Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Daniel
Chapter 12: They That Be Wise Shall Shine
The book of Daniel closes on the horizon of the last day. Michael, the great prince, stands up for God's people through 'a time of trouble, such as never was,' and all who are 'found written in the book' are delivered. Then comes the clearest promise of resurrection in the Old Testament: 'many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.' The wise who turned many to righteousness 'shall shine as the brightness of the firmament... as the stars for ever and ever.' And to the aged prophet, weary from a lifetime of faithfulness, God speaks a tender final word: 'go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.' Faithful service now, rest in death, and resurrection glory at the last, that is the hope on which the book of Daniel ends.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Daniel chapter 12, the final chapter of the book. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus, with a closing reflection on the message of Daniel as a whole. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Written in the Book
Michael stands up; God's people are delivered through great trouble.
They That Sleep Shall Awake
The dead rise, to everlasting life or everlasting contempt.
Shine as the Stars
Those who turn many to righteousness shine for ever.
Rest, and Stand in Thy Lot
God's tender word to Daniel: rest now, rise at the end.
Many That Sleep in the Dust Shall Awake (Daniel 12:1-4)
Michael stands up for God's people through the greatest trouble, all who are written in the book are delivered, and the dead awake to everlasting life or everlasting contempt, while the wise who turn many to righteousness shine like the stars for ever.
Some to Everlasting Life
"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and 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. 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. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
Hebrew Study
"many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake." This is the clearest statement of bodily resurrection in the Old Testament. Death is "sleep" for the body, and "awake" is resurrection, "some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Two destinies, both everlasting. The Lord Jesus spoke the same truth almost word for word: "all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28-29); and Paul confessed "a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust" (Acts 24:15). Every grave will open; the only question is to which awakening.
"they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament... as the stars for ever and ever." The "wise" are those who know God (11:32-33), and especially "they that turn many to righteousness", soul-winners and teachers. Their reward is to "shine... as the stars for ever." The Lord Jesus promised the same, "then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43), and Proverbs says "he that winneth souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30). Of all works, turning others to God shines the longest, into eternity.
Explanation
The vision reaches "that time", the last day. "Michael... the great prince" stands up to defend "the children of thy people" through "a time of trouble, such as never was", the tribulation the Lord Jesus later described in the same words (Matthew 24:21). Yet God's people are kept: "thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book", the book of life.
Then comes the resurrection: "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." The dead rise to two eternal destinies. And the wise, those who knew God and "turn many to righteousness," will "shine as the brightness of the firmament... as the stars for ever and ever." Finally Daniel is told to "seal the book... even to the time of the end," when "knowledge shall be increased." The whole sweep of prophecy lands here: the last trouble, the sure deliverance of the written, the resurrection of the dead, and the shining reward of the faithful.
Gospel Focus
These verses hold the Old Testament's brightest hope and its most sobering warning. The hope: the dead will rise, and all who are "written in the book" of life will be delivered and awake "to everlasting life." Death is only sleep for those who belong to God, "them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him" (1 Thessalonians 4:14). The warning: others awake "to shame and everlasting contempt." The resurrection is universal, but its outcome is not; the same voice of the Son of God calls all the dead forth, some to life, some to judgment (John 5:28-29). Which awakening will be yours depends on whether your name is "found written in the book," and that is settled now, in Christ. And here is a call to spend your life well: "they that turn many to righteousness" shine "as the stars for ever and ever." Nothing you do will outlast leading a soul to God. Make sure of your own name in the book, and give your life to turning others to righteousness, for that shines forever.
Thou Shalt Rest, and Stand in Thy Lot (Daniel 12:5-13)
The heavenly man swears the wonders will be finished after an appointed time; the words are sealed till the end; the wise will understand and the wicked will not; and God gives Daniel a tender final promise of rest and resurrection.
Blessed Is He That Waiteth
"Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days."
Hebrew Study
"Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly." To the very end two roads run side by side. God's refining continues, "purified, and made white, and tried" (the same refining as 11:35), while "the wicked shall do wickedly." And a striking difference is named: "none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Spiritual understanding is not raw intelligence; it is given to the humble who fear God, "the secret of the LORD is with them that fear him" (Psalm 25:14), while sin blinds the proud, "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:14). The trials that purify the saint only harden the wicked.
"thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." God's last word to the aged Daniel is exquisitely tender. "Go thy way", keep serving faithfully to the finish; "thou shalt rest", die in peace, your body sleeping; "and stand in thy lot at the end of the days", rise in the resurrection to your appointed inheritance. Here is the whole hope of every believer in one verse: faithful service now, rest in death, and resurrection to our "lot", our portion, at the last day. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord... that they may rest from their labours" (Revelation 14:13), and they shall stand again.
Explanation
Daniel sees two more figures by the river, and one asks "the man clothed in linen," "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" Lifting both hands to heaven, he swears "by him that liveth for ever" that it will be "for a time, times, and an half," and that when the scattering of "the power of the holy people" is accomplished, "all these things shall be finished." Daniel confesses, "I heard, but I understood not," and asks the end. The answer: "the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end."
Two kinds of people will move through the last days: "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried," while "the wicked shall do wickedly," and only "the wise shall understand." Specific day-counts are given (1,290 and 1,335 days) with a beatitude, "Blessed is he that waiteth", a promise for those who persevere to the end. And then the book closes with God's personal word to His servant: "go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." Daniel does not get every answer, but he gets the best one, the assurance of rest and resurrection.
Gospel Focus
The closing of Daniel is full of grace for God's servants. First, we are not promised full understanding, "I heard, but I understood not." Daniel, the great seer, was told to "go thy way" with the book sealed. We too must live with unanswered questions, trusting the God who knows the end even when we do not. Second, trials refine the faithful but harden the wicked, and understanding is given to the humble, not the clever, "the wise shall understand." Draw near to God, and He gives light. Third, and most sweetly, God's final word to a faithful old man is a promise of rest and resurrection: "thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." That is the hope for every believer who has spent themselves for God: keep serving to the end, lay your body down in peace, and rise at the last day to the inheritance God has kept for you. And notice the beatitude on endurance, "Blessed is he that waiteth." The whole book has been a call to be faithful under pressure and to trust God's rule over history; it ends by promising that such faithfulness leads, through rest, to resurrection glory. Go your way, serve, wait, and you shall stand in your lot at the end of the days.
Chapter 12, and the Book of Daniel, in Review
Daniel 12 closes the book on the last day. Michael stands up for God's people through "a time of trouble, such as never was," and all who are "written in the book" are delivered. Then the dead rise, "some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt," and the wise who "turn many to righteousness" shine "as the stars for ever and ever." The final words are sealed till the end; the faithful are refined and the wicked hardened; and God gives Daniel the tenderest of promises: "thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days."
Look back over the whole book. Daniel opens with four young captives who "purposed in their heart" not to defile themselves, and it closes with the resurrection of the dead. Between, God shows Himself the ruler of history and the keeper of His own: He gives wisdom, delivers from the furnace and the lions' den, humbles proud kings, writes the future of empires in advance, and, above all, points to Christ, the stone cut without hands, the Son of Man with an everlasting dominion, and the Messiah cut off "but not for himself" to make reconciliation for iniquity. The book teaches God's people to keep their faith pure under pressure, to know their God and do exploits, to endure persecution as a refining fire, and to trust the God who holds every kingdom and every grave.
For the Apostolic reader, Daniel is a summons to fearless faithfulness and a feast of hope. The kingdoms of man are beasts that pass; the kingdom of Christ stands for ever. The proud come to their end; the humble who know their God shine like stars. And death itself is only a rest before the resurrection. So live as Daniel lived, faithful, prayerful, unbought, unbowed, and hear God's own last word over every servant of His: "go thou thy way... for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days."
- God's people are delivered through the greatest trouble: "every one that shall be found written in the book" (12:1; Revelation 20:15).
- The dead will rise to two everlasting destinies, life or contempt (12:2; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15).
- Those who turn many to righteousness shine "as the stars for ever and ever" (12:3; Matthew 13:43; Proverbs 11:30).
- Trials purify the faithful but harden the wicked; understanding is given to the humble (12:10; Psalm 25:14; 1 Corinthians 2:14).
- A beatitude on endurance: "Blessed is he that waiteth" (12:12).
- God's promise to His servant: faithful service, rest in death, resurrection to your inheritance (12:13; Revelation 14:13).
Questions for Reflection
- Every grave will open. Is your name "found written in the book" of life?
- Those who turn many to righteousness shine forever. Whom is God calling you to turn toward Him?
- Daniel was told to "go thy way" without full understanding. Can you trust God with your unanswered questions?
- God promised Daniel rest and resurrection. How does "thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot" shape the way you face death?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Michael the great prince: Daniel 10:13, 21; Jude 9; Revelation 12:7. The great tribulation: Matthew 24:21; Mark 13:19; Jeremiah 30:7. The book of life: Exodus 32:32-33; Psalm 69:28; Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 20:12, 15; 21:27. The resurrection to two destinies, one of the clearest Old Testament statements: Isaiah 26:19; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:11-15. The wise shining as stars, and soul-winning: Matthew 13:43; Philippians 2:15; Proverbs 11:30; 1 Corinthians 3:8. Trials that purify the saint and harden the wicked; understanding for the humble: Daniel 11:35; Malachi 3:2-3; Psalm 25:14; 1 Corinthians 2:14; John 7:17. Rest and resurrection for the faithful: Revelation 14:13; Isaiah 57:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 4:14. The "time, times, and an half": Daniel 7:25; Revelation 12:14. Prophetic day-counts (verses 11-12) are held with humility. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The deliverance of God's people and the resurrection to everlasting life or contempt: Daniel 12:1-4; John 5:28-29; Matthew 13:43.
- The sealed words, the refining, and God's promise of rest and resurrection to Daniel: Daniel 12:5-13; Revelation 14:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:14.