40 “At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train. 44 But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. 45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him. Daniel 11: 40-45 ESV
Daniel 11: 40-45 Son of Perdition
A couple of Links from Ezekiel 38 that will help with this passage:
At the time of the end - This is an eschatological reference that among other things points to the last week of years and the final antichrist. He is not Antiochus as some believed, for Christ points back to Daniel's description showing it to be a foreshadowing, that another would come. We have also seen differences between the two in their religious views, the final antichrist will not regard the gods of his fathers, yet Antiochus did pay tribute to the gods while the final son of perdition believes in forces, military might and technology. Antiochus was given a 2300 day rampage and came from the four horns of Greece, the final antichrist will have 1260 days to blaspheme and he comes up from among the 10 horns of the Roman empire.
…3Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “ Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.” 5But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water,… 2 Peter 3: 3-5
1But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. 2For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,… 2 Timothy 3: 1-3
The king of the south shall attack him - In earlier bouts, Israel was stuck between the battling kings of the north (Syria) and South (Egypt), which were from the division of the Greek generals that came after Alexander the Great. You had the Seleucid empire in the north and the Ptolemy's in the south. Before Rome comes in and takes over you have Antiochus, who sacks Egypt once and goes back again to be met by and emasculated by a representative from Rome. He returns and throws a temper tantrum on Israel, killing those who don't agree with him, feeding pork to the Jewish priests, it is a holocaust. All that has already happened and been recorded for history, but much of it will happen again, and the holocaust will be worse than anything seen as yet. In Ezekiel we get a picture of the end times, and it is somewhat shrouded in mystery because of the ancient names given for the north, but we see that there is an alliance between the northern kingdom and some of the Arab nations, Persia, which is in the area of present day Iran, along with Ethiopia and Libya. Looking closely at verse 6 from Ezekiel 38, we note that it is not just the king of the north, or from the north, but "from the far north", which among other things gives credence to those that argue for Russia or that region, which would also explain the mystery here. At this point they are attacking the Antichrist, rebelling against the one who has stood up on the world stage to be it's leader.
Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you. Ezekiel 38: 1-6
The king of the North - Who is the King of the North? Commentators speculate that this might be Russia, but I think one cannot be dogmatic. Those who are living in the end time will undoubtedly know clearly to whom this refers to as they view current events on CNN! One gains little by attempting to speculate too much on the exact meaning of some the clearly future events described in Da 11:40-45. I agree with Kenneth Gangel who says "If the angel intends to stay with his imagery from the beginning, the Antichrist may find himself battling Egypt and Syria. But one arriving at such a conclusion with any amount of dogmatism does so only to his or her peril." - Precept Austin
Overflow and pass through - Most commentators believe this "he" to be a pronoun referencing him, the Antichrist, that he deals with and conquers in this confrontation with the king of the north and south.
He will enter countries, overflow them and pass through - Like a flood flows through the land, this metaphor pictures his military might as overwhelming the enemies. As to who the "he" is in this passage, there is some disagreement, but the context would still seem to favor that this pronoun refers to the Antichrist. - Precept Austin
Secondly, his conflict. Verse 40, he’s doing all right. He’s sitting on the pile, ruling the whole show. Probably we’re in the first three-and-a-half years of the tribulation, although it’s hard to pinpoint all of these things in Daniel’s prophecy. And he’s having a great time, dominating the world. At this point, he lets the false church coexist. He allows Israel certain freedoms; he protects Israel. He’s got the world in his dominion. Verse 40, then the conflict begins. “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.” Stop there. You know what that is? That’s a revolution. Up ‘til now, everything’s been fine. But holding such a massive global empire together is an impossible task. Even hell can’t pull it off. Even hell won’t cooperate with itself, and the hellish system begins to disintegrate.
The Antichrist has come in peaceably. He has perhaps solved problems in the Middle East. He has become the protector of Israel. And then it all begins to fall apart. There’s an insurrection. The time of the end I believe would be during the tribulation. And as you move to the middle of the tribulation, it begins to happen. The king of the south and some African army, bigger than just Egypt but perhaps involving Egypt, a mass moves in. I hasten to add that little by little peace by peace bit by bit with a few exceptions Africa has been targeted for a total takeover, and they’re putting the pieces together. And certainly in the end time if they want that particular strategic location of Israel, they’re gonna get involved in the battle. So this great southern confederacy pushes, and the word push there is a word that means to push like a goat, or to attack. - J Mac
He shall come into the glorious land - The Antichrist enters Israel. It is the beautiful, the glorious land, for it is here and through this people that God has revealed His redemptive plan, the Seed of the woman was born here and paid the price for my sin. It is the navel of the whole world, the center of His Story.
…5and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. With an uplifted hand I said to them, ‘I am the LORD your God.’ 6On that day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands. 7And I said to them: ‘Each of you must throw away the abominations before his eyes, and you must not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’… Ezekiel 20: 5-7
Edom, Moab and the main part of the Ammonites - These are left untouched to the east of Israel, and some say because there is nothing there but Bedouins, that Antichrist doesn't waste his time on them. Yet, we also must remember that these may too play a part in God's redemptive plan. This could be the mountainous region to which the prophet refers, and the place to which the eagle takes the remnant for safety. Edom was from Esau, the brother of Jacob, Jacob God renamed Israel. Moab comes from the children of Lot, who was the nephew of Abraham. There are also ties between Moab and the lineage of Christ coming through Ruth.
…46Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; for your sons have been taken into exile and your daughters have gone into captivity. 47Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab. Jeremiah 48: 46-47
…5Behold, I am about to bring terror upon you, declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, from all those around you. You will each be driven headlong, with no one to regather the fugitives. 6Yet afterward I will restore the Ammonites from captivity,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 49: 5-6
15So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.… Matthew 24: 15-17
The land of Egypt shall not escape - Unlike the time of Antiochus, when Rome delivered Egypt, this Antichrist will devastate the king of the South and take control of the wealth.
The Libyans and Cushites will follow in his train - The Antichrist is very persuasive, and like Antiochus will reward those who take up his part. These nations have been depressed for centuries now, but in recent times have become the interest of some rising powers, one of which is an economical titan. China has put a large port in Ethiopia, Russia has for a long time wanted more access to the Persian gulf and Mediterranean. Both Russian and China have formed alliances with Iran. Pakistan and Afghanistan have recently announced cooperation with China, seeing it as the force that will bring them into the modern age. There is a vacuum in this region now due to Americas clumsy withdraw from Afghanistan, and there are massive countries looking for resources like oil and lithium which can be found here in abundance. Oh, and Cush is another name for Ethiopia.
But news from the east and the north shall alarm him - He has conquered, but apparently the king of the north is regrouping and partnering with the East. Like I said, China is putting a lot of money and building a lot of infrastructure in this region, so it's interests are high. It's hard to say if they will be in league with the king of the north, but that will be abundantly clear to those living in that time. They are the only country with a military ground force of the size discussed in Revelation, but it is an area that is hard to be dogmatic about because of all the spiritual references.
…11and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores; yet they did not repent of their deeds. 12And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East. 13And I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.… Revelation 16: 11-13
…15So the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 16And the number of mounted troops was two hundred million; I heard their number. 17Now the horses and riders in my vision looked like this: The riders had breastplates the colors of fire, sapphire, and sulfur. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths proceeded fire, smoke, and sulfur.… Revelation 9: 15-17
He shall go out with great fury - Unlike Antiochus he goes up against this force and wins. He goes against every force in the world, religion, armies, leaders, everything. His is the epitome of a generation bent on self love, egotism, desiring to be worshiped and served. How dare these people come against him. He desecrates the temple and sets up his throne in Israel and calls himself god, but it is a short term, he goes no further than God has stated, his boundaries are set.
Get the picture, verse 43, he’s sitting there, he’s got it all in control. He has desecrated the temple. He’s devoured all religion. He is god. And then something happens in verse 44. “Tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him.” What’s going on? What’s going on in the north? Well, I believe it’s likely that they’re gonna come back. They’re gonna regroup. Verse 44: “He shall go forth with great fury,” – the Antichrist – “to destroy and utterly sweep away many.” You know what happens? He wins again. After all, he has Satan on his side, and most of hell is cooperating. And verse 45: “Then he plants the tabernacle of his palace between the seas.” The Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea are the seas that would be known to Daniel. “Between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea in the glorious holy mountain.” And what mountain is it between those two seas? It is Zion, the place of the temple, the city of god. He sets up a temple and sets himself up as god, and he has won two great victories, and now I believe we’re nearly at the end of the tribulation.
By this time, Israel is devastated. In these battles, Israel has been wiped out; two out of every three are dead. Is it over? Is that the way history ends? Look at the end of verse 45, the third point, his condemnation. “Yet,” I like that word, don’t you? “Yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him.” That’s all it says. You want to know how it happens he comes to his end? I’ll tell you how it happens. Just as soon as he is finished with his apart of Armageddon and the blood bath in which he’s victorious, the Bible says in Revelation 29 Jesus Christ comes out of the sky with a sword going out of his mouth. The Bible says that he will be slain with the sword that comes out of the mouth of Jesus Christ. You see he’s no match when he meets God's true king. He may have been a match for the king of the north, the king of the south and the king of the east, but he’s no match for the Lord Jesus Christ. - J Mac
Palatial tent - Something resembling a palace.
Yet he shall come to his end - Christ comes back for what rightfully belongs to Him. He has paid the redemption price.
…14The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses. 15And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.… Revelation 19: 14-16
1This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem: 2In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3And many peoples will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.… Isaiah 2: 1-3
Gangel observes that "Megiddo, mentioned twelve times in the Old Testament (Josh. 12:21; 17:11; Jdg 1:27; 5:19; 1Kgs. 4:12; 9:15; 2Kgs. 9:27; 23:29, 30; 1Chr. 7:29; 2Chr. 35:22; Zech 12:11), lies on a major highway connecting Egypt with Syria. No one can say with certainty that Daniel 11:45 and Revelation 16:16 indicate the exact geographical site of the final battle between good and evil, but no interpretation makes any better sense (Ed note: Gangel like many identifies Armageddon as a "battle" when it is more accurately a campaign or a war - see Campaign of Armageddon). Daniel's angel seems to say that the great world leader finds his final defeat right there (Holman Old Testament Commentary - Daniel)
And then that lawless one (the Antichrist) will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming (as described in Rev 19:11-20 - see below) (2Thes 2:8)
And I saw the beast (the Antichrist) and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast (the Antichrist) was seized, and with him the false prophet (Beast #2, "another beast" of Revelation 13 - Re 13:11, 12, 13, 14-note) who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. (Rev 19:19-note, Rev 19:20-note including discussion of the "Lake of Fire"). - Precept Austin
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