Over the last several articles, I have been teaching through the book of Daniel chapter by chapter. Now we will be deep diving into the last chapter of Daniel — chapter 12.
As a reminder, chapters 10, 11, and 12 are all one unit. The angel who began speaking in 10:19 is still speaking, so again these are the angel’s words, not Daniel’s.
Daniel Chapter Twelve
This last chapter looks forward to the coming of the Messiah, but it also deals with multiple topics. Verse one deals with the Tribulation. Verses two and three deal with the timing of the resurrection. Verse four is the sealing of the book. Verses five to seven explain the purpose of this period. Verse eight is a request made by Daniel, and verses nine to thirteen are the response to Daniel’s request.
The first verse of this final chapter explains there “will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time.” This refers to the Tribulation and what the world will experience. When you stop to realize the timing of this message, Daniel was written over five hundred years before Jesus came to earth. In verse one, the term “your people” is used twice, meaning the Jewish people and Daniel’s people. The archangel Michael will defend Israel and the Jewish people.
War in the Heaven and on Earth
We know in the Tribulation war will break out on earth, but war will also break out in the atmosphere (Revelation 12:7). Satan and his demons, who currently dwell in the atmosphere (Ephesians 2:2; 6:12), will battle with Michael. The conflict between the archangel Michael and Satan and his demons will result in Satan being cast out of having access to Heaven and being confined to the Earth. Satan will no longer be able to stand before the throne room of God to accuse humans (especially believers). For this, there will be rejoicing in Heaven (vs. 10-12).
In the Tribulation, the Antichrist will try to kill and destroy all believers and, especially, all the Jews; however, there will be a remnant of Jews who will survive the Tribulation period (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25-27). Their names will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 13:8; 21:27). In verse two, the angel deals with the resurrection of two groups of humanity: the believers and the unbelievers. “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” The wording of “sleeping in the dust” goes back to the curse in Genesis 3:19. The term “awake” describes the resurrection (Psalm 3:5; Isaiah 26:19; Jeremiah 51:39,57). People WILL experience one of two resurrections: everlasting life and everlasting disgrace or shame and contempt.
Resurrections
After the 7-year Tribulation is when the Old Testament Saints will be raised from the dead — at the return of Christ. They are not raised at the same time the Church is raptured because that rapture happened before the Tribulation. Also, those who died during the Tribulation will be raised at the same time the Old Testament Saints are resurrected. Again, those from the Church Age will be raptured and resurrected before the Tribulation, while the Old Testament Saints and Tribulation Saints will be resurrected at the end of the Tribulation upon Christ’s return.
Revelation 20:4-5 speaks directly about those who die during the Tribulation: “I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. 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.”
Resurrection is not a New Testament belief; it is mentioned throughout the Old Testament. Genesis 22:5 and Hebrew 11:19 speak to Abraham when he was willing to sacrifice Isaac and trusting somehow God would bring his son back to life. Job 19:25-26, Isaiah 26:19, Hosea 13:14, and Psalm 16:9-10 also speak to a resurrection. This means the angel is not revealing a new concept to Daniel. What is new is the order in which the righteous will be raised. Paul also explains this in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul says there is an “order” in which the resurrection of the dead will happen. “Order” is a military term explaining how troops march in sequence. There is a process; one division of soldiers follows another. The righteous will not all be resurrected simultaneously; there is an order. Obviously, Jesus is the first fruit. Then the Church Age saints at the Rapture prior to the Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Then, the Two Witnesses are resurrected in the middle of the Tribulation (Revelation 11:11-12). After the Tribulation, the Old Testament Saints (Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2) and the Tribulation Saints, meaning those who had died during the Tribulation, are at last resurrected (Revelation 20:4). These stages are all part of what the Bible calls the First Resurrection.
The Second Resurrection is solely for unbelievers (Isaiah 24:21-22; Daniel 12:2; Revelation 20:5; 12-14). They will be resurrected to face the Great White Throne judgment. These two resurrections are separated by a thousand years.
Verse three continues to speak of the two groups: believers and unbelievers. Those who are wise are saved and those who are foolish are condemned (Psalm 14:1; 1 Corinthians 1:18,21). Those who are saved will shine brightly, symbolizing the Shechinah glory, meaning resurrected saints will reflect God’s glory just as the face of Moses did when he came down from Mt. Sinai (Exodus 34:29-35). What a glorious picture this paints!
The Sealing of the Book
Daniel 12:4 is the sealing of the book. The vision that began in chapter 10 officially ends in verse four. To seal up means to close and to keep safe. All that had been said from chapters 10 to 12 would now be closed for a period because, for those living in Daniel’s day, there were too many gaps for one to have a proper understanding. When the apostle John writes the book of Revelation, that book will fill in the missing gaps. Daniel was told to seal up his vision, whereas John was told not to.
Sealing this book means its content will be preserved. There will come a time when many will have a quest for knowledge, meaning people will seek specific knowledge that pertains to the end times. When that time comes, which I believe is now, those seeking end-time knowledge will have the vision from the book of Daniel preserved for them.
When the angel gave Daniel the order to seal up the book, chapters 1-9 would have already been written. This means chapters 10-12 complete the book, and Daniel would not receive any further visions.
In the second and last part of this deep dive into Daniel 12, we will be introduced to two angelic witnesses and Daniel will at last get his rest.
“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” This doesn’t imply a resurrection, only a judgement at the end of our age. They will have everlasting life in Heaven. The others will have everlasting life in Hell. Rev 20:4 – The thrones are in Heaven where they reign with Christ in Heaven for a thousand years, not on earth.
There is no resurrection until after the great white throne judgement. Rev 20:65 – The first resurrection is only after the thousand years are finished.
The Bible lists 3 stages to the resurrection of the redeemed. Jesus was the first (1 Cor. 15:20), next the Church just before the Tribulation (1 Cor. 15:23), and thirdly at the end of the Tribulation the saints who died during the Tribulation and Old Testament saints (Rev. 20:4; Dan. 12:1-2). The resurrection of the unjust all throughout history will occur at the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the 1000-year Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 20:11-15). For more on the various resurrections, check out http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_eternity4.php.