Chapter 12, the last chapter
of the book of the prophecy of Daniel. It's been quite a journey,
12 separate messages over 12 weeks, and here we come to the
end of it. It's the final vision which began
at the beginning of chapter 10. So 10, 11, and 12 are the final
vision, and it's the vision that is given by Christ Himself. We
saw that this man standing on the water may be a precursor
of when Christ came and walked on the water and his disciples
saw him in that boat in the storm. There he is standing on the water
of the river and he's giving Daniel this vision and we've
seen the tremendous detail of history that has been given and
has been fulfilled because we now look back and we can fit
together and we can see that all of it was fulfilled. As I put in the bulletin I'm
not sure, I leave others to judge what you think of the the standard
or the clarity of the preaching, but for me preparing these messages,
these messages, the message of this book has been a tremendous
encouragement to me personally, that we're always subject to
fleshly doubts and fleshly concerns, but to me preparing these messages
and seeing just a glimpse, because obviously we could dig so much
deeper, so much deeper, we could expound every single verse, we
could take years going through it, we could never ever plumb
the depths of it, But just this superficial look has given me
tremendous encouragement about the situation. Why things are
as they are, why we see things as they are, it's very encouraging.
It's meant to be encouraging. The Word of God to God's people
is comfort. Comfort my people, says your
God. See, it's very difficult being
a Christian. It always has been. It's very difficult in these
days being a Christian. We're always swimming against
the tide. We're always going in the opposite direction. The
whole of society, every single bit of it, is going in the other
direction. And here we are. It's like the
analogy of being in a little tiny rowing boat. You know, you've
barely got the strength to get yourself from A to B, as long
as the water's calm and the wind isn't against you. And it's like
trying to turn round a heavily loaded 200,000 ton supertanker. And you just think, we've got
no chance. How on earth is the rowing boat going to persuade
the supertanker to turn round? That's why it's futile to try
just simply to persuade with the messages of man's wisdom.
That's why the only thing that we're to do is what God tells
us to do, which is to preach the gospel of His grace, for
it is by the foolishness of preaching that it pleased God to save those
who believe. It's by the foolishness of preaching.
God's Word promises us nothing other than the situation that
we find. We're small in number. We're
very easily discouraged. There's nobody on our side, it
seems. We're totally swimming against the tide of society.
Surely something's wrong, isn't it? Surely, if we were doing
the right thing according to God's Word, people would be flocking
in from this area, wouldn't they? No, that's not what God's Word
says, actually. God orders those things, and in certain times
He does bring in. a harvest of souls but in others
and the majority of times it's the message of scripture is that
it's a lonely path it's a very lonely path it's a potentially
very discouraging path if you just look at the waves around
you but if you look at Christ oh what an encouraging path it
is to be found in Him to be found in that place where He has saved
His people you see we're now in the last days We know we're
in the last days. It's been the last days ever
since Christ returned to glory. How do we know we're in the last
days? Because John the Apostle in his letter, 1 John chapter
2, 18 says, brethren, it is the last days. There's no question
about that. We are in the last days. And
in this respect, do you know all the prophecies that we've
looked at have been fulfilled? Every single one of them. Do
you know there's only one that hasn't yet been fulfilled? Only one.
And that's for Christ himself to come back. Everything else
has been fulfilled. everything else. I know there
are variations of interpretation, as I'll mention in a moment,
about Antichrist and about whether there is one particular individual
to arise or not, but if you take it as I do, the spirit of Antichrist,
there is nothing left to happen than Christ to come back to take
his people to be with him. And so we've read a lot about
Antichrist in these pages, about the opposition to the Gospel.
See this is it, it's not something weird, it's not something surreal,
it's not something you know, sort of pseudo-scientific. It's nothing like that. It's
that which opposes the message of sovereign grace in the Gospel.
That is Antichrist. The spirit of Antichrist is that
which opposes the message of sovereign grace in the Gospel.
And so you see, Antichrist can be that religion which calls
itself Christian. Because the vast majority of
the religion in the world today that calls itself Christian does
not believe in sovereign grace. It will not have this man to
rule over them. It will not have this God to
determine who he will have and who he will not. It will not
have God in his rightful place on the throne of glory. And that's
the spirit of Antichrist. We see him, we saw in chapter
11 a lot about Antiochus Epiphanes down to verse 36. That particular
man who is a very clear embodiment in the Old Testament, 150 years
before Christ was born, a very clear and vicious and nasty,
vile embodiment of the spirit of Antichrist, oppressing the
people of God, the faithful in Jerusalem, stopping the sacrifice,
crushing the gospel, in other words. And then from verse 36
to the end, the vision changes along the same lines, but it
clearly can't be talking about that same individual Antiochus
Epiphanes, it's talking about the spirit of Antichrist in the
last days, in the days in which we live. It parallels what's
mentioned in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, that man of sin who
must come, that man of sin who exalts himself and sits in the
temple of God, showing himself to be God and speaking loud and
pompous words in the temple of God. Is it one man? Or is it
the spirit of Antichrist? Some people, and I'm not going
to argue with them, think it is one particular individual
that has to come. People have looked down the ages. If you read John Gill, who wrote,
say, about 250 years ago, he sees this one as being either
the Turkish Empire, the Ottoman Empire, which is effectively
Islam, and another aspect of it being the Church of Rome.
I think it was Spurgeon that said, wasn't it, that if you
gave a detective Revelation 17, he would arrest the Pope. We
may smile at that, but that's what Spurgeon said. Yes, these
may have been, in aspects, embodiments of that spirit. I'm not sure
that they are the particular individual. To me, the Pope of
Rome today seems a shadow of the dominant power that they
used to exert. Maybe they still do exert a lot
of influence over a lot of people. but compared with what they did
exert, it seems a shadow today of what they used to be. But
undoubtedly there is a spirit of Antichrist abroad. Look at
it just briefly. I know we're looking at chapter
12, but just I want you to go back into chapter 11 just for
a moment. These verses 36 to the end, 45.
Look in verse 38. You see, well, verse 37. This
spirit of Antichrist, neither shall he regard the God of his
fathers. He's got a new God. nor the desire
of women, nor regard of any God, for he shall magnify himself
above all." The point is, I'm just picking out the key things.
He's got a new God. This spirit of Antichrist has
got a new God. Look, verse 38, "...in his estate,
in the estate of his old God, shall he honor the God of forces."
What is that? I don't know, I don't claim to
know. "...but the God of forces, and the God whom his fathers
knew not, shall he honor with gold and silver, and with precious
stones and pleasant things thus shall he do in the most strongholds
with a strange God whom he shall acknowledge and increase with
glory and he shall cause them to rule over many and shall divide
the land for gain I don't want to get into kind of trying to
fit together all this must be that and this must be that and
so on and so forth but this idea of this new God, this strange
God, this God of forces is this not the age in which we live?
There is a God in this age, you know, that is worshipped by the
vast majority of people in what we might call the industrialized,
the civilized world. It's the God of pseudo-scientific
philosophy, because that's what it is. All of these things that
are presented as science are really pseudo-scientific philosophies.
The philosophies of beginnings, the philosophies of how things
are at the moment, the philosophy of man's influence over climate,
and all of these other things. They're pseudo-scientific philosophies. It's a new god, the god of forces.
Oh, science is that great god, you know, and we've got the archbishops
of these gods in the universities making their pronouncements,
and it's reflected in government. Our government reflects the principles
of this pseudo-scientific philosophical god. The government reflects
it. Our institutions of higher education reflect it. Our schools in their syllabuses,
you know, get whatever education you can, children, but remember
this, if you've been taught the Word of God in your church, in
your family, if you've taught the Word of God, you're going
to come up against those who reflect this pseudo-scientific
philosophy that's all around us. It's Antichrist. It is. It's
Antichrist. It's Antichrist. It speaks here
of economic and violent domination of things in verses 43 and 44.
He shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver.
Look at the turmoil in economic markets. Again, be careful of
trying to fit too many of these details precisely to what happened
last week or last year. You get into all sorts of trouble
if you do start to do that. But it is symptomatic of the
age in which we live, isn't it? He's got power over the treasures
of gold and of silver and the precious things of Egypt. And
all of these things speak of the age in which we live. In
verse 45, He shall plant the tabernacles of His palace between
the seas in the glorious holy mountain. You see? He openly
confronts God. And isn't that what our media
do all the time? Openly confront God. I was listening to something
on the radio the other day, and it was a program of science to
do with the natural world. And they were talking about the
immense complexities that are there in the natural world. And
of course, they immediately, with all of their intelligence
and all of their brain power, immediately come to the conclusion,
but it cannot possibly be intelligent design, because we know that's
just a load of nonsense. It cannot possibly be intelligent
design. You see, it's all there in the trick of evolution is
this, that there you are, it completely rules out the possibility
of intelligent design and they're all laughing and joking and congratulating
one another on their brain power around the table for coming to
the conclusion that there's no need for any God at all because
it all put itself together. I've just been on a course for
work this week, three days of hard thinking all about how we
need to do things differently so that we do them better and
we get on better and better at doing them. Do you know how you
get things better? by putting in clever, hard effort. You don't get things better by
leaving it to itself. You sweep the house, and you
get all the dirt, metaphorically, next to the front door. And you
pile, and you've taken all the dirt out of the house. And somebody
comes in and opens the front door on a windy day, and what
immediately happens? All the dirt blows everywhere. It's the
natural state of things. And yet, this God of this philosophy,
this Antichrist, tells us everything is back to front. This is why
we're in such a minority. swimming against this tide of
antichrist that's in the world but look at the end of verse
45 is this going to go on forever this state that we're in now
this godless antichrist state yet he shall come to his end
and none shall help him this is not the message of this book
is that this is not going to go on forever it will come to
an end he, this antichrist, will come to his end and none will
help him and when? All in God's will and purpose
God is on the throne not this one who seems to have all the
power but God is on the throne and then in verse 12 look what
happens this isn't sequential at that time shall Michael stand
up the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people
and there shall 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. At that time shall Michael stand
up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people."
Michael. Who is this? Michael. He's one
of the angels, isn't he? We've heard about Michael. This
is Christ. Who else can this be? This is
Christ. Christ is given the name Michael
here. He's given the name Michael. This is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Look at Revelation with me. This is the one who stands up
for His people. This is the one who stands up.
Every message about who it is that saves His people is Christ.
And Christ is God. And He is a jealous God and He
will not tolerate anybody else coming in and taking any of His
glory. He prayed to His Father that He would restore the glory
that He had with Him before the world began. That's how we know
that He's God. very God of very God because he is worthy of that
glory and honor and praise. And look in Revelation and chapter
12 and verse 7. Oh look, here he is again. And
there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought
against the dragon. Who else is that? That's our
Lord Jesus Christ. And the dragon fought and his
angels. Michael and his angels. Look in Revelation chapter 5. You see, who else could it be?
Who else could be worthy to take this place? Revelation chapter
5 and verse 5. Well, let's go back a little
bit more. You see, there's a scroll in heaven. There's a scroll.
Who is worthy to open the book, verse 2, and to loose the seals?
And no man was found neither under the earth. No one was able
to open the book. And I wept much because no man
was found worthy. to open the book, to read the
book, neither to look thereon. And verse 5, And one of the elders
said unto me, Weep not. Behold, the lion of the tribe
of Judah, here's another of his names, the root of David, another
of his names, hath prevailed to open the book, and loose the
seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a lion? No, a lamb, as it had been slain. having seven horns, horns of
power, and seven eyes, ability to see, which are the seven spirits
of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the
book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and
twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of
them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers
of the saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art
worthy, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals
thereof. for thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation and has made us unto our God kings and priests
and we shall reign on the earth and I beheld and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and
the elders and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy
is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing and every
creature which is under heaven and on earth and under the earth
and such as are in the sea and all that are in them heard I
saying blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that
sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever and
all the four beasts said Amen and the four and twenty elders
fell down and worshipped." This is Michael who stood there. Michael
shall stand up for his people Michael shall come and do that
which is necessary to accomplish salvation. And Michael shall
come at the end for his people to take them, to be with him.
It was out of pure grace that our Lord Jesus Christ came in
the flesh. He came in the flesh. Remember,
test the spirits whether they be of God. Not everyone that
says he is of Christ is of God. Not everyone that says I'm preaching
the truth of the gospel of grace is of God. Test the spirits.
Those that say Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, remember what
I told you you have to add on to that. What you have to, how
you have to interpret that. He came in the flesh, not just
as a man, there's lots of people who will say they give mental
assent to that, but that He came specifically for His people. He came specifically that His
people, that specific particular number might live in Him. that
they might keep God's law in Him, that He might bear their
sins in His own body on the tree, that He might save His people
from their sins. This is it. This is who came.
He came in the flesh to do that specific job. If you preach a
Christ that came to make it possible for people to believe, You don't
preach the Christ of Scripture. He came to save His people from
their sins. He came to pay the sin debt. A body was prepared for Him,
Psalm 40. A body was prepared and He came. That in that body, in that flesh
that we remembered last week when we broke bread and shared
wine together, remembering His body, His broken body and His
shed blood, He did for all His people and specifically for His
people. And who are His people? Who are
His people? in the book. He, at that time
thy people shall be delivered says verse 1. Everyone that shall
be found written in the book. That's his people. Who are his
people? Those who are written in the
book. What is the book? It is the book
of sovereign grace. It is the book of sovereign grace
that is hated by man-centered works-based religion. Man-centered
works-based religion hates the very idea that God should have
a book of sovereign grace. But this book, the Word of God
tells us that He does have such a book, such a book. It's the
book of Zion. Look at some scriptures with
me. Isaiah chapter 4 and verse 3. Let's look at this book of
God, this book of sovereign grace, this book of redemption. Isaiah
chapter 4 and verse 3. and it shall come to pass that
he that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall
be called holy even everyone that is written among the living
in Jerusalem there's a book of Zion there's a book of the living
there's a book of life the book of life it is the Lamb's book
of life no need to turn to this you can look at it later Revelation
21 and verse 27 and there shall in no wise enter into it, that's
heaven, anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination
or maketh a lie. But what will enter in? What
will enter in? They which are written in the
Lamb's book of life. It's the heavenly record of those
whom the Father gave to the Son, whom the Son came to redeem,
whom the Holy Spirit called out and will call out until every
single one of them is there. till they stand in their ranks
as an army, till they form that temple of the living God with
every stone cut out of the quarry of the grace of God in its rightful
place. Ephesians 1 verse 4, just as
He chose us in Christ from before the foundation of the world.
You see, I'm not making this up. You know these scriptures.
This is not the invention of man. This is the revelation of
the Word of God. 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse
9, who saved us, God saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works. He didn't foresee that we would
do certain things that would recommend us to Him, not according
to our works, but what? According to His own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. This is the book of sovereign
grace. In Luke 10 and verse 20, The
disciples, the number had gone out, 70 of them I think it was,
had gone out. And they'd gone out in the power of the Spirit
of God to preach the Kingdom of God. Jesus had commissioned
them and sent them out to go and preach the Kingdom of God.
And all sorts of wonderful things happened. Demons were subject
to them. They cast out demons. They did
all sorts of marvelous things. And they came back rejoicing
at the wonderful things that they'd done. And Jesus said to
them, in this, rejoice not that the spirits are subject to you.
That's incidental. That's by the way. Yes, it's
a great thing, but that's by the way. But rather rejoice because
your names are written in heaven. That's the reason. Rejoice that
your names are written in heaven. When Paul's writing to the Philippians,
and he's asking in chapter 4, he's asking two women to get
on together. He talks about those whose names
are in the book of life. God has a book which is the book
of life. In Hebrews chapter 12 and verse
23 he speaks of the church and he describes it as the church
of the firstborn written in heaven. The church of the firstborn written
in heaven. This book determines human destiny. What does it do? Look at verse
2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake. This is talking about the final
judgment, the end of time, the end of things. Some to everlasting
life and some to shame and everlasting contempt I've called this message
everlasting life and everlasting contempt because there's a great
division there's a serious great division in the purposes of God
a serious great division if you read in John chapter 5 28 and
29 just to prove that I'm not taking the more extreme passages
of scripture like Revelation and Daniel chapter 12 but our
Lord Jesus Christ himself in John chapter 5 and verses 28
and 29 said this marvel not at this for the hour is coming in
the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and
shall come forth they that have done good and I'll put in brackets
there by believing the gospel by obeying the gospel unto the
resurrection of life and they that have done evil and I'll
put in brackets there by rejecting the gospel by disobeying the
gospel of grace unto the resurrection of damnation Jesus said it Jesus
said those very words this is not just the Old Testament God
speak this is our Lord Jesus Christ it was him who was speaking
giving this vision to Daniel and as a man in John chapter
5 he said those very words some shall arise to everlasting life
and some to the resurrection of damnation this is a serious
serious subject There is no more serious subject. Is my name written
there in the Lamb's Book of Life? Is my name written there? Do
I want my name to be written there? Do I long for my name
to be written there? Do I have compassion for my family
and my friends and my neighbors for their names to be written
there in the Lamb's Book of Life? Or do I scorn the very idea of
God condemning people just like me for there is no difference
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God do
I scorn the very idea of God condemning people like me to
what he calls contempt here in this book in this verse do I
scorn that or do I say with Paul Romans 3 verse 4 let God be true
and every man a liar irrespective of what my personal opinion might
be let God be true and every man a liar." God has spoken. God is truth. Whatever my flesh,
my fallen flesh, and my fallen judgment might think, God is
true and every man a liar. God has ordained things this
way and the judge of all the earth shall do right and in that
day God will be praised and acknowledged as just and holy and right in
everything that he's done. What follows in chapter 12 is
echoed and amplified in the book of Revelation, about the final
judgment, about the end of time. Many people pour scorn on the
very idea of an end of time. I remember once when people poured
scorn, not many years ago, on the idea of beginnings. They
said that everything was in a steady state, there'd never been a beginning,
it had just always been as it is now and it's just going on.
It's just carrying on like it's always been and I remember I
remember somebody writing into a junior astronomy program, I
think it was, with Patrick Moore, who is now a very, very old man
on there. You might occasionally see him.
But this was when he was a much younger man. And they'd ask the
question, are things going to end? And it was just laughed
off as a ridiculous idea. Things are going to go on for
another five billion years, everything. nothing's going to disturb us
for another five billion years we're absolutely fine you just
carry on don't worry about anything well I don't know if you've noticed
but in the last 50 years the theory of beginnings scientifically
of a Big Bang is now absolutely universally believed in the scientific
community and today they're meeting in Copenhagen jumping up and
down and making an awful fuss because they're convinced that
there's going to be a cataclysmic overheating end to this course
by us so All of a sudden, in less than my lifetime, worldly
thought has gone from there being no beginnings and no endings
to there being an absolutely definite beginning, and if we're
not careful, there's definitely going to be an end caused by
us. You see how fickle the thoughts of man is? You know, Peter mentions
this in his epistle, 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 4. He says
there are people who scoff at the idea that there's going to
be a judgment. They say, nothing's going to
change, nothing's going to worry us, They say, where is the promise
of His coming? He hasn't come so far. They thought
2,000 years ago that Jesus was coming in their lifetimes. He
still hasn't come. Where is the promise of His coming?
For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were
from the beginning of the creation. Isn't that what you hear men
and women saying? And the Scripture says that's exactly what they'll
say. But at the end, God in Christ
will judge. There is an end coming. We're
in an age of which I believe is described as this final spirit
of Antichrist. We're in such a minority, rowing
against the tide of godlessness and Antichrist. There's a judgment
coming. When will it be? We've no idea.
We do not know. These things are not revealed
to us. And you'll see, if you're hoping for some answers, I'm
still not going to be able to unlock some of the details before
the end of chapter 12. But God will come in Christ as
judge. He will come to judge. Acts 17
31 Paul says this, because he hath appointed a day in the which
he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. Who's the man he's ordained?
It's our Lord Jesus Christ. He will come as the judge whereof
he has given assurance unto all men. How do we know that that
man Christ Jesus is going to come and judge? He's given assurance
in that he has raised him from the dead. He's appointed a day. There is a day appointed. You
know, have you got this date in your diary? Have you got the
date of such and such a thing in your diary? It says in God's
Word that God has a date in His diary. There is a day appointed
when Christ will come and will judge. There's a day appointed
when He will come and divide the sheep from the goats. The
sheep He pictures as His people. The goats as those who are not
His people. Matthew 25 and verse 32. and before him, this is Jesus
speaking of the end of things, and before him shall be gathered,
before God shall be gathered, before Christ the judge shall
be gathered, all nations, and he shall separate them one from
another, as the shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." More
words of Christ. He will divide the sheep from
the goats. Look in verse 3. And they that be wise shall shine
as the brightness of the firmament, that they may turn many to righteousness
as the stars forever and ever and then look in verse 10 many
shall be purified and made white and tried but the wicked shall
do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand but the wise
shall understand he will divide the wise from the wicked the
wise and the wicked is the judgment division who are the wise? what
is it to be wise? to be wise in spiritual terms
to be wise in the things of eternity you must be in Christ for it
is Him it is Him of God He is made unto us wisdom from God
1 Corinthians 1.30 wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption wisdom from God in Colossians chapter 2 and verse
3 Colossians, you want wisdom, you want to be amongst the wise,
these that it's spoken of here, the wise shall understand, the
wise shall be raised to everlasting life. You want to be amongst
those wise. It's in Christ are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Man thinks he's so wise, but
in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Psalm
2, which asks, why do the heathen rage and imagine a vain thing
against the Lord and against His anointed? Why do they rage
against the Christ of God? Why do they set themselves up
and puff themselves up and shake their fists in His face? In verse
10 of Psalm 2, the instruction is to be wise, O kings. Be wise. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry
with you, and you perish in the way. Be wise, O kings, be wise
unto salvation. What is it that will make you
wise unto salvation? 2 Timothy 3.15, Paul speaking
to Timothy, the Scriptures that are able to make you wise unto
salvation. Seek and you shall find, knock
and it shall be opened to you. The truth is here, the wisdom
of God is here, for these are they which speak of Him. To be
wise is to be in Christ, to be found in him not having my own
righteousness but that which is by faith of Jesus Christ that
is wisdom that is true wisdom all the other wisdom of the world
much of it is great and useful and good to be acquired and used
but this is true wisdom to know eternal life and to know that
life in the Lord Jesus Christ what is it to be wicked Is it
just to do very bad things? You know, the wicked, the murderers
that are in prison that should have been executed and all these
things. Those that have done severe injustices to others.
They're the wicked people, aren't they? You remember that film
Ghost from years ago and the concept was of eternity and of
a heaven and a hell and the hell was where everybody that we would
judge as being the dross of society, the dreadful of society were
sent. According to the scriptures, to be wicked is to reject the
gospel to disobey the gospel of his grace John 8 24 says this
Jesus says if you believe not that I am he you shall die in
your sins if you believe not the gospel of his grace in 2nd
Corinthians 4 and verse 4 the God of this world has blinded
the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the gospel
the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should
shine unto them however good you are If you're outside of
Christ, if you're outside of the wisdom that is in Him alone,
this book calls you wicked. And this book says that the wicked
shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand.
Why? Because they reject the message of this book, which is
a message of sovereign grace, and of particular redemption,
and of the God of the universe, on the throne of the universe,
and whatever else He allows to happen for His eternal purposes.
It's for the eventual salvation of his people and the glory of
his Son. When is it all going to happen?
I'm sure you've been waiting for this and I'll only spend
a minute or two on it. When is it all going to happen?
Because when this vision of Christ on the river is there before
Daniel, two others appear, one on either bank, two other angels
and one of them asks the one that's standing on the waters,
when will all of these things be? How long shall it be to the
end of these wonders? When is this world that we're
in now going to end? When is it going to end? And
the answer he gets is this. It shall be for a time, verse
7, times and a half. And when he shall have accomplished
to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall
be finished. We could dive into a lot more
detail about that. We could link it to Revelation
11 and the two prophets Moses and Elijah being killed by society
and lying dead in the street and society rejoicing over their
dead bodies and not allowing them to be buried and three and
a half days they're there but after three and a half days they
rise upon their feet and great fear falls on all of them. We
could delve into all of the meaning of those things. It's almost
as if today we live in days when the prophets of God are lying
dead in the street. There is so little influence
on the society in which we live but it will come to an end. How
long? A time. times and half a time. Now, do
you understand that? You're going to say no. And I
say no as well. Look at verse 8. Daniel says,
I heard, but I understood not. You're in good company. Daniel
didn't understand what it meant. And he said, Oh my Lord, what
shall the end of these things be? You know, I've said that
it's as if it's for a time, which is a time that just seems to
go on and on and on. And then it goes on for twice
as long again and then you think the thing is never ever going
to end and it's cut short hence the half it's cut short in the
middle it's speaking of God determining these things it's a fixed time
it will not go beyond his timing and that will be it but the answer
he gets give me more information verse 8 he asks for more information
he asks boldly for more information and he's told this verse 9 go
thy way Daniel for the words are closed up and seal till the
end of time. Go your way. Seal it up. Seal
it up in the book. Go your way. Write it down. Leave
it for posterity. But that's it. Just carry on
doing your job of serving in the government of the Persian
Empire that you're in. Just leave it like that. You've
had the vision. God is in control. It will end
when He has determined it will end. Many shall be purified.
There will be a judgment. He will do that which He said
right from the beginning of time. He will do that. And then in
verses 11 and 12, there's something about 1,290 days and then 1,335
days. I haven't got the faintest idea
and I can't find any commentator that can explain to me what that
means and how that fits together. But this is the point. This is
the point. Leave it to God. Leave it to
Him. He will determine the end of
it all. Blessed is He that waits and comes to the 1,335 day. Just trusting God and wait. But go your way until the end
for you shall rest and stand in your lot at the end of days.
Are you in Christ? Just go your way till the end,
till God has chosen the time. You shall rest in Christ. You
shall rest in the salvation He has accomplished and stand in
your lot at the end of your days. So there we are. Very much in
a nutshell I know, but the end of the book of Daniel. Hymn number 315. Day of Judgment