Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Prophecy of the Future
[The Jewish and Christian communities] preserved the most important innovation contained in the book of Daniel, the notion of resurrection in 12:1-3: “and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” Isaiah 26:19 may allude to the possibility of the resurrection of the dead, but if so, it is the only instance in the OT. “Those who are wise” (12:3) may well refer to the chasidim of which the writer Daniel is a part. Whether they pass over into the realm of the holy ones of God, the hosts of angels, is not entirely clear, though the notion that they will shine “like the stars forever and ever” might support the idea. In any case, the writer of Daniel has dared here to go further than any theological predecessor in Israel, since he suggests that beyond the culmination of human history and 
God’s victory on behalf of righteousness is “a world populated by the saints themselves”. (Mays 633)
Prior to this point in Daniel’s prophecy, everything had taken place as predicted. Now the faithful are called to believe beyond their experience of today.
What do we – as the faithful remnant at the turn of the 21st Century – see as our own prophetic future? How do we anticipate moving into the days we have yet to live? Who will be our companions on The Way? And what do we do each day and each night that indicates to ourselves and the world that we are followers of Christ?
Mays, James L., ed. HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE COMMENTARY. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1988. 633. Print.
For more on the chasidim, visit: http://www.rebbe.org/chasidism.html
For more reflections on the words of this prophet, enter the word Daniel into the blog search bar and explore.
Image from: http://thecommunityofleaders.com/are-you-leading-the-future-or-managing-the-present/
The Noontimes 