It is not surprising that the revelation received raised for the author of the Book of Daniel, just as for the visionary himself, the question of times and dates...
It is not surprising that the revelation received raised for the author of the Book of Daniel, just as for the visionary himself, the question of times and dates: after the end of the persecutions many expected the coming of the Messiah and the triumph of the messianic Kingdom. The period of three and a half years ("a time, times, and half a time," vv. 5-7) raised many other questions, especially if we suppose that the vision had been revealed after the death of Antiochus Epiphanes. Indeed, the three and a half years promised in another vision, during which the Temple stood defiled, had already passed, the persecutor who had defiled it had died, and the expected resolution connected with the coming of the Messiah still had not arrived. A natural question arose: what else is God waiting for? And what should the faithful expect?
Meanwhile, there is an answer in the vision received by the unnamed visionary, though it does not immediately catch the eye. It is no accident that the messenger of God, after repeating the already fulfilled prophecy about the 1290 days of "desolation," that is, the defilement of the Temple, called blessed those who "wait and reach" the period of 1335 days from the moment of the Temple's defilement. It is easy to see that the difference between the first and second periods is 45 days. Those same 45 days, as is known, separate the celebration of Pesach (the Jewish Passover) in the Jewish calendar from another feast called Shavuot (in the Christian tradition it is usually called Pentecost). And if during Pesach the Exodus is remembered and lived through anew, then the feast of Shavuot is associated, among other things, with the firstfruits, the fruits of that land which God had promised to Abraham and whose conquest became the completion of the Exodus.
The meaning of the revelation in such a context becomes quite clear: blessed is the one who waits for the day of firstfruits, reaches the end of the path, and does not stop halfway to the Kingdom promised by God. Of course, the period in this case must be considered symbolic; God does not reveal to His servant a specific date for the coming of the Messiah. He merely reminds him that the liberation of Jerusalem and the cleansing of the Temple are not the end of the path, as many thought, but only the beginning of its final stage. Truly blessed is only the one who walks the whole path to the end, meeting the Messiah and gaining the Kingdom of which the prophets spoke.
12 A promise of deliverance, and of a joyful resurrection, Dan 12:1-4.
A conference concerning the time of these events, Dan 12:5-7.
An answer to Daniel's enquiry, Dan 12:8-13.
12:5 Other two - Two angels waiting on Christ.
12:6 To the man - To Christ, who seemed to stand in the air above the waters, or upon them.
12:7 He held up his right hand - He held up both hands to heaven, for the more sure and solemn confirmation of it; and to denote the unchangeableness of God's decrees both for good to the church, and for evil to her enemies. By him - By God the father, and by himself that liveth for ever, to shew the eternal God only knew that decreed it, and would bring it to pass. And an half - That is, a year, two years and half a year. We meet with this in the revelation, under the title, some times of three days and an half, put for three years and an half, sometimes, forty two months, sometimes, twelve hundred and sixty days. Shall be finished - Which reaches to the calling of the Jews upon the destruction of antichrist.
12:8 What shall be the end - What is the meaning of all this?
12:9 And sealed - They shall not be clearly understood, 'till the event make them good.
12:10 And tried - The afflictions of the church are to prepare them, by taking away their filth, for the bridegroom, as gold and silver are tried and refined.
12:13 But go thou - I have revealed to thee these things, that thou and thy people, might be prepared for sufferings, and yet not without hope of a glorious deliverance. For thou shalt rest - In which hope thou shalt die, and rest from trouble, 'till the resurrection of the just. It ought to be the great concern of every one of us, to secure a happy lot in the end of the days, and then we may well be content with our present lot, welcoming the will of God.