Nine Marks of Eschatological Discipleship

God’s people have hope in their future bodily resurrection.

Daniel 12:3

verse 3 could be called “a soul-winner’s promise” (cf. Ps 126:5-6). It is an appropriate companion to the wonderful promise and striking truth of Verse 2. The insightful (cf. 11:33) are busy about the business of disciple-making (to use the language of the New Testament). They encourage others to turn to God. Those who

influence others to go on walking in righteousness and assist them in remaining faithful in the pressure of the times will “shine like the brightness of the sky above . . . like the stars forever and ever.” (Davis, Message of Daniel, 162)

Bob Fyall says this verse “is a powerful motive for evangelism” (Daniel, 188). John Calvin adds,

No one of God’s children ought to confine their attention privately to themselves, but as far as possible, everyone ought to interest himself in the welfare of his brethren. God has deposited the teaching of his salvation with us, not for the purpose of our privately keeping it to ourselves, but of our pointing out the way of salvation to all mankind. (Commentaries on the Book of Daniel, 376–77)

I love the simple paraphrase of Eugene Peterson in The Message : “Those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever.” Do you want to be an all-star for King Jesus? Then do the work of a soul-winner following in the footsteps of the Savior (Luke 19:10).

Daniel 12:4

Verse 4 is a bit tricky and susceptible to misunderstanding. Daniel, interestingly and surprisingly, is told to “keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end.” The idea is not to hide the words but to protect them, keeping them safe. Joyce Baldwin notes, “‘Seal the book’ has the double sense of authenticating and of preserving intact (cf. Is. 8:16; Je. 32:11, 14)” (Daniel, 206). God’s people need this word from our Lord, especially as we move toward the end of the age. We need to be ready and not taken by surprise. The closer we get to the end, the more important God’s Word and the understanding of it will be.

The last phrase of Verse 4 is enigmatic: “Many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.” Some read it negatively, referring to unbelievers and drawing a parallel to Amos 8:12 (Ferguson,Daniel, 227). Because of the near context of verse 3, however, I cautiously take it in a positive sense. Dale Davis explains,

As the Lord’s people give diligent attention to this piece of Scripture, they will, especially nearer the end, have a clearer grasp of its meaning. . . . It is immersion that brings insight. (Message of Daniel, 164)

Stephen Miller puts it clearly and simply:

As the time of fulfillment draws nearer, the “wise” will seek to comprehend these prophecies more precisely, and God will grant understanding (“knowledge”) to them. (Daniel, 321)

Daniel 12:5-9

In verses 5-9 the vision shifts as two other angels join Gabriel, who has been talking to Daniel. They stand opposite each other on the banks of the Tigris River (cf. 10:4). Next, “the man dressed in linen” (cf. 10:5-6) appears again “above the water of the river” (12:6). This is the glorified Son of God, robed in his priestly purity. One of the angels asks him, “How long until the end of these wondrous things?” (ESV, “wonders”; NIV, “astonishing things”). How long will these extraordinary things continue once they start? When will they stop? There is an urgency to the request. Further, this is a question to which even the angels do not know the answer. Jesus reaffirms this in Mark 13:32.

In a display of amazing solemnity and seriousness, the Son of God raises both hands to heaven (cf. Gen 14:22; Deut 32:40), an unusual act, and he invokes an oath “by him who lives eternally” (12:7). The answer to the angel’s question is twofold: (1) “It would be for a time, times, and half a time” or three and a half years; (2) This terrible and intense “time of distress” (12:1) will end right on time, according to God’s timetable, “when the power of the holy people is shattered.” It is then and only then that “all these things will be completed.” Ligon Duncan puts it well:

When evil has done its worst, we are told, as soon as [it finishes] shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be complete. When evil has done its worst and the hopes of the people of God seem shattered, then God will act. The grim work of the oppressors will roll on and on and on. But at the appropriate moment God will intervene. (“Blessed Is the One Who Waits”)

Daniel’s response in verse 8 so encourages me: “I heard but did not understand.” I can certainly identify with that. So he follows up with a question of his own, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?” Verse 9 gives him his answer, but probably not the one he wanted. Respectfully Daniel is told, “Go on your way, Daniel, for the words are secret and sealed until the time of the end.” Go on about your life and business, Daniel. You have received all you are going to get, and it is enough. This prophecy and its understanding will become more clear only “as God unravels history in the unseen future” (Ferguson, Daniel, 229). The word is protected, and it will be preserved. Everything will happen as God intends at the right time. Be faithful. Trust him. Be patient. As Adrian Rogers so often said, “God is never late, and he is never early. He is always right on time!”

Daniel 12:10

When it comes to eschatology, there are things we know and things we don’t know and can’t know because God has chosen not to reveal them to us. However, one thing we can know with certainty is how we are to live in light of the Son of Man’s coming at the time of the end. And there is good news. God will see to it that the things related to our redemption come to pass. In those days of great distress and trouble God will see to it that his “holy people” (12:7), his bright and shining ones (v. 3), those whom he will raise to “everlasting life” (v. 2 ESV), “will be purified, cleansed, and refined” (v. 10).

In contrast, God’s enemies will only be hardened in their sin and rebellion against his sovereign authority. Dale Davis says it well:

The wicked will—what else—act wickedly. . . . None of the wicked will understand [cf. Rom. 1:22], but only the wise will come to understand. . . . The wicked remain in their accustomed darkness, but the Lord’s wise ones will discern the issues of the time, what they are called to do and what it will cost them. Their “understanding” may also include having more exact clarity about the meaning of the revelation given via Daniel’s “book.” (Message of Daniel, 166, emphasis in original)

Daniel 12:11-13

I love the honesty and humility of James Boice when it comes to these verses. Concerning them he simply says that there are things here “which we cannot yet explain” (Daniel, 122). Acknowledging that exact sentiment, I will give it my best, knowing caution is the wisest course to take.

Once again we have a reference to “the abomination of desolation” (v. 11; cf. 9:27; 11:31; Matt 24:15; also 2 Thess 2:3-4). Dale Davis again is helpful when he says,

Verse 11 is speaking of the repression of true worship (the regular offering . . . taken away) and the imposition of false worship (an appalling abomination . . . put in place). We have already noted that Antiochus Epiphanes would do this sort of thing (8:11-13 and 11:31), yet there will be another near the end who will out-Antiochus Antiochus, one who will not only put a stop to legitimate worship (9:27b) but along with “abominations” is himself one “who makes desolate” or “is causing horror” (9:27c); now in 12:11, under the aegis of this “final scourge” of history, the abomination making desolate appears again. I think Jesus has 9:27 and 12:11 in view when he refers to the “abomination of desolation” in Mark 13:14. Even though “abomination” in that text is a neuter noun, the following participle is masculine—“where he ought not” (emphasis mine). Jesus agrees with Daniel 9:27 that the “abomination” is supremely a person and assumes that his appearance is future to Jesus’ own earthly ministry. (Message of Daniel, 166–67)

This seems to me to be a reasonable and persuasive interpretation. But what of the 1,290 days of Verse 11, and the beatitude of verse 13: “Happy is the one who waits for and reaches 1,335 days”? With James Boice, here I must confess my lack of understanding. This much, I believe, we can say: our Lord promises to bless those who endure and persevere through these difficult and troubling times of opposition and persecution. These specific numbers affirm God’s sovereign control over the details of history. Things will move ahead as he has decreed, and things will also end as he has decreed. There is wonderful hope and assurance even if there remains mystery concerning the particularities.

The book concludes with a personal word for Daniel that can aid us all: “Go on your way to the end.” You are in your last years, God says, but I still have work for you to do. When it is time for you to retire from my work, then I will bring you home. Then “you will rest” because you will be with me. Then, as promised in Verse 2, you will “stand to receive your allotted inheritance” (v. 13; ESV, “allotted place”), your destiny, your reward. This will happen “at the end of the days.” So do your duty, make disciples, proclaim my Word, and endure. Something wonderful is on the horizon at the end.

Just as we saw in Daniel 10:5-6, again we see the majestic man “dressed in linen” sovereignly standing above the earth and declaring his absolute authority over all things (12:7). This is a Christophany, a preincarnate appearance of the Second Person of the triune God. Both in appearance and action he conveys God’s glory and greatness. He is Lord of history, not these petty tyrants, including the antichrist, who come and go. We must never forget and always “know that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms. He gives [them] to anyone he wants and sets the lowliest of men over [them]” (4:17). Will we exalt the arrogant and prideful antichrist? Never! Will we exalt the humble Galilean from Nazareth? Absolutely!