Intro:

This morning we have made it to the final chapter our amazing journey through the book of Daniel. The book starts with a young teenager taken captive into Babylon, and ends with an old man, retired from government service, receiving a staggering vision of the end of time.

The End

This final chapter is the conclusion of the vision that started in chapter 10… … Last week we ended chapter 11 by looking at the final worldly king… The Antichrist... Who is a man that is controlled by Satan himself.

As soon as he signs the 7 year peace treaty with Israel, the time of the End will begin… and the latter half of this period, will be a time of Great Tribulation.

Daniel 11:35 gives us the reason for this… and, I believe, is really the main point of this whole vision…

Daniel 11:35 “And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.”

God lets Daniel know that even though Israel will fail many times over, even though they will reject their Messiah, even though they will constantly go their own way and do what they want to do… He will never give up on them…In other words, God never gives up on His people until they are finally refined and purified…

The final verse of Chapter 11 says…

Daniel 11:45 “And he (the Antichrist) shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain… ” basically in Israel…

I believe this happens 3 and half years after he signs the peace agreement with Israel… and then we come to chapter 12…

(Read vv. 1-4)

Meat:

There is a lot going on in these first few verses of this chapter… and so we will look at these this morning and Lord willing, we will finish our study, through this amazing book, next week.

v.1 right away tells us a few things…

First of all… we can see that…

1. Israel will Suffer

Daniel 12:1 “1 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble...”… some versions say that it will be a “time of distress”…

The first three words of v.1... "at that time"… links chapter 12 to the final verses of chapter 11, referring to the period of time that Israel will be dominated by the Antichrist's reign of terror, known as the Great Tribulation.

Moses, in Deuteronomy 4:30… referred to it as a time of great distress in the latter days…

Jeremiah called it “the time of Jacob’s trouble”.... …

v.1 also gives us a clue as to what triggers this suffering… and it seems to be…

1.1 Triggered by a War in Heaven

“At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble...”

In order to know what this is referring to, we have to turn to the book of Revelation....

Revelation 12

Starting in v.7… (Read vv. 7-9)

It may come as a surprise to some of you, but currently, Satan (Lucifer) still has access to some parts of Heaven… It may not be the full access that he had when he was first created, but in certainly does have limited access to Heaven.

We also see proof of this in the book of Job… you don’t have to turn there but…

Job 1:6–7 “6 Now there was a day when the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.””

So he has the ability to go from the earth and present himself before God in Heaven… and v.10 of Revelation 12 tells us what he does when he is in Heaven…

(Read v.10)

Satan is called "the great accuser" because he constantly brings charges against God's people, seeking to condemn them… But thankfully, Christ's shed blood provides redemption and silences the accusations of Satan.

(Read v.11)

Through Christ's sacrifice, we as believers are justified and our sins are forgiven, rendering Satan's accusations powerless.

v.12 then gives a warning…

(Read v.12)

When Satan is cast down to the earth and no longer has access to Heaven, the Tribulation period will be initiated against Israel… Why???… the end of v.12 tells you why… “because he knows that he has a short time.”

This entire period of time will be difficult for Israel, even at the beginning of the 7 year peace treaty… but the first half will not be as bad as the latter half.

We won’t get to far into the symbolism here, but hang with me…

v.13… Revelation 12:13 “Now when the dragon (Satan) saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.”

The male Child is a reference to Jesus and the woman that Satan is persecuting is Israel, because Jesus came from that nation.

v.14… Revelation 12:14 “But the woman (Israel) was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished (protected) for a time and times and half a time(3.5 Years), from the presence of the serpent.”

So yes, from the time that Satan is cast down from Heaven, he will be persecuting Israel, but it gets much worse during the latter half…

Israel’s suffering will be…

1.2 Worse than Ever Before

Back to Daniel 12…

Still in v.1… Daniel 12:1 “1 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time… ”

Israel has endured extensive suffering throughout history: from the Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks, and Romans to the Crusaders and beyond. Even in modern times, they faced oppression under European regimes, from Herods to Hitlers, experiencing repeated and profound hardships… Israel is suffering right now as it seems that a majority of the world leaders are turning their backs on her, in a time that she needs help.

But you take all of that suffering combined… the Nero’s, the Antiochus Epiphanes’, the Hitlers, the Hamas, the Hezbollah… and you put them all together and I don’t think you’ll even come close to suffering that will face during the Great Tribulation… The final 3.5 years of Satan’s time on earth…

Listen to Jesus said about these days…

Matthew 24:21–22 NASB95

21 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

A thorough study of chapters 6-19 of Revelation will give you an extremely detailed picture of what will happen during this time…

War, famine, darkness, disease, and demons. During this time, the earth will become a slaughterhouse, one third of the earth and sea will be destroyed, scorching sunlight that will burn people to death… and 2/3 of the Jewish population will be killed…

It will be a time unlike anything our world has ever seen or can understand… Horrors will be unleashed on the earth in the breaking of the seals, the blowing of the trumpets, and the emptying of the bowls of judgment.

Satan is angry, he knows his time is short and he is going on a rampage… but… … who is Sovereign???… Who is in control during this time???… What was God’s reasoning for allowing this to happen to Israel???

“...to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.”

Yes, Israel is going to suffer… However… God always keeps His Word… and…

2. Israel will be Delivered

The final sentence of v.1…

Daniel 12:1 “... And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.”

Obviously this isn’t a promise that every Jew or every Israelite will be delivered. As I said before… 1/3 of the Jewish population will be killed during this time of Great Tribulation…

As of last year, it was estimated that there are 15.7 million Jews in the world today. Which means that roughly 10.5 million are killed during the Great Tribulation… which leaves about 5.2 million that are still alive at the end…

These are the ones that are spoken of in Daniel 11:35… these are the ones who have been refined… these are the ones who have been purified… these are the ones who have been made white…

And I believe what saves them, is that at some point during this time of Tribulation, they put their faith in Jesus Christ… v.1 says “… Every one who is found written in the book.” I believe this is the “Book of Life”. The book that has the name of every believer written in it.

Let’s move on to v.2 and the fact that…

3. Israel will be Resurrected

v.2 says… Daniel 12:2 “2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

There are 3 major resurrections, mentioned in Scripture, that have yet to occur… I will give them to you in chronological order…

The Resurrection of New Testament believers… this happens at the end of the Church age (which we are currently living in). It includes the resurrection of every believer who has passed away since Christ’s death, burial and resurrection… and this will also include the Rapture of every believer that is currently alive when it takes place, just before the Tribulation period.

The Resurrection of Tribulation believers (those who put their faith in Christ during the Tribulation period) and this resurrection will also include the Old Testament believers (Those who looked forward to the promised Messiah and believed in God's promises of redemption and resurrection (Job 19:25-27; Psalm 16:9-11; Daniel 12:2-3). Their faith was credited to them as righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3), and they will share in the blessings of eternal life and reign with Christ when He establishes His kingdom on earth.)… This resurrection takes place at the end of the Tribulation period just before the Millennial Reign of Christ.

The Resurrection of all unbelievers at the end of the Millennium. They are resurrected to face the Great White Throne Judgement before being cast, along with death and Hell, into the eternal Lake of Fire.

I believe that it is during this time that the believers who may have passed away, during the Millennium, are resurrected as well to receive their eternal heavenly bodies.

The Resurrections 2&3, I believe are what the Angel is describing for Daniel…

“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life...”

That would be the resurrection of the Tribulation believers and will also include the Old Testament believers… so that they too (along with us) can reign together with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom… It will be a glorious day for Israel as a Nation, to be resurrected to what God wanted her to be in the first place… A nation ruled by her Messiah, Jesus Christ!… … …

and then v.2 says “Some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

This would be the 3rd Resurrection that I mentioned… The Resurrection of all unbelievers at the end of the Millennium… to be judged before being cast into the Lake of Fire for eternal punishment.

Revelation gives us the description of this… Revelation 20:12-14

Revelation 20:12–14 NASB95

12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

That, my beloved church family, is the resurrection to shame and everlasting contempt… I pray that none of you are a part of that resurrection…

So… Israel will suffer, Israel will be delivered, Israel will be resurrected… and finally…

4. Israel will Shine

v.3… Daniel 12:3 “3 Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.”

Yes, this is given to Daniel as referring to Israel, but I believe this is one of the promises that we are included in (not a replacement of) but we are included in this promise as well…

The wise are the ones who understood God’s Word and put their faith Jesus Christ, those who are purified, the faithful… … the redeemed. And they will shine like the brightness of the firmament…

We will all shine like the brightness of the firmament, meaning we will eternally radiate the glory of God. We will all be blazing suns in eternity.

However, those who lead many to righteousness (those who live out what they say they believe and in doing so, take part, whether you realize it or not, in leading someone to saving faith in Christ)… those will have a special glow, shining like stars forever and ever.

Closing:

We will start with v.4 next week…

I told you there was a lot in these first few verses… But above everything else… it shows that God is still Sovereign. I am certain that even though he knew the trouble and the suffering that his beloved nation would endure… I am certain that Daniel found comfort in also knowing that God has a plan for it all, and that in the end, Israel would be a nation that would Shine like the stars… forever and ever.

We’ve looked at several things today that should cause us to stop and think… many hear a message like this and say “that’s all gonna happen in the future… it will never happen in my lifetime”....

Folks, I am here to tell you that Satan could be kicked out of heaven tomorrow and this whole thing could start immediately… … and if it does… happen tomorrow…

Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?… have you confessed and repented of your sin?

Do you have a passion to be wise, to carefully understand the Word of God?

And are you living your life in such a way that it points others to Christ? … When the time comes, will you have a special glow, shining like stars forever and ever?…

I pray that you will… …

Prayer: