Daniel 12:5,6

The Final Analysis.

‘Then I Daniel looked, and behold there stood other two, the one on the brink of the river on this side, and the other on the brink of the river at that side. And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be to the end of these wonders?” '

We must assume that the two men were angels (compare Daniel 8:13). They were there only to observe and question, and to witness the oath. Possibly they are to be seen as attendants on the man in the linen clothes, emphasising his importance. He himself was ‘above the waters' (repeated in Daniel 12:7). This repetition emphasised that this great river, which was one of the two sources of the fruitfulness and life of the area, was under his authority. Their question was a simple one. How long would it be before all these awesome events were fulfilled?

The word used for river is one regularly used for the Nile, but not exclusively (see Isaiah 33:21). It signifies a great river that produces fruitfulness. But Daniel must have chosen it deliberately. He may well have had Isaiah 33:21 in mind, ‘but there YHWH will be with us in majesty, a place of broad rivers and streams --', for he had here met with God through one who was truly majestic.

‘These awesome events (wonders).' There is no clear indication of what specifically these words cover. It may be the whole of what has been revealed in Daniel 11:2 to Daniel 12:3. There is no reason for restricting them to any section.