When I began preaching through Daniel, I selected an image very similar to these bright stars to represent the meaning of the book. Daniel 12:3 reads, “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

Daniel began by describing Daniel and his friends in terms of their wisdom. Daniel ends by describing all Christians in eternity in the same terms. And this is a key to the theology of the final chapter.

The chapter contains many descriptions of genuine Believers:

• “everyone whose name shall be found written in the book” (v. 1)
• “many…shall awake…to everlasting life” (v. 2)
• “those who are wise” (v. 3)
• “those who turn many to righteousness” (v. 3)
• “many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined” (v. 10)
• “those who are wise shall understand” (v. 10)
• “blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days” (v. 12) Good luck, theologically speaking, figuring that one out!

You can create another list of the characteristics of non-Christian.

Like Daniel, we’re still waiting for the end, for the final judgment. Daniel was told, “But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.” (v. 13)

Each Sunday we preach to the wise and give them the same confidence. We get the privilege to remind them, whether it’s Communion Sunday or not, to tell them about the cross. About the time when the Righteous One was judged as wicked so the wicked could become righteous and rule with God (the significance of shining brightly in the sky forever).

Of course, you’ll have to make it clear that all that talk of purifying themselves and making themselves white assumes purifying and whitening by faith in Christ.

Anyway, I hope if you’re ever preaching in Daniel or through Daniel, some of these posts may help you preach for God’s glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal