Daniel 12:5-13
Go Your Way until the End
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 hears one heavenly figure ask how long until the wonders are fulfilled. The answer speaks of a time, times, and half a time, and of the shattering of the holy people's power. Daniel hears that the words are sealed until the time of the end, that many will be purified, and that the wicked will not understand while the wise will. The numbers 1,290 and 1,335 are given, and Daniel is told to go his way, rest, and stand in his allotted place at the end of the days.
The book ends with both numbers and limits on understanding. Daniel is not told to control the timetable; he is told to go his way, rest, and trust that his place and future are held by God. The order of the details shows how power, fear, wisdom, or hope is working.
These numbers have generated careful but differing interpretations. Do not set dates, declare a failed prophecy because your timetable differs, or treat uncertainty as evidence that another Christian is faithless. Faithfulness here is not a performance of certainty; it is a truthful next step. In “Go Your Way until the End,” that restraint keeps application close to the text.
Give each listener room to say what they noticed before correcting or explaining. Let the final instruction shape the family: do today's faithful work, make room for rest, and leave what God has not made clear in God's hands. Hope can be patient without becoming passive. Let adults make space for honesty without turning questions into a test of loyalty.
Bring the reading into the week by choosing to tell the truth about power and seek wise help. Hope does not erase the hard part of the scene, but it keeps the hard part from becoming final. The aim is faithful action, not control over the future.
Questions
1 What is happening in this reading?
AnswerThe reading centers on “Go Your Way until the End” and shows a situation in which human choices meet God's judgment, care, or authority.
2 What should we notice?
AnswerLook at the actions and words in “Go Your Way until the End.” They show what the passage wants its hearers to notice, without requiring a theory imported from somewhere else.
3 What response does it invite?
AnswerIt invites the family to practice steady faithfulness without promising an outcome, even while some questions remain unresolved.
4 What could a family practice?
AnswerA small response connected to “Go Your Way until the End” would be to confess specifically and make repair where possible.
What This Means for Us
“Go Your Way until the End” gives the family a faithful center for the day. The household can remain humble about mystery and still obey what is clear.
Put that response into practice without using the passage to dominate another person. Name one honest next step and take it without waiting for perfect confidence.
Keep the family's response truthful and concrete. Daniel does not give us control over history, but it does teach us to worship God, resist pride, seek wisdom, and remain faithful under pressure. Let the hope here make the household more truthful and more patient.
Prayer
We pray: God of the appointed end, teach us to rest and remain faithful; keep us near what this reading makes clear. Give our household courage without recklessness, humility without silence, and hope without denial. Help us practice faithful love today. Amen.