THE GREAT TRIBULATION AND THE RESURRECTION St. Hippolytus of Rome wrote that Daniel talked about the great tribulation, or the abomination of desolation, which was partially fulfilled – on a local level -during the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, and it will be globally fulfilled during the days of the antichrist at the end of times1. Many of the fathers, especially St. Jerome, see that the words chosen here are very clear and that they refer to the antichrist at the end of times. 1. The great tribulation 1 2. The resurrection 2-3 3. Conclusion 4-13 1. THE GREAT TRIBULATION “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in book” (1). Starting the chapter with “At that time,” indicates that the angel is continuing the previous chapter. At the peak of the authority of the Antichrist, Archangel Michael will arise to work for the benefit of the church, as was stated in the book of Revelation chapter 12. This will be during great tribulation which the Lord Jesus Christ talked about in the book of Matthew 24: 15–22. During the difficult times, God delivers the people of Daniel, that is the church of the faithful, whose names are written in the Book of Life. The church constantly faces tribulations but God never forgets His church. The more the church go through tribulation, the more God shows his concern toward her. The church is in the hands of her Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who works for her edification, and sends His angels and archangels to protect her. 2. THE RESURRECTION “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. 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” (2-3). The book of Daniel is considered the first book in the Old Testament, which clearly mentions the resurrection, when the Day of the Lord comes and the wise who obeyed God shine like eternal stars. This seemed to be above Daniel’s comprehension, for he said, “Although I heard, I did not understand” (8). Some people try to distinguish between two kinds of resurrection: one for the thousand years and the other for the eternal life. However, it is clear here that the angel means one resurrection and one eternal judgment, either eternal glory or eternal punishment. 1 Scholia on Daniel, 12:11. 258 The teachers who know the Law and apply it, and those who preach other nations to worship God will shine like stars in eternity1. St. Jerome Let us flee all the obstacles of the world with all our effort and devote our time to praying and reading the Bible for the salvation of our souls. Thus, this saying will be fulfilled in us: “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament” (3)2] Fr. Caesarius When the antichrist will perish by one breath of the Savior, the people in the Book of God will be judged according to their deeds, some will go to eternal life and others will go to eternal reproach. He compares the teachers to heaven itself, and describes those who teach others as the brightness of the stars. It is not enough that one becomes wise but he has to teach this wisdom to others. The one who can teach but remains silent and does not edify others is not rewarded. St. Jerome The Lord helps the humble, and the humble are transformed into stars, for the righteous shine like stars, as Daniel said3. St. Jerome 3. CONCLUSION “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (4). The angel ordered Daniel to seal the book until the time of the end has come. However, knowledge shall increase for many shall run to and fro. But one will always be puzzled until what is written in the book is fulfilled. When the angel talked about sealing the book, he probably meant to protect the secrecy of the prophecies until the salvation is fulfilled in the fullness of time when all the secrets of the Second Coming will be revealed as mentioned in the book of Revelation (Rev 22: 10). Many scholars see that the book of Revelation is the key to the book of Daniel. St. Ireneaus said that the divine inspiration asked Daniel to seal the prophecy, so that no one can comprehend it until the Lord Jesus comes, for He is the goal of all the prophecies. Then the faithful will realize its mystery. He said: [The hidden treasure in the Holy Book is Christ, where all the symbols and the proverbs refer to Him. We would have never understood His human nature before the coming of the Lord, therefore, the angel told Daniel, “Shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase” (4). Before the fulfillment of any prophecy, it is considered as a mystery, but when the due time comes and it is fulfilled then it becomes very clear and certain4.] St. Hippolytus of Rome said: [All the prophecies of the Holy Book were sealed and were unknown to people. This is what Isaiah said to proof it, “The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is 1 PL 25:725 2 Sermon 7:4. 3 On Ps. hom. 56. 4 Adv. Haer. 4:26:1. 259 literate, saying, ‘Read this, please,’ and he says, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.” (Is 29: 11). All what the prophets had uttered in the past were sealed and hidden from the Pharisees who thought that they knew every letter in the Law. However, everything was revealed to the believers. The old matters were all sealed, but now by the grace of God, everything is revealed to the saints. For the Lord Himself is the Seal and the church is the key, He opens and no one shuts, and He shuts and no one opens, as was mentioned in the book of Revelation (Rev 3: 7). Therefore, the angel told Daniel, “Shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end.” However, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we know the will of God and believe that He sent the Lord Jesus for the salvation of the human race1.] St. Jerome said: [The one who declared the truth to Daniel declared that these matters were secret. He asked him to shut up the words and seal the book, thus upon reading it, many will not understand and will differ in interpreting it because it is very mysterious. It is written, “many shall run to and fro,” meaning that many will read it. Also in the book of Revelation, there was a sealed scroll and no one was worthy to open the scroll or loosen its seals. St. John said, “So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals” (Rev 5: 4-5). The scroll can be opened by the one who learns the mysteries of the book and who is willing to understand its hidden truths. He can then interpret the proverbs and can transform the letter, which kills to the Spirit that gives life2.] “Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank. And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, ‘How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?’ Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My Lord, what shall be the end of these things?’ And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand” (5–10). To conclude the book, Daniel saw two angels and One wearing linen, who is the Word of God before the incarnation (Dan 10:6 ). One of the two angels asked Him about the duration of the tribulation. The answer was for one time, two times and a half time, that is, for three and a half years, the period of severe persecution. This is the half-week that Daniel mentioned previously, which ended by the defeat of the violent king. St. Jerome3 said that “the time, the two times and a half time” is not a reference to the three and a half years during which Antiochus had defiled the temple, as Porphyry claimed. For if it is true, it means that the conqueror enjoys eternal kingdom that all the kings submit to him and obey him, and this has never happened. It is evident that he is there about the Antichrist who will rule for 1290 days or three and a half years. 1 AN Frs., vol. 5, p. 180-1. 2 PL 25:726 - 727. 3 PL 25:729. 260 Daniel was asked to conclude the book for it contains mysteries, which no one knows. Daniel himself said, “Although I heard, I did not understand…” (8). But in the meantime, he ascertains that whoever is holy will understand and will become wise and that the evil will not understand. Knowledge and wisdom are relative; no doubt that Daniel understood many of the mysteries of the end of the world, but through a glass or through a shade, until the knowledge is revealed to the believers. When the end will come, the evil will not understand, while the wise men with God’s doctrines will be able to understand. Wisdom will never be revealed to a deviated person or to someone who submits to the desires of the flesh1. St. Jerome “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days” (11-12). The period in those verses is defined by days and not by years, that is 1290 days, which is three and a half years, when the church will suffer from the great tribulation. Forty-five days are added to make the number 1335 days. This is probably the lapse of time between the killing of the antichrist and the coming of the Lord Jesus. It is a period of rest so that those who deviated because of the antichrist may repent. In the same time, it is a period of purification for the believers when they joyfully await the coming of the Lord after the antichrist is gone. That is why Daniel praises those who wait for the 1335 days. St. Jerome said: [It is obvious that the three and a half years is the period of the rule of the antichrist, when he will persecute the saints before he falls on the holy mountain. Thus the fulfillment of the prophecy about the 1290 days, or the three and a half years, will begin with the abolishing of the “Endelekismos,” that is the permanent sacrifice, and will end with the death of the antichrist. It is the period during which the antichrist rules the world and forbids the worship of God 2.] He who waits 45 days after the suffering of the 1290 days, is praised, for he will see the Lord Himself coming in His glory. The reason for the waiting period of those 45 days after the murder of the antichrist is beyond our comprehension, only God knows about it. One would think judging the saints is postponed to test their faith3. St. Jerome “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days” (13). At last, Daniel was asked to rest until the coming of the Lord who says, “Behold, I am coming quickly” (Rev 22: 12). St. Jerome said: [It is obvious that this prophecy pertains to the resurrection of the dead, when the prophet will also rise4.] In the sixteenth century, John Calvin said that some interpreters added the two numbers together (1290 + 1335). and the result was approximately 2600 years. Since this interpretation was in the year 600 BC, then they concluded that the coming of the Lord 1 PL 25:728 A-B. 2 PL 25:729. 3 PL 25:730. 4 PL 25:730 B. 261 and the end of the world will be 2000 years after His first coming. However, Calvin refuted this interpretation1. Some scholars commented on the saying of the Lord Jesus in the parable of the “Good Samaritan”: “On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay You.’” (Luke 10: 35). They expressed this symbolic interpretation that the Lord Jesus had entrusted the injured souls of this world into the hands of the struggling church for a period of 2000 years, for one day is like a thousand years in the eyes of the Lord. The two denarii represent two thousand years after the ministry of the Lord Jesus that is to say that the Lord Jesus will come again to the inn at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Bishop Dioscorus presented a research on the book of Daniel. In his research he revealed that the end of the world is at hand. Also, many scholars in the West supported this opinion. Some scientists find that the hole in the ozone layer is getting bigger, which caused some glaciers to move in the region of Antarctica for a distance of three kilometers. This movement will be the reason for the magnetic imbalance of the globe, which will cause strong earthquakes, and volcanoes, which in turn will be the cause of the destruction of the whole world, only few years after the year 2000. People from the East as well as from the West supported these opinions, while others opposed them. However no doubt, that when the antichrist comes, the believers will discover that what was stated in the Book of Daniel was crystal clear to the righteous people. Since the establishment of the early church of the New Testament, it has been realized that the time of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus is very clear and distinct. I want to emphasize here that since the Lord’s ascension to heaven, the church is joyfully awaiting the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. He is definitely coming, and is coming quickly. Therefore, we should be neither negligent nor slothful. The Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to us the signs of His Second Coming, so we may be ready with patience to face the difficulties, especially the great tribulation and the abomination of the desolation. We should also be ready with joy and hope that we have a share in the fatherly bosom. Some people look at the Second Coming of the Lord with great pessimism, which make them negligent in assuming their responsibilities. This is a sign of weak faith and that the heart is not kindled with the heavenly thoughts of the life to come. He is definitely coming! Time will pass quickly and we will rejoice in our resurrection from the dead and in our meeting with Him on the clouds! 1 John Calvin: A Commentary on Daniel, Oxford 1986,. p. 392. 262 FROM THE INSPIRATION OF DANIEL (12) YES, MAY THE TIMES END! For our sake, You created time so we may glorify You. And for our sake, time will end so we may be glorified eternally with You. Yes, may the times end and may You come to us, our Beloved Lord, or may Your Holy Spirit carry us to You. We want to meet You very quickly! May You lift our hearts so we may see You coming to our inner depths. And may we see ourselves crossing to You to enjoy Your Company!
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