12:1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who watches over your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress unlike any other from the nation’s beginning up to that time. But at that time your own people, all those whose names are found written in the book, will escape.

“At that time” means during the end of the Great Tribulation. Michael means “who is like God.” He is the protecting angel of Israel. He is the one who will cast Satan out of heaven and into the Abyss. The Hebrew word for “arise” is להתעורר, meaning to arise to fight in a military battle. Michael arises to battle Satan in the angelic conflict.

The “time of distress” will be the worst persecution that Israel has ever experienced. During the Time of Jacob's Trouble, Michael will save Israel from the global genocide attempt of Satan.

The people of Israel will go through some tough times, but eventually, the angel Michael will deliver them. The “time of distress” will be the Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation will be the devil’s week. Every man left on earth will have it his own way. There will be no other time period like this in history. The names found written in the book are God’s elect which Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24. One third of the Jews will survive the Great Tribulation. Those Jews who survive the Great Tribulation will enter into the Millennial Kingdom as believers. Sheep Gentiles will enter into the Millennial Kingdom as well. Goat Gentiles will be purged out of the world and thrown into Gehenna (hell) for the next one thousand years. At the end of the 1,000 years, the goat Gentiles will be released, judged, and found guilty at the Great White Throne Judgment.

12:2 Many of those who sleep in the dusty ground will awake— some to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence.

Many cults and isms falsely teach soul sleep from this verse. To sleep in the dust of the earth does not mean unconscious existence in death. It simply means that a dead person appears to be asleep. The body is “asleep,” but not the soul.

Those Messianic Jews who lose their lives to the Gentiles in chapter 11 will be resurrected at the end of the Great Tribulation. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and all of the believing Jews of history will be given the literal land in literal Israel that they were literally promised. The believing Jews will be resurrected to eternal life. This is the first resurrection.

The unbelieving Jews will be resurrected to eternal death in the Lake of Fire. This is the second resurrection. There will be a 1,000‑year time period between the first and second resurrections. This is the second death.

It is important to note that there will be four different stages of resurrections. First, Jesus was the first fruits of the first resurrection. Second, the church saints (dead and living) will be resurrected at the Rapture. Third, the believing saints who were martyred during the Great Tribulation and the Old Testament saints (such as Abraham, Moses, Daniel, etc.) will be resurrected during the 75 days between the Great Tribulation and the Millennial Kingdom. Fourth, all unbelievers will be resurrected at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. This fourth group of unbelievers will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment and cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.

12:3 But the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavenly expanse. And those bringing many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.

What makes a Jew wise? Those Jews who believe that Jesus is the Messiah are the wise ones. They will reflect the Shekinah Glory of God, just as the face of Moses reflected the Shekinah Glory of God when he visited Mount Sinai.

Notice that the stars during the Millennial Kingdom will last forever (or at least 1,000 years). They will no longer be underneath the entropy of the Genesis 3 curse.

12:4 “But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will dash about, and knowledge will increase.”

Daniel and his immediate readers could not have comprehended all of the details of the prophecies given in this book. Therefore, Daniel was to seal this book for future Jewish readers. Those Jews who are living in the future Great Tribulation will be able to read and understand these prophecies. These prophecies will comfort those Jews who will experience these future sufferings. They will be assured that God will ultimately deliver Israel from the Gentiles and bring upon her the covenant promises which were made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God will keep these promises, even if He has to raise the Jews from the dead to do it.

Many will dash about, studying Bible prophecy. There will be a greater understanding of Bible prophecy. More people will understand the Book of Daniel.

During the last 100 years, man has advanced from the horse to the automobile to the airplane to space travel. However, this verse is not predicting the increase of scientific knowledge. It is predicting the increase in knowledge of theology. In theology, the doctrine of the return of Israel, the rapture, Gog, Magog, and the identity of many of the main players have been revealed in this last century. For example, the Reformers did not understand many of these issues. The Holy Spirit waited to reveal much of this new prophetic information only in the last 100 years. The return of Israel in unbelief in 1948 was one of the major catalysts which elevated the study of Bible prophecy. The Book of Daniel will be completely understood by the saints who are living during the Great Tribulation.

12:5 I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river.

The Hebrew word for “river” is נהר, meaning the Tigris River. Daniel saw two angels on each side of the Tigris River. The Tigris River is located in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is currently inhabited by the Muslims of Iran and Iraq.

12:6 One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, “When will the end of these wondrous events occur?”

One of the angels on one side of the Tigris River asked the other angel on the other side of the Tigris River when all of the events in Daniel 11:36-45 would occur?

12:7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky and made an oath by the one who lives forever: “It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.”

The angel answered. The Antichrist will rule for a total of seven years. He will rule in peace for the first 3.5 years. He will rule in blasphemy for the last 3.5 years. At the end of the Great Tribulation, his rule will end. He will become the last Gentile ruler of the Jews. Afterwards, the Lord Jesus Christ will return as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will establish the Millennial Kingdom.

Notice that one of the purposes of the Great Tribulation is to “shatter” the stubbornness of Israel. When the Antichrist backs Israel into a corner, then Israel will desperately call for her Messiah.

12:8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I said, “Sir, what will happen after these things?”

Daniel wanted to know God’s program for Israel after the Great Tribulation.

12:9 He said, “Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end.

Daniel was given all of the information that he needed. He was not to ask any more questions. This book was written for the believers who will be living during the Great Tribulation.

There are some vague prophecies given about the Millennial Kingdom in other prophetic books of the Bible, but the specific details will not be revealed until the Lord Jesus Christ brings in the Millennial Kingdom. Not even the charismatics know what is going to happen during the Millennial Kingdom (although they claim to have more knowledge than Daniel and Paul). This information was sealed from Daniel. Paul was commanded not to reveal this information. This prophetic knowledge will be sealed until the Great Tribulation. During the Great Tribulation, only the Lord Jesus Christ can unseal these prophecies. The Book of Revelation records the unsealing of this book. The seven seals are unsealed one at a time. The seventh seal includes seven trumpet judgments and seven bowl judgments.

12:10 Many will be purified, made clean, and refined, but the wicked will go on being wicked. None of the wicked will understand, though the wise will understand.

After this book is unsealed by the Lord Jesus Christ, then the seven-year Great Tribulation will begin. Many of the Jews and Gentiles will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, but many other Jews and Gentiles will follow the Antichrist.  The future believers in Christ will understand the prophecies in this book. The future unbelievers will not be able to understand these same prophecies. The Bible has always been a closed book to the unbeliever.

12:11 From the time that the daily sacrifice is removed and the abomination that causes desolation is set in place, there are 1,290 days.

The Antichrist will abolish the daily sacrifice in the Jewish Temple during the last half of the 70th “seven” of years, “a time, times, and half a time” (7:25; Rev. 12:14), “42 months” (Rev. 11:2), or “1,260 days” (Rev. 11:3). God spelled it out literally in many different time units so that His future Jewish believers would not miss the literal interpretation.

This means that Israel must return to her land, rebuild her temple, and begin the Mosaic sacrifices. Since Israel has returned to her land, since she is currently training priests, since she is currently making plans to rebuild her temple, then these events could occur imminently.

Notice that there are 30 extra days. How can these 30 extra days be explained? The 30 extra days mentioned here allow for the judgments that will take place after the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ezekiel 20:33–44; Joel 3:2–3; Matthew. 25:32).

12:12 Blessed is the one who waits and attains to the 1,335 days.

Notice that there are an additional 45 days beyond the 1,290 days. Seventy-five days after the Great Tribulation, Israel will be greatly blessed. This must mark the official beginning of the Millennial Kingdom.

It is important to note that the Millennial Kingdom will not begin on the day immediately following the last day of the Great Tribulation, because there will be this seventy-five day interval of Daniel 12:11-12. During this seventy-five day period, a number of events will occur. However, it is impossible to determine the exact chronological order of these events. Therefore, these events will be given thematically and not chronologically.

First, the Antichrist and the False Prophet will be killed on the last day of the Great Tribulation. They will receive no physical burial. They will be resurrected and thrown into the Lake of Fire. They will become the first two members of the human race who will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.

Second, the image that the Antichrist will make alive will be allowed to live for another 30 days (Daniel 12:11). Then, the living image will be executed.

Third, the Tribulation Temple will also be allowed to stand for thirty more days (Daniel 12:11). Solomon’s Temple, Zerubbabel’s Temple, and the unbuilt but future Millennial Temple were all sanctioned by God. The Tribulation Temple will become the temple of the Antichrist which will be used to blaspheme God. It was never sanctioned by God. Therefore, during the thirty days after the Great Tribulation, the Tribulation Temple will be destroyed.

Fourth, Satan will be thrown into his fifth abode (Revelation 20:1-3). His first four abodes were the throne of God (where he was an anointed cherub), the mineral Garden of Eden (after his fall from heaven), the atmospheric heavens and the earth (where he accused Job and other saints), and then the earthly atmosphere (where he will be cast down to earth during the Great Tribulation). During the Millennial Kingdom, his fifth abode will be the abyss. The abyss is currently located in the section of Sheol (or Hades). It is a temporary place for the confinement of fallen angels who left their first estate and intermarried with human women (Genesis 6). This unholy intermarriage caused the rise of the Nephilim. The goal of the Nephilim was to intermarry with the human race so that the Messiah promised in Genesis 3:15 could not be born. During the Millennial Kingdom, mankind will still commit sin. However, since the devil is confined to the abyss, men will not be able to say, “the devil made me do it.” After the Millennial Kingdom, Satan will be loosed upon the earth once more. He will attempt to deceive the inhabitants of the Millennial Kingdom.  However, he will not be successful. He will be thrown into his final abode, the Lake of Fire. He will become the third created being who will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.

Fifth, the Goat Gentles will be judged for their rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ (Joel 3:1-3). Many of the Goat Gentiles will be killed by either the plagues of the Great Tribulation, or at the final Battle of Armageddon. The Goat Gentiles will persecute, enslave, and kill the Jews. The Goat Gentiles will be purged out of the world by execution. They will be sent to Hell. At the end of the Great Tribulation, they will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment and sent to the Lake of Fire.

Sixth, the Sheep Gentiles will be judged at the same time and place as the Goat Gentiles (Matthew 25:31-46). Their Judge will be the Lord Jesus Christ. The location will be the Valley of Jehoshaphat. During the Great Tribulation, the Jews who do not take the mark of the beast will not be able to buy or sell. They will be fed, clothed, hidden, and sheltered by the Sheep Gentiles. They will be visited in prison by the Sheep Gentiles. The Sheep Gentiles will enter into the Millennial Kingdom as believers in their natural bodies.

Seventh, the Sheep Gentiles will be involved in the destruction of Babylon (Is. 13:1–5). During the Great Tribulation, Babylon will be rebuilt. It will become the capital of the Antichrist. During this forty-five day increment it will be destroyed. The new capital of the Millennial Kingdom will be the New Jerusalem.

Eighth, the Old Testament saints will be resurrected from the dead and given their glorified bodies (Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:2). At the Rapture, only the church saints were raptured up to heaven and given their glorified bodies. The Old Testament saints were already in heaven in their spiritual bodies. The Old Testament saints were taken up to heaven after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He descended down from heaven, preached to the unbelievers in Hades, and then He emptied Paradise (or Abraham’s Bosom) and took these Old Testament saints to heaven. In heaven, these Old Testament saints were present in their spirit bodies. They will receive their glorified physical bodies during this 45-day increment between the Great Tribulation and the Millennial Kingdom.

Ninth, there will be a resurrection of the Tribulation Saints who will be martyred for their faith during the Great Tribulation. This is the first resurrection which is mentioned in Revelation 20:5-6. The Tribulation saints will be resurrected to enter into the Millennial Kingdom with their glorified bodies. The second resurrection is for unbelievers. It will happen at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. The unbelievers will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment and sent to the Lake of Fire.

All of these nine events of Daniel 12:11-12 will occur sometime during the seventy-five day increment between the Great Tribulation and the Millennial Kingdom. After the seventy-five days, the Millennial Kingdom will officially begin. It will last for 1,000 literal years (as mentioned six times in Revelation 20).

12:13 But you should go your way until the end. You will rest and then at the end of the days you will arise to receive what you have been allotted.”

Daniel will not live to see these prophecies fulfilled. However, he will be resurrected from the dead to receive his allotted inheritance in the Millennial Kingdom. All who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Daniel did will receive the blessings of the Millennial Kingdom.