“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 suffering in bondage and needed to know that the Lord had not forgotten them. These words from Daniel show that God has not forgotten His people. These words clearly depict the coming final day of judgement that the Lord bring on the wicked. They are God’s promise that He will one day deliver the righteous but punish His enemies. That will be a day of reckoning for the wicked, those who rejected Him 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.
This is why we Christians are called to preach the Good News to others. Salvation by faith is the message proclaimed in God’s word. This is because faith in Jesus is the only way for all human beings to be cleansed of sin and so enter into the Kingdom of God. Jesus is the only acceptable sacrifice not only for our sins, but 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. 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 accept the faith that Jesus is offering, so that their names shall be written in the Book of Life.