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Scripture Reading: Dan. 12
The book of Daniel covers a wide span of the Bible, from Genesis 10 to the end of the New Testament, from Babel to the New Jerusalem. As we will see, the vision in Daniel 12 covers things in the last three and a half years of the present age, things in the kingdom age, and things in eternity.
We have emphasized the fact that the great human image in Daniel 2 is the basic principle and controlling factor of Daniel's prophecy. This human image destroys and devastates the temple four times. The first time was by the head, Nebuchadnezzar (1:1-2); the second was by Antiochus Epiphanes, a descendant of one of the four generals of Alexander the Great's Grecian Empire (8:9-14); the third was by Titus, a prince of the Roman Empire (70 A.D.); the fourth will be by Antichrist (12:7, 11), part of the ten toes of the restored Roman Empire. Eventually this great human image consummates in fighting directly with God. Antichrist, the ten kings, and their troops will fight against Christ directly (Rev. 19:19). However, Christ with His bride will gain the victory by defeating Antichrist and His armies (Rev. 19:20-21).
The contents of the vision in Daniel 11:2—12:13 concern the destiny of Israel from the last part of the kingdom of Persia to the last three and a half years of the present age, even including the kingdom age and eternity. As we come to Daniel 12, we need to realize that in this book there is a gap in the chronicle of history from the ending of the ruling of the four successors of Alexander the Great (from about the second half of the last century B.C., the time the Roman Empire rose up to take the place of the kingdom of Greece as the world power that will end the present age) to the last three and a half years (v. 7) of the present age. In this gap is the church age of mystery.
The vision concerning the destiny of Israel in chapter twelve is related to the archangel Michael's standing for Israel.
First, Daniel 12 speaks of things in the consummation of the age (Matt. 28:20b) — the last three and a half years of the present age (Dan. 12:7; 7:25b).
At that time Michael, the great prince who stands for the children of Israel, will arise (12:1a).
There will be a time of distress (great tribulation) such as never occurred since there came to be a nation until that time (12:1b; Matt. 24:21; Jer. 30:7a).
During this time of distress and tribulation, the shattering of the power of the holy people will be completed (Dan. 12:7b; 7:25b; Rev. 13:5, 7a; 11:2).
Daniel 12:1c tells us that the people of Israel, everyone found written in the book, will be delivered. Those found written in the book are those whose names are written in God's book of life. The few children of Israel who will be delivered out of the hand of Antichrist will see Christ descending in the air and will repent, receive Him, and be saved.
Many of those who are sleeping in the ground will awake to life eternal (vv. 2a, 13a; John 5:28-29a; 1 Thes. 4:16). The sleeping saints will rise up to be resurrected to the air to meet with Christ.
The vision in Daniel 12 also covers things in the kingdom age.
After the resurrection, the kingdom of God and of Christ will become the eternal kingdom, as signified by the great mountain (Dan. 2:35), thus ushering in the kingdom age. With the coming of the kingdom, there will be the cleansing and recovering of the defiled and trampled temple for thirty days (12:11). This will continue the last one thousand two hundred sixty days (Rev. 12:6) as the end of the previous age to make it one thousand two hundred ninety days. Just as the Maccabees cleansed the temple after it had been defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes, so the saved Jews will cleanse the temple at the beginning of the millennial kingdom.
Daniel 12:12 says, "Blessed is he who waits and reaches the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days." With the beginning of the kingdom age, there will also be the preparing and reestablishing of the priesthood for the offering of the daily sacrifice to God for forty-five days, which will continue the one thousand two hundred ninety days to be the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days. Such an offering of the daily sacrifice to God will be a blessing to the chosen people of God (v. 12a; Joel 2:14). Forty-five days will be needed to recover the destroyed system of the worship of God with the sacrifices. The restoration of the sacrifices will be a great blessing to the people of Israel.
Daniel 12 shows us certain matters concerning the lot of the overcoming saints in the kingdom.
Verse 2a indicates that the resurrected saints will enjoy the eternal life in the kingdom.
Those who have insight will shine like the shining of the heavenly expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars in the kingdom age (vv. 3, 13b). In Matthew 13:43 the Lord Jesus spoke a similar word regarding the shining of the overcomers in the kingdom: "Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
Verse 10a says, "Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined." These purified, cleansed, and refined ones will participate in the kingdom.
Verse 13 says, "But you, go your way until the end, and you will rest and rise again in your lot at the end of the days." This indicates that the resurrected Daniel will enjoy his lot in the kingdom.
Finally, the vision in chapter twelve concerning the destiny of Israel includes things in eternity.
Those who will be resurrected and enjoy the eternal life in the kingdom will continue the enjoyment of the eternal life in eternity forever and ever (v. 3)
Daniel also will continue to enjoy his lot of the eternal life in eternity (v. 13b).
Those who have perished will be resurrected after the kingdom age and suffer eternal reproach and contempt in eternity forever and ever (v. 2; John 5:29b; Rev. 20:15).
God has a plan, an economy. In this economy God decided in eternity to have a people created by Him and regenerated by Him to be His sons, then to be sanctified, renewed, transformed, and conformed to the image of His firstborn Son. This group of people will be the Body of Christ. When the millennial kingdom comes, the overcomers in this Body will be married to Christ; that is, they will go to Christ to be attached to Him and thus to be one with Him. They will be the co-kings with Christ in the heavenly section of the thousand-year kingdom. They will also be priests with Christ to serve God.
When Christ comes back to set up the kingdom, the small number of remaining Jews, the remnant of Israel, will also be saved and regenerated. However, because they will be the later believers, they will not participate in the heavenly section of the kingdom as kings and priests, but will rather be kept on the earth to be the priests of God in the earthly section of the thousand-year kingdom.
At the very end of this age, many of the evil ones from the nations will be gathered together by Antichrist. But Christ will come as the stone cut out without hands to smash all these evil ones. By this time the remaining Jews and the nations will be left on the earth. According to Matthew 25:31-46, Christ will gather the nations together to Him and will judge them, dividing them into two groups, the sheep (the good ones) and the goats (the evil ones). The goats will join Antichrist in the lake of fire (v. 41). The sheep will be restored (not regenerated) to the original God-created condition and will be counted by Christ as His people, His citizens of the millennial kingdom. Therefore, in the kingdom there will be three groups of people: 1) the overcoming believers in the heavenly section as kings and priests in the heavenlies; 2) the saved Jews who will be on the earth as the teaching priests to help the restored nations; and 3) the restored nations as the citizens under the ruling of the overcoming believers as the co-kings of Christ and also under the teaching and care of the saved Jews.
Although the kingdom of one thousand years will be wonderful, it will still be part of the old creation. The millennial kingdom will be the last age of the old creation. The old creation includes four ages: the age of the patriarchs, the age of the law, the age of grace, and the age of the kingdom. At the end of the thousand years of the age of the kingdom, there will be one more rebellion, requiring a further purification. Subsequently, the old heaven and the old earth will be burned in order to be renewed (2 Pet. 3:12-13). Then there will be a new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1). At that time the saved and regenerated Jews will join the believing saints. Also, those saints who were not overcomers before the thousand-year kingdom will have been disciplined and matured and will join the overcomers in the New Jerusalem.
The New Jerusalem includes the twelve names of the apostles and the twelve names of the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 21:12, 14). This indicates that all the believers who have been in fellowship with the twelve apostles and the Jews who belong to the twelve tribes will be the composition of the new city. This city will be God's tabernacle, God's dwelling place, the bride of Christ, and the mutual abode of all the saints, the believers and the Jews, for eternity. The nations who remain after the final sifting and purification (Rev. 20:7-9) will be transferred to the land in the new earth to be the citizens forever (Rev. 21:24-26). That will be the eternal kingdom of God, composed of created, regenerated, sanctified, transformed, and glorified people to be one with God for eternity, ruling over and teaching the restored nations, who will be the citizens in the new heaven and the new earth.
Now that we have come to the end of the Life-study of Daniel, I would like to give a concluding word.
The book of Daniel shows us a man whose heart is one with God and is set absolutely on the destiny of his people, Israel. Apparently, the destiny of Israel is in the hands of the human government, the power of the nations. Actually, the destiny of Israel is in the economy of the God who has chosen them and who rules over all the human government with the heavenly authority. The human government began with Babylon, represented by Nebuchadnezzar, and will end also with Babylon, represented by Antichrist, who was typified by Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria and Titus of the Roman Empire.
Christ is the centrality and universality of God's move in the divine economy. Christ was crucified to terminate the old creation and germinate through His resurrection the new creation. He is the excellent and precious One in the appreciation and expectation of God's chosen people. He will receive the eternal kingdom from God and appear to end and smash all the human government from its toes to its head and become the enlarged kingdom of God throughout the whole earth.
In His divine economy God will perfect Israel to be His priests, and He will prepare His created and restored (not regenerated) nations to be His people. In addition to this result of the manifested part of His economy, in the hidden part of His divine economy God will complete the building up of the church as the Body of Christ to be God's royal family to rule as kings in the new heaven and new earth. Eventually, in eternity in His eternal kingdom God will have His kings, His priests, and His people forever.
