Walk On

“O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” (The angel) 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: 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 (Daniel 12:8-12).

Daniel asked, "What shall be the end (Hebrew: “the afterward”) of all these things" (i.e., “How long will our troubles last?”) The angel answered with numbers, typical of the cryptic nature of the book: “The end will come in 1290 days, plus 45 days.”

Uh, ‘scuse me?

Commentators have tried to make sense of these numbers for 2500 years or more, in general taking them to refer to the last days of the Greek king, Antiochus IV who, in a fit of pique desecrated the temple in Jerusalem by sacrificing a pig on the altar and burning the sacred scrolls. 

Most interpreters try to fit the “days” into the period between this desecration (the so-called, “Abominable Desolation”) and the rededication of the temple under the Maccabees, but the problem, without going into detail, is simply that the numbers don’t work. Perhaps someday we’ll uncover other data that will enable us to work with these numerical parameters, though we must remember that the angel did inform Daniel that “the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.”  

In the meantime, while the experts try to work out the problems of this text, can we not see here a gentle admonition to endure hardship joyfully, confidently, hopefully for days and days and days and then for a few days more? Did not Jesus pronounce a special blessing on those who keep on keeping on to the end (Matthew 24:45. 46).

In that spirit, then, there’s a word for old Daniel...and for you and for me: "As for you, go your way (“walk on”) to the end. And then you shall rest and stand in your allotted place at the end of the days" (Daniel 2:13).

Walk on, despite the moral darkness that surrounds you. Walk on, though your days are weary and long. Walk on thri=ough grief, fear, pain and loss. Walk on, “one foot up and one foot down: this is the way to London Town,” and to Heaven and to your eternal inheritance. And then, you will rest. 

“Those who are wise will understand” (12:8).

Up-Hill

Does the road wind up-hill all the way? 

   Yes, to the very end. 

Will the day’s journey take the whole long day? 

   From morn to night, my friend. 

But is there for the night a resting-place? 

   A roof for when the slow dark hours begin. 

May not the darkness hide it from my face? 

   You cannot miss that inn. 

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night? 

   Those who have gone before. 

Then must I knock, or call when just in sight? 

   They will not keep you standing at that door. 

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak? 

   Of labour you shall find the sum. 

Will there be beds for me and all who seek? 

   Yea, rest for all who come. —Christine Rossetti

David Roper

12.4.18