12-The End of "The Times of the Gentiles"
THE END OF “THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES”
CHAPTER TWELVE
From “The Great Tribulation” to the Kingdom of Christ on Earth AS CHAPTER twelve is a continuation of this last vision which God gave to Daniel, let us go right on with our study of it, just as if there were no new chapter division. Continuing the prophecy concerning “the Great Tribulation” in the closing days of the rule of the Antichrist, God revealed to Daniel the very end of “the times of the Gentiles,” even to the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on earth. While the Holy Spirit does not give us a description of that kingdom in the Book of Daniel, yet He does tell us in much detail how it will be established.
In this prophecy, which tells us of the commencement, the character, the course, and the consummation of “the times of the Gentiles,” we are taken from the days of Nebuchadnezzar, the first Gentile world monarch, even unto the millennial reign of Christ over a purified earth.
Now, continuing the prophecy of “the time of Jacob’s trouble” and Israel’s deliverance therefrom in the end of the age, let us see what the angel said to Daniel in Daniel 12:1 of this twelfth chapter.
ISRAEL’S DELIVERANCE DURING “THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE”
Just when the Antichrist is persecuting Israel, even unto death, then Michael, her “prince,” will stand up to defend her against Satan’s wicked forces (Daniel 12:1):
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people (Daniel’s people, Israel): and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
“At that time shall Michael stand up . . .” At what time? At the time referred to in the verse just preceding these words; that is, at the time when the Antichrist “shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas [i.e., the Mediterranean and the Dead Seas] in the glorious holy mountain [i.e., in Jerusalem]” (Daniel 11:45).
“At that time,” when his blasphemies shall have reached their climax; “shall Michael stand up” to defend Israel in her greatest hour of trial.
By that time “the beast” will be a world dictator. Then the prophecy which God gave to John, in Revelation 13:3, will be fulfilled, “. . . and all the world wondered after the beast.”
The standing up of Michael in heaven at this time evidently refers to the same event mentioned in the twelfth chapter of Revelation; for there he marshals the heavenly host on behalf of persecuted Israel. We read about that future “war in heaven” when we studied the tenth chapter of Daniel. We saw that Michael and his angels will fight against the devil and his angels, and that Satan and his hosts will be cast out of the heavenlies, into the earth during that time of great tribulation.
When he is defeated in this conflict with Michael, the devil will be filled with great wrath; and will turn in his fury to destroy Israel, on whose behalf Michael ever contends. Indeed, the entire twelfth chapter of Revelation has to do with Satan’s continued attacks upon the nation that gave to the world the Saviour.
The “woman clothed with the sun” (Revelation 12:1) is none other than Israel.
She is not the Virgin Mary, as the Roman Catholics would have us believe. She is symbolic of the nation which “brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron” (Revelation 12:5). Just as the dragon tried “to devour her child as soon as it was born” (Revelation 12:4), so also he will persecute the nation which gave Him to the world.
But John beheld, and “the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days” (Revelation 12:6).
Could that “place prepared of God” not be the cities of Petra? Surely the time of her taking refuge in that “place prepared” coincides exactly with the three and one-half years of “the Great Tribulation” period, the latter half of “the seventieth week” of Daniel!
Again, in Revelation 12:14 God tells us that the woman [Israel] will “fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” We have already seen that this is another way of designating three and one-half years-the identical period always referred to in prophecy as “the time of Jacob’s trouble.”
Satan, working through “the beast,” will do his best to destroy God’s ancient people; but they “shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1). All those who accept the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour from sin, and as their coming King, will have their names written in “the Lamb’s book of life.” They will be the ones who will listen to the message of the 144,000 Jews who will herald the coming of the King in that time of trouble. And they shall be delivered!
Zechariah (Zechariah 14:1-4; Zechariah 14:9) describes this time of sorrow, the battle of Armageddon, and the return of Christ in glory in unmistakable words of prophecy:
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east . . . And the Lord shall be king over all the earth.
In that day Israel shall look upon Him “whom they have pierced,” and they will receive their glorious King! The Son of God will bring to an abrupt end “the times of the Gentiles.” The smiting Stone will fall upon the toes of the image. The Antichrist’s cruel reign will be forever ended. And “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). THE NATIONAL RESURRECTION OF ISRAEL The angel continued to show Daniel the vision; and these are the words that follow in Daniel 12:2,
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
While it is true that there will be two resurrections-the first, the resurrection of the redeemed; and the second, the resurrection of the wicked (John 5:29; Revelation 20:4-6; Revelation 20:11-15); and while these words of Daniel 12:2 might well apply to these two resurrections; yet it seems to me that possibly they refer to the national resurrection of Israel. We must not be dogmatic about it; but both interpretations could well be true. However, as Daniel was greatly concerned about his people, Israel; and as the angel had been talking to him about Israel’s deliverance from tribulation in that future time; it seems not too much to say that the prophecy continues to tell of Daniel’s people at the end of this age.
Throughout the prophetic Scriptures Israel is likened to one that has been buried. The vision which God gave to Ezekiel in the thirty-seventh chapter of his prophecy compares the apostate nation to a “valley of dry bones,” from which “an exceeding great army” arises to new life. The nation has long been buried among the Gentile nations of the earth. But to the prophet God said, “Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:1-14).
This, it seems, must be the meaning of the prophecy of Daniel 12:2. God will restore His people to their own land, “some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Those who are among the faithful remnant will “awake . . . to everlasting life.” But evidently some of the Jews who return to Palestine in unbelief-as many will-shall accept the claims of the Antichrist, meeting the demands he makes upon them. If they do, then there is no alternative; they will “awake . . . to shame and everlasting contempt.”
“THEY THAT BE WISE SHALL SHINE . . . AS THE STARS”
In Daniel 12:3 we read-
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
These are beautiful words, and they have encouraged the hearts of soul-winners throughout the centuries! Often when I want to inspire the members of my congregation to renewed zeal in seeking the lost, I let God speak to them through the text. But primarily, this passage seems to fit into the whole vision which God gave to Daniel; and, therefore, refers to the faithful Jewish remnant who will be the missionaries of their soon-coming King during the time of “Great Tribulation” that will come upon the earth.
We have referred to the prophecy concerning them in the seventh chapter of Revelation so often that we need not even quote from it again here. We know that God will seal 12,000 Jews from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, sending them forth to proclaim the coming of the King. And because of their ministry, “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” will stand before the throne of God, having their garments washed white in “the blood of the Lamb.”
There are dozens of cults in this nation today, all of which claim to be the 144,000! But these misguided people fail to read their Bibles aright. All of these witnesses will be Jews. And they will not be “sealed” until after the church has been translated.
Many of the saved in that awful day will be martyrs. They will seal their faith with their blood! But they will refuse to worship “the beast.” They will be looking for their King! And they will be “wise”! Therefore, they “shall shine as the brightness of the firmament.” As the soul winners of that coming day, turning “many to righteousness,” they shall shine “as the stars for ever and ever.”
While this seems to be the interpretation of this passage, in view of the context, yet we would not fail to get the personal, practical message. There is no joy greater than that of leading a never-dying soul to the Lord Jesus Christ! The “fishers of men” will surely receive their reward!
I shall never forget an experience I had in Paris, Texas, many years ago. As a young minister, I had zeal, often without knowledge. God taught me something that I shall remember as long as I live. I believe it holds the secret of how to win lost souls to the Saviour.
Someone had told me of an invalid woman who for twenty-five years had been crippled with what must have been arthritis, as well as paralysis. We called her “Miss Perkins.” She could move only one hand and one side of her mouth, and her body was twisted and stiff. She could not do anything but lie on her back, yet her mind was clear. But saddest of all, her heart was bitter, for she was unsaved. Her mother, too, was resentful, refusing to allow anyone to talk to her daughter about the things of Christ.
However, in my zeal, I called at the home. As tactfully as I could, I asked her how long she had been crippled. I tried to be kind. I did pray for her soul. But the mother ordered me out of the house. The invalid was still unsaved.
Disheartened, I returned to my study and told the incident to my co-pastor, a dear Hebrew Christian, who has since gone to be with Christ. His name was Joseph Flacks. He had given up home and loved ones for his Saviour. We had been students together in the Moody Bible Institute, Chicago; then we worked together in the little church in Texas.
I told Mr. Flacks my story. He made no reply, but he picked up his hat and left. Directly to the home of the invalid he went. He asked her the same question that I had asked. He inquired of her how long she had been crippled. But as he spoke, a tear ran down his face. “I wish I could change places with you,” he said; he meant it! The cold heart was broken; that afternoon Mr. Flacks led Miss Perkins to the Lord Jesus.
However, he did not mention his experience to me that afternoon. I was to preach that evening in the little church.
Into the pulpit I went, not knowing what had happened. Then as I looked, I could hardly believe my eyes! The ushers rolled in a wheel chair; in it was Miss Perkins, her face shining with a new light!
Mr. Flacks knew the secret of soul-winning-a deep love for his Messiah and Lord and a yearning for lost souls. Today both Miss Perkins and Mr. Flacks are in heaven and I know that even now they are shining as “the brightness of the firmament . . . as the stars for ever and ever.”
For that stalwart Hebrew Christian was “wise”!
Miss Perkins was but one of literally scores whom he led to Christ, and of whom he must be saying even now: “What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20).
TWO SIGNS OF “THE TIME OF THE END” In Daniel 12:4 the angel gave Daniel two signs of “the time of the end”; that is, the end of the “Great Tribulation” period, not the end of the world, as misguided souls often say. After the “seventieth week” of Daniel, Christ will rule over the earth for a thousand years. Then this old world will be purified by fire; and there will be “a new heaven and a new earth.” Therefore, it is altogether unscriptural to speak of Christ’s return to earth as “the end of the world.” Daniel had been witnessing the vision of that titanic struggle of the nations in the yet future battle of Armageddon; he had been seeing the untold suffering of his beloved people, Israel, during the reign of “the beast.” And the angel gave him these two signs whereby men might know when “the time of the end” of these things is at hand. Let us read verse 4 together:
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Even in our own generation we can see the rapid fulfillment of this twofold prophecy:
(1) “Many shall run to and fro”;
(2) “knowledge shall be increased.”
Often I have thought of this verse as I have driven along the streets of our great cities. On every side there is a mass of humanity. Many are in automobiles, many in streetcars, many on foot, and many in large transport planes overhead. Doubtless you, too, have asked yourself, “Where are all these people going?” When you sit in a railroad station, waiting for your train, you see countless multitudes, rushing in and out. Where are they going? They are running “to and fro.”
“And knowledge shall be increased.” Think of the millions of young people leaving our high schools and colleges every year! Think of the increased means of communication-the telegraph, the telephone, the radio, and television! Think of the scientific inventions that have come within our own generation, revolutionizing practically every walk of life!
When I was a lad in Sydney, Australia, we lived near a shop where table legs were made. I loved to watch the man as he took a piece of wood, put it between two clasps, worked on it, planed it, getting it ready to fit into its place. It took him twenty-five minutes to plane it on one side, then another twenty-five minutes to make a groove. But table legs are not made in that way now. A plank is pushed through a machine. Before one has time to realize what is taking place, out comes the finished product, all planed and grooved! Machines are doing the work of millions of men-and millions are thus unemployed.
One day I went to the bank to get my statement. I took it home with me, added up the figures, and was sure that I should have had one hundred dollars more credited to my account. Back to the teller I went and told him that I knew the bookkeeper must have made a mistake.
He smiled and said, “Let us see.”
The clerk punched first a red button, then a yellow button; presently out came the statement. Of course, my arithmetic had been wrong, for the machines in that bank could add, subtract, multiply, and count money. We are living in a wonderful day!
“And knowledge shall increase” even more as the age draws to a close, I fully believe.
We are told that “the beast” will come in the power of Satan, working “lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9); that he will perform satanic miracles (Revelation 13:13-15); and that “if it were possible,” the false Christs should “deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24).
It will be largely a Satan-controlled knowledge that “shall increase” as the age comes to a close.
“HOW LONG SHALL IT BE TO THE END OF THESE WONDERS?”
Daniel, beholding the vision, heard a conversation between the heavenly messengers, in Daniel 12:5-7 :
Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
The question raised by the angel must have been also in the mind of Daniel, “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?”
- How long must Israel suffer?
- How long will the Gentile nations fight one another in deadly combat?
- How long will this Satan-controlled regime continue on the earth?
Surely Daniel’s heart must have been heavy as he saw this vision of unspeakable woe to come!
Then “the man clothed in linen” (cf. Daniel 10:5), the angel who showed to the prophet all of this vision, answered the question, saying that these things should continue for “a time” (one year), and “times” (two years), “and an half” (one-half year). Thus once more the prophetic Scriptures dovetail concerning the length of time to be covered by “the Great Tribulation”; that is, the latter half of “the seventieth week” of Daniel’s prophecy of chapter nine. When the Antichrist shall have scattered “the power of the holy people (the faithful remnant in Israel), all these things shall be finished.”
“THE WISE SHALL UNDERSTAND”
Continuing to read Daniel 12:8-10 :
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
The minds and hearts of those who worship “the beast” will be closed to the message of the 144,000 Jews who will herald the coming of the King; but “the wise shall understand.”
Possibly “the wise” shall study diligently the very pages of Daniel and Revelation and other prophetic portions of the Word of God in that day. Surely they will “look up,” knowing that their “redemption draweth nigh.”
It is so in every age with those who are wise in the things of Christ.
Disaster and persecution and sorrow and trial may distress and perplex; but those who trust in the living God can see beyond the troubles of this present life, even to eternity and heaven and the presence of the Lord forevermore. TO WHAT DO THE 1,290 DAYS AND THE 1,335 DAYS REFER? In Daniel 12:11-12 we read-
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
To what do the 1,290 days refer? They cover the same period as that of the 1,260 days, or three and one-half years, of the tribulation, with an added thirty days. They begin with “the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up.”
In other words, they begin with the demand of the Antichrist for universal worship.
He will break his covenant with Israel, refuse to allow them to offer their daily sacrifice in the temple in Jerusalem, and bitterly persecute all who do not give him divine honors.
But why the added thirty days of Daniel 12:11?
Since the 1,260 days cover the tribulation period, even unto the return of Christ to deliver His people, then the added thirty days must extend to the time required for the judgment of the nations, the cleansing of the sanctuary, and the purifying of the earth for the millennial reign of Christ.
In our former lessons we have seen that, when our Lord returns in glory, He shall gather before Him all nations, separating them one from another, “as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-46). He will purge everything that will offend; for His kingdom will be pure. This judgment of the nations, to determine which ones shall enter into Christ’s millennial kingdom, will probably be finished during this period of 1,290 days from the beginning of the tribulation.
To what do the 1,335 days refer?
Why will “he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days” be blessed? Because at that time the earth will be purified, and the glorious reign of Christ will have begun.
The Lord Jesus will have taken the reins of government; and the man who lives on earth to see that day will be blessed; that is, 1,335 days from the beginning of the tribulation period, even unto the time when Christ’s kingdom is fully established, and men are living in peace and righteousness on the earth. THE ANGEL’S FINAL MESSAGE TO DANIEL The heavenly messenger gave Daniel a last word of comfort, precious in its import (Daniel 12:13): But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
We do not know how long Daniel lived after this marvelous revelation was ended, but here was God’s promise that he should “rest from his labours,” at home with his Saviour. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalms 116:15); and Daniel, “beloved of God,” slept with his fathers. His “lot” is his heavenly inheritance, one that “fadeth not away.”
He must have been about ninety-five or ninety-six when he received this last vision. He had seen the seventy years’ captivity of his people come and go. He had lived throughout the reigns of several Babylonian and Persian kings. He had seen many of the prophecies which God gave to him fulfilled, yet there are still some that have not come to pass-after more than two thousand years. Daniel was among that long list of Old Testament saints who, “having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:39-40).
Now, as we bring this series of studies to a close, may I ask you once more, my friend, “Do you know the God of Daniel? Have you been washed ’whiter than snow’ in His precious blood?”
The “times of the Gentiles” are rapidly drawing to a close. This age of grace will soon be over. Look to Jesus, “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) before the church is caught up to be with Christ. Be one of that number which is His bride. Then you will not only escape the awful judgments that are to come upon the world during the reign of the Antichrist; you will not only be forever delivered from Satan’s clutches; but you will also spend all the endless ages with Him who is Daniel’s God, the One who loves you, the One who bore your sins in His own body on the tree. His name is Jesus. He wants to save you today. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
My Christian friend, in these trying days we may look up. Our Lord’s promise is sure: “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12).
Surely our prayer is that of the apostle as he closed the final revelation from God concerning future events, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
~ end of chapter 12 ~