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PART 1

Daniel 9 is broken into two sections verses 1-23 refer to the period of exile and verses 24-27 refer to the messianic period.  Though the verses in both sections probably have multiple fulfillments.

Dan 9:2  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

First, we notice that the number 70 is normally round, not necessarily numerically exact but symbolically significant similar to the scripture’s use of the number 40.  70 is therefore a combination of 7 for perfection and 10 for completeness.

We can make it fit rather well with the time of Antiochus, thus:

1)   Start with 605 AD the message to Jeremiah (25:11) - saying that for 70 years they will be enslaved to the king of Babylon. In one sense, which Jeremiah saw, this meant the length of captivity - Daniel does not contradict, but extends the prophecy by taking weeks of years instead of single years, about 70 weeks of years.
2)   605 BC minus 62 weeks (434 years) extends to 171 BC, the death of Onias, the High Priest, the anointed one (9:26).
3)   Persecution for one week = 7 years, runs from 171-164 (death of Onias to death of Antiochus). Antiochus makes the compact with many, the fallen Jews (v.27).
4)   The half week in v.27 is 167-65, the time of desecration of the Temple. But, there must be a reference to Christ also, for we note that 9:24 is too grand - there was no everlasting justice, nor expiation of guilt after end of Antiochus.

We add two details to the interpretation that takes the prophecy to refer to the period up to Antiochus:

1)   Verse 9.27 may mean Antiochus making a deal with fallen Jews - but it might also vaguely refer to Jesus making the eternal covenant. After half a week Jesus abolishes the sacrifices of the old law, and starts the new regime.
2)   V.25 says seven weeks of years remain until Cyrus, God's anointed (as Isaiah 45:12 said, in the sense that God empowered him to crush Babylon and so to liberate the Jewish captives in 539). Jeremiah twice (25:11, dated in 605 BC, and 29:10, dated between 597 and 587, probably in 594) foretold the exile would last 70 years. From 594 to 539 is 55 years, not precisely seven weeks or 49 years. However, in this sort of prophecy that is a good enough approximation - we recall the case of Jonah 3:4 mentioned above.
3)   We conclude: the prophecy of the seventy weeks works out rather well - with allowance for some approximation - in reference to the times leading up to Antiochus, yet verse 24 refers entirely to the time of Christ, and there may be vague allusions to that same time in verse 26. So we believe that the mixture of references comes from the well- known pattern of multiple fulfillment.

Dan 9:20  And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
Dan 9:21  Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

God answers through Angel Gabriel and explains to him how the seventy years of desolation foretold by Jeremiah should be understood (Jer.25:11, 29:10):


Dan 9:24  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

They are seventy weeks of years, or 490 years:
They fall into three periods of seven, sixty-two, and one weeks of years, respectively.

Seventy weeks (viz, of years, or seventy times seven, that is, 490 years) are shortened; that is, fixed and determined, so that the time shall be no longer.  This is not a conditional prophecy. Daniel was solicitous to know when the seventy years of Jeremias would terminate. But something of far greater consequence is revealed to him, even the coming and death of the Messias, four hundred and ninety years after the order for rebuilding the walls should be given, at which period Christ would redeem the world, and abolish the sacrifices of the law.

Finished, or arrive at its height by the crucifixion of the Son of God; or rather sin shall be forgiven. Heb. "to finish crimes to seal (cover or remit) sins, and to expiate iniquity.  

Christ is the great anointed of God, the source of justice, and the end of the law and of the prophets, (Acts x. 38. and 1 Cor. i. 30. Rom. x. 4. C.) as well as the pardoner of crimes. These four characters belong only to Christ.

Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

1- The first period one of seven weeks, or 49 years, will extend from the going forth of "the Word" for the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

The Word to build the Temple came from King Cyrus (Ezra 1), but the Word to rebuild Jerusalem came from King Artaxerxes in Nehemiah 2: In the year 457 before Christ.  And Jerusalem was rebuilt in 49 years under Ezra and Nehemiah.

That is, from the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes, when, by his commandment, Nehemias rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, 2 Esd. ii. From which time, according to the best chronology, there were just sixty-nine weeks of years, that is 483 years, to the baptism of Christ, when he first began to preach and execute the office of Messias.  

The prophecy is divided into three periods: the first of forty-nine years, during which the walls were completed; (they had been raised in fifty-two days, (2 Esd. vi. 15.) but many other fortifications were still requisite) the second of four hundred and thirty-four years, at the end of which Christ was baptized, in the fifteenth of Tiberius, the third of three years and a half, during which Christ preached. In the middle of this last week, the ancient sacrifices became useless, as the true Lamb of God had been immolated.  A week of years denotes seven years, as Lev. xxv. and thus seventy of these weeks would make four hundred and ninety years.  

Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

2- During the second period, of sixty-two weeks or 434 years, an anointed one shall be killed... the Messiah!.
 
The anointed one, Jesus, will be crucified in the year 33 AD
The total time since the Word was given to rebuild Jerusalem to the Crucifixion of Jesus is 49 years plus 434 years, a total of 483 years... Since the order was given on the year 457, 483 minus 457 is 26 after Christ, the year Jesus was crucified.

But making the year as the Bible does with 360 days per year instead of 365, the date of the Word was 444 instead of 457, and the end result is the year 33 after Christ when the anointed one will be killed... and Jesus was crucified in the year 33 AD.

Weeks, or four hundred and thirty-eight years, which elapsed from the twentieth of Artaxerxes to the death of Christ according to the most exact chronologists.  

Saint. Jerome and some MSS. read, Christus, et non erit ejus. The sense is thus suspended. The Jews lose their prerogative of being God's people. C.--Christ will not receive them again. S. Jer.--Gr. "the unction shall be destroyed, and there shall not be judgment in him." The priesthood and royal dignity is taken from the Jews.

Dan 9:27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

END OF PART 1

PART 2

3- In the Third Period, of one week or 7 years:
This is the second time Daniel mentions the Abomination of Desolation.

The Abomination of Desolation:
It is translated in different Bibles also as "the abomination that causes desolation", "the desolating sacrilege", "the desolating abomination", "the horrible abomination", "the abominable desolation", "the abomination that makes desolate", "the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place", "the appalling sacrilege (the abomination that astonishes and makes desolate)", "people would put something very bad in the temple", "the idol of the invader set up in the Temple", "the abominable Idol of the devastator", "the abominable and destructive thing standing on holy ground", "the appalling abomination"...

The Abomination of Desolation is the Time of Coming of the Antichrist!... and his very first work!.

This is how Jesus puts it:

When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation, which is spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, he that reads let him understand... (Mat.24:15)... Jesus even challenges us, he that reads let him understand!...

When you go to "Daniel", he mentions it in 9:27, 11:31, 12:11, and 8:10-14., and describes the horrors of this "Abomination" in 4 places: Daniel 8:11-17, 9:26-27, 11:31-32, 12:11.
This Abomination refers to the abolition of the Eternal Sacrifice and the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem... but Daniel states that "the vision refers to the time of the End" (8:17), and Jesus himself refers us to it in Matt.24:15, and it will be the very first thing the Antichrist will do, as reported here by Jesus.

Paul told us that the Antichrist would sit in the temple as God (2.Thes.2:3-4).

The concept of the abomination of desolation is often spiritualized with explaining it as idolatrous worship established in the hearts of God’s people (His "temple"). But the simplest and more real explanation of all these passages is to see the abomination as the suppression of the eternal sacrifice, now a days only present in Christianity in the Holy Mass.

This "Abomination" in Daniel consists of 5 facts:
1- "Abolished the perpetual sacrifice" (Dan.8:11): And as a logical consequence, if there is no "sacrifice", there will be no "altar", and no "priests" to offer it... this is the main and most important feature, described by Daniel in his four descriptions of the Abomination in the Holy Place.
God established the "eternal sacrifice", which was offered daily as told by the Lord: "every day, two unblemished yearling lambs as a perpetual burning offering" (Num.28:3, Ex.29:42).
If it is "eternal", "perpetual", is got to be present now, and even in Heaven, because it is "eternal":
a- "In Heaven" it is present, as described by John in Rev.5:6: "a Lamb standing as it had been slaughtered"… he is Jesus in the center of the Throne of Heaven, the reason for all the joys and songs of Heaven!.
b- "On Earth", is got to be present also "now", because it is "eternal"… and it is!, as the Lamb of God offered daily in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
2- "Threw down his sanctuary" (Dan.8:11).
3- "Shall destroy the city" (Dan.9:26).
4- "He magnified himself even to the prince of the host" (Dan.8:11).
5- By his deceit he shall make some who were disloyal to the covenant apostatize (Dan.11:26).

The reign of the Antichrist will last for 7 years, as described in Daniel 8:14 and Revelation 13:5: The "Abomination" will last for 3½ years, and the "Great Tribulation" for another 3½ years, or 42 months, or 1,260 days (Rev.13:5, 11:2-3, 12:5, Dan.12:11-12).

John tells us that the Antichrist is already with us (1Jn.4:3), and Paul says that the Antichrist is already at work (1Thes.2:6-8).

The Jews already have this Abomination: They have no sacrifice, no altar, no priests, no temple... as it was prophesied it will happen after the coming of the Messiah! (Daniel 8:11-17, 9:26-27, 11:31-32, 12:11).

For many Protestants this "Abomination" means very little, because they already do not have the "perpetual sacrifice", nor "sanctuary", nor "altar", nor "priests"...

Many Catholics may wonder how come the Holy Mass and priests could be abolished... but this already happened partially at the coming of Muhammad when there were 800 Christian bishops in Africa, among them St. Augustine, and in a few years there were reduced to just 5!... the "remnant" always mentioned by Isaiah.

And when Martin Luther came, in a few years millions of Christians were left without sacrifice, altar, and priests... So, this is what it will happened at the coming of the Antichrist during the Abomination of Desolation, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be abolished, and consequently there will be no need for altars nor priests to celebrate it... and, of course, a "remnant" will be left!.

Christ seems to allude to this passage. Mat. xxvi. 28. He died for all; but several of the Jews particularly, would not receive the proffered grace.  Of the week, or in the middle of the week, because Christ preached three years and a half: and then, by his sacrifice upon the cross, abolished all the sacrifices of the law.  

The Temple, but specifically from the Hebrew word meaning "the wing," or pinnacle, the highest part of the temple.  

Desolation
Some understand this of the profanation of the temple by the crimes of the Jews, and by the bloody faction of the zealots. Others, of the bringing in thither the ensigns and standard of the pagan Romans. Others, in fine, distinguish three different times of desolation: viz. that under Antiochus; that when the temple was destroyed by the Romans; and the last near the end of the world, under antichrist. To all which, as they suppose, this prophecy may have a relation.

END OF PART 2

PART 3

To get a fuller understanding of the last week, we need to review the following three chapters of Daniel as well (Chapters 10, 11 and 12).

Dan 10:12  And he said to me: Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, to afflict thyself in the sight of thy God, thy words have been heard: and I am come for thy words.
Dan 10:13  But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me one and twenty days: and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the king of the Persians.

Gabriel said that the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood him for 21 days, but Michael one of the chief princes, standing for the protector of Daniel's people, came to help him. Michael left the prince of Persia, and he came strengthen Daniel and to tell him that the

And Daniel gives a description of the vision with a reference to Media, Persia, and Greece... but applicable to the end time.

Yet the vision did express the conflict of the holy people with Persia--some of which will appear in chapter 11. Then Michael when went to fight against the prince of Persia. After he was to come the prince of Greece.

The prince, that is, the angel guardian of Persia: who, according to his office, seeking the spiritual good of the Persians, was desirous that many of the Jews should remain among them. Saint Jerome explains it as the angel guardian. Each country has an archangel over it, as individuals have an angel. Others assert that this was an evil angel; for how could a good one oppose so long the will of God? Yet this argument may be retorted, as evil spirits themselves must comply. It seems, therefore, that Cyrus was exhorted by the good angels to invade the Chaldeans, and thus to liberate God's people. He was afraid of the hazardous attempt, and free-will may resist the inspirations of God.--One, or "prince."  Michael, and the guardian of Daniel joined their prayers for the liberation of the Jews. v. 20.

Dan 10:21  But I will tell thee what is set down in the scripture of truth: and none is my helper in all these things, but Michael your prince.

This second part of the last vision announces he ruin of the Persian Monarchy, with Alexander and his successors and more particularly with the deeds of a king of the North, Antiochus Epiphanes, against Egypt, the Jews, the Temple, until he should come to an end.

All of it also applies to the end of times.

Dan 11:2  And now I will shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand yet three kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be enriched exceedingly above them all: and when he shall be grown mighty by his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.

There are to be four Persian kings before Alexander the Great.

Commentators today are not at all in agreement on who the four should be. After Darius the Mede we know there were these kings in general history:: 1)Cyrus II (c.559-30), 2) Cambyses (529-22,son of Cyrus and conqueror of Egypt; 3)Darius I, son of Hystaspes (c 522-486) who invaded Greece, was repulsed at Marathon; 4) Xerxes I (485-65) who invaded Greece, was repulsed by the Greeks at Salamis; 5) Artaxerxes I.(465-25); 6) Darius II 423-04); 7) Artaxerxes II (404-359); 8) Artaxerxes III (359-358); 9) Darius III Codomanus - defeated by Alexander the Great at Issus; fled to Bactria, and died there. : After Alexander's early death, his dominion was divided into that of the four Successors or Diadochi. Many wars among them.

No names are given in Daniel, yet the narrative seems able to agree with secular history.  Daniel gives many details on him- but by no means do all fit known history. As we saw in dealing with the 70 weeks of years prophecy, this Antiochus seems to be a type of the antitype, the chief Antichrist.

Dan 11:3  But there shall rise up a strong king, and shall rule with great power: and he shall do what he pleaseth.

A strong king: Alexander the Great. The sequel clearly points him out. Before fifteen years had elapsed, his mother, brother, and children were slain. Arideus, his brother, was declared regent till it should be seen what Roxana should bring forth. After the death of those who might be heirs of Alexander, four generals took the title of kings. Others governed in different places, but were destroyed by degrees.

Dan 11:4  And when he shall come to his height, his kingdom shall be broken, and it shall be divided towards the four winds of the heaven: but not to his posterity, nor according to his pwoer with wheich he ruled. For his kingdom shall be rent in peices, even for strangers, besides these.

These four; Ptolemy, Seleucus, Antigonus, and Antipater, kings of Egypt, Syria, Asia, and Greece. C. vii. 6. and viii. 22. Besides the other generals, (C.) foreigners began to erect new kingdoms in what had formed the empire of Alexander. S. Jer. Livy xlv. C.

Dan 11:5  And the king of the south shall be strengthened, and one of his princes shall prevail over him, and he shall rule with great power: for his dominions shall be great.

South: Ptolemeus, the son of Lagus, king of Egypt, which lies south of Jerusalem. Ch--S. Irenaeus (iv. 43.) observes, that all prophecies are obscure till they be fulfilled. History shews that this relates to Ptolemy. The kingdoms of Egypt and of Syria are more noticed, as they had much to do with the Jews. W.--Ptolemy took Cyprus (C.) and Jerusalem. Jos. Ant. xii. 12.--His princes (that is, one of Alexander's princes) shall prevail over him; that is, shall be stronger than the king of Egypt. He speaks of Seleucus Nicator, king of Asia and Syria, whose successors are here called the kings of the north, because their dominions lay to the north in respect to Jerusalem. Ch.--Nicator means a "conqueror." H.--This king was master of all from Media and Babylonia to Jerusalem. Appian, &c. C.--Philadelphus was more powerful than his father. W.

Dan 11:6  And after the end of years they shall be in league together: and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make friendship, but she shall not obtain the strength of the arm, neither shall her seed stand: and she shall be given up, and her young men that brought her, and they that strengthened her in these times.

Bernice, daughter of Ptolemeus Philadelphus, given in marriage to Antiochus Theos, grandson of Seleucus, (Ch.) and king of Syria. She brought a great "dowry," and was therefore styled Phernophoros. Antiochus agreed to repudiate Laodicea; but he soon took her back. Fearing his inconstancy, she poisoned him, and slew his son by Bernice. This lady in a rage, mounted her chariot and having knocked down the cruel minister of such barbarity, trampled upon his body. The rest pretended that the infant was still living, and delivered up a part of the palace to Bernice, yet slew her as soon as they had an opportunity.

END OF PART 3

PART 4

Dan 11:31  And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall defile the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the continual sacrifice: and they shall place there the abomination unto desolation.

King Antiochus IV Epiphanes is the little horn spoken of before in 8:9, a type of the final Antichrist referred to in 2 Thes.2:3-12, Rev.13:5-8... best described in 1Maccabees and 2Maccabees

This type of the anti-Christ is a sworn enemy to the Jewish religion, and a bitter persecutor of those that adhered to it. It describes his reign, cruelty, impiety, and death (11:21-45)... also described in the Second Vision of the Ram and the he-Goat of chapter 8

- A vile person. He called himself Epiphanes--the illustrious, but his character was the reverse of his surname.

- Much of it is applicable to the man of sin of 2 Thes.2:4

The third time Daniel mentions the Abomination of Desolation: He will profane the Temple and take away the eternal sacrifice... Antiochus set a statue of Jupiter in the Holy of Holies of the Temple, pull down the walls of Jerusalem, forbade circumcision, destroyed all the religious books... The books of Maccabees make a good description of him (1Mac.1, 2Mac.9).

In Jerusalem he stopped the continual daily sacrifice in the temple, and set up the "abomination of desolation" there. In view of the fact that Antiochus is the type of Antichrist, and in view of the multiple fulfillment mentioned above in our study of the 70 weeks of years, we may ask if this also foretells that the Mass will be stopped at the time of the Antichrist.  We do not know, and we recall Lk 18.8,and 2 Thes. 2.3, the abomination of desolation was seen just before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD-- probably it was the entrance of the Roman military standards into the Temple, with the eagles on them, which the soldiers worshipped.

Dan 11:36  And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall be lifted up, and shall magnify himself against every god: and he shall speak great things against the God of gods, and shall prosper, till the wrath be accomplished. For the determination is made.

This too relates to the abomination of desolation as the AntiChrist or his type depending on the historical setting sets himself up to be worshipped.

Dan 11:40  And at the time prefixed the king of the south shall fight against him, and the king of the north shall come against him like a tempest, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with a great navy, and he shall enter into the countries, and shall destroy, and pass through.

Daniel predicts disaster, but in unclear language. By a sort of prophetic idealization (cf.Ez.39:4; Zech 14:2; Rev/Apoc 11:8 and Isaiah 17) he was supposed to die near Jerusalem- actually it was, we think, in Susa.(2 Mc 9).

Epiphanes made war on Egypt till the Romans forced him to desist. The prophet explains his preceding attempts, to which he only alluded. v. 29, 30.

Dan 11:41  And he shall enter into the glorious land, and many shall fall: and these only shall be saved out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the principality of the children of Ammon.
Dan 11:42  And he shall lay his hand upon the lands: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
Dan 11:43  And he shall have power over the treasures of gold, and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt: and he shall pass through Lybia, and Ethiopia.
Dan 11:44  And tidings out of the east, and out of the north, shall trouble him: and he shall come with a great multitude to destroy and slay many.

Judas continued victorious. Armenia and Parthia rebelled.  Epiphanes left three generals and half his army to destroy the Jews.

Dan 11:45  And he shall fix his tabernacle, Apadno, between the seas, upon a glorious and holy mountain: and he shall come even to the top thereof, and none shall help him.

Some take Apadno for the proper name of a place; others, from the Heb. translate it, his palace. Ch.--He fixed his royal tent between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea.  Porphyrius explains this of the march beyond the Euphrates.  Apadno may denote Mesopotamia.

Saint Jerome and many others explain all this of antichrist and no doubt he was prefigured. The like events will probably take place again towards the end of the world.

END OF PART 4

PART 5

Dan 12:1  But at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people: and a time shall come, such as never was from the time that nations began, even until that time. And at that time shall thy people be saved, every one that shall be found written in the book.

The opening words "at that time" show this pertains to the end time.

It declares how Michael (the guardian angel of Israel and now the Church) will deliver the people, after a great tribulation such as never has been since there was a nation till that time (Mat.24:20)...

Dan 12:2  And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake: some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always.

Daniel continues predicting that all those whose names are found in the book will be delivered. The book is of course the book of life, containing the names of those who are and will be faithful. There will be a resurrection. Some will rise to glory, others to eternal shame. Will all persons rise at this time? It says that many will rise.

Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time appointed: many shall pass over, and knowledge shall be manifold.

Then there will be a time of distress such as has not happened before. The language of Mt.24.21 is similar on the distress (thlipsis) to come then. Most likely it is from the persecution carried on by the Antichrist of which Antiochus IV was a type. Jesus said that if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive. But they will be shortened. Naturally, many ask themselves: would I hold up and persevere in so great a time of distress? There is a way to help in this difficulty.: St. Paul three times (1 Ths 4.23-24, 1 Cor 1.8-9; Phil 1.6) promises the grace of final perseverance will be offered to all. But we must notice further that one could reject that grace. However even for that further difficulty there is a way. Pius XI in (Feb.2, 1923: AAS 15.104) taught "...nor would he incur eternal death whom the Most Blessed Virgin assists, especially at his last hour.
 
Saint Jerome says the vision will not be understood till the event.  It is not to be interpreted by human wit, but by the spirit of God, wherewith the Church is enlightened and governed.

Dan 12:5  And I, Daniel, looked, and behold as it were two others stood: one on this side upon the bank of the river, and another on that side, on the other bank of the river.

Daniel then sees two angels who are the official witnesses.

Dan 12:6  And I said to the man that was clothed in linen, that stood upon the waters of the river: How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
Dan 12:7  And I heard the man that was clothed in linen, that stood upon the waters of the river, when he had lifted up his right hand, and his left hand to heaven, and had sworn by him that liveth for ever, that it should be unto a time, and times, and half a time. And when the scattering of the band of the holy people shall be accomplished, all these things shall be finished.

Time implies a year, hence he means three years and a half. Christ assures us that those days shall be shortened, (Mat. xxiv. 22.) and the persecutor shall tarry a short time. Apoc. xvii. 10. and xii. 14. The same period is insinuated by 1290 days, (v. 11) and 1330. v. 12.

The two witnesses prophesy 1260 days, during which the Church shall be fed in the wilderness. Apoc. xii. 6. But the term is most exactly specified by forty-two months. Apoc. xi. 2. and xiii. 5. Hence all the Fathers agree that the last persecution shall continue no longer.  

Dan 12:9  And he said: Go, Daniel, because the words are shut up, and sealed until the appointed time.

He asks how long it will be? The angel replies: It is sealed until the end time. Daniel asks: How long? The angel replies: a time and times and half a time. That is, 3 1/2 years. The Hebrew kalah is clear: when the shattering of the power of the holy people is completed (kalah) all will come to pass. Lk 21.24 says that Jerusalem "will be trodden by the gentiles ". Rom 11.25 says a blindness in part has come on Israel "" Further in 2 Mc 2.5-7 we read that Jeremiah hid the ark in a cave. When his followers tried to find it, he said it would be hidden until God gathers His people together again.  So we wonder: Are we close to this turning point? Probably yes, but that still does not tell us how close to the end we are, for with the Lord a thousand years is one day.

Daniel is to seal the book until the end time, when all the predictions and promises will be fulfilled. Many will busy themselves with these words, and so knowledge shall increase. Yet as we see from the sequel, the full meaning will not be entirely clear until the end time.

Dan 12:10  Many shall be chosen, and made white, and shall be tried as fire: and the wicked shall deal wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the learned shall understand.

Many will be purified, but the wicked will grow still more wicked, and will not understand. We naturally think of Lk.18.8: "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" And the words of 2 Timothy 3 on the kind of men who will grow more wicked at the end. Mt 24.12 says that since sin will reach its fullness the love of most people will grow cold. Again we think of the two spirals in opposite directions in which the good will grow in light, the wicked will become more and more blind.  So we think of the words of Jesus in Lk 19.26: "To whom who has more, more will be given; from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."   We think too of Apoc.22.11. None of the wicked shall understand, but the wise will.

Dan 12:11  And from the time when the continual sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination unto desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred ninety days.

The Abominable Desolation: Mentioned for the fourth time.

From the time when the continual offering is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1290 days. Blessed is he who waits 1335 days. But you Daniel go your way You shall rest and stand at the end of these days. Daniel did not understand. We, since we are closer to the end time, have been able to see part of what he did not understand, namely the line about the completion of the scattering of the holy People.

The first (or type) cessation of the continual offering and the abomination of desolation came when Antiochus IV stopped sacrifice, and the abomination, an idol, was set up. We seem to have here another instance of multiple fulfillment, namely the continual sacrifice will be stopped again at the end times through a prohibition of the Catholic Mass at the time of the Antichrist. There will also be the abomination in the temple-- the Antichrist will sit (cf. 2 thes 2.4) in the restored Jerusalem temple (or which Ezekiel 40-48 spoke?). But we do not know about the additional 45 days--nor did Daniel. It might be the time in which the Antichrist is permitted to sit in the temple as if he were god. At the end of that time Jesus comes in glory and slays the Antichrist. Perhaps the Antichrist will be able to entirely or almost entirely suppress the Mass, but only for the 45 days.

Dan 12:12  Blessed is he that waitedth, and cometh unto a thousand three hundred thirty-five days.

After the three years and a half, fifty-eight days will occur before the death of Antiochus, when Judas will disperse the troops of his three generals. It is difficult to say why forty-five days are here added to the former number. We are content to depart with Daniel, (v. 9.) without searching any farther into these high mysteries.  Perhaps some respite will be granted for forty-five days, during which sinners may repent.

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