Understanding Daniel 12:1-2 - Ellis Skolfield

[PeteWaldo]

I’ll be 87 in a few months, so I really don’t remember if I’ve sent this before. If I haven’t, enjoy. If I have, please forgive the repeat and hit the delete button. <smile>
 
Understanding Daniel 12:1-2
 
Ezekiel 37’s dry bones opens Daniel 12:1-2 to our understanding. Despite some traditions to the contrary, those verses are not in our future, but have already been fulfilled.
 
Ezekiel 37:11-12  (KJV) “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.”
 
That prophecy was provably fulfilled in 1948 when the new nation of Israel was established. Over in the holy land is a new nation called Israel that is filled with Jews, the national language is biblical Hebrew, their street signs are in Hebrew and the star of David flies over the ancient walls of Jerusalem. Jews have not been in control of the holy land for 2573 years so this is an almost unbelievable fulfillment of Bible prophecy that we can go see with our own eyes. To deny the existence of the state of Israel to defend an eschatological tradition is to ignore observable reality. Or as Spock would say, “It isn’t logical.” Now let's look at the parallel prophecies in Daniel . . .
 
Daniel 12:1-2 (KJV) “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 (the Nazi Holocaust), 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.”
 
Ezekiel: “I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves.”
Daniel:  “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.”
 
Different words, but the same event!
 
Recent history proves that both of these prophecies were fulfilled in 1948! All kinds of supporting data for the above can be found on pages 232-255 of the Bible prophecy Study Guide, a free download from http://www.ellisskolfield.net/books .

[Ian Liddle]

You make an interesting comparison between Ezekiel 37:11-12 and Daniel 12:1-2.  However, I am not yet totally convinced (even after reading Skolfield) that 1948 was necessarily a complete fulfilment of Daniel 12:1-2.  Many people (including probably most of the Jews at the time) thought that the "Abomination of Desolation" was the desecration of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes, but we know that this was only a foreshadowing of the "Abomination of Desolation" that was built on the Temple Mount in 688 AD.  Might not the Holocaust and the deliverance of the remnant in 1948 not also be a foreshadowing of the final Battle for Jerusalem and the deliverance of the remnant by Jesus Himself at the end of the age as described in Zechariah chapter 12?  The reference to Michael in Daniel 12:1 is to me a reference to the one and only leader of Heaven's armies, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, or do you not equate Michael (Hebrew: He Who is like God) with Jesus?  If not, please note that other Biblical descriptions of Michael do seem to describe Jesus, and even the term "The Archangel" means "The One Who is Chief over all the angels".  Finally, the coming "awake" of "many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth" (Daniel 12:2) sounds to me very much like one of the resurrections (with reference to Revelation 20:5), which is not until the end of the age.

[PeteWaldo]

You....

That's Ellis Skolfield. I attributed it to him in the title, and suppose I should  have put it iin  quotes.

Perhaps you are right and we are not near the end of all things. As for me I try to err on the safe side. Would I be better off expecting my Savior's return this very day, or believing He delays His return until some future someday?

[Bistabuster]

For me?  I think His time of return is real close.  With ISIS forming a kingdom (Caliphate) in Syria, Iraq and possibly Iran down the road (Hint, hint.  Rev 13:1-2), time, I feel, could very well be short.  I may see His glorious return during my lifetime.  However, I won't bank on it though.  If it happens, great.  If not, oh well.  Either way, I win!  I will still be with the Lord!

I hear Ellis will be releasing new information shortly.  Perhaps a new study guide for all the new events that came up.  Have to wait and see what he's got for us to read!

[Ian Liddle]

I apologize if I gave the impression that I thought we were not near "the end of all things", for indeed I do believe that we are.  I expect many things to happen in a short space of time, as implied by Isaiah 60:22, which states: "I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time."  Also, Revelation 22:20, in which Jesus is quoted as saying, "Surely I am coming quickly."  The word "quickly" here can also be translated as "speedily" or "hastily", and to me it implies that events will occur in a rush at the very end of the age.  However, whenever Jesus returns (and I have some very strong beliefs and reasons for assuming it is surprisingly soon), I believe that Scripture teaches us to live out our Faith as if the Lord were to return tomorrow.