Last king of the north - Russia

by TheListener 27 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • TheListener
    TheListener

    From the 2005 CdRom there are plenty of references to Russia being the King of the North. This starts, as far as I found, at least as early as 1960. What is more difficult to locate are articles that imply that Russia is the last KOFN. If anyone has any handy please paste them. I found the following on my own:

    ***

    w81 7/15 p. 7 The Power Struggle—What Outcome? ***

    How will these "kings" come to their end "without hand" and with "no helper"? Their end will not come about by human means. Daniel’s prophecy continues: "And during that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your [Daniel’s and therefore Jehovah’s] people. And there will certainly occur a time of distress such as has not been made to occur since there came to be a nation until that time." (Dan. 12:1) Michael is none other than Jehovah’s appointed King Jesus Christ. (Compare Revelation 12:7-10.) The "time of distress" is the "great tribulation" mentioned in Jesus’ own prophecy about the "conclusion of the system of things" and his "presence" in his kingdom.—Matt. 24:3, 21; Luke chap. 21.

    The present-day fulfillment of these prophecies shows that we are now living at the "time of the end." Soon Christ will bring to an end the Communist "king of the north" and the non-Communist "king of the south." Indeed, the enthroned King Jesus Christ will "strike" them and all other political nations with a "sharp long sword," and "he will shepherd them with a rod of iron." (Rev. 19:11-21) Yet another dramatic prophecy in the book of Daniel will thus complete its fulfillment, for we read: "And in the days of those kings [political powers] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite."—Dan. 2:34, 35, 44.

    ***

    w86 10/15 p. 5 The Global Power Struggle—Who Will Win? ***

    Who

    Will Win?

    What, though, restrains these ‘kings’ from an outright final war? One major factor is that they dread the mutual destructiveness of their nuclear arms. They prefer to negotiate agreements, even though these are rarely honored. As Daniel foretold: "At one table a lie is what they will keep speaking. But nothing will succeed, because the end is yet for the time appointed."—Daniel 11:27.

    So you likely want to know, What will finally happen? Will they eventually negotiate lasting peace? Or will one defeat the other? According to the prophecy in God’s Word, the answer to both questions is, No! Why? Because a third king will defeat them and take over world control. So there will be a change of rulership—soon!

    ***

    w87 7/1 pp. 13-15 ‘No Peace for the Wicked Ones’ ***

    "The

    Time of the End"

    13

    What time is this? Sometimes the expression "time of the end" refers to the time of the end of this system of things, from 1914 to Armageddon. (Daniel 8:17, 19; 12:4) But events in the year 1914, "the time appointed," were foretold back in verse 29, and the angel’s prophecy has brought us far beyond that. Hence, "the time of the end" here in verse 40 must refer to the final stages of the 2,300-year-long struggle between the king of the north and the king of the south. We read on, then, with great interest, since we now learn of events to take place in the near future. By now, shifts in power on the world scene have led to further developments in the identity of the two kings. Since the collapse of the Nazi-Fascist powers at the end of World War II, we have witnessed rivalry between two superpowers, one represented as the king of the north, dominating a mostly socialistic bloc of nations, and the other represented as the king of the south, dominating a largely capitalistic bloc.

    14

    The disposition of the latest king of the north is well described in verses 37, 38: "And to the God of his fathers he will give no consideration . . . But to the god of fortresses, in his position he will give glory; and to a god that his fathers did not know he will give glory by means of gold and by means of silver and by means of precious stone and by means of desirable things." Can anyone fail to recognize this description? Today’s king of the north officially promotes atheism, rejecting the religious gods of previous kings of the north. He prefers to trust in armaments, "the god of fortresses." This has contributed to a frantic arms race for which the two kings must share responsibility. Yearly defense spending by the king of the north alone reached almost 300 billion dollars in 1985. What a huge sacrifice of ‘gold and silver and precious stone and desirable things’ to the insatiable god of armaments!

    15

    So, what finally happens between these two kings? The angel says: "And in the time of the end [the end of the history of the two kings] the king of the south will engage with him in a pushing, and against him the king of the north will storm with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships." (Daniel 11:40; Matthew 24:3) Clearly, summit conferences are no solution to the superpower rivalry. The tensions caused by the ‘pushing’ of the king of the south and the expansionism of the king of the north may go through more or less intense phases; but eventually, in some way, the king of the north will be provoked into the excessively violent action described by Daniel.

    16

    These final days are especially difficult for God’s people, who during this century have been persecuted by both kings. The angel warned that the king of the north "will also actually enter into the land of the Decoration, and there will be many lands that will be made to stumble." "The land of the Decoration" is symbolically the land of God’s people. The angel’s words must mean, then, that as well as conquering many nations, the king of the north attacks the spiritual estate of Jehovah’s people. (Daniel 8:9; 11:41-44; Ezekiel 20:6) In verse 45, the prophecy adds: "And he will plant his palatial tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration." In other words, he positions himself to make a final assault against their spiritual paradise.

    "All

    the Way to His End"

    17

    But by then something will already have happened that neither the king of the north nor the king of the south foresaw. The angel prophesies: "But there will be reports that will disturb [the king of the north], out of the sunrising and out of the north, and he will certainly go forth in a great rage in order to annihilate and to devote many to destruction."—Daniel 11:44.

    18

    What will these reports be? The angel does not specify, but he does reveal their source. They come "out of the sunrising," and Jehovah God and Jesus Christ are alluded to as "the kings from the rising of the sun." (Revelation 16:12) These reports also come "out of the north," and the Bible speaks symbolically of Mount Zion, the town of the grand King Jehovah, as being "on the remote sides of the north." (Psalm 48:2) Hence, it is "reports" from Jehovah God and Jesus Christ that send the king of the north on his last great campaign. But the results will be devastating to him. The end of verse 45 tells us: "He will have to come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him."

    19

    Indeed, there will be "no peace . . . for the wicked ones." (Isaiah 57:21) Rather, the history of the king of the north will be marked by warfare right up to the end. But for His faithful servants, Jehovah promises: "The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth." (Proverbs 2:21, 22) What, though, will happen to the king of the south when the king of the north ‘comes all the way to his end’? What will happen to Christians when the king of the north ‘plants his palatial tents’ in a menacing position against them? (Daniel 11:45) How will peace finally come to the earth? Jehovah, through his angel, has answered these questions, as we will see in the following articles.

    UH - OH THE KING OF THE NORTH DISBANDED - WHAT TO PRINT NOW?

    ***

    w93 11/1 p. 21 The Final Victory of Michael, the Great Prince ***

    Final

    Campaign of the Northern King

    10

    Does the rivalry between the two kings continue indefinitely? No. The angel told Daniel: "There will be reports that will disturb him [the king of the north], out of the sunrising and out of the north, and he will certainly go forth in a great rage in order to annihilate and to devote many to destruction. And he will plant his palatial tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration; and he will have to come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him."—Daniel 11:44, 45.

    11

    These events are yet future, so we cannot say in detail how the prophecy will be fulfilled. Recently, the political situation regarding the two kings has changed. The bitter rivalry between the United States and Eastern European countries has cooled. Further, the Soviet Union was disbanded in 1991 and no longer exists.—See the March 1, 1992, issue of The Watchtower, pages 4, 5.

    12

    So who is the king of the north now? Is he to be identified with one of the countries that were part of the old Soviet Union? Or is he changing identity completely, as he has a number of times before? We cannot say. Who will be the king of the north when Daniel 11:44, 45 is fulfilled? Will the rivalry between the two kings flare up again? And what of the huge nuclear stockpiles that still exist in a number of lands? Only time will provide the answers to these questions.

    13

    One thing we do know. Soon, the king of the north will conduct an offensive campaign that will be triggered by "reports that will disturb him, out of the sunrising and out of the north." This campaign will immediately precede his "end." We can learn more about these "reports" if we consider other Bible prophecies.

    Per the Daniel Book:

    *** dp chap. 16 p. 280 par. 21 The Contending Kings Near Their End ***

    With the disbanding of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the king of the north suffered a serious setback. Who will be this king when Daniel 11:44, 45 is fulfilled? Will he be identified with one of the countries that were part of the former Soviet Union? Or will he change identity completely, as he has done a number of times before? Will the development of nuclear weapons by additional nations result in a new arms race and have a bearing on the identity of that king? Only time will provide answers to these questions. We are wise not to speculate. When the king of the north embarks on his final campaign, the fulfillment of prophecy will be clearly discerned by all who have Bible-based insight.—See "Kings in Daniel Chapter 11," on page 284.

    Per previous WT articles (do a search on the 2005 CDRom for Daniel 11:44,45) Russia and the eastern bloc fulfilled these verses. I guess things can change when you're not inspired and everyone agrees that everything you say comes from God.

  • Gill
    Gill

    The last thing I heard about the 'King of the North and the King of the South' problem, was from an Elder giving a talk , and he said that the Kings varied at different 'ages'.

    However! This then does not bring the so called prophecy to fruition because they do not come to gether to do battle.

    It's just another 'one' of their predictions that failed, in the end.

  • Golf
    Golf

    We're just 'pawns' in a game. It has to be played out, evil vs. good.


    Golf

  • Gill
    Gill

    It's a pity that the WTBTS never takes its own advice as mentioned in the last paragraph of your post, Listener:

    'We are wise not to speculate.'

    Duh! When did the WTBTS not speculate, make up and fantasise?

  • greendawn
    greendawn

    Ah the unrepentant false prophet the Watchtower society and its foolish leaders putting words in God's mouth. God's sole channel has once more given false poisonous food to the sheep.

    None of two kings were supposed to gain a decisive victory over the other yet the Soviet Union collapsed not due to the action of the third king but due to its antagonism with the western world. Alas the collapse of communism came sooner than anyone suspected.

  • ellderwho
    ellderwho
    We are wise not to speculate. When the king of the north embarks on his final campaign, the fulfillment of prophecy will be clearly discerned by all who have Bible-based insight.—

    What? Bible based, yeah right.These idiots have been doing the speculating since the beggining with the counting of the blocks in the pyramids. Maybe Scholar has some insight on why the society is not gotten anything right in history of speculating. See also Luke 21:8.

  • blondie
    blondie

    There is a list of the kings of the norths over the last few thousand years as defined by the WTS. What is noteworthy to me is that they no longer identify one currently and have not for 7 years, specifically I think since the USSR fell apart. Note how the WTS uses the get out of "jail" free card in saying that prophecy cannot be understood until it is happening or happened.

    *** Daniel Prophecy (1999) chap. 16 p. 284 The Contending Kings Near Their End ***

    Daniel 11:25, 26 Aurelian The Roman Empire breaks down

    Daniel 11:27-30a German Empire (World War I)

    Daniel 11:30b, 31 Hitler’s Third Reich (World War II)

    Daniel 11:32-43 Communist bloc (Cold War)

    Daniel 11:44, 45 Yet to rise*

    [Footnote]

    The prophecy in Daniel chapter 11 does not foretell the names of the political entities that occupy the positions of the king of the north and the king of the south at various times. Their identities become known only after the events start to occur. Moreover, since the conflict occurs in episodes, there are intervals of no conflict—one king holds sway while the other remains inactive.

  • Dr Jekyll
    Dr Jekyll

    I thought it had changed to Germany, I'm sure I read an article about the old differences between Germany and the UK / USA and about how GermanY was once a part of the USSR and how Germany is now the heart of the present EU

  • blondie
    blondie

    Do you have a quote? I read all the magazines quite carefully and quite a few active JWs post here and this is news to them. There was an unofficial talk by a Bethelite after 9-11 that seemed to hint that a Islamic faction might take the role, but nothing official in writing.

  • TheListener
    TheListener

    Yes, Blondie you're correct. In fact the Dp book has a nice little WT graph that shows the identity of the KOTN and the KOTS through history.

    What I find interesting is that up until the Soviet empire crumbled the WTS was teaching that Daniel 11:44,45 was the next step to occur ***WITH THE THEN CURRENT*** KOTN and KOTS (Russia;Anglo-American).

    When the Communist empire crumbled they had to back up and allow for a new KOTN, yet to be determined, to appear. That set them back substantially in their THE END IS NOW NOW NOW NOW routine.

    What is funny to me is that current dubs, most of which never studied the older articles on this subject, feel that the WTS has such a handle on this prophetic stuff. In reality they just change, change, change and most don't really care.

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