“A time of trouble” (ch. 12:1).
AT the close of the previous chapter (11) we have brought before us the circumstances of the last days, in so far as they concern the earthly powers that are connected with the land of Palestine. Three kings will be especially in view. In the first place there will be “the king,” reigning in Jerusalem, in other words the Antichrist; he is the one described in verse 36 to 40. As we have before pointed out, we get no account here of his end and terrible doom, when he will be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming (2 Thess. 2; Rev. 19:20, 21)
Besides this king there will also be the kings of the north and the south, whose actings have been so vividly depicted from vs. 40 to 45. It is the last king of the north who is seen to come to his end with none to help him. He falls upon the mountains of Judaea by the hand of the Lord Himself (Isa. 14:25, 30:31, 31:8, 9; Mic. 5:5, 6).
Now this brings us down to the time of the end, that is, the end of the age spoken of in Matthew 24:3 and elsewhere. This expression has nothing to do with the Christian period which, as we have often pointed out, is a parenthesis in God’s earthly dealings; it specially refers to the Jews. To these, God’s earthly people, there were two ages or dispensations, namely, “this age” and “the age to come” (see Matt. 12:32), and the expression which we so repeatedly find, for instance, in Matthew 13 and 24, “the end of the age,” refers, not to the end of the world as a material system but, to the end of that age in which the Jews then found themselves, namely, the age of law, as distinguished from “the age to come,” or the time of Messiah’s presence amongst them; “this age” will still continue to run its course, after the removal of the Church at the coming of the Lord, for a brief interval until Christ appears in glory.
The Spirit of God now reveals what will be the condition of Daniel’s own people, and the circumstances through which they will pass at the close. “At that time,” namely, the time of all the occurrences we have been considering at the end of chapter 11, “shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people” (ch. 12:1). Here we get angelic interference on the behalf of the Jews. It is not yet Messiah’s direct and personal appearance on Mount Zion, but Michael, one of the chief princes specially deputed to watch over the interests of that people, who stands up to help them, though unseen by either them or their enemies (compare Dan. 10:13-21; Rev. 12:7, &c.); there are invisible, as well as visible, principalities and powers (Col. 2:16).
At this same epoch “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation”; this is the great tribulation spoken of elsewhere, or the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30:7). It is a mistake to suppose that this has anything to do with Christians, or that the Church will pass through this period of tribulation. So far from this being the case, a distinct promise is given that, “because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from (or, out of) the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10). In other words, the Church will not be found on earth whilst this time of trouble exists. The whole world will feel it, but the Jews will experience it in an especial degree, and that because of their guilt in crucifying their Messiah.
To this period our Lord refers in Matthew 24, “Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be,” connecting it with this very chapter in Daniel we are now considering: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,” &c. It is this time of unparalleled sorrow that awaits the Jewish people when back in Palestine, and so awful will it be that, “except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” That is, God has His eye upon the remnant of His people, and in the midst of judgment He remembers mercy.
Immediately after this terrible period of tribulation, signs and wonders take place amidst the heavenly powers (see Isa. 13:10; Amos 5:20; Acts 2:20), and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, who will be seen “coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” This is “the day of the Lord” so repeatedly mentioned by the prophets of the Old Testament. It will be the time of deliverance for the godly remnant of Jerusalem, and of destruction for their enemies, gathered together as they will be at that time to make war against the Lamb.
But another question arises here—What has become of the long lost ten tribes? Have they been forgotten entirely? The answer is given in verse 2 of our chapter: “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” We must not suppose that this refers to the resurrection of the body; it is the time of Israel’s national resuscitation, which is spoken of elsewhere in the prophets under the symbol of resurrection (see Isaiah 26:12-21; Ezekiel 37:1-15). The ten tribes are destined to pass through their time of trial before they reach the land of Palestine. “I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face... and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against Me. I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel” (Ezek. 20:33-45).
Next we are informed that a special reward will be bestowed upon those who amidst this time of trial not only remain faithful themselves, but who exert their influence towards instructing their fellows in that line of conduct which is well-pleasing to God “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many (or instruct the many) in righteousness, as the stars forever and ever” (vs. 3).
But the time of the end was not yet, and Daniel is told to “shut up the words and seal the book, to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” We cannot but be struck with the contrast between this and the Apocalypse, where John is distinctly told not to seal the sayings of the prophecy of the book for the time was near (Rev. 22:10). For the Church the coming of the Lord is an immediate hope, whereas for the Jews certain prophecies must be fulfilled before He can come as their Messiah to take His place amongst them in power to reign.
After this Daniel looks and sees two standing by the banks of the river, besides the man clothed in linen (chs. 10:4-6). One of these asks, “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?” in other words, How long should this time of great tribulation last? The answer was plain, “It shall be for a time, times, and an half.” This is the three years and a half, or the last half of the seventieth week alluded to at the close of the ninth chapter. We are not left therefore in the smallest doubt as to when this takes place, nor to whom it all refers. It refers to the Jews (not to Christians), during the last half of the seventieth week, when they will have sunk so low as to allow the awful idolatry of Antichrist to be set up in the temple.
Daniel further asks, “O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” but the time was not come for a much fuller revelation. Here again the contrast is emphasized between the condition of the saints of that dispensation, however godly as surely Daniel was, and the Church. We “have an unction from the Holy One,” says the apostle John, “and know all things” (1 John 2:20); this was addressed even to the babes in the Christian family. Piety there was in Old Testament times, and none can make light of the need of it now, nevertheless what specially characterizes the saint of the present time is the actual possession of the Holy Ghost as an indwelling Spirit. But in the time to come “the wise shall understand.” It is remarkable what a place these “wise” ones hold in this forecast of Israel’s future. “None of the wicked shall understand,” no matter how intelligent in earthly matters they may be; the intelligence here spoken of is a moral and not a merely intellectual one.
The man clothed in linen had announced that the duration of the time of tribulation would be 3 ½ years, or 1,260 days. But now two further numbers are given, namely, 1,290 days and 1,335 days. What, we may ask, does all this refer to? In the first place it is of the utmost importance to understand that these days have to do with the period that follows the removal of the Church at the coming of the Lord. It is vain to attempt any application, of them to the present time, or to any portion of the Christian age. It is here where so many have got astray in their endeavors to fix the time of the coming of the Lord for His saints.
What is the starting point of the calculation? This is clearly stated in verse 11, “From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up.” But when will this be? It has nothing to do with the Turks or the scourge of Islamism. It is undoubtedly what is referred to in Daniel 9:27, namely, the breaking off of the covenant which the Roman emperor will make with the Jewish people in the time to come, and the setting up of Antichrist’s idolatry in the temple at Jerusalem. The tribulation which God will send upon the Jews on account of this fearful idolatry will last for 3 ½ years, or 1,260 days.
But the complete and final blessing of Israel does not take, place immediately. The Antichrist will then be destroyed, no doubt, but other wicked powers have to be disposed of after that, such as the king of the north, Gog and Magog (Ezek. 38, 39), and others of less importance. This will take a certain time, brief no doubt, for it is clear from Scripture that the king of the north comes to his end after the destruction of Antichrist, for this latter is destroyed by the appearing of the Lord, and the former returns from Egypt to Palestine after the Lord has come to Zion. The judgment of Gog and Magog is later even than this. We do not mean to say that the 1,290 days and the 1,335 days allude to these two in particular, but enough has been said to suggest the reason for a prolongation of the days. Full blessing is reached after the 1,335 days. It has often been observed that Daniel does not enlarge upon the millennial period. No description is given by him of this blessed time, for it was his special business to write of “the times of the Gentiles.” Nevertheless he is assured that he shall stand in his lot at the end of the days. He will not be absent when that glorious scene is unfolded.
For us better things are provided, but this is no reason why we should in the smallest degree minimize the promises made to the fathers, which, seen even afar off, made them start forth in faith towards that better country, and that city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
With greater privileges and higher blessings do we not ofttimes exhibit a colder and more indolent spirit?
“O kindle within us a holy desire,
Like that which was found in Thy people of old,
Who tasted Thy love, and whose hearts were on fire
While they waited in patience Thy face to behold!”