Daniel 12:1-13 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Daniel 12:1-13. (For those of you who own a printed GAME booklet, please note that we will begin the Gospel of Mark 1:1-20 tomorrow.) Let’s go!
Daniel 12:1 (NIV)
1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people–everyone whose name is found written in the book–will be delivered.
On verse 1: Chapter 12 continues the message that the angel was giving to Daniel in chapter 11. The angel notes that “at that time” (meaning the end times) there will be great distress unlike anything that has ever been seen, but that “everyone whose name is found written in the book” (likely meaning those written in God’s book of life in Revelation; see for example Revelation 21:27) will be delivered from that time of distress. Verse 1 suggests that the archangel Michael will play a role in protecting and delivering those people whose names are written in the book. How does one get their name written in God’s book of life? By believing that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
Daniel 12:2 (NIV)
2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
On verse 2: The angel notes that in the end times those who have died will rise again, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting contempt. This corresponds with the New Testament teaching on resurrection bodies: when a person dies, their spirit immediately goes to be with God in heaven or to be apart from God in hell, but in the end times, the Bible speaks to the idea that in addition we will be given new resurrection bodies as well (see, for example, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58).
Daniel 12:3 (NIV)
3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
On verse 3: In the Bible a connection is made between having wisdom and leading people to Jesus. We see that in Proverbs 11:30 which says “all who win souls are wise”. We see it here too where the angel seems to be aligning “those who are wise” with “those who lead many to righteousness”, and saying that they will shine like the stars forever. Indeed when you lead someone to faith in Jesus, that is something precious you can take with you to eternity. From God’s eternal perspective, leading others to Jesus is one of the most brilliant and most rewarding things you can do.
Daniel 12:4 (NIV)
4 But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”
On verse 4: Here the angel commands Daniel to seal the words that he has received, knowing that many will go to great lengths to try to find and understand them. Why seal them up? There are certain matters that are made for us to understand now and others which we weren’t made to understand until later.
Daniel 12:5-7 (NIV)
5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank.
6 One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?”
7 The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”
On verses 5-7: Daniel looks up and sees the man dressed in linen (who is likely Jesus) flanked by two others on either side of him. When one of them asks how long it will be till these events are over, the man dressed in linen answers by saying “It will be for a time, times and half a time”, which scholars understand to mean a year, 2 years and half a year, for a total of 3.5 years. Many scholars interpret this to mean that from the time that the Antichrist begins to rule till the time that Jesus Christ returns, it will be 3.5 years. The man in linen also says that “when the power of the holy people [which scholars see as a reference to the Jews] has been finally broken [perhaps meaning when all their hope seems to be lost], all these things will be completed.” (v7).
Daniel 12:8-10 (NIV)
8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”
9 He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
10 Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
On verses 8-10: Ever inquisitive about what is going on, Daniel asks for clarification (v8) but the angel repeats the same message he gave in verse 4, effectively telling Daniel not to fret too much about what he has been told, since “the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end” (v9). In other words, “Daniel, these matters concern the very end times and so you won’t understand them now. They’re closed up and sealed for that end time.” Then the angel says, “the wicked will continue to be wicked and won’t understand, while many others will be purified, refined, made spotless and will understand.” (v10)
In Revelation 22:10-11 an angel gives the apostle John a message that is both opposite and similar to what Daniel received in Daniel 12:9-10. The similar part is where the angel tells John, “Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong” (Revelation 22:11), which is very similar to Daniel 12:10’s “the wicked will continue to be wicked”. But John also receives a message that is opposite to the one Daniel received. For whereas Daniel was told to seal up the words he was hearing (v4, 9), John was told, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near” (Revelation 22:10).
Why did Daniel and John receive opposite messages in this regard? Why did the angel tell John to open up what Daniel was told to seal up? It’s because when Daniel received the angel’s message it was for a time that would be well after his own time, whereas centuries later when John received the angel’s message it was for a time that is near.
In other words, the book of Daniel was meant to be a key to help people living much later on (people like us) so that we could better understand the end times and books like Revelation. It’s a reminder that God thinks generationally and long term. When God uses a person’s life, God is not just thinking about the impact it will have during that person’s lifetime, but also the impact it will have long after that person is gone. The story God is writing with your life has implications not just for now but for generations to come.
Daniel 12:11-13 (NIV)
11 “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
13 “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”
On verses 11-13: The angel seems to tell Daniel that it will be 1,290 days (approximately 3.5 years) from the time that daily worship is abolished (presumably by the Antichrist) and “the abomination that causes desolation” (v11) is set up. This is the third time that the book of Daniel mentions this “abomination that causes desolation” (Daniel 9:27; 11:31 and 12:11). Jesus later on would refer to it in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14. What is this “abomination that causes desolation”? It’s not entirely clear but it seems that it is something that the Antichrist will set up in the temple of God that turns people away from worshiping there and is a symbol of the Antichrist’s reign. For 1,290 days after this abomination that causes desolation is set up there will be great distress, but the angel says that blessing awaits those who wait for and persevere to the end of that period up till 1,335 days.
Why 1,335 days? It’s not entirely clear. We just know that by this time the abomination that causes desolation has been removed, the Antichrist has been defeated, Jesus’ kingdom is established, God’s temple is restored and God’s people get to be with Him forever.
As you read these last few chapters of the book of Daniel, maybe you find that there is much that you don’t understand. You are not alone. I’m right there with you. Daniel didn’t understand it in his time either. But just as the angel told Daniel, the key for you is to “go your way till the end”. How?
1. Keep following Jesus. I don’t understand all the systems that make my house or my car work, but that doesn’t stop me from living in my house or driving my car. If you wait till you have complete understanding of the entire Bible before you will trust its most important core teachings, you will never believe. But the fact is that some truths were simply not meant for us to completely understand right now, while other truths were meant for us to understand, believe and take hold off today. The most important of those truths that we can hold on to today is that God loves you, that He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins, that He rose again from the grave and we can have a relationship with Him today.
2. Don’t give up reading and studying the Bible. When you read things in Scripture that you don’t quite understand, don’t give up. Continue to read and study God’s Word and let its contents be deposited in you, even if you don’t understand it all. For one day – maybe years, decades or even generations later – by God’s grace you will make those connections which you don’t see now. And in the end you’ll reap a reward and an inheritance that far outweigh the hard labour you’ve put in. It’s all part of the process and the hope of following Jesus.
Father, thank You that what I understand in part right now I will understand in full one day. Thank You that in the end what matters most is that Jesus is coming again, Jesus’ reign will outlast and overpower every other kingdom, and that by Your mercy we get to belong in Jesus’ kingdom. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
