Daniel Chapter 12
VERSE 8 and 9 “Although I heard, I did not understand. 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.”
From Daniel’s standpoint, the 3 1/2 times were a LONG period of time. In fact, the time period was overwhelming to him, for he knew it indicated years, not days. He “heard” but “understood not.”
“Not unto themselves but unto us (the Church living in the last days) did they minister.” (1 Pet 1:12 compare with Matt 13:17)
Then he pursued the matter: “O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” He was crying for more information, for more details. The answer he was given was not really satisfactory, but he was told, “That is all you will know, so you might as well be resigned to the fact. In due time you will get your reward.” But what was puzzling was that the vision continued on and other things happened.
The beloved prophet was told, “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” Although the vision was sealed in Daniel’s day, there would come a time in history when it would be unsealed—when it would be revealed. In other words, the vision was not to be sealed forever. The Harvest period, in which we are living, is the time of revealment.
Comment: In verse 4 Daniel was told to “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end.” Now in our day, pertaining to the end of the Gospel Age, the message is to “seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand” (Rev. 22:10).
Question:
Is the question in Verse 6 (“How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?”) the same as the question in Verse 8 (“What shall be the end of these things?”)?
Answer: In both cases Daniel was seeking further information. His whole experience in receiving the strange series of visions and explanations was supernatural. In fact, it was really all one vision, beginning in Chapter 10. The information was mind-boggling to him, but he was seeking still more information in the hope that something would click, in the hope that the information would become meaningful. Daniel was concerned about his people, Israel. (Remember, he was in captivity in Babylon, and these visions took place shortly before his death.) He was given the assurance that at the appropriate time, Michael would stand up for Israel and the restoration of Israel would take place. There would also be “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” Many would run to and fro, and knowledge would be increased. But Daniel desired more information.
Think of the length of the vision Daniel received, from Chapter 10 on, and especially the long eleventh chapter. For Daniel the experience was overwhelming—just one thing after another, with specific details about the king of the north, the king of the south, etc. With those details he wanted understanding to satisfy his longings. But he was told the book was sealed.
Just like Moses, who was given great quantities of instruction (in the construction of the Tabernacle and in its attendant ceremonies), Daniel received much information—and both remembered the details and wrote them down. How startling! Even though the information was mind-boggling, Daniel remembered because he was so developed intellectually with his endowed capabilities. Thus, he was remarkable in that not only was he wise but he had great memory retention and was thus able to record exactly what had happened. Of course, the Holy Spirit helped his memory too.
If we quote Rev 10:2 in its entirety, we find that the angel (Jesus) had a little book in his hand:
“And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth.” The “little book” was like a (mini) plan of the ages, which eventually worked out to be the Harvest message. However, time was needed for the revealing. First, the Bible had to be published internationally. And in the 1800s Bibles were made available in English, French, German, etc. A groundwork was laid when the Word of God was put in the possession of the people. Toward the end of the century, along came a faithful and wise messenger who explained the plan of God in brief. (We say “in brief” because the Bible is much bigger than just the First Volume, the Divine Plan of the Ages.)
In humility the Pastor gave credit to William Miller and the 1829 A.D. date. The point is that the “little book” was being disclosed in the Time of the End. Stated another way, in the Time of the End the little book was being unsealed. From Daniel’s standpoint (he was on the far side of the “river”, the French Revolution, approximately 500 B.C.), the book was sealed—he was not given any more information. But from our standpoint (we are on this side of the “river”, this side of the French Revolution), the book is being unsealed.
We move on to Verse 10 in our next post.
