JEHOVAH'S PEOPLE ARE REFINED

"When they [God's people] are made to stumble they will be helped with a little help," said the angel. (Daniel 11:34a) The triumph of the king of the south in the second war had resulted in some relief for Christians living under the rival king.  (Compare Revelation 12:15, 16.)  Similarly, those who were persecuted by the  successor king experienced relief from time to time.  As the Cold War wound down, many leaders came to realize that faithful Christians are no threat and thus granted them legal recognition. Help came, too, from the swelling numbers of the great crowd, who responded to the faithful preaching of the anointed ones and helped them. -Matthew 25:34-40.  

Not all who professed to have an interest in serving God during the Cold war years had good motives.  The angel had warned: "Many will certainly join themselves to them by means of smoothness." (Daniel 11:34b)   A considerable number showed an interest in the truth but were not willing to make a dedication  to God. Yet others who seemed to accept the good news were really spies for the authorities.  A report from one land reads:  "Some of these unscrupulous characters were avowed Communists who had crept into the Lord's organization, made a great display of zeal, and had even been appointed to high positions of service."

The angel continued: "And some of those having insight will be made to stumble, in order to do a  refining work because of them and to do a cleansing and to do a whitening, until the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed." (Daniel 11:35)  The infiltrators cause some faithful ones to fall into the hands of the authorities.  Jehovah allowed such things to  happen for a refining and a cleansing of his people.  Just as Jesus "learned obedience from the things he suffered," so these faithful ones learned endurance from the testing of their faith. (Hebrews 5:8; James 12:3; compare Malachi 3:3)  They are thus 'refined, cleansed, and whitened.'

 Jehovah's people were to experience stumbling and refining "until the time of the end."  Of course, they expect to be persecuted until the end of this wicked system of things.  However, the cleansing and whitening of God's people as a result of the intrusion from the king of the north  was "for the time appointed."  Hence, at Daniel 11:35,  "the time of the end" must relate to the end of the period of time needed for God's people to be refined while enduring the assault of the king of the north.  The stumbling evidently ended at the time appointed by Jehovah.

Next time: THE KING MAGNIFIES HIMSELF

From the book:  PAY ATTENTION TO DANIEL'S PROPHECY! 1999