Who is Michael, the great prince, in this passage?

Michael is described as the great prince who stands for the children of Daniel’s people. He appears as a leader and protector when trouble comes on God’s people. Many readers understand Michael here as pointing to Christ’s care over His church, working through His angels. The point is that God does not leave His people alone in their hardest days. When the pressure is greatest and their strength seems gone, their defender “stands up” to guard, guide, and bring them safely through to the deliverance God has planned.

What is the "time of trouble" such as never was since there was a nation?

The “time of trouble” is described as a period of suffering worse than anything that had come before. It points both to very hard seasons God’s people have faced in history and to the final trials near the end. This trouble shows the sharp clash between God’s kingdom and the powers that oppose Him. Yet the verse also says that at that time God’s people will be delivered, everyone whose name is written in His book. So even when trouble is at its height, God’s saving plan does not fail.

What does it mean that many who sleep in the dust shall awake?

“Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake” speaks of the resurrection of the dead. Those who “sleep in the dust” are people who have died and been buried. This waking has two very different outcomes: some rise to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. The passage shows that death is not the end, and that there will be a real raising of the body, with a clear separation between those who belong to God and those who have rejected Him, with each receiving what is fitting forever.

Who are the wise who shine like the brightness of the sky?

The wise are those who truly fear God and hold to His way. They are not just clever in a worldly sense, but they know God, trust Him, and live by His truth. The text also mentions those who turn many to righteousness, which includes faithful teachers and all believers who help others come to know and obey God. Their future is pictured as shining like the sky and like stars forever, showing lasting honor and joy. Their quiet work in this life, often unnoticed, will be openly honored by God in the age to come.

Why is Daniel told to shut up the words and seal the book?

Daniel is told to shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. This means the message was to be carefully kept, even if many in his own day did not fully grasp it. Its full meaning would become clearer as history moved toward the times it spoke about. The line about many running to and fro and knowledge increasing points to a later stirring, when people would search the Scriptures more earnestly and gain more understanding of God’s purposes. God’s word is preserved until the moment He chooses to uncover more of its depth.

What does "a time, times, and half a time" mean in this passage?

The phrase “a time, times, and an half” is a way of speaking about a limited but extended period of suffering. The wording is not fully explained, and faithful readers have understood it more than one way. Yet the main idea is clear: there will be a season when the power of the holy people seems broken and scattered, but this will not go on forever. God has set boundaries to trouble. When He has carried out His purpose, the trials will end, and all that He has promised about finishing these things will come to pass.

Why are the numbers 1290 and 1335 days mentioned, and why are they hard to understand?

The 1290 and 1335 days mark set periods that begin when the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up. The exact way these numbers fit into history or the future is difficult, and faithful readers have seen them in more than one way. What is clear is that these days speak of a long stretch of testing under great sin and loss of true worship. The blessing on the one who waits and reaches the 1335 days urges patience. God knows the timetable, and those who keep trusting Him through delay are called blessed.

What does this passage teach about God’s care for His people in suffering?

This passage shows that God’s people may go through very severe trouble, yet they are never outside His care. He appoints protectors, like Michael, and promises that everyone found written in His book will be delivered. Suffering is used to purify and refine many, making them clean and tried. At the same time, God sets a limit on how long evil can rage. In the end He raises the dead, gives everlasting life to His own, and brings shame on stubborn wickedness. So even in dark days, believers can rest in His wise, watchful love.

How can a believer today apply the call to wait and be blessed?

The passage blesses the one who waits and reaches the set end of the days. For a believer today, this means holding on in faith when God’s promises seem delayed and when evil appears strong. Instead of trying to fix dates, we are called to steady trust, daily obedience, and helping others to righteousness. Trials can purify our hearts and loosen our grip on this world. Waiting in this way is not empty waiting but looking to Christ, trusting that He has numbered the days and that, at the right time, He will bring rest and reward.

Why did Daniel still not understand, and what does that show us?

Daniel heard the words but said he did not understand and asked what the end of these things would be. He was then told to go his way, because the words were closed up and sealed until the time of the end. This shows that even a faithful servant of God may not grasp all the details of what God reveals. Some things are meant to be carried in faith rather than fully explained. Daniel is promised rest and a place in the final lot, which teaches us to trust God’s character, walk in what we do understand, and leave the hidden things with Him.

Dan.12.1

Daniel 12:1

KJV GOD

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.

The End Times

1 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.

2 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.

3 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.

4 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.

5 ¶ 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.

6 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?

7 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.

8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

10 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.

11 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.

12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.