Introduction

† Daniel 12:1-7 tells the prediction of the end of the age, and the resurrection would occur when verse 7 is fulfilled. This isn't about the nature of the resurrection, only the timing of when it was to happen. Verse 2 is the resurrection. Verse 6 asks the question, How long. Verse 7 answers when it would occur. The only power Israel ever had was a covenant relationship with the Lord. So, the resurrection would happen when Israel and her covenant relationship was completely shattered. Matthew 13:39-40 shows there are only two ages spoken of at this time in the Bible, this age and the age to come, the Old Covenant age and the New Covenant age. Daniel 12 predicted the end of the age and the resurrection, and the only age predicted to come to an end in the entire Bible was the Old Covenant age of Israel.

Daniel 12:1-7
Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time, and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.
And those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
But as for you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal up the book until the end of time, many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.
Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the stream and the other on that bank of the stream.
And someone said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, How long will it be until the end of these wonders?
And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and as soon as they finish smashing the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.

† Daniel 12 is predicting the end of the age, not the end of the physical creation.
† The time of distress belongs to the same covenant crisis Jesus identified as occurring in that generation.
† The focus on your people limits the scope to Israel and her covenant standing.

† Verse 2 is the resurrection, and it is inseparably connected to the timing markers that follow.
† The text is not explaining how resurrection works, only when it would happen.
† The resurrection must occur within the same sequence that ends in verse 7.

† Verse 6 asks the defining question, How long until the end of these wonders.
† This proves the vision has a measurable endpoint in history.
† The answer cannot be postponed beyond the stated completion.

† Verse 7 states that all events would be completed when the power of the holy people was smashed.
† Israel's only power was covenantal, not political or military.
† When the old covenant system was shattered, the age ended and the resurrection was fulfilled.

Historical References

† Josephus describes the Jewish War as an unparalleled time of distress for Israel.
† Eusebius identifies the destruction of Jerusalem as the end of the Jewish polity.
† Early Christian writers consistently speak of the passing of the old order and the arrival of the new.

How It Applies To Us Today

† We live after the completion of the old covenant age.
† Resurrection life is a present covenant reality, not a future delay.
† Christ's kingdom stands unshaken because the former power that opposed it has already fallen.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †
© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index

† Daniel 12:1-7
† Matthew 13:39-40
† Matthew 24:21-34
† Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 6
† Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book 3