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"Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever."
(Daniel 12:3)
Last week, I finished my reading and study of the amazing Book of Daniel. The Book is primarily remembered for three reasons: the story of Daniel's three Hebrew friends who were delivered by God out of the fiery furnace; when Daniel was rescued from the mouth of lions; and the detailed prophecy contained in the Book. I read the same chapter for two days each until I completed reading all 12 chapters in 24 days. I changed up how I read Scripture. Instead of speeding through and not fully grasping what I read, I have slowed down, read the same chapter consecutive days, and read commentaries that help with understanding the biblical text.
There are things in the Bible that are hard to understand, especially related to spiritual warfare and prophecy, both of which this Book contains a good bit. As for warfare, Daniel was visited by an angel who informed Daniel that he had been battling the prince of Persia: "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia." This verse reminds me of Ephesians 6:12: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
There are some hard-to-understand passages in Daniel related to eschatology, the study of the last days. But I love reading it and studying in an effort to understand what God is saying in His Word. This much I do know: God has a plan for His people, there will be persecution until the end, the Antichrist will arise and cause great havoc, but Jesus will come again and destroy him with ease!
You and I might not grasp all that Daniel is saying as related to spiritual warfare and prophesy, but we can grasp what our mission is. It is the same mission that Jesus gave all His followers in Matthew 28:19-20, the Great Commission. Our primary task, given to all the children of God, is to do what Daniel did, and that is "turn many to righteousness" (Daniel 12:3). The way we do this is by living for Jesus and speaking to others about Jesus. We must do both to be effective witnesses for our Lord, or as one pastor put it, we are to live it out and put it out!
May the Lord bless you with a great weekend. I pray that He gives you multiple opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with many!
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