God Will Save His People and Raise the Dead

Daniel 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. 12:2 Many of those who sleep in the dusty ground will awake – some to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence. 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. 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.” 12:5 I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river. 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?” 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.” 12:8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I said, “Sir, what will happen after these things?” 12:9 He said, “Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end. 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. 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. 12:12 Blessed is the one who waits and attains to the 1,335 days. 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.”

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Daniel 12 says that a terrible time of distress will come, but God will deliver his own people. The dead will rise, the wise will be honored, and the wicked will face shame. Daniel is told to rest, because God has fixed the end and will give him his allotted inheritance.

This chapter brings Daniel’s vision to its end. It says there will be a time of trouble unlike any other. But God will not forget his people. Those whose names are written in his book will be delivered.

The chapter also teaches resurrection. Many who have died will awake. Some will rise to everlasting life. Others will rise to shame and lasting contempt. Death is not the last word. God will judge every person.

The wise will shine like the heavens. Those who lead others toward righteousness will be honored forever. This shows that faithful people are not wasted in God’s sight. Their endurance and witness matter deeply to him.

Daniel is told to seal up the words for a later time. He does not receive every answer now. The timing belongs to God. The chapter also says that suffering will refine many people. The wicked will keep doing evil, but the wise will understand.

Daniel is finally told to go his way, rest, and then rise at the end of the days to receive what has been given to him. The message is clear: God rules the crisis, God knows his people, and God will raise and reward the faithful.

• God appoints the time of distress and also the time of deliverance.
• God knows those who belong to him; they are written in his book.
• The passage teaches a real resurrection from the dead.
• Some will rise to everlasting life, and others to shame and lasting contempt.
• The wise will be honored, and those who lead others toward righteousness will shine forever.
• God’s people may be refined by suffering.
• The wicked will remain wicked unless God changes them.
• Daniel is told to trust God’s timing instead of demanding full understanding.
• Daniel himself is promised rest now and resurrection later.

• Warning: a time of unprecedented distress will come.
• Warning: the wicked will face shame and judgment.
• Promise: God’s people written in the book will be delivered.
• Promise: the dead will awake to different final outcomes.
• Promise: the wise will shine forever.
• Command: seal up the words until the appointed time.
• Command: Daniel must go his way and wait in faith.
• Command: do not try to force God’s timetable.

God is bringing history to its appointed end. He allows a final distress, but he also saves his people, raises the dead, judges evil, and gives inheritance to the faithful. Daniel’s story shows that God’s covenant care reaches beyond suffering and even beyond death.

When life is hard, do not think God has lost control. Stay faithful. Keep doing what is right. Do not set dates for the end or try to read more into the text than it says. Trust God’s timing, because he will finish what he has started.

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