Book of Daniel · Chapter 12 of 12
13 verses · 13 video commentaries from 6 courses · Berean Standard Bible
1“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.
2And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
3Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.
4But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”
5Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank.
6One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long until the fulfillment of these wonders?”
7And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, and times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has finally been shattered, all these things will be completed.”
8I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”
9“Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
10Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
11And from the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation set up, there will be 1,290 days.
12Blessed is he who waits and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
13But as for you, go on your way until the end. You will rest, and then you will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”
Dan 12:7-12
The book of Daniel provides specific, yet varying, timeframes for the end of wonders and persecution: 'a time, two times, and half a time' (three and a half years), 1,290 days, and 1,335 days. These differing numbers suggest that the initial predictions for the end of persecution and temple profanation passed, leading to recalculations and extensions of the expected timeframe.
Summarized by AI · Judaism Before Jesus · Lecture 8: The Visions of Daniel · watch the clip
Dan 12:1
Following the Maccabean Revolt, a shift occurred in Jewish thought, emphasizing individual judgment and salvation rather than solely communal identity. While the Qumran community still valued communal life, they recognized that being born Jewish was not enough; individuals had to make choices, leading to a distinction between the 'godless of the covenant' and those who upheld it.
Summarized by AI · Judaism Before Jesus · Lecture 15: Apocalypticism in the Scrolls · watch the clip
Baden says apocalypses are concerned with the end times, and Daniel 11 and 12 describe an eschaton imagined to be just around the corner, concluding with the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, who will pitch his pavilion and meet his doom with no one to help him, at which moment the great prince Michael appears. Like First Isaiah expecting the end when Assyria fell, Daniel ties the eschaton to Antiochus's death, except that a single king lasts only decades, so for Daniel's author the end really is imminent. He takes this as another good sign that the book was not written after the Maccabean revolt, which was a nice moment but not the end of the world.
Summarized by AI · The Hebrew Bible: Exploring the Literature of Ancient Israel · Lecture 26: Daniel | The Latest Text of the Hebrew Bible · watch the clip
Daniel 12 states that Michael, the 'great prince, the protector of your people,' will arise during a time of unprecedented anguish. At this time, those 'written in the book' (the righteous) will be delivered. This passage identifies Michael as the key figure in the deliverance of Israel and reinforces his role as the heavenly patron.
Summarized by AI · Judaism Before Jesus · Lecture 8: The Visions of Daniel · watch the clip
Dan 12:2-3
The Jewish tradition developed the concept of resurrection, an apocalyptic view that emerged about two centuries before Jesus. This belief, shared by Jesus, John the Baptist, and Paul, posited that God would raise people bodily from the dead at the end of time to be either rewarded or punished. This was a distinct departure from Greek ideas of an immortal soul, as it emphasized the resurrection of the physical body to live on Earth, which God would restore to paradise.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · The Omnipresent Fear of Death · watch the clip
The Book of Daniel, specifically chapter 12, is identified as the only clear Old Testament reference to a future resurrection of the dead, where both the righteous and the wicked are raised for reward or punishment. This passage significantly influenced early Christian beliefs, including those of Jesus and Paul, regarding a future bodily resurrection.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · The Omnipresent Fear of Death · watch the clip
Daniel 12 describes a partial resurrection: 'many of those who sleep in the land of dust shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.' This suggests that only the very good and very bad will be raised, while others remain in Sheol. The wise and those who lead to righteousness will shine like stars, joining the heavenly host.
Summarized by AI · Judaism Before Jesus · Lecture 8: The Visions of Daniel · watch the clip
Dan 12:2
The Pharisees, who became a dominant sect by the 1st century BC, were known for their precise interpretation of the law and their adherence to the 'traditions of the fathers.' They believed in a combination of fate and human choice, and in the physical resurrection of the body, a concept distinct from the spiritual resurrection found in Daniel or 1 Enoch.
Summarized by AI · Judaism Before Jesus · Lecture 11: The Hasmoneans · watch the clip
The lawyer's question about 'inheriting' eternal life implies a one-off action, but the instructor argues that eternal life is a gift, not something earned through specific deeds. This idea is supported by the book of Daniel, which speaks of rising to eternal life for those who follow God's ideals, not for work.
Summarized by AI · The Parables of Jesus: Jewish Insights into Gospel Ethics, Humor, and Provocation · Lecture 2: Samaritans, Priests, and Levites | How History Impacts Parable Interpretation · watch the clip
The problem of justice in a world where the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper, coupled with the lack of an afterlife in earlier Hebrew thought, led to the development of apocalyptic thinking around 200 years before Jesus. This new perspective, primarily found in the Book of Daniel, introduced the idea of a future divine intervention to bring justice, including the resurrection of the dead.
Summarized by AI · What the Hell? Jesus' Teachings on the Afterlife · Lecture 1: When Hell Disappeared from the Bible · watch the clip
Daniel 12:2 presents the clearest and fullest conception of the eschatological resurrection of the dead in the Hebrew Bible, stating that 'many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, others to reproaches, to everlasting abhorrence.' This idea is characteristic of apocalyptic literature, which emerged during periods of severe oppression.
Summarized by AI · The Hebrew Bible: Exploring the Literature of Ancient Israel · Lecture 26: Daniel | The Latest Text of the Hebrew Bible · watch the clip
Dan 12:3
Paul explains that at Christ's return, bodies will not be shed but changed into 'spiritual bodies' that can inherit the kingdom of God. This transformation allows the redeemed to ascend to the heavens, the abode of the spiritual body, a departure from older prophetic traditions that envisioned the kingdom established on earth.
Summarized by AI · Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years · Lecture 4: Beginnings | Paul, the Pagan's Apostle · watch the clip
Dan 12:11
In 167 BCE, Antiochus Epiphanes erected a 'desolating sacrilege,' also known as the 'abomination of desolation,' on the altar in the Jerusalem temple. This was a pagan altar, likely for the Syrian god Ba'al Shamin (equated with Zeus/Jupiter), which rendered the temple unusable for traditional Jewish worship. This act, mentioned in Daniel, was a major catalyst for the revolt.
Summarized by AI · Judaism Before Jesus · Lecture 7: The Maccabean Revolt · watch the clip