Bible Studies

Some Comments on Mike Bickle's End Time Teaching, Part 7

by Karl Kemp
09/01/15
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We continue the discussion of Dan. 12:1, 2, 5-7 here in Part 7, starting with Dan. 12:2.

DANIEL 12:2. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to shame and everlasting contempt."

"Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life." I'll read part of what I said in my book, "The Mid-Week Rapture," under these words; I'm not going to limit this discussion to the resurrection of the old-covenant believers; I'm including the resurrection of all the Christians who will have died before the time of this resurrection, right in the middle of Daniel's 70^th week. These believers are all part of God's true Israel, and all of them are saved through the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

All the true believers from Old Testament days and all true Christians who will have become Christians before that time will be resurrected to everlasting life at the time of the mid-week return of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is "the resurrection of the righteous" of Luke 14:14. This is the "resurrection of life" for "those who did the good deeds [or, works]" of John 5:29. This is the resurrection spoken of in 1 Cor. 15:20-23, 51, 52; in 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; in Rev. 12:5; and in other verses. As 1 Cor. 15:51, 52 and 1 Thess. 4:16, 17 show, many of us Christians will not need to be resurrected, because we won't    die. We will still be living on the earth when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. We will be glorified and raptured when He returns. That sounds good to me!

I have a sub-heading here, "A Comment on the Words, 'Sleep' and 'Awake' of Daniel 12:2." Sleep is a way to speak of physical death; to awaken is a way to speak of the resurrection. These figurative expressions do not indicate soul sleep or an unconscious state (see, for example, 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:21-24).

"but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt." We have already discussed the resurrection of the believers (of the righteous). These words speak of the resurrection of the unbelievers (of the unrighteous). Daniel 12:2 does not make it clear that the resurrection of the believers will take place BEFORE the resurrection of the unbelievers, but this viewpoint fits the overall teaching of Daniel chapter 12 perfectly, and Revelation chapter 20 shows that the resurrection of the unbelievers will take place at the end of the millennium. Many prophetic passages confirm that the believers will be resurrected first. 

DANIEL 12:5-7. (These verses are extremely important and interesting; I'm not exaggerating.) "Then, I Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. (6) And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, 'How long will it be until the end of these wonders [or, "until the end of these astonishing things"]?' (7) I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events [or, "all these things" (these astonishing things)] will be completed."

I'll read part of what I said in my book, "The Mid-Week Rapture," under these verses, but I'll have to abbreviate and modify what I said to a significant extent for this paper. For one thing, I have some sixteen pages under these verses in my book. Daniel 12:5 begins a new scene, but Dan. 12:5-13 are still part of the revelation begun at Dan. 10:1. Actually, most of Daniel chapter 10 serves as an introduction to this revelation.

I'll quote DANIEL 10:4-6. (These verses will help us identify the man dressed in linen of Dan. 12:6 and 7. I believe the man dressed in linen is God the Son, the One who became the Lord Jesus Christ through the virgin birth. I cannot be dogmatic on this point, but the evidence is quite strong for this point of view. I'll give some of the primary evidence for this point of view in this paper, but we won't be able to fully discuss this super-important topic.) "And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is the Tigris, (5) I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a CERTAIN MAN DRESSED IN LINEN [my emphasis], whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. [u' faz] (6) His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult." 

REVELATION 1:10-20 are a very important cross-reference for DANIEL 10:4-6. In Rev. 1:10-20 the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the apostle John, which certainly enhanced the glory of the super-important book of Revelation. I won't take the time to read those verses from the book of Revelation, but there is a very strong correspondence between the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ there and the appearance of the man dressed in linen in Dan. 10:4-6. I'll give two examples: In Dan. 10:6 "his eyes were like flaming torches," and in Rev. 1:14 "His eyes were like a flame of fire." In Dan. 10:6 "his face had the appearance of lightning," and in Rev. 1:16"His face was like the sun shining in its strength." There is a very strong basis to say that the same Person appeared in both passages. We'll speak quite a bit more about the identity of the man dressed in linen of Dan. 10:4-6 and Dan. 12:5-7 as we continue. We won't have time to look at Ezekiel chapters 9 and 10, but I should mention that "the man dressed in linen" appears in those chapters too. As discussed in my book, "The Mid-Week Rapture,"the evidence is quite strong that that "man" was the Son of God too. 

"The river" of Dan. 12:5-7 is undoubtedly the river mentioned in Dan. 10:4, the Tigris. "The man dressed in linen who was above the waters of the river" in Dan. 12:5-7 was surely the same person as the man dressed in linen of Dan. 10:4-6. This spectacular "man" was apparently also mentioned in Dan. 8:13-16. (These verses are discussed in some detail in "The Mid-Week Rapture." Here I'll just mention that that "man" answered a question similar to the question asked of the man dressed in linen in Dan. 12:5-7, and that "man" gave instructions to Gabriel.) 

I'll read two paragraphs that I have under the heading, "Who Was this 'Man Dressed in Linen'?" Under Dan. 8:13 I have already mentioned that I believe the "man dressed in linen" was the Eternal Son of God in His preincarnate state. This is a common view in the commentaries, but many believe the "man" was a high-level created angel.

Whether this "man" was the Son of God, or a high-level created angel, this revelation given to Daniel (along with the rest of the book of Daniel, and the rest of Scripture) is the Word of God, and it is true. But if this man was the Son of God, it imparts some extra majesty, glory, and significance to this revelation. Compare Rev. 1:10-20, where the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the apostle John. I think of Daniel being permitted to interact with the Son of God; and I think of the end-time remnant of Israel: The time will come when they will understand these prophecies of Daniel, and right in the center of these prophecies they will see their Savior and Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), the One who was so intimately involved in the affairs of Israel, the One who is sometimes called the Angel [or Messenger] of the LORD [Yahweh] in the Old Testament. 

There is widespread agreement that the Son of God frequently appeared in the Old Testament as the Angel of the LORD [Yahweh] (cf., e.g., Gen. 16:7-14; 18:1-19:1, and there are many more passages). It must be understood that this Angel of Yahweh (this Messenger of Yahweh) was not a created being. Some passages in the Old Testament show that He was deity with God the Father. He was even called "Yahweh" several times. (See "The Name Yahweh and God the Father and God the Son" on my internet site [karlkempteachingministries.com].) 

I'll Briefly Summarize the Message of Daniel 12:5-7. The man dressed in linen appears in an exalted position above the waters of the river at a time corresponding with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ with the clouds in the middle of Daniel's 70^th week. He was asked how long it would be until the end of these astonishing things that were happening. The astonishing things had already begun with Antichrist's abomination of desolation and the short great tribulation when He was asked the question. He answered (in Dan. 12:7) that "it would be for a time, times, and half a time[which refers to the second half of Daniel's 70^th week]; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events [astonishing things] will be completed." 

As we have discussed, many prophetic verses speak of Antichrist attacking the saints throughout the second half of Daniel's 70^th week. The saints are the repentant elect end-time remnant of the nation Israel, who will have submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ, starting at the time of His coming, right in the middle of Daniel's 70^th week. (From a new- covenant perspective, I believe more Gentiles will become Christians after the rapture too. I should mention though that if God is dealing with us now, it would be a big mistake to think I'll just wait and get saved after the rapture. Very few if any who don't respond to the gospel now when an opportunity is given will submit to the gospel after the rapture.) As we have discussed, Antichrist will make war against Christians throughout the second half of the seven-year period. See Rev. 12:17 for example. The "astonishing things" (see Dan. 12:6) associated with the days of Antichrist will come to an end when the Lord Jesus Christ judges him and casts him into the eternal lake of fire at the end of Daniel's 70^th week. See Rev. 19:20, 21, for example. 

I'll quote DANIEL 12:5-7 again, and we will further discuss these super-important verses: "Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. [The two others who were  standing on the banks of the river undoubtedly were angels, good angels.] (6) And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, 'How long will it be until the end of these wonders [or, "until the end of these astonishing things"]?' (7) I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he [He] raised his [His] right hand and his [His] left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events [or, "things" (these astonishing things)] will be completed." 

I'll comment on Daniel 12:6. The one who asked the question of the man dressed in linen was one of the two angels mentioned in verse 5. As I mentioned, I cannot be dogmatic on this point, but I am confident that the "man" who answered the question is God the Son, the One who always existed with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, the preincarnate Christ, the Angel/Messenger of Yahweh, the One who became the Lord Jesus Christ (who was a man, but so much more than just a man; for one thing, He was/is deity; He is the God-man) through the virgin birth. 

The New Testament has a lot to say about the Persons of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (See "The Name Yahweh and God the Father and God the Son