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Daniel

About this book
Chapter 12

1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who watches over your people,⁠ will arise.⁠ There will be a time of distress unlike any other from the nation’s beginning up to that time.⁠ But at that time your own people, all those whose names are found written in the book, will escape.⁠ 2 Many of those who sleep in the dusty ground will awake—some⁠ to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence.⁠ 3 But the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavenly expanse.⁠ And those bringing many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.⁠ 4 “But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end.⁠ Many will dash about, and knowledge will increase.”⁠ 5 I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river. 6 One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, “When will the end of these wondrous events occur?” 7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky and made an oath by the one who lives forever:⁠ “It is for a time, times, and half a time.⁠ Then, when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.” 8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I said, “Sir, what will happen after these things?” 9 He said, “Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many will be purified, made clean, and refined, but the wicked will go on being wicked. None of the wicked will understand, though the wise will understand. 11 From the time that the daily sacrifice is removed and the abomination that causes desolation is set in place, there are 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits and attains to the 1,335 days. 13 But you should go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will arise to receive what you have been allotted.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Daniel 12:7 and Revelation 12:14

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Daniel describes a heavenly figure swearing that a period of suffering will last for a time, times, and half a time. Revelation repeats this phrase when it says the woman in the wilderness is protected for the same unclear span of time.

Passages

Daniel 12:7

Hebrew Bible
5 I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river. 6 One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, “When will the end of these wondrous events occur?” 7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky and made an oath by the one who lives forever: “It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.” 8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I said, “Sir, what will happen after these things?” 9 He said, “Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end.
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Daniel

Revelation 12:14

New Testament
12 Therefore you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them! But woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has come down to you! He is filled with terrible anger, for he knows that he only has a little time!” 13 Now when the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness, to the place God prepared for her, where she is taken care of—away from the presence of the serpent—for a time, times, and half a time. 15 Then the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to sweep her away by a flood, 16 but the earth came to her rescue; the ground opened up and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... Somewhat surprisingly, this section is dominated by verbs in the past tense, as if it were a narrative of a past sequence of events. The statement that the two prophets were lying dead in the public square for three and one-half days suggests a partial parallel to the three-day period between the death and resurrection of Jesus, while three and one-half days is also reminiscent of the Danielic phrase “time, times, and half a time,” or “year, two years, and half a year” (Daniel 7:25; 12:7; compare Revelation 12:14), which are variants of the forty-two months of Rev 11:2 (and Rev 13:5) and the 1,260 days of Rev 11:3 (and Rev 12:6). Three striking events follow in quick succession. First, the resurrection of the two prophets results in great fear on the part of those who had rejoiced over their deaths (a stereotypical reaction). Second, the summons of the heavenly voice, followed by the ascension of the two prophets to heaven, produces astonishment in their enemies (another stereotypical reaction) ..."
David Aune, Word Biblical Commentary: Revelation 6-16 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 520.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Daniel 12:7 and Revelation 12:14

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