shipping through the critical energy chokepoint. As tensions mount between the Gulf States on the Arabian Peninsula with Iran on the other side of the Straits of Hormuz Australia has now sent a contingent to the Middle-Eastern waterway to join the fledgling American-led effort to protect ships from Iranian threats in the critical Strait of Hormuz.
Oil tankers passing through the waterway came under attack in May and June this year with crews forced to abandon their vessels and at least one ship set on fire. The United States has blamed Iran for the attacks, a charge that Iranian officials have rejected. The tanker strikes came after the United States abandoned the multinational 2015 agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear program and reimposed sanctions on Tehran meant to cripple its oil sales, a pillar of the Iranian economy.
So far, only three other countries have joined the United States in the ship-protection mission, namely Britain and Bahrain and Israel. Australia is now the fourth country to become involved. The government of South Korea is reportedly planning to also send one destroyer to join in patrols. The government of Japan are still considering requests from the U.S. to join the coalition. The possibility of a war between the west and Islam that will see a naval engagement at sea and one on land is a very real reality today.
In Daniel chapter 11:36-45 we have a war described between the two Kings of the North and the South. Daniel Chapter 11:36ff is prophetic and pertains to the future. This King of the North is the Islamic Antichrist “who will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god” (Allah) (Vs. 39) this same man is the man of sin “who exalts himself and magnifies himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods.” (Vs.36) this is the one that the Apostle Paul writes about in his Second letter to the assembly of believers at Thessalonica. Paul tells us that this man of sin “opposes and exults himself over everything that is called god or is worshipped, and even sets himself up in God’s Temple proclaiming himself to be God. “ (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
Now Daniel also tells us that this man of sin “will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood and that he will also invade the Beautiful Land” (Israel) (Vs.40-41) Is the stage now being set that will ultimately see a clash between the forces of the King of the North (Turkey and Iran and their fundamentalist Islamic allies) with the forces of the King of the South (America and its allies)? Will Russia back Turkey or wait to see the outcome? Will China become involved over the matter of oil?
There is no doubt that the nations are aligning themselves against one another. Expansionism is ‘the name of the game’ as it was prior to WW1 and WW2. China is one of the expansionist nations ‘flexing its military muscles’ before the world. It may well be that the naval forces in the straits of Hormuz led by the United States will be joined by other nations who want to make sure that the oil tankers continue to pass through the Straits of Hormuz unhindered by Iran. Will missiles be launched from warships that will see the King of the South engage the King of the North in battle? Will we see a naval engagement between ‘the two kings’ in the Straits of Hormuz? If a confrontation occurs will it escalate into WW111? Will we see many nations drawn into the conflict as we saw happen in WW1 and WW2?
As yet the King of the South (the United States) is still forming a coalition of nations to defend the oil tankers passing through the Straits of Hormuz and to stop Iran’s militancy. God’s Word is a prophetic book and past historical events mentioned in its pages teach us about the future events to come. Historically there have already been battles between kings of the North with the Kings of the South, the main ones being between the Ptolemy’s and the Seleucids. This last battle is still to come. Islam is already at war with the west as history has shown.
There have been two major Jihads in history and a third Jihad is yet to come…
The first major Jihad occurred during the early beginnings of the Islamic empire in the 7th Century AD when Islamic armies erupted from Arabia and swept through many lands like a flood. They swept into Syria, Israel, North Africa, Iraq, Iran and India and into Europe conquering parts of Spain and Portugal, and a good part of Italy for some time.
The second major Jihad occurred when the Turkish Ottoman Empire captured Byzantium (Constantinople) in 1453 ending the Roman Empire. The Turkish Ottoman armies swept through the Balkans all the way to Austria with the siege of Vienna in 1529 expanding the Turkish Ottoman Caliphate into South Eastern Europe and into much of the African continent.
The third and final Jihad is yet to come and it is already well under way with Islam already entrenched within the western democracies. It is already happening! It is ‘the Trojan Horse’ of Islam and the enemy are ‘already within the cities’ gates.’ Europe is already being overrun by Islam. When the last King of the North rides across the pages of history Europe will not escape! France has now slapped the U.S. in the face with its $15 billion Iran bailout offer, which would serve to undo all the progress made by the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on Iran. Will Europe escape Iranian missiles once Iran has nuclear capabilities?
Will the potential powder keg in the Straits of Hormuz ignite into the final conflagration between the King of the North with the King of the South as the prophet Daniel has foretold? We know a war is coming that will see a third of the world’s population destroyed. (Revelation 9:13-21) As in all matters related to Bible prophecy time will tell if this scenario will develop? Keeping these events in view let’s not forget that God still has everything under control!
As the prophet Isaiah writes; “The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.” (Isaiah 17:13)
