12:1Great suffering is in store for God's people throughout the years ahead. This way of describing the future is also used by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 30:7) and Jesus (Matthew 24:21ff). Yet the great suffering is tempered by a great promise of hope for true believers.
Life Application Study BibleDanielChapter 12
Daniel 12
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1400, 1401
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
12Daniel 12
The Time of the End
112 “At that time Michael, the archangel* who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued. 2Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. 3Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever. 4But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.” 5Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing on opposite banks of the river. One of them asked the man dressed in linen, who was now standing above the river, 6How long will it be until these shocking events are over?” 7The man dressed in linen, who was standing above the river, raised both his hands toward heaven and took a solemn oath by the One who lives forever, saying, “It will go on for a time, times, and half a time. When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened.” 8I heard what he said, but I did not understand what he meant. So I asked, “How will all this finally end, my lord?” 9But he said, “Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end. 10Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means. 11From the time the daily sacrifice is stopped and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration* is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days. 12And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days! 13“As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.”
Textual footnotes
- 12:1 Hebrew the great prince.
- 12:11 Hebrew the abomination of desolation.
- 12:39 Or ata price.
Life Application Notes 14 notes
41:2The fourth Persian king may have been Xerxes I (also called Ahasuerus, 486-465 B.C.), who launched an all-out effort against Greece in 480 (Esther 1:1).
12:2This is a clear reference to the resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked, although the eternal destiny of each will be quite different. Up to this point in time, teaching about the resurrection was not common, although every Israelite believed that one day he or she would be included in the restoration of the new Kingdom. This reference to a bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost was a sharp departure from common belief. (See also Job 19:25, 26; Psalm 16:10; and Isaiah 26:19 for other Old Testament references to the resurrection.)
12:3Many people try to be stars in the world of entertainment, only to find their stardom temporary. God tells us how we can be eternal “stars’—by being wise and leading many to God's righteousness. If we share our LORD with others, we can be true stars—radiantly beautiful in God’s sight!
12:4Closing and sealing up the book meant that it was to be kept safe and preserved. This was to be done so that believers of all times could look back on God’s work in history and find hope. Daniel did not understand the exact meaning of the times and events in his vision. We can see events as they unfold, for we are in the end times. The whole book will not be understood until the climax of earth’s history.:
12:7“Time, times, and half a time” may add up to 3 and a half years and may be taken as either literal or figurative.
12:7“The holy people” seem to be shattered again and again throughout history. God’s recurring purpose in this is to break the pride and self-sufficiency of his rebellious people and to bring them to accept him as their LORD.
42:10Trials and persecutions make very little sense to us when we experience them, but they can purify us if we are willing to tearn from them. After you come through a difficult time, seek to learn from it so that it can help you in the future. See Romans
12:11“The sacrilegious object that causes desecration” set up in the Temple refers to the altar of Zeus, where Antiochus IV Epiphanes sacrificed a pig. Some think it will have another fulfillment in the Antichrist and one of his horrible acts of evil (Matthew 24:15). However, this and the predictions at the early part of the chapter may refer specifically to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and the rest of the prophecy may refer to the end times.
12:11,12Either these are further calculations relating to the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus!V Epiphanes, or they refer to the end times. The abolishing of the daily sacrifices means the removal of worship of the true God, as well as oppression of believers. There is much speculation about these numbers in verses 11 and 12. The point is that this time of persecution has an end; God is in controt of it, and he will be victorious over evil.
17:12There were also 10 toes in Nebuchadnezzar’s vision (2:41, 42). While all do not agree concerning the identity of these 10 kings, we are reminded in Revelation 17:12-14 that these kings will make war against Christ, but, as the King of kings, he will conquer them. The other king mentioned here in verse 24 is the * future man of lawlessness of 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.
42:13The promise of resurrection was reaffirmed to Daniel. He would one day see the fulfillment of his words, but he was not to spend the rest of his life wondering what his visions might mean. Instead, he was to rest in the comfort of God’s sovereignty and look forward to the time when he would rise to receive and share eternal life with God. God does not reveal everything to us in this life. We must be content with the partial picture until he wants us to see more. He will tell us all we need to know.
12:13Daniel stands tall in the gallery of God’s remarkable servants. Born of royal heritage, yet taken into captivity when only a teenager, Daniel determined to remain faithful to God in the land of his captivity. Even at great personal cost, Daniel spent his entire lifetime advising his captors with unusual wisdom. God chose him as his servant to record some of the events of the captivity and some significant events concerning the future. As an old man, having been faithful to God throughout his years, Daniel was assured by God that he would rise from the dead and receive his portion in God’s eternal Kingdom. Faithfulness to God has a rich reward, not necessarily in this life, but most certainly in the life to come.
41:36-39These verses could refer to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Titus (the Roman general), or the Antichrist. Some of these events may have been fulfilled in the past, and some have yet to be fulfilled.