The Final Verses of Daniel 11

The Final Verses of Daniel 11

In Manuscript Releases page 394 Ellen White writes:

We have no time to lose. Troublous times are before us. The world is stirred with the spirit of war. Soon the scenes of trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place. The prophecy in the eleventh of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfillment. Much of the history that has taken place in fulfillment of this prophecy will be repeated. In the thirtieth verse a power is spoken of that “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.” [Verses 31-36, quoted.]{13MR 394.1}

Scenes similar to those described in these words {in Daniel 11:31-36} will take place. We see evidence that Satan is fast obtaining the control of human minds who have not the fear of God before them. Let all read and understand the prophecies of this book, for we are now entering upon the time of trouble spoken of: [Daniel 12:1-4, quoted.]{13MR 394.2}

The purpose of this study is to explain the prophecy of Daniel 11:40-45. As we study this topic it is important to establish a few principles. First Daniel 11 follows the same basic sequence of kingdoms found in the visions of Daniel 2, 7, and 8. This is illustrated in the following table:

Daniel 2	Daniel 7	Daniel 8
Head of Gold = Babylon	Winged Lion = Babylon
Arms of Silver = Medo-Persia	Bear with Ribs = Medo-Persia	Ram = Medo-Persia
Thighs of Bronze = Greece	Leopard with Four Heads = Greece	Goat = Greece
Legs of Iron = Pagan Rome	Terrible Beast with Iron Teeth = Pagan Rome	Horizontal Little Horn = Pagan Rome
Feet of Iron and Clay = Papal Rome	Feet of Iron and Clay = Papal Rome	Vertical Little Horn = Papal Rome

Because Daniel 2,7 and 8 follow the same sequence we would expect Daniel 11 to follow the same sequence and that is what we find. Please see the table below:

Daniel 11

Verses 1,2 = Medo-Persia

Verses 3-19 = Greece

Verses 20-29 = Pagan Rome

Verses 30-45 = Papal Rome

While Daniel 11 follows the same sequence of kingdoms as Daniel 2,7 and 8 there are some differences. First Daniel 11 uses more literal language than Daniel 2,7, and 8 and second Daniel 11 introduces an antagonist to the kingdoms mentioned in the form of the opposing kings or kingdoms of the South. With these basic principles we come to our study of Daniel 11:40-45. 

Daniel 11:40 begins:

40   “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; 

In order to understand who the king of the South is in verse 40 we need to understand what the bible means by the term “at the time of the end.”

Daniel 11:33-35 states:

33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.  34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue.  

35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time. Daniel 11:33-35

According to these verses some of those who have understanding will fall by the sword and flame and by captivity and plundering for many days. This will continue according to verse 35 until the time of the end. In order to determine when the time of the end occurs we need to understand more about who the people are that fall, are refined and are purified until the time of the end. 

As we have seen Daniel 7 uses beasts to describe the same sequence of kingdoms found in Daniel 11. In Daniel 7 we learn that the little horn power papal power which grows up out of the terrible beast or pagan Rome persecutes God’s people. The bible says:

He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,

Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,

And shall intend to change times and law.

Then the saints shall be given into his hand

For a time and times and half a time. Daniel 7:25

Here we see Daniel 7:25 speaking about the same events in Daniel 11:33-35 with a few additional pieces of information including but not limited to the duration of this persecution of a “time, and times and half a time.” This tells us that the persecution of Daniel 11:33-35 that concludes at the start of the period known at the time of the end will continue for a “time,  and times and half a time.” If we can determine how to interpret this time frame and gain a starting point we can conclude when the time of the end begins and when the king of the South attacks the king of the North. In order to understand this time frame we must turn to Revelation 12:14 which says: 

14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. Revelation 12:14

When we look at a parallel passage in Revelation 12:6 we learn that the time frame of a time and times and half a time is 1260 prophetic days. Revelation 12:6 says:

6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Revelation 12:6

According to Ezekiel 4:6 and to some degree Numbers 14:34 we learn that a prophetic day is equal to one year. Thus the 1260 days is equal to 1260 years. As a result we can determine that this 1260 year period corresponds to a time period when papal Rome was in power from Daniel 7:25 and from Revelation 12 we can determine that this period was 1260 years. This helps us to identify when this period of persecution began.

The 1260 years began in 538 when the Roman Emperor Justinian self-entitled Justinian’s code went into effect and made the bishop of Rome the supreme ruler of the church and established him as a civil authority. Notice the following words from Justinian’s code: 

Among the conspicuous reasons for praising your wisdom and gentleness, Most Christian of Emperors, and one which radiates light as a star, is the fact that through love of the Faith, and actuated by zeal for charity, you, learned in ecclesiastical discipline, have preserved reverence for the See of Rome, and have subjected all things to its authority, and have given it unity… 

And…

This See is indeed the head of all churches, as the rules of the Fathers and the decrees of the Emperors assert, and the words of your most reverend piety testify. It is therefore claimed that what the Scriptures state, namely, "By Me Kings reign, and the Powers dispense justice;" will be accomplished in you…

From this decree we can see how Papal Rome proceeded from pagan Rome when the Emperor Justinian gave authority and power to the bishop of Rome. Knowing this we can determine that the 1260 year period of persecution began in 538 when Justinian’s code went into effect and concluded in 1798.

Now that we have established that the 1260 years began 538 and concluded in 1798 we can determine when the king of the South attacked the king of the North. Again the bible says:

40   “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; 

In 1798 at the conclusion of the 1260 years of Daniel 7 and Revelation 12 we see that the king of the North or papal Rome was attacked by the king of the South. Historically this happened when Napoleon sent his General Berthier to take Pope Pius VI captive. This captivity disrupted the civil authority that papal Rome had enjoyed for 1260 years. Jesus declares to His disciples:

...all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Matthew 26:52

The papacy had pointed the sword of the state at the people God for 1260 years and now the papacy found itself staring at the blade of the state.

Revelation 13:3 describes this attack on the papacy from the perspective of the past saying:

I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. Revelation 13:3

This verse agrees with the context and choice of words used by Daniel in Daniel 11:40 when we consider the fact that the word translated as “attack’ in verse 40 is the Hebrew word “Nagach” which is a word that literally means “to but with the horns or gore.” In other words the king of the South gores the king of the North. The dictionary defines the word “gore” to mean:

…to pierce or wound with something pointed, as a horn or knife: i.e.gored by a bull. Merriam Websters Dictionary

Thus the king of the South gored the king of the North and wounded him.This tells us that the king of the South in 1798 can be identified as the power of the French Revolution. This power of the French Revolution lead by Napoleon wholly abandoned the Catholic Church and religion altogether. At the Festival of Reason in 1793 French citizens declared reason to be their only God while women provocatively dressed up in white Roman robes with tricolor sashes. It was in this spirit of rebellion and godlessness that the French government threw off the church. 

In the latter half Daniel of 11:40 we find the king of the North’s response to the mortal wound inflicted by the king of the South. The bible says:

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. Daniel 11:40

Immediately following the mortal wound inflicted in 1798 with the imposed captivity of Pope Pious VI and the subsequent loss of civil authority the king of North heretofore referred to as the Papacy was unable to respond to the threat of the French Revolution for more than 100 years. This was because the Papacy found itself in exile until 1929 when the Italian president Mussolini recognized the right of the Papacy to be an independent government defined as Vatican City. Even at this point the Papacy found itself with limited power with other world governments ignoring its supposed independent status. 

Around this time several different strains or descendants of atheistic France began to foment and develop. First was the development of the Russian Revolution originally starting in 1917. The Russian Revolution was built on the teachings of Karl Marx. Karl Marx’s seminal work the Communist Manifesto drew inspiration from the principles of the French Revolution. Karl Marx famously wrote “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” This sentiment and other communist principles were inculcated by the leader Vladimir Lenin culminating in the Russian federation known as the United Soviet Socialist Republic or the Soviet Union. But Russian Communism was not the only inheritor of the principles of the French Revolution.

According to French historian François Furet, Communism and Fascism grew up on the same soil,

Benito Mussolini, who was raised by a Marxist mother, would go on to become the head of the Italian Socialist Party in 1912. He would later say at the beginning of World War I:

With the unleashing of a mighty clash of peoples, the bourgeoisie is playing its last card and calls forth on the world scene that which Karl Marx called the sixth great power: the socialist revolution.

On the heels of the Russian Revolution and the development of Italian Fascism came the development of German Fascism. This too was an inheritor of the principles of the French Revolution. Adolph Hitler stated in a famous speech on the 1st of May 1927:

We are socialists. We are enemies of today’s capitalistic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are determined to destroy this system under all conditions.

He would later add:

I have learned a great deal from Marxism as I do not hesitate to admit … The difference between [Marxists] and myself is that I have really put into practice what these peddlers and pen-pushers have timidly begun. The whole of National Socialism is based on it. Look at the workers’ sports clubs, the industrial cells, the mass demonstrations, the propaganda leaflets written specially for the comprehension of the masses: all these new methods of political struggle are essentially Marxist in origin. All I had to do is take over these methods and adapt them to our purpose. Hermann Raushning, Hitler Speaks (London: Thornton Butterworth, 1939), p 134.

Hitler would also draw inspiration from another disciple of the French Revolution: Friedrich Nietzsche, who famously said: “God is dead.” Friedrich Nietzsche would also develop the idea of the ubermensch or superman that would influence Adolph Hitler in his beliefs of a superior Aryan race. 

These three descendants of the French Revolution: the Russian Revolution, Italian Fascism and German Fascism threw the world into war. Ellen White wrote in Testimonies volume nine:

The world is stirred with the spirit of war. The prophecy of the eleventh chapter of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfillment. Soon the scenes of trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place. Testimonies, Volume 9, p14.

The first half of the 20th century was consumed by war. And while the Russians initially resisted the united efforts of German and Italian Fascism during the Second World War it was not because they were ideologically distinct. Benito Mussolini said in a speech on June 21, 1921:

I know the Communists. I know them because some of them are my children.

At this point in history the Papacy was very limited in its ability to counter the threats of these inheritors of the French Revolution directly. But there was a power that would later unite with the papacy that was able to respond with unprecedented quickness to these children of the King of the South. On December 7, 1941 the United States abruptly entered World War II after it was attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto would later say:

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.

This moment began the beginning of the fulfillment of the second half of Daniel 11:40 that states:

…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. Daniel 11:40

In the bible the use of whirlwind, chariots and horsemen refer to a quick military attack. At this point in history the Papacy did not have an army. But the United States, which the bible calls the beast with two horns like a lamb, the beast that came up out of the earth, the unpopulated new world of America would ally itself with the first beast according to Revelation 13. And when this ally of the papacy was woken from its sleep it responded with unprecedented military force. Notice what the bible says about horses and whirlwinds in Isaiah 5:26,28:

26 [The Lord} will lift up a banner to the nations from afar,

And will whistle to them from the end of the earth;

Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly…

…28 Whose arrows are sharp,

And all their bows bent;

Their horses’ hooves will seem like flint,

And their wheels like a whirlwind. Isaiah 5:26,28

Jeremiah adds to the idea that a whirlwind of horses refers to a swift military attack saying:

“Behold, [The Lord] shall come up like clouds,

And his chariots like a whirlwind.

His horses are swifter than eagles.

Woe to us, for we are plundered!” Jeremiah 4:13

From these passages we can see that the latter half of Daniel 11:40 refers to a rapid military advance. During the years of 1941-1945 the United States with its allies swept through Europe and Asia defeating the combined powers of German and Italian Fascism which were two of the inheritors of principles of the French Revolution through the works of Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche and others. There was a whirlwind of military attack on these powers during the years of World War II.

But Daniel 11:40 also mentions that the king of the North would come against the king of the South with many ships. In biblical symbolism the use of many ships implies economic might. Notice Psalm 107:23 that says:

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,

Who do business on great waters, Psalm 107:23

And Ezekiel 27:9:

Elders of Gebal and its wise men

Were in you to caulk your seams;

All the ships of the sea

And their oarsmen were in you

To market your merchandise. Ezekiel 27:9

From the years following the victory of the allied powers of Europe over German and Italian Fascism the third descendant of the French Revolution still remained in power. During the years from 1945 to 1984 the Soviet Union quietly amassed a world class military in what became known as the Cold War. It was during this time that the United States and the Soviet Union struggled for supremacy. By 1984 the Papacy recognized that there was one more threat from the king of the South, that was first epitomized in atheistic France and at that point realized in the communistic powerhouse of the Soviet Union. Up until this point the Papacy had been relatively powerless to destroy this threat to its power on its own and had as it did during the World Wars relied completely on its alliance with the western powers. But in 1984 when the United States established William A. Wilson as the first U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican the Papacy gained the political influence to respond itself to this last inheritor of the mortal wound inflicted by the king of the South in 1798. 

At this point in history Communism was a formidable threat to the expansion of Catholic influence. As a result during the 1980s the Pope known as John Paul II determined to bring the communistic atheistic empire of Russia to an end and thus completely destroy the king of the South. However despite the growing political influence of the Catholic Church and the Papacy the Vatican still needed an ally with political, economic and military might to respond to the growing threat of communist and atheistic Russia. It found that ally in the United States and in the leadership of U.S. president Ronald Reagan. Together Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II worked for the destruction and dismantling of the communist empire. This was accomplished by building up the United States military and economy. In cooperation with the Vatican the policies of U.S. president Ronald Reagan ended the atheistic threat behind the iron curtain of communist Russia. Ronald Reagan famously stated in a speech in 1987 given a the Berlin Wall:

Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall.

Almost overnight the communist confederacy of the Soviet Union was dismantled. This rapid destruction of the Soviet Union completed the fulfillment of the final half of Daniel 11:40 that says again:

…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. Daniel 11:40

With the the king of the South itself overwhelmed by the expansion of the western coalition of capitalism and catholicism, communism found itself in retreat leading to the events that would find fulfillment in Daniel 11:41-45. It is at this point that I believe we must realize that the final verses of Daniel 11 are unfulfilled prophecy. And as such we must tread carefully according to Jesus who said in John 14:29:

And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. John 14:29

In this verse we learn that prophecy is given to God’s people when it is fulfilled and with this in mind we must proceed carefully when interpreting events that have not yet been fulfilled. Even so there are principles that we can use to understand the basic elements of the events foretold in Daniel 11:41-45. Turning to Daniel 11:41 the bible says:

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 11:41

After the alliance with the United States the Papacy will continue to gain political power as it enters into the glorious land. The glorious land is another name for the land of Israel. But the specific use of the term glorious land implies more than just the physical land of Israel. Beginning in Ezekiel 20:6 God says of ancient Israel:

On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, “flowing with milk and honey,’ the glory of all lands. Ezekiel 20:6

Why was Israel called the land of glory? Psalm 85:9 says:

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,

That glory may dwell in our land. Psalm 85:9

This verse explains that the glory dwelled in the land of Israel when the Israelites feared God. In the New Testament we read in Revelation 14:6:

...Fear God and give glory to Him..

So when the Israelites feared God they brought glory to Him and when we fear God in the last days we bring Him glory.

The bible tells us that fearing God means to keep His commandments saying:

Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. Deuteronomy 8:6

And in Ecclesiastes 12:13:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,

For this is man’s all. Ecclesiastes 12:13

To fear God is to keep His commandments. When the ancient Israelites feared God by keeping His commandments they brought glory to the land of Israel. This tells us that the Papacy in Daniel 11:41 must be entering a land where God’s people keep His commandments. It is tempting to designate this land as the current state of Israel, but on closer inspection of biblical prophecy we find that there is a specific group of people at the end of time that keep God’s commandments whose home extends beyond the borders of ancient Israel to the entire world. 

Revelation 12:17 says:

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17

The remnant described in Revelation 12:17 are also described in Ezekiel 6:8 which says:

Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. Ezekiel 6:8

This remnant keep the commandments of God but are scattered through the countries. This tells us that the glorious land cannot refer to the physical land of Israel but rather the places or countries where God’s people live in the last days; for according to the bible wherever God’s commandment keeping people are they bring glory to the land. With this in mind let’s reread Daniel 11:41 which says:

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 11:41

The Papacy enters into the Glorious Land where the Remnant live, where God’s people bring glory to His name when they keep the commandments. Sadly however the bible tells us that many of the lands where God’s commandments are kept will be overthrown and the people of God will choose to follow the Papacy and disobey God’s law. There will be some however that escape from the Papacy and these the bible tells us are Edom, Moab and the prominent people of Ammon. At this point it is important to point out that Edom, Moab and Ammon are no longer actual countries in the world and so in order to understand who or what these countries are we must go back to their previous usage in the word of God. Notice what the bible says in Isaiah 11:10-12,14

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.  11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.  12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth... 14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; They shall spoil them of the east together: They shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; And the children of Ammon shall obey them. Isaiah 11:14.

Notice how Isaiah uses several of the same words in this passage that we see in Daniel 11:41. For instance in Isaiah 11 we see that the root of Jesse will give a rest to the gentiles that is glorious. In a similar way Daniel says that the king of the north will enter the glorious land. Then we see in Isaiah 11 that the remnant will lay their hand on Edom, Moab and the children of Ammon and they will obey the remnant. Then Daniel says that the Edom, Moab and the children of Ammon will escape the king of the north. 

We have already established that the glorious land is the place where God's people keep the commandments. In ancient times this was the physical land of Israel that was located adjacent to the lands of Edom, Moab and the children of Ammon who lived on the eastern side of the Jordan River. With this in mind let's go to Jeremiah 40:11–12. Here we read:

Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan; 12 Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.

God is gathering His people. He will gather His people from among the tribes that were closely related to God’s people. Historically Edom, Moab and Ammon were related to the Israelites and some of the Israelites had gone to live among them. But when the Jews that lived among them heard that God had left a remnant in Judah they came out from Edom, Moab and Ammon and returned to the mountain of God. Isaiah continues in chapter 11 saying:

16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people,

Which shall be left, from Assyria;

Like as it was to Israel

In the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. Isaiah 11:16

In Isaiah 11:14 we see that the remnant will lay their hand upon Edom, Moab and the children of Ammon who in turn will obey the remnant. And then we see in verse 16 that God will make a highway for His remnant to return. When we couple this passage with Daniel 11:41 we can see that Edom, Moab and the children of Ammon will escape the Papacy because they obey the remnant. In other words they obey the teaching of the remnant concerning the word of God. They will come back to God in the glorious land where God's people keep all of the commandments. Ellen White says in a letter written in 1890:

Many souls will come from other denominational churches, and at the eleventh hour will obey all the truth, because they have not set themselves in array against heaven’s light, but lived up to all the light they had; while those who have had great light, large privileges and opportunities, and have failed to live in the light and walk in the light, will drop out by the way. Their light will shine less and less until their lamps will go out for the want of the oil of grace in their vessels with their lamps.—Letter 36a, 1890. 

This call to obedience can also be found in the 14th chapter of Revelation that says:

6   And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,  7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.  8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.  9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, Revelation 14:6-9

Edom, Moab and Ammon are those that obey the call of the remnant to fear God and worship Him, leave Babylon and avoid receiving the mark of the beast. At this point in the prophecy of Daniel 11 we see the Papacy known as the great harlot that sits on many waters or peoples as in Revelation 17 causing the world to worship itself instead of the true God. In order to bring about a worldwide unity the Papacy employs the United States as outlined in Revelation 13 which says:

11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.  12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. Revelation 13:11,12

The beast that is described in this passage comes up out of the earth. The earth is a symbol of an unpopulated area. We know this for two reasons. First the waters or seas in the book of Revelation according to Revelation 17:15 are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. This would indicate that the earth would be an unpopulated area. We also see a second reason the earth is a symbol of an unpopulated area from Revelation 12:14,15:

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 of the flood. 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. Revelation 12:14,15

The woman in this passage is a symbol for God’s church and the earth is the place that the church found refuge from the flood of persecution of the many peoples in Europe. Historically we know that this place was the new world and what became known as the United States. Originally the United States was founded on the two concepts of Protestantism and Republicanism. This is what is meant in Revelation in the phrase “two horns like a lamb.” The United States was originally founded on these two Christlike principles of freedom of religion and the freedom of conscience. But over time even this nation began to succumb to the influence of the Papacy as the Papacy’s wound began to heal. And as a result the United States will, according to prophecy, speak as a dragon. This means that it will speak or make laws like the dragon of pagan Rome: laws that will be designed to prohibit the free exercise of religion and the freedom to live according to your conscience. In doing so it will finally make a law that commands Sunday observance and worship. And in doing this it will make an image to the beast or a reflection of the same type of forced worship that characterized the dark ages under the Papacy.

Then the Papacy along with the political power of the west will cause everyone in the world both great and small to abandon the true worship of God and to abandon keeping God’s commandments. It will enforces its authority by causing the world to worship on the spurious Sabbath called Sunday. In doing this it sets up the mark of the beast in the form of a Sunday law. From the context of Daniel 11:41 it is clear that the majority of the world will succomb to the authority of the Papacy as it states in Daniel 11:41:

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 11:41

Many people will be overthrown in the glorious land that had been keeping the commandments of God. In other words many people that are keeping the Sabbath will give up observing the Sabbath and as a result they will leave the remnant. On the other hand many Christians that share much of the same biblical beliefs as the remnant church will escape the Papacy. These Christians that are symbolized by Edom, Moab, and Ammon will escape when they obey the remnant and keep the commandments of God and the biblical Sabbath. In addition to what we have learned in Isaiah 11 about Edom, Moab and Ammon’s role in end time events there is also the geographical significance of Edom, Moab and Ammon. These countries were border countries of ancient Israel and shared not only a common history but a common ancestry with the ancient Israelites. Edom was the national name of the descendants of Esau who were related to Jacob the father of the Israelite tribes. Moab and Ammon were the descendants of Lot the nephew of Abraham, the progenitor of the promised child Isaac. As such the Edomites, Moabites and Ammonites, while no longer a physical and geographical people, represent the people of the earth that share a history with the remnant church. Examples might include protestants and evangelicals that share much of the common beliefs of the commandment keeping remnant of Seventh-day Adventists raised up in the last days. Many of these people will recognize the usurpation of spiritual authority by the papacy in the last days and recognize the remnant as God’s true people. 

The Papacy will overcome the vast majority of the world and will even overthrow many of those who keep the commandments of God as he invades the Glorious Land. But while many commandment keeping Seventh-day Adventists and Sabbatarian Christians succumb to the papacy many more protestants will come out of Babylon and receive the three angel’s messages, keep the commandments of God and the biblical Sabbath. This is why Daniel mentions those that escape from Edom, Moab and Ammon. Many Christians who share a common history with the remnant people will escape from the Papacy.

At this point the papacy continues its march towards total worldwide allegiance. We read in Daniel 11:42:

42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.  Daniel 11:42

As the papacy proceeds he stretches out his hand against the whole world and goes after what is left of the land of Egypt. In the bible Egypt is the prophetic symbol of atheism. In Daniel 11:42 the power of the French Revolution in the form of atheistic communism has been broken. The last holdouts of atheism find that they cannot put up a resistance. The bible explains how Egypt is the symbol for atheism in Revelation 11 saying: 

7   When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.  8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Revelation 11:7,8

In this text the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit refers to the political power of atheistic France that destroyed and killed God’s word and left it dead in the streets. Referencing Sodom and Egypt as the symbols of this atheistic rebellion we remember the history of the godless and immoral ancient sodomites and the rebellious and atheistic Pharaoh of Egypt that said:

Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go. Exodus 5:2

In the final vestiges of this atheistic revolution that has it’s beginning in ancient Sodom and Egypt the Papacy finally exterminates any and all atheistic opposition as the bible tells us that the land of Egypt does not escape. Even the atheists are subsumed into the Catholic confederation and the world wonders after the beast. Not content with just the allegiance of the modern atheistic Egyptians the papacy goes after their resources as described in Daniel 11:43 which says:

43 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. Daniel 11:43

This verse concerning the acquisition of the gold and silver and precious things of Egypt finds its parallel in the description of the papacy found in Revelation 17:4:

4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. Revelation 17:4

The papacy described here as the woman of Babylon absorbs the wealth of the world. The papacy then uses its control of the currency of the world to enforce its authority. The bible says that the beast proclaims through it’s agents the United States:

…no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:17

It seems as if everyone and everything is under the authority of the papacy. But just when the papacy thinks its victory is complete it hears disturbing news. Daniel 11:44 says:

44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. Daniel 11:44

This news from the east is in fact the gospel being preached to all the earth. It is the glory of God shining forth from God's people. Revelation 18:1 prophesies of this saying:

18 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. Revelation 18:1

When God's glory shines forth from God's people as they keep His commandments the papacy will be greatly troubled and attempt to annihilate the remnant that keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. The papacy reels from its position in atheistic Egypt as it hears the growing cry from a not too distant mount to the north and the east. With a fury and ferocity unmatched by previous world powers it goes to surround and destroy its last surviving enemy. The enemy of the papacy is described in Daniel 11:45 which says:

45 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

The papacy plants the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain. Again the seas are the peoples of the earth for Revelation 17:15 tells us:

The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. Revelation 17:15

The glorious holy mountain is the symbol for the remnant. Joel 2:32 says:

32 And it shall come to pass

That whoever calls on the name of the LORD

Shall be saved.

For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,

As the LORD has said,

Among the remnant whom the LORD calls. Joel 2:32

Students of the bible will recognize in the scene that is described in Daniel 11:45 an echo of the crossing of the red sea during the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt. The bible says about that scene in Exodus 14

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. Exodus 14:1,2.

When the Israelites found themselves pressed from behind by the Egyptians at the Red Sea the Red Sea opened up and the crossed through walls of water to the other side on dry ground. When they got to the other side the Lord allowed the Egyptians to pursue them. The Egyptians rushed into the dry path between the walls of the Red Sea to attack the Israelites on the other side. But before the Egyptians could make it all the way across the waters came crashing down and the Egyptians were destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea. 

The same will be true at the end of time when Babylon and the King of the North attempts to make its way through the people of the world to attack the remnant. But just as before God will not allow the King of the North to hurt His people. This is why the bible says at the end of Daniel 11:45:

…yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him. Daniel 11:45b

As the remnant proclaim the truth about Babylon and its sins as described in Revelation 18 the papacy reals with rage and attempts to destroy this last holdout of God’s people by surrounding the people of God. At the mount of congregation God’s people remain firm. Fixed and sealed they will not bow to the beast and receive his mark. Acknowledging the true God as they worship Him on His Sabbath they stand apart from a world of Sunday worshippers who submit to the authority of the papacy. With a final declaration of earthly power the papacy declares that this isolated enemy must be exterminated from the earth. A death decree is declared and set for a certain day just as ancient Persia pronounced doom to the Jewish people. But type is exceeded by antitype as God fights for His people. The bible says:

1 “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. Daniel 12:1

The verses of Daniel 11:40-45 are the final verses of human history. They span from the beginning of the time of the end in 1798 to the final return of Jesus Christ. These verses are being fulfilled before our very eyes. We would do well to read them and understand.