In describing who the anti-Christ is, there are two additional areas of convergence in Revelation 17 and Daniel 11.

So we’ll start with Revelation –

Revelation 17 (verses 3 to end excerpted)

And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

“Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns…

The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.

The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction.

The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings, along with the beast. These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.

They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”

And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

The seven heads are seven kingdoms run by seven kings.  At the time the vision was given, five had fallen, one was still in power, and one king would eventually emerge.  (Note:  “Fallen” or “pipto” could also mean to fall prostrate so they could be puppet kings.) The beast represents the anti-Christ. He is covered with blasphemous names—and also is continuously speaking blasphemies against the Most High. (Daniel 11:36) The anti-Christ arises from one of the seven kingdoms, and he’s unknowingly on a committed path to destruction.  (As I mentioned last week, there is a possibility that he may conquer the seven nations through diplomatic channels versus military aggression.)  Ten horns are kings that step into power for a while at the end.  They have consummate allegiance to the anti-Christ; and, of course, his most consuming passion is to wage war against Jesus and the saints.  These kings are similarly clueless as they travel the same destructive path.

The woman symbolizes one city that represents/embodies the seven nation empire—like Babylon or the ancient city of Rome—the seat of power if you will.  Revelation 14, 17, and 18 specifically refer to Babylon, but that could be in a figurative v. literal sense.  My belief is that this city will be the headquarters of the false religious system—a global religion that will be imposed on everyone—a religion that is 100% against God in every way.  And it will be like Judaism or Islam, in the sense that being Jewish encompasses religious as well as sociological aspects; and breaking religious Sharia Laws invites state-sponsored punitive measures in Muslim countries.  The reason for my theory is that these three chapters in Revelation also speak of kings or nations committing adultery with Babylon.  Throughout scripture, adultery symbolizes false idol worship.  But Revelation 18 also implies that Babylon will be the international economic/financial center of trade and commerce.  Multi-role works for me.

Next we move to Daniel 11:40-42, which describes the King of the North.  A lot of the commentators believe that this refers to the end time anti-Christ.  If so, this gives us additional insight into who he will be.

At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him  (the King of the North) in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood. He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites.  He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him.

So this passage is talking about the kingdoms that the anti-Christ will conquer.  Revelation 17 implies that there will be seven.  Per Daniel, present-day Jordan (Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites) will not fall.  But Libya, Egypt, Cush (Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eretrea) will submit to the anti-Christ.  That’s only five kingdoms that are specifically mentioned, aside from the Beautiful Land which I believe is Israel—and its invasion prompts Jesus to personally intervene.  So if we go with five, we need two more kingdoms.  However, I think correlation with an earlier chapter in Daniel gets us there.

Daniel 8:9,10  Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them

According to probably 100% of the commentaries, the little horn represents the anti-Christ.  He expands his territory south (to Egypt and Cush) implying he grows larger therefore, they may be on his borders.  Additionally, he expands to the east.  In the first fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies, “King of the North” connoted the Seleucid Kingdom/monarchy—one of four that formed up after Alexander the Great’s untimely death.  This included a small part of Arabia, therefore, could be symbolic of the present day Saudi Arabian kingdom/monarchy. If Saudi Arabia attempted to re-take its original territory claimed over the centuries by a couple of its neighbors to the south/east (Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, the UAE, or Yemen) that would bring the number of kingdoms to seven.  Plus there’s the geographical factoid that only a causeway separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt.  So that’s just one possible scenario for the seven…

Side Note:  What about the starry host?  I believe that the anti-Christ will be possessed by satan, who recruited ~one third of the angels—and attempted a mutinous take-over before God drop-kicked him out of heaven.

To my point, it is feasible that the King of the North could be the anti-Christ.  Therefore, here are more of his characteristics, from the preceding verses:

Daniel 11:36-39

Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak marvelous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all. And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.

“Marvelous things” is pala which means hard, surpassing, difficult to do, difficult to understand.  The “pompous” word is used in the Greek Old Testament (LXX).  I like the NASB translation that says he will speak “monstrous things.”  But in keeping with Revelation, I believe they are blasphemous words.  11:36 says that he shall show no regard to the gods of his fathers.  This supports the theory that Daniel was not referring to Antiochus Epiphanes in these passages, because he worshipped the Greek God Zeus, and possibly erected the latter’s statue somewhere in the Jewish Temple.  (Also, verse Daniel 11:40 clarifies that this happens in the end times.)  11:36 also says that the anti-Christ will have no regard for the god desired by women.  Bible Hub/Ellicott Commentary:…the allusion is to the Asiatic goddess of nature, Mylitta, who, again, has been identified with the “queen of heaven” (Jeremiah 7:18).  Instead the anti-Christ will worship the god of fortresses (strongholds, strength, citadels, places of protection).

But the characteristic that I really like about the anti-Christ is that he is on the fast track to utter ruin.  

His end in Daniel:

But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction.  He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.”

His end in Revelation:

They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”

As I said last week, God’s got it!  And He’s got it in these times of CV Hysteria.  Last night I was watching Christian TV on Saint Patty’s Day, and the pastor read one of Saint Patrick’s prayers which resonated with me 100%:   Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me and before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in hearts of all who know me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger, Christ in quiet and in roar… Psalm 46:1,2