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Commentary on Daniel 12 verses 5–13
Daniel had been made to foresee the amazing revolutions of states and kingdoms, as far as the Israel of God was concerned in them; in them he foresaw troublous times to the church, suffering trying times, the prospect of which much affected him and filled him with concern. Now there were two questions proper to be asked upon this head: - When shall the end be? And, What shall the end be? These two questions are asked and answered here, in the close of the book; and though the comforts prescribed in the foregoing verses, one would think, were satisfactory enough, yet, for more abundant satisfaction, this is added.
I. The question, When shall the end be? is asked by an angel, Dan 12:5, Dan 12:6. Concerning this we may observe,
1.Who it was that asked the question. Daniel had had a vision of Christ in his glory, the man clothed in linen, Dan 10:5. But his discourse had been with the angel Gabriel, and now he looks, and behold other two (Dan 12:5), two angels that he had not seen before, one upon the bank of the river on one side and the other on the other side, that, the river being between them, they might not whisper to one another, but what they said might be heard. Christ stood on the waters of the river, (Dan 12:6), between the banks of Ulai; it was therefore proper that the angels his attendants should stand on either bank, that they might be ready to go, one one way and the other the other way, as he should order them. These angels appeared, (1.) To adorn the vision, and make it the more illustrious; and to add to the glory of the Son of man, Heb 1:6. Daniel had not seen them before, though it is probable that they were there; but now, when they began to speak, he looked up, and saw them. Note, The further we look into the things of God, and the more we converse with them, the more we shall see of those things, and still new discoveries will be made to us; those that know much, if they improve it, shall know more. (2.) To confirm the discovery, that out of the mouth of two or three witnesses the word might be established. Three angels appeared to Abraham. (3.) To inform themselves, to hear and ask questions; for the mysteries of God's kingdom are things which the angels desire to look into (Pe1 1:12) and they are known to the church, Eph 3:10. Now one of these two angels said, When shall the end be? Perhaps they both asked, first one and then the other, but Daniel heard only one.
2.To whom this question was put, to the man clothed in linen, of whom we read before (Dan 10:5), to Christ our great high priest, who was upon the waters of the river, and whose spokesman, or interpreter, the angel Gabriel had all this while been. This river was Hiddekel (Dan 10:4), the same with Tigris, the place whereabout many of the events prophesied of would happen; there therefore is the scene laid. Hiddekel was mentioned as one of the rivers that watered the garden of Eden (Gen 2:14); fitly therefore does Christ stand upon that river, for by him the trees in the paradise of God are watered. Waters signify people, and so his standing upon the waters denotes his dominion over all; he sits upon the flood (Psa 29:10); he treads upon the waters of the sea, Job 9:8. And Christ, to show that this was he, in the days of his flesh walked upon the waters, Mat 14:25. He was above the waters of the river (so some read it); he appeared in the air over the river.
3.What the question was: How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? Daniel would not ask the question, because he would not pry into what was hidden, nor seem inquisitive concerning the times and the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power, Act 1:7. But, that he might have the satisfaction of the answer, the angel put the question in his hearing. Our Lord Jesus sometimes answered the questions which his disciples were afraid or ashamed to ask, Joh 16:19. The angel asked as one concerned, How long shall it be? What is the time prefixed in the divine counsels for the end of these wonders, these suffering trying times, that are to pass over the people of God? Note, (1.) The troubles of the church are the wonder of angels. They are astonished that God will suffer his church to be thus afflicted, and are anxious to know what good he will do his church by its afflictions. (2.) Good angels know no more of things to come than God is pleased to discover to them, much less do evil angels. (3.) The holy angels in heaven are concerned for the church on earth, and lay to heart its afflictions; how much more then should we, who are more immediately related to it, and have so much of our peace in its peace?
4.What answer was returned to it by him who is indeed the numberer of secrets, and knows things to come.
(1.)Here is a more general account given of the continuance of these troubles to the angel that made the enquiry (Dan 12:7), that they shall continue for a time, times, and a half, that is, a year, two years, and half a year, as was before intimated (Dan 7:25), but the one half of a prophetical week. Some understand it indefinitely, a certain time for an uncertain; it shall be for a time (a considerable time), for times (a longer time yet, double what it was thought at first that it would be), and yet indeed it shall be but half a time, or a part of a time; when it is over it shall seem not half so much as was feared. But it is rather to be taken for a certain time; we meet with it in the Revelation, under the title sometimes of three days and a half, put for three years and a half, sometimes forty-two months, sometimes 1260 days. Now this determination of the time is here [1.] Confirmed by an oath. The man clothed in linen lifted up both his hands to heaven, and swore by him that lives for ever and ever that it should be so. Thus the mighty angel whom St. John saw is brought in, with a plain reference to this vision, standing with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth, and with his hand lifted up to heaven, swearing that there shall be no longer delay, Rev 10:5, Rev 10:6. This Mighty One that Daniel saw stood with both feet on the water, and swore with both hands lifted up. Note, An oath is of use for confirmation; God only is to be sworn by, for he is the proper Judge to whom we are to appeal; and lifting up the hand is a very proper and significant sign to be used in a solemn oath. [2.] It is illustrated with a reason. God will suffer him to prevail till he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people. God will suffer him to do his worst, and run his utmost length, and then all these things shall be finished. Note, God's time to succour and relieve his people is when their affairs are brought to the last extremity; in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen that Isaac is saved just when he lies ready to be sacrificed. Now the event answered the prediction; Josephus says expressly, in his book of the Wars of the Jews, that Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, surprised Jerusalem by force, and held it three years and six months, and was then cast out of the country by the Asmoneans or Maccabees. Christ's public ministry continued three years and a half, during which time he endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, and lived in poverty and disgrace; and then when his power seemed to be quite scattered at his death, and his enemies triumphed over him, he obtained the most glorious victory and said, It is finished.
(2.)Here is something added more particularly concerning the time of the continuance of those troubles, in what is said to Daniel, Dan 12:11, Dan 12:12, where we have, [1.] The event fixed from which the time of the trouble is to be dated, from the taking away of the daily sacrifice by Antiochus, and the setting up of the image of Jupiter upon the altar, which was the abomination of desolation. They must reckon their troubles to begin indeed when they were deprived of the benefit of public ordinances; that was to them the beginning of sorrows; that was what they laid most to heart. [2.] The continuance of their trouble; it shall last 1290 days, three years and seven months, or (as some reckon) three years, six months, and fifteen days; and then, it is probable, the daily sacrifice was restored, and the abomination of desolation taken away, in remembrance of which the feast of dedication was observed even to our Saviour's time, Joh 10:22. Though it does not appear by the history that it was exactly so long to a day, yet it appears that the beginning of the trouble was in the 145th year of the Seleucidae, and the end of it in the 148th year; and either the restoring of the sacrifice, and the taking away of the image, were just so many days after, or some other previous event that was remarkable, which is not recorded. There are many particular times fixed in the scripture-prophecies, which it does not appear by any history, sacred or profane, that the event answered, and yet no doubt it did punctually; as Isa 16:14. [3.] The completing of their deliverance, or at least a further advance towards it, which is here set forty-five days after the former, and, some think, points at the death of Antiochus, 1335 days after his profaning the temple. Blessed is he that waits and comes to that time. It is said (1 Macc. 9:28; 10:1) that the Maccabees, under a divine conduct, recovered the temple and the city. Many good interpreters make these to be prophetical days (that is, so many years), and date them from the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans; but what events they then fall upon they are not agreed. Others date them from the corruption of the gospel-worship by the antichrist, whose reign is confined in the Apocalypse to 1260 days (that is, years), at the end of which he shall begin to fall; but thirty years after he shall be quite fallen, at the end of 1290 days; and whoever lives forty years longer, to 1335 days, will see glorious times indeed. Whether it looks so far forward or no I cannot tell; but this, however, we may learn, First, That there is a time fixed for the termination of the church's troubles, and the bringing about of her deliverance, and that this time will be punctually observed to a day. Secondly, That this time must be waited for with faith and patience. Thirdly, That, when it comes, it will abundantly recompense us for our long expectations of it. Blessed is he who, having waited long, comes to it at last, for he will then have reason to say, Lo, this is our God, and we have waited for him.
II. The question, What shall the end be? is asked by Daniel, and an answer given to it. Observe,
1.Why Daniel asked this question; it was because, though he heard what was said to the angel, yet he did not understand it, Dan 12:8. Daniel was a very intelligent man, and had been conversant in visions and prophecies, and yet here he was puzzled; he did not understand the meaning of the time, times, and the part of a time, at least not so clearly and with so much certainty as he wished. Note, The best men are often much at a loss in their enquiries concerning divine things, and meet with that which they do not understand. But the better they are the more sensible they are of their own weaknesses and ignorance, and the more ready to acknowledge them.
2.What the question was: O my Lord! What shall be the end of these things? He directs his enquiry not to the angel that talked with him, but immediately to Christ, for to whom else should we go with our enquiries? "What shall be the final issue of these events? What do they tend to? What will then end in?" Note, When we take a view of the affairs of this world, and of the church of God in it, we cannot but think, What will be the end of these things? We see things move as if they would end in the utter ruin of God's kingdom among men. When we observe the prevalence of vice and impiety, the decay of religion, the sufferings of the righteous, and the triumphs of the ungodly over them, we may well ask, O my Lord! what will be the end of these things? But this may satisfy us in general, that all will end well at last. Great is the truth, and will prevail at long-run. All opposing rule, principality, and power, will be put down, and holiness and love will triumph, and be in honour, to eternity. The end, this end, will come.
3.What answer is returned to this question. Besides what refers to the time (Dan 12:11, Dan 12:12), of which before, here are some general instructions given to Daniel, with which he is dismissed from further attendance.
(1.)He must content himself with the discoveries that had been made to him, and not enquire any further: "Go thy way, Daniel; let it suffice thee that thou has been admitted thus far to the foresight of things to come, but stop here. Go thy way about the king's business again, Dan 8:27. Go thy way, and record what thou hast seen and heard, for the benefit of posterity, and covet not to see and hear more at present." Note, Communion with God is not our continual feast in this world; we sometimes are taken to be witnesses of Christ's glory, and we say, It is good to be here; but we must go down from the mount, and have there no continuing city. Those that know much know but in part, and still see there is a great deal that they are kept in the dark about, and are likely to be so till the veil is rent; hitherto their knowledge shall go, but no further. "Go thy way, Daniel, satisfied with what thou hast."
(2.)He must not expect that what had been said to him would be fully understood till it was accomplished: The words are closed up and sealed, are involved in perplexities, and are likely to be so, till the time of the end, till the end of these things; nay, till the end of all things. Daniel was ordered to seal the book to the time of the end, Dan 12:4. The Jews used to say, When Elias comes he will tell us all things. "They are closed up and sealed, that is, the discovery designed to be made by them is now fully settled and completed; nothing is to be added to it nor taken from it, for it is closed up and sealed; ask not therefore after more." Nescire velle quae magister maximus docere non vult erudita inscitia est - He has learned much who is willing to be ignorant of those things which the great teacher does not choose to impart.
(3.)He must count upon no other than that, as long as the world stands, there will still be in it such a mixture as now we see there is of good and bad, Dan 12:10. We long to see all wheat and no tares in God's field, all corn and no chaff in God's floor; but it will not be till the time of ingathering, till the winnowing day, comes; both must grow together until the harvest. As it has been, so it is, and will be, The wicked shall do wickedly, but the wise shall understand. In this, as in other things, St. John's Revelation closes as Daniel did. Rev 22:11, He that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. [1.] There is no remedy but that wicked people will do wickedly; and such people there are and will be in the world to the end of time. So said the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceeds from the wicked (Sa1 24:13); and the observation of the moderns says the same. Bad men will do bad things; and a corrupt tree will never bring forth good fruit. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or bring forth good things from an evil treasure in the heart? No; wicked practices are the natural products of wicked principles and dispositions. Marvel not at the matter then, Ecc 5:8. We are told, before, that the wicked will do wickedly; we can expect no better from them: but, which is worse, none of the wicked shall understand. This is either, First, A part of their sin. They will not understand; they shut their eyes against the light, and none so blind as those that will not see. Therefore they are wicked because they will not understand. If they did but rightly know the truths of God, they would readily obey the laws of God, Psa 82:5. Wilful sin is the effect of wilful ignorance; they will not understand because they are wicked; they hate the light, and come not to the light, because their deeds are evil, Joh 3:19. Or, Secondly, It is a part of their punishment; they will do wickedly, and therefore God has given them up to blindness of mind, and has said concerning them, They shall not understand, nor be converted and healed, Mat 13:14, Mat 13:15. God will not give them eyes to see, because they will do wickedly, Deu 29:4. [2.] Yet, bad as the world is, God will secure to himself a remnant of good people in it; still there shall be some, there shall be many, to whom the providences and ordinances of God shall be a savour of life unto life, while to others they are a savour of death unto death. First, the providences of God shall do them good: Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried, by their troubles (compare Dan 11:35), by the same troubles which will but stir up the corruptions of the wicked and make them do more wickedly. Note, The afflictions of good people are designed for their trial; but by these trials they are purified and made white, their corruptions are purged out, their graces are brightened, and made both more vigorous and more conspicuous, and are found to praise, and honour, and glory, Pe1 1:7. To those who are themselves sanctified and good every event is sanctified, and works for good, and helps to make them better. Secondly, The word of God shall do them good. When the wicked understand not, but stumble at the word, the wise shall understand. Those who are wise in practice shall understand doctrine; those who are influenced and governed by the divine law and love shall be illuminated with a divine light. For if any man will do his will he shall know the truth, Joh 7:17. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser.
(4.)He must comfort himself with the pleasing prospect of his own happiness in death, in judgment, and to eternity, Dan 12:13. Daniel was now very old, and had been long engaged both in an intimate acquaintance with heaven and in a great deal of public business on this earth. And now he must think of bidding farewell to this present state: Go thou thy way till the end be. [1.] It is good for us all to think much of going away from this world; we are still going, and must be gone shortly, gone the way of all the earth. That must be our way; but this is our comfort, We shall not go till God calls for us to another world, and till he has done with us in this world, till he says, "Go thou thy way; thou hast finished thy testimony, done thy work, and accomplished as a hireling thy day, therefore now, Go thy way, and leave it to others to take thy room." [2.] When a good man goes his way from this world he enters into rest: "Thou shalt rest from all thy present toils and agitations, and shalt not see the evils that are coming on the next generation." Never can a child of God say more pertinently than in his dying moments, Return unto thy rest, O my soul! [3.] Time and days will have an end; not only our time and days will end very shortly, but all times and days will have an end at length; yet a little while, and time shall be no more, but all its revolutions will be numbered and finished. [4.] Our rest in the grave will be but till the end of the days; and then the peaceful rest will be happily disturbed by a joyful resurrection. Job foresaw this when he said of the dead, Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep, implying that then they shall, Job 14:12. [5.] We must every one of us stand in our lot at the end of the days. In the judgment of the great day we must have our allotment according to what we were, and what we did, in the body, either, Come, you blessed or, Go, you cursed; and we must stand for ever in that lot. It was a comfort to Daniel, it is a comfort to all the saints, that, whatever their lot is in the days of time, they shall have a happy lot in the end of the days, shall have their lot among the chosen. And it ought to be the great care and concern of every one of us to secure a happy lot at last in the end of the days, and they we may well be content with our present lot, welcome the will of God. [6.] A believing hope and prospect of a blessed lot in the heavenly Canaan, at the end of the days, will be an effectual support to us when we are going our way out of this world, and will furnish us with living comforts in dying moments.
"For a time, times, and an half." By this he indicated the three and a half years of Anti-christ. For by a time he means a year; and by times, two years; and by an half time, half a year. These are the "one thousand two hundred and ninety days" of which Daniel prophesied.
Verse 7. "And I heard the man that was clothed in linen, that stood upon the waters of the river: when he had lifted up his right hand and his left hand to heaven and had sworn by Him that liveth forever, that it should be unto a time and times and half a time." Porphyry interprets a time and times and half a time to mean three and a half years; and we for our part do not deny that this accords with the idiom of Sacred Scripture. For we read in an earlier section that seven times passed over Nebuchadnezzar, that is, the seven years of his existence as a wild beast. The expression was also used in the vision of the four beasts, the lion, the bear, the leopard, and the other beast whose name was not specified but which represented the kingdom of the Romans. Right afterwards the statement is made concerning the Antichrist that he will humble kings and utter speeches against the Exalted One and will crush the saints of the Most High; moreover he will imagine that he can alter times and laws. And the saints shall be turned over to his power unto a time and times and half a time. And the court will sit for judgment, in order that power may be removed and utterly broken and vanish away until the very end. And clearly the reference is to the coming of Christ and the saints when it is said: "But kingdom and power and the greatness of the kingdom which lies beneath the whole heaven shall be bestowed upon the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and all the kings shall serve and obey Him." If therefore the earlier references which were plainly written concerning the Antichrist are assigned by Porphyry to Antiochus and to the three and a half years during which he asserts the Temple was deserted (cf. Verse 1, above), then he is under obligation to prove that the next statement, "His kingdom is eternal, and all kings shall serve and obey him," likewise pertains to Antiochus, or else (as he himself conjectures) to the people of the Jews. But it is perfectly apparent that such an argument will never stand. We read in the books of Maccabees - and Josephus also concurs in the same opinion (Book 11, chap. 10) - that the Temple in Jerusalem lay defiled for three years, and under Antiochus Epiphanes an idol of Jupiter stood within it; that is to say, from Chislev, the ninth month, of the one hundred forty-fifth year of the Macedonian rule until the ninth month of the one hundred forty-eighth year, which amounts to three years. But under the Antichrist it is not stated that the desolation and overthrow of the holy Temple shall endure for three years, but for three years and a half, that is, one thousand two hundred and ninety days.
"And when the scattering of the band of the holy people shall be accomplished, all these things shall be fulfilled." When it is stated that the people of God shall have been scattered - either under the persecution of Antiochus, as Porphyry claims, or of Antichrist, which we deem to be closer to fact - at that time shall all these things be fulfilled.
The word times may seem an indefinite plural in our language [Latin], but the Greek texts (and, so I am told, the Hebrew texts as well) show that “times” is written in the dual number and so means “two times.”
The last of all persecutions, the antichrist’s, is to go on for three and a half years.… Now the question, quite reasonably, presents itself: Should these three and a half years, brief as they are, be included in the thousand years of the devil’s binding and the saints’ reign with Christ, or are they outside the thousand and superadded to them?… We conclude that the reign of Christ with his saints will be longer than the devil’s bonds and imprisonment, for, even when he is released, they will continue to reign with their King, the Son of God, for these three and a half years.
Here we learn accurately that the one speaking at the time was not the Lord. For as the holy apostle says, “Since the Lord could not swear by anything greater than himself, he swore by himself, saying, ‘as I live, says the Lord.’ ” And blessed Moses shows him to say, “I will lift my hand to heaven, and I will swear by my right hand and say, ‘As I live forever.’ ” The man in our text is one of those subjected and well disposed to the Lord.“When the scattering of the holy people.…” The scattering of the sanctified people will prevail for three and a half years, and all these things will be accomplished. Then they will know the holy One. He alludes here to the great Elijah; around the end of the antichrist’s reign, great Elijah will appear and proclaim the second coming of our Savior.
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SUMMARY
Daniel 12:7 presents a solemn divine oath from a majestic heavenly figure, revealing the precise duration of the climactic period preceding the end-time consummation. This pivotal verse declares that after a specific prophetic period of "a time, times, and an half," and following a severe scattering or breaking of the power of God's holy people, all the foretold events concerning the end of days will definitively conclude, underscoring God's absolute sovereignty over history and prophecy.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Daniel 12:7 employs several powerful literary devices. The most prominent is Symbolism, particularly in the figure of "the man clothed in linen," whose raiment symbolizes purity, holiness, and divine authority, often associated with priestly or heavenly beings. His position "upon the waters of the river" also carries symbolic weight, suggesting a transcendent, authoritative stance over earthly realities. The act of "held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven" is a symbolic gesture of a Divine Oath, emphasizing the absolute, unchangeable truth and certainty of the prophecy. Furthermore, the phrase "a time, times, and an half" is a form of Symbolic Numerology or Prophetic Chronology, a recurring apocalyptic motif that points to a specific, divinely appointed period of tribulation rather than a literal, indefinite duration. The "scattering the power of the holy people" is a vivid Metaphor for severe persecution and the breaking of human strength, highlighting the intensity of the suffering God's people will endure.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Daniel 12:7 is a profound theological statement on God's absolute sovereignty over history, even amidst the most chaotic and distressing periods. The solemn oath sworn by the Eternal One underscores the unshakeable certainty of His prophetic word, assuring believers that every detail of His plan, including the duration of suffering and the timing of deliverance, is precisely appointed. This verse teaches that tribulation, though severe, is not without limit or purpose; it is a divinely permitted and measured process designed to purify and humble God's people, ultimately leading to the glorious consummation of His kingdom. It provides a framework for understanding the endurance of the saints, knowing that their suffering has a definitive end and that God's ultimate triumph is guaranteed.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Daniel 12:7, while describing daunting future events, offers profound comfort and a call to steadfast faith for believers today. It reminds us that God is not merely an observer of history but its sovereign orchestrator, holding all times and seasons in His hands. Even when facing intense trials or periods of profound spiritual weakness, we are assured that our suffering is not meaningless or endless, but has a divinely appointed duration and purpose. This verse encourages perseverance, knowing that the "finished" state brings about God's just and eternal kingdom, where all sorrow and persecution will cease. It calls us to live with an eternal perspective, trusting in God's perfect timing and His unwavering faithfulness to His promises, even when the path ahead seems shrouded in mystery. Our hope is not in our own strength, but in the God "who liveth for ever" and will bring all things to their appointed, glorious conclusion.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "a time, times, and an half" mean in Daniel 12:7?
Answer: This phrase is a crucial prophetic duration, widely interpreted as a period of 3.5 prophetic years. In apocalyptic literature, "a time" typically refers to one year, "times" to two years, and "an half" to half a year, totaling 3.5 years. This period is often equated with 42 months or 1,260 days, as seen in parallel passages like Revelation 11:2-3 and Revelation 12:6. While its precise historical fulfillment remains a subject of ongoing debate among scholars (some see it as a literal future period, others as symbolic of a prolonged but finite time of tribulation), it consistently points to a divinely appointed, limited duration of intense suffering and persecution before God's ultimate intervention.
Who is "the man clothed in linen" mentioned in this verse?
Answer: The "man clothed in linen" is a majestic, divine figure who appears to Daniel in his final vision (first introduced in Daniel 10:5-6). While some scholars identify him as a powerful angel, his glorious description, his ability to swear by God, and his role in revealing ultimate prophetic truths lead many to believe he is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. His linen clothing symbolizes purity, holiness, and priestly authority, attributes often associated with divine messengers and, supremely, with Christ Himself. His presence underscores the divine authority and certainty of the revelation given to Daniel.
What is meant by "when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people"?
Answer: This phrase refers to a period of intense persecution, affliction, and apparent defeat for God's chosen people. The Hebrew word for "scatter the power" (H3027, yâd, meaning "hand" or "power," combined with H5310, nâphats, meaning "to dash to pieces" or "scatter") conveys the idea of their strength, organization, or ability to resist being utterly broken or shattered. It signifies a time when their human resources and defenses are overwhelmed, leaving them vulnerable. Theologically, this "scattering" or "breaking" is not random but is part of God's sovereign plan, perhaps intended to purify His people, expose their reliance on Him alone, or allow prophetic events to unfold as ordained before the final consummation. It highlights a period of profound distress that precedes the ultimate deliverance and establishment of God's kingdom.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Daniel 12:7, with its divine oath and declaration of a finite period of tribulation, finds its ultimate fulfillment and meaning in Jesus Christ. The "man clothed in linen," a figure of immense divine authority and purity, is widely understood to be a pre-incarnate manifestation of Christ Himself, the very one who holds all time and prophecy in His hands. His solemn oath, sworn by "him that liveth for ever," points to Christ as the eternal God, whose words are truth and whose promises are immutable. The period of "a time, times, and an half" and the "scattering of the power of the holy people" foreshadow the intense tribulation that both Israel and the Church have endured and will yet face, culminating in the Great Tribulation. Yet, Christ Himself has overcome the world, assuring His followers, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). He is the one who, through His suffering, death, and resurrection, has "finished" the work of salvation, making an end to sin and securing the ultimate victory over all opposing powers (Hebrews 12:2). The "finished" state of Daniel 12:7 ultimately refers to the consummation of God's kingdom at Christ's return, when all tribulation will cease, and He, the Lamb of God described in Revelation 1:13-16, will reign forever, bringing an end to all suffering and establishing eternal righteousness.