The servant of the Lord never has to fret over what to do next, for the Lord always has a word of encouragement and instruction for him at the right time. During all of his long life, Daniel prayed faithfully, studied the Scriptures, and sought to serve God, and the Lord always guided him, protected him, and used him for His glory. We today are able to study prophecy because Daniel was faithful in his day.
The book (v. 4). In the ancient world, official transactions were ratified with two documents, one that was sealed and kept in a safe place and one that was kept available (Jer. 32:1–12). God looked upon Daniel’s book as the “deed” that guaranteed that He would faithfully keep His promises to the people of Israel. To close up the book and seal it didn’t mean to hide it away, because God’s message was given so His people would know the future. The book was to be treasured and protected and shared with the Jewish people. However, the book was “sealed” in this sense: the full meaning of what Daniel wrote would not be understood until “the time of the end” (see Matt. 24:15). Even Daniel didn’t fully understand all that he saw, heard, and wrote (Dan. 12:8)!
When the apostle John completed the book of Revelation, he was told to keep the book unsealed because the time was at hand (Rev. 22:10). We need the book of Daniel so we can better understand the book of Revelation. At least seventy-one passages from Daniel are quoted or alluded to in sixteen New Testament books, most of them in the book of Revelation. All of Daniel 6 is referred to in Hebrews 11:33.
“Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” is not a reference to automobiles and jet planes or the advancement of education. It has reference to the study of God’s Word in the last days, especially the study of prophecy. Amos 8:11–12 warns us that the day will come when there will be a famine of God’s Word, and people will run here and there seeking for truth but won’t find it. But God’s promise to Daniel is that, in the last days, His people can increase in their knowledge of prophetic Scripture as they apply themselves to the Word of God. Some interpret “to and fro” to mean running one’s eyes to and fro over the pages of Scripture.
The times (vv. 5–7). Two more angels arrived on the scene, one on each side of the Tigris River. The man clothed in linen refers to the awesome person Daniel saw at the beginning (10:5–6), probably Jesus Christ. When one of the angels asked, “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?” the Lord replied “for a time, times, and a half,” that is, three and a half years (7:25). The last half of the tribulation period is described in several ways: time, times and half a time (12: nkjv; Rev. 12:14); forty-two months (Rev. 11:2; 13:5); and 1,260 days (11:3). Once the treaty is signed between Antichrist and Israel, the clock starts ticking off seven years, and once Antichrist sets himself up as god in the temple, the last half of Daniel’s seventieth week begins. The Lord Jesus spoke this under oath, raising both hands to heaven, so it is certain.
The key to God’s timing is the purpose He fulfills for “the holy people,” the nation of Israel. Throughout the book of Daniel, the emphasis is on the nation of Israel, and the only reason other nations are mentioned is because of their relationship to the Jews. While the tribulation period is a time for punishing the Gentile nations for the way they have sinned against the Jews (Joel 3:2–8), it’s also a time for sifting and purging Israel and preparing the Jews for the return of their Messiah (Amos 9:9–12).
The end (vv. 8–13). “How long?” and “How will it end?” are questions that we ask when the times are difficult and the future in doubt. “What’s the purpose of it all?” Daniel did what all of us must do: he humbly asked God for the wisdom that he needed. But He may not tell us (Deut. 29:29)! He knows how much we need to know and how much we can take (John 16:12). He did promise that all these things would be clearer for those living in the end times, which is an encouragement for us to prayerfully study the prophetic Scriptures.
But the Lord did reveal that, in the end times, as trials come to the people on the earth, these trials will make the believers purer and wiser, but the wicked will only become more wicked. “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3: nkjv; see Rev. 22:11). The unbelievers will be ignorant of the truth but the believers will have their eyes opened to the truths of the Word. The Word of prophecy is our light when things get dark (2 Peter 1:19).
The significance of the 1,290 days and the 1,335 days isn’t made clear, but there is a blessing attached to the second number. The starting point is the middle of the tribulation, when the abomination of desolation is set up in the temple. Since there are 1,260 days (three and a half years) before the tribulation ends, the 1,290 days would take us 30 days beyond the return of the Lord, and the 1,335 days 75 days beyond the end of the tribulation. We aren’t told why these days are important or how they will be used to bring blessing to God’s people. Certainly there are activities that the Lord must direct and tasks to accomplish, all of which will take time. Perhaps the greatest task is the regathering of His people from the nations of the world (Ezek. 20:33–38; Isa. 1:24–2:5; 4:2–6; 11:1–16), their purging, and their preparation to enter the promised kingdom.
Though the Lord had taught Daniel many things and revealed to him many mysteries, it was not for him to know everything before he died. As the end of his life drew near, it was enough to know that he had been faithful to the Lord and would one day rest from his labors (Rev. 14:13). He will one day be raised from the dead and receive the reward the Lord has allotted for him (Matt. 25:21). “I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Ps. 17:15; 1 John 3:1–3; Rom. 8:29).