Daniel 12:5-7

b. TERMINATION

TEXT: Daniel 12:5-7

5

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 on that side.

6

And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?

7

And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

QUERIES

a.

Why the other two angelic beings?

b.

Why did one hold up both hands to heaven and swear?

c.

What are the time, times and a half?

PARAPHRASE

Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two other angels, besides the one in linen, one on each bank of the Tigris River. And one of them asked the one who was clothed in linen and now hovered above the waters of the river, How long will it be until all these extraordinary terrors end? This great angel then lifted both his hands toward heaven, swearing by Him who lives forever and ever, and declared that they would end in three and one-half years; in other words, when the scattering of a part of the holy people shall have ceased, then all these extraordinary terrors will have come to their end.

COMMENT

Daniel 12:5. THERE STOOD TWO. Why the appearance of two other angels? Most likely as witnesses of the oath to be taken by the angel dressed in linen and to confirm the very significant announcement about the end of the troublous times this angel was to make. The river is the Tigris.

Daniel 12:6. HOW LONG SHALL IT BE TO THE END OF THESE WONDERS? Lange says the angel hovering above the river serves to designate the mighty and swiftly flowing stream of the Tigris. as a symbol of the surging world of nations over which the good spirit of the world-power exercises sway as a beneficent and guiding principle of order. The wonders are the extraordinary sufferings which Antiochus IV was to bring upon the holy people.

Daniel 12:7. IT SHALL BE FOR A TIME, TIMES, AND A HALF. That the angel swears by the name of the Almighty God is indication of the solemn significance of the announcement about to come.

What must necessarily guide us in the determination of the 3½ times is the question, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? We believe this question, in the present context, can only have reference to the extraordinary terrors of the reign of Antiochus IVnot to some New Testament Antichrist removed by at least some 2000 years from those O.T. saints for whom Daniel's revelation was given. We have discussed earlier (Daniel 7:23-25) the meaning of time, times and half a time. It symbolizes a definite period of time in round numbers which God knows exactly but man does not need to know. Further, 3½ being half of 7 (the perfect number), symbolizes a time that shall not be complete or last forever. Now it happens that from the time that Antiochus IV first removed the daily sacrifice from the Temple until Judas Maccabeus purified the Temple it was a little over 3½years. So the angel dressed in linen has answered the angel who asked that the time of extraordinary terror for the holy people will be, in round Numbers, 3½ years.

The angel adds a qualifying, clarifying remark. When the dispersing of the power of the Hebrew people comes to an endwhen their being scattered ceasesthis will signal the end of the extraordinary terrors of the Contemptible One. It is interesting to observe that when the scattered Jews were finally rallied under the Maccabees (1 Maccabees 8), the purifying of the Temple takes place and the subsequent death of Antiochus IV is announced (1 Maccabees 9, 10). A more exact time to denote the beginning and ending of this extraordinary trouble is declared in the next section.

QUIZ

1.

What does the word wonders mean in Daniel 12:6?

2.

How long is time, times and a half?

3.

Why is it improper to apply these 3½ times to a N.T. Antichrist?

4.

How does 3½ years coincide with the most terrible times of Antiochus IV?

5.

How does the phrase, ... an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people clarify the 3½years?