“But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will rise to your inheritance at the end of the days" (Daniel 12:13).
The Book of Daniel ends with a blizzard of end-time events and symbolic dates that even Daniel didn’t understand (12:8), and, and in my opinion, no one else has satisfactorily deciphered. Daniel stands where we stand, confused and conflicted by the bedlam of our days. What are we to do?
The angel's answer is simplicity itself: "Go your way to the end and then you shall rest."
Go your way; do the work God has given you to do. Leave the execution of justice to God and his infinite wisdom. Trust him to set everything and everyone right in the end.
And "then, you shall rise to gain your inheritance at the end of the days."
This is God's pledge and our solid hope, the answer to all we most desire but may have missed out on here on earth. Those who are lonely will find eternal companionship and love; those who have struggled long win sin and failure will be given the goodness of Christ; those who have lived in perpetual conflict will find order and peace; those who have been wearied by life's troubles will find rest. This is our sure inheritance at the end of our days: We shall "shine like the stars forever more" (12:2).
When once our heavenly guided soul shall clime,
Then all this Earthy grossness quit,
Attired with Stars, we shall for ever sit,
Triumphing over Death and Chance and Time.—John Milton
David Roper
11.10.20
