The Great Tribulation
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Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“But you, Daniel, shut up
the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.”
Daniel
12:4
Chapter 12:1-13 The
Great Tribulation
1.
"At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your
people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since
there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be
delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.
2.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3.
And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and
those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
4. But
you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.
Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."
5.
Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the
stream and one on that bank of the stream.
6.
And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the
stream, "How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?"
7.
And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream;
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.
8. I
heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, "O my lord, what shall be
the outcome of these things?"
9. He
said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the
time of the end.
10.
Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the
wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those
who are wise shall understand.
11.
And 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.
12. Blessed
is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.
13.
But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your
allotted place at the end of the days."
Is
there anyone, who wonders why I have used Daniel 12:4 as a text over the last
half of the book? Of course, the last half concerns prophecy and, personally, I
view it a little differently than the rest of the truth in the Bible. I often
remark that I believe in historical Christianity and the truth, which the true
church has held to over the centuries. One of my most frequent quotes is from
John Wesley: “New doctrine is false doctrine.” The reason that I emphasize it
is because in the past I heard much about God doing a new thing in the earth
today. As a result, the old things, in general, were laid aside and new things
were glorified. For example, old hymns were ignored and forgotten, while a
whole new field of music entered the church.
Much
more seriously, theology was almost scorned and doctrine was minimized. We
heard that we should lay aside doctrinal differences and concentrate on unity,
showing our “Christian” virtues by living together in harmony. I saw even the
harmful teaching of Roman Catholicism, which necessitated the Reformation,
ignored, and cultists were being treated as brothers. As time went on, it
became very clear that this movement was not of God and I began to protest and
counter with truth from His Word.
End-time
prophecy presented me with a problem. Throughout my youth, I learned the
pre-millennialist point-of-view and I could not and cannot accept the
amillennial and post-millennial positions on biblical prophecy. John’s
Revelation, chapter 19 and 20 are crystal-clear and I cannot understand how anyone,
at any time, can interpret them in any way, other than literally. Early, well-known
church fathers, even Polycarp, a direct disciple of John, left pre-millennial
statements. When some of these works were re-discovered, they brought on a
revival of pre-millennial thinking in the early 1600s. However, reformation
teaching is generally associated with post- or amillennialism.
Years
ago, I was given some books on the complete works of Jonathan Edwards and I
read through them. Included were many letters, written to acquaintances in
Europe, in which he debated the prophetical Scriptures. I cannot quote him
directly, because to find the statement, among his vast writings, would be like
trying to find a needle in a haystack. However, I remember very clearly, his
statement in one of these letters, which said the following, in essence: “I
think, that it will not be possible to accurately predict these Scriptures
until we come closer to the time of their fulfillment.
One
day, as I again tried to reconcile my position on “old truth” and relatively
“new views” on prophecy, someone suggested the answer could be found in Daniel
12:4, where it states that the prophecies were sealed until the time of the end.
Daniel’s end-time revelations were for a far-distant future and were not to be
a preoccupation for the people of his day. Today, as we approach the actual
fulfilling of these events, the general scope of these predictions (although
not all the particular details) seem quite clear.
I
believe that a blindness has come upon many. I fear that it could be something
equal to that of the Jews, when Christ literally came to earth and fulfilled
over 300 details of Old Testament prophecy. Jesus said to them, “Your enemies will… tear you down to the
ground, you and your children within you… because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Lk.19:43,44). “You know how to interpret the appearance
of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times” (Mt.16:3).
“At
that time…” Now we see clearly that the last verses of chapter eleven occur in
the end-times with the involvement of the Antichrist and not in the
inter-testament period of Antiochus Epiphanes. That time is almost upon us! Michael, the mighty angel and great
prince, “who has charge of your people”, is arising! The amazing prophecies of
Daniel are being unsealed and the Great Tribulation is almost here: “A time of trouble, such as never has
been since there was a nation till that time.” Jesus confirms it: “Then there will be great tribulation, such
as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will
be” (Mt.24:21). The Hebrew
chronometer, set for seven years, is about to start its countdown.
In
order to get the whole story on any truth, we must find all that the Scripture
reveals concerning it. It is never wise to come to a total conclusion from
solely considering one portion. Concerning the deliverance of Daniel’s people,
predicted in verse 1, we must also take into account Zechariah’s end-time
prediction. We looked at it in the last chapter: “In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and
perish, and one third shall be left alive” (Zech.13:8). The promise of
verse 1 is to the third, “everyone whose name shall be found written in the
book.”
We
also learned in the last chapter that prophecies, viewing events from a great
distance, will often combine them. Gabriel is still the speaker in chapter 12
and he combines the first and second resurrections. Jesus distinguishes a
little more, showing that there is a resurrection of life and one of judgment: “Those who have done good to the
resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of
judgment” (Jn.5:29), but six centuries after Daniel, John clearly shows the separation: “I
saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for
the word of God... They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand
years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years
were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one
who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power” (Rev.20:4,5,6).
Although
the book applies to Daniel’s people, the promise to the wise is made for all
those, who take part in the first resurrection and is general spiritual
principle. Jew and Gentile who turn many to righteousness will shine in glory. In
the end times, knowledge, in general, shall increase. People running to and fro
in a passionate search for knowledge will uncover much, as the last days
approach, but also, prophetical knowledge, in particular, will increase, as we
have been learning. God will open the eyes of the Jews to spiritual knowledge
in the Tribulation period and light will begin to shine upon them even before
the Tribulation.
Gabriel
ends his declaration with verse 4. Daniel is still situated at the same place,
at the banks of the Tigris, where we saw him at the beginning of chapter ten.
There is an angel on each bank, on his side and across from him. The Man in
linen (10:5-9) is above the waters and a question is directed to Him: “How long
shall it be till the end of these wonders?” He raises both hands and swears
with absolute authority: “For a time, times and half a time.” This is that
important 3 ½ year period in prophecy, the final half of the 70th
Week (9:27). It is the reign of Antichrist (7:25) and the outpouring of the
bowls of God’s wrath upon the earth. The woman of Revelation 12, who is Israel,
flees from the serpent to be nourished in the wilderness (Rev.12:14).
There
is a mighty Angel who appears to John at this same prophetic time and it is
hard for me to see Him, as anyone less than the Son of God. He has authority
over land and sea and swears that there will be no more delay… the final
unfolding of the purposes of God will then occur. I suggest that you carefully
study Revelation 10 and the characteristics of this Angel.
The Man
above the stream speaks of the Tribulation period of the Jews, “the shattering
of the power of the holy people”, declaring its end. Once again, we learn of
the purifying of the remnant of Israel… the survivors, who make up a third of
the population (ch.11:33-35; Zech.13:9). Perhaps the testimony, in the first
six chapters, of Daniel and his three companions is given to show the
overcoming, supernatural deliverance of the Jews in these times of trial. For
these, God has tremendous plans over the following one thousand years.
The
book is sealed until the time of the end approaches and Daniel himself cannot
fathom the words that he heard. The heavenly messenger tells of a separation.
There will come a time when the pure will become purer through a refining work,
while the wicked will turn increasingly wicked. John said, in the last chapter of
his book, which were among the final words of the New Testament and the entire
Revelation of God: “Let the evildoer
still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do
right, and the holy still be holy” (Rev.22:11).
I believe that time is also upon us. The grey areas are disappearing; there are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, while the world and the apostate
church enters a deadly spiral into the throes of perversion and unbelief. It is
a time also of the separation of the light of truth from the darkness of
deception. We are seeing the beginning of a total collision of world views.
There is no possible union between the two… “None of the wicked shall
understand, but those who are wise shall understand.” Paul spoke of the coming
of Christ, “You are not in darkness,
brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all
children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the
darkness.” (1 Th.5:4-5).
Only
Jesus was worthy to break the seven seals of a scroll held in God’s right hand
(Rev.5:1-7). The scroll would hold the first events of the end-times. I
suppose, that most people see the seals broken inside Daniel’s 70th
week, but I think that they will start to occur before… in fact, I believe the
first (the beginning of sorrows, Mt.24:8) have already begun to occur.
When
the Antichrist prohibits sacrifices in the temple and defiles the temple
through the Abomination of Desolation, there will follow 1,260 Hebrew days (3 ½
years) until the end of the Tribulation. It terminates with the Battle of
Armageddon. To this, thirty days are added and then, forty-five more. Some
things will happen between the Tribulation and the Millennium. For one thing,
there will be a tremendous clean-up after the Battle, in which carnivorous
birds will participate (Ap.19:21). The Judgment of the Nations will occur
(Mt.24:29-31 and Mt.25:31-46). Then Israel will begin a transition, until
finally it is ready to play its role in the Millennium. Therefore there is a
75-day period between the Tribulation and the Millennium.
Daniel’s
ministry ends and his soul is called into paradise, while his body sleeps in
the grave, awaiting the resurrection of the just. He will “shine like the
brightness of the sky above… and like the stars forever and ever.” What a
massive part he played in the plan of God and how he has enlightened us
concerning things that lie ahead! Thank you, Daniel, and all glory be to God
for His friendly light in sharing with His common disciples, things deserving
the attention of kings. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for making it possible that we
should receive freely all things (Ro.8:32). Thank you, Holy Spirit, for
illuminating our dull minds and softening our hard hearts, so that eternal
truth might enter (Jn.16:12).
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