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Daniel 12

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1 And at that time shall Michael stand, the great prince who stands for the sons of thy people; and there shall be a time of adversity, which was not since there was a nation even·​·to that same time; and at that time thy people shall escape, every one who shall be·​·found written in the book.

2 And many of them sleeping in the ground of dust shall awake, these to eternal life, the rest* to reproach and eternal abhorrence.

3 And the intelligent shall shine as the shining of the expanse, and those who turn many to be·​·just, as the stars for eternity and forever.

4 But thou, O Daniel, block·​·off the words, and seal the book, even·​·to the time of the end; many shall run·​·around, and knowledge shall be multiplied.

5 And I, Daniel, saw, and, behold, there stood two others, one here on the lip of the river and one there on the lip of the river.

6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was on the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?

7 And I heard the man clothed with linen, who was above the waters of the river, and he lifted·​·up his right hand and his left hand to the heavens, and promised by Him who lives for eternity that it shall be for a season of seasons and a half; and when they have completed scattering the hand of the holy people, all these things shall be completed.

8 And I heard, but I understood not; and said I, O my Lord, what shall be the last of these things?

9 And He said, Go, Daniel; for the words are blocked·​·off and sealed until the time of the end.

10 Many shall be purified, and made·​·white, and examined; but the wicked shall act·​·wickedly, and all the wicked shall not understand; but the intelligent shall understand.

11 And from the time that the continual offering shall be removed, and to the giving of the detestable that makes·​·desolate, shall be a thousand two·​·hundred and ninety days.

12 Happy is he who tarries, and reaches to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

13 But go thou even to the end; and thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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People (nation)

  

The Bible generally uses two different terms for large groups: “people” and “nations.” When it uses “nation,” it is talking about a group with the desire for good as its ultimate underlying motivation; when it uses the term “people” it is talking about a group whose deep motivation is to seek true ideas and concepts. As with all symbolism in the Bible, this can be also used in a negative sense, to describe groups with the lust for evil or those driven by false concepts. It can also be used in the abstract, with “nation” representing desires for good themselves and “people” representing true ideas themselves. In a way, these meanings make sense if we look at the two words themselves. “People” brings to mind a collection of individuals, and that is somewhat how it is with ideas -- you can have many of them that inter-relate, but also stand somewhat on their own, individually. “Nation” is a more unified term, reflecting the way that a desire for good tends to unify other feelings.