Daniel 12:6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Thus, with the power to question, they ask, How long will this conclusion last? Yet he who stands at the water's edge, as one who understands the divine secrets, responds:

And I observed, Daniel, and behold, it appeared as if two others were positioned, one on this side of the riverbank and the other on the opposite bank. I addressed the man clothed in linen, who stood above the waters of the river, asking him, When will the conclusion of these wondrous occurrences be? Daniel witnessed two angels standing on either bank of the river Babylon, which, based on the preceding vision, I deduce to be the Tigris, referred to in Hebrew as Eddesel, even though it is not explicitly named. However, he did not question those standing on both banks, but rather the one he had encountered at the outset (previously mentioned in 10:5), who wore linen garments, termed baddim in Hebrew. This angel stood over the waters of the river Babylon, treading upon them.

He inquired of the man dressed in linen, who was positioned above the river waters, "Until when will the wonders you have described and their purification be completed?" The prophet recounts that he stood in silence, hesitant to question. However, two others who stood across the river asked the man clad in linen, who floated above the waters, "What is the duration of these alarming and dreadful occurrences? When will we experience liberation from them?"