The righteous dead in Christ have already passed through the judgment at Calvary where our sentence was pardoned on account of Christ’s shed blood and resurrection.
Our text for this Sunday offers one of the clearest teachings of life after death from the Old Testament. This reading is the climax of Daniel’s four visions of “things to come.” The scope of our text takes its hearers from the Maccabean revolt in the mid second century to the end of history. It is critical to preach on a text such as this to disabuse the Church of the mischief that the Fundamentalists have done to it and eschatology as a whole. This passage is short and simple, but profound. It deals with the promise of the final resurrection of the dead and judgement. No need for us to fear here, however, the righteous dead in Christ have already passed through the judgment at Calvary where our sentence was pardoned on account of Christ’s shed blood and resurrection.
When preaching Daniel chapter 12 you must also bring in Daniel chapter 7. Here in chapter 12, you see the conclusion of what was enacted in chapter 7. The two chapters are a hinge on a diptych, which is they are two visions hinged together like a book to effectually close the narrative of Daniel. In chapter 7, the Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days. It is a picture of the final judgement scene where the Son of Man receives the Kingdom. He then ushers in the final and conclusive eschatological Kingdom of God. In chapter 12, you see the culmination of that moment in the bodily resurrection and the final judgement. Making connections between these two texts will demonstrate for our hearers the epic scene of God’s promises coming to fulfillment at the end of days, promises that are true because of His kept Word and the resurrection from the dead.
A strategy to preach this text is to start at the culminating event which would be the end of all things. Begin at the end (chapter 12) and then ask how we ended up in this place. You then go to the preceding action in the book of Daniel to provide context. This means you will go back to chapter 7 and see the Son of Man receiving the Kingdom of His Father. But you then ask when this happened? Daniel chapter 7 happens after Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection. Daniel 7 takes us to Mark 14:61-63 where we see Christ Himself applying this text and its meaning to Himself. Here, Christ before Caiphas proclaims the coming of the eschatological kingdom and final judgement of God’s court in contradiction to Caiphas’ court. Jesus is telling them to look at what He is doing in His death, resurrection, and ascension so they will see what Daniel saw.
Christ before Caiphas proclaims the coming of the eschatological kingdom and final judgement of God’s court in contradiction to Caiphas’ court. Jesus is telling them to look at what He is doing in His death, resurrection, and ascension so they will see what Daniel saw.
The Apostle Paul speaks about the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection and its connection to Daniel 7 in 1 Corinthians 15:22-26:
"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the Kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
After filling in this context, you then return to the main event in the sermon which is our text from Daniel chapter 12. Our reading becomes the vehicle for understanding God’s reign and rule through Christ for us from now until the end of time. It is a text of comfort and an eschatology of hope for those who yearn for the end of human suffering and sin.
Since our text is only three verses, it would do well to highlight key features in each verse. In verse 1, the book mentioned connects to Daniel 7:10 and the Book of Life. It is important to emphasize that apart from any good works, God wrote your name in that book. In verse 2, you can connect the idea of “sleepers of the land of dust” to what Paul says about death as a sleep we wake from into Heaven in 1 Corinthians 15:51. The final verse of our text is where we make the strongest Gospel connection when it says: “Those who turn many to righteousness.” If we reduce the referent to “the One” who turns many to righteousness or, more forcefully, the One who makes the many righteous (Romans 5:19), or, perhaps, even the One who gives righteousness to the many by justifying them, we have a direct connection to Jesus Christ! The Son of Man is the only one who has the power to make righteous the many so they will shine like the stars forever and ever (Philippians 2:15; Matthew 13:43). Jesus accomplished this for us by His resurrection from the dead.
Isaiah proclaims this as well and paints the picture for us clearly in chapter 53:10-11:
"Yet, it was the will of the Lord to crush him (Christ); he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities."
This text is so truly epic that we will utilize the “Epic Form” structure to organize our thoughts and order our experience of the text for our hearers:
“This structure utilizes an epic plot form as the progression of experiences in the sermon. The first experience of the epic form is immediate engagement in a conflict leading to a climax that is temporarily left unresolved. The second experience of the epic form involves an abrupt shift to reflection in a broader context (in other words, the history that lies behind the conflict) that serves to intensify the importance of the outcome for the hearers. Often this experience is a movement backward in time from the opening conflict to the history leading up to that conflict. In this second experience, the sermon should offer information that brings the significance of the opening scene into view for the hearers. The hearers reflect on the broader context and realize what is at stake in this struggle. Also, this revelation of a larger framework can offer the hearers a glimpse of how the conflict will ultimately be resolved. It can provide a different way of looking at things which changes how they hear the opening scene and how the story will unfold. The final experience in the epic form involves a return to the conflict in order to move from climax to resolution. The sermon, therefore, ends with the hearer’s experiencing satisfaction as a significant matter is resolved in the sermon.”
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Daniel 12:1-3.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Daniel 12:1-3.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Daniel 12:1-3.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
