The Bible

 

Daniel 12

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1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of distress, such as never was since there was a nation until that time. And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that is found written in the book.

2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame, to everlasting contempt.

3 And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and they that turn the many to righteousness as the stars, for ever and ever.

4 And thou, Daniel, close the words, and seal the book, till the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

5 And I Daniel looked, and behold, there stood other two, the one on this side, on the bank of the river, and the other on that side, on the bank of the river.

6 And he said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long [is it to] the end of these wonders?

7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river; and he held up his right hand and his left hand unto the heavens, and swore by him that liveth for ever that it is for a time, times, and a half; and when the scattering of the power of the holy people shall be accomplished, all these things shall be finished.

8 And I heard, but I understood not. And I said, My lord, what shall be the end of these things?

9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for these words are closed and sealed till the time of the end.

10 Many shall be purified, and be made white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

11 And from the time that the continual [sacrifice] is taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand, two hundred, and ninety days.

12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days!

13 But do thou go thy way until the end; and thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

   

Commentary

 

Man (male)

  
by Claude Lefebvre

The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings -- Conjugial Love -- is devoted to the subject. So we can hardly offer a full explanation here. In a very general sense, though, the Writings say that men are creatures of intellect, driven by the love of growing wise; women, meanwhile are creations of affection, driven by the love of wisdom and the good that wisdom can do. They are formed this way to reflect the Lord's Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and so that they can form marriages that reflect the unity of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. Marking differences between men and women can be a touchy thing, but realistically it's easy to see that men tend to love acquiring knowledge whether it has any practical application or not. Many of them can spout out sports statistics or hold court on the workings of the internal combustion engine, even though it is knowledge they are not likely to ever use. They find such knowledge interesting for its own sake. It follows, then, that when the Bible speaks of men, the men represent facts, ideas, knowledge, truth, intellect and wisdom -- or in the negative sense falsity, twisted logic, and reasoning that is devoid of concern for others.