“But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 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.” (Daniel 12:1b-2)
The prophet Daniel was with the Jews in exile in the land of Babylon far from the Promised Land. The people were in bondage and needed to know that the Lord had not forgotten them. These words from Daniel prophesy that He will one day deliver them and punish His enemies for these word clearly depict the coming final day of judgement. That will be a day of reckoning and punishment for the wicked, those who rejected the Lord and abused and persecuted His chosen ones. But that same day will bring the reward of eternal life to those who have placed their faith in Him.
Salvation by faith is the message we see proclaimed in the New Testament but it is faith in Jesus as the only acceptable sacrifice for not only our sins, butt for the sins of the whole world. This is the essence of the gospel. It is the message we who are God’s chosen people are now to bring to the people in our world. We must let them know that God will judge each of them for their sin and unbelief unless they repent and believe that the sacrifice of Jesus is theirs as well.
Therefore we can rejoice in the certain hope of deliverance. Yet many Christians, rather than spread this news would rather spend their time speculating on when and how these prophetic events will take place while gleefully outlining the punishment of the wicked. But the Lord does not delight in the punishment of the wicked. After all, Jesus sacrificed Himself for the sins of all human beings. We His disciples are called to work toward the goal of leading all sinners to find the faith that Jesus is offering.