Daniel 12:10, commentary and pictures

Daniel's closing vision was shut up and sealed until the time of the end, when its seal would be removed and its light would shine with renewed force upon the approaching judgment and Christ's coming in glory. In those last days all people are divided into two classes, the wicked who keep doing wickedly and do not understand, and the wise who are purified, made white, and tried and do understand. To be purified, made white, and tried is to have heart and character made spiritually clean and whole by the Holy Spirit through Christ, by His pure Word as hammer and fire, and by suffering as a furnace removing selfishness, pride, and love of the world until the life shows His righteousness. The wise who understand are those who walk in the Lord's right ways, keep all His commandments, search Scripture with sincere hunger for God, and grasp the unsealed prophecies of Daniel and Revelation including the first, second, and third angels' messages. The wicked fail to understand because they refuse to confess and forsake error when it involves a cross, reject God's law and authority for human enactments and the broad road of indulgence, and thereby have spiritual insight blurred until judgment is distorted.

Time and Unsealing

The verse is the answer to Daniel's question about the end of the visions of the last days, declaring that the words were closed up and sealed till the time of the end. At the time of the end the seal is removed and the light of truth shines upon Daniel's visions. That understanding comes after much of the prophetic history has been fulfilled and after knowledge has spread concerning the approaching judgment. Then many are purified and made white and tried, while the wicked keep doing wickedly and none of the wicked understand, but the wise understand.

The unsealing comes through the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who opened the book and gave to John on Patmos the revelation of what would be in the last days. In this way Daniel is unsealed in the Revelation given to John and is carried forward to the last scenes of this earth's history. Daniel stands in his lot to bear the testimony that was to be understood at the end of the days, when the first angel's message would be proclaimed to the world. The time has come for him to stand in his lot, and the light given to him goes to the world with renewed force as never before.

Daniel himself was not given to understand everything that God revealed to him. The prophetic visions were to be unsealed and understood in the time of the end and in the closing period of this world's history. Their warnings point to Christ's coming in glory as near. The present is that perilous time of the end, when many are being purified, made white, and tried. The verse is therefore to be studied to discern the signs of the times, as the world grows worse and worse and the cities grow worse with strife and bloodshed and visitation by earthquake and fire.

Purification and Testing

Many will be purified, made white, and tried because the Holy Spirit works upon mind and character to make them spiritually clean and whole through Christ, and their lives will show the righteousness formed in them. Those who choose obedience and accept the cross are the ones thus purified, made whole, and tried, and in a time of widespread contempt for God's law the loyal stand firm under trial and value His commandments. The wise understand this work, while the wicked persist in wrongdoing and do not understand.

This purification concerns the heart, not hair color or bodily form, for the heart is washed in the blood of the Lamb and the sinner is admitted to heaven through Christ's righteousness. Obedience to God's commandments, not physical appearance, opens the gates of the holy city, and the question is whether the heart has been purified, made white, and tried. Suffering and affliction accomplish this sanctification like a furnace removing dross from gold, loosening hold on earthly treasures, removing corruption, and making the person more precious. In the last days temptations and trials cleanse from selfishness, pride, covetousness, and love of the world, making God's people pure and separate from worldly ways so that Christ will acknowledge them as His.

The purifying and trying is done by God's pure and unadulterated Word received as truth, acting as a hammer to break the flinty heart in pieces and as a fire to consume dross and tin until the heart is pure and holy. All must answer for the way they received that truth, because the Bible is the standard book that will judge at the last day, and God will not place His seal where an idol remains. Those who held that the wise in the last days will understand the hidden book taught that it is the Apocrypha, and that heaven is cheap enough that all must be given and nothing held too dear to sacrifice for Jesus. At the time of the end this work is the thorough cleansing of the soul, bringing truth into the heart so it removes strife, contention, and selfish desire for supremacy.

Being purified and made white and tried means being refined by the grace of God through reform and overcoming wrong and thoughtless words, worldly-mindedness, temper, passion, and an uncontrolled tongue. This refining comes by seeing one's true condition before God, repenting, seeking pardon so sins go beforehand to judgment, obtaining grace to overcome wrongs, and relying on the blood of Christ so spots against character are effaced and a clean spotless record stands in heaven with the name written in the book of life as an heir of immortality. Such preparation hides in the secret of His pavilion in the fearful day of trouble before us and makes fit for heaven and for society with angels and Jesus, since nothing but purity, honesty, and holiness can enter the realms of peace, while trampling the light given and sowing to the flesh reaps corruption and loss of everlasting life. Even after accepting Christ and knowing He accepts them, believers are still purified and made white and tried and are not beyond the reach of temptation. No converted person should say or feel that he is saved and secure against temptation this side of heaven, but must cherish hope and faith in constant distrust of self and dependence on Christ, because only he who endures the trial will receive the crown of life, and early confidence after accepting Christ does not prove a person secure since people may not know their weakness and may fall again into sin.

Trials and difficulties bring the true saints to seek counsel from God who is infinite in wisdom, who loves to be sought, trusted, and believed, and without perplexities and trials they would become self-sufficient and lifted up in themselves. Trials call for trust, prayer, faith, and bringing every thought into captivity to Christ, and overcoming temptation brings spiritual growth and victory. Those who patiently endure testing and wrong without retaliation are purified and made white, and the testing produces steadfastness. These experiences help them grow in practical knowledge of God and become able to share with others what they have learned through prayer and patience, and prepare them to help others and guide them in self-denial and self-sacrifice. Christ's disciples did not understand the meaning of trials, discipline, and sanctification through the truth until after His ascension.

The purified are refined rather than defeated by trials, and as the end approaches those being purified are to be ready to stand in the day of the Lord and carry out the work of warning others. This purification is linked to standing ready when the Lord appears, clothed in Christ's righteousness and prepared to sit with Him, and fitted to stand with God's people. God will bring forth a people who are tried, purified, and made white, and He has the wisdom, grace, and power to bring this about, and those who unite with His chosen people must be purified, made white, and tested. The remnant is not defined merely by having great light or taking up the truth, for people who remain unconverted and act contrary to God's principles misrepresent Him, while the true remnant is purified through trial. God loves His believing people and has placed them in a safe and sure path, causing them to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, not because of their goodness and worthiness but because of His grace, mercy, and great love, having delivered them from the power of darkness and translated them into the kingdom of His dear Son, and He desires them to perfect characters that will enable them to stand before Him purified and made white. The pathway to that purification is not smooth, but peculiar difficulties will arise to test faith, tax patience, and try steadfastness, which must be faced bravely with unswerving principle, remembering that Christ has overcome the world and that Christ and the angels are present in the battle, so that perseverance in service and willing obedience will win a crown of life, requiring casting off the works of darkness and putting on the whole armor of God to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Two Classes Divided

The verse divides the people on earth in the last days into two classes, the wicked who keep doing wickedly and do not understand, and the wise who are purified, made white, and tried and do understand. The division is in response to truth, with the message of Babylon's fall refused by the churches while those who receive it are purified and understand. The Lord in this testing proves every soul, and during the time of trouble the faithful will be purified, made white, and tested while the wicked continue without understanding.

The world is divided between obedience to God and allegiance to Satan, and in the conflict between good and evil loyalty to heaven's pure and unselfish principles becomes difficult as rebellion and disloyalty increase. Satan uses plausible but questionable methods to blur spiritual insight and weaken the ability to distinguish good from evil, yet those who remain loyal to God's word can understand.

As wickedness increases near the end the wicked persist in evil and fail to understand, growing bolder and more cruel in hatred of the truth in the solemn period before Christ comes. The increasing wickedness of the present time is compared with the world before the Flood, and the wise are set against the wicked in a time of peril and spiritual conflict. The spread of violence and other signs of the approaching end confirm the prophet's words, for many have placed themselves under Satan's control to oppose God, and knowing his time is short he works with power and fills his followers with hatred and revenge. The cities become worse with strife and bloodshed and visitation by earthquake and fire, and the verse is to be studied to discern the signs of the times, warning against establishing business interests in the large cities as the world grows worse and worse. The assassination of the President illustrates this moral degeneracy described by the verse, including the loss of horror at bloodshed and murder.

Many refuse to have their minds disturbed by the truth that all things are soon to end and turn away from those who seek to enlighten them. As the Spirit of God is withdrawn from the world, those determined to have their own way remain without understanding, and as wickedness increases and the Spirit withdraws the wicked continue in wickedness and do not understand. God's faithful, commandment-keeping remnant stand firm under trial and value His commandments in a time of widespread contempt for God's law and growing disregard for it with widespread wicked practices. Those who know the truth are to practice and rejoice in it so they can shine amid moral darkness, and those being purified are to be ready to stand in the day of the Lord and carry out the work of warning others. The wicked reject God's authority and follow human enactments against His law and therefore continue in wickedness and do not understand, while the remnant purified, made white, and tried understand the word spoken through Daniel.

Understanding Given to Wise

In the latter days, when Daniel's prophetic visions are unsealed, the wise will understand them in the closing period of world history, though Daniel himself was not given to understand everything revealed to him. This promise makes earnest study of and obedience to Daniel's instruction the present opportunity to grasp truths intended for the time of the end. Those who are purified, made white, and tried are thereby prepared to understand.

The understanding given clarifies what constitutes the third angel's message. The wise are cleansed and tested and grasp its meaning because they accept the light on God's law and the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages, while those who keep breaking God's law cannot understand. This division appears in the refusal of the denominational churches to accept the light on the law and the message of Babylon's fall.

Those who search Scripture with sincere desire to know God and Christ will understand the words once sealed to Daniel, and the light given through him will reach the world with renewed force. They are the pure in heart who hunger and thirst for that knowledge, and as they walk in the light their knowledge of Christ and the prophecies relating to Him will greatly increase as they near the close of earth's history. God gives light and wisdom in this way, with knowledge of His will gained by acting on light already given and examining whether His love is in the heart.

The wise who understand do God's will and so know His doctrine, seeing as God sees. Faithful watchmen receive the truth and sound its warning to people in peril, while impurity tarnishes everything the impure look upon so they cannot see God. Unconverted preachers with only head religion and without conversion of heart, who are self-confident and self-sufficient and neglect perishing souls, keep doing wickedly and cannot understand.

Wisdom here is knowing that the Lord's ways are right and walking in them. Keeping all God's commandments is the true sign of sanctification and loyalty, while disobedience shows disloyalty and apostasy. The same wisdom is turning people from sin to righteousness and from darkness to light, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine, with special promises for those who lead people from sin to truth and light.

Those who truly understand aright necessarily understand alike, sharing unity of faith. This understanding accompanies the restoration of unity among God's people. As the end draws near, things dark and mysterious even to Bible students will become clear to those not caught in Satan's snare.

On the borders of the greatest event in world history, God makes known to His faithful ones what shall be in the last time. The wise are those who arouse from sleep, resist Satan's power to keep them sleeping, and search the Scriptures, and the word of the Lord comes to them in power. Having been warned beforehand of what will take place in the last days, they search the Scriptures and grasp the real issue at stake.

They discern where the Sunday movement is tending as it now advances in darkness with mild and apparently Christian professions while leaders conceal the true issue, and when it speaks it will reveal the spirit of the dragon. At the announcement of the blessing for those who kept the Sabbath, and at the jubilee when the pious slave rises in triumph and is freed from chains, God's people hear and understand the words of God's voice. The wicked master is confused and cannot understand what the voice says.

Why Wicked Do Not Understand

The wicked fail to understand because they refuse to confess and forsake error and accept truth when doing so involves a cross. They are strongly unwilling to yield, and this unwillingness is what Satan uses to retain his hold on them, especially on those whose influence affects others. Those who refuse righteousness retain their selfishness and defilement because they reject God's ways and will and will not unite in spirit with Christ. The choice that decides the company is between the narrow path of obedience with the cross and the broad road of sin, and those who choose obedience are purified, made whole, and tried.

Those who turn from truth to indulge evil tendencies and accept fables remain wicked and do not understand, for choosing the broad road excludes them from the life they could gain by following Jesus. Sin is the transgression of God's law, so those who keep breaking His law cannot understand. This is seen in the denominational churches that will not accept light in regard to the law of God and therefore do not understand the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages, while the wise grasp the meaning because they accept the light on God's law. God's commandment-keeping remnant are purified, made white, and tried and understand the word spoken through Daniel, but the wicked who reject God's authority and follow human enactments against His law continue in wickedness and do not understand.

Evil weakens the ability to distinguish right from wrong, whereas the wise understand. Satan uses plausible but questionable methods to blur spiritual insight, dim spiritual sight, and impair the ability to distinguish good from evil, and loyalty to heaven's pure, unselfish principles becomes difficult in the conflict between good and evil. When sin prevails it distorts judgment, leaving the wicked persisting in wickedness without understanding. When plain reproof and rebuke and straight testimony come and disturb carnal security, the two classes are revealed.

The wicked are those who resist God's work because it disturbs that security, choosing their own selfish course and dark way, falling away and off, letting Satan control the will, and losing everlasting life. The wise who are purified, made white, and tried are those who do not rise up against reproof but yield their will and way to be controlled by the Spirit of God, putting self to death daily all the way along and being cleansed and purified by the truth. Their names are carried and borne into the sanctuary where Jesus speaks and mentions them to His Father, bringing them under God's special notice. Those who reject light and evidence and reject obedience despite light and evidence reap the results and consequences of their choices, with their God-given abilities turned under Satan's control to destruction, while those who fulfill God's purpose use their abilities for good and glorify God.

God's delay in punishing sin gives sinners time to turn from sin and seek righteousness. Presuming on His mercy does not make punishment less certain for the impenitent, who continue in wickedness and do not understand.

Links to Other Scriptures

Hosea supplies the parallel to the division between the wise and the wicked, for the ways of the Lord are right and the just walk in them while transgressors fall therein, so wisdom is knowing the Lord's ways and walking in them. Keeping all of God's commandments is the true sign of sanctification and loyalty, while disobedience marks apostasy from Him.

The purification and testing stands joined to the promise in Daniel 7:18 that the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom. In the same surrounding prophecy the wise are described as those who shine and turn many to righteousness, and those who lead souls from sin to truth and from darkness to light have special promises. They shall shine forever.

The wise in the last days understand the hidden book, which is the Apocrypha. The purifying and trying is accomplished by God's pure and unadulterated Word received as truth, acting as a hammer to break the flinty heart in pieces and as a fire to consume dross and tin until the heart is pure and holy. All must answer for the way they received that truth, because the Bible is the standard book that will judge at the last day. Heaven is cheap enough that all must be given up and nothing held too dear to sacrifice for Jesus, for God will not place His seal where an idol remains.

Call to Holy Living

The verse is a warning to be understood before the time of the end about the character required to pass through the test and proving of the last days. God's people must overcome spiritual weakness and backsliding, know what they believe, and be sanctified through the truth so as to form characters able to endure that test, for those not sanctified by the truth remain unprepared. It exposes ministers who profess to believe the truth while unsanctified and unprepared, who unless changed will say their Lord delays His coming.

Preparation requires repentance, confession of sin, and reformation of character, with wholehearted seeking of God. Those who believe the truth are to show its converting power in heart and character in order to be among the many purified, made white, and tried, and then their names will be found written in the book. That purification and making white involves decided reformation to elevate, purify, and sanctify the individual powers, leaving faultfinding behind and using gifts to bring others under the power of truth. Faith that works by love and purifies the soul must be cultivated in order to obey the gospel, develop Christian character, and endure the test of the last days. Obedience to all God's commandments is the true sign of sanctification and loyalty, while disobedience shows disloyalty and apostasy, and this wisdom is knowing that the Lord's ways are right and walking in them.

Those who are purified, made white, and tried take the path of obedience to God's commandments leading to heaven by denying self, taking up the cross, and following Christ through the strait gate and narrow way with whole heart and undivided purpose to seek eternal life, a decision cutting directly across human inclination, selfish worldly considerations, and natural bias of character. By believing the truth, the Word of the living God, they secure imperishable riches and a life that measures with the life of God and runs parallel with the life of Jehovah. Those who draw back from the cross, choose the broad road of sin and corruption leading to perdition to indulge natural and cultivated tendencies to evil, and reject the truth because it exacts too much, cuts across selfish propensities, and hedges worldly advancement, will never reach heaven and will never be numbered among the purified, made white, and tried, accounting themselves unworthy of eternal life. After the time of expectation passed, God's faithful people still had to be proved, purified, made white, and tried before redemption, with the disappointment testing and separating those who had joined through fear from those who continued to trust and wait. That trial required giving up errors and human traditions and turning wholly to God and His word, and those who receive the light must pass through such purifying fiery trials, with those who endure gaining eternal victory and finally overcoming and being saved in God's kingdom.

In the last days God's people pass through severe trials in which everyone's faith is tested and purified, so the old waymarks and established points of faith greatly blessed in God's providence must be studied carefully, revived from past experience, and held fast to the end against everything invented to make them of none effect. Daniel stands out conspicuously together with the Revelation given to John on Patmos as foundation for understanding the experiences and truth God has given His people, and there is work to be done that calls for workers to take it up. God values character rather than wealth, and those who unite with His chosen people must be purified, made white, and tested. Living out the truth involves opposition, and in a time of unforeseen upheaval and deception God's servants must recognize the danger and stand faithfully against evil, since refusing to abandon evil brings ruin while God rewards faithful workers.

Those who understand are not to sit in calm expectation that God will shelter them in trouble, but to wait for the Lord in earnest work with unwavering faith. They must heed the true bearing of the signs of the times and the special messages meant to prepare them for the great issues ahead and for the coming tempest of opposition and wrath, rather than letting minds be engrossed with minor, trifling concerns and extra responsibilities that make those messages have little effect. They are to do all in their power to avert the danger, disarm prejudice, set liberty of conscience before the people, and give the reason for their faith, as those warned beforehand who search the Scriptures and grasp the real issue at stake. This is seen where the Sunday movement advances in darkness with mild and apparently Christian professions while leaders conceal the true issue, so that many uniting with it do not see where it is tending, but when it speaks it will reveal the spirit of the dragon, while the wicked continue in evil without insight. Professed Christians must undergo straightforward repentance and conversion, for those who build on the foundation with worthless teachings will have their work consumed in the last-day fire and will be saved only as through fire.