Daniel – Chapter 12
Chapter 12 Outline
I. The Description of the End Times (12:1-4)
a. The Suffering (12:1)
b. The Separation (12:2)
c. The Shining (12:3)
d. The Sealing (12:4)
II. The Duration of the End Times (11:5-13)
a. 1,260 Days (12:5-10)
b. 1,290 Days (12:11)
c. 1,335 Days (12:12-13)
Message
I. The Description of the End Times (12:1-4)
a. The Suffering (12:1)
We are still at the middle of the Tribulation period here when Antichrist breaks his covenat with the Jews, seizes the temple, and sets himself up as world dictator and god. This is
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.
Jeremiah also wrote of this period Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
The holocaust of the Great Tribulation will take place after Satan is cast out from the heavenlies at the hands of Michael and his angels (Revelation 12:7) The Antichrist will be a willing tool in his hands to accelerate those endtime events that culminate in the Great Tribulation.
The Antichrist will then be revealed for who he really is, his charade of peace will be over and he will be seen as the enemy of God, man and the nation of Israel.
Think about the sufferings that the Jewish people have gone through in the past. Egyptian Pharaoh’s have tried to eliminate them. Assyrian autocrats, Babylonian barons and Persian potentates have turned their hands against them. Xerxes ordered their total extermination from all of his realms.
Greek tyrants and Roman Caesars, neighbouring rulers and church officials, Spanish inquisitors and Roman popes, medieval kings and swashbuckling czars have persecuted this people.
The dungeon and the sword, the thumbscrew and the rack, flame and fire, concentration camps and gas chambers, starvation and torture, sadistic experiments in the name of science. Everything that fallen man or demon could come up with have been used against Gods chosen people. BUT, the Great Tribulation will be worse than them all.
God, however, will see to it that this time of tribulation serves His purpose. “…and at that time thy people shall be delivered…” The word DELIVERED here means “released, rescued.” This deliverance refers not to individual salvation, though a remnant will be saved, but rather to national deliverance from domination of the Gentiles.
b. The Separation (12:2)
Here we have one of those rare Old Testament passages about the general resurrection of the dead. This was a reminder to Daniel that death was not the end. There is a resurrection from the dead in which everyone will take part.
When Christ returns in the air to call His church, the dead in Christ will be raised first, and then the living believers will be caught up with them in the air to be with the Lord 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
When Christ returns at the end of the Tribulation, he will bring His people with Him to share in the victory and glory. At that time, the Old Testament saints and the Tribulation martyrs will be raised to enter into the kingdom.
However, those who died without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will not be raised until after the Millenial Age, and then they will be judged Revelation 20:5a & 12 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished… [12] And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
As Daniel says, some will awake to enjoy everlasting life, and some will awake (1,000 years later) to everlasting contempt. The Lake of Fire is called the second death Revelation 20:14. If you have been born only once, you can die twice; but if you have been born twice (born again through faith in Christ) you can die only once.
c. The Shining (12:3)
How we have lived our lives and served the Lord here on earth will determine the rewards Christ will give us at the bema seat (2 Cor 5:6-10) Every cup will be full in heaven, but some cups will be larger than others. We will share in the glory of Christ and those who have sought to win others to Christ will shine like the stars in the heavens.
There is a special application here to those who have faithfully witnessed during the Tribulation period, when it will be a costly thing to identify with Christ and His people Matthew 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Our Lord emphasised the truth that faithfulness to Him today will lead to reward and ministry in the future kingdom Matthew 13:43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
d. The Sealing (12:4)
Verse 4a
In the ancient world, official transactions were ratified with two documents, one that was sealed and kept in a safe place and one that was kept available. Jeremiah 32:10-11 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed [it], and took witnesses, and weighed [him] the money in the balances. [11] So I took the evidence of the purchase, [both] that which was sealed [according] to the law and custom, and that which was open:
God looked upon Daniel’s book as the “evidence” that guaranteed that He would faithfully keep His promises to the people of Israel. To close up the book and seal it didn’t mean to hide it away, because God’s message was given so His people would know the future.
The full meaning of what Daniel wrote would not be understood until the time of the end. When the Apostle John completed the Book of Revelation, he was told to keep the book “unsealed” because the time was at hand Revelation 22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. We need the Book of Daniel so we can better understand the Book of Revelation.
Verse 4b
Some people have taken this to mean a prophecy of the advanced travel that we have today and the advancement of education. Let’s see if this expression occurs elsewhere in the Scripture.
Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel [with] those seven; they [are] the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. Zechariah used this expression to describe the Lord’s eyes scanning every corner of the globe.
It is possible that this verse highlights a new era of intensive Bible study as the time comes for the fulfilment of these prophecies – people will examine them diligently, compare Scripture with Scripture (running to and fro through the Word of God) and arriving at an accurate and expanded knowledge of what these prophecies mean. In other words, the prophecies will be understood when needed.
II. The Duration of the End Times (11:5-13)
There are three lengths of time given in this chapter that are very specific. The first is 1,260 days. This length of time is referring to the last half of the Tribulation period. This is the time of Jacob’s Trouble, the time that has been allotted to the Antichrist and the Devil to persecute the Jews. This length of time is easy enough to understand because it is explained throughout Scriptures. But the other two lengths of time are more confusing because they are not mentioned anywhere else.
Verse 11 and 12 mention 1,290 days and 1,335 days both starting at the time that the sacrifices are abolished and the abomination is set up in the Temple. We know that this event will occur at the midpoint of the Tribulation, but what we don’t know is what is happening at the end of these lengths of time that is so important that God mentions it here in these verses. Let’s look at these times…
a. 1,260 Days (12:5-10)
Verse 5-6
Two more angels arrive on the scene, one on each side of the Tigris River. The Man clothed in linen refers to the awesome person Daniel saw earlier on in his vision in chapter 10:5-6. It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, then one of the angels asks the question how long?
Verse 7
Here we have the Lord’s reply. A time, times and a half, that is 3 ½ years. The last half of the Tribulation is described in a number of ways. Time, times and a half (Dan 7:25; 12:7) forty two months (Rev 11:2; 13:5) 1,260 days (Rev 11:3)
Once the treaty is signed between Antichrist and Israel, the clock starts ticking off 7 years. Once Antichrist sets himself up as god in the temple, the last half of Daniel’s seventieth week begins. Christ spoke this under oath raising both hands to heaven.
What is the purpose of the 1,260 days (3 ½ years)? To scatter the power of the holy people… The “holy people” are the Jews, this just goes to show God’s grace, in spite of their sins as a nation He still refers to them as “the holy people”
The Tribulation period is a time for punishing the Gentile nations for the way they have sinned against the Jews Joel 3:4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly [and] speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
The Tribulation period is also a time for sifting and purging Israel and preparing the Jews for the return of their Messiah Amos 9:9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as [corn] is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
Verses 8-10
The Lord revealed that in the end times, as trials come to the people on the earth, these trials will make the believers purer and wiser, but the wicked will only become more wicked 2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
b. 1,290 Days (12:11)
We know that the starting point of these times is the midpoint of the Tribulation when the abomination is set up in the Temple. But we don’t know when the event will take place on the calendar year.
Daniel 11:29 say that it will be at the time appointed, so it will be on a day that is celebrated or commemorated in Israel, but which day is it? If we can figure this out then all we have to do is count forward 1,290 days and we should come to another appointed time or special date that could tell us what these lengths of time are all about.
There are several feasts celebrated by the children of Israel, but there is one which is a fast and it occurs on the 9th Av. What is so important about this date – it was the date that the first and second temples were destroyed and has become a day of mourning in Israel. Could this be the date that the abomination that maketh desolate is set up?
If we count forward 1,290 days (3 years 7 months or 30 days after the end of the tribulation) we arrive at the month Adar – the feast that took place on the 14th of this month was the feast of Purim.
The feast celebrates the fact that the Jews were delivered from complete annihilation by the hands of Hamman. Does that sound familiar – Antichrist wanted to completely destroy God’s people. It is possible that 30 days after the 1,260 days that marks the end of the tribulation and the reign of the Antichrist, we will see that all these events will be finished. The Jews will be freed from their exile to return to Jerusalem and will look upon their Messiah, Jesus Christ, the One whom they pierced and that is the 1,290 day mark, the time of deliverance, the time to celebrate Purim.
c. 1,335 Days (12:12-13)
Verse 12
Converting 1,335 days into years we see that it equals 3 years, 8 months, and 15 days. If we count forward three years we’re still in the month of Av. Now count forward eight months. This brings us to the first month or the month of Nissan. Now this is a fascinating month on the Jewish calendar because in the month of Nissan, three of the seven major feasts take place.
If we started on the 9th of Av, 3 years and 8 months brings us to the 9th of Nissan. If we then add 15 more days, we find ourselves at the 24th of Nissan which could be the Feast of the First Fruits, it does not fall on the same calendar date year after year. It occurs the day after the first Sabbath after Passover.
Every year on the Feast of First Fruits the Jews were to bring the first portion of their harvest as an offering to God. These first fruits were a pledge of the greater harvest to follow, and the offering of them was a way of expressing trust in God’s provision. Just as He provided the first fruits, so He would also provide the rest of the crops the people needed.
Jesus fulfilled this feast because He rose from the dead on the exact day the Jewish people were celebrating the Feast of First Fruits! So, spiritually speaking, the Feast of First Fruits represents resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, [and] become the firstfruits of them that slept.
Revelation 20:4-6,
The Tribulation martyrs will be resurrected at this time. So we have proof of a resurrection occurring during this time frame. And if we have counted our days correctly, this post-Tribulation, pre-Millennium resurrection will occur of the Feast of First Fruits, 1,335 days after the desecration of the Temple by the Antichrist on the 9th of Av.
Verse 13
Daniel’s days were drawing to a close. The angel turned to him with a final prophecy, one for him personally. He would continue on his way. Death would overtake him, and he would rest. Time would pass. The things that he had seen and heard would be fulfilled. Empires would rise and fall. The Christ would come, only to be cut off. The ages would pass. The Antichrist would come. The Messiah would come again.
