To understand the premise of the Exodus – Apocalypse Parallel and to read other articles on this topic see the link that follows.
http://revelationrosettastone.blog/2019/01/18/the-exodus-apocalypse-parallelthe-premise/
The Exodus narrative begins with the birth and life of Moses in relation to two Pharaohs of Egypt; one that oppresses Israel and the other that denies Israel freedom to worship their God. The opening chapters of Exodus tell of a Pharaoh that comes to power that never knew Joseph and who oppresses Israel.
“A new king, who had not known Joseph, came to power in Egypt. He said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are. Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.’ So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh. ” (Exodus 1:8-11 HCSB)
After some time the oppressive Pharaoh dies and a the Pharaoh of the Exodus becomes the focus of the narrative. Since it is not known who the Pharaoh of oppression was, it is not known if the Pharaoh of the Exodus directly succeeded him or if there were others between the two.
“After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, and they cried out; and their cry for help ascended to God because of the difficult labor.” (Exodus 2:23 HCSB)
Eventually Moses is commissioned to return to Egypt and confront the Pharaoh of the exodus. This Pharaoh would reject any notion of sovereignty of the Almighty and appears as a type of the antichrist.
“But Pharaoh responded, ‘Who is Yahweh that I should obey Him by letting Israel go? I do not know anything about Yahweh, and besides, I will not let Israel go.'” (Exodus 5:2 HCSB)
This same semblance is seen in the last vision of Daniel involving two kings similar to those of the Exodus story surrounding the time of Jacob’s trouble(1). Like the two Pharaohs of Egypt both future kings(2) rise from the same kingdom, the kingdom of the north. During this time Israel will rise and fight against the king of the north’s enemy, the king of the south.
“In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will assert themselves to fulfill a vision, but they will fail.” (Daniel 11:14 HCSB)
While it is pure speculation, it may be that the future king of the north from Daniel’s vision oppresses Israel out of fear that Israel might turn and fight against him, much like the first Pharaoh of Exodus. Whatever the reason, this king of the north rules Zion until he falls.
“The king of the North who comes against him [against the king of the south] will do whatever he wants, and no one can oppose him. He will establish himself in the beautiful land with total destruction in his hand.” (Daniel 11:16 HCSB bracketed text added for clarity)
The fall of the king of the north allows the antichrist to come to power which parallels the Pharaohs of the Exodus for the purpose of this study.
“In his place [someone with a brief period of soverenty] a despised person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. A flood of forces will be swept away before him; they will be shattered, as well as the covenant prince. After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation.” (Daniel 11:21-23 HCSB bracketed text added for clarity)
In the Exodus narrative God exposes the inferiority of Pharaoh as the godhead for his demonic religion and the inability of any demonic religion to thwart the will of the Almighty God.
“The LORD answered Moses, ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet.’ ” (Exodus 7:1 HCSB)
The Hebrew word interpreted “God” in the verse is elohim meaning a god. The Almighty God, Jehovah, was putting Moses in the position that Pharaoh believed he held; a position the antichrist will also believe he holds. Moses met Pharaoh as Pharaoh came to the Nile to perform the rites of the god king. There Moses exposed Pharaoh’s religion as powerless before the God of all creation.
We see the same attitude and concept with the antichrist from the books of Daniel and Revelation.
“He will speak words against the Most High and oppress the holy ones of the Most High. He will intend to change religious festivals and laws, and the holy ones will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time. (Daniel 7:25 HCSB)
“He [the false prophet] exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.” (Revelation 13:12 HCSB bracketed text added for clarity)
Applying the parallel between the two Pharaohs of Exodus and the two kings of the north in Daniel 11 to the book of Revelation there then exist the possibility of two rulers, one oppressive and the other defying the saints of God to worship Him, since both Daniel and Revelation speak to the Apocalypse.
“Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there was a white horse. The horseman on it had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a victor to conquer.” (Revelation 6:1-2 HCSB).
The rider on the white horse has long been identified with the antichrist on the basis that this rider has a bow, comes to conquer, and intuitively commences the last week of Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy. But the description of the rider in Revelation 6 and that of the antichrist in the vision of Daniel 11 do not agree. The antichrist clearly does not have any “royal honor” (Daniel 11:21 HCSB) while the rider of while horse does have royal honor since he is given a crown (Revelation 6:2 HCSB). No one knows what event begins the tribulation. The best that can be said is that in the middle of the week the antichrist breaks an agreement. Where such a point might definitively tie to any of the seals or trumpets or any other event is total speculation. There certainly is many more years than seven being addressed in the book of Revelation. The millennial reign and the post millennial reign are also described although briefly. Where does the last week of Daniel’s prophecy begin, where does it end, and is there a hiatus in the week or is it continuous? Nothing in the book of Revelation gives a definitive answer.
This supposition can casts a new understanding about the seals of Revelation 6. The consequences of the devastating warfare described in the first twenty verses of Daniel 11 can be recognized in the seals. This warfare does not directly involve the antichrist but centers around two powerful kings, the kings of the north and south of Daniel 11.
The rise of the antichrist does not just happen and then the world falls apart as many commentaries seem to suppose. The world is torn apart with wars and rumor of wars setting the stage for the world to seek a savior who brings the promise of relief from the struggles to survive. Such a savior appears after many years of warfare as the god head of a new religion, who rewards his faithful and eliminates his detractors and who brings the hope of peace apart from Christ the King. What he brings is a far cry from peace. He is known as the “desolator” (Daniel 9:27).
“All those who live on the earth will worship him [the beast], everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.” (Revelation 13:8 HCSB bracketed text added for clarity)
What new light might this parallel of the Exodus and the Apocalypse cast on the mission of the two witnesses of Revelation 11? That is the subject of another post.
(1) The vision of Daniel 11 is an extension of the vision of Daniel 8. The futurist viewpoint understands these two visions as applying to the “last days” also known as the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30 – 31). See Daniel 8:21-26; 11:4, 21-45
Also, the Hebrew of Daniel 11:2 says the kingdom of Javan and not Greece. Greece was substituted for Javan some 400 years after the writing of Daniel by the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. Modern Turkey occupies the kingdom of Javan today. For a more in-depth explanation see the article “Where In The World – The Ram and Goat?” at the link below.
http://revelationrosettastone.blog/2017/04/16/where-in-the-world-the-ram-and-goat-april-17-2017/
(2) The argument in support of the premise that the vision of Daniel 11 speaks to the Tribulation of the last days and not to any historical fulfillment by Alexander the Great and his successors is far too extensive to be presented in a blog post. The exploration of the visions of Daniel are the subject of a book titled “The Apocalypse of Daniel”, a work in progress at the time of this post.
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May God bless you in your study of His word.
Kemyss W Worley Sr