Daniel 11 & 12

Credit where credit is due, the historical aspect of this chapter in the book of Daniel was researched and put together by Eschatology in the Prophecies of Daniel website, more specifically, their study on Daniel 11. Unlike some of the other studies, I will be inserting the historical response to the different verses in-line to prevent repeating too much. I would also like to thank Ryszard Ewiak for his input on the history. It’s absolutely amazing how accurate the Bible is in prophecy. We should expect the future end to happen just as scripture says. This prophecy was given in the third year of Cyrus. Daniel 10:1

I’ve excerpted Daniel 11-12 below without verses as it was originally. If you would like to read it with verse numbers and inline Hebrew definitions, read it at Blue Letter Bible. I am not an historian and the references of historical events will likely be from a mix of Wikipedia and other sources I will reference. On certain things I do not trust Wikipedia to be accurate, but when it comes to secular history, I’m a little more willing to accept the information presented. If there are any errors in the histories presented here, please let me know.

Esther to Antiochus

Narrative Shift: Antiochus to Antichrist

I believe from verse 36 on, scripture is referring to the time of the end yet future. Verse 35 places the timing “even to the time of the end,” leading me to believe what follows is at the time of the end, yet for a time appointed. Furthermore, Daniel 12 that follows goes on to describe in greater detail the time of the abomination of desolation, tied also with Revelation 12:7-17 and the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2.

I view Antiochus IV Epiphanes as a foreshadow of the man of sin. Given the historical match that appears to exist, it’s interesting that we seem to see a quick transition to the time of the end if we follow the flow of the passage. Just as Daniel 8 details the rise of Antiochus out of one of four kingdoms, here we’ve seen a more detailed view of that political rise and the infighting between the king of the North and South. It may be this transition also hints at some future political events and battles that will be coming in the future. Continuing with Daniel 11:36...

If you have not already, I would recommend reading Chris White’s free book online False Christ as it goes into this very well and specifically the Wars of the Antichrist, which I agree the following passages speak of up to the abomination of desolation yet future in Daniel 12:1. He also has 3 more free books and a documentary here that I highly recommend.

Description of the Future Antichrist

I believe this is another description of the abomination of desolation, when the man of sin doesn’t put up an altar, but sits in the temple of God claiming to be God.

He will be given power for 42 months, or 3 1/2 years until what has been determined is done.

We see he declares himself above all gods and honors a foreign god of strength that makes him strong. He honors this god whom he acknowledges and respects and increases his glory. The idea of increasing his glory would require observance of others to join in recognizing that glory, essentially growing the followers of this foreign god who gives strength and power to the king.

Wars of the Antichrist

Verse 40 again clarifies that this is at the time of the end, however it still uses the term king of the South as it did previously for the battles between the Ptolomaic Kingdom (South) and the Seleucid Empire (North). It should be noted that the references to the king of the North and king of the South were not single rulers as it occurred over a period of time through successive rulers. Therefore in the same way we should interpret the king of the South to be related to the old Ptolemaic Kingdom, modern Libya and primarily Egypt.

Likewise the king of the North would represent the area of the Seleucid Empire, considerably larger, but including parts of modern Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, and Pakistan. This king of the end times is the king of the North and so we would expect that modern Egypt would push at him.

In the paradigm of the Jewish Antichrist, the king of the North, the man of sin, would be the leader of Israel. In the wider scope of the politics of the end shown in the visions of Daniel and John, this leader would be part of a ten-nation alliance. It would likely be this alliance that is part of the confirming of the covenant with many for one week, the 70th week of Daniel. We also know that 3 leaders of the 10 nation alliance are plucked up/fall before the little horn/leader that comes up from the 10 leaders.

It seems as though something happens that causes Egypt to attack the king of the North and he responds quickly and decisively, flowing through the attackers like water and overthrowing many countries, Egypt explicitly stated as not escaping. It also says that the Libyans and Ethiopians will be at his steps(H4703 - in his footsteps/company). So perhaps these are also part of the 10 nation alliance and they assist in going after Egypt or I’m misreading this and they are about to be attacked next.

During this campaign, news from the Northeast cause him to quickly change course and with great fury, destroy and utterly destroy many. Who is to Egypt and Israel’s Northeast?

Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city and has never been made a ruinous heap. However, this passage seems to prophecy its destruction and strong cities being forsaken because of the children of Israel. I can’t prove the relation obviously, but in my studies this came to remembrance so I’m including it.

Excerpt from Chris White’s free book False Christ

“Daniel 11:40 is the first verse in this section about the wars of Antichrist:

At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.

The “king of the south” is a reference to Israel’s historic enemy, Egypt, and has been used to refer to Egypt throughout the first part of this chapter. This point is not contested by many; in fact, the word “Egypt” even appears explicitly twice, a few verses later, in a passage that speaks of the subjection of Egypt to the Antichrist:

He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. (Daniel 11:42–43)

It is interesting to see that Egypt attacks the Antichrist first (verse 40). And, even though Antichrist completely subdues Egypt, that nation’s aggression toward him is worthy of noting, and will be important when we study Islamic eschatology in later chapters.

Conservative expositors and scholars debate the identity of the “king of the north,” another conquest of the Antichrist (verse 40). During the Cold War, it was proposed that the king of the north was Russia. However, that view seems to have been based more on the geopolitics of the day rather than on any clue from the text itself. These days, it is generally accepted that the king of the north represents the same thing it has throughout the earlier portion of the chapter, which includes parts of modern-day Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, and a few others. For more on this, I recommend the excellent paper by Dr. J. Paul Tanner, “Daniel’s ‘King of the North’: Do We Owe Russia an Apology?” ¹ Dr. Tanner concludes his paper this way:

To be hermeneutically consistent, the “king of the North” ought to be interpreted in light of the meaning the phrase has had throughout the chapter…. I would like to submit that the “King of the North” is a confederation of northern Arab nations that will attack the Antichrist and his forces in this military conflict centered in the Middle East. ²

So, to sum up the first part of this passage, the Antichrist is attacked by Egypt and a northern coalition of Arab states. But, even though he is attacked first, he completely crushes these historic enemies of Israel, subdues them, and takes their resources.

A quick word on the idea that these are the “historic” enemies of Israel: Not only are these two groups (Egypt and this cluster of Arab countries) consistently “bad guys” in the Bible, they also are specifically said to be destroyed and subdued by the Messiah during the Messianic Age (Isaiah 11:16, 19:23–25, and 27:12–13; Micah 7:12; Zechariah 14:18–19). This suggests that the Antichrist is attempting to fulfill these prophecies. At the very least, it would be very tempting for a Jewish person to believe that the person who finally destroys their incredibly antagonistic neighbors and forces them to capitulate to Israel is at least a strong candidate for the Messiah.

Why isn’t the fact that the Antichrist will destroy and subdue the enemies of Israel talked about more in modern prophecy teaching? The answer is that it doesn’t fit with most of the modern views of the Antichrist. Why would the Antichrist—who, they think, is either a man of peace or a Muslim—destroy the Muslim world? It doesn’t fit with many of the mainstream views, so almost no one dwells on this passage.

The Antichrist Enters the Glorious Land

The next part of this prophecy gives even further proof that the Antichrist is knowingly attempting to root out all the enemies of Israel and fulfill specific prophecies about the Messiah (though many people view the next few verses in exactly the opposite way): “He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon” (Daniel 11:41).

Most commentaries I have read interpret this to mean that after the Antichrist conquers Egypt and the other Arab countries, he enters Israel to attack the Jews as well. However, not only does nothing in this text suggest that he is attacking Jewish countries, but I believe the verse explicitly says the exact opposite is happening. This verse indicates that the Antichrist is entering Israel not to conquer the Jews, but the parts of Israel that are held by Israel’s enemies. In other words, after the Antichrist’s macro conquests of the main enemies of Israel (Egypt, Iran, etc.), he then enters Israel to mop up the micro enemies of Israel that are their immediate neighbors, like the Palestinians.

This is most evident by the fact that the three places mentioned in verse 41, Edom, Moab, and Ammon (all of which are Arab nations today), “escape” from the Antichrist’s hands. The only reason to describe these enemies as “escaping” is to show that they were being pursued by the Antichrist in the first place. These groups, too, are consistently mentioned as being conquered in the Messianic Age. Also note that the passage says that Antichrist enters the Glorious Land and overthrows “many countries”—a phrase that certainly makes sense if he is attacking other non-Jewish countries in and around Israel like Edom, Moab and Ammon.

Modern Israel holds a very small portion of the land as defined in Genesis 15:18–21, or the land conquered by King David (see map). It is of the utmost importance to realize that several prophecies in Scripture say when the Messiah comes, He will conquer the whole land of Israel—including, for example, the coastlands that are currently Palestinian-controlled (such as Gaza).”

Leadup to/and the Abomination of Desolation

This portion of scripture focuses on the transition from the wars of the antichrist to him actually becoming the antichrist, declaring himself god and demanding worship, and the last 1290 days of the 70th week of Daniel. It is also connected to Revelation 12 and there are actually many similarities between the visions given to Daniel and John prophetically.

Excerpt from Chris White’s free book False Christ

“The Post-War Resurrection of the Antichrist

The next two verses in Daniel 11 that we have been studying are extremely important. Their significance has often been overlooked due to an unnecessary chapter break between Daniel 11:45, the last verse in the chapter, and Daniel 12:1:

Daniel 11:45: And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

Daniel 12:1: At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. (emphasis added)

In chapter 2, I alluded to my belief that these two verses show that the Antichrist “coming to his end” must refer to his dying as a result of the “mortal head wound” mentioned in several places (see Revelation 13:3, 12, and 14) from which he eventually recovers in what seems to be a miraculous resurrection. In other words, I don’t believe that the mention of the Antichrist coming to his end in Daniel 11:45 is speaking of his final end at all. I stated that one of the reasons for believing this is that the next verse, Daniel 12:1, starts with the words, “At that time,” which chronologically connects the following events to the previous verse. Daniel 12:1 continues by saying: “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time…”

This means the Antichrist coming to his end just after his conquest of the enemies of Israel is directly followed by Michael “standing up” and the beginning of “a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time.”

So disregarding the chapter break, we see the connection to the end of the wars of the antichrist, the restrainer Michael heading to heaven to cast out the dragon, Revelation 12:7-17, and the unparalleled time of Jacob’s trouble that we know follows the abomination of desolation at the revealing of the man of sin.

This chapter begins with a time of unparalleled trouble in all of history. This is the “time of Jacob’s trouble” that Jeremiah and Christ spoke of. We know they are connected because each one of them makes the declaration that the time they are speaking of is so terrible that it is unrepeated in all of history. Three scriptures laying claim to an unparalleled time must connect all three of those times as the same time. If you read the time of Jacob’s trouble Bible study, you will see just how connected Jeremiah 30:4-7, Daniel 12:1, and Matthew 24:15-22 | Mark 13:14-20 are. Another important piece of information Daniel 12:1 reveals for us is the identity of the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2, Michael the archangel. So in the first verse of Daniel 12, we have an order of events.

We also have more information about what makes the world wonder after the beast at this time.

The delusion God sends is to reinforce the deception the dragon is perpetuating on the earth during this time of trial. Who will fall for the deception and who will have relied on God’s Word to protect against deception?

Time of the Reign of the Beast and Wrath of the Dragon

Here we are given the timeframe that it is during the final 3½ years that the dragon will be given power scatter the power of the holy people, those who keep the faith and do not worship the beast or take the mark. This period starts at the man of sin’s reavealing at the abomination of desolation, is given power by the dragon, and goes after Israel in Judea. This is the start of the hour of temptation that will come, to the Jew first and then upon the whole world.

This is also the start of the dragon’s wrath and we know he will only be stopped by Yeshua when He retruns in glory at Armageddon and casts the beast and false prophet into the lake of fire and locks the dragon in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. Revelation 19:20-20:3 Therefore we know that 3½ years, or 42 months after the abomination of desolation, Christ will return to take the kingdoms.

There are two more time periods of exact days mentioned in this Daniel 12 in the last half of the chapter.

1,290 Days: The Scope of Daniel 12:11

It must have been difficult for Daniel to have all these visions and their interpretations yet not understand their meaning. He’s told it’s for the time of the end, but also a quick sentence that covers all of history to that point of the end. The good will be purified and tried and the wicked will do their wickedness oblivious and unable to understand God’s plans, but the wise will understand. John 15:15 I believe the words are unsealed now as I believe we are nearing the end. We can understand a great deal more now and so our understanding of the mysteries of God are more revealed than they were in Daniel’s time before so much of our history had occurred.

I believe Daniel 12:11 is a pivotal point of understanding to see how the exact day prophecies of Daniel and John create the framework of the 70th Week of Daniel. However, while the 1,290 days specified have a beginning event, the abomination of desolation, there is no ending event to say exactly what this time frame contains. So can we determine from scripture what the scope of this passage is? And what will that tell us about the future? There are 1,290 days from the abomination of desolation to when? We know several things that must be taken into account with this verse.

Taking into account those time frames listed above, in order for scripture to not contradict itself, the 1,290 days must mark the time from the abomination of desolation to the end of the week because the dragon gets power for 1,260 days and Israel is protected from the dragon for 1,260 days. We know that the dragon, through the beast, does get Israel for a short time.

The only way to remedy this apparent contradiction is with the understanding Daniel 12:11 brings, the abomination of desolation and stopping of the daily sacrifice occurs 30 days before the exact middle. This leaves, at most, 30 days from the abomination of desolation for Israel to be attacked by the dragon as prophesied, yet still be protected from him for 1,260 days in the wilderness. In this way, the whole council of God is in agreement and there are no contradictions. 2/3 of Israel is cut off and killed, Zechariah 13:8-9, and yet 1/3 remnant is still protected. Revelation 12:14 In the Jewish Antichrist paradigm, the cutting off may be related to those individuals choosing to be the unfaithful harlot that worships the beast vs. the faithful Israel that flees the beast. Romans 11

Since Israel’s protection began after the start of the reign of the man of sin and extends for 1,260 days, Israel will remain in the wilderness for a short time of around 30 days after Christ has defeated the armies at His return. Since the 70th week of Daniel revolves around God dealing with Israel, it cannot be over until the decreed times are completed meaning that the 1,290 days that begins at the abomination of desolation ends marking the end of the 70th week of Daniel and the completion of God’s redemption as Israel is brought out of the wilderness.

Different Periods in Daniel 12

The great tribulation Christ spoke of in Matthew 24:15-22 ends 1,260 days before the end of the 70th week because it is specifically for Israel and Israel is protected for the final 1260 days of the 70th week. Revelation 12:14

Daniel 12:6-7 presents a question/answer:
Question: “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?”
Answer: “...it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”
The power of the holy people is scattered within 1,260 days. (Daniel 7:25) This is the same time period of the antichrists reign before Christ’s return in glory. From the AoD to Christ’s return, the power of the holy people will be scattered. The antichrist is given power over everyone on the earth who isn’t taken before God’s wrath.

Daniel 12:8-11
Question: “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?”
Answer: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
From the AoD to the end is 1290 days. The question is about the end of these things and the answer is given in the number of days from the AoD. That means the end is 1290 days after the AoD. This is not centered on the scattering of the holy people, but an event in which the antichrist reveals himself. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 When does this time period end? 1290 days after the AoD.

There are two time periods with different subjects attached to them. Daniel 9:24 gives us the scope of the 70 weeks prophecy. In that time, one of the conditions to the completion of the 70th week is “to seal up the vision and prophecy.” This means the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in Christ’s return, the resurrection of Revelation 20:4-5 and the sealing of Satan for the millennium. If this is sealing up the vision and prophecy and finishing the 70th week, then the end of the wonders in Daniel 12 would be that same finishing point when prophecy is sealed up, completed.

I also believe that verse 13, “But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” may suggest the resurrection of Revelation 20:4-5 when all the dead in Christ who were not caught up will be resurrected and standing in their lot. I believe the first resurrection of Revelation 20:4-5 may be the last day of the 70th week. The transition of God dealing with Israel as a nation will end at the point when all true Israel is resurrected and alive for the Messianic Kingdom.

I also think this may be a very Jewish promise to “stand in thy lot” since Israel was promised the Promised Land and during the Messianic Kingdom, that promise will be fulfilled completely. The bride of Christ and Gentiles in general aren’t promised earthly land as Israel. I think the Bible is pretty clear on this and when taken into account with everything else, it still fits. Rather than having no framework defining the end of the 1,290 day period, I believe the end-time is marked by the subject of the whole last days, the 70th week of Daniel. That’s when I believe the 1,290 days ends.

The Cutting Short

To make one final point on this period, I just want to clarify that this unparalleled time in all three cases mentions that time being cut short. Since the dragon is given power for 3½ years, we know this is not the time considered to be cut short.

What this tells us that it is not the time of the dragon’s wrath, the great tribulation, that will be shortened from 3½ years. It is the time of Jacob’s trouble that will be shortened, the time the dragon is going after Israel in Judea just after the abomination of desolation at his revealing. This is phase 1 of the time of great tribulation.

Phase 2 is that time after Israel is taken from Judea and protected in the wilderness from the dragon. This is the great tribulation that the church of Thyatira is thrown into. Revelation 2:22 The final 1,230 days of the antichrist’s rule is the great tribulation for those who weren’t protected in the wilderness who are Jewish and those who hold the testimony of Christ. Only then does he spend the rest of his 3½ years going after Jews and Christians globally. And since his time and Israel’s protection from him are both 1,260 days that must exist in a 1,290 day box, it follows that phase 1 would only be about 30 days long. This is when I believe Yeshua comes for His bride and seals the 144,000 in the wilderness before the wrath of God begins.

1,335 Days: Blessed are Those Who Wait

This gives an additional 45 day period after the 1,290 days attached with a blessing. I believe that is the marriage supper of the Lamb, Revelation 19:9, where God presents His bride to the guests. Read the study on the ancient Jewish wedding tradition and see how that lines up with Matthew 25:1-13. This timing would be 45 days after the end of the 70th week, providing time for the newly resurrected from Revelation 20:4-5 to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb and meet the bride of Christ when she is presented there according to tradition.

Knowing the facts from scripture above and understanding the abomination of desolation is in the midst of the week, I believe the timeframe is from the abomination of desolation to the end of the 70th week as Daniel 12:11 lays out:

The Last Resurrection

This is opposed to the first resurrection. Here Daniel’s vision seems to jump to the end of the Messianic Kingdom 1,000 years later as we see both the righteous and unrighteous being resurrected.

Daniel 11-12: Persia to Antiochus to Antichrist