Apocalypse Rising: 20 The Sixth Trumpet: 20a The King of the North

The sixth trumpet is the second of the three woes. In order that the events which it describes can be understood more easily, I have split them up into three parts as in the sections which follow.

Part A: The King of the North

Reading: Revelation 9:13-21

Because the USA has played such an important role globally in the world since 1945, many American commentators make the mistake of interpreting the end-times in the light of the present day, because they think that nothing significant enough could ever happen to change America’s world dominance. They assume an Americo-centric view of the sunteleia after the rapture, and they repeatedly pose the question as to why the Scriptures do not seem to say anything about the role of the USA in the end-times. Some of them think that Antichrist will arise from the USA. Indeed, there are many videos available on the internet that claim that almost every successive American President must somehow be the incarnation of Antichrist! This is all wrong, of course.

Personally, I do not believe that the Scriptures say anything about the role of the USA in the sunteleia after the rapture.[1] This implies therefore that both the USA and the present world order will change significantly between now and then. Furthermore, if the prophetic Scriptures are to be fulfilled, then there must at some stage be a massive exodus of Jews from the USA to return to Israel. So what will happen in the social and political life of the USA to cause this? And the rapture itself will result in significant disruption and changes in the USA which will impact the country economically, politically, spiritually and morally, because so many millions of active evangelical Christians will no longer be there. If the rapture were to happen today, for example, then there would be no restraint strong enough to prevent the radical left from continuing to put their destructive agenda for the USA into operation wholesale. The fabric of American life as we know it today would very soon be torn apart! Furthermore, the fact that Antichrist will be able to invade Israel militarily and establish his rule there (in the time of the sixth and seventh trumpets), clearly implies that the protection which Israel presently enjoys from the USA will no longer be in place. America will no longer be the world’s policeman. But just how this will happen, we do not yet know, of course.

There are no solid grounds for assuming that the USA will continue to be a dominant political player in the world after the rapture. I believe that the picture that the Scriptures give us is that Antichrist will be a Middle Eastern figure. He will arise from the same part of the world in which the ancient empires mentioned by the prophet Daniel arose. This is supported by the fact that the central thing which the Scriptures highlight and focus on is his relationship to Israel and the Jewish people (see below and in the next chapter). The end-time Scriptures are strongly Middle East-centric, and they are Israel-centric in particular.

The significance of the Euphrates region

However, before Antichrist’s interactions with Israel and the Jewish people come into play, the first thing we are told about after the blowing of the sixth trumpet is of a major regional conflict which will take place in the Euphrates region, and this conflict is therefore the first part of the second woe.

The Euphrates region plays a significant role in end-times events. It is mentioned in both Revelation chs.9 and 16 where we are told that the great Euphrates River dries up, allowing the kings of the East to bring their armies to Ha Megiddo in Israel (9:14, 16:12). The Euphrates River has its source in Turkey, and then it flows through both Syria and Iraq, before forming part of the border between Iraq and Iran, and then finally flowing out into the Arabian Sea. It is thought by many that the original garden of Eden lay somewhere in this region of Mesopotamia, because of the mention of both the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the creation account (Gen. 2:10-14).

Historically, the building of the tower of Babel in this area demonstrated practically the defiance and rebellion of people’s hearts towards God (Gen. ch.11). This region later became the cradle of both the Assyrian Empire (c900 – c600 BC with its capital in Nineveh, now modern Mosul) and the later Babylonian Empire (c609 – 539 BC, with its capital in Babylon). The Assyrians were a cruel people, and ancient Babylon became a by-word for everything that was carnal, immoral, occult and idolatrous. In Satan’s dominion, Babylon became the antithesis of God’s city, Jerusalem. They were the capitals of two opposite and mutually exclusive spiritual kingdoms, one of light and the other of darkness. In many ways, this area became the hub of Satan’s rebellious activity against the kingdom of God in this world. Satan seems to have had almost free rein in this area for millennia, almost as if he delighted to take over and claim for himself the area where God’s original garden once lay. Is it any surprise, therefore, that this area will become significant again when Antichrist arises in the end-times?

The Babylonian Empire was followed by the Persian Empire (559 – 333 BC), which itself was then conquered by Alexander the Great whose further conquests established the Greek Empire (333 BC – 146 BC). As the fragmented Greek Empire weakened and then was itself also conquered, control of the Euphrates region was split between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Parthians further to the east. The eastern borders of the Roman Empire fluctuated as first the Parthians (247 BC – 224 AD) and then the Persian Sassanids (224 – 651 AD) intermittently contested this territory. And then, finally, as the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanids eventually exhausted themselves through their continuing wars, the rising power of Islam easily swept through much of the Middle East and North Africa (in 634 – 638 AD) and then Persia (in 633 – 654 AD). Apart from a brief period under Mongol control, the whole area of the Euphrates region has been under the domination and control of Islam (mainly of the Shia form) from that time on and until the present day.

So it is important to note that this part of the world has never known in its entire history any form of truly liberal democratic government of the form we know in the West. For centuries past, it was continually under the heel of various forms of despotic totalitarian rule and then, more recently, under the unbending theocratic domination of a succession of Islamic dynasties. This was followed by the corrupt authoritarianism of different regimes after the countries of this area eventually gained their independence.

Those who study Bible prophecy will undoubtedly have followed with keen and prayerful interest the ongoing events in the Euphrates region since 1991. Firstly, the First Gulf War of 1991 weakened the grip on power of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The Second Gulf War of 2003–2011 then removed him completely, but it resulted in the unforeseen political and religious destabilisation of the country. This happened because the Western powers failed to recognise the significance of the major underlying fault-line which runs through this area, which has historically divided Sunni Islam from Shia Islam. Sunni Muslims and Shia groups then fought against each other vying for dominance and power, while the Kurds fought for their own freedom and autonomy. This left Iraq weak, internally fragmented, and vulnerable. And then when Syria also fragmented and virtually fell to pieces during the failed Arab Spring uprising against President Assad in 2011, this created a very confusing ongoing multi-sided conflict and consequently a political power vacuum in the Syria/Iraq region. This then led to the rise of ISIS in Syria/Iraq in an attempt to unite Sunni Muslims and re-establish the age-old Islamic Caliphate. All four of the Euphrates nations – Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran – were sucked into this conflict as it widened, until ISIS was eventually defeated in Syria/Iraq. The conflict in Syria is still ongoing at the time of my writing this book.

So since 1991, this whole Euphrates region has been rendered unstable. I do not believe that these events are a fulfilment of this first part of the sixth trumpet, but I do believe that they are preparatory to it. This is the region in which I believe Antichrist will arise, and its ongoing destabilisation and vulnerability has at least partially prepared the ground for what will eventually happen in the time of the sixth trumpet, during the sunteleia after the rapture.

Furthermore, many observers think that the closer relationship which has been developing in recent years between Russia, Turkey and Iran, may well be preparing the way for the Gog–Magog conflict of Ezekiel chs.38-39. If this Gog–Magog war were to take place before the rapture, then this would certainly affect and change the geopolitics of this region even further.

The king of the north

If it is true that the fifth trumpet describes the rise of Antichrist on a local level, and if it is also true that the events in the latter days of the sixth trumpet describe Antichrist’s overcoming of the Two Witnesses, leading to him setting up the seat of his rule in Jerusalem, both of which I believe to be true, then it is more than reasonable to interpret these events in the Euphrates region as Antichrist expanding his power base and establishing himself as a regional power in that part of the Middle East.

This clearly implies therefore that Antichrist will arise out of the north-eastern part of what is presently the Middle Eastern Islamic world.[2] This might therefore suggest that the man who becomes Antichrist may have a background in Shi’a Islam, since this is the predominant religion and form of Islam in that part of the Islamic world. And perhaps he may therefore be hailed as the long-awaited Mahdi of the Shi’ites. However, from a biblical perspective, what it certainly does mean is that Antichrist is the so-called ‘king of the north.’[3],[4]

Who was the king of the north?

Readings: Daniel 7:6, 8:2-26, 11:2-45

After the untimely death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, the newly-established Greek Empire quickly fragmented and broke up into four parts. This was revealed in visions to the prophet Daniel (Dan. 8:8,21-22). The largest of these four parts became known as the Seleucid Empire, which stretched from Syria through Mesopotamia (including the Euphrates region) and Persia, reaching eastwards as far as what is now Afghanistan. The southern part of the Greek Empire, consisting of the area of Egypt, northern Sinai and Judea/Palestine, was taken over and ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty. However, the areas of Judea and Palestine were lost to the Seleucid Empire, as a result of the wars that ensued between these two rivals.

In 175 BC, after a succession of generational dynastic rulers, a usurper arose and took over the rule of the Seleucid Empire. Again, this was revealed to the prophet Daniel (Dan. 8:9-12,23-25). This man was the eighth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, and he was called Antiochus IV. Because he believed himself to be a manifestation of the divine in human form, he added the title ‘Epiphanes’ to his name. So history knows him as Antiochus Epiphanes. The word of God calls him ‘a fierce-looking king’ and a ‘master of intrigue.’ It also calls him a ‘small horn’ or the horn ‘which started small.’ He made deceit prosper and caused astounding devastation (Dan. 8:9,23-25). His reign was characterised by almost continual conflicts, especially against the Ptolemaic regime to the south. He died in 164 BC.

After Antiochus took Jerusalem in 167 BC, he tried to establish control over the Jews by giving his support to priests who had compromised their faith and become hellenized. He persecuted those who adhered to the traditional Jewish customs and beliefs. He suppressed public observance of Jewish religious laws by forbidding both circumcision and the possession of Jewish Scriptures on pain of death. He also forced people to work on the Sabbath, and abolished the offering of sacrifices at the temple, requiring Jewish leaders to sacrifice to idols instead (Dan. 8:10-12). He went on to desecrate the temple by setting up what Scripture calls an ‘abomination that causes desolation’: he erected a statue of the false pagan god Zeus/Jupiter in the temple for Jews to worship, and he sacrificed a sow (a female pig) on the altar (Dan. 11:31). Many Jews were killed for refusing to keep these edicts, and as a warning to others.[5]

All commentators agree that the history of the relationship and the military conflicts between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid Empires is recorded with a remarkable degree of accuracy in Daniel 11:5-35. In this passage they are called ‘the king of the south’ and ‘the king of the north.’ These names are used generically to refer to successive rulers of these empires. However, the title ‘king of the north’ is used in particular of Antiochus Epiphanes (Dan. 11:21-35).

The reason why this evil tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes was/is such a significant figure biblically, is because he serves as the historical type of the end-times Antichrist. Antichrist is the end-times ‘king of the north,’ and this title strongly suggests therefore that he too will arise from the area around the Euphrates region, initially as a ‘little horn’ (Dan. 7:8, cf. 8:9). In Daniel ch.11, as in many other prophetic Scriptures, we see a merging of the historical and the eschatological. Commentators agree that the passage in Daniel 11:36-45 describes the end-times Antichrist rather than the historical figure of Antiochus Epiphanes. Just as Antiochus Epiphanes attacked Jerusalem and persecuted the Jews, so too will Antichrist. Just as he set up an ‘abomination that causes desolation’ in the temple, so too will Antichrist, as Jesus himself confirmed (Matt. 24:15). These and other related issues are dealt with later on in this and the following chapter.

So what is this conflict of the sixth trumpet?

In the description we are given in Revelation 9:13-21 of the first part of the sixth trumpet, we once again see the superimposition and interweaving of the spiritual and natural/physical realms. Human affairs always have a very real background in the active spiritual realm which is influencing them, and the word of God sometimes gives us glimpses into this reality. So we are told of four angels – presumably fallen ones? – who have been bound at the river Euphrates, and are released in readiness for this very hour (9:14-15).

From John’s description of the army in vv.17-19 one could perhaps conclude that he was simply trying to describe the modern military hardware he saw in his vision using the more simplistic vocabulary he possessed in his own day.

Some commentators believe that this war in the Euphrates region is World War 3. This is because they look at the number of 200 million troops (9:16) and simply conclude that it cannot therefore be anything other than a major global conflict. And they also therefore conclude that the fraction one-third (referring to the number of people killed in this conflict) applies to the whole of humanity (9:15,18). So they deduce that one-third of the entire population of the world will be killed in this conflict. However, the Greek words tōn anthropōn translated as ‘mankind’ in the NIV in vv.15,18 can and perhaps should be rendered simply as ‘human beings,’ or ‘people.’

I believe that this fraction applies to the region in which the war takes place, i.e. it means that one-third of the troops actually involved in a combatant role, or one-third of the total number of people in the region (whether military or civilian) are killed. So I believe that this conflict is a regional (and therefore limited) event.

So, no, I do not believe that this conflict in the Euphrates region is WW3. Neither do I believe that it is the Gog–Magog conflict of Ezekiel chs.38-39, for the simple reason that that conflict happens in Israel, even though it involves an alliance of nations from the modern-day Turkey-Caucasus area. This conflict of the sixth trumpet happens in the Euphrates region.

As I said above, I believe it is reasonable, in the light of the events of the fifth trumpet and those of the third part of the sixth trumpet, to interpret these events in the Euphrates region as Antichrist expanding his power base as the end-times king of the north, and thereby establishing himself as the major regional power in that part of the Middle East. This then sets the scene prophetically for the events of the first half of Daniel’s seventieth week in the third part of the sixth trumpet, which are described below.

John’s use of the number 200,000,000 in v.16 is quite specific. He says that he heard this number clearly. The underlying Greek literally means ‘two myriad myriads,’ i.e. a very large number. It is similar to his description of the voices of many angels in heaven: ‘numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand’ (Rev. 5:11). Here his meaning is obviously figurative, meaning simply ‘a huge, incalculable number.’ It also evokes memories of God’s own description of the number of the Israelites becoming like ‘sand on the seashore’ (Gen. 22:17, 32:12), i.e. a number too large to count. However, John’s statement that he heard this specific number implies that it should not be interpreted figuratively to simply mean ‘a huge number,’ but should be taken literally.

How then should it be interpreted? It is certainly a huge number for a standing army, far bigger than any standing professional army of any country in the world at present. So perhaps it could be interpreted in the following manner: If we are dealing with the regional growth and expansion of Antichrist’s rule as the end-time king of the north, then it would be natural to assume that this number represents not just his growing standing army, but includes all those men (and perhaps women too) of military age of countries in the wider region who become allied with him and pledge their support to him, and so provide him with a huge number of potential able-bodied conscripts. And the number of countries that would be pledging such support to Antichrist would certainly be growing at this time. The narrative does not say that all this number of troops are actually engaged in the conflict which kills one-third of the people, it simply means that this was the total number available for his use. So it perhaps indicates the level to which Antichrist’s potential military strength and power is growing through the time of this conflict, rather than the actual size of his standing army.

We are given some insight into the growing prowess of Antichrist in a comment in the following verse from Revelation ch.13. This comment suggests observed and proven experience, and it seems to imply that Antichrist will be a military genius whom no-one can overcome and defeat in battle. At least in this season and until he establishes himself further (Rev. 13:7), he seems to see victory wherever he turns:

‘…and they also worshipped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”’ (Rev. 13:4)

This would be supported by the fact that he seems to easily overcome the Israel Defence Force (IDF) when he invades Israel in the latter part of the sixth trumpet. Perhaps he will manage to do this by sheer force of numbers, if he has so many able-bodied conscripts to call on, but it is still no mean feat when we consider that the IDF is presently one of the more powerful military forces in the world. He is given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them (Rev. 11:7, 13:7).

The final word in this section is just to underline once again the lack of repentance on the part of people who were not touched personally by these events in the Euphrates region. Again, they knew, they saw, and they observed, but they did not reflect and extrapolate from these events that wrapped up implicitly within them was God’s call to repentance. They did not understand or discern the longer-term significance for their lives of what was happening in the Euphrates region. People may give their attention for a while to what is going on in other parts of the world, and they may well be shocked by what happens and grieve the human losses. But they soon move on from it all in their heart, they return to ‘business as usual,’ and they carry on blindly with their daily life pretty much unchanged, until the trap from which they cannot escape closes in on them unexpectedly (Rev. 9:20-21, Luke 21:34-35).

Table 20.1 below gives a summary of what we are told about this conflict in the Euphrates region:

Sixth Trumpet: Part A

Revelation 9:13-21

Four angels which have been bound at the Euphrates river are released. They kill a third of the people. The number of 200 million troops is mentioned.

Fire, smoke and sulphur suggest warfare.

The rest of mankind does not heed the implicit warning to repent.

Table 20.1 Part A of the sixth trumpet: conflict in the Euphrates region

Copyright Notice

[1] However, those who do believe that the USA will play a leading role in the emergence of Antichrist in the end-times, base this belief on an interpretation of the vision in Daniel ch.7 which sees the lion, bear and leopard as empires which will exist in the end-times prior to the emergence of Antichrist (who is the fourth beast). According to this viewpoint, these three beasts represent USA-UK (the lion with the wings of an eagle), Russia (the bear) and Islam (the leopard). This interpretation is referred to in the relevant footnote in chapter 21.

[2] Note that this area is part of what was once the Eastern Roman Empire. Many people who expect that Antichrist will arise out of a revived Roman Empire assume a priori that this will be from what was the European part of the Western Roman Empire. So they expect him to arise from what is presently the European Union. However, they tend to forget that the Roman Empire was spread over both its Eastern and Western parts (including North Africa). The Western part fell as a result of multiple pagan invasions around 450 – 500 AD, but the Eastern part, the Byzantine Empire, finally fell only in 1453 AD when Constantinople was taken by the Ottoman Turks and re-named Istanbul. So the Eastern part proved by far to be the most enduring part of the Roman Empire, outlasting the Western part by around 1,000 years. See also my comments on this in the relevant footnote in chapter 21.

[3] The only clues that Scripture gives us regarding Antichrist’s religious background and allegiance are found in three enigmatic verses in Daniel 11:37-39, ‘He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. Instead of them, he will honour a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honour with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god.’

[4] In his book The Islamic Antichrist, Joel Richardson draws out several interesting parallels between the biblical Antichrist and the Islamic Mahdi. The coming of the Mahdi as the Caliph of the worldwide Islamic community is the messianic expectation of the majority of Muslims, both Sunni and Shi’a. All Muslims everywhere will submit themselves to him, but they believe that he will also rule over the nations of the whole world and establish a new world order. He is looked upon as being an unparalleled spiritual, political and military leader who will emerge after a period of great turmoil and suffering on earth. There is a hadith tradition which says that the Mahdi will arise at the time of a final peace agreement between the Arabs and ‘the Romans,’ i.e. the ‘Christian’ West. This peace agreement will be mediated by a Jewish religious figure and will be made for a period of seven years. Many traditions believe that this period of seven years will coincide with the Mahdi’s rule. Furthermore, if the Mahdi were indeed the biblical Antichrist, then the passage in Daniel 11:40-45 would suggest that an end-times intra-Islamic conflict will take place between the Shi’a faction (led by the Mahdi/Antichrist as ‘the king of the north’) and the majority Sunni faction (seen corporately as ‘the king of the south’), as the Mahdi/Antichrist invades and takes over the Islamic Middle Eastern area. He will also lead his army into Israel and will conquer it for Islam. The Jews will be slaughtered until very few remain, and Jerusalem will be the seat of the Mahdi’s rule over the earth. See Richardson, J., The Islamic Antichrist, Chapter 4, “The Mahdi: Islam’s Awaited Messiah,” E-version, WorldNetDaily: Los Angeles, 2009.

[5] The full story of this period of Jewish history, including the Maccabean revolt which eventually liberated Judea from Seleucid control, can be found in the books of 1 and 2 Maccabees.

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