Commentaries:
What the Beast is doing now (and he must be alive and climbing the political ladder today) is working his subtlety wherever he happens to be, using people to create loyalty to himself and to his cause. At the same time, he is gradually undermining—introducing leaven, as it were—to the present governments, causing disloyalty to them, while simultaneously stirring up social trouble through political, justice, educational, religious, and social systems.
There is nothing new about any of this. This is what Adolph Hitler did to subvert Germany to his cause. It is what Lenin and his cabal in Russia did to subvert the Czar and his government in Russia. This is what happened in the Cold War, as nation after nation fell to communism: infiltration through fifth column efforts, which took advantage of internal conditions, bitterness, and dissatisfaction with whoever was in power.
John W. Ritenbaugh
What I Believe About Conspiracy Theories
Obviously, this is a man who regards the military and warfare as a kind of religion, conquering, ruling, and pillaging in the name of his "god of fortresses." The remainder of the chapter narrates what he does: attack, overwhelm, overthrow, plunder, destroy, and annihilate. The Beast is obsessed with war.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Beast's Militarism
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Daniel 11:38:
Habakkuk 1:14-17
Revelation 13:1-10
Revelation 17:1-13