Daniel 12: 1-4

 Daniel 12

Prophecy: The End Times

Daniel 12:1-4

Are you seeking the truth?

Or seeking information about something?

Maybe... just want to hear or see something new?

Or are you looking for confirmation of your beliefs?

I give thanks to God with all my heart to be born and to have completed my K-12 education before 1990. There was no Internet then, which means that when you wanted to know something then you went to a library, and not to Google. That's why my generation knew that George Washington, all the existing Popes up to this day, the vikings, all of the French kings, and the Nazis, were white people, because they were Europeans, or descendants from them. It seems to me that it is not common knowledge for Google's programmers of AI. 

We did also know that humans - like crocodiles, sharks, whales, lions, elephants, cats, dogs, birds, and many more - come in two sexes, called male and female, and it was determined by our reproductive system. This common knowledge is denied in many universities. We certainly did know that in the history of the world have several ice ages occurred, mixed with warmer periods, and that it is nothing to panic about. It was common knowledge that CO2 is vital for a process which is called photosynthesis, which allows most plants to exist and to produce oxygen - in other words, CO2 is vital for the existence of life. And we knew that there was a country called Israel, then Judah, then Judea, which was conquered and destroyed by the Roman Empire, causing something which is called the "diaspora" - meaning that most Jews were expelled from their land and scattered in the world for nearly 2000 years - and that in 1948 they got their land back (almost). "Palestine" was the name of a geographical region were Israel is located (also associated with Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and similar in meaning to "the Levant"). Because of that, it would be incomprehensible some decades ago to see anybody in a western country demonstrating against petroleum or yelling "free Palestine". 

If you are under 30 years old, you have probably been told that "our" knowledge is not such. Because there is a war on truth, a war waged not especially by gangsters, felons or illiterates. This war on truth is waged by governments, universities, political parties, the mainstream media, the entertainment industry, Google, social media companies and other organizations which are very, very influential and powerful. 

If you wonder why did I write "our" knowledge with quotation marks, it is a joke. Knowledge means information in conformity with reality and truth. There is not such a thing as "my truth" and "your truth". We know something or we don't. If somebody says there is no God and you say that there is a God and you know Him, someone is wrong, because both statements can not be true at the same time. It is not "your truth" against "his truth". There is a clear definition about what a star is and what a planet is. If somebody tells you that the Sun is a planet and Mars is a star, you should be able to tell him, "that's not true".  

The war on truth is prophesied in the Bible. When the apostle Paul told his beloved disciple Timothy to "preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage", the reason was this:

"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths"

2 Timothy 4:3-4

The war on truth is prophesied in the other letter Paul send to Timothy as well:

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron". 

1 Timothy 4:1-2

The reason of the war on truth is the deception of "men of depraved mind" who would be incapable to know the truth, because they would oppose it. And the description of the "depraved mind" is this:  

"There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God..."

2 Timothy 3:1-4

Other feature of the depraved men is that they will mock the Christian faith because they don't have the Spirit of God. It was prophesied by both Peter and Jude:

"Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation". 

2 Peter 3:3-4

"...dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, 'In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires'. These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit".

Jude 1:17-19

Notice the keywords in these prophecies:

⦁ "Time will come", "last days", "last times": These "last times" are understood by both Jews and Christians as the period of time which includes the gathering of the Jews in Israel, the rebirth of the Jewish nation, the last confrontation with evil and the coming of the Messiah. In some way, for us Christians these times began with the ministry of Jesus, but there are also these special "last days" defined by the signs of Jesus' Second Coming, one of them being the rebirth of Israel as the Jewish nation. 

⦁ "Turn the ears away from the truth": This is called "apostasy", and it means the rejection of God and His prophetical revelations from the Bible. It is noteworthy that in our time it has come to include the rejection of the real scientifical knowledge, which has been replaced by fake, pseudo-scientifical or even anti-scientifical "knowledge".

⦁ "Turn aside to myths", "things taught by demons": We are called "rational" beings, in opposition to animals (who are "irrational", not endowed with logical thinking). The rational mind seeks reasons, the "why" behind things. And when we don't find them, Satan is lurking to deceive us with a fantastical explanation. That's why we got Zeus, Jupiter, Thor and so many other "gods" who often engage in immoral behavior. And we got also the stories about them and their influence on mankind, which are called "myths". Not only ancient Greeks, Romans or Germanic peoples had myths; it's hard to find a human culture which doesn't have a myth explaining how they came to be, or why things happen. Other more modern myths include Darwinism (a pseudo-science trying to explain how life appeared and developed), climate hysteria and gender ideology. 

⦁ "Great number of teachers", "hypocritical liars", "men of depraved mind", "scoffers": Modern myths are the work of teachers, who are described in these verses with not very flattering words. But they are not alone in their deception. There are spirits leading us to do good or evil, right or wrong. We Christians have no war against flesh and blood, but against those spirits. 

⦁ "Deceiving spirits", "do not have the Spirit" (of God): Myths come from deceiving spirits (that's why they are equal to "things taught by demons"). The Spirit of God is the revealer of truth, and once truth is revealed, opposite and unreconcilable statements are known as "lies". That's why the purveyors of lies are called "hypocritical liars". And that's why politics has become so polarized in most western democracies. Those who "do not have the Spirit" cause divisions among us. 

In the chaos we're experiencing there is a light in the darkness, to guide us through the tunnel of ignorance to the shinning truth God knows from eternity. The apostle Peter says, "We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19). 

The prophetic message is not only about dark and gloomy prospects, as those prophecies we have read about lies, liars and confusion. There are prophecies of blessing, forgiveness, salvation and healing, as well as prophecies of judgement. The Lord didn't create hell for us, but for Satan and his demons. However, those who go there - and many will go there - do it by rejecting God, the Truth, and choosing Satan, the father of lies. 

As we are reaching the end of Daniel's book, we are about to know the things which will take place "in the last days", by a prophet who received this message from God Himself. Daniel chapter 12 can be divided in two parts: the prophecy itself (vv. 1-4) and the timing of the prophecy, from verse five to the end. In the first four verses we can read about several events that will happen at the end times. 

This is Daniel 12:1-4 in the New International Version:

"At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found written in the book - will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge".

The original Hebrew is this:

  1 - וּבָעֵ֣ת הַהִיא֩ יַעֲמֹ֨ד מִֽיכָאֵ֜ל הַשַּׂ֣ר הַגָּד֗וֹל הָעֹמֵד֮ עַל־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּךָ֒ וְהָיְתָה֙ עֵ֣ת צָרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־נִהְיְתָה֙ מִֽהְי֣וֹת גּ֔וֹי עַ֖ד הָעֵ֣ת הַהִ֑יא  וּבָעֵ֤ת הַהִיא֙ יִמָּלֵ֣ט עַמְּךָ֔ כָּל־הַנִּמְצָ֖א כָּת֥וּב בַּסֵּֽפֶר׃

 2 -  וְרַבִּ֕ים מִיְּשֵׁנֵ֥י אַדְמַת־עָפָ֖ר יָקִ֑יצוּ אֵ֚לֶּה לְחַיֵּ֣י עוֹלָ֔ם וְאֵ֥לֶּה לַחֲרָפ֖וֹת לְדִרְא֥וֹן עוֹלָֽם׃ ס

 3 -  וְהַ֨מַּשְׂכִּלִ֔ים יַזְהִ֖רוּ כְּזֹ֣הַר הָרָקִ֑יעַ וּמַצְדִּיקֵי֙ הָֽרַבִּ֔ים כַּכּוֹכָבִ֖ים לְעוֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד׃ פ

 4 -  וְאַתָּ֣ה דָֽנִיֵּ֗אל סְתֹ֧ם הַדְּבָרִ֛ים וַחֲתֹ֥ם הַסֵּ֖פֶר עַד־עֵ֣ת קֵ֑ץ יְשֹׁטְט֥וּ רַבִּ֖ים וְתִרְבֶּ֥ה הַדָּֽעַת׃

And it sounds like this:

"Ubaét hahí yaamód Mixaél hasár hagadól haoméd al-bené ammexá, vehaytá et sará asher lo-nihyetá miheyót góy ad haét hahí; ubaét hahí yimalét ammexá, kol-hanimsá katúv baséfer. Verabím miyeshené admát-afár yakítsu; éle lexayé olám, veéle lexarafót ledirón olám. Vehamaskilím yazhíru kezóhar harakíya, umatsdiké harabím kakoxavím leolám vaéd. Veatá Daniel, setóm hadevarím vaxatóm haséfer ad-et kets; yeshotetú rabím vetirbé hadáat"

The translation of NIV is a pretty good one. But we want to stress two special cases that can be rendered in a most accurate way. The first one is in verse two, where "others" will awake "to shame and everlasting contempt". The Hebrew word that was translated as "contempt" is דראון , (deraón) which means "aversion, abhorrence". The people in the second resurrection will not be "despised" or "disrespected" only, they shall be utterly abhorred. 

The second case is in verse four, where we read that "many will go here and there to increase knowledge". This is a possible rendering, but many translations - including King James Version, New American Standard Bible and most of the English versions - show no connection between the two facts, the "many persons going to and fro" and the "increase of knowledge". Then they translate, "many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase", or similar. This is a better translation, because all of those "many" who are wandering are not doing it "to increase knowledge", and the increment of knowledge is for everyone, not only (and especially not) for those going to and fro. 

Both in spiritual matters - as the knowledge of the Word of God - or material ones - as the knowledge of the laws of nature - human knowledge has been remarkably increased, but not exactly by those who "go back and forth". The aimless wandering of the "many" have turn them into an easy prey of the satanical lies which constitute the foundation of all current wrong trends, forged to disprove the truth we have known for millennia through honest inquiry in the Word of God or honest research of the laws of nature. We must stress "honest" because that's the main difference between the speakers of truth and those who spread lies. God says in His word that we have several ways to know Him; among them are the Scriptures and His Creation. But many have twisted the interpretation of the Scriptures, or corrupted the use of the scientific method to prove their own interpretation of the facts (or even made "scientific" claims with no evidence at all). Let's go to Daniel's prophecy and receive the message he has for us today. 

BREAKDOWN

After reading verses 1-2, there are some previous facts we need to know in order to understand the prophecy that Daniel received:

1 - Which time is "that time"?

2 - Who is Michael?

3 - Which is Daniel's people?

4 - What is the time of distress?

5 - Which is "the book"?

6 - Why are there "multitudes" now, and not only "Daniel's people"?

7 - What does it mean to "awake" from "sleeping in the dust"?

8 - What's the meaning of the two groups that will awake?

In verse 3, there is something going on until "that time":

1 - Who are the wise ones?

2 - Why will they "shine" like stars?

And in verse 4, an order to Daniel about the revelation he got, and the prediction of two things that will be happening until "that time": people going to and fro, and an increase of knowledge:

1 - What does it mean to "seal" the words of the scroll?

2 - Which is the time of the end?

3 - Who are the ones going to and fro?

4 - In what way has knowledge been increased?

That's quite a few questions, and it seems to be a very complicated issue. But it is better understood if we divide it in groups according to different events which are not always given in chronological order, and differentiate the prophecies about Israel, the church and the rest of the world:

⦁ Which is "that time"? (Which events define it?)

- the time when Michael arises; v. 1 (and what shall Michael do)

- the time of the great distress; v. 1 (and what is this great distress)

- the time of resurrection; v. 2 (who will be raised from the dead?)

- the time of the end; v. 4 (the end of what?)

⦁ The events that will be going on until "that time"

- the wise will shine v. 3

- many will go to and fro v. 4

- knowledge will increase v. 4

- Daniel should seal the book v. 4 

  (this last issue is to be read about under Daniel 12:5-13)

We have many prophecies that show us which the time is, what will happening then and what will be happening until that day comes. Let's start with the first issue, because the events that take place in the prophecy occur in a specific period of time that is defined in biblical prophecy by many.

We said in the previous message that Daniel 12 was an apocalyptic prophecy. Apocaliptic prophesies have to do with the "end times" or "eschatology", as it is called. The first thing we need to know is that this "end" is not the "end of the world", but the end of the order of things which prevails now. Both Jewish and Christian eschatology coincide in several points:

1 - Israel's Messiah will come to reign on earth some day

2 - There will be a resurrection of the believers

3 - At the arrival of the Messiah, Israel will be delivered from enemy aggresors

4 - The Messiah will reign upon the whole world for a thousand years

5 - Israel will be totally restored, and the Messiah will reign from Jerusalem

6 - Israel's God will be "the" God of all mankind

In Old Testament prophecy, these apocalyptic events take place in a future time which is called "the Day of the Lord". 

Isaiah 2:10-22; 13:6, 9 tell us about the fall of Babylonia (type of the fall of the antichrist)

In Ezekiel 30:3 "Egypt" is now the Islamic world. Note that the real, literal and historic king Nebuchadnezzar didn't conquer Egypt, but the Antichrist will. Besides, it is an alliance of countries which is falling in this prophecy: Cush (Ethiopia), Libya, Lydia (Turkey), Arabia, Kub (in Egypt). Babylonia didn't conquer Egypt, neither Libya, Lydia, Arabia or Ethiopia. But it will happen at the end times.

In Joel 2:1-2 we read, "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand - a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains  a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come". The "day of the Lord" reeturns in verses 11, 31. And an unique prophecy follows "that day". Joel 2:28-29 says, "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days". 

The last deliverance of Israel is prophesied in Joel 3:14-17, "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. Then you will  know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her".

Obadiah prophesies that "The day of the Lord is near for all nations". He prophesies also that "...on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance" because "the kingdom will be the Lord’s". Even when his book is mainly a prophecy against Edom, verse 15 prophecies about "all nations". 

In Zephaniah 1:7 we read, "Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited". His depiction of that day is in 1:15-16, "That day will be a day of wrath - a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness - a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers". And the final blessing upon Jerusalem and the whole Israel is found in Zephaniah 3:15, "The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm". Also in 3:19 we read, "At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you". 

One of the clearest prophecies about the Messiah fighting for Jerusalem in the Day of the Lord is in Zechariah 14. It begins with, "A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it..." and prophesies the Messiah's coming, "Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem...". And also, "...the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him".

The outcome of this final war will be the eternal blessing of Israel. Zechariah prophesies that "The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name". About Jerusalem he says that it "will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure".

The picture these prophecies - and other ones - give us is clear: armies from many nations will be gathered against Israel, but the Lord Himself shall step in and deliver His people. 

What happens AFTER that war?

We have read in Zechariah 14:11 that Jerusalem "will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure". In verse 16 of the same chapter we read that "...the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles".

How is it that the enemies of Israel will worship Israel's God and celebrate one of the three major annual festivities with the Jewish people? How will world's peace come?

Many prophets predicted the Millennium and the restoration of the nation of Israel. These prophecies include:

1 - The final war when God Himself will save Israel from their enemies. The prophecies we have read before about the "Day of the Lord" deal with this war and Israel's enemies' defeat. 

2 - The Messiah, coming with the Kingdom of God (which starts with the Millennium). It was prophesied by Isaiah (Is 9:6-7), Ezekiel (Ez 37:21-28), Daniel (Dn 2:44; 7:13-14) and Micah (Mi 5:2-4) among others.

3 - Israel's full restoration. Prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer 31:31-40), Ezekiel (Ez 36:24-30; 37:21-28; 39:25-29), Daniel (Dn 7:27), Hosea (Hos 1:10-11; 14:4-9), Joel (Jl 3:18-20), Amos (Am 9:11-15), Obadiah (Ob 1:17-21), Micah (Mi 4:1-5; 5:2-4; 7:15-20) and Zephaniah (Zeph 3:14-20) among others.

4 - A New Covenant with Israel, that replaces the one given to Moses. Prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer 31:31-40) and Ezekiel (Ez 36:24-30). If you don't want to get hold of the wrong end of the stick about this prophecy, see the NOTE at the end. 

5 - The eternity of the Kingdom of God. Prophesied by Isaiah (Is 9:6-7; 65:17-25), Jeremiah (Jer 31:31-40), Daniel (Dn 7:13-14) and Zechariah (Zech 14:9-11) among others.

6 - Peace, prosperity and total health in the Millennium. Prophesied by Isaiah (Is 2:2-4; 9:6-7; 32:16-17; 65:17-25) and Micah (Mi 4:1-5) among others.

7 - One world, one King, one God. Prophesied by Isaiah (Is 2:2-4; 11:1-9; 32:16-17; 45.23-24; 66:18-23), Daniel (Dn 2:44; 7:13-14; 7:27), Amos (Am 9:11-15); Micah (Mi 4:1-5; 7:15-20), Zechariah (Zech 14:9-11; 14:16) among others.

It is in the context of the last war against Israel's enemies that Michael will arise, those who have their names written in the book of life will be delivered, multitudes will come back to life, and a great distress will scourge the inhabitants of the world. The timing of these events are the theme of the second part of Daniel chapter 12, from verse 5 to the end, that we will take in the next message if the Lord allows. So we focus now in these other questions: about Michael, Daniel's people, the resurrection and the great distress. 

In Daniel 10 the Lord said to the prophet, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come;  but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince)". In this blog, you will find the answer to Michael's identity in the message under the title "Daniel 10:20-21". For every nation has spiritual forces, divine or satanical, working in their spirits. The captains of those spiritual forces are those "princes".

Daniel's people, Israel, appears in the book of Revelation, chapter 12, where it is portrayed as a woman who gave birth to a child - the Messiah, descendant of king David - and who will be persecuted to death by Satan, and protected by God. There we see the angelical forces commanded by Michael defeating the satanical hosts, and Israel saved from destruction. This deliverance of Israel takes place in the midst of the "Great Tribulation" that will precede the arrival of the Messiah with the Kingdom of God, a time of tribulation prophesied here by Daniel as "time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations", and by Our Lord in Matthew 24:21, "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again".

Now let us take a look to the resurrection of the believers, both "Daniel's people" - or "everyone whose name is found written in the book" - and the "multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth". The book is the book of life, and you can read about it in this blog under the title "Daniel 7:9-10".

Somebody has said that God didn't promise Abraham eternal life, but the land of Canaan. Even when it is true about Abraham, you couldn't say that about his descendance, if you had read the whole Old Testament. There are several prophetical proclamations which show us that they were familiar with the idea of resurrection and eternal life, even when the word "resurrection" and the explanation of the concept, as we find it in Paul's or John's writings, is not given. One of the oldest examples is in the book of Job, who proclaimed, 

"I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes - I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!"

Job 19:25-27

Other prophets predicted the same event: David (Psalms 16:9-11), the sons of Korah (Psalms 49:15), Hosea (Hosea 13:14), Isaiah (Isaiah 26:19) and Daniel, in the verses we are reading (Daniel 12:2).

The last example is probably the best description of the resurrection of the believers in the Old Testament. It is used by Our Lord Jesus to speak about the same theme (John 5:24-29). Observe the chronological context of the resurrection in Daniel: his people Israel (delivered by Michael in verse one) and the "multitudes" in verse two. Our Lord speaks also about the resurrection in the theological context, the one of "eternal life" (John 5:24). And the multitudes now include Christians as well. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die" (John 11:25-26). Among the greatest revelations about the resurrection are those of the apostle Paul, that we can read in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:12-58. 

The resurrection of the dead is one of the foundations of the Christian faith (Hebrews 6:2) and occurs in stages, not only the ones that Daniel and Our Lord Jesus separated - which is the main division indeed - but in the case of the resurrection of the living as well, in several events which are distant in time. There is a resurrection for Jesus Himself, then the believers in the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16) then the two witnesses in the Great Tribulation (Revelation 11:11-12) and finally the resurrection of those who will suffer dead at that time, or those who won't worship the beast (Revelation 20:4). Because eternal life is the first promise of the salvation in Jesus Christ (John 3:16), the resurrection has a prominent place in our faith. All men die, but all men will rise from the grave; either to eternal life or eternal condemnation. 

It is crucial that we understand these events, especially those of the believers, in the context of the "great distress" of Daniel 12:1 or Matthew 24:21 - which is the same. This period is called the "70th week of Daniel" because of the prophecy in Daniel 9:27, and also the "Great Tribulation" - from Greek θλιψεως της μεγαλης (thlípseos tes megáles) - in Revelation 7:14 (the same word is translated "distress" or "tribulation" in NIV). The events of the resurrection of the believers occur before this period (the one prophesied in 1 Thessalonians 4:16) and after it (the one from Revelation 20:4) 

And what about the "wise ones", those who "lead many to righteousness"?

In his book "Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation", professor Henry A. Virkler outlines this history of Hermeneutics (the science and art of biblical inter-pretation) closely related to "exegesis" (interpretation in action):

1. Ancient Jewish Exegesis 

2. New Testament Use of the Old Testament 

3. Patristic Exegesis 

4. Medieval Exegesis

5. Reformed Exegesis

6. Post-Reformation Exegesis

7. Modern Hermeneutics

Why is hermeneutics important? Or exegesis?

All stars give light and heat. But there are some ones which give the necessary light and heat for life - as our Sun does - and some which don't. If you want to emit light - the Word of God - and heat - the love of God - as a star does, you will need the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of the Word of God. 

Daniel compared "those who lead many to righteousness" to stars. Because they give "light and heat" as stars do. Life would be impossible without light and heat. That's why God has always had servants preaching the truth of His Word. Adam instructed his wife Eve and his sons in God's commandments. Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob obeyed God and lead those who followed them in His ways. Moses received God's call and went to Egypt,  declaring God's will to Pharao, and performing the miracles that the Lord smote the Egyptians with. Then he led the people to the promised land and gave them God's laws and commandents. His leadership went to Joshua, who ministered Israel and led them to obey God's will, as Moses had done. 

Moses and Joshua became the model for Israel's leaders, and the country was led for centuries by religious rulers, being Samuel the prophet the last of them. Even Israel's first kings, Saul, David and Solomon, were also anointed by the Spirit of God; they not only ruled as kings, but prophesied as well. The prophetical ministry was the light of God's people; good kings asked God through Israel's prophets, and the evil ones ignored God's voice and even persecuted the prophets that declared a word of God they didn't want to listen.

Daniel himself was among Israel's prophets, and by the same time, he and Ezekiel prophesied in Babylonia (in times of the exile). After the return to the Holy Land, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi continued the prophetical ministry, and God rose prophets whenever He wanted to speak to His people, and kept the ministry of His Word through the priests, scribes and teachers of the law in Israel, being Ezra an outstanding example. 

Sadly, not everyone who ministered the Word of God was a shining star. False prophecies were spoken in Israel by false prophets, and has been spoken in the church by flawed, even heretical preachers, being present even today. That's why the book of professor Virkler shows us a lineage of good examples of Bible knowledge and teaching, from the rabbi Hillel the sage to the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles, and continuing with Augustine of Hippo, the Syrian School of Antiochia (where John Chrysostom and Theodore of Mopsuestia belong), medieval Jewish rabbis as Shlomo Yitzchaki in France and a whole Jewish school in Spain, the School of Saint Victor in Paris, Nicholas of Lyra, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Martin Luther, John Calvin and others. We could think of other names as Hippolytus of Rome, Irenaeus of Lyon or William Wesley, among many others, who put the Scriptures above their own will (the only way you can hear the voice of God from the Bible). 

To cling to another source of Divinity than the Holy Scripture, or to twist the Scripture in order that it would say that you want it to say, are two among many ways to be a non shining and a non warming star. And it has been the way by which unfortunately many have got lost and have caused their followers to go astray as well. Even in the list professor Virkler gives us, which includes almost all of those who had the right method of Biblical interpretation, some went short of the total revelation of the truth. Calvin for instance developed a distorted view of God's sovereignty that makes Him a cruel tyrant instead of a loving Father; Luther became very antisemitic at the end of his life; rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki departed from the mainstream Jewish interpretation about Messianic prophecy, and Augustine of Hippo from the belief that John the apostle taught his disciples and had been Christian doctrine for almost 300 years, namely the Second Coming of Jesus, the great distress and the Kingdom of God. That's why we need not only Biblical knowledge, but the Spirit of God to keep ourselves in the truth. Your interpretation shouldn't be subject to persecutions, frustration or anything that rocks the boat in your life, because the truth doesn't depend on circumstances. 

That said, there is something special about this list of persons, which is that they established the principle that there is one primary meaning in any revelation, departing from the futile exercises of imagination that many others engaged in, by which most of the time they put another meaning or even meanings in the Scripture that the writer - therefore God Almighty who inspired them - didn't intend. This is one of the ways that people seeking knowledge can fall, by following false teachers who speak "something new", which is "new" because nobody had prophesied it before, for it is a lie. 

There are often several meanings in the Word of God, but the one we should seek, and ask God in prayer about what He meant, is the one He intended for us to receive. Even real interpretations which miss the point are useless for our salvation. The parable of the sower, in Matthew 13:3-9, can be understood as a lesson in farming. If you are a farmer, and you listen to the Lord's parable but not the explanation, then you could come home and tell your wife, "I've heard today the best explanation about how to sow from a prophet". But you would have lost the message Jesus intended, which He reveals to His disciples in verses 18-23. There we learn that the parable is about the Word of God, not literal seeds, and the heart if the hearers, not the literal ground. The teaching illustrates how several circumstances in the life, the mindset or the character of the hearers can influence the reception of the message and therefore their obedience to God. That's the point we are not supposed to miss.  

Besides the fact that the Word of God would reach men to lead them to salvation through "shining stars", there are two other developments that would take place before the time of the end, according to Daniel's prophecy. The first one is that knowledge would be increased. In Hebrew we read "וְתִרְבֶּ֥ה הַדָּֽעַת" (vetirbé hadáat). It's been translated as "knowledge will increase" in many English versions. "Dáat", Hebrew for "knowledge", can be translated as "perception", "understanding", "wisdom", and hence it alludes to the revelations God gives us. 

Both in the times of Daniel and in the times of the Christian church, from its birth to the Reformation, the Scriptures were written by hand and very few Jews or Christians owned the whole Bible or even part of it. But the Reformation came with two things that worked together, so that we could have access to God's Word anytime: the printing-press and the doctrines of the reformers. 

The printing-press made books cheaper and available to many. And the reformers stood for priesthood of all believers, personal salvation, based on a personal relationship with God, "sola scriptura" ("scriptures alone"; only the Bible is "God's Word") and rational religion, meaning that reason would be used to read and understand the Bible, only subordinated to the belief in revelation (meaning, the revealed word of God is true if it seems reasonable to us and if it doesn't, because God's thoughts are higher than ours and sometimes mysterious). These tenets caused every Christian in Protestant churches to read, interpret and keep God's Word by himself. The impact these ideas had on Christians was so strong that the Catholic Church changed its policy on the laymen and encouraged them to follow a "Protestant tenet", namely to read the Bible. 

It would be astonishing to Daniel to know the level of Bible knowledge of Jews and Christians in our days. Knowledge has been increased indeed. But sadly, not for every one. The prophecy mentions many people that will "go here and there", as in seeking something they can never find. And the pattern is the same most of the time: they reject God's revelation of the truth and seek spiritual strenght anywhere but in the Word of God. 

There's a reason I can tell you: I was one of them. I was raised an atheist, and lived as such until my life was kind of miserable and unsatisfactory. For many years I was blaming society, bad luck, unfair treatment, other people... anything and anyone but me. There are ways to be transformed, and there are ways to remain a slave of the circumstances, your own mindset or your character.  

When I realized that my life was miserable and unsatisfactory, I didn't come to Jesus and the Bible. I went to philosophical writings and Oriental religions. The only good experience I got from them is that atheism is not the only possible worldview. But the direction I was looking for was not there either. Only in Jesus I did find the answers I was looking for. 

We began with the contrast between the world three or four decades before, and the world we are living in now. The degree of satanical deceit is highest than in any possible time we have experienced before. Most people are living in lies, and it happens because they rejected God and His Word. And the purveyors of deceit don't even try to debate their beliefs; they try to convince you that "their truth" is as reliable as the biblical truth - or even superior. If we are not equipped with God's truth, then we are sitting ducks before Satan and his flaming arrows. 

You have got a precious soul, no matter who you are. In spite of your sex, age, nationality, skin color, political ideas, education or whatever Satan is using in these times to divide us, you have got a precious soul from God, a soul that He earnestly wants to save. Your soul needs that salvation, because we have all sinned, and we have fall short of God's glory. Your soul will not dissapear when you die; it will wait until resurrection day comes, and then your body will raise from the dead and your soul will abide in it again. You will go to heaven in eternal life and blessing, or to hell in eternal death and condemnation.  

The reason we got "destination hell" in our ticket to eternity is called "sin". And lie is a sin which appears often en the Scriptures, causing people to be lost in eternity. As we read before, Satan is the "father of lies", and Jesus is "the way, and the truth, and the life". That's why Isaiah says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (Is 5;20). All three illustrations mean to lie, to establish diferent definitions of what truth and deception are, or of what sin and piety are (as revealed by God in His Word). And the book of Revelation gives us this prophecy in the next to last chapter of the Bible, "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death" (Rev 21:8)

"Fiery lake of burning sulfur" is the description of hell, the place where Satan will be on eternity, together with all demons and all unrepented sinners. Eternal condemnation is called  "second death" here, and there is no more resurrection from it. That's the fate of those who will "awake to shame and everlasting contempt" in Daniel's prophecy. But it doesn't have to be your fate. Jesus came to die for your sins, He rose from the dead for your justification, and He ascended to heaven, where He intercedes for us before His Father. The only thing you need is to come to Him, confess your sins, repent of them and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. Your name will be written in the Book of Life, your destination in the afterlife will be Heaven, and you will live in this world by God's truth (His Word) and not following liars. Jesus saves you not only from eternal condemnation, but from a life in sin and defeat. Salvation has primarily to do with the eternal destination of your soul, but it redeems you down here as well, bringing joy, faith, love, gratitude and healing to you in your earthly life as well. 

In the love of God in Jesus Christ

Your brother Israel Leonard

PS. Jesus is coming soon!

NOTE:

The prophecy about the New Covenant replacing the one Moses brought is used by the supporters of Replacement Theology by claiming that this New Covenant is the New Testament brought by Jesus and that's why Christianity replaces Judaism. But there are some problems with that tergiversation of the truth: this New Covenant is related to Israel's restoration, which didn't take place when Jesus came and Christianity appeared - Israel was not restored at all at that time, but utterly destroyed 40 years after the birth of the church. And this New Covenant, together with Israel's restoration, leads the world into the Millennium, where all nations will serve the One and Only God of Israel, not in the era of the church. That said, the spiritual Kingdom of God which came with Our Lord Jesus is a preview of the literal Kingdom to come, which makes the coming of the Lord and the birth of the church a partial fulfilment of the prophecy. However, this partial and spiritual fulfilment doesn't take Israel out from the final one, as Paul most definitively shows in Romans 11. That's why the real, physical Israel is present in all apocalyptical prophecies, and to assume that the promises to Israel apply now to the "spiritual Israel", and not to the literal one, is a preposterous tergiversation. Prophecies about Israel apply to the church because the church has been grafted in Israel (the "cultivated olive tree" of Romans 11) not because Israel would be saved by the church. Both the church and Israel are saved through Jesus Christ, Israel's Messiah.