King of the North

The King of the North and the King of the South:

The History of Western Civilization previewed in Daniel 10-12

By Philo-Israel

The Book of Daniel contains much in the way of prophecy. It fortells the history of Babylon, Persia, Greece and its successor kingdoms, and the eventual coming of Rome, its fall and its future revivals.

What is not commonly suspected is that the prophecy of Daniel is cyclical. It traces the wars between the Greek kingdom of the Seleucids, in Syria and the Greek kingdom of the Ptolemies, in Egypt down to the time of the terrible Antiochus IV Epiphanes 175-164 BC. Then, the prophecy skips to the future, ultimately to the final Beast yet to come, of whom Antiochus is a forerunner.

An interesting Adventist book, Uriah Smith, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, (Nashville, Tennessee, Southern Publishing Association), 1944, though, that much of the prophecy is cyclical. After Antiochus, it recycles and pictures many details of Roman, Byzantine, medieval, Habsburg, and Napoleonic history and even the history of the Third Reich before it discusses the final European power.

Chapter 10 serves as an introduction to perhaps the longest prophecy of the Old Testament.

The prophecy was given to Daniel in 536 BC, not long after Babylon had been conquered by Persia. It was given to Daniel by an angel, possibly Gabriel. [Daniel 10.1-12].

The prophecy was very important and given in answer to Daniel's fervent prayers on behalf of his people. A powerful demon which influenced the affairs of Persia sought to prevent the angel from delivering the message, until the archangel Michael overpowered him. The prophecy was so detailed it would prove the inspiration of the Bible and outline the whole course of history

for the next 3000 years.

Cycle One: From Cyrus to the Maccabees:

In Daniel 11 the future history of the Persian Empire was outlined:

Dan:11:2: And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia[ Cambyses, Gautama, and Darius]; and the fourth [Xerxes] shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.

The Greeks would beat thePersians in Salamis in 480 BC.

Dan:11:3: And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

Alexander the Great [336-323]would unify the Greeks and conquer all theway to India, inaugurating the third world empire.

Dan:11:4: And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.

Alexander would die and his four generals would divide the kingdom

Dan:11:5: And the king of the south [Egypt under the Ptolemies] shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.[The Seleucid realm would rule Syria, Iraq, and Persia , becoming the King of the North].

Verses 6-19 prophesy the wars of the Ptolemies and Seleucids in great detail 200-300 years before they happened. These wars lead up to the reign of a very evil Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes [175-164 BC]. He was a madman who loved power and pageantry. Antiochus was not the rightful heir but seized power with a small following. He invaded Egypt and, when confronted by the rising power of Rome, he turned on the Jews. He sought to make them embrace Greek religion. He put a statue of Jupiter in the Holy of Holies and strang lights there on December 25. This was the original Abomination of Desolation. He induced some of the high priests to lead the people into paganism. He murdered and tortured many who would not give up their faith. Under Judas Maccabeus, the Jews resisted and eventually liberated themselves with the aid of the Israelite Parthians [Daniel 11.20-39; Zech 9.13].

The Seleucid realm was eventually smashed with the Parthians taking the east and the Romans the west. Rome would become the King of the North; Egypt and North Africa the King of the South. Antiochus Epiphanes is a very important figure. He is the forerunner of all the dictators and emperors that would come out of the Roman system. Antiochus himself, while Greek, received his political training in that Roman system.

After verse 39 the prophecy leaves Antiochus and skips to the Roman Beast of which he is a forerunner. The prophecy, however, is an ongoing one, like Matthew 24 or Revelation 6. It repeats itself down through the centuries, with Egypt and later the Muslim world assuming the role of King of the South while the Roman Empire succeeded the Seleucid realm as the King of the North:

CycleTwo: From Rome to the Crusades:

The prophecy cycles back to verse16 to pick up the story of the rising power of Rome and trace it all the way down to the thirteenth century. The fulfillments are not as exact, however, as they were under Antiochus or they will be at the very end. They do show an ongoing pattern of Roman , Byzantine, Frankish, and medieval German rule, warfare, and persecution.

Dan:11:16: But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.

Dan:11:17: He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.

Dan:11:18: After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him.

Dan:11:19: Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.

Pompey would march into Judah in 63 BC.

Dan:11:20: Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.

The raiser of taxes was Augustus, who reigned in the glory of Rome and died naturally in AD 14

Dan:11:21: And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

Dan:11:22: And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.

He was succeeded by Tiberius, a vile person whom Augustus originally not wanted as heir. Jesus Christ, Prince of the covenant was crucified during his reign.

Dan:11:23: And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.

Dan:11:24: He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

These verses flash back to the rise of Rome itself, starting with a city-state on the Tiber and eventually entering into the prosperous regions of Asia Minor, Syria, and Palestine. Rome would tax these provinces for the benefit of Italy.

Dan:11:25: And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.

Dan:11:26: Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.

Dan:11:27: And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

Here is the war between Octavian, later Augustus and Mark Antony that ended in the Roman conquest of Egypt and the creation of the Empire.

Dan:11:28: Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.

Dan:11:29: At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.

Dan:11:30: For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

Dan:11:31: And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

The Empire would eventually turn on the Jews in the Jewish War in 66-71 AD. Rome would become the persecutor of Jews and Christians. Under Constantine, however, Roman Christianity became the state religion. In 330 Constantine set up an eastern capital in Constantinople. By the sixth century Justinian had given his power to the Papacy, which persecute the remnants of the apostolic church.

Dan:11:32: And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

Dan:11:33: And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.

All through the Dark and Middle Ages Paulicians, Waldensians and others suffered great persecution for trying to preserve what they understood of the primitive faith.

Dan:11:34: Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

Dan:11:35: And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

Dan:11:36: And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

Dan:11:37: Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

Dan:11:38: But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

Dan:11:39: Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

Dan:11:40: And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

Dan:11:41: He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

Dan:11:42: He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

Dan:11:43: But he 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 steps.

The Crusades of the eleventh and twelfth centuries were a type of this. European armies moved into Palestine and set up the Catholic Kingdom of Jerusalem. They massacred Jews and Muslims, until Saladin finally defeated them.

Dan:11:44: But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.

At the same time, Frederick Barbarossa invaded Polish lands, forcibly Germanizing the population. The Teutonic Knights later fought the Poles and the Russians. Hitler would name his invasion of Russia after Barbarossa.

CycleThree: The Habsburgs: Daniel 11.21-11.45

The pattern repeats itself again in late medieval and early modern times with the Habsburg dynasty.

The House of Habsburg is, unlike the others, a truly European dynasty with branches in many countries. It claims to have a pedigree going back to the Merovingians, the Frankish kings who ruled Europe in the Dark Ages. The name Habsburg means Eagle's, or Hawk's Nest, after their original castle in Switzerland. They eventually became rulers of Austria and, in 1273, Rudolf of Habsburg was elected Holy Roman Emperor.

According to historians Marie Tanner and Adam Wandruszka, the Habsburgs have a long history of devotion to the practice of communion and the Eucharist. They claim it as a dynastic preserve based upon a miracle which supposedly took place in 1264 when Rudolf of Habsburg saw an apparition of the Eucharist. Rudolf lent his horse to a priest transporting the host and refused to remount his horse. The priest then predicted the Habsburgs would rule the world. Other Eucharist miracles later became part of Habsburg lore. The dynasty claimed the Host as its personal preserve. They had a special veneration for the communion sacrament.

In 1273 Rudolf was crowned Holy Roman Emperor after Europe had been without one in the West for twenty years. Historian Wandruszka writes:

'Rudolf is supposed to have looked around him , taken a crucifix from the wall, kissed it , andsaid, "Here is the sign that has redeemed us and the whole world ; let this be our scepter." That the first act of rule of the Habsburg dynasty took place underthe sign ofthecross was laterinterpreted symbolically and prophetically . Contemporaries , who saw Rudolf's elevation as an act of divine providence, reported that during his coronation a white cruciform cloud, shot with red by the morning sun, hovered over the cathedral in Aachen.' (The House of Habsburg, NewYork: Anchor Books, 1965, p. 30.

Maximilian I [1493-1519] secured his own sacramental aura through a miracle earning him the epithet of the New Elijah. Max when dying, prayed, and an angel came to him bearing the Eucharist. Tanner, The Last Descendant of Aeneas, Yale University Press: 1993, pp. 210-211].

The idea began to grow that the Habsburgs, descended from the founders of Rome and the ancient Frankish kings, were blood relatives of Jesus Christ himself:

' Maximilian's interest in genealogical fabrication had provided a basis for such exalted claims, for he joined the Hapsburg blood to Christ's in the common seed of Jesse. This connection was reinforced by the Hapsburg possession of the chalice of salvation , the Holy Grail in which Christ had inscribed his name….The Grail was declared "the inalienable heirloom of the House of Austria."'[Tanner, 212].

The Habsburgs conquered by marriage rather than war [seeDaniel 2.43]

The greatest Habsburg ruler was Charles V [1519-1555]. He ruled not only Austria but Burgundy, parts of Italy, Spain, and most of Latin America. He waged war on the Turks, the French, the Protestants and the Muslims of North Africa …and the papacy itself. He almost united all of Europe under his rule. After he abdicated Philip II of Spain became the most powerful Habsburg, sending the Armada against England. Its defeat began the slow decline of Habsburg power. Between 1618 and 1648 the Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs fought all of Protestant Europe and Catholic France in the most terrible war in history up to that time. The Habsburgs lost and Protestantism survived. The Austrian empire lingered on until 1918, when Karl and his children were expelled and the Habsburg monarchy dissolved. Nevertheless, the Habsburgs have remained alive and well and conscious of their destiny.

The fall of Habsburg power

Classical Rome

Vandals, Heruli, Ostrogoths: these were the three horns plucked up by the 'little horn' of the Papacy. Alternately, they were the kingdoms of the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and Vandals defeated by Justinian's general Belisarius in the 500's. The next four horns were STRONGLY ridden by the 'woman' or Catholic Church and persecuted the saints:

Dan:7:19: Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

Dan:7:20: And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

Dan:7:21: I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

Dan:7:22: Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

Dan:7:23: Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

Dan:7:24: And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

Dan:7:25: And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

This is a dual prophecy. In 325 Constantine made Roman Catholicism the only legal religion, inaugurating 1,260 years of persecution upon those who sought to maintain the simplicity of the apostolic Christian faith. Paulicians, Thonraki, Bogomils, Waldensians and others were persecuted for centuries. Finally the Protestant Reformation tore much of Europe way from Catholic power. When the 1,260 years expired in 1585, Pope Gregory XIII died as the last pope to actively persecute dissenters. One of his last acts was to promulgate the Gregorian Calendar, making it possible to calculate the Biblical Holy Days more accurately. The Dutch revolted from Habsburg rule and in 1588 Drake's fleet and an act of God defeated the Spanish Armada. The Habsburgs would never again dominate Europe. This was a type of the future destruction of the Beast.

Dan:7:11: I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

Dan:7:12: As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

This is quite interesting. The Roman European power would be slain, but the national kingdoms that comprised it would survive as powers in their own right for a season and time. A time is 360 years or days, a season is a quarter of this, 90 years or days. It is curious that 360 years from 1585 is 1945. One season more brings one to 2035. We cannot set this date for Christ's return. He may well shorten the time. What is interesting is that during the period 1585-1945 the revivals of the Roman system are dominated by nationalism. The Habsburgs made one final attempt to impose their dominion in the terrible Thirty Years War of 1618-1648. They were defeated by a coalition of Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Protestant Germany, and Catholic France. The Peace of Westpahlia in 1648 legitimized the nation-state. France then dominated Europe until 1870. Napoleon led the next revival of the Roman system. The Woman rode his system but not very strongly. Napoleon did not persecute non-Catholics. Bismarck led the next revival, a German one. It was completely Lutheran and even persecuted the Catholic Church. Then came the fascist rule of Mussolini and Hitler. Both signed concordats with the Vatican but the real religion of the Axis was nationalism in Italy and Aryan racism in Germany. In Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Vichy France, and Spain, fascism had a strong Catholic/Orthodox flavor and persecution did return. Only at the very end will the woman fully ride the Beast again.

Dan:7:13: I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

Dan:7:14: And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Dan:7:26: But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

Dan:7:27: And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Byzantium

Frankish kingdom

Holy Roman Empire [German]

Holy Roman Empire [Habsburg]

Interlude: The Age of France: After 1648 leadership in Europe began to pass to the nations of Israel. It passed first to France under the Bourbon kings. France is descended from ancient Reuben [Genesis 49.2-4]. The late seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries were a period when France sought to dominate Europe, North America, and India. The birthright, of course, would begin to pass to Joseph. France lost her preeeminence and underwent a revolution which turned violent and atheistic. [v.37-39].

Cycle Four: Napoleon: Round One of World War: Daniel 11.21-11.45

Out of the chaos of a revolution that sought to replace traditional Christianity with the worship of Reason and a ten-day week arose Napoleon. There is evidence that Napoleon, a Corsican. had strong occult tendencies. He became France's greatest general and was perhaps the greatest general in history. Who could make war with him? He had a conscious obsession with Rome. He assumed the title of First Consul when he came to power in a coup in 1800. Before this, he had led a mighty army into Egypt. He would plot against the strongholds of Britain. He would go forth to make away many in Russia and be defeated. He would use the Catholic Church to establish order, restoring its power, but at the same time believed in his own destiny. He crowned himself Emperor of the French, not letting the pope do it. Many in Russia and America saw Napoleon as the Antichrist. He was a brutal tyrant, but often benevolent in some ways. After his defeat in 1815 Prince Metternich of Austria tried to restore the old system, but a wave of revolutions in 1848 brought it to an end and caused Napoleon's nephew to become Napoleon III . The young Napoleon ruled France from 1848 to 1871 and actually became quite liberal at the end. France was no longer preeminent on the continent of Europe. In 1870 Otto von Bismarck united Germany and defeated France

Interlude: Pax Britannica. The war against Napoleon accelerated the Industrial Revolution and helped confer the birthright upon Ephraim/Britain. British power dominated the world between 1815 and 1914. Germany, however, eventually began to challenge that hegemony. Imperial Germany was now the King of the North under its Hohenzollern Kaisers. The name 'Hohen zollern' means 'high taxes' [v.20].

In 1914 nation rose against nation and kingdom against kingdom in a war that began with a terrorist attack. Everyone miscalculated and the mass slaughter of World War I was the result. The Great War killed 10 million people and destabilized Europe, spawning both communism and fascism and paving the way for Adolf Hitler, a truly 'vile person'.

Cycle Five: Mussolini/Hitler: Round Two of World War: Daniel 11.21-11.45

There is a book by historian Desmond Ward entitled Napoleon and Hitler. The parallels between the two men are astounding, though Hitler was much more evil. He also came to power with a small following through flatteries and deals, was a horrible persecutor of the Jews, unlike Napoleon, invaded Egypt under Rommel, and went forth to exterminate Russia. He magnified himself above every god.

During the war both the Nazis and their collaborators used the memory of medieval times in their propaganda. Hitler was pictured as a new Charlemagne uniting the Franks of East [Germany] and West [France] in a new Holy Roman Empire. Many Catholics opposed Nazism but some, like the writer Alphonse de Chateaubriant in France and Monsignor Mayol de Lupe, chaplain of the French SS Division 'Charlemagne' saw Hitler as defender of Christianity against the Hun and Mongol hordes of Stalin to the east. The notorious Milice which hunted down Jews and members of the French Resistance saw themselves as a new order of medieval chivalry. In Belgium, the fascist leader Léon Degrelle [who died in Spain in 1994] headed a movement, Christus Rex, which became both Nazi and Catholic. He eventually became commander of the SS Walloon division. He made much of the fact that he was born in Bouillon a town in southern Belgium where the medieval Crusader and ruler of Jerusalem Godfrey of Bouillon came from. In his propaganda he adopted the Cross of Burgundy and made much of the fact that the Belgians were the descendants of the medieval Burgundians. Spain sent a division to fight in Russia, invoking the language of the medieval Spanish Crusaders. In eastern Europe the Croatian and Slovak regimes were openly Nazi and Catholic. The Croatian Ustasha massacred and forcibly baptized Jews and Serbs. The Romanian Iron Guard of Horia Sima was a religious order as well as a political one. It called itself the Legion of the Archangel Michael, glamorized theRoman legions, and massacred Jews in the name of religion, as did the regime of Marshal Ion Antonescu. The Hungarians were more liberal. They tolerated the Jews until the Nazis occupied Hungary in 1944. Nevertheless, their propagandists spoke of Hungary ruling the Balkans under the crown of St. Stephen in partnership with Germany and Italy. Mussolini's propagandists in the early years of the war hoped Italy would share power equally with Germany and head a New Rome of Catholic fascist states.

Interlude: Pax Americana: WorldWar I , The Great Depression, and World War II shifted the balance of power in the world to the USA/Manasseh . Since 1945 it has dominated the world in Britain's place. Just as Britain fought a long Cold War of containment against Czarist Russia, so America fought one against Communist Russia. The European Union, Japan, China, and the Islamic world are rising up to challenge American hegemony.

Cycle Six: The Reign of the Beast: Round Three of World War: Daniel 11.21-11.45

The King of the South: The philosophy motivating Al Qaida and Saddam Hussein stretches back to the Islamic Holy War of the Middle Ages. It is destined to provoke a reaction in Europe. Bin Laden and his followers are obsessed with the medieval Crusaders who invaded Palestine. They will, ironically, help bring them into being.

The King of the North: There are in Europe movements and individuals waiting in the wings inspired by their own medieval mythology. This includes the new radical right parties like the National Front in France and the Freedom Party in Austria. Jean-Marie Le Pen and Joerg Haider both talk of a Europe menaced by Muslim invaders as it was in 732. In eastern Europe, once ruled by the Turks and with its Albanian and Bosnian Muslim populations, this thinking is even more blatant. Corneliu Vadim Tudor of the Greater Romania Party obtained 30% of the vote in a recent Romanian presidential election. His role model is Dracula. Let us not forget Slobodan Milosevic, obsessed with the memories of Kosovo 1389 when the Turks subjugated the Serbs. The Middle Ages have already returned in the Balkans.

One movement, though, that has always deserved watching is the 77-year old Paneuropa Union. It was founded in Austria in 1924 by the Austrian Count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi. It sought the creation of a united European which would be strongly Roman Catholic and aristocratic in nature. The movement was supported by a number of statesmen and intellectuals in Europe in the 1920's but it lost momentum when the depression and the rise of Hitler intensified European nationalism.

During the war Count Coudenhove fled to America. Here he met the young Otto von Habsburg. Otto had been born in Vienna in 1912 and grown up as a baby on the knees of his grandfather, the aging Emperor Franz Josef and his father, Karl. When the Austro-Hungarian monarchy collapsed, Karl and Otto fled to Switzerland and then to Spain. When Karl died, Otto became heir to the Habsburg throne in 1922. During the 1930's Otto became a strong opponent of Nazism, though not of a more Catholic version of fascism supported by the Austrian governments of Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt von Schushnigg. Otto fled from Europe when the Nazis invaded France in 1940. He came to America where President Roosevelt befriended him. The Habsburgs, down through the centuries, have always had a strong sense of their destiny. They still do today. One author, Geoffrey Bocca, in 1959, remarked that Otto 'seems to live for a time beyond the present'. In the 1950's, when monarchy was often seen as an outdated joke, the pretenders of Europe would make fun of Otto: 'is he still planning to revive the Holy Roman Empire?'. The reality is that the Habsburgs, like many of the Islamic fundamentalists, think in terms of centuries. A reading of Otto's many books, written over the last fifty years, makes this very clear. From the very beginning he has been inspired by the vision of a European superstate recreating the Holy Roman Empire. In 1957, he openly said that the crown of the Holy Roman Empire was the one symbol that could unite Europe. After he renounced his claim to the Austrian throne, he substituted the vision of a strong European President who would rule in the DeGaulle manner.

After the war Otto returned to Europe. He was practically a stateless person. He lived in Germany on the Austrian border, because republican Austria had a law which forbade the Habsburgs, who all but created Austria, from living there. Eventually Otto renounced his royal claims. Anyway, he had found a new fatherland: Europe. He was a member of the Paneuropa Union which resumed its activities after the war. Otto became its leader in 1966 when Coudenhove died. Otto married a German princess and has raised several children. His son Karl now leads the Austrian Paneuropa Union and is married to the daughter of a rich German industrialist, his younger son Gyorgy is active in the Hungarian government. Otto himself became a German citizen in 1978 and, with the support of the Christian Social Union of Franz Josef Strauss, his political ally, was elected to the European Parliament in 1979. Otto served as German EuroMP for twenty years. His son Karl, eventually elected for Austria, served from 1994 to 1998.

The prophecies of the King of the North meet their final fulfillment when a powerful European union rises up to dominate much of the world, revive the Roman Empire, launch a Crusade into Palestine, persecute recalcitrant religions, and like Charles V, exercise dominance in the Western Hemisphere. It will be the climactic and most powerful embodiment of the Roman system. It will inaugurate the worst reign of persecution ever, in the form of the Great Tribulation. Its ruler will probably begin as an absolute president who will proclaim himself Emperor. It seems that the final Beast will make use of the various occult and Catholic prophecies that inspired the Habsburgs:

Dan:8:23: And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

Dan:8:24: And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

Dan:8:25: And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.

It will eventually attack eastward as Napoleon and Hitler did, likely with helicopter borne armies and chemical weapons. [Rev.9]. The Russian Asian forces will counterattack as they did in the days of Attila, Genghis Khan, Nicholas I [1812-13] and Stalin.

Epilogue: The Return of Jesus Christ

Following these events Jesus Christ will return and set up the Kingdom of God. It may take, if the prophecy in Daniel 7 about a season and a time is dual, perhaps a year and a quarter for the nations of Europe, defeated at Armageddon, to acknowledge Christ's rule. They will do so quickly. In Ezekiel 38, several years into the Kingdom of God, we find them, plus the Japanese, friendly to Israel as the forces of Russia, China, India, and Persia are preparing to attack Palestine:

Ezek:38:13: Sheba, and Dedan,[among the Germans today] and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, [Japan] shall say unto thee[Gog ..the Asian power], Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

Christ will supernaturally defeat the Asian power and lead the way for the full coming of the Millennium.