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#16.
Michael, tribulation and resurrection.
pp. 142 - 146
The opening verses of Dan. 12: belong to the prophecy of Dan. 11:, and must not be
confused with the epilogue of the book which begins at verse 4.
Our study of the eleventh chapter brought us to the period covered by the last "week"
of Dan. 9:, and the doings of the "vile person" and the "willful king":--
"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 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" (Dan. 12: 1-3).
The statements in these verses are so definite and are quoted so clearly in other parts
of Scripture that there is no difficulty in distinguishing the events which will occur at the
time of the end. Let us tabulate them:--
(1) The end of the "warfare great", that eventuates in the destruction of the man of sin,
is signalized by the standing up of Michael. We are told in Jude 9 that Michael is
the Archangel, and in Dan. 12: 1 that he stands for the people of Israel.
(2) When Michael stands up, two unparalleled events take place:--
(a) A time of trouble greater than any other, either before or since.
(b) A resurrection of the dead.
It is unnecessary to prove that there can be but one such time of trouble, and that if we
read elsewhere of an unparalleled tribulation it must refer to the same period. Such a
reference occurs in Matt. 24: 15-22:--
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the
prophet stand in the holy place . . . . . flee . . . . . for then shall be great tribulation, such as
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."
When studying Dan. 11:, we were directed to II Thess. 2: for light upon the subject
of the "willful king". Now the two epistles addressed to the church at Thessalonica deal
with the same theme, the second epistle correcting come misinterpretations of the first.
And as we were directed to the second epistle by Dan. 11:, so we are directed to the first
by Dan. 12::--
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
Archangel, and with the trump of God" (I Thess. 4: 16).
The presence of Michael the Archangel is always associated with resurrection
(Dan. 12: 1; I Thess. 4: 16; Jude 9) or spiritual war (Dan. 10: 13; Jude 9; Rev. 12: 7).