Daniel 12 – You shall stand at the end !

The final part of Daniel’s last vision occurs here where he begins to foretell the destiny of his people in the tribulation period. The Holocaust the Jews experienced at the hands of the Nazis in World War II was certainly a dark time for the Jews but this one will eclipse even that  !  So as the final chapter of Daniel’s book begins even though tough times will befall his people Daniel’s encouragement to them and to even us is that we have our help in God and here Michael is mentioned as a guardian against what Satan and his chief thug, the Anti-Christ will be fomenting against Israel at this time.  This is the “storm before the calm”, the time as Jeremiah coined of “Jacob’s trouble” (Jer.30:7) – GREAT TRIBULATION.

As believers we will have been taken out of this world in the rapture before this time but what of those who weren’t who do get saved after the rapture? Many we know will be martryred for their faith in Christ. But do they miss out on the Millenium which will be the “calm after the storm”? This is answered for us in verses 2-3, in short, they will be resurrected, both Old Testament and Tribulation saints to join us who were saved in the New Testament era.

Daniel is instructed in verse 4 to “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.”   This means he would need to preserve his prophecies because at the end times it’ll be needed especially because people will be going to great lengths to make sense of things in light of all the calamities then.  So it’s not a foretelling of an era of advanced technology here. The command to Daniel here is akin to how we need to store up truth as much as we can now too so that we can help others make sense of their trials and have the comfort and insight needed to press on for the Lord !

Daniel then sees two angels in vs.5-6 who asked “how long shall it be to the end of these wonders”?  The answer in vs7 is in our lingo, three and a half years (the time of the last half of the tribulation period or the GREAT TRIBULATION). When that period ends, the Lord will return with us who are saved in the church age to defeat Satan and his armies decisively with simply the Word of His mouth (Rev.19:14,15) !!  At that time anyone who still holds to evolution will have no doubts He created the same way, by the Word of His mouth !!

Daniel’s query in vs.8 prompts a final prophetic answer where he is told of a period of 1290 days from the midpoint of the tribulation period that will usher in the Second Coming and institute the setting up of His kingdom on earth. It’s widely believed by many that there will be a 45 day period within this time frame allotted for what’s described in Matt.25:31-46 as the  “Sheep-Goat Judgment” (a time when the saved & unsaved are separated from each other, the sheep enter the “fold” of the Kingdom while goats are thrown into the lake of fire to be eternally judged as they stood with the Anti-Christ against God’s people).

As the book comes to a close, Daniel is well into his eighties and is told to “go thy way” (vs13) and “thou shalt rest” (he would die yet would “stand” or resurrect at this end time with the other Old Testament saints). Like him, when our earthly labors are over we have the blessings of eternity to look forward to as well. No more conflict, no more sin, no more sadness – the exact opposite – FOREVER !!!