Daniel 12:4–13

12:4 Having finished telling Daniel the word of revelation, the heavenly figure gave him a directive: “shut up the words” and “seal the book” (the two statements are synonymous). The reference is probably not merely to the vision and revelation just received in chapters 10–12 but to the whole “book” of stories and disclosures and mysteries (chs. 1–12). Since the time of fulfillment (the appointed “end”) of these visions was beyond Daniel’s lifetime, the message should be preserved (“sealed”) for future readers. The people of God would need the hope of God’s Word in their seasons of suffering, and Daniel’s visions exalted the sovereign plan and power of God over earthly kingdoms and blasphemous opposition. The readers would need to know of God’s certain triumph, which would compel their endurance and goad them in paths of righteousness.

Though the details of fulfillment were unclear to Daniel at this time, the unfolding of historical events would provide greater understanding for readers of these detailed prophecies and visions (esp. of ch. 11). This promise of increased understanding was probably what the heavenly figure meant by “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (12:4). Though some modern readers might speculate that this promise is foretelling a drastic increase in mobility and in scientific and technological knowledge in the last days, a better meaning is established when we recognize that “running to and fro” in Amos 8:12 was the action of people seeking a word (or revelation) from Yahweh but being unable to find it. Daniel heard the comforting promise that, according to Daniel 12:4, people in the future would seek a word from Yahweh and subsequently grow in understanding because the book had been preserved (“sealed”) for them.

12:5–6 Daniel next reported what he saw and heard. He looked, “and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream.” The mention of the “bank of the stream” recalls the beginning of the final vision, in which Daniel was “standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris)” (10:4). We have suggested that from 10:5 to 11:1 a single heavenly being appeared to Daniel, spoke to him, restored him physically from debilitating fear, and made known to him the final word of revelation (11:2–12:3). Now “two others” appear, one on each side of the stream, and they are probably angels, although their names are not mentioned. In chapter 8 two angels had been present after a revelation was given (8:13–14), and now again two beings are present (12:5) after a word of revelation.

Then “someone” spoke, probably one of the angels beside the river. The being spoke “to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream” (12:6). The description matched what Daniel had seen in 10:5 (“behold, a man clothed in linen”), so that heavenly figure was still in view in 12:6. The figure’s location “above the waters” implies an exalted divine being. In Genesis 1:2 and Psalm 29:3, e.g., God’s Spirit and voice were above the waters, but more important for the scene of Daniel 12:6 is the previous report in 8:16: “I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, ‘Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.’” In that scene, the voice was between the banks and thus over the water, directing the angel Gabriel. The “voice between the banks” in 8:16 belonged to a divine figure, so this parallel with 12:7—someone who is about to speak between the banks of a river and thus above the waters—confirms that Daniel encountered a divine figure in 10:5 (the angel of Yahweh), an encounter continuing even in 12:6.

An angel asked the divine being, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” (12:6). This question further echoed elements in chapter 8, for in 8:13 an angel had asked “how long” the desolation described in the vision of 8:2–12 would last, and the Hebrew word for “wonders” also appeared in both 8:24 and 11:36.¹ The angel was probably asking about the time frame of the revelation in 11:21–12:3, a season that had much tumult and tragedy in store for God’s people.

12:7 The “man clothed in linen, who was above the waters,” heard the question and was ready to answer. Taking a solemn oath, “He raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.” Note the raising of both hands, which was unique when compared with other solemn oaths (cf. Deut. 32:40). Since the Lord swears oaths elsewhere in the OT (cf. Gen. 22:14; Ex. 6:8; Ezek. 20:5), the use of an oath in Daniel 12:7 does not disprove the deity of the speaker. Rather, it affirms that he is trustworthy.

The period of “a time, times, and half a time” recalls 7:25, where it is said that the saints would suffer for a season under the Roman Empire. And, as in 7:25, the phrase is probably approximate rather than strictly literal. “A time, times, and half a time” probably corresponds to roughly three and a half years, which fits well with the period of upheaval and opposition from 167 to 164 BC under the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.² During those years, the “holy people” of Israel (cf. Deut. 7:6) experienced a “shattering” of their “power” by that tyrannical king. But God promised an “end” to that season of tribulation. The referent of “all these things” (Dan. 12:7) was probably the historical persecution prophesied specifically in 11:21–45 (as Antiochus opposed and massacred Jews, desecrated the temple, and forbade obedience to the law of Moses), because the “wonders” in 12:6 echoed the language of 11:36, which was part of the recapitulation of 11:21–35.

12:8 Daniel did not understand what he heard, a response identical to his response to the vision of chapter 8 (vv. 15–16, 27), which prophesied the same events as 11:21–45, involving Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Daniel asked, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” (12:8). He wanted to know God’s purposes for this period of trial for his people.

12:9–10 The divine figure clothed in linen replied, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.” Daniel was not to worry about what he did not know, for the vision had been and would be preserved for future readers. For now, Daniel was to move on with his life. No more revelation would be given to him.

Perhaps as a partial answer to Daniel’s question, the heavenly figure said, “Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly.” One outcome of the persecution, then, would be purification. The heavenly figure contrasted the “many,” who were devoted to God, with the “wicked,” who were not. The language of being purified and made white and refined probably recalled 11:35, where those three terms also occurred.

The figure continued the contrast: “None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand” (12:10). The wicked do not walk wisely or in obedience to God’s law. The wise, on the other hand, walk in the fear of Yahweh. They have understanding because of their knowledge of and obedience to God’s Word. They trust his providence and believe his promises. The language of the “wise” who “understand” also recalls 11:33, where “the wise among the people shall make many understand,” and 11:35, where the “wise” were purified and refined by the trial of persecution. Seeing 12:10 in light of the statements in 11:33–35, we note the verse is arranged chiastically: the figure spoke about the wise and then the wicked (12:10a) and then, reversing direction, spoke about the wicked and then the wise (12:10b).

12:11 The angel of Yahweh, still above the waters, made another statement concerning the time of persecution to be endured under Antiochus IV Epiphanes: “From the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days.” Scholars are not sure what to make of this number, which seems to relate to the events of 11:31–35 (cf. also 8:9–12), but the most compelling answer seems to be one that evokes the length of the Egyptian captivity. The Israelites were captive in Egypt for 430 years (Ex. 12:40–41), and 430 multiplied by 3 is 1,290. The glaring difference is that in Exodus the reference to 430 was to years, while in Daniel it is to days. Nevertheless, the use of 430 could denote a period of captivity. Under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the people of Israel would once again be a people oppressed by a foreign power. But, as in the days of Pharaoh, God would triumph, and his people would be delivered (cf. Dan. 12:1–3). A figurative allusion to Egypt would not be unprecedented, for a literal mention of Egypt was made in 11:8 and 11:42–43. The depiction of Antiochus’s reign of terror as captivity may mean we should view him as more vile and oppressive than the pharaoh of Exodus, for his captivity figuratively lasted three times as long.

12:12 The heavenly speaker pronounced a beatitude, the only one in the book of Daniel addressed to someone other than God: “Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days” (cf. 2:20; 3:28; 4:34). The significance of this number is unclear. The number 1,335 is 45 more than 1,290 (cf. 12:11). It is unclear why the reader would need to wait 45 more days, but the figure may allude to the number of years mentioned by Caleb to Joshua:

I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. . . . And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. (Josh. 14:7, 10)

The period of forty-five years was significant for Caleb because it spanned the time he was in the wilderness to the time he received his inheritance after the conquest (cf. Josh. 14:13–15).

In light of Israel’s captivity in Egypt and eventual conquest of the Promised Land, the numbers 1,290 and 1,335 play on that history and hold out hope that the future persecution of the Jews under Antiochus would be only a temporary oppression, followed by conquest and restoration. The people of God, therefore, needed to persevere in full confidence of God’s faithfulness and power. Those who persevered would be “blessed” (Dan. 12:12). In Joshua 14, shortly after Caleb’s reference to forty-five years in Joshua 14:10, “Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance” (v. 13).

12:13 With the divinely revealed assurance that Israel would regain its inheritance after a temporary oppression, Daniel heard one final command and promise: “Go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.” Daniel was to live out the rest of his days in faithfulness, “the end” referring to his death. There is no report in the book that Daniel ever returned to Jerusalem, so it is reasonable to assume that he, in his eighties by this point, died in Babylon.

But Daniel’s death outside the Promised Land would not exclude him from inheriting what God had in store for his people. Daniel was told he would “rest” (die) but afterward “shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.” If Daniel rested in death, standing was a promise of resurrection. The good news of resurrection hope (cf. v. 2) applied to him. He would share in resurrection life, shining as the stars forever (v. 3). The language of an “allotted place” was used in Joshua 14–21 as the tribes received portions of the Promised Land (cf. Josh. 15:1; 16:1; 17:1), and thus Daniel was included among those who would inherit all that God promised his people. Allusion to the “allotment” theme in Joshua strengthens the claim that the previous verse (Dan. 12:12) had as background that section of Joshua as well (cf. Josh. 14:10–13).

The ending of the book of Daniel is especially appropriate in light of its beginning. In the first chapter, Nebuchadnezzar deported Daniel and his friends (in 605 BC) from their home in Judah to the foreign land of Babylon. In the final chapter, even though Daniel still dwelled in the land of Judean exiles, he was promised resurrection and inheritance. He would rest in death but would rise with the saints to everlasting life at the end of days. This book, which reported harrowing tales of threat and deliverance, extolled the God of all nations, who holds in his hand every breath of every creature everywhere. Exiled as a teenager and now an old man purified by trial, Daniel knew firsthand the might and majesty of the world’s true Lord. His many visions proved that God’s wise timetable was the track of the trains of worldly kingdoms. Rulers rise and fall, nations come and go, but the course of history will unfold to its appointed goal: the display of God’s glory in salvation through judgment.³