The Babylonian Exile

"He will summon his power and courage against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south will fight back with a very large and powerful army; but he will not succeed, because of plots devised against him.

Yes, those who shared his food will destroy him; his army will be swept away; and many will fall in the slaughter.

These two kings, bent on mischief, will sit at the same table, speaking lies to each other; but none of this will succeed; because the appointed end will not have come yet.

Then the king of the north will return to his own land with great wealth; with his heart set against the holy covenant, he will take action and then return home.

"At the time designated, he will come back to the south. But this time, things will turn out differently than before;

because ships from Kittim will come against him, so that his courage will fail him. Then, in retreat, he will take furious action against the holy covenant, again showing favor to those who abandon the holy covenant.

Armed forces will come at his order and profane the sanctuary and fortress. They will abolish the daily burnt offering and set up the abomination that causes desolation.

Those who act wickedly against the covenant he will corrupt with his blandishments, but the people who know their God will stand firm and prevail.

Those among the people who have discernment will cause the rest of the people to understand what is happening; nevertheless, for a while they will fall victim to sword, fire, exile and pillage.

When they stumble, they will receive a little help, although many who join them will be insincere.

Even some of those with discernment will stumble, so that some of them will be refined, purified and cleansed for an end yet to come at the designated time.

"The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god, and he will utter monstrous blasphemies against the God of gods. He will prosper only until the period of wrath is over, for what has been determined must take place.

He will show no respect for the gods his ancestors worshipped, or for the god women worship - he won't show respect for any god, because he will consider himself greater than all of them.

But instead, he will honor the god of strongholds; with gold, silver, precious stones and other costly things he will honor a god unknown to his ancestors.

He will deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will confer honor on those he acknowledges, causing them to rule over many and distributing land as a reward.

"When the time for the end comes, the king of the south will push at him; while the king of the north will attack him like a whirlwind, with chariots, cavalry and a large navy. He will invade countries, overrun them and move on.

He will also enter the Land of Glory, and many [countries] will come to grief, but these will be saved from his power - Edom, Mo'av and the people of 'Amon.

He will reach out his hand to seize other countries too. The land of Egypt will not escape -

he will control the treasures of gold and silver, as well as everything else in Egypt of value. Put and Ethiopia will be subject to him.

However, news from the east and north will frighten him, so that he moves out in great fury to ruin and completely do away with many.

Finally, when he pitches the tents of his palace between the seas and the mountain of the holy Glory, he will come to his end, with no one to help him.

"When that time comes, Mikha'el, the great prince who champions your people, will stand up; and there will be a time of distress unparalleled between the time they became a nation and that moment. At that time, your people will be delivered, everyone whose name is found written in the book.

Many of those sleeping in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting shame and abhorrence.

But those who can discern will shine like the brightness of heaven's dome, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

"But you, Dani'el, keep these words secret, and seal up the book until the time of the end. Many will rush here and there as knowledge increases."