PetrW, I am glad that you take it seriously to examine and try to understand the prophecies in the Bible. Daniel 12:4 promises that the true knowledge will become abundant.
Daniel 12:4 “As for you, Daniel, keep the words secret, and seal up the book until the time of the end. Many will rove about, and the true knowledge will become abundant.”
The book of Daniel is helpful for understanding the 1260 days/42 months/3,5 years. Because in Daniel it is quite clear that it is only one such a period and not multiple in a row.
This knowledge helps to understand Revelation. Because there it talks about the same 3 and half year period. In Daniel we have also prophecies about the 1290th day and 1335th day counting from the same starting point as the period of 1260 days. All this starts from the placing of the disgusting thing in the "sanctuary" and the removal of the constant offering.
Daniel 12:11 And from the time that the constant feature has been removed and the disgusting thing that causes desolation has been put in place, there will be 1,290 days. 12 “Happy is the one who keeps in expectation and who arrives at the 1,335 days!
So, according to Revelation 13 a beast gets a sword stoke to one of its heads, and after that the dragon gives it great authority over all the earth for 42 months which is 3 and half years. At the same time the two prophets witness and at the end of this prriod are killed by the beast that comes out of the abyss. So this means that the beast of Revelation 13 is not the one to kill these two prophets/witnesses.
In Daniel 7 the fourth beast and its final eleventh horn which has a mouth and eyes will act 3 and half years. I think this is the same beast as the one in Revelation 13 who has two horns of a lamb but speaks like dragon and as it says in verse: 12 "It exercises all the authority of the first wild beast in its sight. And it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first wild beast, whose mortal wound was healed."
But this two horned beast, the USA, with its two parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, will come to an abrupt end if it is the same beast as the one in Daniel 7:11 "kept watching at that time because of the sound of the arrogant words that the horn was speaking; I watched until the beast was killed and its body was destroyed and it was given over to be burned in the fire. 12 But as for the rest of the beasts, their rulerships were taken away, and their lives were prolonged for a time and a season."
And this beast is also the king of the north and Daniel 11:44 tells how it will come to its end: "But reports out of the east and out of the north will disturb him, and he will go out in a great rage to annihilate and to devote many to destruction. 45 And he will plant his royal tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration; and he will come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him."
Evidently the king of the south will stay for a short time after the king of the north is destroyed.
Danniel 8 speaks also in an other vision about the end of this king/last eleventh horn, the final head of state of USA and its power.
Daniel 8:25 And by his cunning he will use deception to succeed; and in his heart he will exalt himself; and during a time of security he will bring many to ruin. He will even stand up against the Prince of princes, but he will be broken without human hand.
He might be the man of lawlessness, because this horn, and the king of the north will elevate itself above all and boast, as will do the man of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2.
