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The Book of Daniel
Chapters 11 & 12
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Copyright © 1984-2001 by Dr. Richard W. Fry Published by Promise of Life Ministries. Printed in the United States Of America. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system or database, or translated into any human or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, photocopying, recording, manual, or otherwise, or disclosed to third parties without the express written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Making copies of any part of this publication for any purpose other than your own personal use is a violation of United States copyright laws.
An overview of the last
two chapters looks like this:
11:1, 2 Prophecy
of the Medes and Persians
11:3,4 Prophecy
of the Greeks and Alexander
11:5-35 Prophecy
of Syria and Egypt in conflict with one another and with the Jews.
11:36-45
Prophecy of Israel in conflict with "the Willful King."
12:1 Prophecy
concerning the great tribulation
12:2 Prophecy
concerning the resurrection of the dead
12:3 Prophecy
concerning final rewards
12:4-13 Final
prophecies and instructions
Chapter 11, down
to verse 35, relates to events of long ago that transpired mainly in the Grecian
period after the death of Alexander the Great, and culminating with Antiochus
Epiphanes' persecution of the Jews. From 11:36 to the end of chapter 12, the
prediction is of end-time events.
11:1
Even I:
This statement
is made by Gabriel, not by Daniel. It is a declaration of angelic strengthening
of Darius (cf. Luke 22:43).
11:2
The three kings
in Persia appear to have been:
Cambyses, Cyrus'
son (accession 529 BC).
Pseudo-Smerdis,
an impostor.
Darius I, or
Hystapes, also called the Great, (522-486 BC); a truly great monarch.
The fourth, far
greater that all of them was Xerxes, known in Esther as Ahasuerus, 486-464 BC.
11:5
King of the
South = Egypt
King of the
North = Syria (only much larger than Syria today)
11:31
The abomination
of desolation is "the image" that antichrist will put up in the
tabernacle during the tribulation (Daniel 12:11, Matthew 24:15).
11:36
Jerome states
that in his time, this portion of Daniel was applied to antichrist by "our
writers." And to the present day, that interpretation is prevalent. The
following are the chief reasons for holding that the prophecy shifts from
Antiochus to antichrist precisely at verse 36:
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The scope of
the prophecy (10:14) demands some eschatological reference, thus making this
view of the division a possibility.
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Although all
prophecy in Daniel down to 11:35 can easily be related to well-known events
of ancient history, correspondence cannot be continued beyond that.
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Daniel 11:36
mentions a king whose period is "the indignation," a technical
term drawn from Israel's prophetic literature, usually having reference to
eschatological events (e.g., Isaiah 26:20).
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Predictions
here correspond quite precisely with recognized prophecies of final
antichrist (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 ff.; Revelation 13:17).
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A natural
literary break occurs before Daniel 11:36, observed by both the ASV and RSV,
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The willful
king is a new element, separate from either of the two kingdoms whose
history is under consideration up to verse 35.
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Of decisive
force is the connection with the Great Tribulation, the resurrection of the
dead, and final rewards, etc. (12:1-3) furnished by the words, "And at
that time," (Heb. Ube'et hahi', 12:1). The time of these eschatological
events is the time of the events of the latter art of chapter 11.
This king is the
same as the "son of perdition," 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4), who is to
appear before Christ's second advent (2 Thessalonians 2:1,2; cf. Daniel
7:11,25).
His career will
be short, lasting only until the indignation of God is vented upon mankind in
the end time.
11:40
And at
the time of the end:
Cf. 1
Corinthians 15:24; Matthew 28:20; 13:39.
The end means
the end of the events prophesied in this book -- the arrival of Messiah's
kingdom to replace all these others. From here to the close of the prophecies of
Daniel, consummating events are in view (cf. Esp. 12:1, "and at that
time," etc.). Antichrist's end is set fort elsewhere (Revelation 19:11 ff.;
Isaiah 11:4; Psalm 2).
Observe that
throughout this section, this willful king is a different person from either
"the king of the North" or "the king of the South." who both
fight against him. Antichrist's success at war is prophesied here (cf. Daniel
7:8, 20; Revelation 17:13). The particular engines of war--whirlwind, chariots,
horsemen, ships--are to be interpreted in terms of the engines of that future
day. He will have modern weapons. Daniel saw war in terms of his own day, else
he would not have recognized it.
Verses 40-45 are
stages 1-4 of the War of Armageddon.
Stage 1: King
from the South pushes at Israel.
Stage 2: Full
scale assault by Russia on Israel.
Stage 3: Russia
withdraws to establish command post in Jerusalem.
Stage 4:
Russia's end. This is described for us in Ezekiel 38:18-39:5.
12:1
At that
time (cf. On Daniel 11:36)
At the same time
as the events of 11:36-45.
Michael...See
Revelation 12:7; cf. Joshua 5:13-15; 2 Kings 6:15-17; Isaiah 37:35, 36; Matthew
26:53.
This is Israel's
time of trouble. Every reference to it uses superlative language (cf. also
Matthew 24:21).
Though
especially Israel's tribulation, it is a time of divine indignation over all the
earth as well; so others will suffer (Isaiah 25;20; Daniel 11; 36; Revelation
16:10).
12:2
Like the rest of
the prophecy, this verse relates to Israelites. Since scripture knows nothing of
special resurrection for Israelites, the "first resurrection"
predicted in Revelation 20:6 will include this company.
12:4
Seal the
book
Knowledge
12:5
Daniel wondered
when all these events would come to pass (cf. Acts 1:7, 8).
Other two. Two
angelic creatures, one of whom hay have been Gabriel of the previous visions.
12:6
Upon the
waters:
Better, above
the waters (ASV). Here the gulf that separates creatures (angels) from Creator
appears in the vision. The man clothed in linen appears to be the pre incarnate
Son of God himself (cf. Revelation 1:13-20). Note that ultimate questions are
referred to him.
12:7
The consummation
is to take place when the three and one-half times (3½ years; 1, 260 days, 42,
months) so frequently mentioned in Daniel's previous prophecies and in the
Revelation are run out. This verse is an important bade in support of the main
portions of the Revelation. That last one-half week of years is an important
consideration in prophecy, because in it take place the chief events of
consummation. The majestic oath-taking scene reappears in Revelation 10:5-7.
Note that the center of the prophetic interest herein is still God's (and
Daniel's) precious holy people.
12:8
Daniel was still
no expert on prophetic interpretation. There will be no expert until prophecy
becomes history (cf. John 2:22).
12:11
This takes the
prophecy from the middle of the seventieth week of Daniel 9 through the first
thirty days of the Millennium to follow, perhaps to the end of some
"mopping up" period.
12:12
This carries the
prophecy seventy-five days beyond the end of the "week." Does it reach
to the full establishment of Messiah's reign after seventy-five days of initial
preliminary work? The Millennium, if a true administration of heaven's rule on
earth in a visible manner, will require time for administrative processes to
begin to work.
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