Chapter 12
Scenes of Judgment

In our study so far, we have dealt primarily with the events leading up to the final judgment. The victory of God's plan has simply been noted, without any detail being discussed. Perhaps we should go back to look at the other chapters before getting into chapter 12.

Chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 "Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

44 "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.

This is a fairly simple statement. God will triumph and rule forever. All that existed before will be destroyed and dissipated. The primary purpose of this vision was to show Nebuchadnezzar the grand sweep of the future and impress upon him that God rules. Our view of the future in this vision is therefore limited. More detail appears in later visions.

Chapter 7, the Four Beasts

9 "I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.
10 "A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened.
11 "Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire.
12 "As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.

Verses 9 and 10 open a scene of incredible majesty and power. The Court is set up with multiple thrones. Whether this is for the three persons of the Godhead, or for others as well cannot be determined from the text. The white robes of God reflect His purity, and bring to mind the robes of the high priest on the day of atonement. A large number, "Thousands upon thousands" attended to God. Presumably these are angels. An extremely large throng, "myriads upon myriads" were "standing before Him". This expression brings to mind defendants facing a Court here on earth.

Even while facing the Court, the little horn continues to speak "boastful words". This defiance of heavenly authority continues up to the very moment that he is "slain". Then his body is destroyed and thrown into the fire. It may be useful to look once again at some of the boastful words the Papacy has spoken.

• The Pope is "not a mere man, but as it were God"
• The Pope is the "Vicar of God"
• "The Pope is called Most Holy because he is rightfully presumed to be such."
• The Pope is "crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and earth and of the lower regions."
• The Pope "forms one and the same tribunal with Christ".
• "The Pope is of so great authority that he can modify ... divine laws".

With this blasphemy, is it any surprise that he should be destroyed and thrown into the fire? We should note the perspective of the judgment in verse 22.

22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.

Judgment was "passed in favor of the saints". This is not the description of an accused person being acquitted. It is the triumph of those against whom Satan has perpetrated such evil. Their complaint has been heard, and their tormentor is forever removed. This is a typically Jewish perspective, and the one Daniel would understand. It also (again) points out that this judgment is rendered for all believers, not for all Jews. After the evil one who is responsible for our banishment from paradise is destroyed, the "saints" will possess the kingdom.

The little horn's destruction and demise is immediate on the passing of judgment. The other beasts (or kingdoms) lost their dominion when their times passed. New kingdoms assumed center stage. But these kingdoms were not destroyed. They were absorbed into the succeeding kingdoms. Their destruction awaited the final judgment.

13 "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
14 "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

Daniel is shown the scene in Acts 1:9-11, where Jesus was taken up to heaven to be glorified.

27 'Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.'

The earth with all its treasures will be given to the saints, who will serve God forever.

Chapter 12, the Close of History

In chapter 11:40-43, we saw a picture of the final battle of history. This occurs "at the end time". Chapter 12 begins:

1 "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. 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.

Prior to the end time, Satan and his surrogates have had dominion over the world. Jesus now takes full control, and there begins "a time of distress such as never occurred". This is the consequence of sin. Whether it is simply due to sin running unopposed or the act of God avenging his people cannot be determined from this passage. However, as we study Revelation, it will become clear that this is the time of God's wrath.

10 "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:" Rev 14:10(KJV)

Verse 1 indicates that at this time, the pre-advent judgment is actually finished. "Everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued". It is not possible to determine who is written in the Book of Life until their lives have been investigated and judged. Therefore, once these troubles begin, it's all over. There will be no more opportunity to be saved. Everyone will have made their choice, and all that remains is the penalty phase of the trial. All the scenes referred to as judgment in Daniel and Revelation are in fact merely the meting out of the punishment of the sinners or the reward of the saints. This time of trouble is the first phase of the punishment. It allows the damned to see the true effects of their evil ways, while the saved are spared the horror.

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.

In the end time "many", but not all will be resurrected. Some will be saved, and some lost. This is the first resurrection spoken of by Paul.

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 1 Thess 4:16

This is primarily the resurrection of the saints. But there will be some of the wicked raised at this time, too. Revelation helps us out here.

7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him;... Rev 1:7

Those with guilty involvement in Christ's crucifixion will be alive when Christ returns.

3 "And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

This brings to mind a long list of Paul's writings where he contrasts light and darkness.

6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Cor 4:6

Those who have been saved will be a shining light in the world. Unfortunately, since no one new will be saved, it only serves to show the difference between good and evil to those who are suffering the consequences of their own evil acts.

4 "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."

Once again, Daniel is left without understanding. The phrase translated "go back and forth" is a Hebrew idiom for searching. The book is left for our time when many will search out the truth of the gospel, and "knowledge will increase".

5 Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river, and the other on that bank of the river.
6 And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will it be until the end of these wonders?"
7 And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.

We again see the "how long?" question first posed in 8:13. When will the end come? The response echoes 7:25; 3 ½ "times". It is even phrased the same, so it appears very likely that it refers to the period of Papal dominance from 538 to 1798. But something is added: "as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed". The Papacy would "wear down the saints of the Highest One" for 1,260 years, referring to its active persecution of God's people. After this time, however, it still exists, and false doctrines still deceive and destroy many otherwise holy people. This "shattering" will continue until the all false religion finally loses its power to deceive when Michael "stands up".

8 As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, "My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?"
9 And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time.

By now, Daniel must be wishing that a he could jump ahead in time, so that he could understand what he is being told. Once again, the prophecy is concealed until the end time.

10 "Many will be purged, purified and refined; but the wicked will act wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.

This essentially repeats 11:35.

11 "And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.

This looks just like the phraseology in 8:13, but the period of time is similar to the time in 7:25. Are these related?

Let's briefly recap the career of the little horn in chapter 7. It "came up" among the ten horns of the fourth beast. Three horns were "pulled out by the roots before it". Then, and only then, were the saints given into its hand. Therefore, the little horn existed for a period of time longer than the 1,260 years. Hence, the 1,290 years. But what historical event justifies this extra 30 years as opposed to some other number? We have clearly identified the little horn as the Papacy, and the Papacy started far more than 30 years before 538. So how do we account for 1,290 years?

The key feature of the Papacy which made it different from all other kingdoms was the merging of church and state powers. This reached its full form in 538 when the Edict of Justinian was put into effect. However, this is not when the Papacy began to become allied with temporal powers.

In 496 King Clovis of France converted to Catholicism, becoming the first "Christian" king in Europe. He began to fight against the Pagan and Arian kings who opposed the Papacy. This was sufficient to terminate the united resistance to the development of the Papacy. In 508 Clovis was granted the titles of Roman Patricius and Consul. These signified the formal association of the Papacy with a temporal king. At this point we see the "(coming) up" of the little horn. It was another 30 years before the Papacy matured into the powerful oppressor of God's people. Add this 30 years to the 1,260 noted before and the total is 1,290 years mentioned.

12 "How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!

This doesn't look like anything we have seen before. Obviously Daniel doesn't understand it. The obscurity of this reference leaves room for some disagreement, although I think that there is adequate information to properly sort it out.

The 1,290 days in the verse before appears to be clearly related to the prophecy of 7:25 because of its length. The 1,335 days does not have any direct reference. Some skeptics have even said that it represents the fourth approximation of a "pseudo-Daniel" (1,150, 1,260, 1,290, 1,335 days) of the length of the oppression of the Jews by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (him again!). We saw in verse 11 that 7:25 and 8:13-14 are related. These are the 2,300 days and the 1,260 days.

The darkness of the Papacy began to close on the study of God's word in 508. 1,335 years from that point takes us to 1843. The 2,300 days ends in 1844. No specific event is listed for the end of the 1,335 days. Every other time prophecy has an event at its end. This one calls out a "bless(ing)". Where can we find help?

23 And turning to the disciples, He said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see,
24 for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them. " Luke 10:23

3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. Rev 1:3

Jesus points out to his disciples and to us that understanding of prophecy is a blessing. If we accept this as the appropriate blessing, the beginning of the end time in 1843 is the time when all the prophecies "conceal(ed)... until the end of time" would begin to be understood. And in fact, this is exactly what happened. The "Great Awakening", with its explosion of religious interest and understanding began shortly before this time. Many of these people studied the prophecy of 8:14 and believed that Jesus would come again in 1844. They did not plant crops or in any way prepare for any time after October, 1844. When Jesus did not come, they were forced to re-examine their studies. The knowledge we have all gained as a result of this event may very well be both the blessing of verse 12 and the increase in knowledge referred to in verse 4.

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."

What a wonderful promise! Even though Daniel is not to understand all the things he wrote, he will "rest" until the end, then will be resurrected to the reward of saints.