“At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. 41He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. 42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission. 44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.”
The closing six verses of this chapter are difficult to understand. The language of prophecy and especially of vision often is not easy, and that certainly is the case with these verses.
The Angel explaining the vision to Daniel describes a final attack on God’s people. Adding to our difficulty is the fact that he describes it as a continuation of the battles for the control of the Holy Land that raged in the centuries immediately before Christ—the battles between the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria.
Since, however, the time indicated is not the time of Antiochus Epiphanes but “the time of the end,” we recognize in this description a battle between the Antichrist and those who oppose him. The activity of the Antichrist will arouse opposition; he will have enemies. These enemies are identified only as kings “of the North” and “of the South.” Because the Angel who revealed this to Daniel was talking about the far distant future, it is clear that the king of the South cannot be Egypt; the king of the North here cannot be Syria. There is much in this prophecy that will be mysterious until the Lord supplies the details that unlock the mystery. It is best for us, therefore, to be content with large general truths instead of trying to make positive historical identification for each specific reference. “We have here in a few bold strokes, and in terms taken from the campaigns of the antichristian forces in the third and second centuries before Christ, a picture of Antichrist in the development of his power” (Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible, Volume 2, page 632).
Daniel’s vision showed that the archenemy of God would suffer reverses. We think, for example, of what a setback it was for him when in A.D. 1054 the eastern half of the church broke away from the western church to form what is known as the Orthodox Church. Despite such opposition, the Antichrist would still manage to subjugate one country after another and establish his spiritual dominance throughout the world.
“He will also invade the Beautiful Land.” In the days of the Old Testament, God actually took up residence in Palestine, in the cloud above the ark in the temple at Jerusalem.
In New Testament terms, the Holy Christian church is the “Beautiful Land” where the triune God resides with all his grace and his favor. The Antichrist’s fiercest attacks would be directed at this church, causing innumerable casualties among faithful confessors of the truth.
Daniel learned that Edom, Moab, and Ammon, ancient enemies of God’s people, would not be defeated by the Antichrist. As enemies of God and his people, they already stood for what the Antichrist represents. Consequently, the Antichrist would have no need to defeat them.
“Egypt will not escape.” Egypt, we know, was a leading world power in ancient times. If in expanding his power the Antichrist would be able to bring even Egypt and Libya and Nubia under his control, then his power must indeed be awesome.
“He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape.” The Antichrist would overpower any countries that happen to block his path. At Daniel’s time, when Babylon had just fallen and Persia had not as yet consolidated its power, Egypt symbolized a steady world power. If in his program of conquest the Antichrist would subdue even the leading world power of his day, then his power must be great indeed.
“Reports from the east and the north will alarm him.” This possibly refers to news about the spread of Islam in the east and to the success of the Reformation in Germany (the north). There the pure gospel was restored and consciences were liberated from slavery to papal decrees and threats.
The story of this rival of Christ comes to a sudden end. He will establish his headquarters in the heart of the land of God’s people, where God has established his dwelling place. From his base of operations in the church, he will continue to attack God’s people, seeking to bind consciences to his teachings. But just when it seems the church of God must fall before him, he will be overthrown. This archenemy of God is, after all, on God’s leash, and he will perish suddenly.
The picture of the end time which the Angel painted and which Daniel saw is not a pretty one. The fabric of history includes war, treachery, domination, tyranny, and persecution. But when Jesus Christ returns visibly to judge his enemies and to rule over his saints, this will be the closing sentence to the history of each of his enemies:
“He will come to his end, and no one will help him.”