Daniel 12:5-7 - How long will it be?

12:5,6

The main vision is over and we now have the epilogue. Daniel sees two others, one on either side of the bank. Somewhat surprisingly, it is one of these two men, rather than Daniel, who asks the question, “how long before these astonishing things are fulfilled?”.

12:7

The man “clothed in linen” says it will be “time, times and half a time”. This phrase has occurred before in Daniel, and occurs in Revelation. The lifting of his hands towards heaven signifies the solemness of what he is saying. He then adds “when the power of the holy people has finally been broken, all these things will be completed”. There are those who try to tie this into historical events. This seems to me to be a futile exercise. A lot of the stuff Daniel has seen in earlier chapters is clearly related to historical events, in particular Antiochus Epiphanes. However, Epiphanes did not break the power of the Jews. The Maccabees were rather successful in their resistance. This would indicate that we are looking at events far in the future.

Revelation 19:5-8 - His bride made herself ready

19:5

In reading Revelation we should always remember that it was written to people many of whom were enduring, or at risk of having to endure, serious persecution. So they were encountering the full force of the mighty Roman empire. But what John has seen in this vision is the complete collapse of the worldly empires, and the establishment of God’s kingdom. This is very good news! So all God’s servants are encouraged to praise the Lord.

19:6-8

Various parts of the vision are often introduced by great sounds. These indicate that something momentous is about to happen. Again there is the call to rejoice and be glad, and to give God the glory. It is not just that Babylon has collapsed, but that the kingdom of God has come. So we have the “wedding of the Lamb” to the church. “The bride has made herself ready”. The Bible teaches the absolute sovereignty of God, and that we are completely dependent upon Him for our salvation, but nowhere does it teach that this makes us passive! The Bible knows nothing of passive believers. So the bride is given fine linen to wear, and these are the righteous acts of the saints. Again, remember the situation this is addressed to. In the midst of persecution remaining faithful to Christ, acting in a godly manner can be very difficult. John is telling them that these acts are making them ready for the wedding of the Lamb, for the consummation of all things. It is worth remaining faithful to Christ in all circumstances!

Daniel 12:3,4 - Those who are wise will shine

12:3

There will be very difficult times, but this is no reason for despair, nor for hiding in a hole. “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens”, this reminds us of Phil 2:15. And there will be those “who lead many to righteousness”. We need to have a clear Biblical understanding of difficult times that will arise, and our role to live as Christ’s disciples in the midst of those times. We are on the side that wins! As Rev 13:10 says, “this calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people”.

12:4

Daniel is then told to roll up the scroll and seal it until the time of the end. This is a clear indication that the message related to a time far ahead. It does not mean that the word was physically sealed, for the words were contained in the Hebrew Scriptures, and Jesus and John clearly knew about them! The sealing up means that the meaning and relevance would not be appreciated until the time of the end (and this does not necessarily just mean the very end, but the frequent very difficult times that Israel and parts of the church have often endured). Many would look in all sorts of places for knowledge, but the word of God is the only place that true knowledge is to be found.

Revelation 19:1-4 - Salvation, Glory and Power belong to our God

19:1,2

There is great rejoicing over the collapse of the world system. Some might find this odd, even “unChristian”, but we need to remember that the world system is corrupt at its heart, and this corruption is the cause of the ills in the world. “Salvation and glory and power belong to our God”. This statement is the truth, the world system is built upon a lie. 

God’s judgements are “true and just”. People often worry about the so-called “problem of hell”. This is an utterly imaginary problem! When we come to the final judgement it will be seen that every decision made by God is “true and just”. Instead of worrying about this non-problem we are far better devoting our efforts to proclaiming the gospel which can truly save people from hell. The “great prostitute” has been condemned, and He has avenged the blood of His servants. We should note that vengeance belongs to the Lord, it is not for us to avenge.

19:3,4

There is further rejoicing over the fact that “the smoke from her goes up for ever and ever”. This is not a temporary defeat of an enemy, but an everlasting defeat. The rejoicing and worship also comes from the twenty four elders and the four living creatures. The resounding message is that the complete collapse of the world system is a good thing!

Daniel 12:1,2 - There will be a time of distress

12:1

We now come to the final chapter. The angel Michael is mentioned again. There are things going on in the heavenly realms that we do not know about. We need to have the right attitude to this. We should not forget that there are angelic forces at work on our behalf, but at the same time we should not get obsessed about them. “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.” “But at that time your people shall be delivered.” We need to be aware of both these facts, the time of tribulation, and the certainty of deliverance. Deliverance does not mean an easy time of it, nor being raptured out of trouble. “Everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.” There are obvious parallels with Revelation. There we have a time of great tribulation, we have the salvation of God’s people, and we have the Book of Life.

12:2

This verse is perhaps the clearest talk of resurrection in the Old Testament. NIV has “Multitudes of those who sleep in the dust”, ESV has “Many of those who sleep in the dust”. The Hebrew word is actually “many”, but it serves a rather different meaning than our English word, and “multitudes” is probably a better translation. All people will be raised, including unbelievers, but what we are raised to depends on our faith, or lack of, in Christ. Those who believe will be raised to eternal life, but others to “shame and everlasting contempt”.

Revelation 18:20-24 - Rejoice, you people of God

18:20

In contrast to the woe experienced by those who relied on Babylon, the heavens, the people of God, the apostles and prophets are commanded to rejoice. Why? Because God’s judgement has come upon the city, upon the evil world system. Babylon had imposed her own judgement upon God’s people, now she was receiving righteous judgement from God. We do need to understand that the world is hostile to God, and that there is deep corruption at its heart. 

18:21-24

In the NIV this final section of the chapter is entitled “The Finality of Babylon’s Doom”, and this sums up the primary point of the last chapter or so. The world system with all its corruption will be completely and finally destroyed. John sees a  “mighty angel” throwing a large boulder into the sea to signify the downfall of Babylon. The city will be gone. The musicians and entertainers will be gone. Trade and industry will be gone. Social life will be gone. Her violent persecution of the prophets and God’s holy people will be gone. Bloodshed will be gone.

Daniel 11:37-45 - Yet he will come to his end

11:37-39

This ruler will be very different from the previous ones. All the failings and sins of the previous rulers will be magnified a hundred times over in this ruler, they will reach their natural conclusion in him. Many of the characteristics can be found in Antiochus, who history shows was an extremely proud ruler, but he is not a perfect fulfilment, and it seems much better to take this as also pointing forward. My view on these things is that there is a temporal partial fulfillment that demonstrates the validity of God’s word, but there is a general fulfillment in that it explains how evil works in the world, and there will be an ultimate fulfillment in the very last days. We see a similar pattern in Revelation.

11:40-45

The reach of this ruler will be vast. The king of the south (Egypt) will seek to oppose him, but the ruler of the North will conquer many lands. There will be various battles and dangers, and he will occupy the “Beautiful Land” (Israel). “Yet he will come to his end, and no-one will help him”. This is the fate of all rulers. It happened to Hitler, we read of similar things in Revelation. We need to accept that life will not follow a simple path, and there will be much trouble, but the Lord is God and He is in control.