Daniel 11:40–12:3

“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. 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. 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. But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 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.

“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.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting contempt.

“Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever.”

“At the time of the end” means the end times, not Antiochus Epiphanes’s end. The last sentence of the first paragraph does not match how he died. Antiochus died in Persia, not between the seas and the glorious holy mountain (i.e., Israel). Antiochus didn’t invade Libya or Ethiopia either.

We learn little of importance here about how the antichrist will wage war on earth. Details, like that the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels, aren’t particularly significant. That he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many is no surprise to anyone.

But the spiritual battles in the heavenly realms are much more alarming—and interesting. Michael is identified as the archangel who stands watch over the sons of your people (Israel). His “standing up” just means he can’t sit this one out. That means they’ll need his help. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. The last nine lines are too much to repeat here but each one is a treasure. Deliverance is sure but determined by who is found written in the book.

There will be a great resurrection, and a final judgement.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.