Daniel 12:5-13
Wait and Go Your Way
5Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank.
6One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long until the fulfillment of these wonders?”
7And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, and times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has finally been shattered, all these things will be completed.”
8I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”
9“Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
10Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
11And from the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation set up, there will be 1,290 days.
12Blessed is he who waits and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
13But as for you, go on your way until the end. You will rest, and then you will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”
Berean Standard Bible
Daniel sees two others standing on opposite banks of the river. One asks the man clothed in linen how long it will be until the end of these wonders. The man raises both hands toward heaven and swears by Him who lives forever that it will be for a time, times, and half a time.
When the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end, all these things will be finished. Daniel hears but does not understand, so he asks what the outcome will be. The answer says that the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.
Many will be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly and not understand. From the removal of the regular burnt offering and the abomination of desolation, there will be 1,290 days; blessed is the one who waits and arrives at 1,335 days. Daniel is told to go his way and rest, then rise to his allotted place at the end of the days.
Daniel hears a measured answer but remains without the full understanding he wants. The promise that the words are sealed until the time of the end places knowledge under God's timing. The numbers in the passage are part of the vision's revealed language, but they are not an invitation to turn faith into a calculation that claims to know the day.
The final instruction is surprisingly ordinary: go your way, rest, and rise to your allotted place. Daniel's faithful life does not depend on solving every mystery before he can continue. A household can wait for God's justice without becoming passive, practice holiness without pretending to see the whole future, and trust that the God who keeps the end can also keep His people through the waiting.
Questions
1 What question is asked by the river?
AnswerThe question asks how long it will be until the end of the wonders. Even in a vision of God's future, the waiting people need an honest account of time.
2 Why does Daniel ask again?
AnswerHe hears the answer but does not understand it. The passage allows a faithful person to receive a true word and still admit that its meaning is beyond him.
3 What happens during the waiting?
AnswerMany are purified, made white, and refined, while the wicked continue in wickedness. The delay reveals rather than automatically transforms the posture of each person.
4 What final word is given to Daniel?
AnswerHe is told to go his way and rest, then rise to his allotted place at the end of the days. His calling is not to calculate every detail but to remain faithful.
What This Means for Us
Daniel is not rewarded with a complete timetable. He receives a difficult answer, admits that he does not understand, and is told to continue his way and rest.
Waiting in this passage is active but not frantic. The blessed person arrives by enduring the appointed time, not by manufacturing certainty or treating every headline as a code.
Give your household permission to live faithfully with unresolved questions. Do the work that is clear, rest when you can, and leave the hidden timetable with God.
Prayer
LORD, give us patience when Your timing is hidden. Help us wait without panic, work without presumption, rest without despair, and trust that our lives remain held in Your hands until the end. Amen.