There is a steady trend of events which the wise will understand. “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:10
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south (1) push at him (2): and the king of the north (3) shall come against him (2) like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he (2) shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He (2) shall enter also into the glorious land (4), and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his (2) hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He (2) shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he (2) shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his (2) steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him (2): therefore he (2) shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he (2) shall plant the tabernacles of his (2) palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he (2) shall come to his end, and none shall help him (2). Daniel 11:40–45.
Meaning of the symbols of Daniel 11:40–45:
- king of the South – “… governments ruling the southern part of Alexander’s empire.” God Predicts Your Future, John J. Grosboll, 1994, page 248.
- him – [the Papacy], Ibid., 247.
- king of the North – “… government ruling the northern part of Alexander’s empire (now a stronghold for the religion Mohammed.)” Ibid.
- glorious land – “… refers to the land of Palestine (Ezekiel 20:6, 15), a symbol of the heavenly inheritance of the saints (Hebrews 11:9, 10). Ibid.
“During the wars and revolutions which for long ages succeeded, these geographical boundaries were frequently changed or obliterated; old ones were wiped out, and new ones instituted. But whatever changes might occur, these first divisions of the empire must determine the names which these portions of territory should ever afterward bear, or we have no standard by which to test the application of the prophecy.” Daniel and the Revelation, 250.
“Cassander was very soon conquered by Lysimachus, and his kingdom, Greece and Macedon, annexed to Thrace. And Lysimachus was in turn conquered by Seleucus, and Macedon and Thrace annexed to Syria.” Ibid.
Rise of Islamists
2013 June – Government and allied Lebanese Hezbollah forces recapture strategically-important town of Qusair between Homs and Lebanese border. Rebel commanders complain that arms supplies taper off over international concerns about Islamists in the opposition camp.
2013 July – Saudi-backed Ahmed Jarba becomes leader of opposition National Coalition, defeating Qatar-backed rival. 2013 September – UN weapons inspectors conclude that chemical weapons were used in an attack on the Ghouta area of Damascus in August that killed about 300 people, but do not explicitly allocate responsibility for the attack.
2013 October – President Assad allows international inspectors to begin destroying Syria’s chemical weapons on the basis of a US–Russian agreement.
2013 December – US and Britain suspend “non-lethal” support for rebels in northern Syria after reports Islamist rebels seize some bases of Western-backed Free Syrian Army.
2014 January–February – UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva fail, largely because Syrian authorities refuse to discuss a transitional government.
2014 March – Syrian Army and Hezbollah forces recapture Yabroud, the last rebel stronghold near the Lebanese border.
2014 May – Hundreds of rebels are evacuated from their last stronghold in the central city of Homs. The withdrawal marks the end of three years of resistance in the city.
2014 June – UN announces removal of Syria’s chemical weapons material complete.
‘Caliphate’ in east
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants declare “caliphate” in territory from Aleppo to eastern Iraqi province of Diyala.
2014 August – Tabqa airbase, near the northern city of Raqqa, falls to Islamic State militants, who now control entire Raqqa province.
2014 September – United States and five Arab countries launch air strikes against Islamic State around Aleppo and Raqqa.
2015 January – Kurdish forces push Islamic State out of Kobane on Turkish border after four months of fighting.
2015 March – Opposition offensives push back government forces. New Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) Islamist rebel alliance, backed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, captures provincial capital of Idlib.
Southern Front alliance of secular and Islamist groups take Jordanian border crossing at Nassib
2015 May – Islamic State fighters seize the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria, raising concerns that they might destroy the pre-Islamic World Heritage site. They also capture last border crossing to Iraq.Jaish al-Fatah takes control of Idlib Province, putting pressure on government’s coastal stronghold of Latakia.
2015 June – Islamic State and Kurdish fighters intensify fighting between Raqqa and Turkish border. Kurds take Ain Issa and border town of Tal Abyad, Islamic State attacks Kobane and seizes part of Hassakeh, the main city in north-eastern Syria.
2015 September – Russia carries out first air strikes in Syria, saying it targets the Islamic State group. But West and Syrian opposition say it overwhelmingly targets anti-Assad rebels instead.