Daniel 12:4

The end of the vision 12:4

In conclusion, the angel instructed Daniel to close the record of this revelation. In the ancient Near East, people wrote official documents and then, after making a copy for reference, deposited the original in a safe place. The phrase "conceal these words" does not mean that Daniel should keep them to himself, but that he should preserve this revelation because it was important (cf. Daniel 8:26). Also, it was customary for the scribe who recorded important documents, such as contractual promises, to run his cylinder-seal across the bottom to guarantee authenticity. [Note: Ibid., pp. 153-54.] That is what the angel instructed Daniel to do with this contractual promise. By sealing it, Daniel would certify that what stood written was exactly what God had revealed to him and had promised would happen (cf. Revelation 22:18-19).

Daniel was to preserve this revelation until the end of time (or the "time of the end," the last half of the Tribulation, [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 918.] ) because much of what God had revealed to him concerned the far distant future. He confessed that he did not understand much of it (Daniel 12:8), as we can appreciate, since most of it predicted things still future from his standpoint in history.

The last part of this verse probably refers to the attempts of people in the future to understand this revelation, in view of the context (cf. Amos 8:12). [Note: Calvin, 2:379; Leupold, p. 534.] Attempting to understand these prophecies, people would search around and try to discover what they meant. As time passed and knowledge increased, they would understand these things better than Daniel could.

"Whether or not physical wandering and travel is involved, the implication is that attempts to understand the truth will require considerable effort." [Note: Walvoord, Daniel . . ., p. 292. Cf. Young, p. 258.]

Even though Daniel and his people did not understand this book’s prophecies as well as we do, simply because we have seen many of them fulfilled, these predictions did comfort them. They reassured them that Yahweh would ultimately deliver Israel from the hostile Gentiles, and thus fulfill His covenant promises.