Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. © Copyright 2010 - 2017   All rights reserved.
 10 nations of the ECO & Russia, surrounding the Caspian Sea click to enlarge Caspian Sea & 10 nations of the ECO Other “Post-Rapture” Pages: see “sitemap” for a complete list   -  Home 1. Tribulation ‘Initial’ Events (Daniel 11: 32-35) 2. Rise of Antichrist (Daniel 11:36) 5. Bowls & Armageddon     (Daniel 11: 44-45) 3. Who is the Beast? (Daniel 11: 37-38)  4. Kingdom of the Beast (Daniel 11:39-43) 7. Battle with gog & magog    (Ezekiel 37 & Revelation 20) 6. Jesus’ 1000-Year Reign (Revelation 20)  The Two Witnesses (Revelation 11)  Man of Lawlessness (2 Thess. 2)  Will people be saved after the rapture       Third Jewish Temple?    Daniel 12      The Trumpet Call vs. The Trumpet Plagues Kingdom of the Beast (Daniel & Revelation & more) Introduction   In general, the ‘king of the north’ (Daniel 11), after the rapture, is also the empire of the antichrist (Revelation 13).  Naturally, the Books of Daniel and Revelation coincide, as you would expect, because all accounts of end times, in the Bible, must coincide without contradictions.  Jesus specifically mentioned the abomination, from the Book of Daniel, as the last sign before the rapture (Matt 24:15), and there are 4 different accounts of the abomination in the Book of Daniel.  So, all those must fit together, without contradictions, or an end-time theory is not valid.  The timeline on this website satisfies all requirements.   That being said, this page attempts to explain, in detail, the “middle of tribulation”, from Daniel 11:39-43.  Other verses of Daniel 11 are detailed on other pages.   For a general explanation of Revelation’s timeline, chapter-by-chapter, see “The Seals and Revelation.”  For an quick explanation of Daniel 11, verse-by-verse, see “Daniel 11 Condensed Commentary.”         [See “sitemap” for a complete list of pages.]  The Antichrist and the 10-horned Beast   To set the stage, this is “post-rapture” because it’s after the abomination in Daniel 11:31, which is when the rapture takes place. (see also Matthew 24 page)  Therefore, the antichrist has already revealed himself, by declaring himself above God, in Daniel 11:36 Daniel 11:39 “He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.”    From the previous page, Daniel 11:37-38, the “foreign god” is most likely Marduk, the patron god of ancient Babylon, which the antichrist will worship after the rapture because he will abandon other gods, including Allah, due to the rapture proving that his religion was wrong.    The military strength displayed in the above verse coincides with the rise of the 10-horned beast in Revelation 13, which is also the 4th beast in Daniel 7.  The “rulers” in the above verse are the “ten horns with ten crowns”, in the following verse, connecting Daniel to Revelation.  Revelation 13:1 “And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.  And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.”   In general, the farther verses get into the future, especially into “post-rapture”, the harder they are to connect to current events, because things will change drastically after the rapture.  Nevertheless, there is one organization that I’ve found, which seems to fit the above description.  The ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization) began with 3 nations in 1985: Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan.  Then, they added 7 more nations, 7 years later, in 1992: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.  To this day, they have remained a 10-nation group, for over 25 years.  By coincidence, the boundaries of the ECO closely resemble the 14th century Timurid Empire, which was known for its exceptional brutality. (left)  Timur was a descendant of the Mongols, and ruled before Islam came to the area.  I can’t say for sure if the ECO is the exact 10-horns because it seems like nations from the Middle East would be included, such as Iraq and Syria.  Yet, the 10-horns are somewhat temporary, anyway, because the antichrist, or “little horn” (Daniel 7:8), will replace three of the horns (or 3 rulers).  Like I said, it’s hard to connect current organizations to post-rapture verses, because there will be drastic changes, after the rapture, but the ECO fits for now.    Another interesting aspect of the ECO is that, together with Russia, they completely surround the Caspian Sea, which could account for the 10-horned beast coming out of the sea. (left)  The literal states (ones that border the sea) voted in 2014 to exclude foreign navies from the Caspian Sea, which allowed Russia and Iran to strengthen their presence.  Russia even fired cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea, in the early days of their involvement in the Syrian War.    Then again, the sea in question could also be the Mediterranean, because Russia’s naval base in Syria was very important to them, and a big reason that Russia intervened to help Assad. Revelation 13:2 “The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.”    The description of the 10-horned beast in the above verse is obviously related to Daniel 7  because it matches the 1st three beasts, which come before the “terrifying and frightening” beast, with 10-horns.  The “leopard” represents a mixture of nations because it has many spots.  As in Daniel 7, the feet of the “bear” represents the stability of Russia’s presence. (left) The “lion” represents Iran and the “mouth” is the antichrist, which also comes from Iran.  The leopard in Daniel 7 only has 4-heads, which is most likely Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, because they are currently ruling the Middle East, under Russia’s supervision and assistance.  After the rapture, the land will be “distributed at a price” to ten rulers, who acknowledge Marduk (Daniel 11:39), and thus become the empire with 10-horns.    Yet, Russia and Iran are the primary players, as symbolized by not only the bear and lion, in Dan 7 and Rev 13, but also the “iron and clay”, which is the forth kingdom in Daniel 2:40-43 Revelation 13:5-6 “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.   In general, the ‘beast’ is an empire or group of nations, which changes from time to time, as seen in Daniel 7, but it has 10-nations in the early days of the post-rapture.  The “mouth” is the antichrist, who is a ‘human’ from Iran (mouth like a lion), who speaks boastfully and blasphemes God. (Daniel 11:36)  The antichrist takes command of the beast, uprooting three horns as he takes power. (‘little horn’-Daniel 7:8)    One thing to notice is that the antichrist slanders “those who live in heaven”, which shows that this period is after the rapture, because how else would he know that people were living in heaven, and be angry about it? The Antichrist and the 6th Trumpet War   The antichrist exercises his authority for “42-months” (above), which is the same 1260-days that the two witnesses prophesy in Jerusalem, during the Trumpet plagues, after the rapture.  That is known because the beast, led by the antichrist, is who kills the two witnesses, in the 6th Trumpet War, after they’ve finished prophesying for 1260-days, which is 42-months.  Revelation 11:7  [Two witnesses] “Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.”   The ‘beast’ in the above verse could be Marduk (up from the Abyss), but recall that the antichrist and ‘kingdom of the beast’ will be worshiping Marduk.  Anyway, the death of the two witnesses corresponds to “conquering the saints” in the following verse, which is at the ‘end’ of their 1260-days of prophesying. (Rev 11:3) Revelation 13:7-8  [Antichrist/Beast and the 6th Trumpet War] 7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.  All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast -all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.”   The “war” in the above verse is the same as the 6th Trumpet War (below), which kills a third of mankind.  Somehow, the beast gains authority over all nations.  That authority could have something to do with the world’s currency becoming digital (perhaps Bitcoin) because the inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast by receiving a ‘mark’ in order to buy and sell.  [more on that later]  Notice that the ones who are worshiping the beast are only those whose names are NOT in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  That’s because the rapture has already taken place and those whose names WERE in the Lamb’s Book of Life are in heaven.  Revelation 9:13-19  [The 6th Trumpet War] “The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15 And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.  17 The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. 18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. 19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.”   The Euphrates River confirms the location to be the Middle East.  The 6th Trumpet War, in Revelation 9, above, corresponds to the same war in Daniel 11:40-43 (below), when the ‘king of the north’ conquers the rest of the South, invading Israel and killing the two witnesses.   Daniel 11:40-43  [The 6th Trumpet War] “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. 41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. 42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission.”    The ‘king of the south’ is Saudi Arabia, who will be defeated, along with Egypt.  It’s interesting that Edom, Moab, and Ammon, which are all within modern-day Jordan, are “delivered from his hand.”  That probably means that Jordan will remain neutral, between north and south, which sounds about right with current events.  The “Libyans and Nubians” will be in “submission”, which also sounds like current events because North Africa is one of the places where ISIS has retreated.  The “Beautiful Land” is obviously Israel or Jerusalem, which will be “invaded” and the two witnesses killed, as explained in the following.  Revelation 11:7-13; +15a  [death of the two witnesses] “Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.  11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.  13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” 15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet …   You can tell that the death of the two witnesses happens in the 6th Trumpet War, from Rev 9, because the 7th Trumpet sounds as they are ascending to heaven.  That is also how you can tell that the Trumpet plagues, which start in Rev 8, last for 42-months, or the same 1260-days that the two witnesses prophesy.     It’s interesting to note that the Jerusalem Post published an article in Nov-2016 that quoted the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s Home Front Readiness Subcommittee, which said, “If Israel were to be struck by a 7.5 magnitude quake, an estimated 7,000 people would be killed, another 8,600 injured and 377,000 left homeless.”   It’s obvious from above that the two witnesses won’t be preaching about ways to salvation, as some people want to believe, because testimony means “truth” and that truth will “torment those who live on the earth.”  People will “gloat” when the two witnesses are killed, and “celebrate by sending each other gifts.”  I think that’s because gentiles don’t get a second chance, and the truth hurts.  It definitely doesn’t sound like the two witnesses will be telling people how to get to heaven, which would obviously be happy news.    Yet, there are 144,000 Israelites, who receive the seal of God on their foreheads, in Rev 7, who do get a second chance to get to heaven, by not receiving the mark of the beast.  They are the “saints” in the following passage.  Revelation 13:9-11 9 He who has an ear, let him hear.  10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go.  If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed.  This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.  11 Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.   Needless to say, it will get tougher for the 144,000, after the 6th Trumpet War, and the invasion of Israel.  At that time, the beast changes to 2-horns (above), one of which is the false prophet who performs many signs and miracles (below). Revelation 13:12-17 “He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven  to earth in full view of men. 14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak  and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.”    Since the false prophet seems to be doing everything on “behalf of the first beast”, whose “fatal wound had been healed”, I think the antichrist, who leads the 10-horned beast against Israel, is somehow wounded, perhaps in the earthquake that kills 7000 people.  The false prophet makes everyone worship an “imagine of the first beast”, which must actually be the antichrist, who was technically the “mouth” of the 10-horned beast, but the false prophet  wouldn’t make an image of an empire speak. Currency of the Beast   Then, the false prophet enacts the “mark of the beast”, which prevents everyone from buying or selling, unless they have the mark.  Personally, I think the mark will be an RFID chip or perhaps a coded tattoo, but it will be linked to a digital currency such as Bitcoin, because that would require everyone to have the mark, in order to buy and sell.  Iran is already very close  to setting up an infrastructure for Bitcoin, due to being sanctioned by the US and shut out of the world banking system.  After the rapture, more countries must find the need to abandon their currency system, and adopt a digital currency such as Bitcoin.  It may happen gradually, at first, but the 6th Trumpet War and the rise of the false prophet will force it upon the rest.  I think it will be forced upon Israel, about 30-days after the two witnesses are killed, due to the following verse in Daniel 12.  Daniel 12:11-12 “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.”   The two witnesses will protect Israel from the beast for 1260-days, while they are prophesying (Rev 11:3-6), but once they are gone, the 144,000 will be on their own.  Yet they won’t be fooled by the signs and miracles of the false prophet, as noted in Matthew 24, below.  Matthew 24:22-25 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect- if that were possible.  25 See, I have told you ahead of time.”    The elect above are the 144,000 who have the seal of God on their foreheads, from Rev 7.  They won’t be deceived by the false prophet, and won’t receive the mark of the beast, as noted in Revelation 14.  Their “days are cut short” because they are martyred between the Trumpet and Bowl plagues, at the end of Rev 14. (below)  Yet, it’s God’s timing because the angel is told to “swing the sickle.”  I think that timing is at the 1335-day point, as noted in Daniel 12. Thus, the days are “cut short” because the 144,000 only have to endure 45-days without buying or selling, which is about the limit that a person can live without food.  Revelation 14:19-20 “The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.”    Note: The depth and distance of the blood just means that the 144,000 are beheaded next to a river or stream.  They are killed by the false prophet or beast, but it is part of “God’s wrath” because they didn’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God.  Yet, that small remnant of Israelites were sealed by God and allowed a second chance because God made a promise to David that his descendants would reign forever. (2 Samuel 7:16)  The 144,000 satisfy that requirement, and become “priests” during Jesus’ 1000-year reign on earth. (Rev 20:4-6)  Who might the 144,000 be?   After the rapture, the 144,000 Israelites will turn to the “testimony of Jesus” (Rev 12:17), which means that they will believe that Jesus was the Son of God.  They could be some who actually witnessed Jesus in the sky, during the rapture, while in the mountains. (Rev 6:15-16)  Revelation 7 specifies 12,000 from each tribe of Israel, so it’s possible that some might not even be living in Israel right now. (I was asked that question once.)  Yet, for them to be martyred outside the city (above), it seems like they would be living there, at that time.  I tend to think they will be the most devout Jews, which would be the Haredi (ultra-orthodox).  I found an interesting factoid once that said there were an estimated 1.3-1.5 million Haredi in the world.  Well, Revelation 14:4 refers to the 144,000 as “firstfruits to God and the Lamb.”  Since, “firstfruits” are generally the best 10% of a crop, the amount would be right because 10% of 1.44 million is 144,000.  Plus, Rev 14:4 says that they “did not defile themselves with women”, which would also describe the Haredi because they separate themselves from women during worship, as Zechariah 12:12 says to do, something that the non-orthodox ignore.  Therefore, it’s just a guess, but scripture indicates that they might be the most devout Haredi.  Conclusion   After the martyrdom of the 144,000, the Bowl plagues start, which are far worse than the Trumpet plagues.   The Bowls last until Jesus returns at Armageddon, which is the 7th Bowl.  At that time, Jesus will re-consecrate the sanctuary, which is 2300-days after the abomination. (Daniel 8:13-14)  So you see, the flurry of events around the 1260, 1290, and 1335 days were the approximate ‘middle of tribulation’, which is actually the ‘end’ of the 70th Seven.  That’s because the abomination is in the ‘middle of the 70th Seven’. (Daniel 9:27)  [see chart left]    In other words, the 70th Seven cannot be the same as tribulation, as many people believe, because the abomination ‘starts’ the 2300-days, and marks the ‘middle’ of the 70th Seven.  Plus, 2300-days is 78-lunar-months, which is about 6.3-years, not 7-years.    The Bowl plagues are next in the timeline.    Chart showing 70th Seven vs. 2300 days Timeline of end times according to the abomination in Daniel click to enlarge Flag of the Safavid Empire (1576) *established "Shiite" as national religion Flag of Iran (1925-1979) click to enlarge Symbol of United Russia Party The Russian “bear” symbolized on Putin’s United Russia Party The Iranian “lion” on past flags Timurid Empire 1405 Timurid Empire in green Related page: Will people be saved after the Rapture? Related video: Post-Rapture Timeline (No 3rd Temple before Rapture) (51 min.)  New: 5-22-2018 
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