Daniel Chapter 12 (Part 2) The last three and a half years… plus 75 days.
Basic and General Study of the Book of Daniel
DAN.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.
DAN.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?
DAN.12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. (Dan.7:25; 8:24)
Just as the angel was finishing his message, Daniel looks and sees two other heavenly beings, one on each bank of the Tigris River. —And another angelic messenger is floating above the water in the middle. Poor Daniel must have been flabbergasted by all that he had been told, and it seems that he needed some reassurance as to when the true lasting peace would finally come. Perhaps in an effort to help Daniel understand, one of the heavenly beings asks the angelic messenger a question, one that will be important to those who will live through those future times.
“How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?”
And much like a witness in a courtroom who swears to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, the messenger raises his hands and swears by God that it is going to last three and a half “times,” or 3½ years or 1,260 days, and then when the power of the holy people is shattered, it shall be finished.
Well, that doesn’t sound too promising to those of us who regard ourselves as part of the holy people because of our belief in God. But take heart, because it is not talking about the individuals themselves being completely shattered, but
“the power of the holy people”
– that is, the political and financial power wielded by influential Christian denominations and other religions. We know that the Antichrist is going to persecute Christians, and it is going to be a very great and dreadful persecution. However, he also will be having trouble, as we read in the last chapters, and will read in the Book of Revelation about the seven Trumpets of Tribulation.
The Lord is going to allow the Antichrist to overcome the church, not spiritually, but in its temporal power. As far as its material power, its organisational power, its building power, its monetary power, its prestige with the government and all of this, the church is going to be a dead duck.
But when the Antichrist has accomplished to do this, when it looks like we've lost and he's won--at the end of 3½ years--then God steps in to give us the greatest victory the world has ever seen, first in the Rapture and then in the battle of Armageddon.
DAN.12:8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
DAN.12:9 and he said, go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
DAN.12:10 many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
This information apparently whetted Daniel’s curiosity for a little more, because he still didn’t understand. So, he repeats the question. The angel then tells him that basically it wasn’t for him to understand, that the picture painted by all this information wouldn’t really come into focus till the time of the End, and that the wicked wouldn’t understand even then, but only the wise would.
**DAN.11:32, 33 and such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
DAN.12:11 and from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
"And the Abomination that maketh desolate set up." Again, as in Daniel 11:31, we hear about the entrance of the abomination into the Jewish holy place. These words echo the words of Jesus a few centuries later:
“When ye shall therefore see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place.” (Mat. 24:15)
This event, mentioned a few times in Scripture, marks the starting point for the Great Tribulation. Apparently, it's going to be a sensational phenomenal celebration worldwide when the holy place is invaded, and the world is forced to worship the Antichrist and his image! That starting point is going to be on a given day, an exact day in the middle of that seven years! --From which it will be exactly 1,260 days until the Rapture!
DAN.12:12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
And now—when we thought we had all the timing down, that the Tribulation would be 3-1/2 years, 42 months, or 1,260 days—the angel throws in more numbers for us to juggle. He tells us that from the time the daily sacrifice in the temple is stopped and the Abomination of Desolation is standing there, it is going to be 1,290 days, and he who waits and comes to 1,335 days is going to be blessed.
Before we let this upset the applecart, we need to remember that we already have been told repeatedly throughout the books of Daniel and Revelation that during the Tribulation, the Antichrist will be fully possessed by Satan, and that he will wage repeated wars, and more importantly to God, he will persecute those who believe in Him. And the time span is three and a half years. It is said so often that it almost begins to sound like a broken record. Jesus really wants us to understand this point. Here are those Scriptures:
He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. (Daniel 7:25)
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate. (Daniel 9:27)
The court which is outside the temple … has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. (Revelation 11:2)
And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3)
Then the woman [who represents the body of believers] fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (Revelation 12:6)
But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. (Revelation 12:14)
And [the Antichrist] was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. (Revelation 13:5)
Even here (in verses 6-7), the angelic messenger makes it clear that by the time that three and a half years has finished, all the previous things he has been talking about will have happened, ending with the deliverance of Daniel’s people. The believers, both alive and dead, at the end of this 1,260-day period will get caught up in the Rapture to be with Jesus.
It seems there must have been a different nuance to Daniel’s question in verse 8,
“What shall be the end (fulfillment?) of these things?”
when compared with the previous question in verse 6,
“How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?”
because it elicited a different answer. Instead of “time, times, and a half”, the answer given now is 1,290 days, and that he who waits till 1,335 days will be blessed. In other words, the “fulfillment” and the “end” are somehow different and there is an extra 30-day period followed by a further 45-day period.
We will present here a possible interpretation:
We know from the book of Revelation that the Rapture happens before the seven bowls are poured out. These bowls contain the final plagues of God’s Indignation reserved for the unbelieving world and evil-doers. (Revelation 16:1–21) We need to look at something else that is happening at the same time as this era of Indignation.
While all hell is breaking loose on earth, there is an event going on in Heaven called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, where, in addition to all the celebrations, as we learn in Revelation 11:18, Christ’s “servants the prophets” and “the saints and them that fear His name, small and great,” are rewarded according to their service for the Lord. It’s a celebration of the marriage that has existed for millennia between Jesus and His people, the followers of Christ from all ages.
The Bible uses the imagery of a Christian’s relationship with Jesus Christ being like a wife and husband. Paul the Apostle stated in his letter to the Romans that we should be “married” to Jesus. (Romans 7:4) The book of Revelation also pictures believers collectively as Jesus’ wife.
“For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:7–9)
And at the end of the Marriage Supper, John the Revelator “saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. … And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. … And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.” (Revelation 19:11, 14, 19)
Three answers are given to these two questions. The first question is, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" --First of all, 1260 days or 3-1/2 years, which we know from other places as well, that's the end of our stay here when we (the “saints”) are raptured.
Then he says, "What shall be the end of these things?"--Not only our end here on Earth when we’re raptured, resurrected, but to the end of the Antichrist's reign in the Wrath of God which could last another 30 days. “…there shall be 1,290 days.”
Then the angel adds the next answer: “Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to 1,335 days …" 45 more days. In other words, that’s the end of the End. It sounds like that's how long the End is going to last. And what is it that's ending Man's rule on Earth? The Battle of Armageddon. Even though God is a god of miracles and can do anything, and nothing is impossible with Him, the Battle of Armageddon could take a while, like 45 days.
Could it be that the extra 75 days cover those 3 events: the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, the Wrath of God and the Battle of Armageddon? It is, however, important to state that what happens during the 30 and 45-day periods is not specified in the Scriptures, and the hypothesis written here is just that, a hypothesis. It is conjecture, but it is an educated guess based on Scripture and the events that we know will come to pass.
There will be three general divisions of people in the last days. First, there are the saved believers who, at the time of the Rapture, are taken to Heaven.
Second, there are the worshippers of the Antichrist who will be defeated and destroyed at the battle of Armageddon.
And third, there are the people who fall in between these two categories. They were neither believers in Jesus nor Antichrist-worshippers. They live through this horrific era of the final Plagues and then the Battle of Armageddon and undoubtedly, do not have a pleasant time of it. Even though they are not the primary targets, they will, nevertheless, be caught in the fallout. What if you were one of those people? Wouldn’t you feel blessed once all this was over?
Verse 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
The restoration of the war-damaged Earth will then begin. Jesus will rule on Earth for 1,000 years, assisted by those who had been His followers in their earthly lives. This time is commonly called the Millennium and it will be a veritable golden age compared to the world that preceded it. Peace and harmony will be restored to the world and the enmity between animals, and between animals and man, will be gone. The survivors, those who are the blessed, will live on in a simpler and righteous world, where loving God and others will be the governing rule:
**The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him (Daniel 2:44; 7:27). They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isaiah 2:4)
**The whole earth is at rest and quiet. [The Lord] will even make … rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor [Him]. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 14:7; 43:19–20; 11:6–9)
DAN.12:13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
And as for Daniel, he was then told that he should just do what he has been doing till his end, for he will die and “rest.” He certainly deserved to rest after such a life as his.
And as we, who are now in the Latter Days, understand more and more the meaning of the prophetic messages within his book, we will be forever grateful that he recorded them so we can have the benefit of knowing these things.
In Conclusion:
There is a lot in Daniel’s short book. It is the Old Testament’s single most prophetic look into the future. It contains amazingly accurate predictions of events that were to follow its writing, events now fulfilled to the letter, which we now can only sit back and marvel at. They are so accurately fulfilled that skeptics, in order to debunk them, claim that the predictions post-dated the events. They can’t deny the accuracy, so they snipe at the delivery.
Yet it is not the fulfilled prophecy that is the greatest thing in this book. It is the prophetic predictions of the soon-to-be-upon-us future, the End time; these are its greatest gift to us. For by them we are forewarned and forearmed and at least somewhat prepared to face those coming days with faith instead of fear.
Being aware of what is occurring and knowing what the outcome is going to be and how long it will take can give us faith to endure. They will be momentous days, and the Antichrist will be a dreadful and demonic tyrant who will do his damnedest to destroy all believers and lovers of the one true God. —not to mention the war and havoc he will wreak on the world.
Yet his doom is sure. He and his puppet master, Satan, are destined for calamity and defeat. We can rest assured that even if at times it looks like they are the sure winners, they are nothing but the ultimate and foreordained losers. And even when it looks like we are losing, we are the sure winners because it has been written in God’s book that we are. For we are on the side of the One who cannot lose, the God of love who is also the unbeatable God of gods and Lord of lords.
The events of the future covered in this book might sound frightening to some, and understandably so. They will be dark days for the world, but we who believe in and love Jesus, and do our best to serve Him, have His special protection. The book of Revelation states that the servants of God are sealed and that at least some of the calamities and plagues of the Tribulation only affect those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. (Revelation 7:3; 9:4)
Furthermore, we must remember that Jesus has a vested interest in preserving us. He wants us to reach others with His love and truth, and so if we are doing what we can in that respect, then we can be assured that He is doing His part to protect us. Daniel wrote that those “that know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.” (Daniel 11:32)
You may not feel capable of that right now, but He gives power for the hour, usually when you need it and not before. Christians have endured many hard times before. But the end result has always been a victorious one for Christ’s people. It is in time of trial that Jesus has the greatest opportunity to show His power. It is not our strength that will save us but God’s. He doesn’t expect us to be fearless, but He will make us brave and bold and triumphant as we call out to Him to come to our aid. His Word says:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: the Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6)
We pray that this book of classes leaves you with your faith strengthened. We have nothing to fear. Even if there are some dark days ahead, those days are numbered. And after that, those who believe in Jesus and His atonement have only the brightest of futures—everlasting and filled with joy and happiness—to look forward to.
Designed, compiled and edited by Gaetan from multiple sources.