Daniel 12.12-The Prophecy of 1,335 Days Elapsing from The Desecration of the Temple to the Conclusion of the Judgments of Jews and Gentiles
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday September 30, 2014
Daniel: Daniel 12:12-The Prophecy of 1,335 Days Elapsing from The Desecration of the Temple to the Conclusion of the Judgments of Jews and Gentiles
Lesson # 385
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 12:12.
Daniel 12:12 “How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!” (NASB95)
“How blessed” is the noun ʾǎš·rê (אַשְׁרֵי) (eh´-sher), which means “how happy!” since it pertains to a heightened state of happiness and joy implying very favorable circumstances and enjoyment.
Here it is used of the overwhelming happiness of the Jew who survives the judgment of his people after the Second Advent of Jesus Christ and enters the millennial kingdom.
“He who keeps waiting” is the verb ḥā·ḵā(h) (חָכָה) (khaw-kaw´), which means “to wait for, to patiently wait for” implying faith or trust in God as He fulfills His Word to His people.
Here it refers to a Jew who waits for God to fulfill the prophetic events in His Word regarding the seventieth week, the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, the establishment of the millennial temple and the judgments of the Jews and Gentiles which follow it.
“And attains” presents the result of the previous statement that how happy will be the one who patiently waits for God to fulfill His prophetic Word.
“Attains” is the verb nā·ḡǎʿ (נָגַע) (naw-gah´), which means “to reach” since it pertains to a person experiencing the passage of a particular period of time.
Here it is used of a Jew who patiently waits for God to fulfill His prophetic Word regarding the seventieth week, Second Advent, establishment of the millennial temple and the Judgments of the Jews and Gentiles which is followed by the millennial kingdom.
Daniel 12:12 “How happy will be the one who patiently waits so that he reaches the end of the 1,335 days.” (My translation)
As we noted in our study of Daniel 12:11, the Lord spoke to Daniel about the interval of time between the Second Advent of Jesus Christ and the start of His millennial reign on the earth.
He does so again here in Daniel 12:12.
In Daniel 12:11, the Lord spoke of the 30 day period which will follow the Second Advent which will be used to establish the millennial temple which is described in great detail in Ezekiel 40-48.
Now, here in Daniel 12:12, the Lord speaks to him regarding 1,335 days.
So this would make another 45 days in addition to the 30 we have to account for.
When do these 1,335 days begin?
Daniel 12:11 would indicate that they would begin with the same events which marked the beginning of the 1,290 days since the Lord is clearly continuing His thought from Daniel 12:11.
As we noted in Daniel 12:11, 1,290 days begins with the abolishment of the daily sacrifice and the setting up of the abomination which results in the desecration in the middle of the seventieth week.
So will the 1,335 days since again, the Lord in Daniel 12:12 is continuing His thought from Daniel 12:11.
Now, we know that the tribulation portion of the seventieth week begins with Antichrist abolishing the daily sacrifice and instituting the worship of himself in the temple in Jerusalem and we know when it ends, namely at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
We also know that the tribulation period of the seventieth week will last 1,260 days.
Therefore, we have thirty days to account for.
During this 30 day period the cleansing of the temple will take place as we noted.
Then in Daniel 12:12, the Lord speaks of the great joy which will be experienced by those Jews who patiently wait so that they reach the end of the 1,335 days.
This patient waiting is with regards to the Lord fulfilling His prophetic Word regarding the seventieth week, the Second Advent, the cleansing of the temple and the Judgment of the Jews and Gentiles.
So Daniel 12:12 speaks of 45 days which are in addition to and beyond the initial 30 days.
This would give us a total of 75 days after the Second Advent of Jesus Christ which ends the seventieth week.
When the Lord uses the word ʾǎš·rê, “how happy” it connotes a blessing for the individual indicating that this particular Jew is qualified to enter the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ.
In fact, in relation to the judgment of the Gentiles after the Second Advent, Matthew 25:34 says “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” (NASB95)
The Scriptures teach that there will be two judgments conducted by the Lord Jesus Christ immediately after His Second Advent and just prior to His millennial reign.
In fact, only believers will be living at the start of the millennial reign of our Lord as a result of these judgments.
Those Israelites and Gentiles who survive the seventieth week but reject Jesus Christ as Savior are removed from the earth whereas those who trust in Him as Savior will enter the millennium.
The judgment of those Israelites who survive the Tribulation is referred to in Ezekiel 20:33-37 and Malachi 3:2-6 whereas Matthew 25:31-46 speaks of the judgment of those Gentiles who survive the Tribulation.
The chronology of prophesied events by our Lord in Matthew 24 and 25 indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ will judge Israel immediately upon returning at His Second Advent and then after this He will judge the Gentiles.
The chronology of events listed in Matthew 24 and 25: (1) First three and a half years of Daniel’s seventieth week (Matthew 24:4-6) (2) Last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week (Matthew 24:7-28) (3) The Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:29-30) (4) The elect angels will regather Israel (Matthew 24:31). (5) The Lord Jesus Christ will judge Israel (Matthew 25:1-30) (6) The Lord Jesus Christ will judge the Gentiles (Matthew 25:31-46). (7) Millennium.
A comparison of Daniel 9:27, 12:11 and 12 teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ will conduct these judgments for 45 days.
This is indicated in that Daniel 9:27 teaches that Daniel’s seventieth week is divided into two periods of 1,260 days (Daniel 9:27).
Daniel 12:11 speaks of 1,290 days from the time of Antichrist abolishing the sacrifice and setting himself up as God, which indicates that there will be a 30 day interval to cleanse the temple.
Then, Daniel 12:12 says that blessed is the person who attains to the 1,335 days, which gives us an additional 45 days beyond the 30 day interval, giving us a total of 75 days, which refers to the period in which the Lord will judge both Israel and the Gentiles to determine who will enter His millennial reign.
The following is a chronology of judgments that will take place subsequent to the rapture of the church: (1) “Bema Seat Evaluation”: The name “Bema” is taken from the Greek noun bema and this judgment takes place immediately after the rapture and is an “evaluation” of the church age believer’s life after salvation to determine if they merit rewards or not (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 John 2:24). (2) The judgment of “Israel” will take place immediately after the Second Advent and prior to the millennial reign and involves the removal of unregenerate Israel from the earth leaving only regenerate Israel to enter into the Millennial reign of Christ (Ezekiel 20:37-38; Zechariah 13:8-9; Malachi 3:2-3, 5; Matthew 25:1-30). (3) The judgment of the “Gentiles” and also takes place immediately after the Second Advent of Christ and prior to His millennial reign and involves the removal of unregenerate, anti-Semitic Gentiles from the earth (Matthew 25:31-46). (4) The judgment of Satan and his fallen angels and will take place at the end of the appeal trial of Satan, which runs co-terminus with human history and is the execution of Satan and the fallen angels sentence for their pre-historic rebellion against God (Matthew 25:41; 1 Corinthians 6:3; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 20:10). (5) The “Great White Throne” judgment, which will take place at the end of human history and is the judgment of all unregenerate humanity in human history for their rejection of Christ as Savior (Revelation 20:11-15).
