The Bible

 

Daniel 12

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1 "At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book.

2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

3 Those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and those who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.

4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run back and forth, and knowledge shall be increased."

5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on the river bank on this side, and the other on the river bank on that side.

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

7 I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

8 I heard, but I didn't understand: then I said, my lord, what shall be the issue of these things?

9 He said, Go your way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.

10 Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand.

11 From the time that the continual [burnt offering] shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days.

12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days.

13 But go you your way until the end; for you shall rest, and shall stand in your lot, at the end of the days.

   

Commentary

 

Lot

  
"Lot Fleeing with his Daughters from Sodom" by Albrecht Dürer

On the most internal level, the stories of Abraham tell us about the Lord's development, with Abraham representing the Lord's spiritual aspects, the growth and change going on in the highest parts of His mind. Lot, meanwhile, represents the Lord's body and the sensations, delights and thoughts. There is nothing inherently wrong with bodily sensations and pleasures, as long as they are focused on good and are guided and controlled by the higher parts of our minds. And Lot represented good things as long as he was with Abraham and led by Abraham. But physical pleasures can lure us away from what is good if we're not careful, and Lot got in trouble after he left Abraham for the well-watered plains of the Jordan and the pleasure-seeking cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

In Sodom, Lot's meaning is somewhat different. There he represents the remnants of mankind's second great church, known as the Ancient Church. The church had fallen into evil and idolatry, but a few remained who had a desire to be good, even though their worship had become ritual, external, and filled with falsities. The Lord preserved these in the destruction of that church, even as he preserved Lot from the destruction of Sodom.