Daniel 12
OGCSERMON NUMBER ELEVEN
DEITY OR DEMON? Text: Daniel 11-12 INTRODUCTION
I.
MAN MAKING HIS OWN GODS
A.
Montaigne once said, Man is certainly stark mad; he cannot make a flea, and yet he will be making gods by dozens.
B.
Men will accept anything or anybody for a godall the way from a piece of wood to a manrather than surrender to dependence upon the One True God (cf. Romans 1:18 ff.).
C.
Man must have a god! If he will not allow his Creator to have sovereignty over him, then man will stupidly enslave himself to a god of his own making.
D.
And when man does, he degrades himself and depraves himself, … they came to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Baal, and became detestable like the things they loved. (Hosea 9:10; cf. also Psalms 115).
II.
MAN CLAIMING TO BE GOD
A.
Equally as tragic and portending consequences even more terrifying are moments in history when men have declared themselves gods.
B.
History is replete with monstrous men and movements such as this.
C.
The ages of enlightenment and science were supposed to usher in a Utopia where peace and harmony and understanding would prevail and governments would be paternalistic and benevolent. J. Wallace Hamilton wrote, Nobody is talking now about automatic progress, about every day in every way, getting better and better. Who is saying that now? Nobody! What if the sons of evil come? What if animal men, brain men and brawn men with no God in their hearts, with all humanity bleached out, should hold these powerful forces (atomic power, etc.) in their hands? We have had some glimpses of that. We saw it in the Nazis, in their scientific savagery; they were monster men with powerful forcesDachau, Buchenwald. It sickened us; it frightened us.. What if the sons of evil come? We cannot shrug this off or talk glibly about being emancipated from divine authority or from the old ethical rules by which civilization has emerged from the darkness. The problem of man is still that downward bent in his heart, by whatever name you want to call it.
III.
DEITY OR DEMON?
A.
Indeed we have seen glimpses of the sons of evil come upon our world; men claiming to be gods, but acting like demons.
B.
Here in Daniel 11, 12 we have a brief history of such a contemptible one, Antoichus IV (Epiphanes)
C.
There are many infamous demagogues in history whose histories parallel that of Antiochus; one such is Adolph Hitler.
D.
We do not believe Antiochus IV is prophetic or typical of any ONE such demagogue (such as The Antichrist so-calledsince many antichrists are predicted).
E.
He is just one, in a long line, of many beasts who shall oppose all that The Holy God and His Kingdom shall stand for until the final overthrow of the Dragon and the Beasts and The Harlot.
DISCUSSION
I.
ENVIROMENT, Daniel 11:1-20
A.
Ancestry
The ancestry of Antiochus IV was a history of despots devoted to ruthless exploitation of friends and foreigners to serve their own lusts for power.
a.
Seleucus Nicator progenitor of the Seleucid -dynasty, Antiochus-’ ancestor, betrayed his king (Ptolemy I), and usurped his rule over Syria.
b.
Another of his ancestors, Antiochus II, committed bigamy and adultery, marrying two wives, for political purposes.
c.
Seleucus II murdered women and children to obtain the throne.
d.
Antiochus III called himself Theos (God).
e.
Robbery, murder, adultery, deceit all were the way of life for the Seleucids, ancestors of Antiochus IV.
The ancestry of Adolf Hitler, as much as we know, is fraught with pseudo-despots.
a.
Alois, father of Adolf, was the illegitimate son of Maria Anna Schickelgruber, who married three times.
b.
Adolf’s mother was a bride of Alois, 23 years younger than her husband, former maid in his first wife’s home.
c.
Adolf’s father put on all the airs of a petty customs official, bitterly opposed Adolf’s ambition to become an artist. Adolf came to hate his father.
d.
Encyclopedia Britannica (from which this information on Hitler is excerpted) says: It may indeed be doubted whether at any time in his life he ever truly loved, or was loved by, any normal man or woman.
B.
Training
Antiochus IV spent most of his youth as a hostage in Rome’s royal courts.
a.
There he learned the Roman ways of pragmatism to serve the ends of the empire.
b.
He learned to worship power.
c.
He learned to practice deceit.
d.
He learned ruthlessness.
Adolf Hitler was an orphan at 15 years of age.
a.
He went to Vienna where his mind was saturated with the humanism and hate-mognering of a generation of youthful malcontents and rabble-rousers.
b.
He became a failure, academically, artistically and economically; he couldn-’t get in school or get a job of any value.
c.
He began a reaction mechanism of hate for trade unions, socialists, and Jews.
d.
He wrote in Mein Kampf, Gradually I began to hate them (Jews). I was transformed from a weakly world-citizen into a fanatic anti-Semite.
e.
He joined the army and at the coming of WW I he fell on his knees and thanked Providence that he was privileged to live in heroic times and to participate in noble deeds of pan-Germanic, Wagnerian splendor.
His mind was poisoned by the evil-producing theory of evolution.
a.
A few quotations from him will show what effect evolution had upon his thinking.
b.
Thus there results the subjection of a number of people under the will, often of only a few persons, a subjection based simply upon the right of the stronger, a right which, as we see it in Nature, can be regarded as the sole conceivable right, because it is founded on reason. at a speech at Nuremberg in 1933.
c.
His hatred of the Jews was rationalized by using evolution. The Germans were the higher race, destined for a glorious evolutionary future. For this reason it was essential that the Jews should be segregated, otherwise mixed marriages would take place. Were this to happen, all nature’s efforts to establish an evolutionary higher stage of being may thus be rendered futile (Mein Kampf).
d.
… the whole world of Nature is a mighty struggle between strength and weaknessan eternal victory of the strong over the weak. speech at Munich, 1923.
e.
He who would live must fight. He who does not wish to fight in this world where permanent struggle is the law of life, has not the right to exist. To thing otherwise is to insult nature. Distress, misery and disease are her rejoinders (Mein Kampf).
C.
As the twig is bent, so grows the tree! DIETY OR DEMON.
Ancestors or parents are not totally responsible for the demonical behavior of their offspring, but their influence goes a long way in determining whether they will partake of the nature of the Divine or the nature of the devil.
a.
Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with promise), that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord Ephesians 6:1-4.
b.
… that through these (his precious and very great promises) you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:4.
c.
It is possible for parents to direct their children so that they may become partakers of the divine nature!
Training has a tremendous influence upon children.
a.
The evolutionary indoctrination they get in public schools, news media, entertainment, literature, turns them into demons.
b.
Life magazine, May 25, 1962, editorial entitled, The Nego interview of a reported surveying a broad cross-section of America’s most prestigious pre-schools heard them say to him: I have no values because there is no basis for them. Nothing’s solid; there are no values to depend upon. Everything’s gray; there aren-’t any values. WHERE DID THEY GET THESE PHILOSOPHIES AND STANDARDS? LISTEN TO THEIR OWN ACCUSATION! They bring us here and feed us full of Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, Sartre, Camus, Arthur Miller, J. D. Sallinger.
Parents BE ALERT, YOU HAVE IT IN YOUR POWER TO DIRECT THE DESTINIES OF YOUR CHILDREN.. WILL THEY BE DIVINE OR DEMONICAL?
II.
ENORMITY, Daniel 11:21-43
A.
Blasphemous
Antiouchous IV was irreligious, irreverent and blasphemous of any deity except himself called himself God Daniel 11:36-37.
He profaned the sacred temple of the Jews as well as temples of the gods of other nations. he did not even pay homage to the gods of his ancestors. In the Jewish temple he put up a statue of Jupiter (probably in his own likeness); he sacrificed a pig on the sacred altar.
Hermann Goering said of Hitler, We love Adolf Hitler because we believe deeply and unswervingly that God has sent him to save Germany. Hans Franck said, Hitler is like God.
Hitler preached anti-Christian, antiwestern and anti-Semitic hate and followed the blasphemous teachings of Nietzsche.
There have been other blasphemers equally as precocious and audacious. Herod (Acts 12); Nebuchadnezzar; Pharoah, etc.
Antiochus-’ heart was set against the holy covenant. Daniel 11:28 He hated the holy people and their God. Hitler hated god-fearing people and their God. There will always be haters of God as long as the world stands unconverted.
B.
Deceitfulness
Antiochus was a flatterer; one who acted deceitfully; seducer; liar; Daniel 11:21; Daniel 11:23; Daniel 11:27; Daniel 11:32; Daniel 11:34; Daniel 11:36.
He made alliances and dishonored them by attacking his allies.
He deliberately lied about his intentions.
He tricked, flattered, seduced and deceived for his own ends.
Adolf Hitler: The tale of how he and his aides destroyed the German republic by treachery and deceit, built a totalitarian tyranny upon foundations of intolerance and terrorism, rearmed the reich and ultimately enslaved Europe is the tale of what Konard Heiden, perhaps Hitler’s most accurate biographer, -The Epoch of Irresponsibility.-’ Hitler became Caesar over Europe because of prodigious power of self-deception which most influential Europeans displayed in the face of a menace which they failed to understand and in some cases even mistook for salvation. The man who fled from reality into fantasy and became a devil thereby was able to turn his fantasies into realities because his victims in all lands were blinded by their own insecurities of the old and simple distinctions between what is actual and what is illusory, what is true and what is false, what is good and what is evil. Encyclopedia Britannica
Hitler lied, made treaties and broke them, flattered, deceived, attacked his own allies, betrayed and murdered his friends.
Communist demons (Stalin, Khrushchev, Mao, Castro) have all followed the pattern of the contemptible Antiochus. As long as there are unbelievers in the world willing to let the devil enslave their minds, we will have DEMON POSSESSED TYRANTS.
C.
Violence, Brutality
Antiochus was brutal and cold-blooded. One has only to read I Maccabees to read of the atrocities committed by him and his representatives.
Antiochus plundered, scattered, killed, enslaved Daniel 11:24; Daniel 11:33.
Antiochus was a warmongerhe defied and worshipped war and power.
Josef Goebbels, Hitler’s homosexual minister of propaganda, said: Hitler’s opportunity was to unchain volcanic passions, to arouse outbreaks of fury, to set masses of men on the march, to organize hate and suspicion with ice-cold calculation.
On Dec. 11, 1941, Hitler declared, A historic revenge has been entrusted to us by the Creator.
In his last anniversary speech on Jan. 30, 1945, he declared, The life that is left to us should serve only one tasknamely, to make up for all the wrongs done by the international Jewish criminals and their henchmen to our nation.
Things ordered to be done by him and his demon-possessed cohorts almost defy description.
a.
8,000,000 Jews slain in gas chambers, shot, buried alive, starved to death, frozen to death, burned alive.
b.
Aged and infirm methodically slaughtered to prevent them from bearing unfit children.
c.
Human beings used as laboratory animals for experimentation by surgeons.
d.
Rape, tortures, enslavement, the skins of human beings used in one prison camp as lamp shades in the concentration camp commandant’s office
e.
Cultural rape of conquered nations.
IS IT ANY WONDER WHY DEPRAVED, UNGODLY HUMAN GOVERNMENT AND RULERS ARE SYMBOLIZED AS BEASTS IN THE BIBLE?!
a.
Actually, depraved human beings are worse than the brutes.
b.
Some demon-possessed human beings will fall lower than the brutish instincts of beasts. THE BEAST ACTS BY INSTINCT.. THE DEPRAVED HUMAN ACTS DELIBERATELY AGAINST HIS CREATOR!
D.
When human beings are taught by precept and example that they are animalswhen human beings are robbed of Divine fellowship through atheism or polytheismthey will act like animals.
The center of the person is the will; the center of the will is attention; therefore we will be what we give our attention to (Hosea 9:10).
In Romans, chapter one, we see what happens to people who worship animal gods or human godsthey act like animals.
When men saturate their demonical wisdom (cf. James 3:13 to James 4:10), they act like demons. BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, THROUGH A KNOWLEDGE OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST (a knowledge both empirical and experiential) WE CAN BECOME PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE.. THERE IS A WAY TO BE TRANSLATED FROM THE KINGDOM OF DEMONS TO THE DIVINE KINGDOM!
III.
END
A.
Despised
Antiochus was hated and despised by everyone except a few followers.
The Jews nicknamed him Epimanes (mad-man)
He was called the contemptible one and betrayed by his own officers.
He was hated by most of his own family and every other nation in the world.
He was contemptuously despised by the Romans.
Adolf Hitler was despised by most of the world.
a.
Joseph Stalin described Hitler as a cannibal.
b.
Neville Chamberlain said, In all history no other man has been responsible for such a hideous total of human suffering and misery as he.
c.
Winston Churchill said he was a bloodthirsty guttersnipe, a monster of wickedness, insatiable in his lust for blood and plunder.
d.
Henry Wallace said of Hitler, Satan has turned loose upon us the insane.
B.
Cowardly
Such people are usually compensating for cowardice to face up to what they think are inadequacies by their ambitions to power and by their cruelty when they have the upper hand.
Antiochus was a coward when it came to facing up to the superior mettle of the Roman legate when confronted in Egypt (see our comments on Daniel 11:30).
Antiochus made a sniveling death-bed attempt to confess and repent and begged the Jews to be good to his successor-son since Antiochus had been so good to the Jews.
Goebbels wrote in his diary in December, 1932, Four hours on end, the Fuehrer walks up and down in his hotel room. Once he stops and says: -If the Party should ever break up, I-’ll make an end of things in three minutes with a revolver.-'
Sometime in May, 1945, as Berlin’s death agony approached its end, Hitler, paralyzed from a former attempt on his life and raging insanely in his bunker, carried out a death pact he had made with his mistress, Eva Braun.
C.
Evaluation of these demons
Antiochus IV: … one of the most extraordinary characters exhibited on the pages of history. He was both avaricious and prodigal, excessive in his indulgences and prone to violent passions, a compound of the veriest folly and weakness in some respects, and of great cunning and dexterity in some others, especially in regard to flattery. Stuart.
Adolf Hitler: In death, as in life, he man from Braunau remained the most sinister symbol and the most appalling incarnation of the desperate sickness of western culture in the 20th century. Shockingly incredible was the revelation that men, thus stripped of human attributes by their inner conflicts, can become devils, driven toward deeds of insane criminality and sadistic cruelty which stagger the imagination and reveal depths of depravity in the human psyche hitherto unsuspected save by psychoanalysts, Encyclopedia Britannica.
CONCLUSION
WHAT IS TO BE THE REACTION OR RELATIONSHIP OF THE GODLY MAN TO DEMONIC RULERS or, HOW ARE GOD’S PEOPLE TO ACT IN TIMES WHEN DEMONS RULE?
I.
PRAY FOR THEM AND PREACH TO THEM AND LIVE SO AS TO CONVERT THEM. Some have seen this come to pass; Daniel, Paul (Caesar’s household).
II.
TRUST IN THE LIVING GOD AND HIS PROVIDENTIAL JUSTICE AND GOODNESS TO BRING ABOUT THEIR DEMISE IN GOD’S OWN GOOD TIME.
III.
UPHOLD GOOD CIVIL GOVERNMENT AND STRUCTURES OF SOCIETY WHICH ARE INSTITUTED TO BRING RESTRAINT UPON EVIL AND JUSTICE UPON THE UNCONTROLLABLE.
EXAMINATION ELEVEN AND TWELVE
REFUTATIONS (Answer the following by giving the argument which will correct the statement)
The kings of the north and of the south are prophecies of the battles to take place in the Middle East during the millennium. Refute!
The king of Dan 11:36 ff is a prophecy of The Antichrist to come at the end of the N.T. age. Refute!
The 3½ times, the 1290 days and the 1335 days in Daniel 12 are predictions of the terrible times during a millennium age or just preceding it near the final judgment. Refute!
ASSOCIATIONS (Associate the persons or events of column one with the correct person or event of column two)
1
2
Cambyses
The Great
Antiochus IV
Alexander’s generals
Seleucus Nicator
Ptolemy I
Smerdis
Cyrus-’ son
Popillius Laenas
Carthaginian
Marathon
Epiphanes
Heliodorus
mad-man
Hystaspis
city in Persia
Xerxes
Babylonian king
Ptolemy Lagi
Ptolemy’s general
diadochoi
usurper to Persian throne
Antiochus III
Roman legate
Hannibal
capital of Elam
Epimanes
tax-collector
Cleopatra
Darius
Judah Maccabeus
Persian king of Esther
Kittim
Antichrist
Indignation
battle of Persians and Greeks
1290 days
millennium
1335 days
Feast of Dedication
Hanukkah
sister of Ptolemy Philometor
prophet
captivity of Jews
abomination of desolation
death of Antiochus IV
MEMORIZATIONS (Fill in the blanks:)
And many of those who ________ in the ________ of the earth shall ________, some to ________ ________, and some to ________ and ________ ________. And those who are ________ shall ________ like the brightness of the ________; and those who ________ many to ________, like the stars for ever and ever.
EXPLANATIONS
Explain how the Seleucids came to rule over Syria and Palestine.
Explain the relationship of the Seleucids to the Ptolemies.
Explain why Antiochus IV was not the legal heir to the throne of Syria.
Explain why some of the Jews joined in with Antiochus Epiphanes-’ Hellenization of Palestine.
Explain how Antiochus IV was thwarted in his ambition to conquer Egypt.
Explain what it means when describing Antiochus IV as honoring the god of fortresses.
Explain how Antiochus IV came to his end.
Explain the contextual meaning of the periods of time in chapter 12 entitled time, times and half a time, 1290 days 1335 days.
SPECIAL STUDY SIX
OUTLINE OF Matthew 24:1-51
by Seth Wilson
I.
Matthew 24:1-3THE OCCASION AND THE QUESTIONS. (Mark 13:1-4; Luke 21:5-7).
Observing the magnificent buildings of Jerusalem. Matthew 24:1.
Jesus-’ dire prediction: There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down Matthew 24:2.
The disciples-’ questions:
(1)
When shall these things be? (Destruction of Jerusalem).
(2)
What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? Matthew 24:3
II.
Matthew 24:4-13ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS.
Answers to first question, concerning Jerusalem. (Matthew 24:4-28; Mark 13:5-23; Luke 21:8-24).
DON-‘T EXPECT IT TOO EARLY!
a.
Warning of preliminary troublesthe beginning of travail. (Matthew 24:4-14; Matthew 24:5-13; Matthew 24:8-19)
(1)
False Christs, wars, rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes do not indicate the end: be not troubled.
(2)
Persecutions, apostasies, false prophets, shall afflict the church: take heed to yourselves, endure to the end; trust God for help; the gospel testimony shall go into all the world. (Matthew 24:9-14; Matthew 9-13; Matthew 12-19) cf. Colossians 1:6; Colossians 1:23; Romans 1:8; Romans 10:18; Romans 16:19.
WHEN YOU DO SEE THE SIGN, EXPECT IT IMMEDIATELY!
b.
The sign of Jerusalem’s end, and how to escape the woes of that terrible time. (Matthew 24:15-28; Matthew 24:14-23; Matthew 24:20-24)
(1)
The abomination of desolation standing in a holy place is Jerusalem compassed with armies; then know that her desolation is at hand.
(2)
Let those in Judea flee to the mountains without delay. Pray that the hardships of flight may be lessened; but the unprecedented afflictions of the city must be escaped at all costs. Believe no false prophets, signs or promises; I have forewarned you; the Christ will not return at this time, or at any time without being seen from east to west.
EVEN THEN DON-‘T EXPECT THE PERSONAL COMING OF THE LORD!
(3)
The tribulation shall be excessive, shall threaten extinction of the Jewish people, shall take them captive to other nations, shall leave Jerusalem to the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Answer to the second question, concerning Christ’s coming. (Matthew 24:29-31; Matthew 2 Mat 24:4-27; Matthew 24:25-28)
a.
The time is purposely indefinite; but the event is to be watched for at all times (immediatelyMat 24:29), after a terrible and extended (see Luke 21:24) tribulation.
b.
The event itself shall be unmistakable; accompanied by tremendous sights and sounds in all earth and heaven, the Lord Himself shall be seen by everyone, coming in the clouds with power and great glory.
c.
The angels shall gather the elect from everywhere: look up, your redemption draws near. (Matthew 24:31; Matthew 24:27; Matthew 24:28)
III.
Matthew 24:32-36THE ANSWERS REVIEWED IN CONTRASTING SUMMARY.
Parable of the fig tree: signs are easily recognized. Watch for ALL THESE THINGSwars, persecutions, false Messiahs, the desolation of Jerusalem, and great tribulation, to come to pass in this generation. (Matthew 24:32-34; Matthew 24:28-30; Matthew 24:29-32).
Solemn affirmation of unfailing certainty of His words. (Matthew 24:35; Matthew 24:31; Matthew 24:33).
But of THAT DAY, Jesus-’ coming, no one knows. The time cannot be told, even by the Son of God. (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32).
IV.
Matthew 24:37-51PARABLES AND EXHORTATIONS TO BE READY AT ALL TIMES.
As in the days of Noah the flood came suddenly upon those who had been warned but believed not, so shall the coming of the Son of man be without any immediate forewarning signs. (Matthew 24:37-39)
In the midst of daily work, suddenly one shall be taken and another left; WATCH for you know not the day. (Matthew 24:40-42; cf. Matthew 24:31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:52.)
Parable of a householder unprepared for a thief who came when he was not expected. Be ready, for when you think not, the Son of man comes. (Matthew 24:43-44)
The servants of the absent Lord have each one his own work (Mark 13:34) to be faithful until He comes. He may not come as soon as they imagine; but if they think that He tarries and they can take advantage of His delay to indulge in sin, He will come when they least expect it and will punish them. (Matthew 24:45-51; Matthew 24:33-37; Matthew 24:34-36). WATCH AT EVERY SEASONLuk 21:36.
(Christ continued the same lessons in the 25th Chapter 1. in the parable of the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom, 2. in the parable of the talents committed to servants until the Lord’s return, and 3. in the scene of judgment that shall take place when the Son of man shall come in His glory.)
(In these additional prophetic pictures, He emphasizes that the servants must be prepared to wait patiently and to serve faithfully even though the Master may not come for a long time [see Matthew 25:19]; also that His coming will bring strict judgment and swift vengeance upon all who have not used the intervening time in His service.)
IN CONCLUSION
For this prophecy and similar ones were not written that we might (beforehand exactly) know history and the troubles of the future, so as to feed our curiosity as with an item of news; but that the pious might comfort themselves and rejoice over them, and that they should strengthen their faith and hope in patience, as those that see and hear that their wretchedness shall have an end, and that they, delivered from sin, death, the devil, and every evil, shall come to Christ in heaven, in his blessed eternal kingdom.
Martin Luther
He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority, But you. shall be my witness in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.
Jesus Christ (Acts 1:7-8)
The prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired about this salvation; they inquired what person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within them when predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
Daniel 12:1-4
CHAPTER TWELVE
VI. EPILOGUEDan 12:1-13
a. TRIBULATION
TEXT: Daniel 12:1-4
1
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who 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.
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.
3
And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
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.
QUERIES
a.
What is that time when Michael shall stand up?
b.
What is the time of trouble, such as never was. ?
c.
Why order Daniel to seal the book?
PARAPHRASE
But take courage for during those troublous times of which I have just spoken, Michael, the prince guarding over God’s people shall interpose on their behalf. Now when the troubles of the faithful shall have reached unprecedented intensity, then shall be the time for God’s great deliverance to appear for all who are, in God’s book, truly of Israel. 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. Those who are wise and believe God in these matters and who turn many of their brethren to righteous living will glorify God and shine like the stars forever and ever. As for you, Daniel, your job is about finished, so complete your prophetic writing and see that its authority concerning the things of the end of the troublous times is corroborated, for many shall search it through, and the understanding shall become great.
COMMENT
Daniel 12:1 AND AT THAT TIME SHALL MICHAEL STAND UP. Once again it is apparent to the careful exegete that this is contextually connected to the whole vision which was begun in chapter 10! If the reader would disregard, momentarily, the imposed chapter and verse divisions, and read Chapter s 10 through 12 as one unit, he would readily observe the continuity of purpose. It is also apparent from the phrase, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people, that the same subject, namely, God’s providential protection of His people in a time of exceeding affliction by heavenly warriors, is still under consideration from chapter 10.
The holocaust of human suffering under Antiochus IV and its termination is still the primary revelation being made to Daniel, for in the termination of this convulsion shall be the sign that the age of the Messiah or the eternal kingdom of God (ch. 2, etc.) is beginning to rise on the horizon. That there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was. is no exaggeration! The troubles that came upon the Hebrew people under the persecutions of Antiochus IV probably surpassed any that the Hebrew nation, or any other nation for that matter, had ever experienced. The Lord Jesus spoke of the Roman tribulation of 70 A.D. in the same terms, and that later prophecy was no exaggeration, either!
Further, at this time of the end of their tribulations which shall signal the time for establishing the predicted eternal kingdom of God (ch. 2, etc.), all those who were true Israelites, enrolled in God’s book would be delivered. In other words, the predicted deliverance of Dan 9:24-27 would be accomplished. It does not mean, necessarily, that certain pious Jews in the days of Antiochus IV would be saved from death by the Maccabean heroes. There were many faithful written in the book long before Antiochus’s time (cf. Moses, Exodus 32:32; Hebrews 11:4-40), who were delivered by that which was accomplished in fulfillment of Dan 9:24-27;! as well as all the millions of Christians since the substitutionary death of Christ who have been delivered by it. The death of Christ was efficacious for all men of God who, by their faith, either looked forward to God’s undeserved grace or look backward toward it (cf. Romans 3:21-26; Hebrews 9:15). Even Abraham saw the Messiah’s day, by faith, and rejoiced (cf. John 8:56)!
Daniel 12:2. AND MANY OF THEM THAT SLEEP IN THE DUST OF THE EARTH SHALL AWAKE. There are two interpretations of this passage, both of which would be acceptable in our opinion. (a) It was primarily to refer to events that would occur in the time of Antiochusto the arousing of many to defend their country, as if called from the dust of the earth, or to their being summoned by Judas Maccabeus from caves and fastnesses, and to the honor to which many of them might be raised, and the shame and contempt which would await others. This primary, figurative meaning, at the same time, was intended, typically and prophetically, to teach the literal and final resurrection from the dead. Perhaps it was the angels intention to bring this final resurrection into view, even though secondarily, in order to focus the thoughts of the pious onward, far beyond the troubles and the triumphs in the days of the Maccabees, to the time when the dead should arise, and when the retributions of eternity should occur. There are a few places in the O.T. prophets where a resurrection is spoken of in figurative terms with a possible double reference (Isaiah 25:6-12; Isaiah 66:18-24; Hosea 6:2, etc.) (b) Or, what seems more likely to us, the angel, passing in rapid succession from the time of trouble in the days of Antiochus (Daniel 12:1), to the end of that time and deliverance as predicted of the Messiah in Daniel 9:24-27 (Daniel 12:1), to the final resurrection of the dead (Daniel 12:2), has done what we call shortened perspective (see our comments in Minor Prophets, College Press, pg. 32). Widely separated events (often times separated by many centuries) are spoken of in unseparated succession in the text. Two successive verses in the same chapter may be divided by 700 unspoken centuries (such as between Joe 2:27-28)! It is evident that the O.T. clearly teaches a doctrine of the resurrection of the just and the unjust, literally and bodily! Granted it is veiled and sparselife and immortality was not brought to light until the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, The reason for unspoken centuries between the days of the prophets and the final consummation is spiritual immaturity. And this is no surprise for the apostles found spiritual immaturity a hindrance to apprehension of the profound things of God even in N.T. times!
We believe, therefore, the angel is referring directly and literally to the final resurrection of the just and the unjust at the consummation of all thingsthat the angel skipped over untold centuries of time between the Messiah’s accomplishment of deliverance (Daniel 9:24-27) and His Second Advent. The aim of the angelic revelation is the birth of hope in the hearts of the people of God when they should be undergoing the persecution predicted. There was no need to explain in detail all of history that should transpire between the Christ and the consummation (any more than there is a need for such detail today).
Daniel 12:3 AND THEY THAT ARE WISE. This reminds one of the closing verses of Hosea (Hosea 14:4-9, esp. Hosea 14:9). The wise, those who fear the Lord (Psalms 111:10), will understand what the angel has revealed to Danielthat those who remain faithful unto death in the midst of persecution for the sake of God’s glory will be delivered at the final judgment. They will shine with the glory of God which they have inherited. They will be precious jewels in the treasury of God! Their wisdom will also include an urgency in turning others to righteousness in those troublous times as well as turning many succeeding generations of believers to righteousness by their example.
Daniel 12:4. SHUT UP THE WORDS, AND SEAL THE BOOK. As is evident from our paraphrase of this verse, we believe it does not command Daniel to hide the prophecy. The angel has disclosed all that God wishes to be revealed. Daniel is commanded to discontinue writing and to insure that what has been thus far revealed is confirmed or authenticated as a revelation from God. In spite of the fact that nothing more is to be revealed, those of future generations, when these prophecies are being fulfilled or after their fulfillment, much more (knowledge shall be increased) will be understood about their place and their message as it relates to the entire scheme of God’s redemptive work on the earth. Lange comments, many shall search it through, and the understanding shall become great. Barnes comments, by diffusing information, and by careful inquiry, those of coming ages would obtain much clearer views on these points; or, in other words, that time, and the intercourse of individuals and nations, would clear up the obscurities of prophecy. It may mean that in future times when the apostles and all Christians ever after run to and fro as missionaries in all the earth preaching the gospel of Christ, the fulfillment of these predictions of Daniel would be understood; or as the prophecies of Daniel were used to confirm the truth of the gospel, more power would be given its proclamation and knowledge of the Father and His Son would be increased. One is reminded of the magi from the East who came to worship the king of the Jews!
The time of the end has been thoroughly discussed in this section. It is the same time of the end referred to throughout Daniel 9 through 12the end of the troublous times and the nearing end of the O.T. dispensation and the nearing establishment of the eternal kingdom of God. It is not the end of all timethe Second Advent of Jesus Christ. Daniel did not mean that the prophecies of his book were to be hidden all through the Christian dispensation and reserved for fulfillment and understanding in some far distant future millennium (see Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10; 1 Corinthians 6; Luke 24:26-27; Luke 24:24-44, etc.).
QUIZ
Who is Michael and where is he mentioned otherwise in Daniel’s book?
When shall the people of Daniel be delivered? (Daniel 12:1)
What is the meaning of the prediction about the resurrection in Daniel 12:2 and how does it relate to circumstances in the time of Antiochus IV?
Who are the wise?
How is Daniel to shut the book and seal it?
How is knowledge to increase in relation to Daniel’s prophecies?
Daniel 12:5-7
b. TERMINATION
TEXT: Daniel 12:5-7
5
Then I, Daniel, looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on the brink of the river on this side, and the other on the brink of the river on that side.
6
And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
7
And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
QUERIES
a.
Why the other two angelic beings?
b.
Why did one hold up both hands to heaven and swear?
c.
What are the time, times and a half?
PARAPHRASE
Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two other angels, besides the one in linen, one on each bank of the Tigris River. And one of them asked the one who was clothed in linen and now hovered above the waters of the river, How long will it be until all these extraordinary terrors end? This great angel then lifted both his hands toward heaven, swearing by Him who lives forever and ever, and declared that they would end in three and one-half years; in other words, when the scattering of a part of the holy people shall have ceased, then all these extraordinary terrors will have come to their end.
COMMENT
Daniel 12:5. THERE STOOD TWO. Why the appearance of two other angels? Most likely as witnesses of the oath to be taken by the angel dressed in linen and to confirm the very significant announcement about the end of the troublous times this angel was to make. The river is the Tigris.
Daniel 12:6. HOW LONG SHALL IT BE TO THE END OF THESE WONDERS? Lange says the angel hovering above the river serves to designate the mighty and swiftly flowing stream of the Tigris. as a symbol of the surging world of nations over which the good spirit of the world-power exercises sway as a beneficent and guiding principle of order. The wonders are the extraordinary sufferings which Antiochus IV was to bring upon the holy people.
Daniel 12:7. IT SHALL BE FOR A TIME, TIMES, AND A HALF. That the angel swears by the name of the Almighty God is indication of the solemn significance of the announcement about to come.
What must necessarily guide us in the determination of the 3½ times is the question, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? We believe this question, in the present context, can only have reference to the extraordinary terrors of the reign of Antiochus IVnot to some New Testament Antichrist removed by at least some 2000 years from those O.T. saints for whom Daniel’s revelation was given. We have discussed earlier (Daniel 7:23-25) the meaning of time, times and half a time. It symbolizes a definite period of time in round numbers which God knows exactly but man does not need to know. Further, 3½ being half of 7 (the perfect number), symbolizes a time that shall not be complete or last forever. Now it happens that from the time that Antiochus IV first removed the daily sacrifice from the Temple until Judas Maccabeus purified the Temple it was a little over 3½years. So the angel dressed in linen has answered the angel who asked that the time of extraordinary terror for the holy people will be, in round Numbers, 3½ years.
The angel adds a qualifying, clarifying remark. When the dispersing of the power of the Hebrew people comes to an endwhen their being scattered ceasesthis will signal the end of the extraordinary terrors of the Contemptible One. It is interesting to observe that when the scattered Jews were finally rallied under the Maccabees (1 Maccabees 8), the purifying of the Temple takes place and the subsequent death of Antiochus IV is announced (1 Maccabees 9, 10). A more exact time to denote the beginning and ending of this extraordinary trouble is declared in the next section.
QUIZ
What does the word wonders mean in Daniel 12:6?
How long is time, times and a half?
Why is it improper to apply these 3½ times to a N.T. Antichrist?
How does 3½ years coincide with the most terrible times of Antiochus IV?
How does the phrase, … an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people clarify the 3½years?
Daniel 12:8-13
c. TRIUMPH
TEXT: Daniel 12:8-13
8
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the issue of these things?
9
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end.
10
Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but they that are wise shall understand.
11
And from the time that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12
Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
13
But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, and shalt stand in thy lot, at the end of the days.
QUERIES
a.
What did Daniel not understand?
b.
When was the continual burnt-offering taken away?
c.
How would Daniel stand in his lot?
PARAPHRASE
I heard what he said but I did not understand when and what it all meant. So I said, Sir, please explain to me in more detail exactly when and how all these things shall finally issue forth! But the angel replies, Daniel, it is now time for you to return to your earthly labors, so go in peace and trust in your God. I have revealed all that God wills shall be revealed and what I have told you will surely come to pass and when they do the words will have the seal of God stamped upon them and be better understood. Those who are wise by faith in God will understand when these predictions begin to come to pass. They will know that God is about to send The Redeemer, The anointed One, and they will prepare for Him by purifying and sanctifying themselves. But none of the impenitent apostates shall understand. They will continue on in the paganism they have adopted from the Contemptible One. But know this Daniel, these terrible times will be coming to an end 1290 days after the desecration of the Temple by the Contemptible One1290 days after he stops the holy people from offering the continual burnt-offering and sets up in their Temple the pagan altar. The man who, during this era, endures it through faith in God will receive further blessed assurance after 1335 days, or after 45 days additional to the 1290, that the terrible times of the Contemptible One are ended. As for you, Daniel, you have a job to do so be at it diligently and do not let what has been revealed to you cause you to lose faith. Be faithful in your appointed labor for the Lord until the end of your life and you shall find the eternal rest and receive your portion of the inheritance which is what will be accomplished for you by the Anointed One at the end of these terrible days predicted.
COMMENT
Daniel 12:8. I UNDERSTOOD NOT. Daniel stood almost 400 years removed from the events being predicted to him. The temple had not even yet been rebuiltthe Jews were still in Persian captivityhow difficult it would be for him to contemplate the things he heard from these angels! How extremely anxious he would be to know every detail of time and manner about the things revealed to him! A vast amount of symbolism and facts had already taxed his powers of comprehensionhis head must have been swimming with facts and dazed with the struggle to understand.
History Is God’s Word in the Hand of Time
Daniel 12:9. GO THY WAY. THE WORDS ARE. SEALED TILL THE TIME OF THE END. Perhaps Daniel even entertained some fears that he might have to very soon experience the terrible times just predicted to him by the angel. This verse and Daniel 12:13 seems to indicate this. But the answer to Daniel’s perplexity is, Go on in the job you now have to do in Persiathese terrible times are reserved or sealed for the future at the end of the time of preparation for the eternal kingdom of God. It should not be strange to a believing, discerning Jew that the Mosaic administration of the covenant would come to an endthe O.T. itself predicted its own fulfillment (cf. Jeremiah 31:31 ff, etc.).
Daniel 12:10 MANY SHALL PURIFY THEMSELVES. THEY THAT ARE WISE SHALL UNDERSTAND. This is similar to Daniel 12:3. The god-fearing Jews will, by faith, wisely endure and profit spiritually by the terrible experiences to come upon them during the days of the Contemptible one. They will, because they believe that Daniel’s record of this angelic revelation is the will and word of God, understand that God’s redemption in the Anointed One is drawing nigh. They will therefore sanctify and purify themselves and teach others to do so. They will pass it on to their children and their grandchildren (two generations removed from the Maccabeans would make one an adult at the birth of Jesus) their grandchildren would be anticipating eagerly some stupendous Messianic era to commence (cf. Simeon, righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel in Luke 2:25-35; Anna, of great age, who gave thanks for the baby Jesus and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem; and other such references). Now the wicked, apostate Jews who eagerly adopted the life of the pagan Hellenists, both in the Maccabean era and that of Jesus (the Herods, etc.), would not understand that the terrible times of Antiochus IV were preparatory to ushering in the Messianic age, They would go on in their wickedness hoping for a carnal Messiah who would nationalize and free them from foreign control in order to indulge them in paganism. Or perhaps they would not even want or look for a Messiah, content with the pagan sensuality they had learned from Antiochus.
Daniel 12:11. FROM THE TIME. SHALL BE A THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY DAYS. How is it possible for the continual burnt-offering to be taken away in the Christian dispensation? The only possibility that this prediction is future to the time of Antiochus IV is that it refers to some millenial age when a Jewish system of sacrifices has been reinstituted. In our opinion, such an assumption violates the plain teaching of the N.T. Book of Hebrews. Therefore, we must suppose that the terminus a quo, from the time that continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, is the time in (end of May or beginning of June) 168 B.C. when Antiochus IV forced the cessation of Temple services and commanded Appolonius to erect an altar to Jupiter in the Temple. From this time until Judas Maccabeus removed this abomination and purified the temple, December 25th, 165 B.C., the time Isaiah 1290 days. We quote Stuart here: The 1290 days are more specific than the phrase -time, times and a half,-’ in Daniel 12:7, and also in Daniel 7:25. -The latter (-time,-’ etc.) is, as it were, a round number, three and a half first equaling the one half of the sacred number seven, and the fractional part equaling the half of one year. In such a case minute exactness of course is not to be expected. But the thirty additional days here (over 1260 days = forty-two months = three and a half years) are doubtless designed as an exact account of time during which the detestable (desolating) abomination continued in the temple. The terminus a quo is the time when Antiochus first removed the daily sacrifice, which probably was near the end of May or at the beginning of June in B.C. 168. Judas Maccabeus removed this. and purified the temple, Dec. 25th of B.C. 165, making the time in question, i.e., three and a half years, as nearly as history will enable us to compute it. There can hardly be room for doubt that the statement in our text is minutely correct. The work of Judas here is the terminus ad quern of the period in question. In other words, the abomination of desolation is to last, first, in round numbers time, times and a half, or 3½ years (equal to 1260 days or 42 months). Add to this 30 more days, in order to be more exact, and you have 1290 days, the exact time between the time when Antiochus IV desecrated the Temple and Judas Maccabeus purified it.
Daniel 12:12. COMETH TO THE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND FIVE AND THIRTY DAYS. Now, add to the 1290 days 45 more days, and one has 1335 days, the time from the abomination that maketh desolate until the time of Antiochus-’ death! Lange writes, … the meaning (of this verse). can only be as follows: -After 1290 days have expired, the tribulation shall end; it shall not be completely ended, however, until forty-five additional days. have elapsed, hence, until a total of 1335 days has been reached.
In 1Ma. 2:26-37 we have an account of the situation of Antiochus while in the glorious land. His treasury was empty. He had already robbed the Temple of everything valuable in it so he was forced to look to some other source for booty. He left half of his army with Lysias, one of his favorite officers, and marched over the Euphrates in order to plunder the countries of the East. First he subdued Armenia, and then turned off to rob the temple at Elymais, where he met with disgrace, and eventually death.
Not long after the departure of Antiochus, Lysias began the contest in Palestine in serious earnest; but Judas Maccabeus came off victorious in every encounter and so decisive was one such victory, Judas proceeded to purify the Temple and restore its worship. This took place December 25th, 165 B.C. as already noted. The Feast of Dedication of the Jews commemorates this. This would have occupied some months. Of course Antiochus had had sufficient time for his conquest in Armenia and his advance to Elymais before the winter had far advanced. It was in early spring that he undertook the robbery of the temple in Elymais. After disgrace here and during his retreat from Elymais, news came to him of total defeat in Palestine. This contributed emotionally and physically to the sickness already decimating him. In 1Ma. 6:1 ff we have an account of the close of the life of Antiochus and of his disgrace at Elymais. If we now count onward, from the consecration of the Temple by Judas to the time when Antiochus died, we shall see at once that the period of 1335 days is in all probability the period of Antiochus-’ death. From the time that the daily burnt-offering was removed by Apollonius, at the command of Antiochus, to the time of the reconsecration, Isaiah 1290 days. From the same terminus a quo to the death of Antiochus Isaiah 1335 days, i.e., 45 days more than is included in the 1290 days of Dan 12:11. History has not anywhere recorded the precise day of Antiochus-’ death, so we cannot compare the passage before us with that. But we are certain as to the order of events, and as to the season of the year, as well as the year itself, in which the death of Antiochus took place. Of the general accuracy there can be no doubt.
Abomination of desolation set up
First of June, 168 B.C.
Purification of Temple by Judas
December 25th, 165 B.C.
Time expired:
Three and one-half years plus one month, or, 1260 days plus 30 = 1290 days
Death of Antiochus IV
Early spring, 164 B.C. 1335 days after abomination of desolation set up, or 45 days after the 1290 days
We believe this interpretation of the meaning of the time periods in this section is historically and contextually sound, In our opinion it does not present the serious hermeneutical and practical irregularities that other interpretations involve. It seems very clear to us that Daniel’s primary mission in recording this angelic revelation was to comfort and strengthen those people of God contemporary with Daniel enduring the captivity and those Jews of succeeding generations as they endured such terrible times as to make it appear the covenant people were about to be exterminated. It might appear to those of Antiochus-’ day that God’s purpose to bring redemption and the fulfillment of the covenant made with Abraham would fail. They would need to know that the terrible days would end and to know very nearly when they would end! Now what consolation would it be to those enduring the terrors of Antiochus to have a prediction of the eventual overthrow of some unknown Antichrist in some unknown age many centuries future to them? This, then, is why Daniel is told that those Jews who wait with endurance and faith will be blessedbecause they will see definite proof that Divine providence is fulfilling its promises to bring an end to the great persecutions.
Daniel 12:13 BUT GO THOU THY WAY TILL THE END BE. The idea is that Daniel should not let all these awesome predictions paralyze him with fear and anxiety. He is to go on in his labors for the Lord until his labors shall end. Even he shall some day realize the fulfillment of what he has predicted and has heard here from the angel. He will receive the redemption accomplished by the Anointed One (Daniel 9:24-27) which will be accomplished after the end of the terrible things the angel predicted (Daniel 10:1 to Daniel 12:12). Daniel will be raised from the dust of the earth with all the other children of God to receive their inheritance.
QUIZ
What did the angel mean when he commanded Daniel, Go thy way?
How were the words shut up and sealed until the time of the end?
How does the predicted purification of many relate to the time of the end?
What are the 1290 dayswhen do they begin and when do they end?
What are the 1335 dayswhen begin and when end?
Why are they blessed who wait for the 1335 days?
What practical value does all this have for Daniel’s future?