Daniel Chapter 11 – The Most Detailed Prophecy In The Bible Of The 2520-year Period Known As The “Times of the Gentiles”

In our previous articles we examined Daniel Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 which provides a general outline for the SEVEN TIMES (or 2520-year) period known as the “Times of the Gentiles.”  That is, it is a time period when Jerusalem would be trampled by Gentile empires centered around the Mediterranean Sea.   Chapter 7 detailed the rise of four great empires (Babylon, Medo-Persia Greece and Rome) followed by the final “Little Horn” empire which was to trample on Jerusalem for a period of “42 months” or 1260 literal years.   Daniel Chapter 8 provided more specifics on the rise of the Little Horn and how it was able to come about as a result of the ongoing conflicts between the peoples of Greece and Persia, that is the wars of both the Byzantine and Sassanian Empires left them exhausted and vulnerable to the growing rise and spread of Islam.    Daniel Chapter 9 provides an outline for the calculation of the Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who was to arrive within 490 years after the rebuilding of the second temple.  But little known to most prophecy scholars today, is that Daniel 9 outlines the 2520 time period of the “Seventy Generations (70 weeks)” of Jewish Diaspora who would be scattered among the Gentile Nations until the fall of the Little Horn and the Abomination of Desolation, standing visible on the Temple Mount today.   Thus, Daniel 7, 8 and 9 all provide great details of the time-frame of 2520-year and 2300-years of Gentile Domination and scattering of the Jews.  However, Daniel Chapter 11 provides to us some amazing details of events that were to occur during this 2520-year period known as “The Times of the Gentiles.”   No other prophecy in the bible provides as much details to events set to occur throughout the course of future history.  It is primary this prophecy in Daniel that provides the “icing on the cake” into confirming the validity of Daniel (and the Book of Revelation as well).  Skeptics who claim Daniel was written after the fact at the time of the Maccabees will claim most of these events were already known in the second century B.C. when they claim is was written.  The same is applicable for the Preterist interpreters of prophecy, who believe the “Abomination of Desolation” referred to in these scriptures of Daniel refer to Antiochus Epiphanes. We shall see in our analysis that this is not the case, and is a common misinterpretation of the text. However, Daniel 11 is thought to be one of the most difficult chapters in the bible to understand. Let’s examine Daniel 11 verse-by-verse from the King James Version Bible.

Daniel Chapter 11 Analysis

Daniel 11:1 – “Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.”

The introduction of Daniel 11 places the start of the prophecy during the 1st year of Darius the Mede. This is a critical note which can be used as the starting point for the 2520-year period in which we will measure the “Times of the Gentiles.” Darius the Mede is first mentioned in Daniel Chapter 5 in the story of Belshazzar’s feast. Recall from our study of Daniel 7 that the “writing on the wall” prophecy of “MENE, MENE, TEKEL and PARSIN” adds up to a value of 2520.  This clue is another allusion to the “seven times” prophesies of Daniel 4 and Leviticus 26. So we can measure the timing of our countdown at approximately 553 B.C.E when the fall of the empire of the Medes is recorded in the Babylonian inscription reporting that the Median king had been conquered b y Cyces the Great (“Cyrus, king of Anshan”).  This would be the first appearance of Cyrus on record, and details the rapid rise of the Persians.    The critical clue provided in Daniel 5 confirms the “Times of the Gentiles” from the transition the Persian Kings:

553 B.C. + 2520 = 1967 A.D

This is an amazing fulfillment of the “writing of the wall” prophecy of Daniel 5 and the “Seven Times” scattering of the wilderness prophecy of Daniel 4.   For Daniel 11 will describe events by the ruling Gentile Nations leading up to the recapture of Jerusalem by the Modern Nation of Israel, ending Gentile Domination of Jerusalem for the first time in over 2500 years!

Daniel 11:2 – “And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.”

The historical fulfillment of this verse is documented by the Persian Kings:

1. Cambyses II (530-521 BC)
2. Smerdis (521 BC)
3. Darius I (521-485 BC)
4. Xerxes (486-465 BC)

Xerxes excelled in wealth and power and also launched and invasion against Greece and lost that war.  This aligns with the prophecies of Daniel 7 describing the Persian Empire as the Bear, and Daniel 8 associating it with the Ram.

Daniel 11:3 – “And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.”

This prophecy details the rise of Alexander the Great who reigned between 336 to 323 BC.  This aligns with the prophecy of Daniel 7 with the rise of the Leopard beast and Daniel 8 with the rise of the He-Goat empire.

Daniel 11:4 – “And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.”

Alexander’s kingdom was divided into four kingdoms after his death:

1. The kingdom of Macedonia,
2. The kingdom of Pergamus,
3. The kingdom of Syria and Palestine – Selecus
4. The kingdom of Egypt – Ptolemy I

This division and breakup into 4 separate kingdoms was also prophesied in Daniel 7:6 and Daniel 8:8.

Daniel 11:5 – “And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.”

The King of the South is initially referred to as Ptolemy I (305- 283 B.C)

The King of the North is initially referred to as Seleucus I (305-281 B.C.).   He also once served under Ptolemy as “one of his princes”

Daniel 11:6 – “And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.”

Ptolemy II gave his daughter Berenice in marriage as an alliance to his rival Antiochus II (251-246 BC).  Antiochus returned to his ex-wife Laodice.   Laodice poisoned Antiochus and murdered Berenice so that her son Seleucus II would rise to the throne.

Daniel 11:7 – “But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:”

Berenice’s brother Ptolemy III (246-222 BC) is called a “branch of her root”.  After her murder he launched a war agains Seleucus II (246-225 BC).

Daniel 11:8-9 – “And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land”

Ptolemy gathered 40,000 talents of silver, 4000 talents of gold and 2500 idols from the Syrians and carried them back to Egypt.

Daniel 11:10-11 – “But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.”

Seleucus III (225-223 BC) succeeded Seleucus II.  He raised up an army and launched a campaign against Attalus I. Seleucus III was assassinated after a brief two-year reign. His younger brother, Antiochus III (“Antiochus the Great”, the new King of the North – 223-187 BC)) succeeded him and gathered an army and marched against (the King of the South) Ptolemy IV (221-205 BC) of Egypt.

Daniel 11:12 – “And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.”

Ptolemy IV, his heart being lifted up after his victory in Palestine, sought to enter the Jewish temple. The Jewish nation resisted him, so he had “tens of thousands” put to death.

Daniel 11:13-16 – “For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.”

The King of the North, Antiochus III, returned again to fight a war against the Ptolemies.  Antiochus took possession of the “glorious land”, or Palestine. The battle of Panium (198 BC) saw the end of Ptolemaic power in the Holy Land.

Daniel 11:17-19 – “He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.”

The King of the North, Antiochus III, gave his daughter Cleopatra in marriage to the King of the South Ptolemy V.  Cleopatra eventually turned against her father.  Antiochus then turned towards Asia Minor but was defeated by teh Romans in 190 BC. Antiochus was killed after making peace with Rome, thus he was to “stumble and fall” to be found no more.

Daniel 11:20 – “Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.”

Verse 20 is considered by some to be Augustus Caesar (63 BC to 14 AD), the first Roman Emperor who taxed the Jews as recorded by Luke chapter 2.

However, recall our analysis of Daniel chapter 8 that the Byzantine-Sassanian wars led to the rise of the Little Horn.  When we skip ahead that as the result of those wars, both the Byzantines and the Persians were left crippled.  Persia was plunged into several years of dynastic turmoil and civil war. The Sassanian Empire was also suffering economic decline and heavy taxation and religious unrest.  The Byzantine Empire was even more severely affected with it’s financial reserves now gone from the war.   Neither empire was given a chance to recover.  And this sets the stage for Daniel 11:21 and the Rise of the Little Horn described in both Daniel Chapter 7 and Chapter 8.

Daniel 11:21 – “And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.”

Verse 21 details the rise of the “Little Horn” described in Daniel Chapters 7, 8 and 9. The “vile person” is in reference to the “abomination which caused desolation,”  the “Man of Perdition”, or the “Destroyer” described by Daniel, Jesus in Matthew 24, and St. Paul’s Epistles.  The rise of Mohammed in the year 622 AD came about initially with the promotion of a new form of monotheism with Islam.  “He shall come in peaceably” – Islam is often proclaimed to be the “the religion of peace.” The Arabic word Islam is derived from the Arabic word “Al-Salaam” which means peace.  Mohammed was able to consolidate power through false peace treaties and deception, then attack when his enemies least expected it.

Daniel 11:22 – “And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.“

This movement by the rising Little Horn described by Howard-Johnson likened the onslaught of the Arabs “like a tsunami” According to George Liska, the “unnecessarily prolonged Byzantine–Persian conflict opened the way for Islam.”  According to Revelation 13, the Dragon gave authority to the first beast that would rise out of the “sea” of the deserts to completely put a halt to the spreading of Christianity to the continents of Asia and Africa.

“With the arms of a flood” – This is exactly the same word that St. John the Theologian describes the movement to attack the “woman” or the Church “like a flood” from the mouth of the Dragon in Revelation 12:15.   The “prince of the covenant” is another term to describe the Church founded by Jesus Christ, who brought the New Testament scriptures to the people of Israel and the same empires foretold in Daniel 7.  Islam rose to subject and conquer the Christian nations in the lands of the Roman Empire and Asia Minor.

Revelation 12:15 – “And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.”

Water is normally used to describe the spiritual nourishment and sustainment of a person through the reading of scriptures.  Jesus first spoke of this “stream of living water” when he asked the Samaritan Woman to draw him water from the well:

“Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – (John 4:13-14)

Also, in John 7:37-39 we read

“…If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. To the one who believes in Me, it is just as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water’” will flow from within him. He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.“

But the Serpent or Dragon’s water is a different type of water. The Serpent would pursue the woman with a new type of water intended to drown the woman and cause her to be carried away. This water would arrive with fast moving armies of the barbarian invaders “like a flood” with its strong fast moving current. What is the essence of this type of water? This water represents the heresy and delusion of a new monotheistic religion to give honor, thanksgiving and worship to the Dragon – Allah, through his mouthpiece Mohammed. The main object of Satan was to create a new heresy that would cause the church to be swept away by the fast poisonous flood of invasions by the nomadic Arabian converts to Islam that would be called to begin a Jihad or Holy War against the surrounding empires and countries. This dangerous water represents a new type of “scriptures” represented by the Koran, the mouthpiece of the serpent. Whoever drank from the water contained within this book would drown or lose his soul. Because this water represents the new heresy called Islam that the Dragon invented to look like it was “authentic” monotheism, but in reality, it swept away souls to Hades by the millions due to their worship of the Red Dragon, Allah.

Daniel 11:23 – “And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.”

Mohammed rose to power through deception.  He was a great military warrior leader, considered to be the “inventor of insurgency warfare” who used guerrilla tactics with small groups of warriors.   Richard Gabriel wrote extensively on this subject in his article Mohammed the Warrior Prophet  He writes;

“The idea of Muhammad as a military man will be new to many. Yet he was a truly great general. In the space of a single decade he fought eight major battles, led eighteen raids, and planned another thirty-eight military operations where others were in command but operating under his orders and strategic direction. Wounded twice, he also twice experienced having his positions overrun by superior forces before he managed to turn the tables on his enemies and rally his men to victory. More than a great field general and tactician, he was also a military theorist, organizational reformer, strategic thinker, operational-level combat commander, political-military leader, heroic soldier, and revolutionary. The inventor of insurgency warfare and history’s first successful practitioner, Muhammad had no military training before he commanded an army in the field.”

Daniel 11:24 – “He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.”

Mohammed’s growth of his small armies and an exponential rate was due to his encouragement for them to gather and divide the spoils of war to gain their loyalty, as Richard Gabriel wonderfully explains in his article:

“Like all insurgent armies, Muhammad’s forces initially acquired weapons by stripping them from prisoners and enemy dead. Weapons, helmets, and armor were expensive items in relatively impoverished Arabia, and the early Muslim converts, drawn mostly from among the poor, orphaned, widowed, and otherwise socially marginal, could ill afford them. At the Battle of Badr, the first major engagement with an enemy army, the dead were stripped of their swords and other military equipment, setting a precedent that be­came common. Muhammad also established the practice of requiring prisoners to provide weapons and equipment instead of money to purchase their freedom. One prisoner taken at Badr, an arms merchant, was forced to provide the insurgents with a thousand spears to obtain his freedom. Muhammad eventually had enough weapons, helmets, shields, and armor to supply an army of 10,000 for his march on Mecca. (…) Muhammad’s ability to obtain sufficient weapons and equipment had an important political advantage. Many of the insurgency’s converts came from the poorest elements of the bedouin clans, people too impoverished to afford weapons and armor. By supplying these converts with expensive military equipment, Muhammad immediately raised their status within the clan and guaranteed their loyalty to him, if not always to the creed of Islam.”

Daniel 11:25 – “And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.”

The King of the South at the time of the rise of Mohammed was the Byzantine Empire and the legitimate heir of the Greek Speaking nations divided after Alexander the Great., which is also the He-Goat of Daniel 8. Mohammed’s successor Umar was able to take over the lands of the King of the South through the Muslim Conquest of Egypt.

Daniel 11:26-27 – “Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. And both of these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.”

Daniel 11:27 – Daniel 11:28 – “Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.”

The “holy covenant” here refers to the fight and hatred of the New Testament, and the Blood of the New Covenant, i.e. the Holy Eucharist, and the teachings of Christianity.. preferring the teachings written down in the Koran.

Daniel 11:29-30 – “At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 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.”

This describes the period of 1099 AD to 1187 AD when Jerusalem was captured by the Crusades from the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt.  This time period of Islam was at it’s weakest between the First Caliphate and the Seventh Caliphate of the Ottomans. Chittim can be identified with Rome and the Holy Roman Empire.  While Chittim is mentioned in the Book of Daniel, isn’t found anywhere else in the Bible.  However, it is found in the Book of Jasher. The verse below explains that the children of Chittim are the Romans that live in the valley of Canopia, which is by the Tiber River. The Romans, of course, live in the city of Rome, and the Tiber is the main river that runs through the city of Rome.   Ja 10:16 – “And the children of Chittim are the Romim (Romans) who dwell in the valley of Canopia by the river Tibreu (Tiber).”  Saladin was able to reconquer Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 and at the height of his Sultanate he ruled over Egypt, Syria, Iran, Yemen and other parts of North Africa.

Daniel 11:31 – “And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.”

Daniel 11:36-37 – “And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all“

Mohammed’s new religion conquered the Holy City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount for a period of “42 months” or 1260 literal years as described by St. John and St. Paul.  Daniel chapter 8 and 9 makes reference to the Abomination of Desolation that would be placed there by the Little Horn, claiming he is greater than God .   These verses align closely with the description of the Little Horn in Daniel 7, verse 25:

Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

Mohammed fought against his arch-enemy Christ and the saints of his New Testament Gospel, the Christians.  For this reason he also declared war “on the saints,” and he prevailed over them, since this privilege had been allowed him until “a time, times, and a half of a time” or a period of 1260 years between the first head of the beast or “Caliphate in 632 AD until the fall of the seventh head or Caliphate of the beast in 1924 AD.  This same 1260 year duration of the tri-composite Lion-Bear-Leopard beast was predicted to reign over the Holy City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount for “42 months” or 1260 literal years according to St. John’s Revelation chapters 11 and 13:

Revelation 11:1-2 – “I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.”

Revelation 13:5 – “The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for forty-two months.”

“Forty-two months” here represents 1260 years, applying the traditional Day-Year Principle of prophetic interpretation used by historicists since the 12th century. The calculation of the number of days is determined as 42 month x 30 days/month = 1260 “days”.  42 x 30 = 1260 years (based on a 360 day/year cycle)

Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 11:36-37 stated that this leader would claim he is greater than God and build the Abomination of Desolation on the Temple Mount.  With respect to the 2520 years of Gentile Rule in Jerusalem from the Babylonian Captivity until the Jewish return in 1967 AD, we can see that the Dome of of the Rock was constructed in 688 AD, in the middle of the week of the 2520 year period (refer to the chart at the end of this blog post)

Let’s examine some additional scripture to see if “all is fulfilled” with respect to the Abomination of Desolation the Dome of the Rock and Al Asqu Mosque.  How does Mohammed exactly make a claim he is greater than God, or “Allah” with respect to the Muslim view of God?  The scriptures are very clear in identifying this.  To make a claim that you are greater than God, we have to understand God as viewed by the Holy Trinity:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Revelation 13:6 – “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”

The mouth of the beast is the false prophet Mohammed development of his teachings through the Koran. These verses or inscriptions from the Koran are also plainly visible on the walls of the “Dome of the Rock” confirm the Abomination and Blaspheming of God the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

“In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate.”

“People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning God save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and say not ‘Three’ – Cease!“

These inscriptions on the temple mount confirm the warnings and identification by the John and Paul with respect to a coming new major Christological heresy of the Church:

John 2:22 – “Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 4:3-  “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”

2 Thessalonians 2:4 – “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”

Mohammed claimed he was the last and greatest of all of the prophets and greater than (the God-Man) Jesus, which is proclaimed in the Islamic Creed:  “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed Is his Messenger”. His glory, honor and worship was confirmed on the ruins of the second temple through the “Abomination of Desolation” that is, the “Dome of the Rock“was constructed in the seventh century.  Mohammed teaches that is greater than Jesus, the last in a line of prophets, greater than even the God-Man, the Logos who was “in the beginning with God“… The “one who was, who is, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  That is Jesus IS the Logos from the beginning, was born of the Virgin and became Man, and “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead“… the “faithful witness” and “first begotten of the dead.”   To make a claim you are greater than Him, is blasphemy.

Daniel 11:32-35– “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.”

“against the covenant” – Mohammed attempted to subvert and reverse the teachings of the New Testament through the Koran, attempting to flatter the followers as a religion of peace and with seduction and promise of virgins awaiting his true martyrs.

“they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.” The worshippers of the true God, however, were subjected to taxes, rape, torture and death.  This is also clearly foretold in the Book of Revelation:

Revelation 13:7 – “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

Revelation 13:10 – “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.“

Similar to the persecutions of the early Christians, those who maintained the faith would be lead into slavery, taxation, persecution an death for an extended period of history totaling 1260 years. Christ asks us for patience and endurance through these trying times, because the Gates of Hell would not prevail. And similarly in the manner in which the Islamic Beast subjugated an killed the Christians throughout the centuries, this Beast will suffer the same fate with it’s final destruction at the completion of the 1260 years.

Daniel 11:38-39– “But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.”

Who is the God of forces?  This is the same god described in Revelation Chapter 13.  The Dragon gave authority and power to the Islamic Beast.

Revelation 13:4 – “And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”

The Red Dragon is none other than the “Allah” which is viewed by Muslims as their the God of Islam. While it is true that Arabic Christians called God “Allah” prior to the rise of Mohammed, it is not the same Allah identified as the moon god through pagan Arabic tribes prior to the seventh century. This “Allah” is different and can be identified through the conquering and destructive characteristics often associated with the Red Dragon.  The Revelation 13 tells us that the Red Dragon surely gave great authority to his servant, Mohammed. No empire was able to stop the voracious speed at which Islam spread through the former lands of the Byzantine and Sassanian empire.

Daniel 11:40-43 – “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; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.”

As we near the end of Daniel Chapter 11, we are given a description of the final and most dreadful Caliphate of Islam, the rise of the Ottoman Empire.   This Empire at it’s greatest extend controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa between the 14th and 20th centuries.  During the Rise of the Ottomans in verse 40, the “King of the South” here is represented by the Byzantines.  And the King of the North is represented by the Sultinate of Rum which was an intermediate Persian Empire stretching through Asia Minor.  The Turks expanded their empire into the Balkans and eventually succeeded in their conquest of Constantinople in 1453 AD, ending over 1000 years of rule by the Byzantine Greeks – the new “King of the South” which inherited this title and the lands from the division of Alexander the Great’s empire.

The greatest extent The extent of the Ottoman Empire in 1566, upon the death of Suleiman the Magnificent

The Ottoman Empire conquered the Holy Land, Ammon, Edom, Moab, and parts of Ethiopia and Libya as stated in 11:41-43.  After the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, the empire began to stagnate as new threats came from the Russians, French and English with the rise of Colonialism and modernization of Western Europe through the Renaissance.

Daniel 11:44 – “But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.”

We must inquire to the statement “Tidings out of the East” which appears to be good news and blessings which seemed to alarm the Turks and put them into a panic mode of killing and destruction during their final decline.   This is the same event described in the Book of Revelation Chapter 16 with the event associated with the 6th Vial.

Revelation 16:12 – “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.”

The “great river Euphrates”  is symbolic of the barbarian Turkic and Tartar tribes of Asia which provided power to the first Islamic beast of Revelation 13. Therefore, the “drying” of the “Euphrates” river represents the reduction and elimination of power of the Ottoman Empire through the 19th and early 20th century. The “water thereof was dried up” also represents the decline and drying up of the “flood” of heresy of the Dragon in Revelation 13. Authority was given to the beast for a period of “42 months” or “1260 days”.

This event has long been interpreted by Historicist commentators to describe the return of the Jews to Palestine after their long period of Diaspora.  In fact, Daniel 11:44 at the very end of the chapter associates this event to mark the final conclusion to the 2520 year period of Gentile domination and diaspora of the Jews ever since their Babylonian (and Assyrian) captivities, in which they were scattered to the nations.  Christian “Restorationism” of Israel existed up to 300 years prior to John Nelson Darby starting in the mid 1500s with the Anglicans and Puritans, and really came about only after the wider availability of the translated bibles into English. Restorationism was a much simpler concept. They examined the prophecies of Ezekiel, Isaiah, Hosea, Jeremiah, Zechariah and others, and for the first time began to assert that these prophets spoke of a second Jewish return to Israel and conversion to Christ prior to the Second Coming. They also, interestingly, equated the Jewish return with the fall of the Ottoman Empire 300 years before it happened. Thomas Brightman and Joseph Mede were the original authors of this view, but other authors throughout the 1600s and 1700s expanded on the concept. Here are some of these amazing predictions of the return of the “Kings of the East” set to occur with the final decline and collapse of the Ottoman Empire.  These statements were made over 300 years before fulfillment:

Thus, Daniel 11:44 and Revelation 16:12 both are describing the same event with the “drying of of the River Euphrates” or the Fall of the Ottoman Empire, set to occur when great “tidings from the East” or a “return of the kings of the East” was set to occur, beginning the process for the eventual final restoration of the Jews as prophesied by St. Paul in Romans Chapter 11.  Eastern European Jews (that is, the Askhenazis who are accused of being the Khazar’s of the East for that matter)  began to in fact return to Israel with both the influence of Christian Zionism and the Russian Pogroms of 1881 AD, which caused the first wave of Aliyah, or immigration of Jews back into the Holy Land.   Additional waves of immigration coincided with the loss of territory for the Ottomans.

Daniel 11:45 – “And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”

The final verse of Daniel 11 describes the result of what occurred when the “tidings of the East” alarmed the Turks and they then committed horrible genocides unknown mostly in the present day by the text of 11:44 –  “(…)he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.” 

As a result of the Balkan Wars and WWI which lead to the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire by 1923 AD, the Turks committed atrocities and ethnic cleansing with the Armenian and Greek Genocides, murduring up to 2.2 million Christians in Asia Minor.

“And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain;” The famous slogan of “Turkey for the Turks” was coined through this period when Kemal Ataturk would establish a modern democratic Turkish state with Constantinople given to the Turks by the Great Powers, thus the reference that the “holy mountain” would be kept under control of the modern Turkey.   Constantinople throughout history was referred to as the “New Zion” or “New Jerusalem“, thus the reference to the “Glorious Holy Mountain.”   The Turks to this day still maintain control of Haghia Sophia and Constantinople, but as we know from the numerous Byzantine and Orthodox prophecies, their final demise and conclusion will come at a future appointed time.  This final demise is spoke of by the Prophet Daniel with the final words: “yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”

Thus we come to the fateful end of Gentile Domination of Jerusalem at the final completion of the 2520 period, who’s duration was described in Daniel chapter 11 with detailed prophecies of rising and falling Gentile Empires that ruled over Holy Land for a duration of SEVEN TIMES.

Conclusion

The Times of the Gentiles are often misunderstood.  Many Christians believe that the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem marked the “Times of the Gentiles” when the Jews were scattered among the nations with the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD.  This is not entirely correct.  The scattering actually began in 722 BC with the fall of the Northern Tribes and their scattering unto the gentile nations, and once again in 605 BC when the Jews were taken into captivity to Babylon, and most would not return back to Israel after their 70 year deportation.  The bible is clear with the prophecies that the scattering of the Jews would last “Seven Times” or 360 x 7 years, that is, 2520 years of exile.

Daniel 11 is an amazing detailed prophecy which describes events set to occur during this period of “Seven Times”.  Specifically it lists events between the rise of the Persian Kings in 553 BC until events prior to 1967 AD, the year Jews regained control of Jerusalem EXACTLY 2520 years later to fulfill the completion of the Times of the Gentiles and coinciding with the exact year of restoration of the Jews to Jerusalem.  Daniel 11 complements and expands on details described in Daniel chapter 7, 8 and 9, as well as events in Revelation Chapter 12, 13 and 16 with the rise, spread and decline of the “Little Horn”, that is the Islamic Empire through it’s Seven Caliphates which ruled Jerusalem for a period of “42 months” or 1260 literal years, until the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 AD. The following charts demonstrate this fact with amazing accuracy with the concept of “Parallel of Times” based around sieges and decrees of Temple and Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

The Seven Times and Three and A Half Times prophecies have bee fulfilled with exact precision, such that the Jews returned to Israel 2520 years (or 2300 years) later after they were taken captivity and scattered from the Assyrian and Babylonian Captivities.  Significant events in history on their return occurred exactly after a 2520 year period from the temple destruction and four royal decrees used to describe the Jewish return, rebuilding and restoration of the second temple. The odds of alignment of these numerical calculations of history to the prophecies are astounding. The verification of critical events in history through mathematical analysis cannot be denied by the so-called “Anti-Zionists.” How can they respond when provided biblical evidence that the prophecies predicted a Jewish return in 1878, 1882, 1897, 1917, 1948, and 1967?  These equations bring to light that the prophecies of Daniel have been fulfilled to exact precision. That is, the Jews would return after 69 weeks of the 2520 year period, and we would finally be able to realize this fact after the observation of the 1948 forming of  the Nation of Israel and the 1967 capture of Jerusalem. We only have one more final royal decree to come to pass, the potential alignment of the year 2039 AD based on the 444 BC royal decree, and that event will most assuredly coincide with the full restoration and re-grafting of the Jews into the Christian True Faith as promised by St. Paul (in Romans 11), Ezekiel (chapter 37) and Zechariah (chapter 12).

Glory be unto God for all things. Amen!

© 2018 by Jonathan Photius