Alright, let's look back in Daniel
chapter 12. Now this last vision that the
Lord gave Daniel the prophet really ends, the vision itself
ends at verse 3 and verse 4. The vision of the kings that
started back in chapter 11 In verse 4, he tells him, O Daniel,
thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book. This is the
final vision that the Lord gave to Daniel. Even at the time of
the end, there's a lot of argument and disagreement about what end
he's talking about there. I'll give you my view of it,
and hopefully this will help us all. But whatever view you
take, the truth of these passages, this vision is still the same.
And that is our final victory, the victory of the church in
and through the Lord Jesus Christ. That we will not lose the battle. That Christ has come, and he's
coming again, and all enemies will be put under his feet and
his children, his church will be gathered unto himself in the
glorious redemption of our bodies and that's part of this vision
but he says there many shall run to and fro and knowledge
shall be increased all of these things that Daniel had seen and
that's where the vision concludes and then in verse 5 to the end
of the chapter He makes some concluding remarks concerning
What the the man clothed in linen showed him that's Christ, and
I'll get to that next time But I want to do these first four
verses tonight the title of this message is when Michael stands
up When Michael stands up verse 1 at that time shall Michael
stand up Now, as I said, this whole vision of the kings given
to Daniel is a revelation from God, I believe, mainly concerning
the Jewish nation, Daniel's people in the flesh. You know, Paul
spoke of his brethren in the flesh as well as his brethren
in the spirit in his epistles. And Daniel speaks of both, but
I believe this vision is mainly the revelation of God concerning
the Jewish nation from the time of their return out of captivity. You know Daniel, he's in Babylon,
you remember that, or he's, well, at this time, in this vision,
he's in another place where the capital of the Medes and the
Persian, the Persian Empire is, but he was in that captivity.
He wasn't in Jerusalem when these visions were given to him. He
was a captive. The people had been allowed to
return back to Judah and Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and rebuild
the city, but Daniel didn't go with them. No use us speculating
on that because I think it was just simply God's will that Daniel
stay put, stay where he is. He would use him in a great way.
But from that time of their return out of the captivity up to their
final destruction in AD 70, which the Lord identified in Matthew
24 and Mark 13 and Luke 21 as the abomination of desolation
of which Daniel spoke. But I also believe, and I was
thinking about this in some old notes that I had from the preacher
school that we had back in the early 80s under Brother Mahan,
and he taught us something I think is very valuable. And that is
this, that the scriptures sometimes are bifocal. And you know, if
you've got, I don't know, we don't call them bifocals now,
I guess. Well, they're called progressive lenses now, but you
know. But on bifocals, you know, you
had the lower lens where you could see up close. and then
the top lens where you could see far away. And I believe a
lot of times that's the way the scripture is. It's bifocal. Not only do you see things that
are right up close, as in Daniel's day, and then those days following
the first coming of Christ, and the days following his crucifixion,
burial and resurrection, up to the destruction of Jerusalem,
but all the way into the future, to the end times. And so my point
is this, is not only can you see language here in these visions
that apply to God's purpose and plan and carrying out his will
in the nation Israel connected with the first coming of Christ,
but you can also see language that can apply just as well to
the second coming of Christ. And so we can look at it in both
ways. Now somebody might say, well, you're just taking the
easy way out. Well, I don't know how easy it is, but I do know
this. I do see both of that in the
scripture here. The history of the nation Israel
is so important mainly because of how God used this nation in
the salvation of his elect, his people, spiritual Israel. And
that, mainly, because that's the nation through whom the Messiah
came, according to the flesh. Messiah the Prince, he's called.
And there's so much controversy here, but let's not get bogged
down into that. Let's just take it as it lays.
And spiritually speaking, everything is said of these evil earthly
kings in chapter 11 can be said of the spirit of Antichrist throughout
the last age. even at the time of the end.
Look back at verse 45 of chapter 11, the last verse there. Talking
about, I believe, King Herod here, but what can be said of
King Herod could be said of any anti-Christian government or
king or nation. He says, and he shall plant the
tabernacles of his palace between the seas and in the glorious
holy mountain. You know what he's describing
there is a man exalting himself in the face of the glory of God. That's what's happening there.
He plants his palaces. It's a man who wants to leave
a legacy of his own greatness. It's a man who wants to leave
a spirit that wants to make a name for himself, so he plants his
tabernacles and his palaces between the seas, thinking that he's
going to be renowned all over the world. And then in the face
of the glorious holy mountain, you know what that is, that's
talking about the temple, that's talking about the Shekinah glory
of God. And what this is teaching us is why are we put on this
earth? We're put on this earth for the
glory of God. We're not put on this earth to
make a name for ourselves. We're not put on this earth for
our own renown. We're put on this earth to lift
up Christ and to show forth His glory and His greatness and His
goodness and His mercy in all things. And yet the spirit of
Antichrist is just the opposite. But it says also in verse 45,
yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him. There's
no helper for him. Now you can talk about any of
these earthly kings in chapter 11, they all came to their end
with no help. You can talk about that evil
Antiochus Epiphanes that I believe was talked about in chapter 11.
He came to his end. And then King Herod. who was
the king at the time of the Savior's birth and his dynasty, his children
and their children all the way up to A.D. 70, they came to their
end and they had no help. But you can also project that
on to all anti-Christian governments, anti-Christian kings, anti-christian
religions, they will all come to their end with no help because
there is no helper. You see, the only helper out
of this mess, out of this sinful, fallen, ruined world, the only
help for us in salvation is the great helper, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And remember, I've told you twice now on this thing that
when it talks about helping here, it's not talking about the old
saying, God helps those who help themselves. That's not the kind
of help we need. You see, when you talk about
Christ helping us, it's not just giving us a leg up or a jumpstart. You gotta understand, who are
we? What kind of help do we need? Daniel said it over here in Daniel
chapter 10 very plainly when he saw the vision of the glorified
Christ. And he said in verse 8 of Daniel
10, he said, therefore I was left alone and saw this great
vision and there remained no strength in me. I don't need
a leg up. I don't have any strength. I
don't have any power. I don't have any goodness, no
righteousness before God. I don't need a jumpstart, I don't
need somebody to come along and fan the spark of goodness in
me because by nature there is no spark of goodness in me. And
he says, for my comeliness, that which is naturally beautiful
and good, was turned in me into corruption and I retained no
strength. Now what kind of help does that kind of person need?
Sovereign grace, sovereign mercy. Isn't that right? It's not of
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy. Well, so here it is. The kingdoms
of this world, Antichrist, the spirit of Antichrist, comes to
his end. And you see manifestations of
that all through the history of the nation Israel in various
ways. Antichrist will come to its final
end in the second coming of Christ. Just like Herod did. Just like
Antiochus did. Just like the Medes and the Persians
and the Babylonians. Just like old Pharaoh back in
Exodus did. He came to his end. Again, the
spirit of Antichrist. But what brings it all to an
end? Well, here it is. Look at verse 1 of chapter 12.
And at that time shall Michael stand up. Who is this Michael? Well it says here, he's the great
prince which standeth for the children of thy people and in
that time that he stands up there'll be a time of trouble such as
never was since there was a nation even to that same time and at
that time thy people shall be delivered every one that shall
be found written in the book Now think about that. Many commentators,
when they go to this, and this is the first thing you have to
settle to understand this prophecy to me. Who is Michael? Well, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who Michael is. A lot
of commentators, some gospel commentators say Michael is the
head angel. He's the archangel. Archangel
means highest angel. I've told you before the name
Michael, this Michael is spoken of several times in the book
of Daniel, Daniel chapter 10 twice, here in Daniel chapter
12. He's also spoken of in Jude verse
9, I'm gonna look at that verse, I wanna show you something there,
and then in Revelation 12, talking about the one who stands up against
the great dragon, who's Satan. But many commentators say, well,
he's the archangel, he's the highest angel in the hierarchy
of angels. But I do not see anywhere in
scripture where a system of a hierarchy of angels is even taught. The
only thing they get that from is just the fact that in Jude
9, Michael is called the archangel. And when they look at this, they
say, well, he was the special angel that was commissioned to
protect the people of Israel. I don't see where they get that,
but I want to tell you something now. I am strongly convinced
that Michael is just another name for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, he has many names in Scripture. You know that. Many names. But I'm strongly convinced of
this, and I'll say this much to you. Now, you can disagree
with me if you want to, but I think you're going to miss a real blessing
here unless you see the truth. that this person who stands up
here is none other than God the Son incarnate. The Lord Jesus
Christ. You're gonna miss a real blessing
out of this if you don't see that. But either way, I want
you to look at it. Now the name Michael, what does
Michael mean? It means one who is like God. Now let me ask you, what created
being, angel or human, could it be said that he is like God
in that sense? Talking about the nature of God.
No one except the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of
the Trinity. Some translate it this way, one
who is God, which would settle the matter perfectly. But because
he's called the archangel, which means chief messenger, well,
who is the chief messenger? Well, who does the Bible identify
as the chief messenger of God? The Lord Jesus Christ. Read Hebrews
chapter 1. It tells you that. God hath in
these last days spoken unto us by his Son. When you think of
the apostles, who do you think of? You think of Peter and James
and John and Paul, they're men. And yet there's one time in the
scripture where our savior is called the apostle and high priest
of our calling. He's the chief apostle. The term
angel means messenger. I want you to turn to Malachi
chapter three with me. And I want to show you this now,
I want you to see this. Listen to this in Malachi chapter
3, verse 1. It says here, verse 1, this is
a prophecy of John the Baptist and of Christ. And here's how
he identifies him. Behold, I will send my messenger. You see that word messenger?
It's the exact same word as angel. Behold, I will send my angel.
My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord
whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the
messenger of the covenant." Now, who are these messengers? The
first one is John the Baptist, come to prepare the way. He came
in fulfillment of prophecy, sent to prepare the way of the Lord.
Who's this messenger of the covenant? That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's the angel of the covenant, whom you delight in. We don't
delight in preachers, we delight in Christ. Behold, he shall come,
saith the Lord of hosts. That's who that's talking about.
Same word as angel. When you see that word angel
in the scripture, the context determines whether or not an
angelic being is being spoken of or some other kind of messenger. I told my Sunday school class
this this morning, if you read Revelation 2 through 3, The seven
churches of Revelation. The Lord, when he gave that revelation
to John, he said, you send this to the angel of the church, the
church at Ephesus, the angel of the church at Smyrna, the
angel of the church at Pergamum. Who's he talking about? He's
talking about the pastor, the messenger. And I told my Sunday
school class, I've been trying to convince them for nine years
that I'm an angel, but they just won't believe me. Alan, you're
an angel. We don't have wings or halos
or TV shows, but we're messengers of God bringing forth the gospel. That's what an angel is in that
context. John the Baptist was a messenger.
He was the angel of God sent to prepare the way of the Lord.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the archangel. He's the chief messenger. He's the angel of the covenant
because the whole covenant was conditioned on him. the covenant
of redemption and salvation. He's the messenger. In Exodus
chapter 3, he appeared unto Moses, the Lord Jesus Christ, in one
of his pre-incarnate appearances, he appeared to Moses in the burning
bush, and in the book of Exodus chapter 3 and verse 2, you know
what he's called? The angel of the Lord. That's
how he's identified. Turn to the book of Jude, verse
9. Now, when I first heard this,
about Michael being the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the verse
that kind of tripped me up on it. But I want to show you a
couple of verses here, because like I said, in order to understand
how this vision ends, that Daniel has, and then what's going to
be said in the epilogue of it. I believe we have to be settled
here. This is talking about our Savior. This is talking about
the Lord our righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ. But here,
you know, in the epistle of Jude, he's talking about false preachers
that come in the last days and false ideas. In verse nine, he
talks about Michael, the archangel, who contending with the devil,
he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against
him a railing accusation. But said, the Lord rebuke thee. Now if this Michael the archangel
is the Lord himself, why would he speak of himself in the third
person and say, the Lord rebuke thee? All right, that's what
tripped me up on a little bit. But I want you to see something.
First of all, let me tell you this. One way of looking at that
verse nine is some people think that, well, when Moses, he couldn't
go into the promised land and he died, and that the devil was
trying to get a hold of his physical body so that they could make
an idol out of it. I don't think that's what that's
talking about. I believe the body of Moses there is the law. It's the law. That's what Moses
represents, the law. And the devil, what does he use
to accuse God's people? The law. And what's the only
defense against the devil's accusations? the Lord Jesus Christ in his
blood and his righteousness. And there's the accusation. But
why did Michael, the archangel, who I believe is the Lord Jesus,
why did he say the Lord rebuked thee? Well, turn to the book
of Zechariah, chapter 3. Turn with me over there. Now,
first of all, let me just, I'll tell you what he's doing. He's
speaking as the mediator. He's speaking as the mediator,
that's what he's doing. And you'll see another example
of this in Zechariah chapter three. Zechariah right before
Malachi. And this is, I preached on this,
and I'm gonna preach on it again when we go through the book of
Zechariah, but look at verse one. This is, he's Joshua the
high priest. He was the high priest of Israel
at this time. This was when they had gone back out of the captivity.
In verse one says, he showed me Joshua the high priest standing
before the angel of the Lord. And Satan standing at his right
hand to resist him. That resist him means to accuse
him. And the Lord said unto Satan,
the Lord rebuketh thee, O Satan. You see? What's he doing here? He's speaking as the mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And he's invoking
the sovereign work of God Almighty and the salvation of His people
to defend them against Satan's accusations. And he brings up
two points of defense. The first one is election. Look
at verse 2. The Lord rebuked thee, O Satan,
even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuked thee. God chose
us. And then the second one is redemption
by His blood. Is not this a bran plucked out
of the fire? The fire of God's wrath? How
were we plucked out of the fire of God's wrath? At the cross.
He's speaking in the third person here, because he's speaking as
mediator. All right? And he says, now Joshua was clothed
with filthy garments, stood before the angel, and he answered and
spake unto those that stood before him, saying, take away the filthy
garments from him, just like Adam and Eve's fig leaves. Take
them off. That's the works of men. And
he says, and unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity
to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with chains of raiment.
That's the imputed righteousness of Christ. The robe of righteousness
that makes us white before God. Gives us a right standing before
God. Now that's the same Michael,
turn back to Daniel 12, the same Michael who stands up here. He's
the chief messenger. And here he comes on the scene.
and he stands up. There's several times in Daniel
chapter 11 alone that those kings that he mentioned in Daniel 11
stood up. And what did they stand up to
do? They stood up to reign. That's what they stood up to
do. And it's the same for Michael.
What does he stand up to do? He stands up to reign and to
rule and to dispose of all things for the glory of his father and
the good of his church. Oh, when Michael stands up, there's
none to resist him. When Michael stands up, there's
none to hinder the purpose of God. When Michael stands up,
You who know Christ and trust Him and look to Him and rest
in Him, your salvation and your final glory is secure. Why? Because Michael stands up. Isn't that something? I read
there in the book of Job chapter 19 and verse 25. Did you notice what Job said
there? He said, I know that my Redeemer liveth. and that he
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth." I believe Job
had two things in mind. First of all, he spoke of the
Lord as the Redeemer. He knew that salvation must be
by redemption, redemption by blood. He knew that that Redeemer
had to die in his place to put away his sins. One of the major
questions that runs through the book of Job is how can God be
just and justify the ungodly? How can man born of woman be
clean? How can that be? You remember
at the end of Job's whole experience when he began to justify himself
and lift himself up. When he came to his senses, having
been taught of the Lord through God's providence, he said, I've
heard of you with the hearing of the... Job knew the Lord already,
but he said, I've experienced this now, and he said, now I
abhor myself. I hate myself and repent in sackcloth
and ashes. And you know what he did next?
He sacrificed. He built an altar and sacrificed.
Redemption. And so when he talks about his
Redeemer standing, he's talking about his resurrection from the
dead. Christ died, was buried, and
rose again the third day. He stood up out of that tomb.
Why did he do that? Romans chapter 4, on account
of our justification. Our sins have been put away.
Our debt has been paid. Our righteousness is established
by the Lord, who is our righteousness. He was made sin. Christ who knew
no sin, we're made the righteousness of God in him. We stand before
God justified because Michael stood up. That's right. He finished the work. What Daniel
say back in Daniel chapter 9, he made an end of sin, he finished
the transgression, he brought in everlasting righteousness,
he sealed up the vision and the prophecy, he anointed the most
holy. Every bit of that done, all the
stipulations, all the requirements, all the conditions, already settled
because Michael stood up. This is Daniel's hope. His hope,
and I tell you, this is the main thing I believe the Lord is showing
Daniel here. Daniel, your hope is not in any
earthly nation or earthly empire or earthly king, not even an
earthly Israel. Your hope is in Michael, who
stands up, that great prince, he says, which standeth not for
himself, but as the representative and substitute and sin-bearer
of the children of thy people." That's right. Now, Daniel had
a national ethnic connection with Israel, but that speaks
of Daniel's spiritual connection with spiritual Israel. How do
you know that? Well, he said, he identifies them down here.
He said, when Michael stands up at that time, the people,
thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found
written in the book. What book do you think he's talking
about? He's talking about the Lamb's Book of Life. And notice
there it doesn't say, did you notice that? Look back at it,
now notice this, this is important. It doesn't say there, now let's
read the whole verse again. He said, that time shall Michael
stand up, the great prince, Christ is the great prince, the prince
of peace, which standeth for the children of thy people as
our representative, our substitute, our sin bearer, our sin offering,
and there shall be a time of trouble. You know, when Christ
came the first time, it was a time of trouble in Israel like they
had never experienced before. You think about all that went
on revolving around his public ministry when he went about preaching
the gospel and healing. Now it's true that when Michael
stands up in the final day, see right now he's seated at the
right hand of the father, that's how he's represented. He sat
down at the right hand of the father ever living to make intercession
for us. Well in the last final day when
he comes back he's gonna stand up again And there's gonna be
another time of trouble like as the world has never known.
That's when this earth is gonna be burned up. Such as never was
since there was a nation even to the same time. And listen
to what he says now. When Michael stands up and at
that time thy people shall be delivered. Now when were we delivered? We were delivered on the cross.
Delivered from our sin. Delivered from bondage. Delivered
from the curse of the law. That's redemption by blood. and
by power. In the last final day we'll be
delivered again. Paul called that the redemption
of our bodies. Redemption by power when he comes
back. But who's going to be delivered?
He tells us. Everyone that shall be found
written in the book. Now notice it doesn't say there
everyone that God writes in the book. You know, some people have
an idea about this Lamb's Book of Life, that God's up there
with a book and a pen and ink, and every time somebody accepts
Him as their personal Savior or makes a decision, He writes
them down, and then later on, if they lose it, He erases them
out. No, sir. No, sir. That's not the way it
is. It's everyone that shall be found
already written in the book. Written when? Before the foundation
of the world. That's what the Bible teaches.
Whose names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the
foundation of the world in the book of Revelation, it says that.
You see, Christ is reigning. Some say he's not reigning now.
Oh, yes he is. He's reigning right now. We don't see it all in the physical. That's what the book of Hebrews
chapter 2 says. We don't see it yet, but we do
see this. We see Jesus. We see God our Savior. And we
know that all things are right now being worked by the sovereign
power and will of God together for good to them that love God.
When was the kingdom established? He said at the cross. That's
what the Lord said. He says now. Now is the kingdom
of our Lord. The book of Ephesians chapter
1, the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 represent him and
reveal him as the reigning King of Kings, Lord of Lords. He says here, at that time, you
can talk about in the time of Herod in his dynasty, Michael
stood up in his incarnation when he began his public ministry.
In his death on the cross, he laid down his life, but after
he accomplished redemption, he stood up, he arose from the dead.
It was a time of great trouble. Jerusalem and the temple would
be destroyed and the children of Israel scattered. The abomination
of desolation, that would come later, but it came in connection
with that. And in the end of all things,
Michael will stand up in his second coming and it'll be a
time of great trouble. Why does he stand up? For his
people. He stood up for all his sheep. That's our comfort. That's our assurance. That's
our peace. He is our great prince. And then look at verse two. He
says, and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall
wake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting
contempt. Now many commentators agree that
this sleep in the dust of the earth here is not a phrase used
for the dead. You know, sometimes when we talk
about those that are asleep, we mean those who are dead. Paul
talked about that, 1 and 2 Thessalonians. This is a phrase that's normally
used for those who are spiritually dead. Spiritually dead. But I wouldn't
argue and divide with someone who says, well, that's talking
about the dead who will rise at the last day. That's true.
That's going to happen. When Christ comes the second
time, the dead in Christ are going to rise. And then the dead
who are cursed without Christ will rise. Look at John chapter
5. And that's so. Look at John chapter 5 and verse
28. He's talking about judgment here. And he says in verse 28, marvel
not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are
in the grave shall hear his voice. That's his second coming. And
shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection
of life. Now who are they that have done
good? What does the Bible, how does the Bible define they that
have done good? It's not man by nature. They that have done good are
those who are found in Christ. washed in his blood, clothed
in his righteousness, sinners saved by the grace of God. That's
how the Bible from Genesis to Revelation defines they that
have done good. Now, people take that out of
context and they say, well, see there, you better do the best
you can. Well, my friend, the best you can isn't good enough. The Bible also says there's none
good, no, not one. So they that have done good,
that was established, you remember what the Lord told Cain? He said,
if thou do us well, you will be accepted. What is it to do
well? Do what Abel did, bring the blood
of the Lamb. And so he says, they that have
done good under resurrection of life and they that have done
evil under the resurrection of damnation. That's the final end
of all things. Our only hope is to be, as Paul
wrote in Philippians chapter three, to be found in him, not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of
God, which is by faith. The standard of judgment by which
all men are commanded to repent is the fact that God has appointed
a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained and that he hath given assurance
unto all men and that he hath raised him from the dead, Christ.
our only hope. So, back here in Daniel 12 now,
when it talks about many of the... You can apply that to the final
end of all things, the second coming of Christ and the final
judgment, but this phrase normally is used to describe those who
are spiritually dead. And what he's talking about,
what he could be talking about, and what I think is a valid point
here, is that he's talking about when Michael stood up, when Christ
accomplished his work on the cross, out of his death comes
spiritual life. Spiritual life. And some who
are spiritually dead, they will awake to everlasting life. They'll
see the glory of God in Christ. And they'll come to faith in
Christ. And others who are spiritually dead, they'll wake to shame and
everlasting contempt. What's he talking about? He's
talking about those Jews who, in unbelief, rejected the Savior.
Now, verse 3, I believe, supports that view. Look at verse 3. Here's
what he says. And they that be wise... What
is it to be a wise person in the Scripture? It's to build
your house on the rock, isn't it? Matthew 7. Where is wisdom
in Christ? Christ is the personification
and embodiment of wisdom. Read Proverbs chapter 8. Where is the wisdom of God revealed
in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to them that are called? It's the power of God. He's the
power of God and the wisdom of God. Think about it. No other
message reveals to a sinner how God can be just and justify the
ungodly. That's the wisdom of God. Through
the substitutionary work of Christ who died for his people and put
away our sins, having them accounted to him. died and arose again
the third day, whose righteousness is accounted to us. That's the
wisdom of God. And they that be wise, they that
look to Christ, rest in Christ, believe in Christ, follow Christ,
plead the blood and righteousness of Christ, shall shine as the
brightness of the firmament. But go on, look what the next
line says. And they that turn many to righteousness as the
stars forever and ever. What is it to turn a person to
righteousness? What does that mean? I'll tell
you exactly what it means. It's to point them to Christ.
It's to preach the gospel to them. Now, at the final judgment,
there's not going to be... That's evangelism. That's what
that's talking about. Turning people to righteousness. Pointing sinners to Christ. And
at the final judgment, there's not going to be any evangelism,
folks. No, sir. The day of evangelism will be
well over when Christ comes the second time. So elements of this
can be related to the second coming, but I believe the main
focus here has to do with the prophecy of the end of Jerusalem
and the gospel going out all over the world, preached in the
power of the Holy Spirit to bring sinners to Christ. And it's a
saving message to those who believe, and it's a condemning message
to those who don't believe. The spread of the gospel. Those
who are wise in Christ, who trust Him and rest in Him. And so in verse four, he says,
but thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, seal the book, even to
the time of the end. This is gonna happen, folks.
This is sealed up. These things are determined and
predestinated by God Almighty. There's no contingencies here,
there's no conditions here, there's no maybes, ifs, ands, or buts,
it's sealed up. This is gonna happen, Daniel.
These are not things that may happen if men do or don't cooperate. These are things that'll happen
without fail. He says here, in this last time,
he says, at the time of the end, many shall run to and fro. The
term running to and fro here, when you first hear that, you
might think of people scurrying around, not knowing what's going
to happen, you know, in darkness, like groping. That's not what
this means. Look at it. Many shall run to and fro, and
look what it says, and knowledge shall be increased. What is that
to and fro? It literally means going up and
down the world. What'd Christ tell his disciples
in the Great Commission? Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel. And he says, now, listen, I realize
now, as we go get closer to the time of the Second Coming, people
are going to be scurrying around, running, like, as they say, like
chickens with their heads cut off, trying to find this, trying
to find, and they're not going to find it. But here he's talking
about going up and down the earth, all over the world. And knowledge,
see it there, knowledge shall be increased. Knowledge of what? Knowledge of God. Knowledge of
ourselves. Knowledge of Christ and salvation. The word of God, the revelation,
the prophecy. We'll see these prophecies fulfilled,
we have. All of these things, you see.
Man will, yeah, natural man will be scurrying around trying to
figure out, trying to save himself by, it won't work. But knowledge
shall be increased because it's the knowledge of God. It's the
knowledge that God teaches his people and brings them to a saving
knowledge of Christ. All right.