Daniel 12 King James Version (KJV)
12 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.
6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
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.
8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Commentary
End of an era (12:1-13)
Having concluded his lengthy revelation concerning the arrogance, ambition and brutality of Antiochus Epiphanes, the interpreting angel gave encouragement to Daniel. He pointed out that the great angel Michael would fight on behalf of the Jews during the period of Antiochus’s persecution. Those who were truly God’s people would be saved through their time of suffering. Though good and bad alike would be killed in the widespread massacre, the righteous had no need to fear. They received the assurance that one day God would raise them to enjoy eternal life, whereas the wicked would be raised to suffer eternal disgrace. A special reward awaited those who could turn others from selfish wrongdoing to the ways of God (12:1-3).
Daniel was not yet to announce publicly the revelation that God had given him. He was to make sure that it was kept safe till the climax of Jewish suffering arrived with the appearance of Antiochus. Through
Daniel’s prophecy true believers would then receive enlightenment from God concerning his purposes. The unfaithful, by contrast, would never discover God’s purposes, no matter how hard they tried (4).
Two other angels appeared to Daniel, to assure him that God had set a limit to the period that he would allow his people to suffer under Antiochus (5-7). They informed him also of the outcome of the dreadful persecution. Many Jews would renounce their religion to preserve their lives, but in so doing would lose the only life worth having. Others would stand firm, and as a result their lives would be strengthened and purified (8-10).
History records that the period of Antiochus’s apparent triumph, which began when he stopped the Jewish sacrifices and ended when the Jews rededicated the temple, was about three and a half years. This period is described as ‘a time, two times and half a time’, or 1290 days. Many did not live to see the end of the persecution, having been martyred for their unfailing commitment to God. Those who survived, though they had a longer time of suffering, received a blessing that made their suffering seem worthwhile. After three and a half years of persecution, they had the joy of seeing their temple rededicated and the temple services in full operation again. Their religion had survived the onslaught (11-12).
Daniel went to his ‘rest’ in the grave before these events happened. However, he was assured that he would still have a place in the final triumph of God’s people (13).
The pattern repeated
Although Daniel’s understanding had been helped by the interpreting angel, the visions and revelations that God gave him had more significance than he may have realized. Their symbolic meaning extended beyond the period of conflict that followed the Jews’ return from Babylon. The terrible suffering under Antiochus, though it was the last great persecution of the Jews before the coming of the Messiah, was by no means the end of their troubles.
When the Messiah came, the Jewish people as a whole rejected him and brought upon themselves, at the hands of Rome, greater suffering than they had ever experienced before (cf. 7:23-25). Jesus more than once connected the Jews’ rejection of him with the ‘desolating abomination’ and ‘awful horror’ of the Romans’ destruction of Jerusalem (Matt 21:37-41; 23:37-38; 24:15-22,32-33; Luke 21:20-24; 23:28-31).
Many years after the destruction of Jerusalem, John wrote of the persecution of God’s people, using symbolism that again was taken from the book of Daniel (Rev 11:1-3; 12:6-7,14; 13:1-12; 17:8-14). An anti-God spirit had motivated the persecutors of the Jews in Old Testament times, and now the same anti- God spirit was motivating the persecutors of Christians in New Testament times. The anti-God spirit was now specifically anti-Christ. This spirit is always hostile to God and his people (1 John 2:18), and will have its fullest expression in the antichrist who will appear at the end of the age and who will be destroyed by Christ at his coming (2 Thess 2:3-12; Rev 19:20).
Whatever the era and whoever the antichrist, the message for God’s people is always one of encouragement: ‘he who endures to the end shall be saved’ (Dan 12:12; Matt 24:13; 2 Tim 2:11-12; Rev 12:11; 13:10; 20:4). In the end all the powers of this world must give way to the rule of God, whose people inherit his eternal kingdom (Dan 7:27; Matt 25:34; Rev 11:15; 19:1-8).