Daniel 12:11-13 - Blessed is the one who waits

12:11,12

We have another three and a half years/time, times and half a time thing here. This time we are told there will be 1290 days after “abomination that causes desolation is set up”. Then “blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1335 days”. We can take this to mean there will be a significantly long period of rising evil, it will seem too much to bear. But the end is then near, and the one who holds on for a little longer will be blessed. I believe that the prime messages of the apocalyptic sections of Daniel, and of Revelation itself, is to encourage us to hold on in the most difficult times. There is no promise of an easy road, rather a very difficult one, but our final victory is assured.

12:13

These things will not happen in Daniel’s time, neither the partial fulfillments, nor the final end. By the way, if we follow those who maintain that the book was written in the second century BC, this last chapter would seem to mean that the book is essentially dishonest, which it is not. Daniel will rest, i.e. he will die, then be raised at “the end of days” to receive his “allotted inheritance”. So how does the first half fit with the second half? The actions of Daniel and his friends demonstrate to us how we are to live in the midst of an evil kingdom. Daniel maintained his integrity, his faithfulness to the Lord. He also respected human rulers. They faced great dangers, but also experienced help from the Lord. Daniel’s life is an example that we need to follow.