Daniel 12:10,

Daniel 12, the final chapter of Daniel, continues the vision of the angel who is telling Daniel about the times of the end. In this chapter it is fairly obvious that he is talking about the end of time, since he talks about the dead rising ‘at this time’, and then tells Daniel in the final verse, that he will arise to his inheritance ‘at the end of the days.’ By logical connection, the ‘time’ that he refers to throughout the chapter is in fact the end of the world as we know it. Remember that the events of Daniel 12 happen around the same time as the events from chapter 11 (see Daniel 12:1, for the connective ‘at that time’).

We heard about the abomination of desolation in chapter 11, and he appears again in chapter 12. He takes away the daily sacrifices in the temple, from which point there are precisely 1290 days until the end ( = 3.53 years). This fits with the earlier description (verse 7) of there being ‘time, times and half a time’ (ie. 3.5 years). We also know about this time that it will be a period of great ‘trouble’ for that nation of Israel, ‘such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time’. We know some nations are going through very ‘troubling’ times at the moment, including Israel, but this last trouble will dwarf them all.

This is all in course of understanding the chapter – which is a hard task, and one not thoroughly achieved by the above at all. For a thorough understanding (as thorough as it can be understood, given the words of verse 4: ‘But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end’), there are many books and articles written with comparison to both other parts of scripture and history. Be careful though; so many theories abound on this topic, ranging from true to believable but false, to outright fantastical – and it takes discernment to pluck the wheat out of the chaff as it were. In either case, we beg the question: what can we learn from this chapter for daily life?

‘Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.’ (Daniel 12:10)

This is talking about the people that live in these last days, however I think it rings true of people in general as well. Note that it talks about three groups of people, of which two are intersecting: the purified, the wicked, and the wise. Obviously the purified and the wise are intersecting groups, if not equivalent groups. I would say by the context that indeed the latter is the case. Now notice that it says many shall be purified, made white, and refined. I skipped over this the first time I read it, but then I realised something: why would something that has been made white need to be refined? Something that has attained purity no longer needs to be refined, right? Well, that is what we are, isn’t it? We, as Christians, are pure, having been made white through the blood of Jesus Christ – and yet God refines us still, brings us closer and closer to Him. Through trials and successes He cuts away false pride, sin and spiritual weakness, refining us, honing us.

Secondly, we notice that the wicked do wickedly (ie. The function from being wicked to doing wicked things is an injection, but not a surjection. For the less mathematically minded: In God’s mind, doing wicked things doesn’t entirely equate with being wicked, but in this case being wicked means that you will do wicked things). And also, the wicked shall not understand. Note that this is a frequently mentioned truth in the Bible – the wicked, or evil, don’t understand. This ties in with faith – faith is a leap, a putting of trust in something you can’t completely prove. To be righteous, we must have faith (and if we have faith (in God and the Gospel), then we are made righteous), and so the wicked do not have faith. But it is this faith that enables the understanding of things based on the faith. That is, I am not going to understand why abortion is wrong, for instance, without first believing in the sanctity of life, which I won’t believe in unless I believe in the Creation of that life by an all-powerful and loving God. And to believe in God, I must have faith. Without faith, understanding of God’s purposes and designs is completely lost. This is why the wicked will not understand anything that is happening in the last days. But the wise, those who are righteous and have been purified and made white – they will understand the times.

The question is – what do we not understand because we have not had faith in something God has said? Let’s ask ourselves that and come humbly before God ‘humbly accepting the word planted in you, which can save you’ (James 1:21)