Then I said, My lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end (12:8, 9). THE WORLD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation (Romans 10:8-10). Knowledge has given us the atomic bomb and a vast arsenal of lethal weapons, but it has not given us world peace. Each crisis demands a solution greater than available human resources. God opened the Red Sea, making a path for Israels escape and the means for the destruction of the Egyptian army (Exodus 3-15). postmodernism? (Job 14:14) You could hardly think of a more important question than this. Verse 1 provides the timing of the vision and the revelation Daniel receivedthe third year of Cyrus. Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Th.M. For example, Gods sovereignty and the arrogance of the enemy coupled with the passivism of the saints argue in favor of the unity of the book.8. The righteous will be vindicated, evil will be destroyed, and the covenant blessings will prevail because Jesus will reign. See also Matthew 24:15, 21-22. 14:22; Ex. He delivers us from sin, from suffering, and from death, but He did so by means of His own suffering and death. 12 Then he said to me, Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words (Daniel 10:10-12). 9 Ellen G. White, The Story of Prophets and Kings (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1917), 499, 500. Daniel was well aware of this marvelous support. 10 But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. His death would be the entrance into his rest. His hope was that he would rise from the grave to receive the blessings which God had promised. . First, they serve to introduce the prophet, Daniel, and authenticate his prophetic integrity. Knowledge is the assimilation of facts and information, but without the ability to see beyond that which is material, physical, and temporal to that which is spiritual and eternal. 2 And 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. He did not need to change as death drew near, for he had lived all of his life in the light of eternity and of his glorious hope in the God of Israel. But Isaiah finished this section of his writings with a hopeful chapter concerning the blessings that come to people who are faithful to the Lord. From the first time we are introduced to him as a young lad in chapter 1 to the time of his approaching death in chapter 12, Daniel was a man who was faithful to his God. (8) In verses 8-13, what is Daniels question, why is it asked, and how is it answered? The certain hope of the resurrection of the dead is the basis for godly living, even in times when godliness brings persecution. In Daniels vision of chapter 7, the same four Gentile kingdoms seem to be in view as described in chapter 2. Daniel was taken captive in his youth by Nebuchadnezzar's armies. In the second half of this same verse, we are told that the time of Israels great tribulation begins. The outcome of this suffering (as with all suffering and adversity) is two-fold. The first words spoken to Daniel in verse 13 should set the standard for every Christian. Before we can be saved, we must be broken. Tap a Lookup below to generate a list oflessons. Early in the Book of Daniel the subject of the promised kingdom of God is introduced. I do not think this meant he understood everything concerning the future, but he did have a general grasp of the prophetic program of God and of its meaning and message for him (unlike previous revelations he received). The resurrection faith of the Old Testament saint can be seen in Genesis 22:1-20 (especially verse 5); Job 19:25-26; Psalm 16:9-10; Isaiah 26:19; Hosea 13:14. 3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all, until the entire three weeks were completed (Daniel 10:2-3). The Psalmist said, "Teach us to number our days that we may bring to you a heart of wisdom" (Psalms 90:12). Daniels book sought to bring comfort and encouragement to those in such distress. His final conflict with the king of the South is recorded in verses 40-42 along with other victories. A Message of Hope. Paul spoke to the Ephesians of this spirit of wisdom and knowledge that has been revealed and is available to all who wish to have it (Ephesians 1:17-19, Ephesians 5:15-17). Each story involves a series of events that eventually precipitate a crisis involving the remnantGods faithful ones. The Gospel in Daniel | Crossway Articles If chapter 11 describes the approach of the last days from a human standpoint, chapter 12 describes the end in terms which are divine. When Michael arises and the tribulation begins, it is like the doctor who breaks the water of a woman as she nears the time to give birth to her child. 13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. Insight is that God-given understanding of what is happening, and how this is being used of God to achieve His overall plan and purpose. 34 Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy. Daniel 12 brings us to the crowning revelation of the Book of Daniel, the doctrine on which the Christian hope rests: the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. We know the vision he received was in response to his request to understand that which the angel was sent to explain: 10 Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. It is answered, as I understand it, by our glorified Lord who is described in Daniel 10:5-6. | The Hub Daniel was in a situation very similar to that in which Joseph had been long ago: because of his God-given powers to interpret dreams for kings, he was promoted to high places; yet on other occasions, because of his insistence on being faithful to God, he faced imprisonment anddeath. With no sigh of relief expressed after the second section, readers must await Gods final action. Also known as the Night of Broken Glass, the massacre of November 9-10, 1938, alerted the world to the barbarism of the Nazis. If the saints of the end times were faithful to proclaim their faith and to lead many to righteousness, why should the revelation of the Book of Daniel be kept concealed until the later days? The principle is this: Gods power and our deliverance come not through our strength but through our weakness. 4 P. D. Hanson. The final verse of the chapter and of the Book of Daniel spell out the hope of Daniel and every Old and New Testament saint: 13 But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age.. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. May you trust in Him for eternal life, before and beyond the grave. Death is the great dilemma of biblical prophecy. I wonder how many of us could be told the same thing. 18 In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE. 19 And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarahs womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waiver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. in 1971. Daniel need not worry about these future days of distress; he has seen difficult times in his life, and remained faithful. 1.1 Structure It is most common to divide the book into the court stories of chapters 1-6, and the visions of chapters 7-12. Jean Monnet, 69500 Bron, France Such is the way He has worked and does work in us. His distress and desire to understand more fully is spoken of at the beginning of chapter 10, providing the setting for the entire revelation, including chapter 12. The text can be outlined: (2) Israel and the little horn 11:40-45, (3) Israels distress and deliverance 12:1-4, (4) The length of Israels distress 12:5-7, (5) The outcome Israels distress 12:8-13, 1 Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. One of the functions of biblical apocalyptic literature is to remind the remnant of their unique and special place in Gods plan. As noted, the book of Daniel divides itself into two major sections. The book of Daniel plays an important role in the development of apocalyptic literature. D. S. Russell considers the book the first, and greatest, of all Jewish apocalyptic writings,3 although P. D. Hanson, on the basis of his analysis of Isaiah, argues for the presence of apocalyptic style in books written earlier than Daniel.4, The word apocalyptic comes from the Greek apocalypsis found in the opening verse of Revelation, and became a fitting name for the literature that shares certain special features. Each crisis brings into focus the faithful remnant, focusing attention on their God. They're colorful, dramatic, and suspenseful-why wouldn't How could the protector of Israel precipitate this time of such great suffering? Some things happened to God's people that were written down as warnings for us because "we live at a time when the end is about to come." 4 Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations at Novotel Lyon Bron Eurexpo. What this mans brothers needed was to obey the revelation they had already received from the Old Testament Scriptures. Daniel 5 relates to the crisis of insight and understanding. The book of Daniel was written in the setting of Gods people in crisis in Babylon. Thus the man who always stands by perplexed dreamers to bring them understanding in chapters 1 through 6 seems consistently perplexed by his own dreams and needing Gabriel, the angelic interpreter, to bring him understanding. Daniel was instructed to conceal the words revealed to him and to seal up the book until the end time. I understand the angel to mean that this final vision has completed the revelation of the Book of Daniel; now that the book is complete, it is to be sealed. Three of his friends were, for the same reason, cast into a white hot furnace. I know many changes are needed in my life. The goodness and grace of God is seen in both. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. In the land of Babylon knowledge and understanding were highly regarded. Surely we have all heard of him. There will be a time of great trouble, worse than the nation has ever known, but your people, everyone found recorded in the book of life, will be rescued. Daniels understanding came not at the beginning but at the end of the process. But the apocalyptic reminds them that they play key roles in a cosmic drama. If Victor takes McCall's away from Adam why not. 1. what are they? Job believed in the resurrection; so did David and Daniel. The first verse of chapter 12 reveals two facts pertaining to the end times we would not have expected apart from divine revelation. The battle they were fighting was on a spiritual level; it was to be understood not in terms of politics and economics, but rather in terms of spiritual powers in high places.