Acts 1:6-11 & Daniel 12:5-13
The news has everyone on edge lately. Consider all the heat over Israel right now and how natural it is to see conflict over there and begin thinking about the return of Jesus. And his return, along with the signs, are easy to talk about. There are currently over 12 billion search results for the phrase end times prophecy, offering with it over 12 billion ideas on how the world will end. This is a popular and intense subject – perfect for late night surfing.
This isn’t a new phenomenon – people have been focused on the ending of the world as long as there has been a world to end. Biblical characters are part of that! Let’s take a look at some end times conversations in scripture and compare them for a deeper understanding. I know there are a lot of passages that we could dive into, but these two really speak to the heart of the matter of looking into the end times.
An Old Testament Look at the Future
Christian scholars can’t agree on whether Daniel’s prophecy at the end refers to the destruction of the temple or the end of history. They can agree, however, that “no one has been able to suggest a widely satisfactory explanation of the two time periods given” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Daniel, 211). Daniel is given data, yes, but not an answer – nothing definitive for him to be satisfied about the end. Remember, Daniel has spent so much of his life wrapped up in the service of the enemy, if there is anyone in scripture who longs for the end, he would be at the top of that list. Yet, the details of the end are not for even Daniel to know, let alone us. God clearly offers Daniel the promise that an end will come and justice will be served, but that’s really it and that really sums up all of his prophetic visions. While it may be frustrating to not get more details, we need to understand that the details are not the point.
Instead of the answer Daniel seeks, he is instead told to go back to work. The phrase “go your way” does refer to Daniel getting back to ordinary business (his post in King Cyrus’ administration). This seemingly frustrating ending to the book of Daniel is fitting for the theme of his life – living as an exile – and really shows us that many have been asking the wrong question from the passage. Instead of asking “when will the end happen?” a better question would be to ask “what should we do until the end happens?” That question is clearly answered in this passage – get back to the mission (work) at hand. For us, this is the gospel.
A New Testament Look at the Future
The disciples, just like Daniel, were wanting things to come to an end. To someone from the Old Testament, looking forward to the Messiah meant looking to the end – the arrival of the Messiah was to be the end of the injustice and heartache. While the disciples understood that Jesus had to die for the sins of the people, they still assumed that it was the end. This was their posture here at the beginning of Acts. The work is done, now, right? No. It is not for them to know when the end will happen. That, and they have a job left to do.
The promise to be his witness killed that thought. He said this in future tense (he could have said “are”, denoting that they are mid action at least. But their job hadn’t started yet. And it will end with the ends of the earth – talk about a big task! And it clearly was, as it’s not yet finished as of today, 2000+ years later. They were told the same as Daniel – you don’t get to know the details, only get to work. It’s that simple.
Next Steps
These two stories put a couple of things into clarity: 1) Christ will come back and justice will come for everyone; 2) We will never know when Christ will return; 3) Because of that, we are to be ready at all times, and 4) Being ready to a believer means doing the work of ministry – being his witness.
- Don’t get lost in the details – Revelation can be an endless and even nightmare-ish exploration of your imagination of the future. Instead, stick to what we know: 1) He is coming back, 2) we don’t know when, so 3), stay on mission.
- Don’t die on unnecessary hills. It can be fun to discuss with others, but there are so many variables that it’s almost impossible to agree. All that matters is what we know.
- Don’t ignore the warnings. I don’t mean to stay glued on Fox news – instead turn off the news and head out the door. Being his witness requires relationships with people who don’t know Jesus. Go make friends!
Christ is our coming King and will return with justice and power. I can’t wait. Until then, we have a job to do.
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