Daniel 12:1-13 Be Ready for the End
This
afternoon we have benefited enormously from a sobering presentation on Climate
Change by Dr Scott Elias. Just a year or two ago, such a presentation would probably
have been criticised by other scientists as either highly speculative or irresponsibly
sensationalist. Not anymore. The question is not whether climate change is happening
but how are we going to survive global warming. Can we reverse its destructive
effects in time? As a child I used to take great comfort in the knowledge that
the sun was about half way through its life cycle and that we probably had around
another 5 billion years of light and warmth left. These days, the thought that
we will get away with even another 100 years of present day carbon emission levels
or fossil fuel supplies, seems rather naïve. And politically, the world seems
less stable than at any time in its history. Watching the attempts at diplomacy
in the Middle East, or North Korea, or Georgia or Darfur this weekend remind me
of an international poker game. The pot of money in the middle is getting bigger.
The stakes are getting higher. The piles of chips left are shrinking. The gamblers
are risking everything and no one seems willing to back down.
Yesterday
President Bush conceded that Iraq is turning into another Vietnam. Today, the
Republican Party has launched a controversial terror-linked TV advertisement to
bolster support ahead of mid-term elections next month. The footage shows al-Qaeda
leaders with captions of threatening statements, while the soundtrack of a ticking
bomb plays in the background. The advertisement, which ends with the sound of
a bomb exploding, is due to air from today. And on the other side of the table,
Iran's president has warned that Muslims around the world will take revenge on
states which support Israel against the Palestinians. "You imposed a group
of terrorists... on the region.” He said yesterday, “It is in your own interest
to distance yourself from these criminals... This is an ultimatum. Don't complain
tomorrow." With aspirations of obtaining nuclear technology, the "ultimatum"
was directed at European states in particular. If you want to see a portrayal
of this tension, I recommend tomorrow night’s episode of Spooks, BBC1 at 9:00am.
But if that were not enough, there are plenty of religious groups and secular
writers claiming the end of the world will occur in 2006 or 2007 or 2008. Michael
Drosnin in his book "The Bible Code II" predicts that "the
Bible code clearly states the danger in modern terms- 'atomic holocaust' and 'World
War' are both encoded in the Bible. And both are encoded with the same year, 2006."
According to the Sunday Times recently, a religious group called
"The Family" anticipates the end of the world in 2006. "Members
are said to be stockpiling food and planning to hide in caves in India."
I’m not sure how hiding in caves will help. While Jesus told us not to speculate
or panic about the end of the world, he was emphatic that it will end:
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:33-36)
Judgement Day
So the world is going to end one day - but probably not yet. There is a day coming in which God will destroy the universe and all that is in it. The Bible refers to that day in various terms: the "day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36), "Christ’s [second] coming" (1 Corinthians 15:23), the "great and terrible day of the Lord" (Malachi 4:5). There is another event we can predict with 100% accuracy and certainty. We are all going to die. How should we live in the light of our own mortality? How should we live in the sure and certain knowledge that the world will come to an end? That is what we are going to consider tonight as we draw this study of Daniel to a close. Our title is “Be Ready for the End”. How can we be ready for the end? By realising that:
1. You have a guardian when in distress (Daniel 12:1)
“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.” (Daniel 12:1)
"At that time" refers in the first instance to the persecution of Israel under Antiochus Epiphanes. Jesus enlarged on this prediction in the Olivet Discourse shortly before his trial.
“For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.” (Matthew 24:21)
Jesus takes this prophecy of Daniel and uses it to warn of the coming persecution and siege of Jerusalem under the Roman General Titus in AD 70. This promise of deliverance in a secondary sense applies to us also in so far as God promises here and in other Scriptures to deliver God’s people. How will he achieve this?
Here we are also introduced to Michael the archangel. He is described as "the great prince who protects your people [lit.,who stands beside your people]" through this time of horror. God has assigned the special protection of his people to this mighty champion, and also the angelic hosts. While we are not told much about the angels, they seem to have a key part in protecting the people of Christ in the last days (Rev 17:6). Angels are God’s secret agents. Powerful, awesome, but largely invisible. What is their role?
“If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge— then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:9-11)
“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10)
“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14)
The angels guard us, they intercede for us and serve us. The deliverance promised however, is not necessarily from martyrdom but from the power of Satan (Matthew 6:13, 2 Timothy 4:18).
We will be delivered from Satan’s temptation to apostatize during the time of distress and persecution that maybe ahead of us. Some writers suggest we will escape the tribulation to come before the end of the world. This is where the idea of the “rapture” comes from - made popular by Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind series. Jesus does promise, “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24:22). But he doesn’t promise to take us out of the time of suffering to come. What’s interesting is that the word "rapture" does not appear anywhere in the Bible. The idea of a "rapture" is a result of a misunderstanding of Biblical teaching concerning the "end times." It stems from the hope that Christians will be delivered from the tribulation to come. You can see why that is a popular theology. It’s just not true. The deliverance God’s promises is not freedom from persecution but his presence in persecution.
We have God’s Holy Spirit and we have God’s angels
on our side to sustain us, to strengthen us and enable us to persevere. So - to
help us be ready for the end, you have a guardian when in distress.
2. You have an inheritance assured in heaven (Daniel 12:1-2, 12-13)
“everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt… Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days. “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.” (Daniel 12:2, 12-13)
This is a very significant promise. The Day of Judgment will be the most profound day in the history of the universe. Notice the strategic role that Michael the Archangel plays in this.
This is precisely what Paul says, "For the Lord
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel
and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." (1
Thessalonians 4:16)
Michael is the only archangel ever mentioned in the Bible, so the voice of Michael will signal the Second Coming and the end of the universe. And at the sound of the "trumpet of God" the dead will arise! Three things stand out:
Resurrection
In the progressive revelation of God’s word, this is the first and only time that the phrase “everlasting life” is found in the Hebrew scriptures. We have here also the promise of the bodily resurrection of the dead. That people will be awakened from "the dust of the earth" points to bodily resurrection, not simply a renewal of the soul.
Some have taught that people living in the
Old Testament era did not know about the resurrection of the dead, but that is
not correct. In the Patriarchal Age, Job said, "Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:26). Job knew that there would
be a resurrection from the dead!
When our Lord arrived at the funeral
of His good friend Lazarus, Martha said to Him,
"I know that he will rise again in the resurrection
on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the
life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies" (John 11:24-25).
Jesus echoed the words of Daniel:
"Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29)
Resurrection is universal, both believers and unbelievers will be raised. There is also here:
Retribution
In contrast to the resurrection of the saved, the resurrection of the unsaved will be neither a blessing nor a deliverance (cf. John 5:28-29). The unsaved will be exposed to "shame" and "contempt" (cf. Rev 20:11-15). The word for "everlasting" originally meant "lifetime," "era," or "age." When used of God, however, it takes on the connotation of endlessness (i.e., eternity; cf. Ps 90:2). Some therefore argue for ‘annihilation’ that punishment in hell is for a "lifetime" or "age." Others argue that it will be everlasting in extent and experience. Either way this is a sober warning because we are told ahead of time what is yet to happen. Resurrection. Retribution.
Reward
On Friday I visited the offices of the Oxford National Dictionary of Biography. It is a massive work spanning sixty large volumes. It contains the biography of people deemed the most influential people in the world. There is even a supplement called “Missing People” - people who didn’t make it into the last edition. I met the editor Lawrence Goldman and jokingly asked what you had to do to get included. He replied “you have to die because only dead people are included.” Who gets the ‘reward’ Daniel speaks of? “everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.” (Daniel 12:1). Where is this ‘book’? Jesus tells us “do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20). If it is in heaven, what kind of book is it?
John writes in his Revelation, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27). So this is the Lamb’s Book of Life. It is a record of all those who have received Jesus as their Lord and their Saviour. Jesus - the lamb, who was slain in our place. The Lamb’s Book of Life contains the names of all those who have been born again.
All those who have had their sins forgiven; all those who have received eternal life. Resurrection. Retribution. Reward. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he amplifies on what this reward will be.
“The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body... And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:42-58)
How can we be ready for the end of the world? Remember:
You have a guardian when in distress
You have an inheritance assured in heaven
3. You have an assignment here on earth (Daniel 12:3-4, 10)
After that great and glorious description of our new existence in heaven, how does Paul challenge his readers in Corinth?
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:42-58)
Daniel says something similar. Knowing you have a guardian when in distress; knowing you have an inheritance assured in heaven, you have an assignment here on earth. What is that assignment?
“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever... Many will go here and there to increase knowledge. … Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.” (Daniel 12:3-4, 10)
“Those who are wise” = Discipleship
True believers are described as "those who are wise" we are promised “the wise will understand.” The term for "wise" has with it the connotation of acting sensibly or appropriately in view of the holy will of God and of the final day of judgment. Notice the emphasis here is on learning and understanding which leads to wisdom. That is why we emphasize teaching and training that is life transforming. Our weekly bible study groups are not optional if you are serious about growing in wisdom and knowledge. Our Thursday evening training sessions are not optional if you want to give yourself fully to the work of the Lord. And from next week, you will be able to get our sermons via i-tunes, direct to your computer or your i-pod. God’s purpose is that we become “purified, made spotless and refined.” “Those who are wise” also
“will shine like stars” and will “lead many to righteousness” = Evangelism
This speaks of our mission - to bring others into a living relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That is why our mission is “to know Jesus and make Jesus known”. We do it by our words and our actions. Notice in Paul’s letter to the Philippians similar language to that of Daniel to describe our witness:
“so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.” (Philippians 2:15-16)
That is why we place an emphasis not only on bible study groups but also on serving in and through the church, using our gifts and talents to help reach the people in our community for Jesus. To reach one more for Jesus. One more for Jesus. It may be welcoming people as they enter; it may be serving refreshments; it may be delivering Connection; it may be assisting with Chipmunks on Sundays or Cherubs on Wednesdays; it may be offering to pray with someone in need; it may be giving someone a New Testament; it may be through sharing your story; or a simple presentation of the gospel. There are many ways we can use our talents but we have one goal; one purpose: To lead many to righteousness.
The end of the world is near. Judgement Day is coming.
That is why we need to be ready? How? Knowing…
You have a guardian when in distress (Daniel 12:1)
You have an inheritance assured in heaven (Daniel 12:2)
You have an assignment here on earth (Daniel 12:3-4)
“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city... “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life…He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” (Revelation 22:12-21)
With
thanks to Scott R Bayles, for his sermon “The End of Time” on www.sermoncentral.com and the commentaries
on Daniel by Ronald Wallace (IVP) and John Goldingay (Word)