Introduction 

As we have seen, Daniel 7 builds upon Daniel 2, and then Daniel 9 absorbs both Daniel 2 and 7. Therefore, it shouldn’t surprise us that Daniel 12 further consolidates these earlier prophecies. Each chapter progressively clarifies the timing and spiritual nature of these events, situating their fulfillment within the Roman Empire era, during the “appointed time of the end” of the old covenant age in AD 70.

(1)  The Tribulation (Daniel 12:1)

We are constantly bombarded by self-appointed “prophecy experts” who portray the tribulation as an event to be experienced for our generation. For the pre-tribulationist folks, it’s all good to some extent because we are supposed to experience a secret “rapture” right before it all heats up and unfolds. But if you are a post-tribulationist we are exhorted to store canned goods, buy survival equipment, etc…, because what the “anti-Christ” is going to unleash upon the Church during this period is going to be severe. But as we will see, since there is recapitulation between Daniel 2, 7, 9 and now 12, this too would be fulfilled during the “appointed time” of the “end” of the old covenant age and during a “three-and-a-half years” time frame that fits within the time of the Roman Empire.

Jesus explicitly references Daniel 12:1 in Matthew 24:21, clearly placing the tribulation among “all these things” to be fulfilled within His and the Apostles’ contemporary “this generation” (Matt. 24:21–34).

Luke’s parallel account slightly differs from Matthew’s, using different language for the tribulation[1] and the “abomination that causes desolation”:

“For then there will be great tribulation [Greek thlipsis], such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (Matt. 24:21).

“For there will be great distress [Greek ananke] upon the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:23–24).

And it shall be a time of distress…their afflictions there will have been nothing to equal it from its beginning until its end…”^[2]

Both Matthew and Luke begin their statements with “For,” clearly connecting the tribulation/distress with their versions of the “desolation” of Jerusalem and her temple, along with the same exhortation to flee from Judea to the mountains (Matt. 24:16–21; Luke 21:21–24). This is the same historical flight the Christians obeyed when they saw the Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem and fled to Pella to escape God’s covenantal wrath upon Jerusalem. History records the Romans under Cestius Gallus initially surrounding Jerusalem and then mysteriously retreating only to come back later under Vespasian and Titus.  In between these two periods the Christians escaped Jerusalem to Pella.

Josephus, the Jewish historian, vividly describes this period:

“Now this vast multitude is indeed collected out of remote places, but the entire nation was now shut up by fate as in prison, and the Roman army encompassed the city when it was crowded with inhabitants. Accordingly, the multitude of those that therein perished exceeded all the destructions that either men or God ever brought upon the world; for, to speak only of what was publicly known, the Romans slew some of them, some they carried captives,…^[3]

Josephus also records that “many of the most eminent of the Jews swam away from the city.”^[4] Similarly, the ecclesiastical historian Eusebius writes:

“The whole body, however, of the Church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella. Here those that believed in Christ, having removed from Jerusalem, as if holy men had entirely abandoned the royal city itself, and the whole land of Judea; the divine justice, for their crimes against Christ and his Apostles finally overtook them, totally destroying the whole generation of these evildoers from the earth.”^[5]

Luke emphasizes the localized nature of the tribulation, specifying it as God’s “wrath” upon “this people” (first-century Jews) in their local land—not the entire globe! This “wrath” is echoed in John the Baptist’s warning to the Pharisees: “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come? … Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees … His winnowing fork is in his hand” (Matt. 3:7, 10–12, GNT). The imminent wrath for John’s contemporaries is undeniable.

Matthew, writing to a Jewish audience, employs familiar Hebraic hyperbole: “…such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (Matt. 24:21). Compare this to:

• “Behold, I give you [Solomon] a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you” (1 Kings 3:12).
• “He [Hezekiah] trusted in the Lord… so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him” (2 Kings 18:5).
• “Before him [Josiah] there was no king like him… nor did any like him arise after him” (2 Kings 23:25).[6]

Does this create a contradiction about which king—Solomon, Hezekiah, or Josiah—was Israel’s greatest or most loyal to God? No, it’s common Hebraic hyperbole, emphasizing their greatness and devotion within Israel’s history. More relevant is hyperbole tied to Jerusalem’s historical judgments:

“And because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again” (Ezek. 5:9).

This refers to a “Day of the Lord” that was “near” in Ezekiel’s time, when God judged Jerusalem through Nebuchadnezzar’s armies around 586 BC (cf. 2 Kings 25; Ezek. 7:7; 33:21). Commentators like Matthew Poole estimate this “near” event spanned 3–5 years, or at most 16–18 years. This Babylonian judgment illuminates the “near” coming in the Olivet Discourse:

1. The “Day of the Lord” came via an invading Gentile army (Babylon).
2. God was depicted figuratively coming “on the clouds” (cf. Ezek. 30–32).
3. De-creation language described darkened heavens, sun, moon, and stars (Ezek. 32:7–8).
4. Imminence terms like “near” and “without delay” were literal, tied to the prophet’s lifetime and audience (Ezek. 7:7ff.; 12:25; 30:3).
5. Hyperbole framed it as Israel’s worst judgment of the past or future (Ezek. 5:9).

This matches precisely with Jesus’ Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24):

1. The “Day of the Lord” judgment came through a Gentile army (Romans).
2. Christ came figuratively “on the clouds.”
3. Cosmic de-creation language was employed (sun, moon, stars darkened).
4. Imminence terms like “near” and “this generation” were literal, fulfilled within the lifetime of His audience.
5. Hebraic hyperbole marked it as Israel’s greatest judgment—past or future.

This careful analysis clearly demonstrates the contextual, historical, and linguistic consistency of Daniel 12’s “great tribulation” as fully realized in the events surrounding Jerusalem’s destruction between AD 67–70, precisely as Daniel and Jesus prophesied.

(2) The Timing of the Resurrection (12:1–7)

At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase… [The angel answers Daniel in v. 7] that it would be for a time, times, and half a time [3½ years], and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished/fulfilled (Dan. 12:1–4, 7).

Daniel 12:2–3 is the Old Testament’s clearest resurrection text, cited by Jesus and New Testament writers in Matthew 13:39–43, John 5:24-29, Acts 24:15 (YLT), Revelation 20:5–15, and 1 Corinthians 15. Yet it’s inseparably tied to the AD 67–70 tribulation, a reality partial preterists can no longer deny in print. Partial preterist James Jordan now sees Daniel 12:2–3 (and Daniel’s personal resurrection in v. 13) as a spiritual, corporate resurrection spanning Jesus’ ministry to AD 70. He even posits Daniel’s soul was raised from Abraham’s Bosom in AD 70, per Daniel 12:2-13, Matthew 24:31, and Revelation 20. Here are selected quotes from his Daniel Commentary:

“The resurrection of [Dan. 12:2] seems to connect to the evangelistic and teaching ministry spoken of in verse 3; thus, it is some kind of historical resurrection that is spoke of, a resurrectional event in this world, in our history.”^[7]

“…Daniel 12:2 tells us that in the days of Jesus the nation will undergo a last spiritual resurrection, but some will not persevere and their resurrection will only be unto destruction.  The Parable of the soils fits here (Matt.13:3–23):  three different kinds of people come to life, but only one of the three different kinds of people come to like, but only one of the three kinds is awakened to persevering, everlasting life.

During His ministry, Jesus raised the nation back to life.  He healed the sick, cleansed the unclean, brought dead people back to life, restored the Law, entered the Temple as King, etc.  Then, as always, the restored people fell into sin and crucified Him.

Thus, a resurrection of Israel is in view.  The wicked are raised, but do not profit from it, and are destroyed.  The saints experience a great distress, and live with God forever and ever.”^[8]

“The death of the Church in the Great Tribulation, and her resurrection after that event, were the great proof that Jesus had accomplished the work He came to do.  The fact that the Church exists today, nearly 2000 years after her death in the Great Tribulation, is the ongoing vindication of Jesus work.”^[9]

“Revelation takes up where Daniel leaves off, and deals mostly with the Apostolic Age and the death and resurrection of the Church.”^[10]

“What Daniel is promised is that after his rest in Abraham’s bosom, he will stand up with all God’s saints and join Michael on a throne in heaven, as described in Revelation 20, an event that came after the Great Tribulation and in the year AD 70.”^[11]

Similarly, after long debate, even Kenneth Gentry recently conceded the necessity of understanding Daniel 12 as a spiritual resurrection fulfilled in AD 70:

“In Daniel 12:1–2 we find a passage that clearly speaks of the great tribulation in AD 70.”^[12]

“…But it also seems to speak of the resurrection occurring at that time…”^[13]

Daniel appears to be presenting Israel as a grave site under God’s curse: Israel as a corporate body is in the “dust” (Da 12:2; cp. Ge 3:14, 19).  In this he follows Ezekiel’s pattern in his vision of the dry bones, which represent Israel’s “death” in the Babylonian dispersion (Eze 37). In Daniel’s prophecy many will awaken, as it were, during the great tribulation to suffer the full fury of the divine wrath, while others will enjoy God’s grace in receiving everlasting life. Luke presents similar imagery in Luke 2:34 in a prophecy about the results of Jesus’s birth for Israel: “And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed.

Christ Himself points out that some from Israel will believe and be saved, while others will not (e.g., Mt. 10:34–36; 13:11–15), that in the removing of the kingdom from Israel many will be crushed and scattered like dust (Mt. 21:43–45).  He even speaks of the saved Jews as arising from the “shadow of death” (Mt. 4:16).  Though in AD 70 elect Jews will flee Israel and will live (Mt. 24:22), the rest of the nation will be a corpse:  “wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather” (Mt. 24:28).  Indeed, in AD 70 we see in the destruction of the city of Jerusalem (Mt. 22:7) that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Mt. 22:14).  Elsewhere he employs the imagery of “regeneration” to the arising of the new Israel from out of the dead, old covenant Israel in AD 70:  “You who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Mt. 19:28).^[14]

“…it appears that Daniel is drawing from the hope of a future, literal resurrection and applying it symbolically to the first century leading up the tribulation in AD 70.  That is, he is portraying God’s separating believing Jews out of Israel through the winnowing of Israel in AD 70.”^[15]

“Daniel only picks up on resurrection imagery and, like Ezekiel, applies that to corporate Israel.  He is teaching that in the events of AD 70, the true Israel will arise from old Israel’s carcass, as in a resurrection.”^[16]

Here’s a summary of James Jordan and Kenneth Gentry’s view on the resurrection in Daniel 12:

1. It represents Israel’s final spiritual and corporate resurrection.
2. Both Israel and the Church participate in this spiritual, covenantal, and corporate resurrection, with the new covenant Church—or new Israel of God—emerging from the corpse of old covenant Israel in AD 70.
3. An “already and not yet” evangelistic process unfolded between Christ’s earthly ministry and His AD 70 coming, culminating in this resurrection or “end” of Israel during the events of AD 67–70.
4. This resurrection included Daniel’s soul being raised from Abraham’s Bosom to sit on a throne, reigning with Christ and inheriting eternal life.

Some confusion arises from Daniel’s phrase “sleep in the dust.” This is merely a figure of speech, as David Green clarifies:

“The dead were not literally sleeping, nor were they literally in the dust.  They were “in dust” only insofar as, in their death, they had not ascended into God’s presence in Christ.  In terms of the righteousness and life of God, they were earth-bound.  From a literal standpoint, they were in Sheol/Hades (the abode of the Adamic dead), and it was from out of Sheol that they were raised to stand before the heavenly throne of God (Dan. 12:1–2).”^[17]

This imagery draws on the Garden narrative, where Adam, upon sinning, spiritually died and was exiled from God’s presence into the cursed “dust” outside Eden (Gen. 3:19). Similarly, when Israel broke covenant, she faced corporate spiritual death, exiled from the Promised Land into Gentile slavery, cast into the symbolic “dust” of captivity (Isa. 29:4; Isa. 47:1). Returning to or rising from the dust often symbolizes exile, slavery, or spiritual/corporate death, while rising from it can depict Israel’s return to the land and restoration to covenant life. Before Christ’s parousia, even righteous Old Testament dead remained in spiritual death—exiled in the “dust” of Hades—awaiting Christ’s AD 70 coming to fully bring them into God’s presence.

(3) The Righteous Will Shine Like the Stars (Daniel 12:3)

After the resurrection of Daniel 12:2, the living evangelists and their converts will “shine like the brightness of the sky above” or “like the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3). Jesus quotes this prophecy in Matthew 13:39–43, placing the resurrection at the end of the old covenant age—“this age.” The living believers are “gathered” into the kingdom’s barn, shining “like the sun in the kingdom with their Father” (Matt. 13:43). As in Isaiah 65–66 and Revelation 21–22:2, 17, post-resurrection, the living remain in the new covenant age, shining with Christ in the new Jerusalem, continuously proclaiming the gospel and inviting sinners to enter, be healed, and receive eternal life. Clearly, Daniel’s “appointed time of the end” (Dan. 7:22; 9:26–27 LXX; 12:2–4 LXX), involving judgment and resurrection, marks the end of the old covenant age—not world history itself—while the gospel of light and life continues.

(4) Shut Up the Words and Seal the Book (12:4)

Daniel is told to “seal up” the prophecy of Daniel 2, 7, and 9:24–27, recapitulated in Daniel 12, because its fulfillment lay 490 years ahead, during the Roman Empire. John’s vision, extending Daniel’s, was “near” and thus left unsealed (Rev. 1:3; 11:18; 22:10). Revelation clearly encompasses Daniel 2, 7, 9, and 12, affirming that their fulfillment—including the resurrection described in Daniel 12:2—was “about to be” accomplished “shortly” in AD 70 (Rev. 1:1, 19 YLT; 22:7–10, 20).

(5) Until the Appointed Time of the End (12:4, 9)

The Septuagint’s “appointed time [Grk. kairos] of the end” (Dan. 12:4, 9) plainly recapitulates Daniel 7:22–26 (v. 22 uses an Aramaic kairos cognate) and 9:26–27 LXX. Obviously, Daniel 7, 9, and 12 describe one consummative “appointed time” and “end,” fulfilled during the Roman Empire, signaling the old covenant’s close in AD 70. Partial preterists wish for two “ends”—one in AD 70, another at history’s close—but Daniel offers no such duality, undermining their “nuanced” and hyper-creedal philosophy / eschatology.

(6) Knowledge Will Increase (12:4)

Unlike evangelical claims tying this to modern technology (computers, jets, AI), the context of Daniel 2, 7, 9, and 12 shows it as the increasing knowledge of Messiah’s coming and kingdom in the “last days.” From John the Baptist onward, Jesus’ ministry amplified this understanding, clarifying the nature and timing of the kingdom’s establishment in AD 70. His miracles—signs of the last days of old covenant Israel—validated His teachings on the spiritual kingdom prophesied in Daniel 2 and 7, and His imminent cloud-coming judgment upon Israel. (e.g., healing a paralytic to prove He forgives sin, a Messianic prerogative; Mark 2:1–12; cf. Dan. 7:13; 9:24). Rejecting the Pharisees’ expectation of a physical kingdom, Jesus consistently taught a spiritual kingdom “within” believers (John 6; Luke 17:20–37), a kingdom “not of this world” (John 18:36), distinct from earthly kingdoms described in Daniel 2 and 7. His gospel firmly established an AD 70 fulfillment (Matt. 24:3–34; Luke 21:27–32). Likewise, the apostles, guided by the Spirit, confirmed this spiritual kingdom and its “soon” AD 70 maturity (John 16:13–15), aided by revelatory gifts like prophetic knowledge (e.g., Acts 15:12–17; Amos 9:11–12; cf. 1 Cor. 13:8). These gifts ceased after their purpose was completed in AD 70.

(7) [Daniel asks]: “How Long…?” [Angel answers]: “A Time, Times, and Half a Time” (Dan. 12:5–7)

Daniel asks how long until “the end of these wonders” described in verses 1–4. The angel replies, “for a time, times, and half a time [three-and-one-half years], and that when the shattering of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished” (Dan. 12:7). Thus, Daniel’s tribulation, judgment, resurrection, and knowledge increase—all core to Daniel’s vision—were to be fulfilled within this period (AD 67–70). These elements were first noted in Daniel 7:25, recapitulated in Daniel 9:24–27’s final half-seven., and again here in Daniel 12 as “the war” shattering Israel in AD 67–70. Jesus confirmed this explicitly, stating “all these things” (including His cloud-coming and the resurrection or eschatological “gathering”) would occur within His “generation” (Matt. 24:31-34), perfectly aligning with Daniel 12:7’s “all these things.” This synchrony undermines futurist eschatologies and strongly supports full preterism through clear Old and New Testament evidence. John, too, connects this three-and-one-half-year trampling of Jerusalem to “the appointed time for judging the dead” (Dan. 12:2–7; Rev. 11:1–18), decisively settling the debate between partial and full preterism through Christ’s (Matt. 13:39–43; 24:3–34) and John’s testimony (Revelation) regarding the timing of the resurrection and judgment of the living and the dead.

(8) The Purification of the Righteous and the Wicked’s Blindness (Dan. 12:10)

In Revelation, John shows Asian churches enduring spillover persecution from Jerusalem before Christ’s “soon” return in AD 70 (Rev. 1:9). John identifies himself as their “partner in the tribulation and kingdom,” closely connecting their persecution with the inheritance of the kingdom. This connection is rooted in Daniel 7 and 12, which specifically require a three-and-one-half-year period of persecution before the Son of Man’s coming on the clouds and the saints’ inheritance of the kingdom. First-fruits Jewish Christians emerge from the Great Tribulation in white, inheriting eternal life and God’s presence on Mount Zion (Rev. 7; 14; Dan. 12:1, 10). Likewise, the Asian churches who faithfully endure inherit “gold refined by fire,” “white garments,” and the promise of reigning with Christ in the new creation (Rev. 2:9–11, 22–28; 3:3–5, 10–12, 18–21).

Daniel emphasizes that while the wicked would remain blinded to prophetic truths, the wise would understand. Jesus’ parables intentionally veiled kingdom truths from hard-hearted listeners but revealed them clearly to His elect, whom the Father drew (cf. John 6). Meanwhile, unbelievers clung to their carnal kingdom expectations, easily deceived by false prophets and the Man of Lawlessness during Israel’s final days.

(9) The “Abomination,” “1,290 Days,” “the End,” and Daniel’s Standing (Dan. 12:11–13)

The “abomination[s]” of Daniel 12:11 plainly recapitulates Daniel 9:27, firmly placed in AD 67–70. The prophetic timeframe of “1,290 days” restates the “3½ years” of Daniel 7:25, 9:26–27 (LXX), and 12:7. At the culmination of this period—the definitive “end” of the old covenant age in AD 70—Daniel would “stand” (rise spiritually) from Hades into God’s presence, inheriting eternal life forever. Since Daniel 12 fully integrates Daniel 2, 7, and 9:24–27, let us summarize clearly how these chapters interconnect:

Conclusion

Daniel 12, as a culmination of the prophecies in Daniel 2, 7, and 9:24–27, decisively anchors the tribulation, resurrection, and “appointed time of the end” to the first-century destruction or “shattering” of Jerusalem in AD 67–70, fulfilling the “three-and-a-half years” of covenantal judgment (Dan. 12:7). Jesus explicitly applies Daniel 12:1–13 to His generation in Matthew 24:21–34, linking the great tribulation, the “abomination(s)” committed by Jewish and Roman armies, and the eschatological gathering (resurrection) to the fall of the temple, as confirmed by historical accounts from Josephus and Eusebius. The resurrection of Daniel 12:2–3, understood as a spiritual and corporate awakening, saw the righteous “shine like the stars” (Matt. 13:43) as the new covenant Church emerged from the “dust” of old covenant Israel’s demise, while the wicked faced judgment. This fulfillment, marked by the “shattering of the holy people” (Dan. 12:7), aligns with Revelation’s “soon” judgment and resurrection (Rev. 11:18; 20:5–15), left unsealed for its imminent realization (Rev. 22:10).

The consistent recapitulation across Daniel’s visions—tribulation, abominations, judgment, and resurrection within the Roman Empire—refutes futurist and partial preterist attempts to posit a distant “end” or multiple comings. Instead, Daniel and Jesus present a unified eschatological vision: the spiritual Messianic kingdom, established through gospel proclamation and consummated in AD 70, replaced the old covenant order and kingdom (Matt. 21:43-45; Luke 17:20-37; Luke 21:20-32).

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[1] The Greek words thlipsis (tribulation) and ananke (distress) are listed as synonyms in the Abbott-Smith Lexicon, harmonizing the two accounts effortlessly.

[2] 1QM 1:11–12

[3] Josephus The Complete Works, Chapter 9:4, https://ccel.org/ccel/josephus/complete/
complete.iii.vii.ix.html

[4] Jewish War 2, 20, 1

[5] Eusebius, History of the Church 3, 5

[6] See the use of prophetic hyperbole in Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness Obsession of the Modern Church (Atlanta, GA:  American Vision, Inc., 1994), 105

[7] James B. Jordan, The Handwriting on the Wall: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2007), 618. Emphasis added.

[8]  Ibid., 618–619.

[9]  Ibid., 620

[10]  Ibid., 621

[11]  Ibid., 628

[12] Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., He Shall Have Dominion: A Postmillennial Eschatology, 3rd ed. (Draper, VA: Apologetics Group Media, 2009), 538.

[13] Ibid., 538. Emphasis added.

[14] Ibid., 538–539. Emphasis added.

[15] Ibid., 539. Emphasis added.

[16] Ibid., 540. Emphasis added.

[17] Green, Hassertt, and Sullivan, House Divided, 2nd ed. (Publisher Location: Publisher, 2009), 178.