The End Is Coming

Think you’re having a bad day? Listen to what happened to this poor fellow...he is responding to his insurance agent...

In block number three of the accident reporting form, I put "poor planning" as the cause of my accident.

You said in your letter that I should explain more and I trust that the following details are sufficient:

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building.

When I completed my work, I discovered that I had about 500 pounds of bricks left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley, which fortunately was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at the ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks.

You will note in block number 11 of the accident reporting form that I weigh 135 pounds. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull and broken collarbone.

Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain.

At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground - and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed approximately 50 pounds.

I refer you again to my weight in block number 11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles and lacerations of my legs and lower body. The encounter with the barrel, slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks and fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks in pain, unable to move, and watching the barrel six stories above - I again lost my presence of mind.

I let go of the rope!

Have you ever had days like that...where it is just one struggle after another?

Or maybe not necessarily a day, but life events just keep piling up on you and you ask the Lord how long till this all ends?

Can we just catch a break Lord?

Now take that angst and all the other emotions that go with that and place yourself in Israel’s sandals for just a moment as you turn to Daniel 12.

We are finally landing this plane in our study of Daniel and come to the end of the final vision.

...goes all the way back to chapter 10.

Israel was in captivity for 70 years because of her rebellion, it is over now, and Israel is allowed to return, but not many are going back…

Things aren’t going like Daniel thought they should go...he was in mourning…

so he asked for insight into God’s plan…

chapters 10-12 record God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer.

God’s answer to Daniel is this...

My discipline of Israel isn’t over yet...they still need to be purged...they still need more refinement...

In fact, it’s going to go on until the coming of the Messiah and beyond.

The heart of the message is Dan 11:35

Daniel 11:35 NASB95

“Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.

Israel is going to experience a long line of oppressors who will abuse them, slaughter them, mistreat them in horrible fashion...

Chapter 11 spells out in great detail successive kings and what they will do...

Chapter 11 ends talking about the Antichrist himself...

All of this is going to happen until the Jews finally respond properly.

It really is a bleak message for Daniel...it’s going to be like that for thousands of years...but then comes the conclusion of the vision in Dan 12.

Main Point: Stay Faithful to the Very End!

This book was written for Jews (and us) to see that God is sovereign over all kings and kingdoms...He will work his plan...so stay faithful even when times are chaotic.

How? Three keys to staying faithful...

Key 1...

Cling to Hope In The Midst of Suffering (1-4)

Daniel 12:1 ““Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.”

At that time...At what time?

If you go back a little to Dan 11: 36–45 you discover he was discussing the time of the Antichrist...and we know it is the time of the Antichrist because what verse 2 says has not happened yet...talk about that in just a minute.

The angel tells Daniel there was coming an ultimate dictator, a man with a Jew hating agenda, a man who would aspire to be God, a character the Bible elsewhere identifies as the Antichrist.

The Jews are going to need hope during that time...and we can draw some parallels for our time...let’s look for 5 ways we can cling to hope...

Be Ready for Harder Days

Daniel is told that Israel’s history will be filled with opposition, persecution, and suffering...

Their suffering during this particular time period will be like nothing they have ever experienced before.

This time of distress or trouble echoes Jeremiah 30:7 and the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Jesus reiterates this truth in Mark 13:19 and Matt 24:15-22).

Jesus says it will be so bad all you can do is run for the hills!

What we think is troublesome now does not compare to what life will be then.

God never promises life will be easy, especially for those who want to live for him.

2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

We talked about the spiritual warfare we see in chapter 10 is a present reality all believers must fight.

God provided essential warfare equipment for the battles we engage...Eph 6.

He doesn’t leave us alone to fight by ourselves...

He never says the days will get better...in fact, just the opposite..2 Tim 3:1-5 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

None of what we see happening in our world right now should surprise us...it is only going to get worse...stay faithful...

Here’s another way to cling to hope...

Count on God’s Rescue

The angel promises Daniel, “At that time your people shall be delivered”.

And who are Daniel’s people?

Jews (specifically)...by nature of being grafted in, all believers...(Rom 11)

“everyone who is found written in the book”

The figurative reference to “the book” is usually equated with “the book of life,” in which all the saints are enrolled (cf. Ex 32:33; Ps 69:28; Mal 3:16; Php 4:3; Rev 3:5; 20:12).

The idea comes from cities keeping a roster of the citizens...how does one become a citizen of God’s city?...Salvation in Christ alone.

The antichrist may rage against the holy people of God, it may seem for a while like he will succeed and be victorious.

Saints will suffer, and saints will die (as they are all around the world today).

But do not panic. Don’t be afraid.

Deliverance is on the way, as Daniel 7 promised with the glorious coming of the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is important to make sure your name is written in the book!

Anticipate the Resurrection

Daniel 12:2 ““Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”

Sometimes, God’s deliverance is death...but even then a resurrection is promised.

God’s Word promises that the dead will rise again.

Resurrection was not a foreign concept to them...Is 26:19; Ezk 37:12-13; Hos 6:2; Job 19:23-27.

Elijah and Elisha were miracle workers who brought others back to life...

All will be resurrected...But notice the resurrection is not the same for everybody...we clearly see two distinct outcomes.

You see this again in Rev 20:4-5.

Some will awake to everlasting life.

Others will awake to disgrace and everlasting contempt

NT truth adds these will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:14–15) and their torment is forever... Revelation 14:11.

God’s people have hope in their future bodily resurrection.

Live Wisely and Point Others to Jesus

Daniel 12:3 ““Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

The insightful (the wise) are busy about the business of disciple-making...They encourage others to turn to God.

They are people who influence others to go on walking in righteousness and assist them in remaining faithful in the pressure of the times...

Regardless of what happens to us in this life, those who point people to Christ with their words and actions will be exalted...He says they will “shine like the brightness of the sky above … like the stars forever and ever.”

Turn to the Word

Daniel 12:4 ““But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.””

Daniel, interestingly and surprisingly, is told to “conceal these words and seal the book until the end of time.

The idea is not to hide the words but to protect them, keeping them safe.

Seal the book has the double sense of authenticating and of preserving intact (cf. Is. 8:16; Je. 32:11, 14)”

The message given to Daniel is safely preserved for those who come later, especially those in the Great Tribulation.

many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase

What this is talking about is that many people in the Tribulation are going to run to and fro trying to find out answers to what’s going on.

And they’re going to find the book of Daniel and at that point, their knowledge will be increased.

This phrase is used many times in the Old Testament of a person in search of information.

Chasing and running and looking for answers.

Jeremiah 5:1...Zech 4 10.....

In other words, Daniel has to preserve his book so that people of all time, from his day until the end, may have knowledge of these events. And the most clear understanding will come to those who are living through it.

The implication for us here is that we are to cling to the Word...know the Word...in the depths of suffering we turn to the God of Word in His Word...

Trust God’s Got It Covered (5-9)

Daniel 12:5–9 “Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?” I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?” He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time.”

One of the angels in the scene asks a question...how long until all this ends?

12:7 Daniel heard “the man clothed in linen” as he responded to the angel’s question.

Raising the hand in an oath was the customary practice (cf. Gen 14:22; Deut 32:40; Rev 10:5–6), but raising both hands and swearing to keep the oath in the name of the eternal God (cf. Rev 10:5–6) gives the greatest possible assurance that the words spoken are true.

The phrase “a time, times and half a time” reveals the duration of the period (discussed earlier at 7:25; also 4:16, 25, 32)...3 1/2 years

God’s message to Daniel reassures him of his sovereign power by limiting the length of terror of the Antichrist...

During these three and one-half years, “the power of the holy people” will be “finally [probably better, “completely”] broken [or “shattered”].”

Although his time is limited, God allows him to break their power utterly and totally...because we know God is sovereign, He never loses control even during the time of this wicked man.

And what is the purpose of this total devastation?

He will crush them to the point where they will be so broken and so lost and so devastated that they will look to their Messiah.

And as Zechariah 12:10-14 states..they will be so broken they will finally accept Jesus as their Messiah.

They’ll have no where to go but to Christ.

And it will take the Antichrist three and a half years to bring this crushing, this breaking up to pass.

12:8 There was much that Daniel still “did not understand” about the vision.

He “asked” for further information...

12:9 Notice the reply to Daniel’s question...“Go your way, Daniel” (lit., “Go, Daniel”).

This is not a rebuke but simply indicates Daniel should go on about his life and not be concerned about his lack of knowledge because the vision related to the far distant future.

Again, Daniel was assured that these prophecies would be preserved for those who will need them, those living in that time!

Then “knowledge” concerning the vision will be given to the saints (cf. v. 4).

As the end approaches, the messages of Daniel (and other prophecies of the last days) will become increasingly clearer to believers.

Live Faithfully In the Present (10-13)

The context of this passage is eschatological, but there is still truth for today.

Wise Believers Know What Is Happening

Daniel 12:10 ““Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.”

The time when “many will be purified, made spotless and refined”is the tribulation period of the last days.

That many people undergoing the horrors of the tribulation incredibly will still refuse to repent and be saved is repeated several times in the Book of Revelation 9:20–21; 16:9, 11.

Even the chaos and calamities of the last days will not bring some persons to recognize their need for God.

Wicked people will continue in their sin till the end, never discerning the signs of the times or the spiritual truths God has revealed.

According to Daniel’s prophecies, wickedness will not decrease in the last days but will escalate to a grand scale under the Antichrist.

Those who know God see the truth...the closer we get to the end, the more we recognize the wicked continuing in their wickedness...don’t be surprised by wickedness.

Trust God’s Kingdom Is Coming

Daniel 12:11–12 ““From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. “How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!”

12:11 Verse 11 provides further details concerning history’s final events.

The “time of distress”—the great tribulation—will begin when the Antichrist abolishes worship (cf. 9:27) and sets up “the abomination that causes desolation”in the Jerusalem temple.

Jesus spoke of this “abomination” (Matt 24:15) and indicated that it would be placed in the “holy place” (temple) immediately before his return.

The exact nature of the Antichrist’s “abomination” is unclear, but its presence in the temple will cause believers to cease worshiping there and thus render the temple desolate, that is, empty of worshipers.

Here the figure 1,290 days is introduced.

Now we don’t know for certain what these numbers refer to exactly...much debate...only God knows the specifics...

Instead of trying to mark out exactly what it refers to misses the point of what is being said to Daniel.

The reign of terror of the Antichrist will end!

v. 12 — what is the 1335 days...

Notice what happens to the person who makes it to day 1335...blessed...again not certain, but the blessing is certain.

perhaps it is the time needed to establish the millennial kingdom

Those who survive the Tribulation will enter into the blessedness of the establishment of the Kingdom.

Rest in A Secured Future

Daniel 12:13 ““But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age.””

God gives Daniel three things here...

Responsibility — Go Your Way

Live your life...go about your business and the leave the future to me...do what I’ve told you, for the rest of your days.

Promise — You Will Die and Rise Again

Reward — You Will Receive Your Inheritance

God assured Daniel of his place in the kingdom promised to Abraham...

Lesson For Life — Walk By Faith

God is in Control — wrap up…this life is not the end...