Prophecies of Daniel 11, Part 19

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Let’s finish this series up with this post, all right? Our last part – installment number 18 – took us through Daniel 11:43. There are two verses left in that chapter, so without further ado, let’s see how this epic miniseries ends! Remember, all of this relates to only one chapter in Daniel, chapter 11.

“But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him,” Daniel 11:44-45

Talk about an ignominious end, but such is how the Antichrist finds his end. This is an interesting scenario. The first part of the above text tells us that Antichrist will hear some rumors that will upset or disturb him. Conservative scholars believe this is a reference back to Daniel 11:40, which tells us of the fact that both kings of the South and North will come out against him.

“At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through.”

Much of the Old Testament – the Hebrew Bible – is written as a form of poetry. This type of poetry is not the type that rhymes, which most of us are familiar with in the west. Hebrew poetry has many forms and one of the ways in which the writers of the Old Testament wrote is to say the same thing from a different perspective. I believe that this is what’s happening here. Starting with verse 40, we learn that while Antichrist musters his forces and troops to concentrate on keeping the physical return of Jesus from happening (talk about hubris!), two earthly kings come together as one to attack their common enemy, Antichrist. But notice that both verses 40 and 44 speak of this and the actions of Antichrist that follow. In both verses, though he is attacked (or heard that he will be), he responds with tremendous anger and goes from one country to another conquering and decimating the people there. Verse 40 tells us that he will “overflow them and pass through.” Nothing stops him, at least not by way of human endeavors. He appears unstoppable.

Once he has completed that, expending a good deal of his energy conquering people that were intent on conquering him, he then fixes his gaze on the “beautiful Holy Mountain.” This is a reference to the Temple Mount or Mount Moriah. It is also likely that Antichrist has his headquarters near or in Jerusalem by this time as well.

Verse 45 of Daniel 11 tells us that he “pitches” his tent, (makes his headquarters), between Jerusalem’s the Temple Mount and the Mediterranean Sea. The last portion of Daniel 11:45 informs us that something happens to bring about the end of Antichrist. The text says, “yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.” What’s happening here? Why does no one help him?

Let’s answer the last question first. No one helps him because he is largely hated by all. Seven years earlier (at the beginning of the Tribulation period), Antichrist was hailed as a hero to the world because he was able to bring about “peace” in the Middle East (cf. Daniel 9:27). Many U.S. presidents have tried and consistently failed to broker peace. They all wanted to be seen as the peacemaker to the problem between Jews and Arabs. The problem is that these were not the men who were destined to do that. That man’s time had not yet arrived. It is still in the future.

As we learn in Daniel 9:27, peace is brokered by the Antichrist (the first Seal of Revelation 6) and the world celebrates! True peace for at least seven years! However, by the middle of the “week” or final seventh year, Antichrist shows his true face by replicating what Antiochus Epiphanes IV did in 168 BC. At that point, Antichrist will take his seat in the rebuilt Jewish Temple and desecrate it, recreating an “abomination of desolation” that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24. This abomination of desolation will be real, it will be physical, and it will be visible. In fact, it is very likely that seconds after Antichrist goes into the Holy of Holies, that act of defiance will be televised throughout the world and across the Internet. At this point, the Jews who put their faith in him (for peace), will realize what they did and run to the hills, where God will protect that remnant for the final three and a half years of the Tribulation. This is all in the book of Revelation.

It will be after this that his wrath will be taken out on anyone who does not worship him as God. He just finished desecrating the rebuilt Jewish Temple and remains alive. Therefore, he will proclaim himself to BE God (2 Thessalonians 2). Anyone who fails to acknowledge that will be put down.

Right now, there are five categories of people throughout the world, with three of those categories waiting for the Messiah. First, there are Christians who await Jesus to return to this earth in judgment. Second, there are orthodox Jews who await a Messiah for the first time, not realizing that Jesus already came. Third, there are New Agers who await to New Age Maitreya. Fourth, Muslims await the Final Mahdi. Fifth, there are atheists who wait for nothing.

When Antichrist arrives, he will be seen and welcomed as Messiah by many Jews (“the many” of Daniel 9:27), the Final Mahdi for Islam, the New Age Maitreya for New Agers, and little more than a curiosity for atheists. Christians alive during that time have the necessary discernment to understand that this Antichrist is not the Christ, but an impersonator. They will reject him and at the midway point of the coming Tribulation, will receive the brunt of his wrath because the Jewish remnant will have escaped his grasp.

By the time the world gets to the near-end of the Tribulation, Antichrist will probably be hated by quite a few. Certainly, the hatred that both kings of the South and North will harbor will give them the strength and courage necessary to commit to an all-out attack against Antichrist.

So how does Antichrist come to an end? What happens? Let’s look at a few sections of Scripture as we draw this series to a close because Daniel 11 ends on such a great note. Rev. 19:19-20; cf. Zech. 14:1-4

“And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army,” Revelation 19:19

This verse has the apostle John speaking as he views the unfolding events at the very end of the Tribulation period (again, the final “week” of Daniel 9). John literally sees what he understands is the “beast” (Antichrist) with all of his earthly troops lined up for battle. John knows that the beast and his armies are gathered in a paltry attempt to keep Jesus from returning to the earth, physically (Him who sat on the horse and against His army). Jesus is going to return physically to this planet and nothing will keep that from happening.

It would appear that Daniel 11:45 is telling us, as verified by Revelation 19:19, that Jesus Himself is the One who brings Antichrist to his end. I absolutely love the phrase “and no one will help him” at the end of verse 45. It will happen so quickly, so powerfully, that no one will be able to help Antichrist even if they wanted to and I can’t believe that many (or any) will want to help.

Revelation 19:20 finishes the story for us.

“And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet 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.”

Paul tells us that this Antichrist will be destroyed by the very breath of Jesus during His return (2 Thessalonians 2). He will then be seized and tossed into the lake of fire, along with the false prophet. It is interesting that the one who is behind both of these individuals – Satan – is not seized with them. By the way, this clearly takes place in another realm or dimension because the lake of fire does not exist as far as we know in our dimension. We are talking about the realm of the dead. Though the text says they were thrown “alive” into the lake of fire, it does so because human beings cannot completely die. There is no going out of existence after death. Our living souls simply move from this dimension to the next one. Only our physical bodies in this realm actually die.

Antichrist is gone. The False Prophet is gone. Jesus has returned. He will then set about to judge all the nations of people alive on this earth when he returns. Then, He will prepare His earthly Kingdom where He will reign for 1,000 years before He is done and then He will destroy this earth and its heavens and create new ones. From that point, eternity future will begin.

Daniel 11 is one of the most fascinating chapters in all of Daniel and much of the Bible. It provides details that could have only come from God as He stooped to teach us part of His plan and to prove His sovereignty.

I hope this was beneficial to you. I hope you learned something. I certainly did and I’ll be back with more from Daniel soon. In the meantime, I pray that our God would open your eyes to show you how blessed you are in Him!

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective