I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 11-12.

    The second of Daniel’s visions from yesterday’s passage continues in today’s passage. The messenger gives Daniel an account of the rise of Alexander the Great and the interactions between his successors. There are discrepancies between what is predicted here and what the historical record tells us. These discrepancies have led many scholars to conclude that the Book of Daniel was written well after the time when it claims to have been written. I have not made a study of the historical record, but it is worth noting that at least some of that record has been written so as to put certain people in a better light than their actual actions would yield. There are other reasons that scholars believe it to have been written at a later date than the time conveyed in the Book itself. My understanding of the Bible inclines me to believe that the Book of Daniel was written when it purports to have been written, but discovering incontrovertible evidence that this is not so would not shake my faith.

    The writer expresses his own lack of understanding what these visions mean. He is told that their meaning will remain hidden until the end of time and even then only the wise will understand. The messenger tells Daniel that many will be cleansed, purified, and refined by the trials described in his vision. What is interesting about that to me is that those three words more or less mean the same thing. I see two reasons for using all three words in this context. The first reason is to communicate the thoroughness of the process we will go through. The second reason takes advantage of the slightly different connotations of these words. Cleanse tells us that the dirt and wrongness which clings to us from our environment will be removed. Purify tells us that we will no longer generate dirt and wrongness through our actions. Finally, refine tells us that the dirt and wrongness which has become part of us will be extracted from within us. Of course, there will be those who refuse to allow themselves to be cleansed who will continue in their wickedness.