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About Jesus Steve Sweetman This Section - Chapter 12 The End Times (ch. 12:1-13) We
need to recognize that chapter 12 is a continuation of the last two
chapters. We’re not moving
to a new subject in this vision. Michael
the angel appears here as one who protects God’s people which in context
means Israel. If this is so, then we
need to acknowledge the importance of Also
in verse 1 we see a time of great tribulation that had never been seen in
the world. Jesus picks up on
this statement in Matt. 24 and Mark 13.
This is clearly in reference to the Great Tribulation as seen in
the book of Revelation. Jer.
30:7 calls this time the “time of Jacob’s trouble, meaning “the time
of Israel’s trouble”. In Zech. 13:8
we note that two thirds of the Verse
2 speaks of a resurrection – those who sleep in the dust will be raised.
Some people will be raised to everlasting
life and others to everlasting contempt. You should note that “many” will be raised to eternal life, but
not all. This
resurrection appears, or seems to appear after the Great Tribulation.
As a side note some Futurists believe in a pre-trib rapture, but
this is not a rapture. This is
the resurrection of the dead. Some
who hold a pre-trib rapture believe that only the church will be raptured.
Believing Jews in Old Testament times get raptured at the end of
the tribulation period when Jesus returns. In
verse 3 we see those “who are wise will shine…”.
Those who are wise are those who pay attention to these prophecies
and give themselves to the God who gave these visions to Daniel and win
others to salvation. This
should show us how important the prophetic aspect to the Bible is. Daniel
in verse 4 was told to “seal up the scroll” that contained the events
of the end of this age. The
scroll was to be sealed up until the end comes.
It is important to note, that in Revelation 5, Jesus rips open the
seals of a scroll, and it is at the end of this age.
It's my thinking at present, that the scroll Daniel was told to
close is the same scroll Jesus opens.
The
last part of verse 4 says that
many will go here and there and their knowledge increase.
As time goes on we as man travel here and there more than ever and
knowledge increases at a
faster rate than ever. They
now say knowledge doubles every two years here in the year 2011.
The mere fact that Yet
some scholars don’t believe this verse is talking about us travelling
and gaining in knowledge. Some people believe that the knowledge that is
spoken of here is the knowledge of prophecy, since prophecy is the context
in which these words are written. Many
ways of thinking concerning prophecy in past centuries have now been
disputed because of modern events and discoveries that weren’t available
to those in the past. The formation of In
verse 6 Daniel asks “how long will it be until these astonishing things
are fulfilled”? The
man in the vision replies by saying that these days will last for a time,
times, and half a time. We’ve
noted this time period before to be three and a half years.
Each time represents one year. It
is interesting to see what happens during these three an a half years and
why they take place. The man
in the vision says these things happen and will be complete when the power
of the holy people is broken. This
means that In
verses 8 through 10 Daniel is confused and doesn’t really understand.
He asks the man in the vision for more details but he tells Daniel
to close the vision and seal it up. Here
we see the word seal again. Daniel
is to preserve this vision, but also to close it up.
It’s like this man tells Daniel to just lay this aside for a
future date. Until then the
righteous will be righteous and the wicked will the wicked. These
words are very much the same as what John is told in Revelation 22:10 and
following. Here John is told
not to seal the vision up. He
was told to let those who are holy be holy and those who are wicked be
wicked. This is very similar
to what Daniel was told, although John is told to keep the vision open, as
to say, it’s time to start thinking about these things. We
now come to the closing verses of the book of Daniel and what they exactly
mean is hard to know. Scholars
have speculated for a long
time about these verses. There’s
two sets of times mentioned here. First is 1290 days, that is the time
that the sacrifices are abolished and the abomination of desolation takes
place, which most Futurists say is at the half way point of the 70th
week, the last 7 years. The
inference is that there are 1290 days from that middle point to the end of
the age. Well in the book of
Revelation we’re told that there are 1260 days from the middle of the
last seven years to the end of the tribulation.
So according to this math, there are 30 extra days after the
tribulation and return of Christ.
Then
beyond this Daniel is told of another period of time lasting 1335 days.
He’s told that blessed are those who wait out this period of time.
This is an extra 45 days beyond the above 1290 days, or an extra 75
days beyond the 1260 days
found in the book of Revelation. So
we have a total of 75 days that we’re not sure what happens which
appears to be after the Tribulation and return of Christ to the new earth.
There’s lots of speculation about these 75 days. Verse
13 closes Daniel’s book. He’s
told to go his ways. The
visions he’d received are over. He’d receive no more.
He would soon go to his rest, meaning he’d die, but at the end
he’d be risen to receive his inheritance.
The end being the time he just saw in the vision. We
learn a lot from the book of Daniel, and maybe some of what we learn are
questions that have not yet been answered.
Whatever we learn or don’t learn we know that God has a time
table. Certain things will
happen at the end, and the visions have been laid out for us to consider
and learn from. As time goes
by all of these visions will become progressively understood by us.
Jesus told His disciples in John 16 that they did not understand
what all He was speaking about, but when these things took place, they’d
remember and understand. Thus
the importance for us to know prophecy, even though we may not understand
it. If we don’t know the
prophecies, then we won’t understand them when they are fulfilled.
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