Daniel 12 (Pt 2)

Daniel 12:10 (ESV)

Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.

“Many shall purify themselves . . . . And none of the wicked shall understand.” In these days of high anxiety and political divide, it is good for us to be reminded that people are not our enemy. “Many shall purify themselves.” That is the work of the gospel. “None of the wicked shall understand.” That is why people are not our enemy. These two truths stand in stark contrast, but they come together in Daniel 12:10. 

It is the gospel that transforms lives. It is the gospel of salvation by grace through faith based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that washes the worst of the worst clean. Paul called himself the foremost of sinners (1 Tim 1:15), yet he was washed clean by the blood of Christ on the basis of faith, not works (Eph 2:8-9), because of the “immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7). The gospel turns enemies into family.

It is the gospel that transforms lives, not law. It is the gospel that transforms lives, not moralism. It is the gospel that transforms lives, not hard work and self-effort. It is the gospel that transforms lives, not freedom to do as we please. The gospel purifies, makes white, and refines us into the image of Christ (Dan 12:10)..

That being said, the natural assumption would be that those opposed to the gospel are our enemies. But such is not the case. When Pilate said to Jesus, “‘Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin’” (Jn 19:10-11). Jesus didn’t view Pilate as an enemy. He understood that there was something going on that was bigger than Pilate. Pilate was just a pawn in a game he didn’t even understand. He was not the enemy.

You don’t blame a blind man for being blind. You understand that he cannot see. In the same way, those who are opposed to the gospel, those who are promoting immorality and calling good evil while they call evil good, those are not the enemy. They are blind without understanding. We have an enemy, but Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” When Jesus was crucified, Pilate was not the enemy. When the jailer locked Paul and Silas up Philippi, the jailer was not the enemy. When Paul was imprisoned in Rome, the Emperor was not the enemy. They were blind pawns without understanding being used by spiritual forces they could not see.

 So how then do we live when our world turns against our faith? We continue to preach the gospel that transforms lives. We pray for those who see themselves as our enemies understanding that they are attacking out of ignorance. They do not understand what is happening in their world. They do not understand the spiritual forces at play. They do not understand the transformative power of the gospel. They simply do not understand. Pray for them. That is what Jesus taught us to do. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44). They don’t understand.

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