A King Profanes Jehovah’s Sanctuary

“As regards the people who are knowing their God, they will prevail.”​—DANIEL 11:32.

1, 2. What dramatic conflict has marked human history for more than 2,000 years?

TWO rival kings are locked in a no-holds-barred struggle for supremacy. First one, then the other, gains ascendancy, as for more than two thousand years the battle goes on. In our day the struggle has affected most people on earth and has challenged the integrity of God’s people. It ends with an event unforeseen by either power. This dramatic history in advance was revealed to the ancient prophet Daniel.​—Daniel, chapters 10 to 12.

² The prophecy has to do with the ongoing enmity between the king of the north and the king of the south and was discussed in detail in the book “Your Will Be Done on Earth.”a In that book it was shown that the king of the north was originally Syria, to the north of Israel. Afterward, the role was taken over by Rome. To begin with, the king of the south was Egypt.

Conflict in the Time of the End

3. According to the angel, when would the prophecy about the king of the north and the king of the south be understood, and how?

³ The angel revealing these things to Daniel said: “As for you, O Daniel, make secret the words and seal up the book, until the time of the end. Many will rove about, and the true knowledge will become abundant.” (Daniel 12:4) Yes, the prophecy has to do with the time of the end​—a period that started in 1914. During that marked time, many would “rove about” in the Holy Scriptures, and with the help of holy spirit, true knowledge, including an understanding of Bible prophecy, would become abundant. (Proverbs 4:18) As we get deeper into that time, more and more details of the prophecies of Daniel have been clarified. How, then, should we understand the prophecy of the king of the north and the king of the south in 1993, now 35 years after the publication of “Your Will Be Done on Earth”?

4, 5. (a) Where is the year 1914 located in Daniel’s prophecy about the king of the north and the king of the south? (b) According to the angel, what would happen in 1914?

⁴ The beginning of the time of the end in 1914 was marked by the first world war and the other world distresses that Jesus foretold. (Matthew 24:3, 7, 8) Can we locate that year in Daniel’s prophecy? Yes. The beginning of the time of the end is “the time appointed” referred to at Daniel 11:29. (See “Your Will Be Done on Earth,” pages 269-70.) It was a time already appointed by Jehovah in Daniel’s day, since it came at the end of the 2,520 years indicated in the prophetically significant events of Daniel chapter 4.

⁵ Those 2,520 years, from the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E. during Daniel’s youth until 1914 C.E., were called “the appointed times of the nations.” (Luke 21:24) What political events would mark their end? An angel revealed this to Daniel. The angel said: “At the time appointed he [the king of the north] will go back, and he will actually come against the south; but it will not prove to be at the last the same as at the first.”​—Daniel 11:29.

The King Loses a War

6. In 1914, who was the king of the north, and who was the king of the south?

⁶ By 1914 the role of king of the north had been taken over by Germany, whose leader was Kaiser Wilhelm. (“Kaiser,” from the Roman title “Caesar.”) The outbreak of hostilities in Europe was yet another in the series of showdowns between the king of the north and the king of the south. The role of this latter, the king of the south, was now occupied by Britain, which quickly took over Egypt, the domain of the original king of the south. As the war proceeded, Britain was joined by its former colony, the United States of America. The king of the south became the Anglo-American World Power, the most powerful empire in history.

7, 8. (a) In the first world war, in what way did things not turn out “as at the first”? (b) What was the outcome of the first world war, but according to the prophecy, how did the king of the north react?

⁷ In previous conflicts between the two kings, the Roman Empire, as king of the north, had consistently been victorious. This time, ‘things were not the same as at the first.’ Why not? Because the king of the north lost the war. One reason was that “the ships of Kittim” came against the king of the north. (Daniel 11:30) What were these ships? In Daniel’s time, Kittim was Cyprus, and early in the first world war, Cyprus was annexed by Britain. Moreover, according to The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, the name Kittim “is extended to include the W[est] in general, but esp[ecially] the seafaring W[est].” The New International Version renders the expression “ships of Kittim” as “ships of the western coastlands.” In the first world war, the ships of Kittim proved to be the ships of Britain, lying off the western coast of Europe. Later the British Navy was strengthened by ships from the western continent of North America.

⁸ Under this assault, the king of the north became “dejected” and conceded defeat in 1918. But he was not finished. “He will actually go back and hurl denunciations against the holy covenant and act effectively; and he will have to go back and will give consideration to those leaving the holy covenant.” (Daniel 11:30) So prophesied the angel, and so it proved to be.

The King Acts Effectively

9. What led to the rise of Adolf Hitler, and how did he “act effectively”?

⁹ After the war, in 1918, the victorious Allies imposed a punitive peace treaty on Germany, apparently designed to keep the German people in near starvation for the indefinite future. As a result, after staggering for some years in extreme distress, Germany was ripe for the rise of Adolf Hitler. He attained supreme power in 1933 and immediately launched a vicious attack against “the holy covenant,” represented by the anointed brothers of Jesus Christ. In this he acted effectively against these loyal Christians, cruelly persecuting many of them.

10. Seeking support, Hitler courted whom, and with what results?

¹⁰ Hitler enjoyed economic and diplomatic successes, acting effectively in that field also. In a few years, he made Germany a power to be reckoned with, being helped in this endeavor by “those leaving the holy covenant.” Who were these? Evidently, the leaders of Christendom, who claimed a covenant relationship with God but had long since ceased to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Hitler successfully called on “those leaving the holy covenant” for their support. The pope in Rome made a concordat with him, and the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Protestant churches in Germany, supported Hitler throughout his 12-year reign of terror.

11. How did the king of the north “profane the sanctuary” and “remove the constant feature”?

¹¹ So successful was Hitler that he went to war, as the angel correctly foretold. “And there will be arms that will stand up, proceeding from him; and they will actually profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and remove the constant feature.” (Daniel 11:31a) In ancient Israel, the sanctuary was part of the temple in Jerusalem. However, when the Jews rejected Jesus, Jehovah rejected them and their temple. (Matthew 23:37–24:2) Since the first century, Jehovah’s temple has actually been a spiritual one, with its holy of holies in the heavens and with a spiritual courtyard on earth in which the anointed brothers of Jesus, the High Priest, serve. From the 1930’s, the great crowd have worshiped in association with the anointed remnant; hence, they are said to serve ‘in God’s temple.’ (Revelation 7:9, 15; 11:1, 2; Hebrews 9:11, 12, 24) The earthly courtyard of the temple was profaned by the relentless persecution of the anointed remnant and their companions in lands where the king of the north held sway. So severe was the persecution that the constant feature​—the public sacrifice of praise to Jehovah’s name—​was removed. (Hebrews 13:15) Still, history shows that despite horrible suffering, faithful anointed Christians, together with the “other sheep,” kept on preaching underground.​—John 10:16.

“The Disgusting Thing”

12, 13. What was “the disgusting thing,” and​—as foreseen by the faithful and discreet slave—​when and how was it reestablished?

¹² When the end of the second world war was in sight, there was another development. “They will certainly put in place the disgusting thing that is causing desolation.” (Daniel 11:31b) This “disgusting thing,” which Jesus also mentioned, had already been recognized as the League of Nations, the scarlet-colored wild beast that according to Revelation went into the abyss. (Matthew 24:15; Revelation 17:8; see Light, Book Two, page 94.) It did this when World War II broke out. However, at the New World Theocratic Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1942, Nathan H. Knorr, third president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, discussed the prophecy of Revelation 17 and warned that the beast would rise again from the abyss.

¹³ History bore out the truth of his words. Between August and October 1944, at Dumbarton Oaks in the United States, work was begun on the charter of what would be called the United Nations. The charter was adopted by 51 nations, including the former Soviet Union, and when it came into force on October 24, 1945, the defunct League of Nations in effect came out of the abyss.

14. When and how did the identity of the king of the north change?

¹⁴ Germany had been a chief enemy of the king of the south during both world wars. After World War II, part of Germany realigned to become an ally of the king of the south. But the other part of Germany now became aligned with another potent empire. The Communist bloc, which now included part of Germany, stood up in strong opposition to the Anglo-American alliance, and the rivalry between the two kings became a Cold War.​—See “Your Will Be Done on Earth,” pages 264-84.

The King and the Covenant

15. Who are ‘those acting wickedly against the covenant,’ and what relationship have they had with the king of the north?

¹⁵ The angel now says: “Those who are acting wickedly against the covenant, he will lead into apostasy by means of smooth words.” (Daniel 11:32a) Who are these ones acting wickedly against the covenant? Again, they can only be the leaders of Christendom, who claim to be Christian but by their actions profane the very name of Christianity. During the second world war, “the Soviet Government made an effort to enlist the material and moral assistance of the Churches for the defence of the motherland.” (Religion in the Soviet Union, by Walter Kolarz) After the war, church leaders tried to maintain that friendship despite the atheistic policy of the power that was now king of the north.b Thus, Christendom became more than ever a part of this world​—a disgusting apostasy in Jehovah’s eyes.​—John 17:14; James 4:4.

16, 17. Who are “those having insight,” and how have they fared under the king of the north?

¹⁶ What, though, of genuine Christians? “As regards the people who are knowing their God, they will prevail and act effectively. And as regards those having insight among the people, they will impart understanding to the many. And they will certainly be made to stumble by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plundering, for some days.” (Daniel 11:32b, 33) Christians living under the king of the north, while properly “in subjection to the superior authorities,” have not been a part of this world. (Romans 13:1; John 18:36) Careful to pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar, they also gave “God’s things to God.” (Matthew 22:21) Because of this, their integrity was challenged.​—2 Timothy 3:12.

¹⁷ The result? They both ‘prevailed’ and ‘stumbled.’ They stumbled in that they were persecuted and suffered intensely, some even being killed. But they prevailed in that, for the most part, they remained faithful. Yes, they conquered the world, just as Jesus conquered the world. (John 16:33) Moreover, they never stopped preaching, even if they found themselves in prison or in a concentration camp. In so doing, they ‘imparted understanding to the many.’ Despite persecution, in most lands ruled over by the king of the north, the numbers of Jehovah’s Witnesses increased. Thanks to the faithfulness of “those having insight,” an ever expanding part of the “great crowd” has appeared in those lands.​—Revelation 7:9-14.

18. What “little help” has been received by the anointed remnant living under the king of the north?

¹⁸ Speaking of the persecution of God’s people, the angel foretold: “But when they are made to stumble they will be helped with a little help.” (Daniel 11:34a) How did this happen? For one thing, the triumph of the king of the south in the second world war resulted in huge relief for Christians living under the rival king. (Compare Revelation 12:15, 16.) Then, those who were persecuted by the successor king experienced relief from time to time, and as the Cold War wound down, many leaders came to realize that faithful Christians are no threat and thus granted them legal recognition.c Great help has come, too, in the swelling numbers of the great crowd, who have responded to the faithful preaching of anointed ones and have helped them, as described at Matthew 25:34-40.

A Cleansing for God’s People

19. (a) How did some “join themselves to them by means of smoothness”? (b) What is meant by the expression “until the time of the end”? (See footnote.)

¹⁹ Not all who manifested an interest in serving God during this time had good motives. The angel warned: “Many will certainly join themselves to them by means of smoothness. And some of those having insight will be made to stumble, in order to do a refining work because of them and to do a cleansing and to do a whitening, until the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed.”d (Daniel 11:34b, 35) Some showed an interest in the truth but were not willing to make a genuine dedication to serve God. Others who seemed to accept the good news were really spies for the authorities. A report from one land reads: “Some of these unscrupulous characters were avowed Communists who had crept into the Lord’s organization, made a great display of zeal, and had even been appointed to high positions of service.”

20. Why did Jehovah allow some faithful Christians to “stumble” because of hypocritical infiltrators?

²⁰ The infiltrators caused some faithful ones to fall into the hands of the authorities. Why did Jehovah allow such things to happen? For a refining, a cleansing. Just as Jesus “learned obedience from the things he suffered,” so these faithful souls learned endurance from the testing of their faith. (Hebrews 5:8; James 1:2, 3; compare Malachi 3:3.) They are thus ‘refined, cleansed, and whitened.’ Great rejoicing awaits such faithful ones when the appointed time arrives for their endurance to be rewarded. This will be seen when we discuss more of Daniel’s prophecy.

[Footnotes]

The Final Victory of Michael, the Great Prince

“During that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your people.”​—DANIEL 12:1.

1. What attitude toward Jehovah’s sovereignty have many world rulers manifested, and how has the king of the north been no different?

“WHO is Jehovah, so that I should obey his voice to send Israel away?” (Exodus 5:2) These were Pharaoh’s challenging words to Moses. Refusing to acknowledge the supreme Godship of Jehovah, Pharaoh was determined to keep Israel in slavery. Other rulers have shown a similar disdain for Jehovah, and the kings of Daniel’s prophecy are no exception. (Isaiah 36:13-20) Indeed, the king of the north has gone further. The angel says: “He will exalt himself and magnify himself above every god; and against the God of gods he will speak marvelous things. . . . And to the God of his fathers he will give no consideration; and to the desire of women and to every other god he will give no consideration, but over everyone he will magnify himself.”​—Daniel 11:36, 37.

2, 3. In what way did the king of the north reject “the God of his fathers” in favor of worshiping another “god”?

² Fulfilling these prophetic words, the king of the north rejected “the God of his fathers” (or, “his ancestral gods,” The New English Bible), be it the pagan gods of Rome or the Trinitarian divinity of Christendom. Hitler used Christendom for his own ends but evidently planned to replace her with a new, Germanic church. His successor promoted outright atheism. Thus the king of the north has made a god of himself, ‘magnifying himself over everyone.’

³ The prophecy continues: “To the god of fortresses, in his position he will give glory; and to a god that his fathers did not know he will give glory by means of gold and by means of silver and by means of precious stone and by means of desirable things.” (Daniel 11:38) In fact, the king of the north placed his trust in modern scientific militarism, “the god of fortresses.” All through the time of the end, he has sought salvation through this “god,” sacrificing enormous wealth on its altar.

4. What success has the king of the north had?

⁴ “He will act effectively against the most fortified strongholds, along with a foreign god. Whoever has given him recognition he will make abound with glory, and he will actually make them rule among many; and the ground he will apportion out for a price.” (Daniel 11:39) Trusting in his militaristic “foreign god,” the king of the north has acted most “effectively,” proving to be a formidable military power in “the last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1) Those who supported his ideology were rewarded with political, financial, and sometimes military support.

“In the Time of the End”

5, 6. How has the king of the south ‘pushed,’ and how has the king of the north reacted?

⁵ Daniel 11:40a reads: “In the time of the end the king of the south will engage with him in a pushing.” This and the following verses have been viewed as having a fulfillment in our future. However, if “the time of the end” here means the same as it does at Daniel 12:4, 9, we should look for the fulfillment of these words throughout the last days. Has the king of the south ‘pushed’ the king of the north during this time? Yes, indeed. After the first world war, the punitive peace treaty was surely a ‘pushing,’ an incitement to retaliation. After his victory in the second world war, the king of the south targeted fearsome nuclear weapons on his rival and organized against him a powerful military alliance, NATO. As the years went by, his “pushing” included high-tech espionage as well as diplomatic and military offensives.

⁶ How did the king of the north react? “Against him the king of the north will storm with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he will certainly enter into the lands and flood over and pass through.” (Daniel 11:40b) The history of the last days has featured the expansionism of the king of the north. During the second world war, the Nazi “king” flooded over his borders into the surrounding lands. At the end of that war, the successor “king” built a powerful empire outside his own boundaries. During the Cold War, the king of the north fought his rival in proxy wars and insurgencies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He persecuted genuine Christians, limiting (but by no means stopping) their activity. And his military and political offensives brought a number of lands under his control. This is exactly as the angel prophesied: “He will also actually enter into the land of the Decoration [the spiritual estate of God’s people], and there will be many lands that will be made to stumble.”​—Daniel 11:41a.

7. What limits were there to the expansionism of the king of the north?

⁷ Nevertheless, even though​—from the viewpoint of his rival—​the king of the north has loomed as a menacing presence, he has not achieved world conquest. “These are the ones that will escape out of his hand, Edom and Moab and the main part of the sons of Ammon.” (Daniel 11:41b) In ancient times, Edom, Moab, and Ammon were situated roughly between Egypt and Syria. They can be taken to represent nations and organizations today that the king of the north targeted but was unable to bring under his influence.

‘Egypt Will Not Escape’

8, 9. How has the influence of the king of the north been felt, even by his main rival?

⁸ The angel goes on to say: “He will keep thrusting out his hand against the lands; and as regards the land of Egypt, she will not prove to be an escapee. And he will actually rule over the hidden treasures of the gold and the silver and over all the desirable things of Egypt. And the Libyans and the Ethiopians will be at his steps.” (Daniel 11:42, 43) Even the king of the south, “Egypt,” did not escape the effects of the expansionist policies of the king of the north. He suffered, for example, a notable defeat in Vietnam. And what of “the Libyans and the Ethiopians”? These neighbors of ancient Egypt might well foreshadow nations that are, geographically speaking, neighbors of modern “Egypt” and that at times have been followers of, ‘at the steps of,’ the king of the north.

⁹ Has the king of the north ruled over ‘the hidden treasures of Egypt’? Well, he has certainly not conquered the king of the south, and up until 1993 the world situation made it seem unlikely that he will. But he has had a powerful influence on the way the king of the south used his financial resources. Because of fear of his rival, the king of the south has devoted huge sums each year to maintaining a formidable army, navy, and air force. To this extent the king of the north could be said to have ‘ruled over,’ controlled, the disposition of the wealth of the king of the south.

Final Campaign of the Northern King

10. In what way does the angel describe the end of the rivalry between the two kings?

¹⁰ Does the rivalry between the two kings continue indefinitely? No. The angel told Daniel: “There will be reports that will disturb him [the king of the north], out of the sunrising and out of the north, and he will certainly go forth in a great rage in order to annihilate and to devote many to destruction. And he will plant his palatial tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration; and he will have to come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him.”​—Daniel 11:44, 45.

11, 12. What recent political events have to do with the rivalry between the king of the north and the king of the south, and what have we yet to learn?

¹¹ These events are yet future, so we cannot say in detail how the prophecy will be fulfilled. Recently, the political situation regarding the two kings has changed. The bitter rivalry between the United States and Eastern European countries has cooled. Further, the Soviet Union was disbanded in 1991 and no longer exists.​—See the March 1, 1992, issue of The Watchtower, pages 4, 5.

¹² So who is the king of the north now? Is he to be identified with one of the countries that were part of the old Soviet Union? Or is he changing identity completely, as he has a number of times before? We cannot say. Who will be the king of the north when Daniel 11:44, 45 is fulfilled? Will the rivalry between the two kings flare up again? And what of the huge nuclear stockpiles that still exist in a number of lands? Only time will provide the answers to these questions.

13, 14. What do we know about the future of the two kings?

¹³ One thing we do know. Soon, the king of the north will conduct an offensive campaign that will be triggered by “reports that will disturb him, out of the sunrising and out of the north.” This campaign will immediately precede his “end.” We can learn more about these “reports” if we consider other Bible prophecies.

¹⁴ First, though, notice that these acts of the king of the north are not said to be against the king of the south. He does not come to his end at the hands of his great rival. Similarly, the king of the south is not destroyed by the king of the north. The southern king (represented in other prophecies as the final horn to appear on a wild beast) is destroyed “without [human] hand” by God’s Kingdom. (Daniel 7:26; 8:25) In fact, all earthly kings are finally destroyed by God’s Kingdom at the battle of Armageddon, and this evidently is what happens to the king of the north. (Daniel 2:44; 12:1; Revelation 16:14, 16) Daniel 11:44, 45 describes events leading up to that final battle. No wonder “there will be no helper” when the king of the north meets his end!

15. What important questions remain to be discussed?

¹⁵ What, then, are the other prophecies that shed light on the “reports” that move the king of the north to set out to “devote many to destruction.” And who are the “many” that he will want to destroy?

A Report Out Of the Sunrising

16. (a) What outstanding event must happen before Armageddon? (b) Who are “the kings from the rising of the sun”?

¹⁶ Before the final battle, Armageddon, a great enemy of true worship must be destroyed​—harlotlike Babylon the Great, the worldwide empire of false religion. (Revelation 18:3-8) Her destruction is foreshadowed by the pouring out of the sixth bowl of God’s wrath on the symbolic river Euphrates. The river dries up “that the way might be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun.” (Revelation 16:12) Who are these kings? None other than Jehovah God and Jesus Christ!a

17. (a) What does the Bible tell us about the destruction of Babylon the Great? (b) What may the report “out of the sunrising” prove to be?

¹⁷ The destruction of Babylon the Great is graphically described in the book of Revelation: “The ten horns that you saw [the ‘kings’ ruling in the time of the end], and the wild beast [the scarlet-colored wild beast, representing the United Nations organization], these will hate the harlot and will make her devastated and naked, and will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely burn her with fire.” (Revelation 17:16) Truly, the nations ‘destroy much flesh’! (Daniel 7:5) But why will the rulers, including the king of the north, destroy Babylon the Great? Because ‘God puts it into their hearts to carry out his thought.’ (Revelation 17:17) The report “out of the sunrising” may well refer to this act of Jehovah, when, in a way that he chooses, he puts it into the hearts of human leaders to annihilate the great religious harlot.​—Daniel 11:44.

A Report Out Of the North

18. What other target does the king of the north have, and where does this locate him when he comes to his end?

¹⁸ But there is another target for the wrath of the king of the north. The angel says that he will “plant his palatial tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration.” (Daniel 11:45) In Daniel’s time, the grand sea was the Mediterranean, and the holy mountain was Zion, once the site of God’s temple. Hence, in the prophecy’s fulfillment, the enraged king of the north conducts a military campaign against God’s people! In a spiritual sense today, “between the grand sea and the holy mountain” locates him in the spiritual estate of God’s anointed servants, who have come out of “the sea” of alienated mankind and have the hope of ruling on heavenly Mount Zion with Jesus Christ.​—Isaiah 57:20; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 14:1.

19. As indicated by Ezekiel’s prophecy, how may we identify the report that incites Gog’s attack? (See footnote.)

¹⁹ Ezekiel, a contemporary of Daniel, also prophesied an attack on God’s people “in the final part of the days.” He said the hostilities would be initiated by Gog of Magog, representing Satan the Devil. (Ezekiel 38:16) From which direction, symbolically, does Gog come? Jehovah, through Ezekiel, says: “You will certainly come from your place, from the remotest parts of the north.” (Ezekiel 38:15) Hence, the report “out of the north” may well be Satan’s propaganda inciting the king of the north and all the other kings to attack Jehovah’s people.b​—Compare Revelation 16:13, 14; 17:14.

20, 21. (a) Why will Gog incite the nations, including the king of the north, to attack God’s people? (b) Will his attack succeed?

²⁰ Gog organizes this all-out assault because of the prosperity of “the Israel of God,” who, with the great crowd of other sheep, are no longer part of his world. (Galatians 6:16; John 10:16; 17:15, 16; 1 John 5:19) Gog looks askance upon “a people gathered together out of the nations, one that is accumulating [spiritual] wealth and property.” (Ezekiel 38:12; Revelation 5:9; 7:9) In fulfillment of these words, Jehovah’s people are prospering today as never before. In many lands in Europe, Africa, and Asia where they were once banned, they now worship freely. Between 1987 and 1992, well over one million “desirable things” came out of the nations to Jehovah’s house of true worship. Spiritually, they are wealthy and peaceful.​—Haggai 2:7; Isaiah 2:2-4; 2 Corinthians 8:9.

²¹ Viewing the Christian spiritual estate as “open rural country” ripe for the taking, Gog makes a supreme effort to wipe out this obstacle to his total control of mankind. (Ezekiel 38:11) But he fails. When the kings of the earth attack Jehovah’s people, they will ‘come all the way to their end.’ How?

A Third King

22, 23. When Gog attacks, who stands up for God’s people, and with what results?

²² Ezekiel says that Gog’s attack is the signal for Jehovah God to rise up in behalf of his people and destroy Gog’s forces “on the mountains of Israel.” (Ezekiel 38:18; 39:4) This reminds us of what the angel tells Daniel: “During that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your people. And there will certainly occur a time of distress such as has not been made to occur since there came to be a nation until that time. And during that time your people will escape, every one who is found written down in the book.”​—Daniel 12:1.

²³ In 1914, Jesus​—the heavenly warrior Michael—​became King of God’s heavenly Kingdom. (Revelation 11:15; 12:7-9) Since then, he has been standing ‘in behalf of the sons of Daniel’s people.’ Soon, though, he will “stand up” in Jehovah’s name as an invincible Warrior-King, bringing “vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 1:8) All nations of the earth, including the kings of Daniel’s prophecy, will “beat themselves in lamentation.” (Matthew 24:30) With evil thoughts still in their hearts toward ‘Daniel’s people,’ they will perish forever at the hands of ‘Michael, the great prince.’​—Revelation 19:11-21.

24. What effect should this study of Daniel’s prophecy have on us?

²⁴ Do we not long to see that grand triumph of Michael and of his God, Jehovah? For that victory will mean “escape,” survival, for true Christians. (Compare Malachi 4:1-3.) Hence, looking to the future with eager anticipation, we bear in mind the words of the apostle Paul: “Preach the word, be at it urgently in favorable season, in troublesome season.” (2 Timothy 4:2) Let us keep a firm hold on the Word of life and diligently seek Jehovah’s sheep while the favorable season continues. We are on the homestretch in the race for life. The reward is in sight. May all be determined to endure to the end and thus be among those who will be saved.​—Matthew 24:13; Hebrews 12:1.

[Footnotes]