Daniel describes how a despicable ruler emerges in the Kingdom of North following some tumultuous events.

He stands in his place and sends an extractor of tribute for the glory of his kingdom. Within a short time, some will be destroyed, but not by anger or war (Dan 11:20).
This ruler sends out a tax collector. There was no income tax in Daniel’s time, so kings raised money by levying tariffs and duties on trade and by imposing the payment of tribute on other kings. The "trade war" tariffs on imports and the sanctions being imposed by the US on various nations could be a fulfilment of this prophecy.

The king takes these actions for the “glory of his kingdom”. “Make America Great Again” would fit with this expression. The United States has imposed more sanctions and tariffs than any other nation.

Daniel says that within a short time, this king will have destroyed some nations. He will do it without needing to go to war. The United States has destroyed numerous nations using economic sanctions, including Syria, Iraq and Libya.

The ruler who replaces him will be a despised person.

A despised person will stand in his place, to whom they had not given the respect of the kingdom: but he will come without warning and seize the kingdom by intrigue (Dan 11:21).
When he gains his place, this person will not have the respect of many in his nation. They will claim that he is a despicable person and assume that he will not gain power. However, he will engage in intrigue and seize control of the kingdom.

This new leader will be like another demagogue like Donald Trump. Many people considered him to be a contemptible person. Most commentators despised him and did not believe that he could be elected. However, he ran an effective communication strategy that bypassed the mainstream media. He used Twitter effectively to get his message across. By these intrigues, a despised person who was not expected to win came without warning and seized control of a powerful nation.

Great Victory

Once he gains power, this ruler is successful against strong opposition.

The forces of the overwhelmer will be overwhelmed before him; they will be broken (Dan 11:22).
Stated literally, this verse says that "overwhelming forces will be overwhelmed". Or a deluge of forces will be deluged. This could represent an invasion of Saudi Arabia and a defeat of the ISIS-like rebellion in that country.

However, the expression "overwhelmer" could have a different more local meaning. A perceived threat to the United States at the current time is the millions of refugees from Latin America who are travelling through Mexico and sneaking across the southern border into the southern states. So many are coming that they are "overwhelming" the border control forces. Associated with this overwhelming flood of people is a flow of illicit drugs that are destroying the youth of America. To distract the people of his nation from the pain of his losses overseas, the despicable ruler might attack Mexico to once and for all close the border to the overwhelming flood of people who are crossing every night and the flow of drugs that are striking the heart of his nation. Daniel might be warning that Mexico will be broken when the United States invades to secure its border and overwhelming flow of people and drugs.

The despicable leader will become the American Beast that Daniel described in his seventh and eighth chapters, by relying on military power and control. He and his descendents will lead their nation into the last battle that destroys government power for ever.

Daniel explains that the despicable leader will also transform the relationship between the United States and the ruling powers of Israel. He will probably make this change because an extremely right-wing government in Israel is openly implementing apartheid policies against the Palestinian people.

Next page Israeli Apartheid.

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