Daniel 12

As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you. – Daniel 12:13 NLT

This is it – the final chapter in this amazing book – and it closes with a glimpse into the distant future. God gives Daniel a view of what is yet to come. While much of what He revealed to Daniel in chapter 11 had to do with Antiochus Epiphanes and events that have already taken place, chapter 12 contains details about events that have yet to take place – even in our day. They most likely refer to the like seven year period – part of God's 70 sevens (chapter 9). God is revealing to Daniel the final phase of history before Christ returns to the earth. He refers to it as a period of unparalleled persecution of the people of God – the Jews. "Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence" (Daniel 12:1 NLT). "When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened" (Daniel 12:7 NLT). This all seems to be pointing to the Tribulation, the seven year period of time right before the Second Coming of the Lord. It will be marked by intense persecution of the Jews because of the rise of the Antichrist – a powerful political figure who will make the exploits of Antiochus Epiphanes pale in comparison.

Daniel is given some shocking news that would have been difficult for even him to understand. He has watched his people suffer through exile for almost 70 years and now he is told that their persecution will last until the end of time. It will not get any better. While they were returning to the land of Israel even as Daniel was receiving this final prophecy, they would still end up scattered all across the planet in the years to come. Wars, persecutions, and countless attempts to exterminate the Jews over the centuries have left them a shell of what they once were. And while the occupy part of the original Promised Land today, they remain under constant attack, with other nations intent on their annihilation. But God is not done. He is not finished with His people. Their suffering will continue, but there is a day coming when He will restore them. There is one last great tribulation, but then His Son will return. There is hope. There is a happy ending to this story, because God has written it and He will fulfill it. So the angel tells Daniel to "go your way until the end." He gives Daniel an incredible assurance that all will work out, including Daniel's own resurrection to new life in Christ's future kingdom. Daniel will die, but he will rise again, so that he can spend eternity with the God in whom he had placed his hope and trust all those years living in captivity in Babylon. Daniel could rest knowing that God was going to faithfully complete what He had promised to do. And we can rest in that same promise.

Father, we tend to look at time in short segments, forgetting that You exist outside of time. You are not limited by time. You are eternal and so to You, past, present and future are all one and the same. To you, the life of Daniel is not ancient history, but as vivid as if it was happening right now. You can see the future like it is taking place at this very moment. I don't fully understand it all, but I am so glad that the future is not a mystery to You. It is as clear as the last 60 seconds is to me. You know what is going to happen and it is all within Your divine plan. You hold the future of mankind in Your hands. You hold my future in Your hands. And I can rest in the knowledge that You are not anxious, worried, or ignorant of what is going to happen tomorrow or a thousand years from now. Amen