Verse 19: “And he will set his face back to the stronghold of his land, but he will stumble, he will fall, and he will not be found.”

He: This particular king of the North is not the final antichrist, but is a forerunner to him.

Will not be found: He is not going to endure. He is not going to be the one that carries on and fulfils the purposes of the antichrist. This king attempted to get Israel on his side, but he was unsuccessful and ultimately he faded away and disappeared from the situation.

Verse 20: “There shall stand in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but in a few days he is going to be broken – but not by anger and not by war.”

There shall stand in his place one: A new leader rises up and takes over the government of the kingdom of the North.

Imposes taxes: The term used here is a term found in the book of Exodus. It is what Pharaoh did when he placed taskmasters/tax collectors over the children of Israel. This king is going to impose a tax, a tribute, upon all these people in order to make his kingdom glorious.

Broken: Destroyed. He, too, is just a forerunner for the antichrist.

Verse 21: “And he will stand upon his base one who is contemptible, but he will not be given the glory of the kingdom. He will come at a time of tranquility. He is going to strengthen the kingdom through deceit.”

Note: This verse ushers in a major change. A new leader rises up over the Northern kingdom, but this leader is a very significant one – he is the one that we need to pay particular attention to.

Stand upon his base: He will take his place within this government.

Contemptible: Despicable. This one is not like any of the others. He is a vile individual and despises the things of God. He has a mindset like Esau, and attempts to thwart the purposes of God, as satanic deception drives him.

He will not be given the glory of the kingdom: He is not going to establish what he wants to establish.

Tranquility: The transition for this contemptible leader will take place in a time of relative peace.

He is going to strengthen the kingdom through deceit: Many English Bibles translate this last word as ‘flattery’. This is a word for slippery speech. His kingdom is going to be made powerful, but not in truth – not in the reality of a situation, but by deceit.

Verse 22: “His armies are going to sweep through like a flood from before him, and they will break – and also the prince of the covenant.”
Armies: Military forces. This army is going to be very strong.

Flood: This is the kind of flood that comes and destroys rapidly – like the flood caused by a break in a dam wall.

They will break: There is a debate whether they are going to be broken, or whether they are going to do the breaking (causing many people to submit under their rule). Context points to the latter option being the one more likely.

Also, the prince of the covenant: Although many interpret this as the prince of the covenant also being destroyed, or broken, it does not fit the context of what is going to be said later on. It could be strongly suggested that when these armies sweep through like a flood that the prince of the covenant is going to be manifested. Because of his great strength, others are going to want to join with him.