Daniel 12:4–13 (ESV)

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”

Poor Daniel. He’s told to just shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end. Yet, he still doesn’t understand the prophesy. I heard, but I did not understand. So, he tries to at least get a summary of the ending. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?”

No such luck. The command to seal the words is simply repeated. He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.

Then Daniel gets a few final details—just as cryptic as all the others. There’s little agreement among the experts on what these details represent. So, what’s the point?

The answer is encapsulated in the cliché, “You’ll know it when you see it.” Right now, everything doesn’t make sense, but when it all comes true, it will. That’s why the angel said, “Those who are wise shall understand.” in the future tense. They don’t understand now, but they will.

The takeaway for us is that as bad as things are right now, this can’t be the end times because this pattern isn’t here.

We’ll know it when we see it, and we’re not seeing it.

Jesus did the same thing with his disciples. He said a bunch of things about his death and resurrection that make sense to us in retrospect but not to them at the time. Then when it all came to pass, suddenly all the dots connected, and they understood what he had been talking about all along.

So, as with all the other passages about the end times, forewarned is forearmed.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.