Jottings

by J. Miller | Category: Jottings | Jul 1952

The latter part of Daniel ii. deals with the person and works of the Beast, who is the Man of Sin and the Antichrist. In the beginning of chapter 12. 1 we are told, "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people". Daniel's people were of course the people of Israel. This "standing up for" involves the idea of "standing up against". Gesenius cites 1 Chronicles 20.4 in association with Daniel 12. 1: "There arose (Hebrew amad, stood, A.V.M.) war at Gezer with the Philistines". In the same sense we have this word in Daniel 8.25, "He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes", telling of the war between the antichrist and the Christ. See also Daniel 11.6, 14, 25, 31.

It seems clear enough that this standing up of Michael takes place about the middle of Daniel's week, about the end of the first three and a half years, and is what we are told more fully of in Revelation 12.7-12, where we read, "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; and they prevailed not, neither w~ their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him."

Consequent on the standing up of Michael, Daniel tells us that "there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book". This again agrees with Revelation 12., for when the Devil is cast down to the earth he comes down with great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time. His principal attack will be against the woman that brought forth the Man Child who was caught up to God's throne; she will be given the two wings of the great eagle, we are told, and will fly into the wilderness to the place prepared of Cod, called "her place", where she will be nourished for a time, times and half a time from the face of the serpent. Here is re-enacted what happened at the beginning of Israel's national history when they fled from the face of Pharaoh, of which God said, "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings and brought you unto Myself" (Exodus 19.4).

Though the woman, the faithful remnant of Israel, will flee to the wilderness beyond the Jordan, yet she will have many faithful sons elsewhere. when baulked of his prey by the earth which opened her mouth (it was the Red Sea in Pharaoh's day) whereby deliverance will be wrought for the woman, we are told, "The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and the testimony of Jesus". The battle will be fierce and furious. He will be allowed by God to unleash all his deeds of war upon Cod's faithful and suffering saints, but they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death" (Revelation 12.11). Daniel tells us in keeping with the above, "The people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that be wise among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help:

but many shall join themselves unto them with flatteries. And some of them that be wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end" (Daniel 11.32-35). In that last battle between the Devil and Cod's saints of a coming day, no quarter will be given and none exacted. But such as continue to the end shall be saved, for the Son of Man will come and save His suffering people out of their trouble - Jacob's trouble, the last that Jacob will have; for as with the man Jacob, his latter end was peace, so will it be for Cod's people Jacob, they with others shall sail into calm waters at last.

It will be a glorious day for Israel when Romans 11. 26, 27 has fulfilment.

Then will they fulfil their high destiny as God's people, as floodlit by the

glory of God the command shall go forth

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee" (Isaiah 60.1).

The Lord Jesus, the Glory of God's people Israel, will have come. Then, as radiated from Israel, "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2.14). Have we not tasted of the powers of the age to come? (Hebrews 6.5), and do we not love His appearing? (2 Timothy 4.8).

Daniel tells us that "at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book" (Daniel 12. 1). Paul says, "And so all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11.26). This does not mean all of the Jewish race, for Paul again says, "For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel" (Romans 9.6). Note the force of Ezra 2. 70: "All Israel in their cities". Alas, at that time many, many Jews remained in Babylon, and a remnant are called "all Israel". The warning words of the Lord in John 5.48, "if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive", show that the same kind of generation as was alive when the Lord was here will receive the antichrist, and will reject the true Christ, as their fathers did. Only those of the Jewish race that are found written in the book will be delivered.

Then we have the statement in Daniel 12.2 which has caused much discussion amongst students of prophecy

"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." In the light of Revelation 20.5, 6,

"The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years," certain have thought that Daniel 12.8 is the spiritual revival or resurrection of Israel, and those who hold to a literal resurrection of such as sleep in the dust see the difficulty of this verse in the light of Revelation 20.6, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection". The view of that scholar and textual critic, S. P. Tregelles, may shed light on Daniel 12.2. He renders it as follows :"The true rendering of this verse is, I believe, 'And many from amongst the sleepers of the dust of the earth shall awake; these shall be unto everlasting life; but those [the rest of the sleepers, those who do not awake at this time] shall be unto shame and everlasting contempt'.

This was the explanation which I believed to be correct, merely from the study of the Hebrew Bible; and this was greatly confirmed when I found that on grammatical grounds simply the same view was taken by the best Jewish commentators, for instance, Saadiah Gaon and Aben Ezra. Whatever be the opinion of modern Jews, those of former ages fully believed in the first resurrection, but they confined it to their own nation."

Matthew 8.11 shows clearly that the first resurrection is not limited to men of the Israel people. A thousand years lie between the "resurrection from" (Greek, Ek, out of) the dead, and the "resurrection of the dead", as Revelation 20.5 clearly shows. In Luke 20.85 the Lord speaks of those that are counted worthy to attain to that world (age, the Messianic kingdom), and the resurrection from (ek, out of) the dead, whom He calls "sons of the resurrection". The Lord calls the coming age the regeneration: "Ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones" (Matthew 19.28). Let those who follow Him keep their eyes on that day.

J. Miller | Jul 1952
Jottings