How to Be Truly Wise?
“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and those who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run back and forth, and knowledge shall be increased.”” (Daniel 12:2-4 WEB)
The Bible is clear that there is resurrection from the dead. Those who are born twice will only die once, whereas those who are only born once will die twice.
The righteous will be raised to enjoy eternal life in glorified bodies, whereas the wicked who reject Jesus Christ will be raised back from Hell at the end of time to receive a sentence of condemnation, before being cast into the lake of fire.
“Those who turn many to righteousness” refers to those who win souls for God’s kingdom through sharing the Gospel. Upon believing and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, a person receives the righteousness of God, becoming as righteous as Jesus is.
Soul winners will shine (in honor and glory) as brightly as the firmament and as the stars within it. They are doing the most important work, for the salvation of mankind and the unification of God and man is God’s greatest desire!
Wisdom here is directly linked to winning souls, just as we see a similar idea in the Book of Proverbs:
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.” (Proverbs 11:30 WEB)
It is wise to win souls because you will receive eternal rewards in return. There is no better use of your precious time than to share the Gospel, resulting in the salvation of souls. This activity has the largest return on investment for your time, benefiting God, others, and yourself.
The archangel Gabriel told Daniel that in the end times, “knowledge will be increased”. However, knowledge does not necessarily translate into wisdom.
The problem today is that there is so much knowledge available—both true and false. We are inundated with fake news, false doctrines, and so many distracting resources of knowledge that clamor for our attention.
The knowledge we must equip ourselves with is the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ.
“Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,” (2 Peter 1:2 WEB)
As we grow in these, grace and shalom peace are multiplied unto us. There is no better use of your time, especially if you want to be used by God as a soul winner. Get into the Word every day. Through it, God will shape and train you to be effective at soul winning.
“Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 WEB)
Want to be wise? The Scriptures are the key to becoming wise in the godly way. The wise will shine brightly forever, and there is nothing more precious than godly wisdom. It makes Abba God so pleased to see you treasuring His wisdom!
What are eternal rewards? I don’t know of any other resource that talks about this topic, except for my book “Sandcastles Don’t Last Forever”. It was the first book I ever wrote, and it holds a special place in my heart. In these last days, the messages in this book are more relevant than ever, so I recommend that you read it: http://bit.ly/sandcastlesdontlastforever
