NOTES for Dan 12:1-4
In this short passage we receive Old Testament testimony that the resurrection of the dead will certainly take place. In answering the question about whether the resurrection of the dead is possible, Jesus said in essence, “God is not God of the dead, but of the living.” Here we see God's promise that everyone will stand before Him after death.
It should be noted that, relying on the rather unfortunate word “seal” in the fourth verse, one often hears the opinion that everything written in this passage should be hidden from people. But if we turn to the original or to the Greek and Latin texts, we can see that it concerns something entirely different. The angel calls upon the prophet to preserve the book from damage, so that the surviving text may become a source of knowledge about God for people. And, returning to the principal theme of this passage, so that everyone may know that the resurrection of the dead will take place and that after death everyone will stand before the face of God. This knowledge changes a great deal for a person.