Wake Up!

Partners in a New Creation The Agent of Creation The Word Resurrects the Dead Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)  Daniel 12:1-4 The Message The Worst Trouble the World Has Ever Seen 12 1-2 "'That's when Michael, the great angel-prince, champion of your people, will step in. It will be a time of trouble, the worst trouble the world has ever seen. But your people will be saved from the trouble, every last one found written in the Book. Many who have been long dead and buried will wake up, some to eternal life, others to eternal shame. 3" 'Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever. 4 "'This is a confidential report, Daniel, for your eyes and ears only. Keep it secret. Put the Book under lock and key until the end. In the interim there is going to be a lot of frantic running around, trying to figure out what's going on.' For Reflection Perhaps there is no other book in the bible that divides Christians. The major questions were (and still are), "Is justice dealt out in our time or at the end of time? And who will be saved?" It appeared that the just suffered and the wicked prospered was inconsistent with the notion of divine justice.  This observation was inconsistent with the prevailing notion of divine justice.  In Daniel's time, as in ours, God's justice was not apparent within human history; resurrection and afterlife judgment were theological solutions to a historical problem. The wrongs of the community's life could be rectified only outside of history.  Arguments over the nature of divine justice will probably rage until the end of time. But in the meantime, humility should teach us to live as if God's salvation is universal (Ephesians 1:10). The Church might think more pragmatically about what it needs to do to combat human suffering from entrenched inequalities and address realized pain and confusion in the congregation.  Pray Pray and recognize that the time of greatest anguish is the moment of one's salvation. Forward to a friend Sign up for our mailing list!