Daniel 12

Israel’s Redemption

Chapter 12 in Hebrew and English have chapter 11 divided, but 12:1-3 is a continuation of the vision.

This is during the great tribulation, Michael the “Arc Angel” stands up......Revelation 12:7-9 “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

This warfare between Michael and Satan takes place during the three and a half years of the great tribulation period (cf. 12:7; 12:11–12; Rev 12:6, 14). As a matter of fact, the same phrase, “a time, times and half a time,” is employed in both Rev 12:14 “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” and Dan 12:7 “And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” to designate the length of the period in which this conflict is waged.

God has assigned a powerful angel to watch over and protect Daniel’s “people.” Since “prince” speaks elsewhere of angels (cf. Daniel 10:13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” ), the designation “the great prince” may suggest that Michael is the greatest of these angels. In Jude 9 “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” he is called “the archangel.”

Gabriel explained the reason this special aid from Michael will be necessary. Israel will experience “a time of distress” (ʿēt ṣārâ) unlike anything the world has ever known. Baldwin observes: “The positive assurance of help [from Michael] has first place before the announcement of unparalleled trouble.”

In speaking of the days immediately prior to his coming, Christ refers to this horrible period: “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again” (Matt 24:21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

This time will be the most horrible time in history for the Jews.

Throughout history the Jews have experienced severe chastening by God through human agents........

What we have read in Daniel

Many others in history

Hitler

Even the KKK was opposed to God’s chosen people.

The “book” is a common figure of speech in the Scriptures and alludes to the “book of life” in which the names of all saints are written (cf.

Exod 32:33 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.”

Ps 69:28 “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written with the righteous.”

Mal 3:16 “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: And the Lord hearkened, and heard it, And a book of remembrance was written before him For them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.”

Luke 10:20 “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” ;

Rev 3:5 “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” 20:12).

Evidently this figure comes from the practice of keeping a record of all the citizens of a town. Those whose names were listed enjoyed the blessings of community membership, whereas the names of those who were excommunicated from fellowship were blotted out. All (Jews or Gentiles) who have trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord have their names written in the book of life. Goldingay designates this as “the citizen list of the true Jerusalem.” John the apostle related the sad fate of those at the final judgment whose names are not found recorded in this book, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15).

Verse 2...........At first glance one might receive the false impression that the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked will occur simultaneously. Young argues that the passage implies a general resurrection, but this is impossible in light of other Scripture, particularly the parallel passage of Rev 20:4–6, which distinguishes the first resurrection of the saints who are raised immediately after the tribulation period (the same group described here) and the second resurrection of the wicked occurring a thousand years later. As is the case with other Old Testament prophecies (e.g., Zech 9:9–10), future events separated by many years are telescoped together with later revelation clarifying the time difference.

Verse 3...............................Christ, evidently with this passage in mind, declared that at the end of the age “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:43 “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” .

Just as stars display their beauty and glory in the sky, a bright (glorious) future and a great reward (which includes God’s blessings and great honor) awaits those who were wise enough to comprehend and obey spiritual truth and who led others to repent of their sins and live a righteous life. This blessed and glorious state will continue “for ever and ever” (lĕʿôlām wāʿed). In this present world many times believers are persecuted, misunderstood, misrepresented, suffer economically because of their spiritual priorities, and are overlooked by the world. Yet someday things will be different. The decision to follow Christ and put his kingdom first will be rewarded. Some persons ask, “Is serving Christ worth it?” (cf. Mal 3:13–15). God’s answer is a resounding, “Yes!” (cf. Mal 3:16–4:3).

Verse 4........In the ancient Near East the custom was to “seal” an important document by impressing upon it the identifying marks of the parties involved and the recording scribe. A sealed text was not to be tampered with or changed. Then the original document was duplicated and placed (“closed up”) in a safe place where it could be preserved.

An excellent illustration of this process is recorded in the Book of Jeremiah: “So I [Jeremiah] bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed (hātām) the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy—and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah [the scribe]” (Jer 32:9–12). The sealing of Jeremiah’s property deed was not done to “hide” the contents or to keep them “secret” but to preserve the document.

Verse 5-7......... Two angels, standing on opposite banks of the Tigris River (cf. 10:4), suddenly appeared to Daniel. Porteous suggests that these two angels serve as witnesses (cf. Deut 19:15) to the oath that the man in linen will subsequently take, but Leupold remarks that the demand of the law for two or more witnesses “deals only with criminal charges, not with substantiating all and every sort of statement.

The speaker, who is introduced in Hebrew only by “and he said” could be one of the two angels standing by the river (so NIV, NASB) or more likely the interpreting angel (Gabriel), since he has been the spokesman throughout the vision.

At this point in the narrative “the man clothed in linen” (Christ) is reintroduced. He is described as standing in midair “above the waters of the river.” Daniel was witness to a striking scene. Two angels were on either bank of the river, the interpreting angel evidently was still standing before him, and the Lord was exalted above them all.

Gabriel now addresses a question to “the man clothed in linen.” The fact that knowledge is requested from the man in white suggests his superiority over the angels, and Whitcomb thinks his position “above the waters of the river” indicates “his supernatural authority and power.” The question is not, How long will it be before these things take place? but How long will they continue when they begin to occur? Such an understanding is confirmed by the reply given in the next verse.

Time, Times, and half.......1 x 2 x .5= 3 1/2 years

Time being 1 year, Times is 2 years, and half is half a year.

Add that all up by a 360 day calendar (Jewish) you get 1260 days. We will come back to this.

This is the last part of the Great Tribulation that Jesus spoke of and John reveals to us in Revelation......Matthew 24:21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

Thus the sovereign Lord of the universe is promising directly and emphatically that the Antichrist’s horrors (the “time of distress” of 12:1) perpetrated upon God’s people and the whole world will last but a brief time—three and a half years. Saints of the tribulation period may count on the verity of this pledge.During these three and one-half years, “the power of the holy people” will be “finally [probably better, “completely”] broken [or “shattered”].” The “holy people” in this context is a specific reference to Israel; therefore their “power” being “broken” signifies that the nation will be utterly defeated by their enemies.

It must be this way! Why? Because it’s God’s way and therefore it is right, along with that this is the only way to bring God chosen back to Him!

They will not go His way unless they have no where else to go!

Verse 8-10......Daniel didn’t understand any of what was being said......

The end of verse 8 could be translated “what shall be the outcome of all this”

all this” (lit., “these things”) includes the whole range of end-time events the angel had revealed to Daniel in this vision—the Antichrist’s activities, the tribulation, as well as Israel’s persecution and deliverance. The question concerning “the outcome of all this” may mean, What would happen at the end of these things? or, possibly, How would these things be brought to an end?

Gabriel or the interpreting angel says to angel, to not be concerned about his lack of knowledge, just go about his life....

What you have seen and written down will be preserved and will be used at the time of the end.

As this final scene approaches those around at that time that were wise and sought God, will read the words of Daniel and be encouraged!

Daniel’s faithfulness will cause people to be purified!

God’s Word will cause you to be purified!

The last part of verse 10 seems to match up with Revelation 22:11 “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”

Verse 11.....12:11 Verse 11 provides further details concerning history’s final events. The “time of distress”—the great tribulation—will begin when the Antichrist abolishes worship (cf. 9:27) and sets up “the abomination that causes desolation” in the Jerusalem temple. Jesus spoke of this “abomination” (Matt 24:15 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)” ) and indicated that it would be placed in the “holy place” (temple) immediately before his return. Antiochus IV also erected an “abomination that causes desolation” (cf. 11:31), which was an altar or statue of Zeus. The exact nature of the Antichrist’s “abomination” is unclear, but its presence in the temple will cause believers to cease worshiping there and thus render the temple desolate, that is, empty of worshipers.

In 12:6–7 Daniel had already revealed that the great tribulation will last for three and one-half years (approximately 1,260 days in round numbers, figuring thirty days per month). Here the figure 1,290 days is introduced. What then is the purpose of the extra thirty days? The text simply states that 1,290 days will transpire from the time the Antichrist begins his persecution until some unspecified event thirty days after the tribulation ends. Baldwin takes the numbers symbolically to emphasize that the saints should persevere “to the end.” Archer believes that the three and one-half years is an approximate number, and the 1,290 days is the more exact figure for the length of Antichrist’s persecution in the great tribulation.163 Certainty is not possible, but Wood is most likely correct in proposing that the extra days will be the time in which the nations are judged by the Lord immediately following his return (cf. Matt 25:31–46).

Verse 12.....Another puzzling number is introduced in v. 12. “Blessed [ʾašrê, “very happy”; cf. Ps 1:1] is the one who waits for [or “longs for”] and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.” Now an additional forty-five days has been appended to the 1,290 days, and those who endure to this time will experience great joy (“blessed”). Again the question is, What will happen at the end of this 1,335-day period? The tribulation is over; as a matter of fact, 1,335 days would be seventy-five days after the tribulation ends. Once more dogmatism is not proper, but it has been reasonably suggested that this date is the official inauguration of the thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. Wood thinks that the extra forty-five days are needed to set up the millennial government.166 Archer explains that these saints are called “blessed” because “they are about to become citizens of the most wonderful society governed by the most wonderful ruler in all human history—the millennial kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

Verse 13.....God had revealed many wonderful truths to Daniel over the years, but v. 13 implies that no more revelations would be granted him. The prophet was now a very old man, and he was instructed to cease being anxious about these matters and be satisfied with what he had been told for as long as he lived (“go your way till the end”). Daniel would die (probably soon after this vision) and “rest” from the labors of this life (and his body would rest in the grave; cf. Isa 57:2), but “at the end of the days” he “will rise” (lit., “will stand,” be resurrected) and “receive” his “allotted inheritance.” The promise of the resurrection set forth in 12:2 is now specifically applied to Daniel.

“At the end of the days” refers to the end of this present age. The prophet was not to be concerned, for he would be resurrected and receive an “allotted inheritance”—a great reward and a part in the kingdom of God (predicted in Daniel’s own prophecies) that will someday come upon the earth and then continue into the eternal state. Keil has aptly commented: “Well shall it be for us if in the end of our days we too are able to depart hence with such consolation of hope!” This “consolation of hope” belongs to all who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. May every person who reads these words be part of that great host of the redeemed who “will shine like the brightness of the heavens” and “like the stars for ever and ever!”