Daniel 12:1-6

Daniel 12:1

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.

 

Daniel’s vision now propels him into the last days of earth.  The last days began at the cross and ends at the second coming of Christ.  What we have here in verse 1 is the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross.  He stood up for His people, that is, those who are born again in Christ.  Matthew 1:21 (KJV) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.  As Matthew 1:21 states that Jesus came to save His people.  He is called “the” great prince not a great prince.  Which means there is allusion to one person and the context of verse 1 is pointing only to the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Then we are told that there will be a time of trouble that never was in any nation.  Tribulations are and were a part of the human race from the time of Adam’s sin so we are not looking at a particular time frame where there will be tribulation.  What is in view here is the fact that the nation of Israel under Rome’s occupation crucified the creator of the Universe.  That was a time of trouble that was never seen before and would never be seen after.  Jeremiah 30:7 (KJV)   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.  In Jeremiah 30:7 we are told of a time when a specific day is that great and none is like it.  That would be looking forward to the Lord Jesus Christ and his crucifixion.  Never again would we ever see the Lord Jesus Christ crucified because the next time He comes it will be in reference to judgment and not salvation since all the Elect will have been saved.

 

Then Daniel is told in his vision that at that time his people shall be delivered, those that are written in the book.  What we have here is that because of that great day when Christ was crucified, all the believers down through the ages will be delivered, that is, all will be saved and none will be lost.  2 Peter 3:9 (KJV) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

 

We find in the following three verses in Revelation that those who are written in the book will not serve nor worship the beast and 21:27 states the no unsaved person will enter into Heaven, only those who are found in the Lamb’s book of life.

 

Revelation 13:8 (KJV)   And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

 

Revelation 17:8 (KJV)   The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

 

Revelation 21:27 (KJV)   And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

 

Daniel 12:2

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.

 

Now Daniel is given a glimpse of the last day.  On that day, there shall be a great resurrection of both the true believers and the unbelievers.  The word “many” carries with it the meaning of “abundant.”

 

John 5:28-29 (KJV)   Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,  {29} And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

 

Daniel 12:3

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.

 

Matthew 13:43 (KJV)   Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.   Then the believer will shine but at this time we would be unqualified to be in Heaven since the Glory of God would consume us as we are.  God has to qualify us to able to be in His presence.  Hebrews 11:12 (KJV)   Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.  In Hebrews 11:12 we are told that the believers will be many as the stars in the sky.  Those that turn many to righteousness, that is, those who have helped send forth the gospel to the world and caused many to became saved which can only be said of the true believer as we read in James 5:20.  James 5:20 (KJV)   Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

 

Daniel 12:4

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.

 

Now Daniel is told to shut up the words and seal the book to the time of the end.  Daniel is living about 500 years before these things will come to pass. The time of the end was not yet.  Remember the end times began at the cross and will end when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth.  For Daniel this was future prophecy, for us it is history.  The following three verses teach us that we are living in those last days which Daniel prophesied about. 

 

Micah 4:1 (KJV)   But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

 

Hebrews 1:2 (KJV)   Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

 

1 John 2:18 (KJV)   Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

 

Daniel even prophesies that the gospel will go to and fro.  After Pentecost, the gospel will then be preached to the ends of the earth until the last day and as a result of that evangelism, knowledge about salvation and the Lord Jesus Christ will increase.  Today there is not a nation on earth that does not have knowledge of the Lord Jesus, even those nations who try to rid itself of Christianity.  There are believers in every nation on earth.

 

Daniel 12:5

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.

 

Then Daniel who was still by the Tigris River had spotted two individuals, one was on one side of the river and the other stood on the other side of the river.  They were no doubt two angels who were dispatched from Heaven.

 

Daniel 12:6

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?

 

No doubt one of these angels was Gabriel, the one who was clothed in linen.  Daniel 10:5 (KJV)   Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:  He is the one who gave Daniel this final vision.  The question was then asked how long shall it be until the fulfillment of what Daniel saw?

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