Daniel 12 Devotional

Rest, Then Rise

“But 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.””Daniel 12:13 (BSB)

Daniel's last vision reaches the end of history. There will be a time of distress unlike any before it, but everyone whose name is written in the book will be delivered (12:1). Then comes a plain promise: many who lie dead in the earth will wake up, some to everlasting life and others to everlasting shame (12:2). Jesus spoke the same way, saying that all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out (John 5:28-29).

Daniel asks how it will end. He hears of a time, times, and half a time, and of numbered days, and he admits honestly that he does not understand (12:7-8). He receives no timetable. He is told to go on his way, because the words are sealed until the end (12:9). Finally he receives a personal promise. He will rest, and at the end of the days he will rise to receive his inheritance (12:13). You need not decode the future to face it, only know who holds it, and that his people will rise.

To think about: How does the promise of resurrection change the way you face what is uncertain about your future?