And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
The book of Daniel was written during a period of severe oppression for the Jewish people and uses apocalyptic literature — a genre of vivid, symbolic visions — to describe historical conflict and God's ultimate victory. Chapter 7 records a dream Daniel had featuring four terrifying beasts representing world empires, and a final boastful figure described as a 'little horn' who rises to dominate. This verse describes what that figure does: mocks God, persecutes God's faithful people (called 'saints'), and attempts to alter sacred times and laws — possibly religious calendars or God's moral order. The phrase 'time, times and half a time' is widely interpreted as 3.5 years — a bounded period of intense suffering. Historically, many connect this to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a brutal ruler who desecrated Jerusalem's temple in 167 BC; others also read it as pointing toward a future figure. Either way, the critical detail is that even the darkness has a number.
God, this verse is hard, and I will not pretend otherwise. You see the suffering of your people — now and across all of history — and you have not looked away. Help me trust that the darkness has a boundary you already know. Hold close those who are suffering most tonight. Amen.
This is not a comfortable verse. There is no warm resolution here, no pivot to triumph at the end of the sentence. It describes a world where a God-mocking power wins — for a while. Where the faithful are handed over to suffering. If you came looking for something to get you through an easy week, this is not it. And yet it is in the Bible, which means God wanted you to know this part of the story too. The strangest comfort in this verse is the easiest to miss: the suffering has a number. 'Time, times and half a time.' Not forever. Not indefinitely. Not until someone finally gets around to stopping it. The darkness has a measurement, which means it has a limit that God already set before it began. If you are in a stretch where everything feels like it is going backwards — where the wrong things keep winning, where your faith is being squeezed somewhere no one else can see, where you lie awake at 3 AM wondering if any of this is real — this ancient vision says something quiet and stubborn: God is not surprised, and the clock is running. That does not make it easy. But it makes it finite.
What does 'time, times and half a time' suggest about how God views the suffering described here — and how does the fact that it has a measurement change what the verse means to you?
Have you ever experienced a prolonged stretch where your faith felt like it was under real, sustained pressure — what kept you holding on, or what caused you to let go for a while?
This verse shows God allowing suffering to continue for a measured period rather than stopping it immediately — how do you sit with that tension honestly, without either explaining it away or losing hope?
How does it change your perspective to remember that Christians around the world are experiencing real persecution right now — and what, if anything, does this verse ask of you in response?
Where in your life are you quietly conforming to pressure rather than standing firm in what you believe — and what would it look like to hold your ground this week, even in a small way?
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Revelation 12:6
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time , and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Revelation 12:14
And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
Daniel 2:21
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2 Thessalonians 2:3
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Revelation 13:5
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Daniel 12:11
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Revelation 13:11
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2 Thessalonians 2:4
He will speak words against the Most High [God] and wear down the saints of the Most High, and he will intend to change the times and the law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, [two] times, and half a time [three and one-half years].
AMP
He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
ESV
'He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
NASB
He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.
NIV
He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.
NKJV
He will defy the Most High and oppress the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws, and they will be placed under his control for a time, times, and half a time.
NLT
Then he will blaspheme the High God, persecute the followers of the High God, and try to get rid of sacred worship and moral practice. God's holy people will be persecuted by him for a time, two times, half a time.
MSG