"With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time." Daniel 11:32-35
The first time I seriously studied the end times I was puzzled by these verses. The Anti-Christ has just been said to raise up an army, debolish the temple and "set up the abomination that causes desolation"....whatever that is it's not good. Those who are wise in the ways of the Lord will instruct many, but they will also fall by sword, be burned, captured and plundered. Their falling will encourage others to believe. God uses persecution and martyrdom to spread the word of the gospel and has done this throughout history. What really puzzled me is that some of the wise would stumble, which usually means to fall into sin. Why, at such a time as this, would God allow his wise leaders to fall into sin? Doesn't the body need them to be strong examples with clean hands and pure hearts?
What God is showing me through this verse is that He has a purpose in all of our stumblings. He will allow us to go just far enough that our sin can be used to humble us and refine us. It is only through recognizing our shortcomings and our weaknesses that we can truly be made spotless. In order to refine precious metals they must be heated up until the impurities boil to the surface. If God doesn't "turn up the heat" the impurities of our flesh will stay beneath the surface. A friend of mine always reminds me that sin is a bigger problem than death. God is concerned with our hearts. When we stumble we realize that our hearts are wicked and deceitful. The only hope is that God has promised to put a new heart in each of us. There is no way that we can be purified and made into the pure spotless Bride we are made to be without going through the trials. God truly does work all things together for the good of those who love him.
"One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." Psalm 27:4
14 December 2005
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I usually do use the NIV, which I'm not completely satisfied with. I have taken to crossing out words and writing in the original Hebrew or Greek when the translation doesn't really work. In this case of this verse, I don't think the NIV translators made a blunder because the original Hebrew word is /saw-kal'/ which as its three letter root means, "to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper." It can also mean "to have insight," "to understand," and several times in the Tanakh to mean "those who are wise," "those who understand," or "those who have insight." There is no differentiation between those three descriptions in Hebrew, and the important thing is that wisdom, understanding and insight all come from God. Those who have understanding (if you prefer the KJV) WILL fall in order to be purified and made spotless. Daniel is talking about those who understand and know God, specifically those who teach and instruct others in understanding and knowing God.
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