"GO TOWARD THE END"

What did the angel mean when he told Daniel:  "As for you yourself, go toward the end"? The end of what? Well, since Daniel was almost 100 years old, apparently this was a reference to the end of his own life, which likely was quite near.  The angel was urging Daniel  to endure faithfully until death.  But doing so would not necessarily easy.  Daniel had lived to see Babylon overthrown and a remnant of the Jewish exiles return to Judah and Jerusalem.  That must have brought the aged prophet much joy.  There is no record , though, that he joined  in that trek.  He may well have  been too old and fail by that  time. Or perhaps it was Jehovah's will for him to remain in Babylon.  In any case, one cannot help  but wonder if Daniels felt somewhat wistful as his countrymen left for Judah. 

Daniel no doubt gathered great strength from the angel's kind statement:  "Go toward the end,"  We might be  reminded of the words Jesus Christ spoke some six centuries later:  "He that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved." (Matthew 24"13) No doubt that is what Daniel did.  He endured to the end, faithfully running the race for life to its very finish.  That could be one reason whey he is favorably referred to later in God's Word.  (Hebrews 11:3, 33) What enabled Daniel to endure to the end?  the record of his life helps us with the answer.

Next time: ENDURING AS A STUDENT OF GOD'S WORD

From the book: PAY ATTENTION TO DANIEL'S PROPHECY! 1999