Daniel 12:3
Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain
Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain
Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain
Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain
Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain
Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain
- וְהַמַּשְׂכִּלִיםve·Ha·mas·ki·Limand those [who] have insightH7919Conj-w ¦ Art ¦ V-Hiphil-Prtcpl-mpVerb Hiphil Participle Plural Masculine Absoluteוְandהַthoseמַּשְׂכִּלִים[who] have insight
- יַזְהִרוּyaz·Hi·ruthey will shineH2094V-Hiphil-Imperf-3mpVerb Hiphil Imperfect 3rd Plural Masculine
- כְּזֹהַרke·Zo·harlike [the] shining ofH2096Prep-k ¦ N-mscNoun Singular Masculine Constructכְּlikeזֹהַר[the] shining of
- הָרָקִיעַha·ra·Ki·a'the firmamentH7549Art ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteהָtheרָקִיעַfirmament
- וּמַצְדִּיקֵיu·matz·di·Keiand [those who] turn to righteousnessH6663Conj-w ¦ V-Hiphil-Prtcpl-mpVerb Hiphil Participle Plural Masculine Constructוּandמַצְדִּיקֵי[those who] turn to righteousness
- הָרַבִּיםha·ra·Bim[of] the many [people]H7227Art ¦ Adj-mpAdjective Plural Masculine Absoluteהָ[of] theרַבִּיםmany [people]
- כַּכּוֹכָבִיםka·ko·kha·Vimlike the starsH3556Prep-k ¦ N-mpNoun Plural Masculine Absoluteכַּlike theכּוֹכָבִיםstars
- לְעוֹלָםle·'o·Lamfor everH5769Prep-l ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteלְforעוֹלָםever
- וָעֶדva·'Edand everH5703Conj-w ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteוָandעֶדever
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Hebrew, not the KJV's wording. Why?
This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Hebrew word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Hebrew word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “the LORD” where the gloss reads “Yahweh”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.
Words in [ ] are added by the English.
- firmament (KJV) / heavens (BSB) רָקִיעַ
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Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Daniel 12:1–4. He set out his notes in a two-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.
It is usual with the prophets, when they foretel the grievances of the church, to furnish it at the same time with proper antidotes, a remedy for every malady. And no relief is so sovereign, of such general application, so easily accommodated to every case, and of such powerful efficacy, as those that are fetched from Christ and the future state; thence the comforts here are fetched.
I.Jesus Christ shall appear his church's patron and protector:
At that time, when the persecution is at the hottest, Michael shall stand up, Daniel 12:1. The angel had told Daniel what a firm friend Michael was to the church, Daniel 10:21. He all along showed this friendship in the upper world; the angels knew it; but now Michael shall stand up in his providence, and work deliverance for the Jews, when he sees that their power is gone, Deuteronomy 32:36. Christ is that great prince, for he is the prince of the kings of the earth, Revelation 1:5. And, if he stand up for his church, who can be against it? But this is not all: At that time (that is, soon after) Michael shall stand up for the working out of our eternal salvation; the Son of God shall be incarnate, shall be manifested to destroy the works of the devil. Christ stood for the children of our people when he was made sin and a curse for them, stood in their stead as a sacrifice, bore the cure for them, to bear it from them. He stands for them in the intercession he ever lives to make within the veil, stands up for them, and stands their friend. And after the destruction of antichrist, of whom Antiochus was a type, Christ shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, shall appear for the complete redemption of all his.
II.When Christ appears he will recompense tribulation to those that trouble his people.
There shall be a time of trouble, threatening to all, but ruining to all the implacable enemies of God's kingdom among men, such trouble as never was since there was a nation. This is applicable.
1.To the destruction of Jerusalem, which Christ calls (perhaps with an eye to this prediction) such a great tribulation as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, Matthew 24:21. This the angel had spoken much of (Daniel 9:26, Daniel 9:27); and it happened about the same time that Christ set up the gospel-kingdom in the world, that Michael our prince stands up. Or,
2.To the judgment of the great day, that day that shall burn as an oven, and consume the proud and all that do wickedly; that will be such a day of trouble as never was to all those whom Michael our prince stands against.
III.He will work salvation for his people:
"At that time thy people shall be delivered, delivered from the mischief and ruin designed them by Antiochus, even all those that were marked for preservation, that were written among the living," Isaiah 4:3. When Christ comes into the world he will save his spiritual Israel from sin and hell, and will, at his second coming, complete their salvation, even the salvation of as many as were given him, as many as have their names in the book of life, Revelation 20:15. They were written there before the world, and will be found written there at the end of the world, when the books shall be opened.
IV.There shall be a distinguishing resurrection of those that sleep in the dust, Daniel 12:2.
1.When God works deliverance for his people from persecution it is a kind of resurrection; so the Jews' release out of Babylon was represented in vision (Eze. 37) and so the deliverance of the Jews from Antiochus, and other restorations of the church to outward prosperity; they were as life from the dead. Many of those who had long slept in the dust of obscurity and calamity shall then awake, some to that life, and honour, and comfort which will be lasting, everlasting; but to others, who, when they return to their prosperity, will return to their iniquity, it will be a resurrection to shame and contempt, for the prosperity of fools will but expose them and destroy them.
2.When, upon the appearing of Michael our prince, his gospel is preached, many of those who sleep in the dust, both Jews and Gentiles, shall be awakened by it to take upon them a profession of religion, and shall rise out of their heathenism or Judaism; but, since there will be always a mixture of hypocrites with true saints, it is but some of those who are raised to life to whom the gospel is a savour of life unto life, but others will be raised by it to shame and contempt, to whom the gospel of Christ will be a savour of death unto death, and Christ himself set for their fall. The net of the gospel encloses both good and bad. But,
3.It must be meant of the general resurrection at the last day: The multitude of those that sleep in the dust shall awake, that is, all, which shall be a great many. Or, Of those that sleep in the dust many shall arise to life and many to shame. The Jews themselves understand this of the resurrection of the dead at the end of time; and Christ seems to have an eye to it when he speaks of the resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation (John 5:29); and upon this the Jews are said by St. Paul to expect a resurrection of the dead both of the just and of the unjust, Acts 24:15. And nothing could come in more seasonably here, for, under Antiochus's persecution, some basely betrayed their religion, others bravely adhered to it. Now it would be a trouble to them that, when the storm was over, they could neither reward the one nor punish the other; this therefore would be a satisfaction to them, that they would both be recompensed according to their works in the resurrection. And the apostle, speaking of the pious Jews that suffered martyrdom under Antiochus, tells us that though they were tortured yet they accepted not deliverance, because they hoped to obtain this better resurrection, Hebrews 11:35.
V.There shall be a glorious reward conferred on those who, in the day of trouble and distress, being themselves wise, did instruct many.
Such were taken particular notice of in the prophecy of the persecution (Daniel 11:33), that they should do eminent service, and yet should fall by the sword and by flame; now, if there were not another life after this, they would be of all men most miserable, and therefore we are here assured that they shall be recompensed in the resurrection of the just (Daniel 12:3): Those that are wise (that are teachers, so some read it, for teachers have need of wisdom, and those that have wisdom themselves should communicate it to others) shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, shall shine in glory, heavenly glory, the glory of the upper world; and those that by the wisdom they have, and the instructions they give, are instrumental to turn any, especially to turn many to righteousness, shall shine as the stars for ever and ever. Note,
1.There is a glory reserved for all the saints in the future state, for all that are wise, wise for their souls and eternity. A man's wisdom now makes his face to shine (Ecclesiastes 8:1), but much more will it do so in that state where its power shall be perfected and its services rewarded.
2.The more good any do in this world, especially to the souls of men, the greater will be their glory and reward in the other world. Those that turn men to righteousness, that turn sinners from the errors of their ways and help to save their souls from death (James 5:20), will share in the glory of those they have helped to heaven, which will be a great addition to their own glory.
3.Ministers of Christ, who have obtained mercy of him to be faithful and successful, and so are made burning and shining lights in this world, shall shine very brightly in the other world, shall shine as the stars. Christ is the sun, the fountain, of the lights both of grace and glory; ministers, as stars, shine in both, with a light derived from him, and a diminutive light in comparison of him; yet to those that are earthen vessels it will be a glory infinitely transcending their deserts. They shall shine as the stars of different magnitudes, some in less, others in greater lustre; but, whereas the day is coming when the stars shall fall from heaven as leaves in autumn, these stars shall shine for ever and ever, shall never set, never be eclipsed.
VI.That this prophecy of those times, though sealed up now, would be of great use to those that should live then, Daniel 12:4.
Daniel must now shut up the words and seal the book because the time would be long ere these things would be accomplished: and it was some comfort that the Jewish nation, though, in the infancy of their return from Babylon, while they were few and weak, they met with obstructions in their work, were not persecuted for their religion till a long time after, when they had grown to some strength and maturity. He must seal the book because it would not be understood, and therefore would not be regarded, till the things contained in it were accomplished; but he must keep it safely, as a treasure of great value, laid up for the ages to come, to whom it would be of great service; for many shall then run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Then this hidden treasure shall be opened, and many shall search into it, and dig for the knowledge of it, as for silver. They shall run to and fro, to enquire out copies of it, shall collate them, and see that they be true and authentic. They shall read it over and over, shall meditate upon it, and run it over in their minds; discurrent - they shall discourse of it, and talk it over among themselves, and compare notes about it, if by any means they may sift out the meaning of it; and thus knowledge shall be increased. By consulting this prophecy on this occasion they shall be led to search other scriptures, which shall contribute much to their advancement in useful knowledge; for then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord, Hosea 6:3. Those that would have their knowledge increased must take pains, must not sit still in slothfulness and bare wishes but run to and fro, must make use of all the means of knowledge and improve all opportunities of getting their mistakes rectified, their doubts resolved, and their acquaintance with the things of God improved, to know more and to know better what they do know. And let us here see reason to hope that,
1.Those things of God which are now dark and obscure will hereafter be made clear, and easy to be understood. Truth is the daughter of time. Scripture prophecies will be expounded by the accomplishment of them; therefore they are given, and for that explication they are reserved. Therefore they are told us before, that, when they do come to pass, we may believe.
2.Those things of God which are despised and neglected, and thrown by as useless, shall be brought into reputation, shall be found to be of great service, and be brought into request; for divine revelation, however slighted for a time, shall be magnified and made honourable, and, above all, in the judgment of the great day, when the books shall be opened, and that book among the rest.
Historical interpretation
Three Centuries of Reception
9 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
The person who loves God shall arrive at such excellence as even to see God, and hear his word and from the hearing of his discourse be glorified to such an extent that others cannot behold the glory of his countenance.
"And they that be wise shall shine." And the Lord has said the same thing in the Gospel: "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun."
Quick, flee from sin, think at once of death, for it is written, “The prudent person treats sin harshly, and the face of ascetics will shine like the sun.”
Gabriel speaks to Daniel.… Therefore the most holy Gabriel foretold that the saints should shine like the stars: for his sacred name did witness to them, that they might understand the truth. Nor is a resurrection only declared for the martyrs but for all people, righteous and unrighteous, godly and ungodly, that every one may receive according to his desert. For God, says the Scripture, “will bring every work to judgment.”
This body shall rise, but it will not abide in its present condition but as an eternal body. No longer will it, as now, need nourishment for life or stairs for its ascent, for it will become spiritual, a marvelous thing, beggaring description. “Then shall the just,” it is said, “shine forth like the sun and the moon and like the splendor of the firmament.” God, foreknowing human unbelief, has given to the smallest worms to emit from their bodies beams of light in the summer, that natural fluorescence might be a parable of what we expect.… He who makes the worm shine luminously will much more illumine the just person. Therefore we shall rise again, all with eternal bodies, though not all with like bodies. A just person will receive a heavenly body, to dwell worthily with the angels, whereas the sinner will receive an eternal body and so never be consumed, though it burn eternally in fire.
Death … is entered on for a time and then … is put aside. He has shown, too, that the course of the life that is to be after death will be better than that which before death is passed in pain and sorrow. For the life after death is compared with the stars, while our life here is condemned to misery.
Is he not good, who exalted the earth to heaven, so that, just as the bright companies of stars reflect his glory in the sky, as in a mirror, so the choirs of apostles, martyrs and priests, shining like glorious stars, might give light throughout the world.
Verses 1-3. "But at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who stands for the children of thy people, and a time shall come such as never occurred from the time that nations began to exist even unto that time. And at that time shall thy people be saved, even everyone who shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, that they may behold it always. But those who are instructed shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that instruct many as to righteousness, as the stars for all eternity." Up until this point Porphyry somehow managed to maintain his position and impose upon the credulity of the naive among our adherents as well as the poorly educated among his own. But what can he say of this chapter, in which is described the resurrection of the dead, with one group being revived for eternal life and the other group for eternal disgrace? He cannot even specify who the people were under Antiochus who shone like the brightness of the firmament, and those others who shone like the stars for all eternity. But what will pigheadedness not resort to? Like some bruised serpent, he lifts up his head as he is about to die, and pours forth his venom upon those who are themselves at the point of death. This too, he declares, was written with reference to Antiochus, for after he had invaded Persia, he left his army with Lysias, who was in charge of Antioch and Phoenicia, for the purpose of warring against the Jews and destroying their city of Jerusalem. All these details are related by Josephus, the author of the history of the Hebrews. Porphyry contends that the tribulation was such as had never previously occurred, and that a time came along such as had never been from the time that races began to exist even unto that time. But when victory was bestowed upon them, and the generals of Antiochus had been slain, and Antiochus himself had died in Persia, the people of Israel experienced salvation, even all who had been written down in the book of God, that is, those who defended the law with great bravery. Contrasted with them were those who proved to be transgressors of the Law and sided with the party of Antiochus. Then it was, he asserts, that these guardians of the Law, who had been, as it were, slumbering in the dust of the earth and were cumbered with a load of afflictions, and even hidden away, as it were, in the tombs of wretchedness, rose up once more from the dust of the earth to a victory unhoped for, and lifted up their heads, rising up to everlasting life, even as the transgressors rose up to everlasting disgrace. But those masters and teachers who possessed a knowledge of the Law shall shine like the heaven, and those who have exhorted the more backward peoples to observe the rites of God shall blaze forth after the fashion of the stars for all eternity. He also adduces the historical account concerning the Maccabees, in which it is said that many Jews under the leadership of Mattathias and Judas Maccabaeus fled to the desert and hid in caves and holes in the rocks, and came forth again after the victory (I Macc. 2.) These things, then, were foretold in metaphorical language as if it concerned a resurrection of the dead. But the more reasonable understanding of the matter is that in the time of the Antichrist there shall occur a tribulation such as there has never been since nations began to exist. For assume that Lysias won the victory instead of being defeated, and that he completely crushed the Jews instead of their conquering; certainly such tribulation would not have been comparable to that of the time when Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians, the Temple was destroyed, and all the people were led off into captivity. And so after the Antichrist is crushed and destroyed by the breath of the Savior's mouth, the people written in God's book shall be saved; and in accordance with the merits of each, some shall rise up unto eternal life and others unto eternal shame. But the teachers shall resemble the very heavens, and those who have instructed others shall be compared to the brightness of the stars. For it is not enough to know wisdom unless one also instructs others; and the tongue of instruction which remains silent and edifies no one else can receive no reward for labor accomplished. This passage is expressed by Theodo-tion and the Vulgate edition in the following fashion: "And those who understand shall shine forth like the radiance of the firmament, and many of the righteous like the stars forever and ever." Many people often ask whether a learned saint and an ordinary saint shall both enjoy the same reward and one and the same dwelling-place in heaven. Well then, the statement is made here, according to Theodotion's rendering, that the learned will resemble the very heavens, whereas the righteous who are without learning are only compared to the brightness of the stars. And so the difference between learned godliness and mere godly rusticity shall be the difference between heaven and the stars.
“And the wise will shine.…” And the Lord says in the holy Gospels, “Then the righteous will shine like the sun.” “And from their many righteous deeds, they will shine like the stars forever and ever.” The most upright above all will be compared with the brightness of the firmament and with the light of the sun itself. Those who are less than these (that is what he means by the word “many”) will imitate the luster of the stars, sending down this light forever. So also Paul distinguished the ranks of the godly: “The glory of the sun is one kind, the glory of the moon another, and the glory of the stars yet another, for star differs from star in glory.”
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This verse
The wise will shine like the bright sky, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars for ever and ever.
“And they that be wise”
Those who understand God’s ways and live by them, especially in the time of trouble.
“shall shine as the brightness of the firmament;”
Their glory is like the wide, bright sky.
“and they that turn many to righteousness”
Those who lead others to repentance, faith and right standing with God.
“as the stars for ever and ever.”
Their glory is like the stars, countless and lasting, and it lasts for ever.
God’s People Delivered and the Dead Raised
Daniel 12:1–4
Summary
At the close of Daniel’s last vision, the angel tells him what will happen when the troubles of the last days reach their height. Michael, the great prince who stands for Daniel’s people, will stand up. There will be a time of trouble worse than any since there was a nation, and in it God’s people will be delivered, every one found written in the book. Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. The wise will shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars for ever. Then Daniel is told to shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. In four verses God tells his people that the darkest days of history are in his hands, that he knows every one who is his, and that the dead will rise to face him.
Where these verses stand in Daniel’s last vision
“And at that time” ties verse 1 to what comes just before it. Daniel’s final vision began in Daniel 10, while Daniel lived under the Persian Empire, after some of the exiles had returned to Jerusalem. Chapter 11 traces the long wars between the king of the north and the king of the south, which we read as history running from Persia through the Greek kingdoms to Antiochus IV Epiphanes. In Daniel 11:36–45 the language reaches past any of those kings to a last tyrant who exalts himself at the end of the age. Chapter 12 opens at that point. After all the rising and falling of earthly powers, God steps in, and the vision ends with deliverance, resurrection and a command to keep the words safe.
Who is Michael, and why does he stand up?
Michael is a mighty angel, “the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people”, the guardian God has appointed over Israel. His name, Mîykâʼêl, means “who is like God?”, a question with only one answer, so even his name points away from himself to the God he serves. Scripture calls him the archangel who contended with the devil (Jude 1:9), and it shows Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon (Revelation 12:7). He is a chief prince, a warrior and defender who protects God’s covenant people.
“Standeth for” describes his standing charge, and “shall Michael stand up” describes the moment he acts. When the trouble of chapter 11 is at its worst, he rises to defend God’s people. So God is at work in the most chaotic hours of history, and he sends his angels to carry out his purposes. The tyrant has his day, and then heaven answers.
What is the time of trouble?
The time of trouble is a coming period of distress greater than anything since nations began. The Hebrew word tsârâh means tightness, distress, anguish or calamity, the pressure of being hemmed in on every side. Daniel hears that it will be “such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time”, so nothing in all history up to that day will match it. The prophets before Daniel, Jeremiah among them, had already spoken of a future time of great suffering for Israel.
Jesus took up these words when he spoke of the days before his coming: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21). This is why the time is often called the Great Tribulation, the trouble Jesus warned of in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24). It tests and purifies God’s people, and it brings judgment on the unrighteous.
Who are those written in the book?
“Thy people” are Daniel’s people, God’s covenant people, and the promise is that “at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” The deliverance comes in the very time of the trouble, so God brings his own through it. The verb kâthab means to grave, to inscribe, to describe or to write, and a name written in God’s book stands on record with him. Kings kept written records, as the Persian king in Esther had “the book of records of the chronicles” read before him, and God keeps his own record of those who belong to him.
Scripture calls it the book of life. Paul speaks of his fellow labourers “whose names are in the book of life” (Philippians 4:3). John sees the dead judged “out of those things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:12), and “whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). Into the holy city come “they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). The book speaks of God’s knowledge of his people, his choosing of them and his faithfulness to his covenant. Believers’ names are written there through faith in Christ, by his atoning death and his resurrection, and so their final deliverance is safe in God’s hands.
The dead shall awake
Verse 2 carries the hope of the vision past the grave: “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.” It is the clearest statement in the Old Testament that the dead will be raised in body, and that the righteous and the wicked will rise to two different ends.
Why death is called sleep
The word yâshên means sleepy or asleep, and here it is a picture of death. Scripture often speaks of the dead as sleeping, because sleep ends in waking. The verb for awake, qûwts, means to awake or arise, from sleep or in a figurative sense, and set against “sleep” it means the resurrection of the dead, brought about by the power of God.
“The dust of the earth” (ʻaphar ha’adamah) speaks of burial and of the body’s return to the ground. It recalls how “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7) and told Adam, “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19). The God who made man from the dust will raise him from it.
“Many” (rab) means a multitude, a vast number of people. Jesus confirms this awakening and says that it will reach everyone in the grave: “the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28–29).
Everlasting life and everlasting contempt
Both destinies are called everlasting. The word ʻôwlâm means time out of mind, past or future, and so in practice eternity or for ever. Said of life and of contempt in the same verse, it shows that both outcomes are permanent. Everlasting life (chayyei ‘olam) is endless life with God, set free from sin and suffering, when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4). Shame (cherpah) is disgrace, reproach and public humiliation, and contempt (dera’on) is abhorrence, being an object of loathing. Together with “everlasting” they describe lasting disgrace for the unrighteous, apart from God. Jesus speaks of the same two ends: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:46).
This is God’s justice. Every person is accountable to him, and in the end he will reward righteousness and judge wickedness, and he will distinguish for ever between those who are righteous in his sight and those who stay in rebellion.
Is Daniel 12:2 the first mention of resurrection in the Bible?
Daniel 12:2 is the clearest and most explicit Old Testament statement of bodily resurrection, and earlier Scripture already looks toward it. Job says that after his skin is destroyed, “yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:26), and Isaiah prophesies, “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise” (Isaiah 26:19). What Daniel makes plain is that those who rise go to two different eternal ends. The pagan beliefs of the day often left out both a bodily resurrection and a just judgment of all.
Is there a second chance after this resurrection?
The verse names two outcomes and calls both of them everlasting, so the time to turn to God is this life. Daniel speaks of no third outcome and of no change once the dead are raised. Hebrews says the same: “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Today God holds out his offer of life, and that is why this warning matters now.
The wise shall shine
Verse 3 turns to those raised to life: “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.” It is a promise of glory set right after the stark contrast of verse 2, and it gives God’s people reason to stay faithful in the coming turmoil.
Who are the wise?
The wise are those who understand God and his ways and live by what they understand, especially in days of trouble. The verb is sâkal, and from it comes the word for “the wise” here, maskilim. In this form the verb means to be wise and have understanding, to make wise or instruct, to consider, and to prosper. So the wise of this verse grasp God’s word and his purposes and are faithful to them in daily life. Wisdom (chokmah) was highly prized in Israel, joining insight from God with skill and moral uprightness. The wise are like the men of Issachar, “which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32).
What does it mean to turn many to righteousness?
To turn many to righteousness is to lead others into a right standing with God and a life that pleases him. The word is tsâdaq, to be right or to make right, in a moral or a legal sense, and so to be just or to justify. Those who do this bring others to repentance and faith by sharing the gospel, teaching God’s word and living rightly before them. Proverbs says, “he that winneth souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30), and Jesus sent his disciples to “teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19–20). The work is precious to God, who is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Wisdom and this work belong together, because those who truly understand God’s truth long to see others brought into a right relationship with him.
Shining like the sky and the stars
To shine is zâhar, to gleam, and figuratively to enlighten, so the same word can mean to admonish, to teach or to warn. Here the shining is a reward, a visible glory and honour from God. The firmament (raqia) is the wide expanse of the sky, the work of God’s hands in Genesis 1:6–8. Stars are countless and lasting, and Scripture uses them as pictures of rulers and of angels (Numbers 24:17, Revelation 1:20). “For ever and ever” makes this glory endless, far beyond any honour this world gives. Jesus says, “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43), and Paul writes of the risen body, “one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:41–42).
Why is Daniel told to seal the book?
Daniel is told to keep the words safe until God’s appointed time: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end.” To shut up, çâtham, means to stop up or to keep secret, and to seal, châtham, means to close up, especially with a seal. Royal decrees, legal documents and important records were sealed to show they were genuine, to guard them from tampering and to keep them closed until the right time or the right person. So the seal says two things at once. Daniel’s prophecies are authentic and God will preserve them, and their full meaning waits for the time he has set.
“The words” are the prophecies Daniel has received, and “the book” is the written record of his visions. God unveils his purposes on his own timetable: “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Isaiah speaks of a vision become “as the words of a book that is sealed” (Isaiah 29:11). In Revelation, John sees a book sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:1–5), and only the Lamb who was slain is found worthy to open it (Revelation 5:6).
What is the time of the end?
The time of the end is the period leading up to the close of history, the final judgment and the setting up of God’s eternal kingdom. Daniel hears the phrase more than once (Daniel 8:17, Daniel 11:35). Believers differ on when it begins, but the words are sealed “even to” that time, which means they will be understood more clearly as it draws near. Paul tells believers, “ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:4), and Jesus told those who could read the face of the sky to discern “the signs of the times” as well (Matthew 16:3).
Running to and fro and the increase of knowledge
“Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” The verb for running to and fro, shûwṭ, can mean moving about, as in travel, and it can also describe a diligent search, a spreading of news, or a restless, unsettled people. Knowledge, daʻath, means knowledge, including skill and discernment.
Believers differ on what these words describe. Some see in them the travel, science and flood of information of the modern world, and take these as signs that the time of the end is near. Others hear the diligent searching of Scripture and a growing understanding of Daniel’s prophecy as the sealed words open, or the gospel going out across the world, until “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). On every reading, the knowledge that matters most is the knowledge of God’s plan, centred on Christ. These words call us to sober watchfulness and patient study, and setting dates goes beyond anything they say.
How these verses point to Christ
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26). He showed his power over death by rising himself, and the angels at the tomb said, “He is not here, but is risen” (Luke 24:6–7). The everlasting life of verse 2 is the life he gives to everyone who believes (John 3:16), and he is the one “ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead” (Acts 10:42). So the two destinies of verse 2 turn on him.
Michael’s standing for God’s people points to Christ, the Prince of Peace and Head of the Church, who “ever liveth to make intercession” for those who come to God by him (Hebrews 7:25). Christ is the great Deliverer of verse 1, who triumphs over all evil and secures his people. He is also “the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24), and he is the one who turns sinners to righteousness: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He said, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32), and he calls himself “the bright and morning star” (Revelation 22:16). The saints who shine like stars shine with his glory. The sealed book of Daniel waits for the Lamb who opens the seals, and the time of the end closes with the return of the one who is “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13).
Living as those written in the book
These verses look straight at the worst trouble the world will ever see, and they end in light. If you belong to Christ, your name is written in God’s book, and your security rests with the God who knows you by name. That gives us courage to persevere when things grow hard, and gratitude for a salvation already promised. Death for the believer is a sleep, and the morning is coming.
The promise to the wise and to those who turn many to righteousness gives eternal worth to ordinary faithfulness: learning God’s word, living by it, and helping someone else come to him. For anyone who has yet to turn to God, verse 2 is a solemn warning given in mercy while there is still time to be reconciled to him through Christ. And the sealed book teaches patience. God makes his word plain in his own time, so we can study it gladly and watch for the Lord’s return with sober, steady hope.
Daniel 12:1
“And at that time shall Michael stand up,”
“That time” is the end of the self-exalting king’s career in Daniel 11. Michael’s rising is God’s answer to it.
“the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:”
Michael’s title shows his authority in heaven and his particular charge over Israel, Daniel’s own people.
“and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time:”
The comparison reaches back to the first nation, so this distress is the worst in all history.
“and at that time thy people shall be delivered,”
The same “at that time” that brings the trouble brings the rescue.
“every one that shall be found written in the book.”
Each one is known by name. Deliverance belongs to those God has recorded as his own.
Daniel 12:2
“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth”
The dead are pictured as sleepers lying in the ground they were made from.
“shall awake,”
Their waking is the resurrection of the body, God’s own work.
“some to everlasting life,”
The first group rises to endless life with God.
“and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
The second rises to disgrace and abhorrence. “Everlasting” stands over both ends alike, so both are final.
Daniel 12:3 This verse
“And they that be wise”
Those who understand God’s ways and live by them, especially in the time of trouble.
“shall shine as the brightness of the firmament;”
Their glory is like the wide, bright sky.
“and they that turn many to righteousness”
Those who lead others to repentance, faith and right standing with God.
“as the stars for ever and ever.”
Their glory is like the stars, countless and lasting, and it lasts for ever.
Daniel 12:4
“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words,”
A direct command from the angel to Daniel to keep the prophecies safe and closed.
“and seal the book,”
The seal marks the book as genuine and guards it until the appointed time.
“even to the time of the end:”
The sealing lasts until the closing period of history, when the words will be understood.
“many shall run to and fro,”
Many will move about or search diligently.
“and knowledge shall be increased.”
Knowledge will grow, and above all the knowledge of God’s plan as the sealed words open.
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