End Times Series
Daniel Chapter Eleven
By Liaf
Up to this point, we’ve seen that Antichrist would come from one of the four regions of the Grecian Empire. After Alexander the Great died, his kingdom was divided amongst his four generals. Two became dominant: the Ptolemies of the South (Egypt) and Seleucids of the North (where Syria, Iraq and part of Iran is today). Daniel chapter eleven deals with these two regions (and kings) which have both historical and end time applications. If we can see which of the two is Antichrist, then we’ve pinned down what part of the Grecian Empire he will come from. In addition, I will also show other passages form the prophets that give further verification as to where Antichrist will originate. Turn with me to your King James Bibles to Daniel chapter eleven verses 21 onward.
Daniel 11:21-23: 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.
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.
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
In a nutshell, the Antichrist will come on the scene as a smooth talker---- no doubt will be the "answer" to all the problems facing our world and especially in the Middle East. He will be militarily mighty and will start off with a small group of henchmen. When we get to Revelation chapter 6, we shall see the same "white horseman" who comes in with a bow but no arrow. This shows a man of military ability and power, but not entering forcibly. Watch out for "smooth talkers" in other words. This guy will wins hearts and minds with his charisma. The Kingdom, of course, is the ten-nation confederacy in end times that we’ve already discussed. However, conflict soon follows (both here and as Revelation 6 states). Verse 22 regarding the "arms of a flood", etc. has parallels to Daniel 7:8 where Antichrist subdued three of the ten kings of that confederacy.
Daniel 11:24-27: 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.
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.
Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.
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.
There are three main things that this next passage points out regarding Antichrist: he takes great spoil (because of his conquests), he is at odds with the (Egyptian) King of the South, and lastly, even at conference tables they lie to one another during their negotiations. At this point, we know that the "King of the South" is involved, but who (and which portion of the Grecian Empire) is Antichrist? More on that soon. Let’s continue.
Daniel 11:28-31: 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.
At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
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.
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.
We are near mid-Tribulation here. Antichrist is becoming richer and richer with spoil, but ships from the west threaten him (Kittim was originally associated with the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean). Whatever the origins of these ships (and I will not get into detail right now), this threatens Antichrist and as far as I can see, this is a contributing factor that sets him off to do that "abomination" thing in the temple that takes place mid-Tribulation. Psychologically speaking, maybe the threats make him see the need to assert his power more. Who knows what will go on in the mind of Antichrist?
Daniel 11:32-35: 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.
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.
Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
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.
In short, this is what will happen. Those whose hearts are not aligned with the holy covenant will be tricked by flattery by the Antichrist. He will have a very reasonable excuse why he desecrated the temple, and many will fall for that. The righteous will see through the charades and instruct many others in the ways of righteousness and what is happening. These same people will be severely persecuted as the previous chapters of Daniel already pointed out.
From Daniel 11:36 onward is surely about the Antichrist. Up to this point, there were parallels with Antiochus Epiphanes. However, prophecy often has double fulfillment, and we shall see in these next verses that this continuation is definitely speaking of the same person. Also, verse 36 onward has not been fulfilled in Antiochus Epiphanes.
Daniel 11:36-37: 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.
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.
This is an arrogant character. He even exalts himself above all other "gods". He thinks he is a god.
Daniel 11:38-39: 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.
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.
In short, his "god" (if he has one) is military might. And he lives for gain and plunder.
Now the last portion of Scripture identifies who Antichrist is. However, we must understand that as we read this passage, there are two characters, not three. The misunderstanding that many people have is that the "him" pronoun in these passages refer to Antichrist while two kings push against him (thus they think there are three characters). In fact, the pronoun keeps switching back and forth between kings. I will insert my comments in the brackets next to the Scripture to demonstrate what I mean. In addition, I will give an actual example in real life where this phenomenon happens.
Daniel 11:40: And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him [i.e. Antichrist, who is King of the North]: and the king of the north [the first "him"] shall come against him [i.e. the King of the South] 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.
Thus, Antichrist is none other than the "king of the North" from the old Seleucid portion of the Grecian Empire. Antiochus Epiphanes was a prototype from the same region that had his version of the abomination. Geographically, this is where modern day Syria, Iraq or Western part of Iran is located. Before I continue, let me also state that Antichrist will be "Assyrian" as stated in Isaiah 10:24. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. The returned people of Israel in their land had a seven-year covenant with Antichrist if you remember from the last message. He desecrates the covenant and temple halfway into the contract and Israel must flee into hiding. This end time passage clearly identifies the Antichrist as Assyrian who persecutes them after the manner of Egypt because as we’ve seen, Antichrist has ongoing conflicts with Egypt. There are several other passages that identify Antichrist as being Assyrian, and geographically this fits in well with the region of the Seleucid Empire. Now there are some that teach the country of Germany is "Assyria" from migrations just as we teach that Britain is the tribe of Ephraim from their migration. Therefore, they reason, Antichrist must be from Germany and from that region. What we must realize, however, is that Antichrist is one person who very well could come from the geographical region of ancient Assyria. As a matter of fact, we shall see later in Revelation where that idea is supported. We must not get so wrapped up in "Lost Tribes", migrations or whatever that we totally disregard the lands that these folks originated. Just because I believe the vast majority of Israelites reside in the isles does not mean there are none in the land of Israel. Likewise, so what if Germany is Assyria? That does not exclude the possibility that one Assyrian lives within the original geographical boundaries of ancient Assyria (or at least has some strong ties or origins there). The ancient Roman Empire encompassed vast amount of land, and many countries will be involved, but only one Antichrist who heads them all. Now before I continue with the last passage, there may be some that disagree with my "pronoun switching". We do it all the time. Suppose there are two coworkers arguing with each other, and I was telling a third party what took place. I may say something like: "Alice and Marsha were really fighting. Then Alice picked up a piece of pie she had with her lunch and threw it at her. Then Marsha took some yogurt and threw it at her." You see, only two characters are identified. The "her" is identified as the other character that is not named. In the one instance, the "her" is Marsha, and the next instance the "her" is Alice. Likewise, only the King of the North and the King of the South are identified in this passage. Let’s conclude this chapter of Daniel:
Daniel 11:41-45: 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.
He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
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.
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.
And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
Antichrist’s last days are concluded with a furious rampage against many countries (especially Egypt and some surrounding nations), but three escape. Again, some people see Edom, Moab and Ammon as other nations that migrated as Israel did. However, we shall see that those people in Judea (as Jesus foretold) were to flee to the wilderness (outskirts) when they saw the "abomination" taking place. Again, the geographical regions of Edom, Moab and Ammon are indicated. Who knows when end times will be? Even if other nations came from Edom, Moab and Ammon, there is no saying whether they will be positioned again geographically where they once were (or at least a portion of their population). Likewise, no matter how many "Lost Tribes" there are, at least some of the people from each of these tribes must return to the land of Israel at the time of the end. This is so that the temple can be rebuilt and the 144,000 from each tribe can be sealed as Revelation teaches. However, it is my opinion that only some of the Israelites will return to the land before Christ comes under their own sense of nationality. I believe that at Christ’s Second Coming he will round up the rest for a greater mass return. Whether my readers realize it or not, this "Lost Tribe" claim was the basis for many non-Jewish people to justify their return to the land of Israel, and for awhile it worked. Lately, the question has been asked, "Who is the Jew?" in an attempt to limit the mass number of people who make claim on the land of Israel. Perhaps some of those were people from the Lost Tribes, but others undoubtedly used that as an excuse.
In the end, notice that tidings from the East and North will trouble Antichrist as armies muster for that great Armageddon scene. There is a similar passage in the end of Revelation and that is how one can connect this with Armageddon. They will attempt to make war with each other (as well as Israel) that force Antichrist to pitch his military headquarters between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. Ultimately, he will come to his end, and as prophecy says, not by humankind, but the victorious Christ himself.
Although I will not elaborate in this message regarding Daniel chapter 12, if we continue reading we see end time resurrection and judgement themes. These themes will be dealt with in detail when we study Revelation. For now, we have a good background involving Empires, Antichrist’s origins, and Antichrist’s Modus Operandi. This will give any person (that missed the rapture) a good starting point as to what to watch out for. Of course none of us will miss the rapture, I hope.