Daniel 12:13

The Lord then dismissed the aged prophet. He was to go his way to the end. The Lord may have had the end of Daniel’s life in mind, or He may have meant that he should continue with his affairs, including dying, until the end of the age would come. The first option seems preferable since the Lord appears to have been viewing Daniel’s life in sequence. First he would rest, in death, then he would rise again (cf. Daniel 12:2), and then he would receive his reward from God (cf. Daniel 12:3). His resurrection and recognition would occur at the end of the age, namely, at the end of the times of the Gentiles.

Thus this great book closes with a reminder that the present age of Gentile domination is not all that God has in store for humankind. There is another age coming, beyond the present one, in which Jesus Christ will reign in righteousness and holiness on the earth (cf. Isaiah 11:9; Zechariah 9:10). Christians should look forward to the beginning of this Messianic age and pray for its coming (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2).

Whereas this book would have encouraged the Jews of Daniel’s day, it has become increasingly encouraging to God’s people as history has unfolded. Today we can see, as never before, how God has fulfilled His predictions exactly in the past. This gives us great confidence as we anticipate His faithfulness to those promises that still remain unfulfilled.