Wanted: Dead And Alive

 

But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity." --2 Timothy 2:19

In the world of quantum mechanics, there is a concept known as superposition. In theory, until it is observed, an atomic particle can exist in multiple states simultaneously.  In other words, a radioactive particle can exist in a decayed/dead state and a non-decayed/alive state at the time time.

A man named Schrödinger, who was a contemporary with Einstein, thought up a scenario intended to show the absurdity of applying this concept to observable objects in everyday life.  This example, known as Schrödinger's Cat imagines that a cat is sealed in a box with a device that has a 50/50 chance of releasing a lethal poising.  According to quantum mechanics and superposition, the cat is considered both alive and dead.  The observer will not know which until the box is opened and the actual state is revealed.

I thought of this concept as I was reading my Bible this week.  I came to the story that every child is taught in Sunday School: Daniel and the Lion's Den.  This story is instructive on many layers.  To a third-grader, it is an example of extraordinary faith.  To a high schooler, it is an encouragement to pray continuously, even if it costs you.  To a theologically minded adult, it reveals Daniel as a type or shadow of Christ.

Author James Hamilton wrote this about the parallels between the life of Daniel and the life of Christ:

Daniel, who was righteous, was accused by those jealous of him on a trumped-up charge (Dan. 6:4-13). The king recognized the injustice of Daniel’s condemnation and sought to deliver him (6:14). Nevertheless, Daniel was condemned, given over to certain death; then placed in a pit with a stone laid on the opening and sealed by the king (6:15-17). At daybreak those who lamented the way Daniel was treated came and found that his God had delivered him (6:19-23).

Jesus was also declared innocent (Matt. 27:24; cf. Luke 23:4, 14-15, 22, 41) but accused by those jealous of him (Matt. 27:18) on trumped-up charges (26:59-61; 27:15-19). Pilate recognized the injustice and sought to release Jesus (27:15-19). Nevertheless, Jesus was condemned to death (27:26), and after they crucified him he was put in a new tomb, with a stone rolled over the entrance (27:60), which was later sealed (27:66). At daybreak on the first day of the week those who lamented the way Jesus was treated came and found that God had raised him from the dead (28:1-10).

These points of historical correspondence, and the obvious escalation from Daniel to Jesus, constitute grounds for considering Daniel as a type of Christ.

                  –With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology, pg. 191

 Just as Pilate found no fault in Jesus (see John 19:4 and Luke 23:4), Darius knew that Daniel was innocent and did not deserve death.  In fact, Daniel is one of the few Bible characters that has no record of sin.  We do not believe he was sinless (see Romans 3:10, 23).  However, the Bible is careful to point out flaws in most of the people mentioned, especially those in prominent positions.  Abraham was a liar.  Moses was a murderer.  David was an adulterer.  Almost every prominent person in Scripture is known by their faults as well as their faith.  But not Daniel.

I found this online in a post from Calvary Independent Baptist Church (https://idahobaptist.com/daniel-type-christ-daniel-616-17/): 

Now, let me stretch my parallel to it’s limit, but bear with me, because this is a Biblical truth.  There is a sense in which Daniel was DYING FOR ANOTHER MAN’S SINS. Why was Darius so upset in verse 14? It wasn’t because he had been told that Daniel had broken his law. He was upset and couldn’t sleep because HE had been so stupid that he signed the law in the first place. Daniel didn’t sin when he prayed to his God, and he committed a crime only because of an unjust law. Darius had been overcome by the fawning flattery of his wicked presidents and princes. It doesn’t matter what the source of the temptation, when the sin is committed, it goes on the record of that sinner not to the tempter. Darius sinned, and Daniel was dying for his sin.

Okay, I know what you're thinking.  Daniel did not die.  He survived.  That was the point of the story, right? His faith saved him.  So why am I quoting a blogger who posits that Daniel was condemned to die for another's sin?  

Here's the explanation given by the Idaho Baptist blogger: "For all intents and purposes Daniel died that night. That was the intention of his enemies; that was the expectation of the faithless. That was the purpose and the nature of the lions."

Until Darius removed the seal and the stone, Daniel was simultaneously dead and alive.  Like Schrödinger's Cat, the true state of Daniel could not be confirmed until he was observed alive.  Let's read Daniel 6:20 together.  "As he (Darius) came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish.  The king declared to Daniel, 'O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?'"  In the original language, it denotes that Darius was grieved and afflicted.  I think he was grieved because he expected Daniel to be torn limb from limb.  I believe he was afflicted because, as we noted before, if Daniel had died, it would have been for the sin of Darius.  So the question that he asked, has your God been able to deliver you? was not a hopeful query, but rather one of anguish.  It was as if he were praying to the spirit of Daniel, maybe intermingling the Hebrew concept of Heaven with the Chaldean ideas of a spirit world or some kind of afterlife.

Imagine his joyful surprise when Daniel, very much alive, answered him audibly. Daniel bore witness to the power of God.  Daniel's faith saved him.  Darius came to faith in the living God because of Daniel's faithfulness.  Oh, that we could share our faith in the same way, should the opportunity present itself.

Hebrews 12:1-4 says:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.  You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. (NKJV)

May our faith, like Daniel, be remembered more than our sin.  May we point to Jesus, just like Daniel did.  May we remain faithful to the point of death, as both Daniel and Jesus did.  It might help us to consider Schrödinger's Cat and apply it to our own lives: we are dead in our sins, yet alive in Christ.  Ephesians 2:5 says that because of God's love and mercy, "Even when we were dead in trespasses, mad us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)."  Romans 6:11 says, "So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

God wants us to be both dead (to sin) and alive (in Christ), not just in heaven but in this life as well.