**This document reexamines the interpretation of the phrase "a time, times, and an half" in Daniel 12:6-7, traditionally linked to the three-and-a-half-year Great Tribulation. Instead, it argues that this phrase refers to a series of time-based prophecies: the 1,000-year reign of Christ (Revelation 20:2-7), a 2,000-year "Times of the Gentiles" (Hosea 5:15-6:2), and the 490-year prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27. The analysis situates the timeline from the end of the Babylonian exile to the Great White Throne Judgment, emphasizing that the events described go beyond the Tribulation to include the Millennial Kingdom, Satan's final rebellion, and the eternal state. This document also separates the new information in Daniel 12:11-12 from earlier sealed visions, underscoring the broader eschatological framework of Daniel's prophecies. **
Daniel chapter twelve contains the phrase, ‘a time, times, and an half’ which is often interpreted to mean the three and a half-year period of time known as the Great Tribulation. This article proposes that in the context of Daniel 12, that phrase cannot represent such a short period of time, or that specific event, but instead represents the collection of these three contiguous time-based prophecies:
Time (1,000 years*) = The Thousand-Year Reign of Christ from Revelation 20:2-7
Times (2,000 years) = The ‘After two days’ prophecy from Hosea 5:15-6:2
An Half (490 years) = The 70-Weeks prophecy from Daniel 9:24-27
*The unit of measure
A short summary of the background information
As with any literary analysis, context is important. The vision that is the focus of this article starts all the way back to the beginning of Daniel's chapter ten. Rather than include the full text here, a relevant summary is provided for brevity's sake.
(I highly encourage you to read the entire passage (Daniel 10-12) and then return to finish this article.)
Daniel 11:2 The remaining rule of the Persian kings
Daniel 11:3-4 The Greek conqueror Alexander the Great and his kingdom’s 4-way division
Daniel 11:5-35 The rivalry between the Seleucid Empire (north) and Ptolemaic Empire (south) Daniel 11:31 Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) stopped the daily sacrifice and defiled the temple
Daniel 11:36-45 The Tribulation, time of the Anti-Christ
Daniel 12:1 The war in Heaven, the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming of Christ
Daniel 12:2 The resurrection of the Tribulation saints to everlasting life
Daniel 12:2 The resurrection to shame and everlasting contempt and the Great White Throne Judgement
Daniel 12:3 The new Heaven, new Earth, and new Jerusalem
Daniel 12:4 The man tells Daniel to, ‘shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.’
Daniel 12:5 Two others are seen standing on either side of the river.
The question and the answer
Daniel 12: 6 contains the question:
'And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?’
Daniel 12:7 contains the answer:
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.’
How the Question itself eliminates the Great Tribulation as a reasonable interpretation
The parameters and subject of the question
Notice that the request was for a time-based answer and that it did not explicitly identify any particular event as the starting point. Therefore, it is only reasonable for the starting point to progress from the time that the question was asked, or from the first event mentioned.
If we return to Daniel chapter ten, the first verse tells us that the vision occurred, ‘In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia’. And verse four tells us that it was, ‘in the four and twentieth day of the first month’.
If we continue to Daniel chapter eleven, the second verse is where the oration began.
‘And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.’
So, the vision occurred on Nissan 24, in the third year of King Cyrus, and the first event mentioned was the coming of three Persian kings and then Alexander the Great. Neither the day of the vision nor the first event mentioned, have anything to do with the start of the Great Tribulation (ie: stopping of daily sacrifices and the desecration of the temple).
What about, ‘the end of these wonders?’ The last events mentioned are found in Daniel 12:2-3. 3
'And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.’
Verse two tells us about two different resurrections that will happen after the second coming of Christ. These are the same two resurrections found in Revelation 20:4-6,
‘And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.’
So, the resurrection in the first part of Daniel 12:2 and the ‘First Resurrection’ of Revelation 20:4 and 6 are the same resurrection, which occurs after the Second Coming of Christ, but before the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ.
The resurrection in the last part of Daniel 12:2 and in Revelation 20:5 are the same resurrection, which occurs after the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ. This is the resurrection of those who will go to the Great White Throne Judgement (Revelation 20:11-15).
It is interesting to note, that the Messianic Prophecy which began in Genesis 3:15, ‘And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.’ continues until this event in Revelation 20:15, ‘And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.’ This will be the moment when the original Messianic Prophecy is completed.
Daniel 12:3, ‘And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.’ is an allusion to the eternal state of the redeemed, which will live forever in the new heaven, the new earth and the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21).
So, ‘the end of these wonders’ cannot be a reference to the end of the Great Tribulation since there are other major events that were mentioned afterward.
According to the text, here are the parameters of the question asked in Daniel 12:6.
From: the third year of King Cyrus and/or the time of the three remaining kings of Persia.
To: the end of the Great White Throne Judgement.
The Tribulation portion of the passage is considered to be from Daniel 11:36-12:1. The Great Tribulation is neither the first subject nor the last subject of the oration. Therefore, it cannot be the subject of the question (‘How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?’). Since it was not the subject of the question, it would be unreasonable to assume that it was the subject of the answer.
How the second part of the answer does not refer to the Great Tribulation, and how it does refer to the Great White Throne Judgement
The answer given in Daniel 12:7 has two parts. ‘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.’
Part 1, ‘it shall be for a time, times, and an half;’
Part 2, ‘and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.’
Many have interpreted the second portion of the answer to be a reference to the Great Tribulation, but it is not. Rather, it is a reference to the end of the ‘little season’, which is after the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ when Satan will be loosed to deceive the nations.
In Part 2 of the passage above, ‘he’ is easily identified to be Satan.
Two phrases in the passage will help us determine if this is talking about the Great Tribulation or the end of the ‘little season’. They are, ‘holy people’ and ‘scatter the power of the holy people’.
It helps to explain who the ‘holy people’ are first. Aside from Daniel 12:7, that phrase is only mentioned seven other times in all of Scripture; Five times in the book of Deuteronomy (7:6, 14:2, 14:21, 26:19, and 28:9) where it is always a reference to the children of Israel. One mention is in Isaiah 62:12 where, ‘The holy people’ is a very clear reference to the Saints during the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ since that whole chapter is about the Millennial Kingdom. And once more in Daniel 8:24, which is another very clear reference to the Jews in the time of Antiochus IV (Epiphanes). The stopping of daily sacrifices and desecration of the temple in Daniel 8 is also an allusion to those same events during the Great Tribulation.
For the purpose of this discussion, ‘holy people’ is either a reference to the saints during the Tribulation, or the saints during the Millennial Kingdom. Now let’s move on to the meaning of, ‘scatter the power of the holy people’. We will start by comparing the relevant events of Daniel 8 with their corresponding events during the Great Tribulation.
Daniel 8:20-25, ‘The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.’
Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) was very much an Anti-Christ figure in his time and the attributes ascribed to him, and his rule, line up directly with the Anti-Christ of the Tribulation to come.
Notice that it says he, ‘shall destroy the mighty and the holy people’.
While we’re here, let’s back up one chapter and take a look at the verbiage in Daniel 7:21-25, ‘I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.’
Notice that it says he, ‘prevailed against them’ and that he, ‘shall wear out the saints’ and that they (the Saints), ‘shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.’ As you can see, verse 25 designates how long the Anti-Christ will prevail against the Saints, and that ‘time and times and the dividing of time’ is well understood to be the three-and-a-half years of the Great Tribulation.
Now let’s take a look at the same Great Tribulation events in Revelation 13:4-8, ‘And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was 6 given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.’
Notice again, that it says that the Anti-Christ will, ‘make war with the saints, and to overcome them’. It also says that he will, ‘continue forty and two months’, which equates to the three and a half years of the Great Tribulation, from Daniel 7:25.
So, after reviewing three of the primary Great Tribulation passages, we see that the Anti-Christ will ‘destroy’, ‘prevail against’, ‘wear out’, and ‘overcome’ the Saints throughout that three-and-a-half-year time period.
But, just to be sure, let’s take one more look. Revelation 20:4, ‘And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.’
Indeed, the Saints will be martyred throughout the Great Tribulation, beheaded even.
Now let’s consider the role of the Saints during the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ. From the same passage, we can see that the Tribulation martyrs are sitting upon ‘thrones’ and that ‘judgment was given unto them’. And from Daniel 7:22, ‘Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.’
During the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ, the Saints will ‘possess the kingdom’; They will have a ‘throne’ and ‘judgment’. This is the power that Satan will scatter during the ‘little season’, when he goes ‘out to deceive the nations’.
There is a big difference between the fate of the Saints during the Great Tribulation and the fate of the Saints after the Millennial Kingdom. What power does a martyr have that can be scattered? None. The Saints are not given power during the Great Tribulation, instead, they are ‘given into his hand (the Anti-Christ)’. According to Daniel 8:24, it’s the Anti-Christ that has power during the Tribulation, not the ‘holy people’.
However, the Saints of the Millennial Kingdom will have ‘thrones’, and their authority over the people will be scattered (or shattered) as Satan deceives the nations at the end of the thousand years. The vast majority of corruptible humanity, if not all, will rebel against the Saints of the Most High. Revelation 20:7-10, ‘And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.’
Daniel 12:7, ‘when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.’
This is clearly a reference to the end of the ‘little season’ which occurs after the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ. Satan will again tempt and deceive the nations. And just as it was with one man and one woman in the Garden of Eden, the selfishness of man’s heart will again turn the nations against the Word of God, even after spending a thousand years together with Him.
From Revelation 20:9-10 we also see that their end will not be prolonged any further. There is no battle, only judgment. The fire destroys the deceived, Satan is thrown into the Lake of Fire, and the Great White Throne Judgement begins.
The Great White Throne Judgement after the Millennial Kingdom is ‘the end of these wonders’.
The similar scope of Daniel chapters 7 and 11-12 (See Figures 2 and 3) The vision/dream revealed to Daniel in chapter 7 covers the same portion of human history as Daniel chapters 11 and 12; Although, the vision in chapter 7 is described symbolically in the form of four ‘beasts’. According to the interpretation given in Daniel 7:15-27, the succession of beasts represents the kingdoms of the earth that would rule from the time of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon until the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus the Christ. Similar to Daniel 11:36-12:1, Daniel 7:23-25 also describes the Great Tribulation; And just as Daniel 12:2-3 describes events that follow afterwards, Daniel 7:26-27 also continues through the Millennial Kingdom to eternity.
‘But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’
In both cases, the beginning and ending points are the same, but the Great Tribulation is neither the first, nor the last event mentioned. It is also interesting to note, that Daniel 7:28 8 finishes the vision with, ‘Hitherto is the end of the matter’. So, the ‘everlasting kingdom’ that ‘all dominions shall serve and obey’ is ‘the end of the matter’, not the Great Tribulation.
The meaning of ‘a time, times, and an half’ in the context of Daniel 12:7 (See Figure 4)
The beginning of the article mentioned that there are three well-known and contiguous prophecies, given in scripture, that span the remainder of human history from the time of Daniel until ‘the end of these wonders’. They are presented here as they appeared in Scripture.
An half: The 70-Weeks prophecy from Daniel 9:24-27
‘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. 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. 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. 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.’
The 70 ‘weeks’ are commonly interpreted to mean 70 x 7 years, or a total of 490 literal years. The first 483 years (69 ‘weeks’) have already been fulfilled; From the time that Nehemiah returned from Persia to rebuild Jerusalem, until Jesus the Christ rode into Jerusalem on ‘the foal of an ass’ (Matthew 21:5) and was crucified later that week. Those were the 483 years. The final 70th ‘week’ is understood to be the soon-coming seven-year Tribulation.
Times: The ‘After two days’ prophecy from Hosea 5:15-6:2
'I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.’
The ‘two days’ are commonly interpreted to mean 2,000 literal years. These are the two thousand years from the year of Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension (‘I will go and return to my place’) until the year that the Tribulation begins (70th ‘week’ of Daniel’s prophecy) which is ‘after two days’ when He will ‘revive us’. This two-thousand-year period is often called the ‘Times of the Gentiles’, the ‘Age of Grace’ or the ‘Church Age’. There is also a veiled reference to it in Luke 21:24 where Jesus said, ‘And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.’
Time: The Thousand-Year Reign of Christ from Revelation 20:2-7
‘And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison...’
Although given last, both in the sequence of events to come and in their original revelation, these ‘thousand-years’ are the unit of measure for the answer given in Daniel 12:7.
One ‘time’ is equal to 1,000 literal years.
‘Times’ is therefore equal to one ‘time’ and another ‘time’, or 2,000 years.
An half is equal to ‘half’ of one ‘time’, or 500 years (490 years prophetically).
*The remaining ten years can also be accounted for in scripture by including the 4 years from the Second Coming of Christ to the start of the Millennial Kingdom plus the 6 years of the ‘little season’ where Satan is loosed to deceive the nations. For more on these, please read the article and slideshow, ‘7000 years is not enough’ located at https://7049biblicaltimelineresearch.org/articles.html.
Thus, the meaning of ‘a time, times and an half’ is the collection of the three contiguous timebased prophecies that span the remainder of human history, when the messianic prophecy of Genesis 3:15 will be finished. Or, chronologically speaking, a time period of about 3,500 years.
This unit of measure is also referenced in Daniel 7:11-12, ‘I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.’
In the passage, the beast that was slain is the Anti-Christ, and the ‘rest of the beasts’ that ‘had their dominion taken away’ are the nations of people that survive the Great Tribulation and enter into the Millennial Kingdom. Notice that they are allowed to continue for ‘a season and time’. As we’ve already discussed, Revelation 20:2-7 tells us that Christ will reign for 1,000 years, or ‘a time’ as Daniel 12:7 puts it, and then Satan will be loosed for a ‘little season’. Time = 1,000 years (Millennial Kingdom) Season = ‘little season’ when Satan is loosed to deceive those nations There is yet another reference in Daniel 7:22, ‘Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom’.
The ‘time’ when ‘the saints possessed the kingdom’ will be the 1,000-year reign of Christ, the Millennial Kingdom. Not just any time, ‘the time’. You may recall that Revelation 20:2-7 uses the term ‘the thousand years’ on three occasions. ‘A thousand years’ is also used three times. In context, and in each case, ‘A thousand years’ delineates a length of the time, but ‘the thousand years’ identifies a specific event, an appointed time, the Millennial Kingdom. See Figure 1 for the Strong’s Concordance explanation of these terms (time, times, season) in each of their relevant occurrences.
New information presented after the answer (Daniel 12:8-13)
After the man in linen gave his answer, verse eight tells us that Daniel did not understand the answer provided. So, Daniel asked the question again, in a slightly different way, ‘O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?’ but the man did not answer this question, instead he responded with, ‘Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.’ At this point, all links to the previous discourse are broken. That matter was ‘closed up’.
But the man in linen continues to speak from verses 10-12 and then verse 13 is the end of the book.
‘Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.’
Many have attempted to make a connection between the information given in Daniel 12:11-12 (bolded portion) and the answer that was given in verse 7, but the narrative of verse nine clearly prevents it. The man in linen had already ‘sealed’ the previous part of their discussion. Therefore, the following verses, 10-12, can only present new information that is not related to the previously sealed words. Otherwise, the man clothed in linen lied in verse nine.
Here is the new information from Daniel 12:11-12, ‘And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.’
Notice that the text of Daniel 12:11 is different from the Q&A in Daniel 12:6-7, in that, the latter actually does come with explicit starting parameters.
Starting parameters: ‘from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up’.
The ending parameter is also specified as 1,290 days later, and a blessing is upon those that wait until the 1,335th day.
These parameters are in complete contrast to those of the question in Daniel 12:6. The timeframe of the new information given in Daniel 12:11-12 does correspond to very similar information found in Daniel 7:25, 9:27, Revelation 12:6, 12:14, and 13:5. All of these correlate directly with the three-and-a-half-year timespan and events of the Great Tribulation. But the man in linen clearly separated this new information from the Q&A in Daniel 12:6-7.
Conclusion
The Great Tribulation is not the beginning or ending subject of the Daniel 11-12 oration and therefore cannot be the subject of the question, ‘How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?’ (Daniel 12:6). Thus, it would be inconsistent to connect the Great Tribulation to either portion of the answer.
The first part of the answer given in Daniel 12:7, ‘it shall be for a time, times, and an half;’ cannot share the same meaning as the similar phrases found in Daniel 7:25 and Revelation 12:14 (See Figure 1). However, it has been shown that there are three contiguous time-based prophecies that are fully compatible with that portion of the answer.
Time (1,000 years) = The Thousand-Year Reign of Christ from Revelation 20:2-7
Times (2,000 years) = The ‘After two days’ prophecy from Hosea 5:15-6:2
An Half (490 years) = The 70-Weeks prophecy from Daniel 9:24-27
*The unit of measure
The second part of the answer given in Daniel 12:7, ‘and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.’ is not a reference to any portion of the Great Tribulation but has instead been shown to refer to the disposition of the Saints after the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ. This explanation is also relevant to the first part of the answer, and meaningful in the context of the question.
The new information presented after Daniel 12:9 cannot be applied to the oration given before since those words were, ‘closed up and sealed till the time of the end.’ 12 In the context of Daniel 12:6-7, the phrase ‘a time, times, and an half’ does not mean the three-and-a-half-year Great Tribulation. It is now understood to be a very fitting description of the three primary time-based prophecies that extend from the end of the Babylonian Exile to the Great White Throne Judgement.
Figure 1 (Strong’s Concordance explanation of relevant terms)
Daniel 7:12 (season)H2166 (time) H5732 ‘As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.’
Daniel 7:22 (time) H2166 ‘Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.’
Daniel 7:25 (times)H2166 (time) H5732 (times)H5732 (time)H5732 ‘And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.’
Daniel 12:7 (time) H4150 (times)H4150 (half)H2677 ‘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.’
Revelation 12:14 (time) G2540 (times)G2540 (time)G2540 ‘And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.’
H2166: 'zman zem-awn' (Aramaic) from 2165; the same as 2165:--season, time.
H5732: 'iddan id-dawn' (Aramaic) from a root corresponding to that of 5708; a set time; technically, a year:--time.
H4150: 'mow`ed mo-ade' or moled {mo-ade'}; or (feminine) moweadah (2Chronicles 8:13) {mo-aw-daw'}; from 3259; properly, an appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season; specifically, a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand):--appointed (sign, time), (place of, solemn) assembly, congregation, (set, solemn) feast, (appointed, due) season, solemn(-ity), synogogue, (set) time (appointed).
H2677: 'chetsiy khay-tsee' from 2673; the half or middle:--half, middle, mid(-night), midst, part, two parts.
G2540: 'kairos kahee-ros' of uncertain affinity; an occasion, i.e. set or proper time:--X always, opportunity, (convenient, due) season, (due, short, while) time, a while. Compare 5550.
(Reference information copied directly from search results found at elihay.com on 1/18/2024)
Figure 5 (Progression of the Kings as Mentioned in the Book of Daniel)
Jehoiakim (King of Judah)
Year of Reign: 2 Daniel 1
Nebuchadnezzar
Year of Reign: 2 Daniel 2
Year of Reign: Unknown Daniel 3, 4
Evilmerodach (Not mentioned in Daniel)
Belshazar
Year of Reign: 1 Daniel 7
Year of Reign: 3 Daniel 8
Year of Reign: Last Daniel 5
Cyrus Year of Reign: 3 Daniel 10
Ahasuerus (Not mentioned in Daniel)
Darius (Son of Ahasuerus)
Year of Reign: 1 Daniel 9, Daniel 11
Year of Reign: Unknown Daniel 6
Artaxerxes (Not mentioned in Daniel)