37 “‘He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. 38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. 39 Thus he 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.
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. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 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. 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. 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.’”
11:37
“He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all.”
This Antichrist ruler does not regard or respect any religious conviction or tradition other than his own.
The phrase “the God of his fathers” brings some to conclude that this Antichrist will be a Jew. However, the term “God” is Elohim, the generic name for God. Elohim can have a singular or a plural translation (gods). He had no respect for his religious heritage. It appears that this man is Roman by other passages (Da 7:8, 24; Re 13:1-10).
The phrase “the desire of women” is difficult to interpret. This may refer to the desire of every godly Jewish woman to bear the Messiah. Some interpret this as a reference to Tammuz (Adonis), a pagan fertility goddess that women found appealing in Daniel’s day. Ishtar, the goddess of love, brought destruction to many of her lovers, of whom the most notable was her consort Tammuz. Yet, others believe that this Antichrist will have no sexual desire for women. This third view is most likely the correct view.
11:38
“But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things.”
This Antichrist wants to believe in a god that will give him military victory. He idolizes power. His forefathers did not recognize his new god. This future ruler will honor his god with massive expenditure for a military armory.
11:39
“Thus he 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 future Antichrist will move against his foes with religious power, with the god of verse 38. He will reward with kingdoms those who follow him.
11:40
“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.”
Skeptics point out that the conflict between the end of Antiochus Epiphanes in Daniel 11:40-45 differs from stories of his death in 1 and 2 Maccabees. However, these skeptics lose sight of the law of dual fulfillment and the shift from the near to far fulfillment in this passage. This passage deals with the final Antichrist.
The king of the South and the king of the North will simultaneously attack this ruler of the west, the “little horn,” at the end time. The king of the North may be a ruler from the area of ancient Assyria. Yet, he will “overwhelm” them “and pass through” to conquer the two kings (Da 7:8, 24).
The angel describes to Daniel ancient equivalents of modern warfare.
The events of verses 40-45 transpire in the second half of the Tribulation (second half of the seventieth seven). The kings of the South and North will attack the Antichrist.
11:41
“He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon.”
The Antichrist will enter the promised land (8:9) and defeat “many” there in the last half of the Tribulation.
11:42
“He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.”
The Antichrist will attack Egypt and succeed in conquering her.
11:43
“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.”
The Antichrist will plunder the treasures of Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia. The Hebrew for “Libyans” is Cushites. Libya was to the west of Egypt and Ethiopia to the south.
11:44
“But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.”
Rumors of armies from the “east and north” will “trouble him” and cause the Antichrist to return to his headquarters in Jerusalem.
11:45
“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 “seas” here are the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea. The “holy mountain” is Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. It is here that the Antichrist meets his defeat (Ze 14:1-4; Re 19:19-20).
PRINCIPLE:
Knowledge of God’s sovereignty is a source of comfort.
APPLICATION:
God is sovereign over all history from beginning to end. Nothing escapes Him, and nothing gains dominance over His will. The Gentile world powers have their designs, but God has His design. There will come a time when “all Israel shall be saved” (Ro 11:26). God will tolerate the atrocities of the Antichrist for a period, but He will “determine” the end of the Antichrist.
God’s sovereignty is a source of great comfort to His people because He has everything in control. While man may assert his will, the message of Daniel 11 is that God’s sovereign will prevails over the nations of the earth, albeit that they may unite their forces into a one-world government.
The prophecy of Daniel 11 is the most detailed prophecy in all the Old Testament. This makes manifest that the book of Daniel is a supernatural book fulfilling objective standards for prophecy.
God does not give prophecy to frighten us but to help us understand the international deception and delusion of the last days. The ultimate delusion is the worship of man – humanism. Humanism is the belief that man is the end of man. He does not need God, for he is finally and ultimately autonomous.
The Bible presents a true picture of man. Man has great capacity, but his powers are no panacea. No form of government will meet all the needs of humanity. All forms of government have a fatal flaw – the sinfulness and selfishness of man himself.
I think where it says “he will have no regard for the God of his fathers, nor for the desire of women” means he will not care about what women want, think, or feel. He will be a misogynist.
Astrid, the word “desire” probably means desire sexually.
Maybe ALL OF THE ABOVE
He desires to be like the Most High God so it does not surprise me he will show no desire for women, after all, our Lord Jesus had no desire for women, He is God and has no such needs, simplistic thought I agree but valid.
Roadkill Allen
Yes, Jesus was God-Man, He also was a man in every way, but without sin. Are you saying a desire for women/woman is a sin? Is it not the natural desire of every young man to find a woman in the Godly sense and in the Jewish culture for sure. I refer to man as a healthy chromosomal male with a healthy psychological acceptance of God’s order in creation.
Jesus was a normal man in a biological sense but God in His innocents. He had no desire to offend The Father. That desire trumped everything.
The Anti-Christ will be so into himself and his desire for more power under the control of Satan.
Under that control, he will really hate everyone.
Allen, the context does not refer to Christ, but to the Antichrist.
The Bible never negates the desire of a man for a woman physically. Sexual lust, however, is a sin.