Last week we went into the part of Daniel 11 that is completely historical. Up until verse 20, everything fit perfectly with the historical record. Verses 21 through 24 appeared to fit with the rise of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. But, from verse 25 onwards, we began to see that this prophecy isn’t about Antiochus.
Of course, we knew that this would happen because Daniel 11 is a warning about the coming of the Antichrist. So, there would need to be differences between Antiochus and the Antichrist.
But, why are there similarities?
As Isaiah 28:13 says, so that the rebellious would “…fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.”
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Daniel 11b – A Biblical Overview of Daniel, Part 10
Remember that the purpose of Daniel 11 is to show us where the Antichrist comes from, what he does, and how he does it. However, there is another purpose – to lead astray those who seek to rebel against God. If you wish to take the precious words of God and twist them into a shape that you find more attractive, God has provided a way for you to do that.
Here’s what Isaiah says about this:
12 To whom He said, “This is the rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,”
That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught.
– Isaiah 28:12-13 (NKJV)
If you wish to rebel against God, He will provide a way for you to do so. And, as we see more of what the Antichrist does, the rebels among us will tell themselves that we are wrong and that this is Antiochus IV and not the Antichrist.
So, let’s continue where we left off last week, and talk about the King of the Negev and an Israel that is not at all like what we see today.
The King Of The Negev And A Badly Damaged Israel
Notice also who the Antichrist is fighting against:
The King of the South
Yes, he eventually turns against the ‘Holy Covenant’, but that’s only AFTER he starts his war against the King of the South.
Where is Israel’s military in all of this?
Seemingly nowhere.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) does not appear to be anywhere in this story. The IDF – if it still exists – seems unable to oppose the Antichrist as he moves up and down the eastern shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea. And, it should be absolutely clear that his army is also marching back and forth through the choke point at Har Megiddo – where the Battle of Armageddon will eventually be fought.
Unless you can find some way to prove that the King of the South is Israel, the Land of Israel that we know today, will not be the Land of Israel that we will know when the Antichrist rises. This doesn’t mean that Israel has ceased to exist, but it does mean that she is not strong enough to stop the Antichrist from moving through the Galil (aka, Galilee) and the coastal plain where Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Netanya and Caesarea are located.
This is pretty strong proof that something bad happens to Israel BEFORE the Antichrist arrives. And, we see an indication of terrible tragedy, here:
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
– Zechariah 13:8 (ASV)
That would certainly make Israel unable to stop the Antichrist from attacking the King of the South. The fact that northern Israel cannot oppose the Antichrist is strong evidence that Gog and Magog has happened BEFORE the rise of the Antichrist.
Oh, and who is the King of the South?
I once thought that this was Egypt, but that is definitely not the case. Later in Daniel 11, Egypt is referred to in a way that is different from this ‘King of the South’. And, in Hebrew, ‘King of the South’ is actually:
מלך הנגב
Melech haNegev (ch as in Bach)
King of the Negev
The word for ‘south’ in Hebrew is normally דרום (pronounced: dah-rome). Negev is also used in the Bible to mean ‘south’, but it literally means ‘dry’. Nagav is the root, and it means ‘to dry’. And, the driest part of Israel, is the wilderness area of southern Israel that everyone calls The Negev.
Is it possible that the political center of Israel shifts southwards?
When Gog and Magog comes, there will be a massive earthquake that knocks everything down. The cities along the Mediterranean Sea will be destroyed. Every building of any size around the world will be knocked down. And, Ezekiel’s Fire will knock out all the electricity. Just look at that earthquake described in Isaiah 30:25. Nothing is left standing, anywhere.
The point is that all the infrastructure that currently exists along the Mediterranean coast will be useless for a long time after Ezekiel’s Fire hits the Earth. And, it might be those areas in southern Israel like Be’er Sheva that actually survive this cataclysm better than areas farther north. There is even prophecies that describe a shift in weather patterns, bringing more rain to the south, turning the Negev into a fertile plain. But whatever the cause, the Israel that we see today, will not be the Israel that the Antichrist will invade multiple times.
Something drastic will change the political face of Israel, and even the geography.
And, with the increased agriculture in the Negev…
Could it be that the political center of Israel shifts to Be’er Sheva?
Think about all the places in the Hebrew Scriptures that talk about the wilderness flowing with water. Isaiah 35 talks about this in verses like this:
1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.**
2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.
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6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
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10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Remember that Isaiah also talks about an extreme political event that happens in Isaiah 19. Egypt will one day join in a confederation with Israel – along with a new entity called Assyria. So it might make sense for the political center of this new confederation be located in The Negev. You can read more about that, here:
Isaiah 17 And 19
https://whengogcomes.com/13-isaiah-17-and-19.html
My hope is that you will begin to realize that the world at the time of the rise of the Antichrist, will look a lot different than the world that we see today. And, that is something very important to understand. Not only do you need to be ready for the time when the Antichrist comes, you also need to be ready for the massive devastation that will happen BEFORE the Antichrist comes. I call that massive devastation, Ezekiel’s Fire. And, you really, Really, REALLY need to be ready for that. But, let’s get back to Daniel 11.
Again, this massive change to Israel, points directly to Gog and Magog happening BEFORE the Antichrist rises.
Gog CANNOT Be The Antichrist
So again, in verse 30, the Antichrist makes a second attempt to invade the King of the Negev, and the Chittim navy stops him. As a result, the Antichrist gets mad at the Holy Covenant. And this is when he makes a serious investment in conspiring with those who leave the Holy Covenant – the apostates.
Here’s verse 30 again:
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.
– Daniel 11:30 (KJV)
The KJV uses the word ‘indignation’, but the Hebrew word is much stronger than that. It’s זעם (zah-am), and it means ‘wrath’ or ‘rage’. Also, the word ‘intelligence’ is also a little bit incorrect. The word is יבן (yah-ven), and it’s a part of the same root as the Hebrew word for ‘understanding’ – מבין (mah-veen).
So, when the ships of Chittim block his invasion, he flies into a rage and starts conspiring with those who are apostates. And, these apostates have forsaken…
Wait…
…The Holy Covenant.
There’s a Holy Covenant in Israel BEFORE the Antichrist?
BEFORE the Antichrist rises, there will be a Holy Covenant. This means that Israel is led by those who are followers of God, who are obedient in every way.
Again, this is BEFORE the Antichrist.
And no, this will NOT be Judaism. Judaism is a synthetic religion formulated after the fall of the second temple as a way to get around the inability to properly sacrifice, AND to keep Jewish men and women from becoming Christian. If you live in Israel long enough, you’ll figure this out.
The Rabbinic Judaism that sprang up in the first and second century AD, is not anything close to a ‘holy covenant’. But, it’s bigger than that.
Is it possible to have a holy covenant that is different than the one paid for by Jesus on the cross, and sanctified by His Blood?
Let me make this point as clearly as possible:
JESUS IS THE ONLY COVENANT!!!
If you think that there is any other way to salvation, except through faith and obedience in Jesus Christ, you are not a Christian. There is only one eternal sacrifice that paid for our sins. That covenant was made in His blood and sacrifice. Adding the blood of bulls and goats would be blasphemy.
Therefore, the Holy Covenant in Daniel 11:30 is faith in Christ.
That’s right, Christians. Israel, at the time of the Antichrist will be followers of Christ, like you and me. Israeli Christians that are faithfully worshiping God in the area of the Middle East where the Antichrist will run around in. These Israeli Christians do not begin their Life in Christ after the Antichrist. They begin their Life in Christ decades BEFORE the Antichrist. And, I can’t help but point out here that Ezekiel 38 and 39 show that Israel doesn’t join the Holy Covenant until AFTER Gog and Magog has been destroyed. Not before.
Gog and Magog is destroyed.
After that, Israel accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior.
It’s that simple, and it is absolute and undeniable proof that:
Gog is NOT the Antichrist.
So, let me say again – Gog just cannot be the Antichrist, especially, since Gog DIES during the Battle of Gog and Magog and is buried. The Antichrist is NOT buried, but is cast alive into the Lake of Fire. Nor have we seen any battles that look like the coming of Gog and Magog in Daniel 11. So, let’s keep going.
To summarize this point:
Gog cannot be the Antichrist, because Daniel describes an Israel that has accepted Christ BEFORE the Antichrist rises.
Ezekiel and Zechariah describe the salvation of Israel AFTER Gog is destroyed.
For more on that, look at a summary of reasons:
Why Israel Must Be Saved BEFORE The Great Tribulation
https://whengogcomes.com/10-why-israel-saved-before-great-tribulation.html
Some BAD Arm Seeds
Here is what appears to be the best translation for the next verse:
Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.
– Daniel 11:31 (NASB)
However, the phrase ‘forces from him’ is interesting:
וזרעים ממנו (oo-zro-eem mee-meh-no)
When I first saw that phrase, I thought “SEEDS!” And yes, זרע (zeh-ra) means seed. But… not in this case. I was looking at the wrong Hebrew root for this word. Here’s the correct root:
זרוע
(zro-ah)
It means arm, and everyone has two of them – unless you’ve had an accident. It also means tentacle, so any octopus that is reading this will have a lot more than that. (Just sayin’)
So, these arms will come from the Antichrist, defile the building of the holy place, stop whatever worship of God that is happening there and then set up the Abomination of Desolation. And, this isn’t the Antichrist doing it directly. It is these ‘arms’, plural that are doing it.
Hebrew is specific when it comes to word agreement. Plural nouns have plural verbs. Singular nouns have singular verbs. So, this isn’t the Antichrist (singular) doing this. It’s these arms (plural) that are setting up the Abomination of Desolation.
The Abomination Of Desolation
Now, notice that phrase, Abomination of Desolation. The Hebrew is this:
השקוץ משומם (ha-shee-koots meh-sho-mem)
Where did we hear of this before?
Right here:
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
– Matthew 24:15-18 (ESV)
And, right here:
Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?”
– Daniel 8:13 (ESV)
Here’s Daniel 11:31 again:
Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.
– Daniel 11:31 (NASB)
It’s clear that Daniel 11 and Matthew 24 are talking about the same moment in time. And, Daniel 8 is so close that you need to assume that it is also the same moment in time. The only difference for Daniel 8:13 is that Gabriel says ‘transgression’ instead of ‘abomination’. But, abomination is always transgression, and transgression is always an abomination.
So, I think that we must conclude that…
Jesus was talking about BOTH Daniel 8:13 and Daniel 11:31!
SIDE NOTE:
WHAT is this Abomination of Desolation?
We are used to assuming that this is the Antichrist himself, but now that I’ve looked at Daniel 11 more closely, I don’t think so. Remember that the Book of Revelation talks about an ‘image’ that people are required to worship. The setting up of a statue or image seems to fit better than just having the Antichrist stand there. Ultimately, we’ll see it, when it happens.
Whatever this Abomination of Desolation is, it means that verse 31 is at the beginning of the persecution phase of the Great Tribulation, and verses 32 to 39 confirm that with a description of persecution – as well as a discussion of what the Antichrist does. And, it all conforms to what Revelation says.
The Great Tribulation
Daniel 11:32-39 is a terrible account of betrayal, persecution and great suffering. Apostate Christians will betray those who follow Christ. Christian men and women will be imprisoned and killed. The Antichrist will blaspheme God and place himself above Yehovah and all other gods. He even places another god, a god of fortresses, above other gods. And, he will use this god against the strongest fortresses.
What is this new ‘god of fortresses’ that the Antichrist will use as a tool to defeat those who continue to stand against him?
I could give you theory after theory about what all that could be, but that would be meaningless. I would undoubtedly get all of those theories wrong, and divert your attention from the main point. All that we know is that it’s new, and useful.
Oh, and one more thing. And, this extra bit is important. This passage in Daniel about the Great Tribulation describes an important outcome for all Christians who go through this time and stay faithful:
Purification
Given enough time and enough prosperity, Christians become corrupted. The history of Christianity is full of churches that started out well, and ended up falling from grace. And, right now, Christians in the developed world are a horrifying mess. We have corrupted ourselves so badly, that I wonder how many of us are still in Christ.
We need to be purified. And, if we don’t choose purity now, God will impose it upon us. I believe that Gog and Magog will be a time of purification. The coming of the Antichrist will be the last one.
But, let’s get back to looking at the Army of the Antichrist.
The Place Of Escape
Then, in verse 40, the King of the Negev attacks again and loses badly.
40 “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. 41 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 11:40-41 (NKJV)
In response to the attack by the King of the Negev, the Antichrist hits back, invading Israel in verse 41 and taking over Egypt and lots of Africa in verses 42 and 43.
(NOTE: Antiochus Epiphanes DEFINITELY does not do this.)
But, who escapes from being conquered by the Antichrist?
Most of what we call the Kingdom of Jordan
After rushing about and capturing so much territory, the one place that he doesn’t get to, is the mountainous area to the east and southeast of the Jordan River. And, one reason why he can’t, is that he runs out of time, in verse 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.
– Daniel 11:44 (ESV)
All of the above adds detail to what we see in Revelation 12:
14 And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream. 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus:
– Revelation 12:14-17 (ASV)
So, the news that the Antichrist hears from ‘the east’ and ‘the north’ in Daniel 11:44, might be a message from his people, saying that there are Christians that are defying and even rising up against him. And, this news happens just at the right time, before he can destroy the Christians fleeing from Jerusalem and Judea. The Israeli Christians escape to a place of safety, and the Antichrist can’t do much about them.
Now, claiming that verse 44 is about Christians defying him, is speculation. There could be any number of reasons for why ‘news from the east and the north would alarm him’. It could be a disgruntled political faction. It could even be a group that’s upset over Allah or Muhammad or Buddha being blasphemed. But, since the Antichrist hates Christians more than any other group of people, I feel like the best explanation would be one that points to Christians defying the Antichrist in the north and east. But, as always… we’ll see when it happens.
Why Jezreel
Then, in Daniel 11:45, the last verse of the chapter, the Antichrist is destroyed.
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 11:45 (NKJV)
In the original Hebrew, ‘plant’ is literally a verb that you would use when describing how you would insert seeds into the ground for the purposes of growing a plant. So, the Antichrist PLANTS his tent between two seas and TO the glorious holy mountain.
Not ‘in’.
‘To’.
The Antichrist firmly places his tents – yes, tents – BETWEEN two seas and TOWARDS the ‘glorious holy mountain’. Most translations garble this verse badly. They say that the Antichrist puts his tents in/on/at Jerusalem, but that’s not what it says.
A careful look at the original Hebrew – along with a little triangulation – makes it pretty clear that the tents of the Antichrist are in the Jezreel Valley, which is where the Battle of Armageddon will be fought in Revelation 16. And, the destruction of Damascus would be one of the reasons why he would choose Jezreel. I get into what happens to Damascus, here:
Isaiah 17 and 19
https://whengogcomes.com/13-isaiah-17-and-19.html
Damascus has always been the best location for a regional capital for the Levant – the area of land directly east of the Mediterranean Sea. Conquerors of Syria, Jordan and Israel have always placed the regional capital for the area, at Damascus. There was plenty of water. It was at the crossroads for what is modern-day Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Arabia and Africa. Everything going back and forth overland between Europe and Asia and Africa, had to go through Damascus. Yes, there were other routes, but you had to be insane to use them.
The other thing about Damascus is that it was a great place to put an army. It was the perfect staging area for invading other provinces, or defending the provinces that you had. But, when Damascus is destroyed with its source of water eliminated, you can’t put your army there. You have to put it in a similar location.
And, that’s why the Antichrist chooses to put his palace in the Jezreel valley.
Armageddon is at the entrance to the Jezreel valley, and it will be the place that the ‘Kings of the East’ will rush to, in hopes of rescuing the Antichrist from the armies of heaven.
This finishes chapter eleven. However, the prophecy isn’t finished until we get to the end of chapter 12. We are all looking forward to the Resurrection and the Rapture, and that’s what Daniel 12 talks about. But, there are a few ‘mysteries’ in that chapter.
Lord willing, we will get to that, next week.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
שאלו שלום ירושלים
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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you… Hosea 4:6
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Keep this ministry alive with a donation.
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I created five Android Apps that will help you read through the Bible in a Year. You can find them here:
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If you miss my rantings about geopolitics, idiocy, resource collapse and incompetent globalism, follow me on Twitter.
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