In Parts 1 and 2 of this article, the prophet Daniel (circa 538 bc) recounted a vision concerning the “latter days,” also known as the Endtime—the time in which we are living. In verses 21 through 38, Daniel described in some detail the coming world dictator known as the Antichrist, as well as the first three wars he will wage to seize and try to hold on to power. But there is still more. …

Verse 39: “Thus he [the Antichrist] shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.”

This “foreign god” could turn out to be the image of the Beast, which is described in Revelation 13:14–15: “He [the Antichrist’s false prophet] deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the Beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the Beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the Beast, that the image of the Beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the Beast to be killed.”

This image is likely to be an incredibly high-tech supercomputer accessing massive unified databases containing detailed personal information on most of the world’s population and linked to the Antichrist’s telecommunications network. Through the image of the Beast, a universal economic and financial system will be instituted. The number 666 will somehow be central to this system.

Revelation 13:16–18: “He [again, the Antichrist’s false prophet] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the Beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the Beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”

Daniel 11:40–42—The fourth Antichrist war?

Verse 40: “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.”

This war takes place during the three-and-a-half-year Great Tribulation—probably near the end because the Antichrist meets his end just a few verses later—and is once again fought between the king of the North (the Antichrist) and the enigmatic king of the South (possibly U.S.-backed Israel). Daniel could only use terms he was familiar with to describe the modern warfare he saw in this vision—tanks and personnel carriers as chariots, massive air strikes as a whirlwind, and so on.

Verse 41: “He [the Antichrist] shall also enter the Glorious Land [Israel], and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon.”

Edom, Moab, and Ammon are contained in modern-day Jordan.

Verse 42: “He shall stretch out his hand against the countries [that sided with the king of the South], and the land of Egypt shall not escape.”

Verse 43: “He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels.

“He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver” indicates that the Antichrist will hold economic control, which we also know to be the case from Revelation 13:16–18 and other passages. “The Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels” means that these countries will be subservient to the Antichrist.

Daniel 11:44—The fifth Antichrist war?

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

That sounds like either another war, or a continuation of the war described in verses 40 through 42, and probably happens near the end of the Tribulation. If this is another war—the fifth war of the Antichrist—it seems it is against eastern nations.

“News from the north” could mean a threatened coup or other problems of dissent in his own country, or possibly troubling developments in North America.

“He shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.” This could be the war—possibly nuclear—in which the Antichrist and his allies obliterate “Babylon,” as described in Revelation 14:8; 17:16; and chapter 18. This war probably takes place not long before Jesus’ return and the Rapture.

Verse 45: “And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.”

The “glorious holy mountain” is Jerusalem’s Mount Moriah. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Antichrist waits until this point to set up his headquarters on Mount Moriah; it’s just an acknowledgment of what he most likely did three and a half years earlier when he broke the covenant, placed the image of the Beast in the Temple area (Daniel 11:30–31), sat in the Temple claiming to be God, and abolished all religions other than worship of himself (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4)—these events triggering the Great Tribulation.

“Yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.” At Megiddo, overlooking the plains of Armageddon in northern Israel, the Antichrist musters his armies for his greatest campaign against the nations that still oppose him, but Jesus and His heavenly army, including the resurrected believers from throughout the ages, intercede by returning to earth and utterly destroying the Antichrist and his forces at the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty (Revelation 16:12–16; 19:11–21). He then ushers in 1,000 years of peace on earth—a period known as the Millennium. The happy beginning!