One of the most important end-time, prophetic passages in all of Scripture is Daniel 11.

Upon the sudden death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, four of his generals rose to power and broke up his kingdom into four regions [Daniel 7:6, 8:8]. Daniel 11 highlights the exploits of two of these four kingdoms. Daniel names them the King of the North and the King of the South and, consequently, keeps our focus on the Middle East.

Originally, these two kings were Seleucus in the north and Ptolemy in the south. Here’s an illustration of the geographic area of their rule:

Seleucus’ empire included modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. Ptolemy’s empire included Egypt, Libya and Sudan.

After taking us through a couple hundred years of military conflict between these two kings and their progeny (which is now history to us), there’s a pause while Daniel 11’s prophecy switches to our yet-to-be future. And it’s here, in 11:40, where Daniel names the future Antichrist as the king of this north kingdom. He writes,

“At the end time the king of the South will collide with him (the king of the north/Antichrist), and the king of the North (the Antichrist) will storm against him (the king of the south) with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through.” [Daniel 11:40 NASB]

*parentheses added by me for clarification

Read the entire chapter. A good study Bible will identify these areas for you.

From the Arab Spring to Daniel 11’s Kings

God has been shaking up the Middle East with the so-called Arab Spring and these two kingdoms are now reforming.

Despite what we’re being told by the mainstream news media, the nations involved in the current Islamic uprising are being overrun by Sharia, not western democracy.

The end result will be the formation of a revived Islamic Kingdom – the Antichrist’s kingdom. Both Egypt and Turkey believe they should lead this kingdom, or Caliphate. This tension will only increase and will result in military action between the two as Daniel 11:40 says.

• Arab Spring Feeding Push for Islamic Caliphate? (cbn)

The King of the South

If Egypt is indeed the King of the South, we would expect to once again see it reunite in some way with Libya and Sudan to form this south kingdom.

Just recently, leadership in Egypt has made a statement concerning a wish to implement Sharia law and unify northern Africa.

“In the absence of direct American influence, Egypt can affect and lead the process of building a democratic and constitutional regime that will become a dream for African and the southern hemisphere.”

• Muslim Brotherhood: Obama Needs To ‘Accept The Will Of The Arab People’ (cbsdc)

Nevermind it says “democratic” and “constitutional”. As anyone can find out, the Muslim Brotherhood is a strong proponent of Islam and Sharia law.

Why this ambition? Because Egypt, in many ways the cultural center of the Islamic world, believes it should be the leader of the revived Islamic Caliphate.

• Mursi (the President of Egypt) Will Restore the “United States of the Arabs” With Jerusalem As Its Capital (memri)

This is the King of the South in Daniel 11.

The King of the North

In recent years, Turkey’s government has been shifting away from secular rule to Islamic rule. Turkey, also, believes it should lead the revived Islamic Caliphate and is more militarily in the position to do so than Egypt.

• Obama Administration Supports Turkish Caliphate (Joel Richardson)

Likewise, if Turkey is indeed the King of the North, we would expect to once again see it reunite in some way with Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq to form this north kingdom.

And with the unrest in Syria, we’re hearing of reports of the Turkish military building up forces on the Syrian border (cnn) and Syrian fighting spilling over into Lebanon (bbc). Military action is one way in which this might happen.

• Turkey-Syria on the Brink of War (oilprice)
• Turkey’s parliament authorises military action in Syria (bbc)

This is the King of the North in Daniel 11.

The King of the North will eventually come south

Now that we’ve identified the players, let’s return to the future military conflict between these two kings starting in Daniel 11:40. The man who leads this campaign, the King of the North, will be the Antichrist. Let’s walk through the text:

Daniel 11:40-45 ESV “At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. [41] He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites.

The Antichrist, at some time during his southern campaign into Egypt, will then invade Israel – “the glorious land”. The land that will be kept from his invasion, Edom, Moab and the Ammonites, is modern-day Jordan. Jordan is being considered by many as the refuge in the desert God gives to Israel during this time [Matthew 24:15-20; Revelation 12:6].

[42] He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. [43] He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train.

Here, Libya is directly mentioned and so are the Cushites. Our Bibles often translate Cush as Ethiopia, but history shows that ancient Cush is modern-day Sudan (wikipedia).

[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.

Because this verse mentions “news from the east and north”, it’s here where many are tempted to believe that Bible prophecy predicts an invasion of the Middle East from Russia, China or both. Though these forces may be players at some time, I do not believe the Bible prophesies about them. For an example of my reasoning, let’s consider Ezekiel 39:2 when it says “And I will turn you (The Antichrist) about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel.” Since Daniel names the Antichrist as the King of the North and identifies the geographic location of this north kingdom as Turkey et al, the “uttermost parts of the north” is simply referring to the northernmost parts of this north kingdom – the northernmost parts of Turkey. Again, this doesn’t mean Russia won’t someday attempt to invade the Middle East, but this does mean that Bible prophecy doesn’t say it will. It’s the same with China. There are many Islamic nations to the east of Israel before we get to China. See also Ezekiel 38:6 & 38:14-16.

Let’s continue:

[45] And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

After invading Israel, The Antichrist will make his headquarters between the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Zion. It is here where Christ defeats Him upon His return.

The subduing of the three

Because we know the Antichrist will defeat this south kingdom, many people believe these three nations, Egypt, Libya and Sudan, are the three subdued kings from Daniel 7:24.

As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. [Daniel 7:24 NASB]

This verse is telling us that this ten-nation kingdom will first be formed before the Antichrist rules. This is what we are watching take place now. This kingdom will form and then the Antichrist will seize it. At some point afterward, he will lead a southern military campaign against Egypt, Libya and Sudan for exclusive control of the Caliphate.

Let me lay it out for you:

1. Daniel’s 11’s north and south kingdoms are being reformed right now as a result of the Arab Spring
2. Ten nations will eventually emerge from all this as the powerbase for a revived Islamic Caliphate
3. The Antichrist will arrive on the scene, defeat three kings and seize the Caliphate
4. Afterward, he will invade Israel
5. Christ will return to defeat him

Consider, it is also possible that this invasion of Egypt will serve another purpose. As we learned above, Egypt has already expressed its desire to rule the Caliphate from Jerusalem. By defeating this King of the South, perhaps the Antichrist will emerge as Israel’s great protector filling the void being left by the United States and lulling them into a false sense of security for the first three and a half years of the Tribulation [Daniel 9:27].

What are the implications of Daniel’s prophecy?

Scripturally speaking… doctrinally speaking… it means we can STOP looking in Europe for the Antichrist. It means the next event on the prophetic calendar is NOT the rapture but the revival of the north and south kingdoms from Daniel 11 leading to the ten-nation kingdom of the Antichrist. It means Babylon is NOT Rome, the Vatican or America, the United Nations or the West but the geographic region that actually bears its name – the Middle East.

All of the secular analysis of the events of the Middle East and the world quite simply lacks the eternal perspective that only God’s Word can give. Even most Christian analysis doesn’t recognize the severity of the concern. Why? Because most Christians are still looking in Europe for a revived Roman Empire. American politics, the coming financial collapse, the United Nations’ Agenda 21, the spread of the “Religion of Peace”, the New World Order, the growing hatred of Israel, the beginning of tyranny in America, Benghazi… these are all symptoms of the greater truth which is widely unrecognized.

Please challenge your friends and family with this information. I believe knowing these things and recognizing them for what they are – recognizing Islam for what it is – will awaken a desire for Christians to be spiritually prepared for the future and will greatly reduce the amount of suffering many Christians might endure. It will also help you in your preparation for sharing Christ with Muslims if you ever get the chance, which seems increasingly likely. Remember, “Muslim” is only the name given to someone who is under the influence of Islam, and God desires all men to be saved.

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. [1 Timothy 2:3-4 ESV]

Additional Resources:

• Daniel 11 Reveals the Geographic Location of the Antichrist’s Rise to Power
• Middle Eastern gentiles excited about the coming of the biblical Antichrist
• The identity of the Antichrist’s kingdom: Arrive at the conclusion Scripture is leading us to
• Beware the King of the North in Daniel 11 – Daniel reveals the geographic location of the Antichrist’s future kingdom
• The Antichrist: European Aristocrat or Middle Eastern Muslim? Part 1 – a historic examination of Daniel 9:26 points us to a revived Islamic Caliphate
• Mideast Beast: Official Full Trailer [VIDEO]
• Dr. John MacArthur teaching the Islamic End-Time Paradigm [VIDEO]
• Interview between Dr. Michael Brown and Joel Richardson about an Islamic Antichrist
• Will the Revived Kingdom Really Be Rome? – the Apostle John eliminates Rome as the future revived kingdom
• Daniel’s 4^th Beast Isn’t Rome – a contextual examination of Daniel’s 4^th beast with an illustration of King Neb’s statue
• Revelation 13:2 Reveals the Geographic Location of the Antichrist’s Kingdom
• Isaiah 21 Reveals the Geographic Location of the Antichrist’s Kingdom