Commentary: Daniel 11, Anthony's Historicist Study Aid

Daniel 11 is the single most outstanding prophecy in the world, which will shock the reader. Daniel 11 is put simply the front page headlines of centuries and millennia. Daniel 11 is the longest, most detailed, and most politically complex prophecy in Scripture. Yet for centuries its structure has been obscured by assumptions, fragmented interpretations, and the absence of a unified historical model. This commentary solves these problems.

Said another way, Daniel 11-12 is the detailed events of Daniel 2, 7, 8 and 9; which is exactly what Daniel prayed for.

Therefore what shall follow is a complete, verse‑by‑verse reconstruction of Daniel 11–12 using only verifiable history, consistent statecraft, and the internal logic of the text itself culminating in complete world timeline.

If you have ever wondered whether Daniel 11 can be understood without speculation, without contradiction, and without any abandonment of the Historicist method, this commentary is to date, the world's purest example.

Anthony's Historicist Study Aid or Anthony's Study Aid of Daniel 11 is the result of a lifetime of Anthony's personal historical studies and thanks the Church Fathers, the Reformers and every religious group for their combined contributions to this documents construction. This document does not follow any individual denomination teaching, it's sole doctrine is Historicism which it follows absolutely. It is a new synthesis and began as a series of videos posted on Bitchute:

Daniel 11:1 - Watch on Bitchute

Daniel 11:2 - Watch on Bitchute

Understanding that the Daniel 11 does not provide an interpretation as in Daniel 2, 7, 8 and 9 the only possible logical conclusion is that no interpretation is needed. This conclusion is reinforced and even necessitated by the chapter's obvious elementary history easily understood up to the death of Alexander. Therefore it is logical to conclude, that unless indicated otherwise, the entire chapter is literal. Such were the thought of Sir Isaac Newton who saw it as an explanation of Daniel 8 and Martin Luther who said that it was to be "understood as historical events". Luther said this because Jerome's work (c.400ad) treated the chapter as literal history; meanwhile Porphyry created his doctrine of Preterism in Against the Christians as a pagan redirection to the literal historical teaching that the Christians of the first centuries were necissarily proclaiming.

Clearly, as supported by the Church Father's writings on the 70 Weeks Prophecy, the ancient Christians were Historicists which this commentary seeks to follow in the truest sense possible and honour their legacy as far as is possible.

However many modern works translate in order to maintain an accepted interpretative style as the afore mentioned Preterism, Futurism or Dispensationalism because they knowingly or unknowingly have abandoned Ancient Christianity's Historicism. Others maintain a literary preference for the Masoretic Text (MT) or the Septuagint (LXX) which when the latter is favoured can at times manifest 'Functional Reversal' blatantly translating "king of the north" instead of "king of the south" or vica versa; which therefore can result in confusion on the matter. There are cases such as Daniel 11:9,11-12,15,25. We will attempt to address each case in their places; but since this author's Greek is far better than Hebrew, you will find the LXX referenced more as we seek contemporaneous language usage references, but ultimately, this text harmonises with the MT.

To finalise this discourse on the influences upon this chapter, it must be noted that for reasons unknown, Jerome, while fully a Historicist in his exposition of the 70 Weeks of Years, nevertheless adopted substantial elements of Porphyry's framework when commenting on Daniel 11. Although Jerome officially refuted Porphyry, he transmitted much of Porphyry’s Antiochus IV Epiphanes centered system into the Christian interpretative tradition. This transmission became the foundation of modern Preterism. Consequently, any prophetic interpretation that focuses on Antiochus IV Epiphanes is ultimately a derivative of Against the Christians — with all the implications that title conveys.

This work is seperate from any denominational ties and only holds to ancient Christianity's Historicist method; wherein history and Scripture are overlayed in order to determin the interpretation. Therefore Anthony Study Aid of Daniel 11 is a 'Historical Paraphrase', a 'Historical Idiom', it is Anthony's Study Aid. Unfortunately, we do not have the liberty here to have complete historical explanations on every verse. But in the words of the AI 'Co-Pilot', this work is the purest example historicim in existance: in the vain of Martin Luther and Sir Isaac Newton.

Each section will have the KJV and our historical paralelle; while it may also contain other original sources and translations and notes as relevant.

Starting Date

The prophetic section of Daniel 10-12 is given theoretically on the 5th of April 535 BC.

We say theoretically because the Babylonian–Persian calendar was observational and declared regionally. The first day of the month was proclaimed from the local capital when the crescent after the new moon was visible under local weather conditions. This produced a 1–2 day variation across the empire.

It must also be noted that Daniel's regnal system includes Darius the Mede, who is not generally recognized in modern scholarship but correlates perfectly with Cyaxares II from Xenophon’s Cyropaedia, and arguably with the Median succession implied in the Behistun Inscription. Acknowledging Cyaxares II’s death in December 538 BC means that “the third year of Cyrus” must be read in this light.

The question then becomes whether Daniel was using the Babylonian/Persian regnal reckoning or the Hebrew / Syrian Regional Regnal Reckoning system.

• The Babylonians and Persians counted the first partial year as the accession year, followed by Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, etc.

• The Hebrews counted the first partial year as Year 1 immediately.

While Daniel is a Hebrew writing in Hebrew, without Jerusalem it was impossible to use the Hebrew observational dating system, which depended on the month of Tishri and required priestly proclamation from Jerusalem. The logistics of confirming exact dates from Jerusalem during exile make the Hebrew system unviable for precise dating, even though broader concepts such as month names were shared across cultures.

It must also be noted that all contemporaneous literature — the Book of Ezra, Book of Nehemiah, and Book of Esther — uses the Babylonian/Persian system, as Daniel himself does elsewhere in the Book of Daniel.

Therefore, if we count the third year from the death of Cyaxares II in December 538 BC, the reckoning proceeds as follows:

Accession year: December 538 BC → Nisan 537 BC

Year 1: Nisan 537 → Nisan 536 BC

Year 2: Nisan 536 → Nisan 535 BC

Year 3: begins 1 Nisan 535 BC

This is the exact day Daniel 10:4 tells us Daniel began his fasting in lamentation, continuing until the 24th day of the same month. It is also worth noting that this period includes the 14th day of Nisan, the Passover. Using the rabbinic calendar, 1 Nisan 535 BC ≈ 12 March on the proleptic Gregorian calendar, making the 24th ≈ 5 April 535 BC.

Coincidentally, this date falls within the six‑month overlap between the Persian and Hebrew regnal systems when determining the year, but the dating system itself must still be specified to determin the day and month with the Babylonian/Persian system being only viable one for Daniel in exile.

Daniel 11:2

Watch on Bitchute - The historical events and context contained in Daniel 11:2

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

After Cyrus the Great [530bc] shall come 1. his son Cambyses II followed [522bc] by 2. that upstart magi Faulse Smyrdis. He shall be murdered [522bc] by 3. Darius I [522-486bc] whose son 4. Xerxes will launch the ‘Second Persian Invasion of Greece’ [480-479bc] with a force so big it easily passed the million.

Daniel 11:3

King James Version

And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

Anthony's Study Aid

Consequentially Alexander the Great shall arise to whom there has been no equal: His kingdom will be bigger than all those before and none shall defeat him, despite the odds. [336–323bc]

Daniel 11:4

Kingdoms of the Successors of Alexander, Edward Weller between 1800-1899, https://lccn.loc.gov/2013593022

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

And once Alexander has forged his empire, he shall suddenly die [323bc] and his kingdom shall not go to his child, but after some time, battles & Cassander’s murder of Alexander’s sons Alexander & Hercules [309bc], his remaining four generals shall declared themselves kings [305/304bc]:

1. Ptolemy in Egypt and Lybia;

2. Seleucus from the east of Turkey through Syria all the way into India;

3. Lysimicus controlled western Turkey through eastern Greece and

4. Cassander shall control western and southern Greece.

Note 1

Cassander ordered the secret execution of Roxana and her son Alexander, after having kept them under guard for years and prevented Alexander IV from assuming kingship. Polyperchon was bribed by Cassander to kill Heracles, the older illegitimate son by Barsine ending the Agread line and succession crisis.

Note 2

Antigonus was technically the first to declare himself king followed by Ptolemy I, Seleucus I, Lysimicus and Cassander. Yet by the colalition of the latter four, Antigonus was defeated and the four mutually recognised each other's kingdom fulfilling the prophecy; even in modern times a kingdom receives its legitimacy once recognised internationally.

Note 3

Alexander was shown Daniel 2, 7, 8 & 11 at Jerusalem, flattering his ego & fueling his already extant belief of Divine appointment. If this is true it explains his future life as a man trying to out run his destiny and then his final resignation to it. His final actions were probable active co-operation with Daniel’s prophecies. This otherwise never before published theory harmonizes the historical accounts and happily explains many of the inconsistencies of Alexander's closing events.

Daniel 11:5

Coin of Antiochus I showing his late father as a national Hero, now subject to the divine order of ApolloI Soter

King James Version

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.

Coin of Ptolemy I Soter

Anthony's Study Aid

So Ptolemy I Soter [305bc] shall be strong as the dominant power of the South: but Seleucus the Victor who had been sheltered by Ptolemy I after losing Babylon to Antigonus [316bc] and served as one of his commanders, shall with Ptolemy I’s support recapture Babylon [312bc]. Thus after this, Seleucus I Nicator shall wrest the domains of both Lysimachus and Cassander [281bc], and so become stronger than Ptolemy I; and he shall have a great dominion.

Note 1

The Diadochi (διάδοχοι τῆς βασιλείας), “successors of the kingdom” [Plutarch, Diodorus, Arrian] is a title given to the rival generals, family and friends who fought for power after the death of Alexander the Great.

Note 2 - Why the Septuagint (LXX) was Commissioned

Ptolemy II probably heard his father’s story of what happened at Jerusalem regarding the prophecies of Daniel.

“And when the Book of Daniel was shown to him, wherein he declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended.”

— Josephus, Antiquities 11.8.5

Ancient kings constantly sought out the wisdom of future events from every Oracle at their disposal. It is therefore only logical that his commission of the Septuagint is an arguable desire for future knowledge from the prophecies of Daniel that were so true of Alexander. It is notable that this is one of his first royal acts. It is ironic that his translators of the LXX at times functionally reversed "king of the north" and "king of the south".

Note 3

All commentators on this verse are in unison including Jerome's Commentary on Daniel and thereby the pagan Porphyry's Preterism. Prior to them no extant copy survives.

Daniel 11:6

Bust generally believed to be Ptolemy II Philadelphus.

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

And after some significant time and the ‘Second Syrian War’, Antiochus II and Ptolemy II shall conclude peace [253bc] contractually by Antiochus II disenfranchising his wife, his children and then marrying Ptolemy II’s daughter Berenice to create a new line of succession. So Ptolemy II shall escort her to Antioch for the wedding [c.252bc] and after several years die of old age [246bc]. After which Antiochus II shall be murdered by his ex-wife, as well as Berenice, their child and all Berenice’s Egyptian attendants [246bc].

Note 1

Coin showing Apollo seated upon the centre of the universe holding his harp of melody and harmony portent of divinely appointed order.

Coin showing Apollo resting upon the Oracle of prophecy with the Arrow of Fate in his hand minted by Seleucus II Callinicus.

The tetradrachm of Seleucus II Callinicus reveals several interesting points. Since previous Seleucid coins like this coin on the right with Antiochus' name on it, depict Apollo seated on the Omphalos (centre of the universe), the below coin stands as bold message wherein Apollo is now rested on prophetic utterance with the Arrow of Fate, even executed fate in his hand. Yet the message is clear: all these commotions around his assention are divinely appointed.

But moreso, if we considering that the prophecies of Daniel were well known in the east and detailed these events with such clarity, we suggest that Apollo was attributed for the prophetic utterance of Daniel 11 wherein we find these events so perfectly transcribed. We would also like to suggest that if there had been actual Delphinic utterance, a host of historians of the period would have proclaimed it from every mountain top and roof top with all eagerness as the story of Croesus of Lydia before battle with Cyrus the Great. Yet all we have is silence from the polytheists and this coin.

Furthermore, Seleucus II's agnomen of Callinicus wasn't earned, it was asserted as propaganda meaning 'noble victory'. Considering that the peace treaty of the Second Syrian War required Seleucus II's disenfranchisement from the succession and replacement by the heir to be produced via Berenice, the poisoning of his father Antiocus II Theos, the assasination of Berenice, the murder of new heir and the brutal massacre of the Egyptian attendants by Laodice I, saw Seleucus II instigated onto the throne that he had otherwise lost. Therefore his agnomen is an assertion of righteously placed on the throne, noble victory despite the gaustedly acts by which it had happened.

The parallel to Olympias' contrived assassination of Philip II of Macedon should escape none. Alexander was complicit in the actions of Olympia at best; just like we suggest with Seleucus II as his mother saw to the murder of his father, his mother-in-law, his half brother the heir apparent and attendants. Both events triggered wars making the parallel complete.

We therefore bluntly assert that Seleucus II Callinicus claimed that his reign was prophetically ordained, yet outside of Daniel 11, no prophecy can be produced. Seleucus II Callinicus claimed through his agnomen that his reign was divinely appointed, but no oracle can be produced. Therefore we assert that this coin is contemporaneous proof that Seleucus acknowledged the fulfillment of Daniel 11:6 in himself..

Note 2:

Considering that Antiochus II's mother was Ptolemy II's sister also named Berenice, it is self evident that the intent was that the child Antiochus II Theos was meant to be a unifying influence to the royal houses. Laodice's later actions prove that she was extremely politically ambitious and agressive to the point of assassination. Ptolemy II effective sole term of surrender upon his nephew was the protection of his nephew and the annulment of the troublesome wife Laodice I and her children by the production of a new bloodline tying the royal houses even tighter. It is this Author's belief that Ptolemy II's knew Laodice and pushed her husband to initiate the war making her the effective only term in the surrender; imposed territorial gains could have been much greater and are a mute point when conquest by marriage is the clear goal. For a more modern parallel, we note that this is not disimilar to how Henrietta Maria influenced Charles I of England triggering the English Civil War.

Daniel 11:7

Coin of Ptolemy III Euergetes.

King James Version

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:

Anthony's Study Aid

Now out of Berenice’s own family roots shall her brother Ptolemy III leap from the throne of his kingdom, and shall rally an army of revenge creating the Third Syrian War [246-241bc]. He shall fantastically sweep through the domains of the King of the North, even conquering some of the most fortified of cities, including most of Babylon and briefly the capitol Antioch itself.

Daniel 11:8

Coin of Seleucus II Callinicus.

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

So Ptolemy III shall return into Egypt enriched with the children of the elite (as political prisoners), general captives and plunder. He also found in Babylon certain Egyptian idols taken by Cambyses II: for which they shall title him ‘Eurgetes’ (saviour). Ptolemy III shall also live longer [221bc] than his foe Seleucus II [226bc] with whom he sought revenge.

Note 1

Here The New Jerome blatantly and illogically goes against well established history to state "Seleucus II Callinicus (246-226), devastated the land, and carried off enormous booty to Egypt." Such emeritus scholars to state such can only be maintaining a narrative to match the RSV & NAB on which their work is based. For not even Jerome asserted this in his original work.

Daniel 11:9

King James Version

So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.

MT

וּבָא בְּמַלְכוּת מֶלֶךְ הַנֶּגֶב וְשָׁב לְאַדְמָתוֹ

Anthony's Direct Translation

So [the king of the south] shall come into the kingdom of the king of the north and he shall return to his own land.

Anthony's Study Aid

But Ptolemy III’s immensely successful campaign shall be cut short by an emergency trip home due to the first native uprising [246bc] that would later become The Great Revolt of Egypt; leading him to focus on home affairs the rest of his days.

Note 1 - Overview

The English KJV reads like poetic parallelism wherein the same thing is said twice. But the MT is clear, the king of the south goes into the kingdom of the north and returns. This is a summary of the above verses. With this in mind the KJV is not wrong for "into his kingdom" is contextually the Selucid Kingdom, the domains of the north after which Ptolemy returns to his own land.

Note 2 - Functional Reversal

The RSV functionally reverses the kings of the north and south here without support from either the MT or the LXX.

Daniel 11:10

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

Consequentially thirty years later the King of the North’s sons (Seleucus III shortly assassinated then Antiochus III) shall determine a reclamation war and assembled a mighty army. He shall sweep through with great success [219-218bc]! Then in the following year (after winter) he shall return to try and invade Ptolemy IV’s Egyptian heartland [Battle of Raphia, 217bc].

Daniel 11:11

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

And the King of the South (Ptolemy IV) shall rise to the defense with furious indignation. Their clash at Raphia [217 bc] became the greatest Hellenistic battle before Roman supremacy at Magnesia and hall-marked as the largest elephant-on-elephant battle ever. Yet while the King of the North shall have the larger army, Antiochus III’s army shall be slaughtered at a rate of five to one ending the ‘Fourth Syrian War’.

Daniel 11:12

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

And having taken the multitude, Ptolemy IV’s heart shall exalt itself in pride. Filled with over‑confidence he shall proceed on a victory tour [217 bc] during which he shall be struck with divine paralysis after attempting to force his way into the Holy of Holies. Returning to Egypt in humiliated rage, he shall cast down many ten thousands in the civil unrest that shall follow [213bc]. In this same spirit he shall also excuse the slaughter of some forty thousand of his own Jewish citizens, seeking revenge for being rebuked of God at Jerusalem.

Daniel 11:13

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

But the King of the North shall return with a much larger army in about fourteen years after the Battle of Raphia. For the turmoil of these years shall have left many of his eastern dominions in revolt. To restore order, Antiochus III shall re‑enact Alexander the Great’s eastern campaign [the Anabasis, 212–205 bc] with near‑equal effect, and upon his victorious return (being laden with treasures and commanding a greatly enlarged and battle‑hardened army) he shall receive the epithet “the Great.”

Daniel 11:14a

King James Version

And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south:

Septuagint (LLX)

καὶ ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς ἐκείνοις πολλοὶ ἐπαναστήσονται ἐπὶ βασιλέα τοῦ νότου·

Anthony's Direct Translation

And in those days many shall rise up against the King of the South;

Anthony's Study Aid

And while Antiochus III shall still be campaigning in the East, Ptolemy IV shall die suddenly, leaving his five‑year‑old son Ptolemy V upon the throne [204 bc] with the world against him. His regents shall then murder the guardian Lysimachus, his uncle Magas, and his mother Arsinoe III; and when these crimes become known, the Alexandrian mob shall rise and slay Agathoclea, his former nurse and political manipulator, together with Agathocles his chief regent. These deaths shall unsettle the court and trigger the Revolt of Alexandria [203–202 bc], all against the backdrop of the Great Egyptian (native) Revolt [204–196 bc]. Even his renowned mercenary general Scopas shall be sent to Greece to hire a new loyal army to replace the old. Meanwhile Antiochus III the Great and Philip V of Macedon shall agree together [Pact of 203 bc] to divide his dominions between themselves.

The Rosetta Stone in the British museum.

Note 1

The famous Rosetta Stone was inscribed in 196 BC during the reign of Ptolemy V. It commemorated his coronation and the suppression of the Great Egyptian Revolt, and its trilingual text (hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek) later became the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian writing.

Note 2

The Septuagint (LXX) was commissioned under Ptolemy II Philadelphus in the 3rd century BC, making its translators contemporaries of — or only one generation removed from — the historical events proposed in this text.

Because they lived within the Hellenistic world, under Ptolemaic rule, they understood the political factions, idioms, and cultural context far better than modern scholars reconstructing Biblical Hebrew.

For this verse, we therefore favour their rendering, particularly its bearing on the second half of this verse, which points to pestilent, lawless zealots attempting to “establish the vision,” rather than the more traditional interpretations.

νότου, 'south' here matches the masoretic text (MT).

Daniel 11:14b

The Prophecies of Isaiah.

King James Version

also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

Septuagint (LLX)

καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν λοιμῶν τοῦ λαοῦ σου ἐπαρθήσονται τοῦ στῆσαι ὅρασιν· καὶ ἀσθενήσουσιν·

Anthony's Direct Translation

and the sons of the pestilent ones(trouble makers) of your people [Daniel] (the Hebrews), shall exalt themselves to establish the vision (prophecy); but they shall fail.

Anthony's Study Aid

Also in those days, as your people Daniel shall witness the unrest of Egypt and suffer under the oppression of the Ptolemaic general Scopas when he garrisons Jerusalem [Jan. 200bc], certain power‑hungry troublemakers shall open the city gates to Antiochus III [198bc], declaring his arrival the fulfillment of Isaiah 19. But they shall fail in their attempt to forcefully “establish the vision,” for they could not make “the land of Judah” a “terror unto Egypt”; therefore they shall fail.

Note 1

“καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν λοιμῶν.”

The noun λοιμοί, while normally meaning “plagues,” is used in prophetic‑classical Greek to denote **“pestilent ones,” “troublemakers,” or “those causing ruin.” This aligns with the Hebrew term פָּרִיצֵי (paritz) in Daniel 11:14, meaning “violent ones,” “breakers,” “lawless ones,” or “marauders.”

The Hebrews also used expressions such as “sons of Belial” to mean worthless, lawless troublemakers, similar to English idioms like “son of a gun” or “you no‑good son of bitch” — not literal lineage, but a description of character. This idiomatic background helps clarify the Greek and Hebrew usage here.

Thus, the concept conveyed is that of violent, lawless, and troublesome factions within Daniel’s people — internal agitators or opportunists — acting contemporaneously with the many who “stand up against the king of the south,” and doing so with the added context of attempting to force or fulfill a prophetic outcome.

Note 2 - Supporting Commentators

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible

Rashi interprets Daniel 11:14b as referring to violent Jewish factions who “rise up to force the prophecy.”

Ibn Ezra likewise identifies the group as internal rebels, not Gentile powers.

Martin Luther repeatedly identifies the “robbers of thy people” as internal Jewish factions who attempt to force prophetic fulfillment.

Matthew Henry in his commentary wrote “Some of the Jews, turbulent and factious, shall attempt to fulfill the vision by force.”

John J Collins wrote: “The phrase refers to violent Jewish factions.”

Goldingay (Word Bibilical Commentary) wrote “The Hebrew indicates internal Jewish rebels.”

Note 3

We assert Isaiah 19 here not because of a single historical record, but because of necessary deduction. All commentators agree that v.14 belongs to the era of Antiochus III, which requires a religio‑political event among the Hebrews during this time. Josephus provides the only possible event: a faction of Jews who opened Jerusalem’s gates to Antiochus III, believing him to be a divinely sent liberator (especially in contrast to the persecuting Ptolemy IV, consequential to having been Divinely rebuked when he attempted to enter the Most Holy Place). Isaiah 19 is the only prophecy that speaks of a power invading Egypt (necessarily from the north), after which “Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt” and “five cities in the land of Egypt shall speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts.” Clearly these zealots hoped to ride in Antiochus III’s van.

Note 4

Sir Isaac Newton, Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel

The above “supporting commentators” agree on the linguistic identification of the group in Daniel 11:14b. While these commentators correctly acknowledge what should be looked for, they all fail to bridge their linguistic conclusions to the primary historical sources — sources which, had they been carefully examined, would have revealed both the specific group involved and the prophecy they attempted to invoke.

This commentary therefore expresses a position that is unique in two respects:

• It identifies which political agitators are meant, by isolating them through the established historical timeline.
• It identifies which prophecy these agitators attempted to establish, as documented in the historians.

While Sir Isaac Newton acknowledged the needs of the verse and the correct time frame, he misapplied the target group and failed to identify which prophecy was referenced. But Of all commentators, Martin Luther comes closest correctly identifying:

• internal Jewish factions,
• forced prophetic fulfillment,
• during Antiochus III’s era.

Thus this commentary stands unique only in its synthesized exactness of 11:14b, yet remains perfectly defensible in its historical credibility and deduction.

Daniel 11:15

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

Yet after Scopas shall depart from Jerusalem [c. Feb 200 bc], he shall suffer a crushing blow at the Battle of Panium [c. June 200 bc], leaving him unable to meet Antiochus III again upon the field. He shall therefore retreat to the last Ptolemaic strongholds — the heavily fortified and economically vital coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon [late 200 bc]. Then shall the King of the North, Antiochus III, come and besiege Sidon, casting up mounds and ramparts for the heaviest of siege engines. With insufficient troops and failing supply lines, Scopas shall be starved into submission [198bc]. And with the loss of the general army and the elite forces, there shall remain no strength in the Ptolemaic King of the South. Antiochus III shall now focus on the battle for “the empire of the universe” resulting in a Roman victory at the Battle of Magnesia [189bc] and consequential Treaty of Apamea [188bc].

Note 1

The Catholic Douay-Rheims footnotes match our supplied interpretation up to the appearance of Rome (exception 14b), from which point the rest of the chapter stays with the Greek kings as it mirrors Jerome’s Commentary on Daniel [c.400ad] which in turn mirrored one of its core source book from Porphyry’s ‘Against the Christians’ [c.350ad].

Note 2

This is where we first see the first development of the publicized concept of the Catholic Empire, literally “the rule of the whole”, ἡ καθολικὴ ἀρχή.

Daniel 11:16a

'King James Version

But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him:

Anthony's Study Aid

And after Antiochus III ‘the Great’ shall die an ignominious death [3 July 187bc], Antiochus IV Epiphanes shall crush the Ptolemaic forces at Pelusium [c. 170bc] and shall stand ready to seize the entire country.

But he that shall come against him shall be a single Roman senator, Popillius Laenas, who shall do according to Rome’s own will, and shall declare Egypt a protectorate client‑state of Rome; for if Antiochus IV should seize Egypt, it would mean a breach of the treaty and war [Day of Eleusis, 22 June 168bc].

So shall Antiochus IV Epiphanes, being then the King of the North, shall retreat; and Rome shall become the new undisputed King in the North and the world’s undisputed superpower.

Daniel 11:16b

Pompey Carnifex later Magnus (the Great)

King James Version

and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.

Anthony's Study Aid

And Rome shall later raise her standard in the promised land led by “the teenage butcher”, Pompey Carnifex (later Pompey Magnus) by whose hand the land shall be consumed and he shall do as he pleases [63bc].

And in like manner this shall be a dark harbinger of the impending closure of the 70 week prophecy of Daniel 9; resulting in the Jewish Wars [66–73ad] and the Destruction of Jerusalem [70ad], when the world’s then two largest cities — Rome and Jerusalem — shall be locked in a struggle unto death. And this tribulation shall be so severe that Jesus shall describe it saying: “let them which be in Judaea flee... for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.” [Matt 24:21,22a]

Notes

Christ greatly expounds on v.16’s parallel deliberately saying “As spoken of by the prophet Daniel”. Please read & understand: Matthew 23:37-24:22; Mark 13:1-23; Luke 21:1-24, Daniel 9. This Matt. 24 / Jewish War interpretation was also commonly understood by Ancient Christianity - see Eusebeus of Caeserea, the Reformers, the Puritans, classic historicists such as Isaac Newton.

Daniel 17a

Julius Caesar

King James Version

He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him;

Anthony's Study Aid

Yet Rome as the world superpower shall become divided within herself and unable to perform her own governance [60-50bc]. Thus Julius Caesar shall set his face at a very young age to enter the political area with the predetermined goal: to unite the kingdom under himself, backed by the most powerful people.

Note 1

“Upright ones” in the Hebrew וִישָׁרִים עִמּוֹ naturally reads as “influential men with him.” While the Greek LXX renders the phrase καὶ εὐθεῖα πάντα μετ’ αὐτοῦ ποιήσει, meaning “he will establish a firm political pact.” Both readings fit seamlessly here, describing the elite supporters and the political agreement that enabled Julius Caesar’s rise.

Note 2

By 16, Julius Caesar was Flamen Dialis, High Priest of Jupiter; Rome's most influential cult. At 35 he was Aedile (minister of public games/entertainment, public buildings and economy and public order), At 37 he became Pontifex Maximu, a title now used by the Pope but was ultimately the Minister for Religion of the Empire. By 38 he was Praetor (oversaw the judicial system and military), 39 Governor of Hispania Ulterior, and by 41 he was Consul. Age 42 he was conquering Gall.

Daniel 17b

Roman marriage scene to the traditional holding of the right hand.

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

Therefore he shall form the First Triumvirate [60bc] with the excessively wealthy Crasses and the militarily and prestigious Pompey Magnus. To formalize this contract, Julius shall offer his famously beautiful and desired daughter Julia to Pompey to wed; alas she and child shall die in childbirth [autumn 54bc] and all shall agree, the First Triumvirate shall with her. Thus she shall not keep Pompey politically aligned for Julius, neither will she be there anymore for Pompey Magnus.

Note 1

“Daughter of women” is an synonym for “an exceptionally desirable woman” or “a woman among women” with hints to her age as she was 16 when she was betrothed, 17 when married, 22-23 when she died.

Note 2

“Corrupted” in Biblical Hebrew and Imperial Aramaic, שׁחת (shachath) is a broad verb meaning: to ruin, spoil, to bring to failure, to destroy the intended purpose, to render ineffective, to break down something that was meant to hold together. It is used for ruined covenants, failed alliances, spoiled plans, corrupted political arrangements, destroyed structures, compromised agreements. וְלֹא תַעֲמֹד וְלֹא־תִהְיֶה לּוֹ “but she shall not stand for him, nor shall she be for him.”

Daniel 11:18a

King James Version

After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many:

Anthony's Study Aid

With the Triumvirate in tatters, Julius’ consulship shall end. After this he shall be offered the province of Gaul, and he shall determine as political stratagem the widely publicized Gallic Wars and even the invasion of the British Isles, skyrocketing his fame among the people.

Daniel 11:18b

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

But Pompey, as the new Consul [52bc] and acting for his own benefit, shall cause Julius’ former questionable actions to be swept aside; yet when the truth emerges, he shall downplay his own part and turn that cause of complaint back upon Julius, so that he is summoned to Rome to stand trial for his life [1-7 Jan 49].

Daniel 11:19

King James Version

Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.

Anthony's Study Aid

In response Julius shall cross the Rubicon with his army, initiating civil war [10 Jan 49bc], seize Rome, and defeat Pompey at Pharsalus [48bc]; and returning to Rome (via Egypt) as undisputed Dictator [45bc], he shall yet stumble and fall, and not be found, for he is assassinated on the Ides of March [44bc].

Daniel 11:20

Augustus Caesar

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

With the dictator slain, the Republic shall be ‘restored’ but shall continue in a state of civil war [49-31bc]. After 17 years, the Senate shall crown Julius Caesar’s adopted son Octavian as Augustus Caesar [27bc], granting him the very powers for which they murdered Julius! Augustus shall become famous for his tax reforms that “all the world should be taxed” of 28bc, 8bc and 14ad. But because the enrollment shall be implemented locally and at different times across the empire, Judean registration shall occur later which shall lead Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for registration. So it shall come to pass that the Jesus Christ shall be born [Oct-Nov, 5bc] before Herod the Great's death [Mar-Apr 4bc]. Augustus' reign shall be remembered as the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace and Golden Age). Yet after what appears to God as only a few "days", Augustus shall die [14ad], not by revenge, assassination or battle.

Note 1

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed [27bc].” [Luke 2:1]

Note 2

“Bethlehem Ephratah... out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” [Micah 5:2]

Note 3

Augustus’ taxation would have taken effect at the civil new year common throughout Syria at the time (1st of Tishri through to the 1st of Tishri) which kicked off with the Feast of Trumpets. Under Syrian Regnal Reckoning Jesus was baptised “in the 15th year of Tiberius” being “about 30” but culturally forced to already be 30 to enter any public office. Since Herod the great must be alive when Jesus was born and he died shortly after a lunar eclipse (16 March 5BC), the only possible year for this tax and Jesus birth to correlate is around October 5BC. This necessitates Jesus death 7 April 31 AD.

500 year silence

“...for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin (Daniel’s ‘a vile person’) be revealed, the son of perdition;” 2 Thess. 2:3

NB: While we claim 500 year of silence, the workings of statecraft can take generations to manifest.

Daniel 11:21

Little Horn of Daniel 7 with identifying marks.

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

Eventually the bishops by their parley and flattery shall receive the rulership as a gift by the hand of Justinian [538ad]. So they shall inherit the power of Julius (pontifex maximus /dictator) and Augustus (emperor); but in their reign they shall not be generally thought of or given the honours of traditional kings as their kingdom is seen as of a different nature. NB: the Bishop of Rome donned the title of ‘Holy’ Father / Pontifex Maximus / Pope in Rome to become that “vile person” & “man of sin”.

Note 1 - Vile Person

The dictionary definition of "vile" is 'sinful', therefore establishing firmly a strong linguistic parallel to Paul's "man of sin".

But while the early church fathers did not explicitly equate Daniel 11’s “vile person” with Paul’s “man of sin”, they consistently taught three points that establish a strong conceptual link between the two figures:

• Paul was expounding Daniel.

• Writers such as Hippolytus, Cyril of Jerusalem, Chrysostom, Jerome, and Ambrosiaster all taught that Paul’s “man of sin” was the same post‑Roman Antichrist figure foretold in Daniel’s prophecies.

• The Roman Empire was the restrainer.

• The fathers unanimously identified the “one who restrains” as the Roman imperial power. This matches Daniel’s sequence in which the Antichrist arises after the Imperial Roman Empire's decline.

• The Antichrist would arise through intrigue, flattery, and political ascent—not open warfare.

• This aligns directly with Daniel 11:21, where the “vile person” obtains the kingdom “by flatteries”, entering peaceably and rising through court influence rather than military conquest.

Although the fathers never explicitly cited Daniel 11 when interpreting 2 Thessalonians 2, their language reveals that they were drawing on Daniel’s description of the Antichrist’s rise. The church fathers understood that the vile person and man of sin were synonomous for Paul does not use terms such as flattery, intrigue, courtly persuasion, or peaceable ascent, yet these very expressions appear repeatedly in patristic commentary on the Man of Sin. This vocabulary comes not from Thessalonians but from Daniel 11:21, where the “vile person” obtains the kingdom “by flatteries” and rises through political seduction rather than military conquest. The fathers therefore imported Daniel’s mechanism of ascent into their explanation of Paul’s prophecy, showing that they understood both figures to describe the same post‑Roman adversary.

In other words, even without naming Daniel 11 directly, the fathers bridged the “vile person” and the “man of sin” by describing Paul’s Antichrist in Daniel’s terms. Their consistent use of Daniel’s distinctive vocabulary demonstrates that they saw the two prophecies as parallel accounts of the same figure, with Daniel providing the historical method of rise and Paul supplying the doctrinal and eschatological character.

This is a connection between Daniel 11:21 and 2 Thessalonians 2 that was forcefully understood by the ancient church, yet is now completely overlooked by every modern religious group, even though it is the necessary conclusion when we write here that the vile person of Daniel 11:21 is the Man of Sin in 2 Thessalonians 2 and that what is written there must be applied to any understanding of Daniel 11:21.

Note 2 - 'Bishops Flattery'

The bishops obtaining of power by flattery of kings is well established.

Sir Edward Gibbon notes well ow the bishops both "discovered the secret path that leads to wealth and power” and "courted the favour of the great by flattery". Gibbon further attests how the bishops “rising by the connivance of princes” and "insinuating themselves into the confidence of princes" and thereby "negotiated their own aggrandizement" while "usurping civil jurisdiction under the mask of religion" so that "the Roman pontiff rising by the convvivance of princes". Any extensive reading thereof will repeatedly see the rise of ecclesiastical power framed as a political negotiation rather than a military conquest so that:

“The ecclesiastical order… gradually rose from the most humble obscurity to the throne of the emperors.”

Yet the Papal biographies Liber Pontificalis tell the story well enough, as does Justinian's official historian Procopius. A.T. Jones' The Two Republics well compiles all the sources.

Note 3 - How the Bishops became a Civil Authority (538 AD)

Gibbon well compiled the method of power acquisition which eventually culminated in Justinian’s Novella 131 (533 AD), declaring the Roman bishop “Head of all the holy churches”; followed by Novella 137 (535 AD), granting the bishops judicial authority in civil matters; then Novella 42 (537 AD), requiring civil authorities to enforce ecclesiastical decisions; but ultimately in Novella 45 (538 AD), which reaffirmed the binding civil force of episcopal rulings, and (after the Ostrogothic obstruction was removed) made the previously granted ecclesiastical judicial authority fully operative in civil law.

Every Protestant group once calculated the 1260‑year prophecy from this date, prior to the full ingress of Preterism, Futurism, or Dispensationalism. This date is critical to Protestant theology, being a ultimately a Protest to ecclesiastical abuse.

Note 4 - Sir Edward Gibbon

Although Edward Gibbon was not a published historicist interpreter, his description of the early rise of ecclesiastical power shows a striking awareness of the mechanism Daniel 11:21 identifies. His wording deliberately echoes the biblical language familiar to readers of the Geneva Bible, Bishops Bible, and the 1611 King James Version. In Decline and Fall, Gibbon writes that the bishops “courted the favour of the great by flattery,” a phrasing that closely mirrors the KJV wording, “he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.” Gibbon could have chosen any number of neutral expressions, yet he employed biblical diction—courted, favour, the great, by flattery—all terms recognisable to readers of the English Reformation Bibles.

Gibbon’s broader descriptions reinforce the same pattern:

• “the bishops… discovered the secret path that leads to wealth and power”
• “they courted the favour of the great by flattery”
• “insinuating themselves into the confidence of princes”
• “rising by the connivance of princes”
• “gradually rose… to the throne of the emperors”

We therefore propose that this wording is not accidental, but that these are deliberate biblical‑style constructions chosen to help his readers perceive the parallels he himself understood between the historical rise of ecclesiastical power and the mechanism described in Daniel 7, 8, and more specifically Daniel 11:21.

Daniel 11:22

Theoderic the Great, king of the Ostrogoths and Romans in Italy of whom “By merit, he now joyfully reflects the mirror of peace among kingdoms.”

King James Version

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.

Septuagint (LLX)

καὶ βραχίονες τοῦ κατακλύζοντος κατακλυσθήσονται ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ καὶ συντριβήσονται καὶ ἡγούμενος διαθήκης

Anthony's Study Aid

Yet by the power of the armies, all who restrained or opposed the rising power of the bishops of Rome were uprooted namely the Catholic Arian nations under Odoacer’s Heruli [493 AD], Germany’s Vandals in North Africa [534 AD], and even Theoderic’s Scandinavian Ostrogoths [536–540 AD] — whom the bishops themselves had invited into Italy to remove the Heruli, leading Theoderic the Great to make a covenant with Emperor Zeno commissioning his invasion of Italy. What a twist! The peoples they established in power, they then removed!

Meanwhile also crippling the Alamani [496ad], Burgundians [499ad] and Visigoths [507ad] by the hand of the Catholic Clovis.

Notes

βραχίων consistently means military strength, forces, power. κατακλύζοντος translates as “the one who floods / overwhelms”. συντρίβω = to crush, shatter, break into pieces. It is a violent termination of power and is semantically similar to Daniel 7’s “uprooted” (ἐκριζόω). ἡγούμενος = leader, commander, governor. διαθήκης = covenant, treaty, pact.

The contextual references to armies, overwhelming forces and the violent removal of power, leaders and treaties is inconsistent with the suggestion that this “prince of the covenant” is Jesus Christ. The only grammatical conclusion is this ‘prince’ is a sovereign who has some kind of related contract relevant to the subject.

While the KJV reads closer to the Hebrew, the Septuagint reveals that they clearly understood what was written.

Daniel 11:23

Pope John I arriving before Justin I in Constantinople.

King James Version

And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.

Anthony's Study Aid

This happened because the papacy made secret treaties with Justin and Justinian. For Pope John I shall visit these emperors with a small party of ten people and consequentially shall come to wield the forces of the Eastern Roman Empire; while he worked traitorously (against Theoderic) and with espionage against his foes; so he shall become strong with a small people.

Daniel 11:24

Belisarius attacking the Ostrogoths in Italy, 536 AD.

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

So effective shall his espionage be during the Gothic War, that the pope’s de-facto forces shall take the best parts of the kingdom (e.g. Rome) [537ad] without even a fight. Thus shall Pope Vigilus do what his predecessors have not done (but unitedly striven for): thereby receiving temporal authority and a kingdom [538ad], scattering his victims with every tool at his command for 1,260 years.

500 Year Silence

So Rome shall persecute “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus…” for “it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: ...” for 1,260 years. 2 Tim. 3:12, Rev. 13:7,6; 12:6,14

Daniel 11:25

Pope Urban II stirring up his power and his courage for the First Crusade by Francesco Hayez.

Conquest of Jerusalem in the First Crusade.

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

And the Papacy manifest in the Holy Roman Empire as the superpower in the North, shall stir hundreds of thousands of people throughout the Crusades [1089-1291ad] against the Islamic realm; who in turn shall rally the beyond documented numbers in defense; but the Islamic forces shall not stand as the Crusaders shall politically exploit the division within the Islamic sects to favour themselves.

Crusade	Medieval Estimates	Modern Estimates
People's Crusade (1096)	60,000	20,000–40,000
Princes' / First Crusade (1096–1099)	130,000–160,000	40,000–60,000
Crusade of 1101	Tens of thousands	<20,000
Second Crusade (1147–1150)	>100,000	c.50,000
Third Crusade (1189–1192)	>100,000	30,000–50,000
Children’s Crusade (1212)	Tens of thousands	>1,000
Fourth–Ninth Crusades	Tens of thousands	<20,000 each

Daniel 11:26

King James Version

Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.

Anthony's Study Aid

For the South’s own captains, generals and servant’s internal divisions across the period shall cause his forces to repeatedly break ranks and surge uncontrollably: and many shall die from these divisions.

Daniel 11:27

King James Version

And both 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.

Anthony's Study Aid

But nothing is as it seams, for something more than the normal deception of statecraft is going on here: for the Papal and Islamic powers scheme together as at one table in the game of wealth and power. But it shall come to naught and end at the appointed time.

Daniel 11:28

King James Version

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. (KJV)

Anthony's Study Aid

So the Papal forces (particularly the Knights Templar: fathers of modern banking) shall return to Europe greatly enriched. But now the Papal heart shall be focused on any refusing Papal authority within her own domains: namely the Cathars, manifest in the Albigensian Crusade [1209-1229ad] against whom the official Inquisition was first applied. Later these powers were then victim shifted against the Poor (Waldenses) and their ilk refusing papal authority.

Note 1

Cathars were an ascetic ‘Christian’ faith based on dualism.

Note 2

The Poor, or "people of the valleys" or Waldenses were a pre-papal Christian tradition who used the ancient old Itala bible, which the translators of the KJV valued so highly that they corrected their Greek NT efforts with the Waldensian. Roman Catholic hold The end of Romans 8:1 is an excellent example. Some claim that their churches were founded by Paul himself as he traveled into Spain.

Daniel 11:29

King James Version

At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.

Anthony's Study Aid

But things in the holy land are not yet done, for the North and South are not finished fighting: for the powers of the North shall return in the future to fight the Islamic horde, but it shall not be as the religious Crusades before or as the conflict that shall be at the time of the end. For in the future Napoleon Bonaparte shall conquer Egypt and invade Palestine [1798-1799ad] allowing the North to work on developing the already theorized Suez Canal [1859-1869ad] which allowed the control of global trade before the English shall take it from the French [1801-1802ad].

Daniel 11:30

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

For the Islamists after the fall of Acre, shall continue as they did before the Crusades in piracy and slavery (epitomized by the entire Moorish economy of the Barbary Coast): which shall be a constant thorn in the king of the North’s side. But the powers of the North shall focus on home affairs, espionage, Inquisitions & the Reformers: to which end the Papacy shall make carefully laid deceitful plans with those who abandon the precepts of Christ: such as the rebirth of the Knights Templar in Freemasonry and the Society of Jesus for the practice of statecraft.

Notes

The Cathars believed in the Good God of the New Testament comprised of pure spirit, light, truth and the new covenant or testament. Reversely they believed in the Evil God of the Old Testament, creator of the physical world, matter, flesh and the old covenant or testament order. They dispised all human bodies, institutions, sacraments etc. Matter was poison to the soul.

Reformation Period Context

Martin Luther in 1529, painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder

In 1440ad Joannes Guttenburg shall print the first Bibles. In 1517ad Martin Luther shall nail his 95 thesis to the church door and start the official Reformation. Consequentially Romanism shall be exposed as the “man of sin”, “the little horn”, the 1st beast of Revelation 13 “to whom the Dragon [that old serpent called the Devil and Satan] gave his power, his seat and great authority” and “the great whore””with whom the kings of the Earth commiteth fornication.” But not only shall these teachings ally every bible believing Christian declaring Sola Scriptura, but also the secular who simply don©’t appreciate the iron maiden or being burnt alive for suggesting that maggots came from flies. Germany, Bohemia, Denmark, the Netherlands and England were now majority Protestant populations. Rome shall respond with the Council of Trent [1545–1563ad] and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola [1548ad] wherein feeling and impression shall be elevated over scripture. By 1555ad the constitution of the Jesuits shall be formed as an elite task force to infiltrate the elite and protestant institutions and move them from history and scripture (historicism) to Preterism, Futurism or Dispensationalism. Rome’s doctrines shall be standardized with the release of the Catechismus Romanus [1566ad] which shall place all tradition above scripture; the history books shall begin to be rewritten to favour Roman narratives with the release of Annales Ecclesiastici [1588ad]; The Index of Forbidden Books [1559ad] shall actively control what men are allowed to read and thereby think; The Jesuit Plan of Studies [1599ad] shall be a charter actively controlling the education systems and academia; while Acta Sanctorum [1643ad] shall actively redirect all human cultural productions to favour Romanism.

Daniel 11:31

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

In climax the armies of the Holy Roman Empire and Rome’s military organizations such as the Jesuits shall be brought to bear as the policies of the Council of Trent begin to attack Protestant institutions. Across their Spanish and Austro‑Hungarian domains the Habsburgs shall actively enforce re‑Catholicisation. In the mountain regions of Styria, Carinthia, Moravia, and the Austrian hereditary lands—formerly a Protestant sanctuary of strength—these Counter‑Reformation reforms shall close churches, expel ministers, and impose restrictions upon daily freedom of worship. In place of Scripture‑based faith shall be set the abominable imperial cult adorned in the garb of Popery, which leads to damnation.

Anthony's Study Aid - infered extra

These actions shall culminate in the Defenestration of Prague [1618ad] and the extreme Thirty Years’ War [1618-1648ad]. Distinct yet arising from the same Protestant–Catholic tensions shall be the English Civil War [1642–1651ad].

Note 1

In Europe, the Austrian Habsburgs were the only Catholic monarchs ruling over a Protestant majority, which moves the Study Aid from general terms into a specific reference culminating in open war. Modern historians broadly agree that the Thirty Years’ War was a direct reaction to the Council of Trent and the active Counter‑Reformation. Rome’s victories are memorialised in the minor basilica of Santa Maria della Vittoria, whose iconography—including Bernini’s ecstatic (and oft noted ‘orgasmic’) St Teresa and the goddess Victory/Victoria—celebrates the triumphs of the Catholic League over Protestantism.

In the 30 Years War, Germany alone lost 33-40% of its total population and 90% in Magdeburg. In France, Lorraine lost 50-66% of it’s population. But simply for comparison, France only lost 4% of it’s gross population in WW1 while Germany lost about 7.5%.

Note 2

It is also worth noting that this wording of “abomination that maketh desolate” and “daily” is VERY much like that used in Daniel 12:11 as part of the synonymous linking of the 1260, 1290 and the 1335 all to only one start date: 538AD and the rise of Papal temporal power. We note that the timeline here in v.31 doesn’t match, but the forced re-Catholicisation does; therefore we propose that the themes match. Since this volume shall not cover the 1290 and 1335, we will simply say now that it is our conclusion that since the 1260, 1290 and 1335 are all part of the same statement and that only one start point is given being the rise of Papal power in 538AD, the conclusion must be with the collapse of Papal temporal power in the collapse of the Papal states through 1870-1873.

Daniel 11:32

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

As Rome’s open military campaigns subside, its Counter‑Reformation shall shift from force to subtlety. Kings, nobles, scholars, and clergy who do wickedly against those who hold the everlasting covenant in the Scripture based churches, shall be corrupted by flatteries — honours, titles, court influence, mysticism, and the elevation of tradition above Scripture. Yet the people who know their God shall be strong: the likes of the Puritans, Huguenots, Covenanters, Waldenses, Anabaptists, Hussites and Protestant evangelists shall continue boldly, translating Scripture, preaching truth, and performing exploits.

Daniel 11:33

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

Herein the Protestant teachers, pastors, commentators, and reformers — shall instruct many. Yet they shall endure every torture imaginable: in the dragonnades of France, the massacres of Piedmont, the persecutions of the Covenanters, the imprisonments of Puritans, the burnings of dissenters, the Inquisition’s torture chambers and the expulsions from Habsburg lands to name a few. And power shall be given Rome to continue for many years;

Notes

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.” “and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;” “and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months” [538-1798ad].

Daniel 11:34

King James Version

Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

Anthony's Study Aid

But throughout the Church’s trial they shall receive a little help at times — such as the Edict of Nantes [1598 AD], the limited freedoms in the Dutch Republic, the toleration of certain Swiss cantons and German principalities, and the brief protections under the Scottish Covenanters, Cromwell’s England and England’s threat to blockade the Tiber and march on Rome if the papacy continued the genocide of the Waldenses [1655ad]. Yet all these shall be mere reprieves, not deliverance, until “the earth helped the woman” and provided a true place of escape in the wilderness of the New World, particularly the United States. But in general the persecutions and inquisitions of the Papacy shall weaken after the 30 Years War [1618-1648ad]. But many who join themselves to the persecuted shall cleave with flatteries — attaching themselves insincerely, for gain, advantage, or infiltration.

Daniel 11:35

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

But God shall allow the persecution and martyrdom of his righteous ones to purify them that they may be and live righteously: and this shall continue broadly speaking in some ways until the end of time; but more specifically because the appointed 1,260 years of Papal supremacy has not yet expired [538-1798ad].

Daniel 11:36

King James Version

And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

Anthony's Study Aid

All the while the Papacy shall do according to their will; exalting and magnifying themselves above all, even claiming God is bound to obey their dictates, forgiveness of sins and that it is their God given duty to rule over the nations [Augustine of Hippo, City of God]. So they shall seem to prosper through these Dark Ages until the 1,260 years is completed. But God has allowed this and His plan of redemption will be accomplished.

Daniel 11:37

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

So the Papacy, while claiming Christian lineage, rather manifests all the heritage of the Imperial Cult. But rather than Jupiter, Victoria and Sol Invictus, they recognize the names of God the Father, Mary and God the Son. They shall claim celibacy of the priesthood as love for their god, but in reality they love themselves above all epitomized in embellishing themselves with titles such as the Ambassador of the Living God himself [Vicarius Filii Dei], Lord God the Pope [Dominum Deum nostrum Papam] and declaring themselves ‘infallible’ [Pius IX, Vatican I, Pastor Aeternus, 1870].

Daniel 11:38

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

Yet oddly, within his domains he shall honour and worship the god of the armed forces: Armed Venus Victrix, the Victorious One, known to Rome as Victory (Victoria). The fathers of the imperial cult also knew her by many other local names — Aphrodite, Athena, Minerva, Astarte, Astaroth, Isis, and Semiramis (wife of Nimrod). They also knew her by her titles as well: the “goddess of battle,” the “Queen of Heaven,” and the “virgin of the world.” Yet the Papacy shall know her as the Virgin Mary, whose name according to them is rightly ascribed to the goddess Victory (“Nomini ascribatur Vitoria”[Basilica Santa Maria della Vittoria]: to whom the King of the North’s forefathers did not know by this new name! Yet to Mary shall Rome honour with gold, silver, precious stones and pleasant things.

Daniel 11:39a

King James Version

Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory:

Anthony's Study Aid

So to the Queen of Heaven (Mary) shall the papacy worship in their basilicas and institutions. To Mary shall wealth, lands and power be surrendered by heads of state; as the Crusaders did and every army of the Holy Roman Empire. To Mary shall they ever increase with glory, even blasphemously pressing for the official title of Co‑Redemptrix!

Daniel 11:39b

King James Version

and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

Anthony's Study Aid

So the Papacy as King of the North shall rule over many and divide the land for its own gain: privately owning vast estates and endowments, often amounting to a significant portion of urban and rural holdings.

Rome runs the countries into debt to control them through the likes of the “Economic Hitman” system empowered by the Vatican Bank and Group of Ten through which they rig the UN votes [John Perkins, The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman] and stack global economics in the “New International Economic Order” into ‘retail economies’,‘manufacturing economies’ and ‘resource production economies’ for their gain and control [UN Lima Treaty, Resolution 5, 1975].

Prophetic Backdrop

Meanwhile we have some noteworthy contemporaneous prophetic events such as:

• the settling of America (Rev. 12:16 ) [late 1400’s],
• the Great Lisbon Earthquake (Rev. 6:12) [1 Nov. 1750],
• The New England Dark Day (Rev. 6:12) [19 May 1780];
• the end of the 1,260 making the Papacy being “wounded unto death” and the “Citizen Pope” being taken prisoner (Rev. 13:3) [538-1798ad],
• the end of the 1290 (Dan. 12:11) [538-1828ad] marking well documented political and economic decline of the Papal states while also marking heightened public interest in the concept of the second coming of Jesus Christ that later fused into Millerism;
• the Falling of the Stars (Rev. 6:13) [13 Nov. 1833ad];
• the political fall of the Ottoman Empire (Rev. 9) [11th of August 1840ad];
• the end of the 2,300 days, beginning the Atonement in heaven and the great disappointment (Dan. 8:14) [457bc-1844ad];
• the complete collapse of the Papal States temporal power into the State of Italy after the capture of Rome and the legal challenges following the Law of Guarantees bringing completely wrapping up the Papal States, with the 1,335 (Dan. 12:12) [538-1873ad];
• with a blessing for those who didn’t throw away their faith between 1828-1873.
• SDA's will consider Ellen White’s ‘The Final Crisis’ chapter (9 Testimonies, p.11) of high rise building in New York exploding in fire marking by “The day the world changed” [11 Sep. 2001] and the associated utterance that the scenes of Daniel 11 “are about to reach their full completion” to the lamentation that no one studies the prophecies like they should.

Modern History as a Backdrop

Daniel 11 has always been about statecraft: “these two shall sit at one table and speak lies.” As we move from the ancient world into the modern era, it becomes necessary to show the reader how statecraft operates today. The following example is openly documented and historically recognised; it demonstrates that the patterns described in Daniel 11 are not speculative but correspond to real methods used by modern powers. Even this example, however, pales in comparison to the doctrines of Fourth‑ and Fifth‑Generation Warfare, which are essential for understanding the movements described in Daniel 11:40–45.

The CIA’s Operation AJAX and MI6’s Operation BOOT, run by Kermit Roosevelt and Christopher Montague Woodhouse, hired paid mobs, bribed local actors, and manipulated newspapers to topple Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and restore Mohammad Reza Shah. The coup’s success later set the stage for the rise of the Ayatollahs, led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who overthrew the Shah in 1979. This is not conspiracy; it is documented statecraft.

To frame Daniel 11:40–45 properly, the reader must understand the evolution of warfare:

• 1st Generation Warfare was highly ritualised line‑and‑formation combat, often built around the belief that the gods or fate would decide the outcome. Armies met openly and fought according to formal conventions.

• 2nd Generation Warfare is defined by trenches, massed artillery, and rigid command structures, as seen in World War I. Constantinople fell to a proto‑2nd‑generation model when the Turks used heavy cannon to break medieval defensive doctrine.

• 3rd Generation Warfare is rapid, manoeuvre‑based combat, later expressed in German Blitzkrieg. Its defining feature is positional advantage through speed and decentralisation. Earlier forms appeared in high‑mobility cavalry cultures such as the White Huns, whose manoeuvre doctrine repeatedly outmatched Byzantine linear formations.

• 4th Generation Warfare is epitomised by George Bush’s “war on terror.” The enemy is no longer a nation‑state but a network: insurgents, terror organisations, militias, ideological movements, decentralised cells, asymmetric tactics, and prolonged conflicts with no clear front lines. The state loses its monopoly on violence, and conflict becomes fragmented and irregular.

• 5th Generation Warfare is the concept of defeating a population without the target population realising they are in a war: information warfare, economic pressure, psychological shaping, narrative control, social destabilisation, cyber operations, proxy conflicts, plausible deniability, and non‑kinetic coercion. No nation will ever openly admit to practising this model despite its recognition in defence white papers; therefore, it must be identified by evidence and by asking, as in a murder mystery, “who benefits?”

The battles of earlier centuries were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Generation Warfare, making them easy for the reader to recognise in history and in the text. But with the introduction of 4th and especially 5th Generation Warfare, the reader must know what they are looking for. These doctrines are critical to understanding what is actually happening in Daniel 11:40–45.

Daniel 11:40

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

But throughout the Islamic world the Crusades were never over: The 11th of September 2001 will forever after be known as ‘the Day the World Changed’ as the king of the south shall push against the king of the north, who shall come against him like a whirlwind to the common cries of a “new Crusade” and President Bush’s reference of “this Crusade”; he shall enter into the countries of the middle east and shall pass through and destabilize them all, but not annex: You could say modern versions of Operations AJAX and BOOT in Iran [1953ad].

Notes

רַבָעְו (ve‑avar): “pass through”, “traverse”, “overflow” “overflow across”, “move through territory”, “enter and exit.”

Daniel 11:41

King James Version

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 he children of Ammon. (KJV)

Anthony's Study Aid

The king of the north shall enter Israel and the land of Palestine, and many countries shall be overthrown. But Saudi Arabia shall escape the fate of his kin having been diplomatically aligned with the king of the north [1945 AD].

Daniel 11:42

King James Version

He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

Anthony's Study Aid

He shall stretch forth his influence upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not scape.

Daniel 11:43

King James Version

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. (KJV)

Anthony's Study Aid

For the king of the north shall have power over international banking system he started in the last Crusades. For the sovereign, gold-backed & debt-free Vatican Bank lends to the indebted World Bank and IMF, which shall in turn control Egypt’s economic policy from 1991 through 2010; thus he shall have power over all the resources of Egypt. For Egypt’s unplayable debt levels shall cause a chain reaction that shall be known as Egypt’s chapter of ‘The Arab Spring’ [25 Jan 2011ad] that shall spread throughout the entire Middle East. But Libya shall erupt days later into civil war and be left in turmoil with the death of Gadaffi [20 Oct 2011ad]; Cush shall suffer internal conflict and economic strain followed by civil war resulting in the creation of South Sudan [9 July 2011ad] and further civil war [2013-2018ad], famine and atrocities; Ethiopia shall spill into protests, mass famine, atrocities and civil war too [2015-2022ad]. These shall follow closely behind Egypt and be in the king of the north’s train.

Note 1

Malachi Martin, Keys of This Blood, documents how the central banks are in debt themselves and that they use the Vatican Bank / IOR as the only bank in the world that is gold backed and debt free. Vatican influence over western banking structures is well known. This makes the Vatican the true source of money and the one that calls the ultimate shots.

Note 2

Similarly the Western powers (US, EU) supported Mubarak’s regime because by doing so Egypt was central to Arabic diplomacy throughout the middle east acting as a counterweight to Iran, Egypt also controlled international trade through the Suez Canal.

Daniel 11:44

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

But the situation in the Middle East and out of the regions of Russia shall trouble him: therefore the Roman system as the king of the north and their proxies such as “new Rome”, “the Second Rome” or “the successor to Rome” (USA’s self definitions) shall go forth with “great fury”, epitomized in operations such as “Epic Fury”, and shall cause the death of more people in those theaters than can reasonably be counted.

Notes

During the Crusades the Kingdom of Jerusalem was the possession of the king of the north and was at war with the king of the south; so it can be said that Israel was the possession of the North. Modern Palestine too was the was under England’s formal control between 1917 and 1948 after collapse of the Ottoman. The State of Israel was formalized by the UN in 1948. Therefore, Israel like the US and old European powers are proxies to the Roman Papacy demonstrable by the fact that they are at war with the Islamic powers of the king of the south and are always aided by the norther powers.

Daniel 11:45

King James Version

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.

Anthony's Study Aid

After these things, the King of the North shall finish settling and establishing a centre of government between the Mediterranean, Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee (this necessitates that the State of Israel will absorb the West Bank); yet the king of the north shall come to his end and none shall help him.

Notes

This author originally saw the 3rd temple here until we realized that Daniel doesn’t use religious terms such as “sanctuary” or “temple” here when he could have, but rather uses civil words like ‘tents’ and a ‘palace’. Furthermore it must be noted that “tabernacles of his palace” is not a poetic phrase for a noun, but the exact prose of what was written and the Septuagint makes this abundantly clear with the use of 'baselia': the ‘tents’ of the King of the North’s kingdom.

On this note, the word ‘palace’, אפדנו (appadno) only appears here and is almost certainly the Persian apadāna: royal audience / throne room, a monumental architectural structure used for imperial receptions, military planning, and royal authority such as the Apadāna at Persepolis. Yet the Septuagint translators in their contemporary usage chose the Greek word we know very well of βασίλειον, ‘kingdom’: “tents of his kingdom”.

Again, נָטַע (nata), ‘to plant’, always means to establish something in place. This is matched by “στήσει” — he will set up, fix, establish.

Consequentially when this Author realized that the ‘tents’ had the feel of settlers in Palestine as agents of the King of the North, the text varied little to the Crusades discussed earlier. Common modern terms of “Jewish Settlers” fit the bill perfectly as the manifestation of the Balfour Agreement and the Northern powers climaxing in 1948 with the UN’s formal creation of the modern State of Israel. This resulted in a constant wave of settlers from the domains of the King of the North and governmental and private donations propping up the State like no other government has ever received in history. When one further understands that the Pope is a permanent founding member of the UN and that the UN vote is dictated by the member state’s debt (The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman) and that the debt stems from the only bank in the world that is gold backed and debt free, being the Vatican Bank (Keys of this Blood), it all becomes clear. Yet this aside, the text itself necessitates that the settlements in Palestine are the efforts of the King of the North as much as the Kingdom of Jerusalem was the efforts of the Popes during the Crusades.

The wording “between the seas in the glorious holy mountain” is a timestamp not of a beginning but of a completed process, when this government is established ‘between the Mediterranean, Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee. Without the West Bank, this process can not be said to be complete.

It must also be noted: “yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him” is not the State of Israel, but the entirety of the King of the North.

If as we propose the State of Israel is referred to here, they were not called “your people”, meaning that they may lack both genetic and or religious association to Daniel. This could be said to support the Kazar theories regarding population and blood lines of modern Israel.

Daniel 12:1-2

King James Version

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Anthony's Study Aid

And when the King of the North shall utterly come to his end as the whore in Revelation 17, Jesus Christ shall cease his intercessory work and role of High Priest in the sanctuary in heaven (Rev. 15), the Great Prince which stands for the all the decedents of your people as natural branches or grafted in: and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation in the history of the world as the seven last plagues fall upon the remnant peoples of Earth (Rev. 16) and thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 13:8; 21:27; 22:19).

“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not [precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:15-18)

“But [unto the rest who are lost, Jesus] shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” (Luke 13:27)

For “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth...” (Luke 13:27, 28) and everlasting shame and contempt.

Notes on Michael

The concept that Michael is Jesus Christ, was historically taught by:

• the Waldenses (as evidenced in inquisitional confessions and commentaries);
• Peter Lombard [c. 1140ad];
• Nicholas of Lyra [c. 1310ad];
• John Wycliffe and the Lollards [c. 1360ad];
• Jan Hus, the Hussites, and their Anabaptist infused Taborite wing [c. 1400ad];
• Ulrich Zwingli [c. 1520ad];
• Martin Luther (indirectly and he was a student of Nicholas of Lyra)[c. 1530ad];
• Martin Bucer [c. 1540ad];
• John Calvin [c. 1550ad].

The doctrine was also taught by numerous Church Fathers, including but not limited to:

• Justin Martyr [c. 140ad];
• Hippolytus of Rome [c. 200ad];
• Origen (but intermittently) [c. 220ad];
• Eusebius of Caesarea [c. 300ad];
• Athanasius [c. 340ad];
• Cyril of Jerusalem [c. 350ad];
• Theodoret of Cyrus [c. 425ad].

Yet the Anglican low church traditions such as Puritans, Methodists and Baptists rejected this teaching. Yet Seventh-day Adventists should have followed suit given their Millerite constituancy, they accepting absolute Historicism and returned to the vain of the Church Fathers and their successors (such as above) teaching that Michael is Jesus Christ.

Daniel 12:3

King James Version

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Anthony's Study Aid

And the righteous shall shine like the brilliance of the noon-day sun; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever.

Daniel 12:4a

King James Version

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end:

Anthony's Study Aid

But thou, O Daniel, stop writing and finish your book; for it shall be vastly misunderstood until the time of the end:

Daniel 12:4b

King James Version

many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Masoretic Text (MT)

וְאַתָּה דָנִיֵּאל סְתֹם הַדְּבָרִים וַחֲתֹם הַסֵּפֶר עַד־עֵת קֵץ יְשֹׁטְטוּ רַבִּים וְתִרְבֶּה הַדָּעַת׃

Anthony's Study Aid

for many shall study your work throughout the centuries to come and they shall understand more as time passes, but especially at ‘the time of the end’.

Notes

יְשֹׁטְטוּ (yĕshōtĕtû) literally means to go back and forth, to rove, to search, to examine carefully. It is used in Hebrew for investigating, searching, inquiring, not for physical travel.

וְתִרְבֶּה הַדָּעַת (vĕtirbeh ha-da‘at) literally means: ‘knowledge shall increase’. But in Hebrew idiom: understanding will deepen, insight will grow, comprehension will expand.

Therefore classic rabbinic teaching on 12:4b is a reference to studying the prophecies of Daniel.

The modern concept of an explosion of technology taught across Protestantism and in Seventh-day Adventism as post 1798 / 1844 while observably true, is not itself supported by the text which contextually favours the classic rabbinic teaching.

Daniel 12:5

King James Version

Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.

Anthony's Study Aid

Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood another two angels, one on this side of the river bank and another on the other side of the river bank.

Daniel 12:6

King James Version

And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?

Anthony's Study Aid

And one of two of them called out to the angel giving the vision who told the story of “multitudes, kindreds, tongues and peoples” crying, “How long shall it be to the end of all of these major events?”

Notes

This is a clear reference back to the angel giving the vision. See Daniel 10:5

Daniel 12:7

King James Version

And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

Anthony's Study Aid

And the angel clothed in linen who told the story of nations, held up both of his hands toward the heavens and swear by him that liveth for ever that after a year plus two years and a half years of days [360 + 720 + 180 = 1260 literal years = 538-1798ad] during which the king of the north aka “the little horn”, shall scatter and persecute God’s people, then the final events will take place.

Daniel 12:8

King James Version

And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

Anthony's Study Aid

While I heard, I didn’t understand. So I said: “O my Lord, when shall all these things actually end?”

Daniel 12:9

King James Version

And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

Anthony's Study Aid

And the angel said to me: “Don’t worry Daniel, for the prophecy isn’t meant to be understood in it’s entirety until the time of the end; and you are not a complete exception!

Daniel 12:10

King James Version

Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

Anthony's Study Aid

In what is coming many shall be purified and tried through some unimaginable means for which the future book ‘Fox’s Book of Martyrs’ is but a fraction. The wicked of this world shall continue and even prosper, but they won’t understand the meaning or true value of this book; but the wise shall.

Daniel 12:11

King James Version

And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

Anthony's Study Aid

Just know that from the time when the worship of God shall be disguised and made an abomination that directly causes the damnation of men in the fires of hell fire till they are consumed away to nothing, there shall be 1290 literal years [583-1828ad].

Note 1 - Daily Sacrifice

While the word "sacrifice" here is supplied by the translators as not being in the MT, the translators did understand what was being referred to. They understood that the "daily" or 'continual' was a reference to the continual, ongoing and effectively ceacelsess morning and evening sacrificial system as the worship of God. Thus they supplied the word "sacrifice". In short, it was a reference to the continual and ongoing worship of the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

Once Jesus Christ appeared the need for a physical temple on Earth was made void as Christ's ministry in heaven replace the earthly, which is the entirety of the Book of Hebrews.

Note 2 - Taken Away

The phrase "taken away" (Hebrew: סוּר; sûr) can legitimately be used "to depart", "to be removed", "to come to an end", "to put aside, leave undone, retract, reject, abolish".

If we now conjuct "the daily sacrifice" with "shall be taken away" we are forced to conclude that the worship of the Creator shall be obfuscation, hidden, distorted, miss-represented. A making void of, the nullification, the hiding of the worship of the Creator. But this verse needs two events to happen together: the obfuscation of the worship of the Creator and the setting up of a power described as an "abomination that maketh desolate".

Note 2 - Abomination that maketh desolate

An abomination is something terrible that creates loathing and disgust. It is a disgrace, a horror, an outrage and a curse.

that maketh desolate is something that makes into nothingness, desolation, wasteland, by extension we suggest it is a poetic prose for 'slay' or 'kill'.

In short, it is a terrible entity that results in things being made into a wasteland.

Christ said it was the "Abomination of Desolation" "spoken of by the prophet Daniel" was the Roman arms that destroyed Jerusalem.

Meanwhile Daniel 7 tells of a "diverse" power who shall "wear out", 'harass constantly', "make war with the saints" and "shall prevail against them" whose active persecuting powers will extend 1,260 years

In a religious context this is a detestible entity that causes men to be made desolate, into nothing, a wasteland. Then Mal. 4:3; Nah. 1:5,6,10; makes perfect sense: "And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts"; the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence"; "his fury is poured out like fire"; "they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry" and "Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth." The only possible natural reading of these verse is if the wicked burn into ashes, consumed until they are a wasteland, a desolation. These verses only have a natural reading if one can accept the idea that the wicked are annihilated into nothing.

The doctrine of Annihilation (not eternal burning hell fire) is an officially accepted position in

• the Church of England / Anglican tradition.
• Methodism in the Wesleyan-Arminian stream acknowlege annialism.
• Some modern evangelicals.
• The Church of God (7th Day),
• Seventh-day Adventists.
• Worldwide Church of God.
• Christadelphians and
• Jehovah's Witnesses.

Daniel 12:12

Printed pamplet showing William Miller's views.

Pope Pius IX blessing the Papal troops just before the fall of Rome in Saint Peter's Square in 1870.

Italian troops seize the breach in Rome's walls at Porta Pia, 20 September 1870.

King James Version

Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

Anthony's Study Aid

Blessed is the man who gets to witness the events after 1828ad! Not only did the Papacy's power decline after 1798, but the churches will start to study the prophecies in earnest! For they will get to see the waning of the Papacy’s power economically, religiously and politically. They shall also see men study your prophecies in earnest at the same time which shall culminate in the movements of 1844 such as the Millerites. But blessed is the man who doesn’t throw away his faith in the aftermath of that misunderstanding! But if one endures, he shall get to see the conquest of Rome [20 September 1870ad] by the Kingdom of Italy and the following the complete dismantlement of the last vestiges of the Papal States [538-1873ad].

These visions were always about the struggle between the righteous and the wicked. These visions always focused around that little horn at which you wondered greatly. So these dates mark it’s official dominant period, but don’t make the mistake of thinking it is all over!

Note 1 - Unity of verses 11-12

If verses 11 and 12 had been one, the meaning here would be clearer to relay that those who lived through the events described.

Note 2 – Blessed is he

This statement is contextually linked with the persecution described in Daniel 7:19–25 under the “little horn,” which shares the same prophetic duration. Those who lived within that earlier period were, in truth, 'cursed' (Daniel 12:10), having endured the Papal Inquisitions and the political oppressions associated with that era; for further study, readers may consult Foxe's Book of Martyrs and similar works. By contrast, the blessing here refered to belongs to those who live to see the momentus events from the beginning of the 1290 in 1828 to the end of the 1335 ending in 1873 discussed in the next two notes.

Note 3 – The Events of 1870–1873

In harmony with Daniel 7:25’s prediction that the “little horn” would lose its dominion at the conclusion of the prophetic period, the years 1870–1873 mark the final removal of papal civil authority. In 1870 the Kingdom of Italy captured Rome, ending the Papal States. In 1871 the Italian Parliament passed the Law of Guarantees, defining the Pope strictly as a spiritual ruler. In 1873 the last remnants of papal civil jurisdiction were abolished through the secularization laws that removed ecclesiastical courts and clerical civil authority. This marks the complete and final end of the Papal States.

Here we wish to be the first to publish the perfection of this interpretation by considering the perfectly mirrored rise and fall of Papal authority:

• 9 December 536 the Eastern Roman Empire under Belisarius seized the City of Rome from the Ostrogoths
• 537–538 saw all Ostrogothic resistance broken.
• 538 sees the Ostrogothic Seige of Rome lifted and Justinian's Novella 42 granting full explicit civil authority to the bishops, while issued in 537, was now fully enforceable

1,335 years later:

• Interestingly and for context, on the 18 July 1870, as the defending French troops retreat to fight the Franco-Prussian War, and the Papal States face the growing power of the Kingdom of Italy manifesting their failing temporal power, they declare spiritual absolutism famously in Pastor Aeternus wherein Papal Infallibility is proclaimed.
• On 20 September 1870 the City of Rome was conquered by the Kingdom of Italy, ending the Papal States.
• On 13 May 1871 the Law of Guarantees was presented to the Pope, defining his position strictly as a spiritual ruler, but granting him some 'guarantees of certain privileges'.
• In 1873 the last vestiges of papal civil authority were dissolved and fully annexed into the Kingdom of Italy.

Both the beginning and the end of the 1335 follow the same mirrored pattern: a military conquest of Rome, approximately 2–3 years of consequences, and a full legal conclusion. The dates and mirrored concepts could not be more perfectly matched, demonstrating with confidence that the 1335‑year prophecy begins in 538 and reaches its historical conclusion in 1873.

Note 4 – The Global Advent Movement (1828–1844 and the Blessing of Endurance)

Signed autograph of William Miller.

Daniel 12:12 declares a blessing upon those who “wait” through the prophetic period. This blessing is not tied to papal decline, but to the experience of the church itself. From 1828 onward, prophetic interest rose sharply across Protestant denominations. As documented in the Adventist historical work Tell It to the World, the expectation of Christ’s soon return spread far beyond America and became a truly global movement.

Between 1828 and 1844, local versions of the Advent awakening appeared in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Australia, and the Pacific. Missionaries, pastors, and lay believers—many of whom had never heard of William Miller—arrived at similar conclusions through independent study of Scripture. This worldwide revival produced renewed Bible study, widespread repentance, missionary expansion, and a unifying hope in the nearness of Christ’s return. It was one of the greatest Protestant revival periods since the Reformation.

Yet the true blessing of Daniel 12:12 belongs to those who endured beyond 1844. While many abandoned the movement after The Great Disappointment, others refused to discard the prophetic foundations. These believers continued to “wait,” living to witness the final overthrow of the persecuting civil power described in Daniel 7:25. This overthrow occurred in the events of 1870–1873 discussed above, when the Papal States were abolished and the Pope’s civil authority was permanently removed.

Thus the blessing of Daniel 12:12 is three fold: firstly through the major abatement of Papal powers and thereby persecution in 1798 which had cursed all those before; secondly in in the global Protestant revivals of 1828–1844, and thridly in the endurance of faith that allowed the church to witness the prophetic period reach its historical conclusion. Thus, those who “waited” through the 1290 and lived to see the end of the 1335 were indeed “blessed.”

Note 5 – Seventh‑day Adventists

Seventh‑day Adventists often resist any date after 1844 because of the commonly repeated near mantra that “there are no more time prophecies after 1844.” This belief arises partly from the phrase in Daniel 8:14 that “time should be no longer,” which is interpreted emotionally in connection with the desire for Christ’s soon return and the fear of repeating the Millerite Movement. The phrase is repeated so often that it becomes a general rule, even though it does not actually teach the end of all prophetic time periods. This Author suggests that the angel was simply saying "this is the end of this time prophecy".

Adventists also appeal to Ellen White’s statement that “Time has not been a test since 1844, and it will never be a test again,” interpreting it to mean that no time prophecy can extend beyond 1844. In reality, her statement refers to the fact that there will never again be a Millerite‑style time‑proclamation that tests the church. Likewise, when she wrote, “Our position has been one of waiting and watching, with no time‑proclamation to intervene between the close of the prophetic periods in 1844 and the time of our Lord’s coming,” she was explaining that there will be no more date‑setting movements like the Millerite movement.

These and similar statements do not mean that Scripture contains no prophetic periods extending beyond 1844. They simply mean that no future time‑proclamation will serve as a test of faith for the church. Therefore, the existence of a prophetic period such as the 1335 days, which concludes after 1844, is not affected by Ellen White’s counsel. Therefore to Seventh-day Adventists we say: the dates, the system and the parallels of the 1335 match your system perfectly.

Daniel 12:13

King James Version

But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

Anthony's Study Aid

But that is enough for you Daniel; life must run its coarse till the end come. Thou must rest in the grave and stand before the judgment seat at the end of time. But for you, your work is now done O greatly beloved one.