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.”

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.

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.