Daniel 12:7
And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
The solemn oath by Him that lives forever fixes a definite span of time, times, and a half, which reaches its close when the scattering of the power of the holy people is accomplished, and at that point all these things are finished. The prophecy was not fully grasped at first, for its words were sealed until the time of the end. When that time comes many are purified and tried, the wicked do not understand while the wise do understand, making clear that final events are approaching and that God's purposes will surely be fulfilled.
Its meaning is opened by God to those who are prepared to receive it, so that truths hidden from some professed Advent believers are made known to faithful people. It belongs among the prophetic time periods that are meant to be studied and can be understood on the day-for-a-year principle, with the leading periods of Daniel and Revelation understood to expire about the present age of the world, where the chronology can be sound even when the events expected at its close were misunderstood. It is to be read attentively and to stand out conspicuously together with the Revelation given on the Isle of Patmos.
It is a warning that must be understood before the time of the end in order to prepare character to endure the final test and proving. It warns of events to come and gives signs of the times that call for urgent attention to prepare for the great issues ahead, though those warnings can be obscured when minds are absorbed in lesser matters. In the last days severe trials will test everyone's faith, so the old waymarks and past experiences must be revived, the appointed work must be done, and the established points of faith greatly blessed in God's providence must be held fast to the end against every attempt to make them of none effect.