The End of Dispersion is the Beginning of the End

Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?"

The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, "It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed," (Dan 12:5-7, NIV)

The passage above is given at the conclusion of the book of Daniel to help answer the question, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?” The answer is somewhat veiled in generalities, “When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.” The fact that future prophecy is hidden, especially as it relates to the time of the end, is nothing new.

The Sages believed that the precise timing and events associated with the end was revealed to only two people in history, Jacob and Daniel. The LORD caused Jacob to forget so that he might not reveal the events as he was prophesying over his children. Daniel was instructed to veil the end time so that only the generation of the end time would understand. For this reason, according to some historians, the Book of Daniel was held in high regards during the first century. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote, “He [Daniel] not only predicted the future, like the other prophets, but specified when the events would happen,” (Antiquities x. 268). Some even believe that Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy may have provided a catalyst for the Zealots to begin their war with Rome in 66 AD.

Yet, despite the apparent importance of Daniel, the apostles never referenced the book of Daniel to demonstrate that Yeshua is the Messiah foretold by the prophets. Daniel’s Seventy Weeks appears to align with the coming and crucifixion, yet no mention of this prophecy is given in the New Testament. Only Yeshua alludes to Daniel when He said, “When you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel – let the reader understand – then those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,” (Matt 24:15-16). According to historians, believers did flee to the mountains when the Romans pulled back at the death of Nero in 68 AD.

Unfortunately for the Zealots, the First Jewish Revolt (66 – 73 AD) resulted in the destruction of the temple, loss of the national wealth stored at the temple, the destruction of the nation, the death of many Jews, and the deportation of many surviving Jews to Rome. There is some evidence, that after the Jewish revolts, the book of Daniel was moved in the Jewish canon from among the prophets and placed with the writings. This reflected a change in attitude toward Daniel by the Sages who feared that the continued misinterpretation of the book would bring repeated judgments on the nation.

From that time forward, the Jewish Sages began a long history of warning against end time predictions, which seek to define a specific time for the coming of the Messiah (Sandhedrin 97b). According to the ArtScroll commentary on Daniel, “Rambam explains that the Sages were deeply concerned lest a predicted time come and go without the hoped for coming. Were that to happen, people of little sophistication and insufficient faith would think that he would never come…People might say that if the Messiah had not come when he was expected, perhaps the Divine bond with Israel had been severed and the promised coming had been annulled,” (page XLIX).

Even Rambam and Ramban were compelled to violate their edicts during the days of intense prediction in their lifetimes. Predictions about the end always increase during difficult times because the “birth pains of the Messiah” are seen to precede the end times. “Rabbi Yochanan, speaking about these ‘pangs of the Messiah’ exclaimed: ‘Let [the Messiah] come, but may I not see it! (Sanhedrin 98b),” (ArtScroll – Daniel, page 319).

In the passage of Daniel above, the word translated as “power” (Dan 12:7) in the NIV version comes from the Greek word “naphats,” and is translated as “to scatter” in the KJV. The root word “naphats” means “to dash to pieces, or scatter,” as in the breaking of pottery. Or to use a New Testament passage, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered,” (Matt 26:31). The KJV of Daniel reads as follows:

And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished, (Dan 12:7).

Young’s literal translates the passages as, “at the completion of the scattering of the power of the holy people.” Remember, the passage is in response to the question, "How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?" (Dan 12:6, NIV).

“When the power of the holy people has been finally broken," (Dan 12:7, NIV), does not give us much insight into the timing of these events. However, the translation, “at the completion of the scattering of the power of the holy people,” gives us the ability to make a connection between this prophecy and the scattering of the Jewish people. This scattering is called the “Dispersion” in scripture (John 7:35, NAS), but is often referred to as the “Diaspora” (Greek for Dispersion) in secular writings.

The prophecy of Daniel is implying that the beginning of the end time events spoken in Daniel will occur when the scattering has reached its zenith. Since 1948 when the modern nation of Israel was established, the process of scattering has been reversed and Jews are now being gathered to Israel. It is estimated that by the middle of this decade the population of Jews in Israel will exceed those living outside Israel for the first time in 2600 years. In our lifetime we are witnessing the regathering of Israel spoken in the 37th chapter of Ezekiel. Is 50% a magic number, we do not know. I guess we will find out in time. But one thing is certain, the Jews are no longer being scattered. In the words of the ArtScroll commentary on Daniel…

“It is inconceivable, therefore, that the Exile should not come to an end. Why does it still endure? Because the Attribute of Justice does not permit the Messiah to come while Israel is undeserving. Those who predicted the End erred because they thought that His mercy was at hand; it was not. But even the Attribute of Justice demands that the Messiah must come eventually, otherwise, the purpose of Creation would be disrupted. The exile will not endure forever, and we earn reward by having faith in that principle.

Therefore, although we remain without knowledge of the exact time of the End, we continue with the unquestioning conviction that we await him and God awaits us. The time will come: ‘today – if you heed His call,’” (ArtScroll – Daniel, page LVI).

As stated in Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles of Faith, “I believe with a perfect belief in the coming of the Messiah. Even though he may delay, I will wait every day for him to come.”

Although we might not be able to predict the day or the hour, the end of the dispersion would seem to be the beginning of the events leading toward the culmination of history. One thing remains certain, “Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed,” (Rom 13:11).