Daniel 12:11 envisions a precise and brief interval of intense upheaval ending with God’s decisive triumph.
Daniel 12:11 states, “From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.” (v.11) This verse comes near the end of Daniel’s final vision and addresses a period of great significance known as the “time of the end,” when extraordinary events unfold. The phrase from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished implies a moment in history when the practice of daily temple offerings is forcibly ended in Jerusalem (a likely reference to a rebuilt temple), while the abomination of desolation is set up describes a detestable and shocking act that profanes what is meant to remain sacred (Matthew 24:15). Such an act has occurred historically, most notoriously under Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC, yet Jesus forecasts a future fulfillment that will herald a period of tribulation at the end of the age ( Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). Daniel’s prophecy specifically counts 1,290 days (roughly three and a half years plus one month) after the abomination of desolation begins, which indicates a short but intense interval in which evil rises to a climax before ultimately facing God’s judgment. The Book of Revelation likewise points to a roughly three-and-a-half-year period of tribulation (Revelation 12:6, 13:5). Many interpreters see the extra 30 days beyond 1,260 as a purposeful intensification of events or possibly a time for final judgments and gatherings (Daniel 12:11-12).
In deeper context, Daniel and his people had returned from the Babylonian exile to find Jerusalem’s temple eventually rebuilt under Persian rule (Ezra 1). When Daniel received this vision, he was an old man (around 536 BC), having lived through the Babylonian empire’s fall to Persia in 539 BC, yet the prophecy pointed even further into the future. The abomination of desolation is explained also in Daniel 9:27 and 11:31, describing how a ruler would forcibly stop Jewish worship and desecrate the temple. History records Antiochus IV Epiphanes setting up a pagan altar to Zeus in the temple, yet Jesus Himself foretold a future manifestation, associating it with the onset of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:15, 21). Because of such repeated references, many scholars conclude that Daniel 12:11 looks ahead to an ultimate end-time act that parallels these past sacrileges (Daniel 12:11; Matthew 24:15).
For believers, this verse also highlights the sovereign arrangement of times and seasons by God. The 1,290 days mark a divinely set schedule, a reminder that though evil and desecration may appear triumphant for a season, such trials are bounded by the Lord’s precise timetable. Immediately following, Daniel 12:12 solemnly speaks of 1,335 days, suggesting an additional 45 days beyond the 1,290 in which a special blessing is reserved for those enduring faithfully (Daniel 12:12). The clarity of these days points to God’s overarching plan, where final redemption and the coming kingdom of Christ will ultimately replace all desecrations and all patient endurance will be rewarded (Revelation 20:1-6).
God precisely controls history. Even when the worst transgressions, such as the abomination of desolation, occur, the passage of days is not random but guided. This prophecy reassures that the trials will not occur forever, and that the righteous must keep watch and persevere.
God has a set plan, and though there may be times of great testing, Daniel 12:11 shows us that He alone declares when these times begin and end.
This prophecy illustrates how the cosmic drama of good versus evil is fully accounted for in Scripture.
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Daniel 12:11 meaning
Daniel 12:11 states, “From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.” (v.11) This verse comes near the end of Daniel’s final vision and addresses a period of great significance known as the “time of the end,” when extraordinary events unfold. The phrase from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished implies a moment in history when the practice of daily temple offerings is forcibly ended in Jerusalem (a likely reference to a rebuilt temple), while the abomination of desolation is set up describes a detestable and shocking act that profanes what is meant to remain sacred (Matthew 24:15). Such an act has occurred historically, most notoriously under Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC, yet Jesus forecasts a future fulfillment that will herald a period of tribulation at the end of the age ( Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). Daniel’s prophecy specifically counts 1,290 days (roughly three and a half years plus one month) after the abomination of desolation begins, which indicates a short but intense interval in which evil rises to a climax before ultimately facing God’s judgment. The Book of Revelation likewise points to a roughly three-and-a-half-year period of tribulation (Revelation 12:6, 13:5). Many interpreters see the extra 30 days beyond 1,260 as a purposeful intensification of events or possibly a time for final judgments and gatherings (Daniel 12:11-12).
In deeper context, Daniel and his people had returned from the Babylonian exile to find Jerusalem’s temple eventually rebuilt under Persian rule (Ezra 1). When Daniel received this vision, he was an old man (around 536 BC), having lived through the Babylonian empire’s fall to Persia in 539 BC, yet the prophecy pointed even further into the future. The abomination of desolation is explained also in Daniel 9:27 and 11:31, describing how a ruler would forcibly stop Jewish worship and desecrate the temple. History records Antiochus IV Epiphanes setting up a pagan altar to Zeus in the temple, yet Jesus Himself foretold a future manifestation, associating it with the onset of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:15, 21). Because of such repeated references, many scholars conclude that Daniel 12:11 looks ahead to an ultimate end-time act that parallels these past sacrileges (Daniel 12:11; Matthew 24:15).
For believers, this verse also highlights the sovereign arrangement of times and seasons by God. The 1,290 days mark a divinely set schedule, a reminder that though evil and desecration may appear triumphant for a season, such trials are bounded by the Lord’s precise timetable. Immediately following, Daniel 12:12 solemnly speaks of 1,335 days, suggesting an additional 45 days beyond the 1,290 in which a special blessing is reserved for those enduring faithfully (Daniel 12:12). The clarity of these days points to God’s overarching plan, where final redemption and the coming kingdom of Christ will ultimately replace all desecrations and all patient endurance will be rewarded (Revelation 20:1-6).
God precisely controls history. Even when the worst transgressions, such as the abomination of desolation, occur, the passage of days is not random but guided. This prophecy reassures that the trials will not occur forever, and that the righteous must keep watch and persevere.
God has a set plan, and though there may be times of great testing, Daniel 12:11 shows us that He alone declares when these times begin and end.
This prophecy illustrates how the cosmic drama of good versus evil is fully accounted for in Scripture.