Daniel 11:40-45: Second Beast from the Earth = Global Caliphate

 Now let’s return to Daniel 11, because I believe that verses 40 and onward refer to a future ruler or government (known by many as the Antichrist) who will gain power in the end-times after the resurrection of the saints. A new Islamic (Turkish?) government will begin to rebuild it global power, just as the angelic being says: “At the time of the end…”

 “At the time of the end, the king of the south [Egypt?] shall attack him, but the king of the north [the Antichrist in Turkey?], shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. He shall come into the glorious land [Israel]. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites [Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia?]. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans [north-west Africans] and the Cushites [in Nubia, Sudan, and Ethiopia] shall follow in his train. But news from the east [China?] and the north [Russia?] shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain [Israel]. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him” (Dan. 11:40-45).

Verses 40-45 could now easily refer to a Muslim leader (probably proceeding from Turkey, the previous Ottoman Empire) who will, in the future end-times, rush upon Egypt and other countries of the Middle East and Africa “like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and many ships,” either converting them, making them submit, or destroying them. He shall also “come into the glorious land,” or Israel, where “tens of thousands will fall” (v. 41). Edom, Moab, and Ammon (modern-day Syria and Jordan) will be delivered, perhaps because they will support him, though Egypt (“king of the south”) will not. This Antichrist will destroy and steal all the treasure and precious things of Egypt (vs. 42-43), while the Libyans (in northwest Africa) and Cushites (the Eastern African nations) will join him (v. 43). “He shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction” when he makes war against the nations of the east (China?) and north (Russia?) in order to subdue them (v. 44), who might probably submit to him only by force. More importantly, he will “pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain” (Dan. 11:45), clearly referring to somewhere near Jerusalem as his center of government. It is important to note that there is no mention of God’s people in the land of Israel at this time. This reflects that they will already have been raised by the Messiah. There is also no mention of continents further away, since what is important here are the events in the Holy Land.

For centuries we have seen this “mystery of lawlessness” at work, but he has been partially restrained (2 Thess. 2:7) because Satan cannot do what he wants without God’s permission. After the resurrection of God’s people, both Jews and Christians, he will set up his evil center on the Temple Mount (where the Muslim mosque already awaits him). Even though we don’t see a particular person who might fill the role of this “Antichrist,” this term could just refer to the satanic social, religious, and political ideology of Islam, as taught by Muhammad himself, and has slowly been moving towards this goal of world domination.

On the one hand, Turkey repeatedly emphasizes that it is going to reestablish the Ottoman Empire it once had, and even greater, while Iran, on the other hand, is already actively pursuing this agenda further in the east, though in evident competition. Perhaps they can finally form a joint Caliphate of the Sunni and Shiite sects, plus other different branches of Islam. But clearly, Islam’s main identified enemies have always been both the Jews and Christians, God’s true people. The initial Islamic agenda of the 7^th century has always been to “wear out the saints” (Dan. 7:25), which it will do before their “deliverance” (Dan. 12:1). Turkey underhandedly continues its persecution and killing of Armenian Christians and local Turkish Jews, plus God’s people in other countries that they plan to control, such as Cyprus, Syria, and northern Africa. After the resurrection of the saints, Turkey will think that it has finally conquered Christianity and Judaism, since it will control Israel and probably previously Christian countries, like Europe and the United States.

In this manner, I believe that the original Islamic Arab and Turkish Caliphates and Sultanates (leading to the Ottoman Empire), which controlled the land of Israel and the Middle East for so many centuries but disappeared after World War I, will come back to life as a renewed Ottoman Empire. This Second Beast from the Earth will probably also include the rest of the Muslim world and other powers that will join it, such as the United Nations and even the Roman Catholic Vatican. We can see the same distinction between the Second Beast from the Earth and the First Beast from the Sea in Revelation 13:11-18, the second one that will come out of the first and exercise all the authority of the first. The people remaining on earth will have to submit to this beast (or Anti-Messiah) and wear the mark of the Beast (Rev. 13:16-18). As stated before, I understand that by then there will be no more saints on earth. According to my eschatological puzzle, the saints will have been raised to immortality before the Second Beast can come into full power and will not be affected by it during the heavenly Wedding Feast of the Lamb. The Second Beast will then be destroyed by God’s Bowls of Wrath upon the Messiah’s return.

The above referenced concept of a revived Muslim Ottoman Empire is not just my wild imagination, because at the present moment there is a concerted effort in Turkey to restore the ancient Ottoman Empire. In an article published by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on January 14, 2020,[1] there is evidence that Turkey is working on raising a united Muslim superpower in the world, joining Sunnis with Shiites. The document states: “Turkish President Erdoğan's chief advisor, Gen. (ret.) Adnan Tanriverdi,[2] has been articulating a vision of a unified Islamic superpower. The Justice Defenders Strategic Studies Center (ASSAM), which he chairs, published a draft constitution for a planned Shari'a-based confederation of 61 Islamic countries for the formation and governance of an Islamic union of nations called “Asrica” (name formed as a combination of Asia and Africa). He supposedly carried out a series of seven conferences, the final one which was in 2023 during the 100th anniversary of the founding the republic of Turkey. In a video uploaded to YouTube on December 13, 2020 featuring a section of the interview, Tanrıverdi discussed the coming of the Mahdi [the Muslim counterfeit of God’s true Messiah] and the forming of a union of Islamic countries. He said: “When we ask: ‘Is there going to be an Islamic union?’ There will be. How will it happen, when will it happen? When the Mahdi comes, we trust Allah. When will the Mahdi come? Allah, the Exalted, knows. Do we not have work [to do]? Do we not need to prepare the setting? This is what ASSAM is doing. After this setting is prepared, inshallah, there will be an Islamic union.’”[3] Turkey is also actively developing ties with Russia and China in its efforts to expand its influence beyond Islam. Perhaps they even had a hand in the horrible events of October 7, 2023 in Gaza against the Jewish population?

In any case, Daniel 11:40-45 seems to describe a future person or government that could unite the Muslim world under one global Caliphate. It would take a strong and admired leader for all streams of Islam to become united in order to form a global Umma (Caliphate) under their Mahdi (their own “messiah”). But it will ultimately be consumed and destroyed “to the end” (v. 26), when the heavenly court takes away his dominion.

In conclusion, we can see in the book of Daniel the same series of eschatological events as we see in other various portions of the Bible: First, the saints will have to suffer a while under the First Beast from the Sea, and then at a certain time (which only God knows), they will be delivered or raised to heaven for eternal life. Right away, this beast will become newly empowered and wreak havoc on the world again, namely the Second Beast from the Earth, who will have dominion for just a short while. He will be joined by the “Prostitute,” which I believe is the Roman Catholic Vatican (to be addressed in a later section). But finally, his “dominion shall be taken way, to be consumed and destroyed to the end” (Dan 7:26). This time, he will receive his merited punishment and eternal destruction in the Battle of Armageddon. Then the Messiah will come to establish His millennial kingdom, which the saints will possess when they return to earth together with Him. We read that “the kingdom and dominion…shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High” (Dan. 7:27a).

During this Messianic Age, the surviving unrighteous people and earthly nations will inevitably serve Him, since Satan will be “bound” and cannot impede their temporary (but not wholehearted) allegiance. These unrighteous people will rejoin Satan when he is released for the Battle of Gog and Magog at the end of the Messiah’s reign, and will rise for their judgment to receive eternal shame and condemnation. Finally, the Father’s kingdom will arrive, and this glorious kingdom will have no end! This will be “an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him” (Dan 7:27b). There will actually be no interruption between the temporary kingdom and the Father’s eternal one for the already-transformed believers.

Thus, I believe that we can finally understand the codified messages that God gave to Daniel: “… shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end… for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end” (Dan. 12:4, 9). That time has now arrived.

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[1] Middle East Media Research Institute, https://www.memri.org/reports/erdo%C4%9Fans-chief-advisor-and-former-general-tanr%C4%B1verdi-presents-vision-%E2%80%93-reflected-turkeys, accessed Jan 14, 2021. 

[2] Adnan Tanriverdi died in August 2024 after the conferences without seeing this goal fulfilled, according to https://turkishminute.com/2024/08/04/founder-defense-firm-sadat-died-at-79/, accessed March 5, 2025.

[3] According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, https://www.memri.org/reports/erdo%C4%9Fans-chief-advisor-and-former-general-tanr%C4%B1verdi-presents-vision-%E2%80%93-reflected-turkeys, the planned confederation of 61 “Asrica Islamic Countries Union” mentioned previously includes: 12 countries in the Middle East, namely Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, and Yemen; eight in "Middle Asia," namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan; four in the "Near East," namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, and Pakistan; three in Southeast Asia, namely Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia; six in North Africa, namely Algeria, Chad, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia; six in "East Africa (Red Sea Basin)," namely Djibouti, Eritrea, "Comor [likely Comoros]," Mozambique, Somalia, and Sudan; ten in northwest Africa and South America, namely the Western Sahara, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Guyana, and Suriname; eight in "Southwest Africa (Ocean Basin)," namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Elephant Coast, Gabon, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo; and four in Europe, namely Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Macedonia.