Tuesday, March 18 – Daniel 12, Ezra 1

1. According to Daniel, who will shine like the brightness of the firmament? (Daniel 12:3)

2. What else will happen to the wise? (Daniel 12:10)

3. What promise did God make to Daniel? (Daniel 12:13)

4. Why and who stirred up the favor of King Cyrus toward the captives of Israel? (Ezra 1:1)

Daniel has revealed to us God’s purposes and prophecies as a prelude to the things that would happen throughout the salvific process that the Father planned, Jesus Christ perfectly executed on the cross of Calvary, and the Holy Spirit must complete in our hearts. God had a plan of salvation and restoration for our fallen race.

In Daniel 12:4, God asks Daniel to “shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end,” which is the time when the wise would shine (Daniel 12:3) and understand (Daniel 12:10) what Daniel had written. It is through the revelation of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation that God’s people have shone and understood many of the things that have happened and will happen before the coming of Jesus in glory and majesty. That is why Daniel said that: “Knowledge shall increase.”

In Chapter 12:1, Daniel shows us why he is sure of this: “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people…”

And even though that time, which is the time of the end, “shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time,” the Word says: “And at that time your people shall be delivered, Everyone who is found written in the book.”

Daniel 12:2 completes this promise, saying: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Thus, as Daniel’s visions expanded and deepened from chapter to chapter—because the revelation he received went from a general vision (Daniel 2) to more specific details (Daniel 10 and 11)—Daniel concludes them in chapter 12 with an overview of the final victory.

In Daniel 12:6 and 8, there are two questions answered with prophetic times, both pointing to: “How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?” and “What shall be the end of these things?”

The answers involve prophetic times that are part of the longest-time prophecy, Daniel 8:14—the 2,300 years. The events prophesied in Daniel 12:7 (the 1,260 years, from 538 to 1798), in Daniel 12:11 (the 1,290 years, from 508 to 1798), and in Daniel 12:12 (the 1,335 years, from 508 to 1844) all pointed to the end of prophetic time: 1798 (the mortal wound to the Little Horn) and the beginning of the time of the end: 1844 (“The hour of His judgment has come”). All this was understood thanks to the Holy Spirit, who anointed and guided His church to comprehend and interpret the books of Daniel and Revelation.

Understanding all this is nothing less than the fulfillment of the promise in Daniel 12:3, a verse written in Hebrew poetry, which is a poetic description of the happiness that awaits God’s saints and their promised eternity:

“Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever.”

Here, the wise are those who teach righteousness to many. These are the same ones mentioned in Daniel 12:10—those who are “purified, made white, and refined.” They are also the “wise” who “shall understand” and the “blessed” who “wait” for the fulfillment of prophecy and the coming of the Lord (Daniel 12:12).

In the last verse, Daniel 12:13, God promises Daniel that, even though he will rest (meaning he will die), he will rise again on the occasion of the second coming of Michael (Jesus) in glory and majesty. What a wonderful promise! The most beautiful part is that this promise is also for each of us—those who believe in Daniel’s message and the light given to us in knowing Christ and seeking to understand what Daniel and John prophesied through God’s revelation.

Unfortunately, Daniel could not witness the fulfillment of Isaiah 45:1-7, in which, a century before the birth of Cyrus, the prophet Isaiah already mentioned him by name and declared that Cyrus, as king, would be the one to free the Hebrew captives and send them back to Jerusalem. This is precisely what the book of Ezra narrates—the account of the scribe Ezra, who witnessed the return of the captives and the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem with the political, military, and economic support of Cyrus, the king of Persia.

The story in Ezra chapter 1 and Cyrus’ favor toward the Hebrew people brought peace and joy to God’s people. This was undoubtedly a foretaste of the glory and joy of our return home when Jesus comes again to take us to dwell with Him in the New Jerusalem, the Holy City, so greatly desired and longed for by all of us. Without a doubt, the prophecies will be fulfilled in their time, and we must maintain our faith and hope in our wonderful God, who is faithful to His promises. Amen.