“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.”
My Notes
What Does Daniel 12:2 Mean?
Daniel receives one of the clearest Old Testament statements about resurrection and final judgment: many who sleep in the dust shall awake. Some to everlasting life. Some to shame and everlasting contempt. The two destinations are permanent.
"Sleep in the dust of the earth" — death is described as sleep, and the dead are in the dust (echoing Genesis 3:19). The sleep is temporary. The awakening is coming.
"Some to everlasting life" — the first group awakens to life that never ends. The everlasting (olam) means perpetual, without terminus. The life is not just long. It is without end.
"Some to shame and everlasting contempt" — the second group awakens to something permanent and devastating: shame (reproach, disgrace) and contempt (abhorrence, revulsion). Both are everlasting — matching the duration of the life the righteous receive.
Jesus echoed this verse in John 5:28-29. The dual resurrection — some to life, some to condemnation — is confirmed by the one who has authority over both.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does 'sleeping in the dust' as a metaphor for death suggest about its temporary nature?
- 2.How does the same duration — everlasting — applying to both life and contempt shape your urgency?
- 3.What determines which awakening a person experiences?
- 4.How does this Old Testament verse being confirmed by Jesus (John 5:28-29) strengthen the doctrine?
Devotional
Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. The dead are sleeping. The dust is temporary housing. And the awakening is coming — not metaphorical awakening but bodily resurrection from the ground.
Some to everlasting life. Life without end. Life without decay. Life that begins at the awakening and never stops. The righteous who sleep will open their eyes to something permanent and glorious.
And some to shame and everlasting contempt. The other awakening. Same resurrection. Different destination. Shame — exposed, disgraced, without defense. Contempt — the revulsion of the universe directed at what chose darkness over light. And everlasting — it does not end.
The two destinies are both permanent. The everlasting applies equally to the life and to the contempt. The duration is the same. The experience is opposite.
Daniel wrote this centuries before Jesus confirmed it. The dual resurrection — life for some, condemnation for others — was revealed in the Old Testament and affirmed in the New. The doctrine is not an invention of later theology. It is ancient, consistent, and settled.
The dust is not the end. The sleeping will awake. The question is not whether you will rise. It is which awakening will be yours — everlasting life or everlasting contempt. The answer is determined now, not then.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
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Cross References
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