Tuesday - Daniel 12 - The Resurrection of Daniel

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T has been pointed out that despite Daniel's faithfulness to God, he did not get to return to Jerusalem with the remnant of the Jews to rebuild that which had been destroyed 70 years before. This doesn't mean that his story is over though. Daniel was a royal prince from the tribe Judah. He will get his property someday (vs. 13), after the resurrection (national and individual).

Daniel was informed emphatically about one of the most glorious truths in all of the Bible: the fact of the coming resurrection of the dead (vs. 2). And indeed, in this chapter the resurrection sure seems to be tied in with the timing of the defeat of the antichrist (Daniel 11:35 & 12:1-2). Not that the exact timing of the resurrection is the main business of this chapter. In fact, the second comma in Daniel 12:2 reminds me of the longevity of the one in Isaiah 61:2. The one in Isaiah is still growing in fact (and so far, it's over 2000 years long). This one in Daniel 12:2 will prove to be 1000 years long. Once we get to Revelation 20:5-6 we discover with exactitude the length of the pause in the resurrection of human souls. Believers will be raised first (to life) and unbelievers afterward (to contempt; that is, to condemnation). Concerning believers, the church will be resurrected just prior to the reign of the antichrist & the rest of the saints will evidently be raised right at the end of the antichrist's dominion.