Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
The opening verse is Daniel 12:10, which is saying, if our minds have been purified from the corruption that has poisoned the minds of all men, and we instead follow the LORD, He leads us into understanding. The point made is that all men have been corrupted, all are therefore in need of repenting, and without repentance, there can be no understanding.
Now is the time of repentance, not feigned humility or contradictory prayers, which are merely continued rebellion perpetuating corruption.
Here is understanding for the pure in heart. (“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8) Daniel 12 defines this time, first giving us the formula, and then the years as days. He tells us of a time, and the times, and a half, the last meaning this rightly dividing the word of God. The time is 1290 years, the times are 1290 plus 1335 years, the sum of these equaling 3915 years, which is time between Isaac’s birth and today. This is what Daniel 12 is describing, the time of the sleep (yashen) of God’s people.
Abram was one hundred years old when Isaac was born, which was the beginning of the fulfillment of the Covenant the LORD made with him the year before. This Covenant is recorded in Genesis 15 (and repeated in detail in Genesis 17), given as Abram falls into a deep sleep, and the horror of great darkness was upon him. Therein Genesis 15:6 we are told Abram (Abraham) “believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness.”
Genesis 15
12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him [ignorance fell upon God’s people].
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites [those who exalt themselves above God] is not yet full.
This sleep is the river that is carrying all men to death, as we have discussed, and which is alluded to in Genesis 15, which coincides with Daniel 12. Daniel sees what is occurring on the two sides of this sleep, but even He is unable to fully understand it, the LORD reserving the revelation to Himself alone, to be released at this time, as we have seen spoken of by Peter and Jude.
2 Peter 3
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the LORD as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The LORD is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the LORD will come as a thief in the night [when the ignorant are blinded to Him by their corrupt ideas]; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements [the ideas of these men who exalt themselves above God – who is an all-consuming fire] shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works [all they’ve built upon a foundation of their own confusion] that are therein shall be burned up.
Jude
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withers, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the LORD comes with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speak great swelling words [exalting themselves above God], having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
17 But, beloved, remember you the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our LORD Jesus Christ;
18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
20 But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our LORD Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling [harpazo – {not a} rapture] them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh [their covering of lying vanities].
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
As we know, these same self-exalters, have twisted the LORD’s sending this revelation, to pull them from the fires they themselves have created, into a fictitious off the planet escape; in doing, and refusing to repent, condemning themselves to remain therein. (Jonah 2: 8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.)
Daniel 12
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up [He who is like God shall rise up], the great prince which stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time [the time we saw in the prior post, in Jeremiah 30:7, which Daniel is referring to]: and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
4 But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.
6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by him that lives for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my LORD, what shall be the end of these things?
9 And he said, Go your way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12 Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
13 But go you your way till the end be: for you shall rest, and stand in your lot at the end of the days.
The Hebrew word used above to tell of understanding is biyn, meaning to separate mentally. In Genesis 15 the sign of the Covenant is shown as separating (cutting apart) the sacrifice and passing between the pieces. It is speaking of understanding coming by perceiving the whole of the separated parts. This idea is as we have recently discussed, the word of God understood in consort, bringing together the ideas separated and given through many writers.
This understanding is what Isaiah 6:9 & 10 speaks of, which is what heals us, awakening us and giving us again sight and hearing.
Isaiah 6
8 Also I heard the voice of the LORD, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear you indeed, but understand [biyn] not; and see you indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand [biyn] with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
11 Then said I, LORD, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them [as a tree whose life is in them, sleeping, through the long winter], when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
The LORD quotes the above in John 12:40, as he is describing those who have witnessed His works, His understanding as light with them, yet they remained unable to see Him. We know, Paul precisely describe this blindness in 2 Corinthians 4, saying it comes as minds are blinded by the gods of this world (those who sit in the judgment seats, in God’s place).
The Greek word the LORD uses in place of biyn, rendered understanding, is noieo, meaning to exercise the mind, to consider and perceive. The deeper importance is found when this word is compounded with meta, and rendered “REPENT,” meaning to reconsider what you think you understand. It is speaking of humbling yourselves, coming down from your self-exalted seats, and submitting to the higher power.
Luke 17
1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. [This is spoken of the unrepentant – who refuse to be corrected.]
3 Take heed to yourselves: If your brother trespass against you, rebuke him; and if he repent [metanoeo], forgive him.
4 And if he trespass against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to you, saying, I repent [metanoeo]; you shall forgive him.
5 And the apostles said unto the LORD, Increase our faith.
6 And the LORD said, If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say unto this sycamine tree, Be you plucked up by the root, and be you planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird yourself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward you shall eat and drink?
9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow [think] not.
10 So likewise you, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. [Jonah 2:9 But I will sacrifice unto you with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.]
There is forgiveness for the repentant, but without repentance there is no purification, and lacking this, no man can see or hear God. (The unrepentant are the atopos – unreasonable men, unwilling to be moved by reason. See 2 Thessalonians 3:2)
Acts 17
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is LORD of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; [He dwells {lives} in human flesh, as do we, together with Him.]
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the LORD, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent [metanoeo – reconsider what you understand]:
31 Because he has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by [I Am] that man whom he has ordained; whereof he has given assurance unto all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.
2 Corinthians 4
1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the LORD; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
John 12
26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.
27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
28 Father, glorify your name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spoke to him.
30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.
34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abides for ever: and how say you, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walks in darkness knows not whither he goes.
36 While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. These things spoke Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.
37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
38 That the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, LORD, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Isaiah said again,
40 He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand [noieo] with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
41 These things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.
42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees [the gods of this world] they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
44 Jesus cried and said, He that believes on me, believes not on me, but on him that sent me.
45 And he that sees me sees him that sent me.
46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believes on me should not abide in darkness.
47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
48 He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
Psalms 14
1 The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good.
2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that does good, no, not one.
4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.
5 There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.
6 You have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.
7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD brings back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
