The End of the Terror!
Standing Firm & Staying Faithful In God's Sovereignty -- An Exposition of Daniel • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsGod wraps up His revelation of the End times to Daniel
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Are You Making the Most of Your Time?
Are You Making the Most of Your Time?
Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Time, Use of
A study revealed that an average seventy-year-old man has spent twenty-four years sleeping, fourteen years working, eight years in amusements, six years at the dinner table, five years in transportation, four years in conversation, three years in education, and two years in studying and reading.
His other four years were spent in miscellaneous pursuits. Of those four years, he spent forty-five minutes in church on Sundays, and five minutes were devoted to prayer each day. This adds up to a not at all impressive total of five months that he gave to God over the seventy years of his life.
Even if this man had been a faithful churchgoer who attended Sunday school and three one-hour services per week, he would have spent only one year and nine months in church!
If you have a question about the above arithmetic, sit down and figure out how you have been using your time. How large a portion of it is for the things related to God? When you finish this exercise, ponder what Jesus said: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? .
Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Time, Use of
A study revealed that an average seventy-year-old man has spent twenty-four years sleeping, fourteen years working, eight years in amusements, six years at the dinner table, five years in transportation, four years in conversation, three years in education, and two years in studying and reading.
His other four years were spent in miscellaneous pursuits. Of those four years, he spent forty-five minutes in church on Sundays, and five minutes were devoted to prayer each day. This adds up to a not at all impressive total of five months that he gave to God over the seventy years of his life.
Even if this man had been a faithful churchgoer who attended Sunday school and three one-hour services per week, he would have spent only one year and nine months in church!
If you have a question about the above arithmetic, sit down and figure out how you have been using your time. How large a portion of it is for the things related to God? When you finish this exercise, ponder what Jesus said: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? .
With those thoughts in mind…please turn to …today we conclude our study of Daniel…the whole theme of this book as been to see the Sovereignty of God in all things and the need for us to stay faithful, even in times of great distress…
In this book, God revealed his sovereign plan for Israel and the world and his desire is that his people stay faithful no matter what is going on around them, regardless of who is in power on the earth and that being faithful means doing what God has called us to do in the time He has alloted for us...
Now as we get to , God is going to conclude his message to Daniel with a view into a very specific period of time that will impact Israel and the whole world...
The End Times in Daniel
The End Times in Daniel
The entire section of constitutes a major revelation of the end times…Jesus would call this time The Great Tribulation… and Jeremiah would call the Time of Jacob’s Trouble…
From we see that this time begins with the breaking of the covenant the Antichrist makes with Israel
A world ruler, a world war, a world religion, time of great tribulation for Israel, deliverance for the people of God at the end of the tribulation, resurrection and judgment, reward of the righteous.
From we see that this time begins with the breaking of the covenant the Antichrist makes with Israel
From ; ; that the reign of terror from the Antichrist will last for three and one half years...
We see Michael in this text…the only angel given the title of archangel……name means “who is like unto God?”… tells us he is the one who kicks Satan out of heaven…Daniel makes it clear that he is the protector of Israel.
We see that this text also points to the Jews… “sons of your people”...
It is a time of trouble...
“For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.
This text is for Israel and our understanding of God’s message to them is...
Main Point: Stay Faithful Knowing the End is Coming!
Main Point: Stay Faithful Knowing the End is Coming!
Main Point: Stay Faithful Knowing the End is Coming!
Main Point: Stay Faithful Knowing the End is Coming!
God reveals truth to Daniel that is to be a guide for understanding what lies ahead…by knowing these things, the challenge is to stay faithful, redeeming the time alloted to each generation...
What things does God want Daniel and Israel to know?
Know the Prophecies of the End —
Know the Prophecies of the End —
These first three verses review and affirm four major prophecies concerning the future of Israel.
Israel will experience great trouble —
Israel will experience great trouble —
“At that time” links this text with the end of …it is the period of time marked by the rule of the Antichrist…it is a reign of terror...
‘Alas! for that day is great,
There is none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,
But he will be saved from it.
Jer
From Revelation we see how Michael is involved...
And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,
and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Rev
When Satan is cast down to the earth, the Great Tribulation will be initiated on Israel.
“For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
Rev
Here is what happens to Israel during this time...
For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
God himself will gather the nations, using them to purge Israel, refine them and judge them…the calamity here will be unprecedented...
“For thus says the Lord,
‘I have heard a sound of terror,
Of dread, and there is no peace.
‘Ask now, and see
If a male can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?
‘Alas! for that day is great,
There is none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,
But he will be saved from it.
Greater detail of this time is seen in .
Jeremiah 30:
Jeremiah compares the men clutching themselves in fear to a woman in labor…the coming calamity will be so awful that nothing can compare to it…but not all is lost for God will rescue his people...
“For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.
“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.
Matthew 24
Unless Jesus put an end to this time, no one would survive…for the sake of the elect…so that the redeemed people do not suffer more than they can bear, the time is cut short, total destruction is held back…in and we are told the beast is only allowed to terrorize the world for a period of three and half years...
When Daniel is told “at that time” he is told about this period of war, famine, darkness, disease and demons…the world will have never experienced what it will then...
wholesale slaughter and famine and economic struggles — horsemen in
collapse of the heavenly bodies — stars fall to the earth like a fig tree sheds its winter fruit…
destruction of 1/3 of the earth, 1/3 of the sea, 1/3 of plant life, 1/3 of the sun is destroyed, 1/3 of the moon, 1/3 of the stars, great demonic activity to the point that 1/3 of the world’s population will be wiped out..
Real Global Warming — sun will scorch people and burn them to death
Real Global Warming — sun will scorch people and burn them to death
Great horrors will be unleashed upon this world when God pours out his wrath through the seal, trumpet and bowl judgments described in .
you ain’t seen nothin’ yet…none of us will ever experience the distress this world will see at that time...
Israel will be rescued —
Israel will be rescued —
Everyone who is found written in the book…this is a reference to the Book of life mentioned a number of times in the Bible…; ; ; ; etc.
Everyone who is found written in the book…this is a reference to the Book of Life mentioned a number of times in the Bible…; ; ; ; etc.
Scripture speaks of this book in two ways…a book of natural life…much like a book that records genealogies, this is the book of the living…being blotted out of this book was to die…In , when Moses told God to blot him out he is saying I would rather die than see Israel destroyed…here in the thought is that the righteous whose names are in that book will survive the tribulation.
It is also used in the NT to refer to the fact that those who trust Christ have their names written in this book which contains the names of believers of all times…;
So what we gain from a fuller understanding of this book is that there will be a remnant of Jews that will believe, whose names will be written in this book and they will be rescued, some eternally and some both physically and eternally… would refer to them as the 144,000, the martyr’s, etc.
That seems to be the concept behind the Book of Life…it is a book originally containg
God says in that He will purge Israel of rebellious and disobedient Jews, leaving a remnant of committed Jews...
In we read...
“It will come about in all the land,”
Declares the Lord,
“That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
But the third will be left in it.
“And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are My people,’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”
Malachi also makes reference to this...
Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name.
“They will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”
So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
Malachi
God is going to use the Tribulation period to separate the faithful Jews from those who are unfaithful…those left at the end of that time will be a righteous nation that will reign with Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom…a literal 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth from Jerusalem…,
Israel will experience a resurrection —
Israel will experience a resurrection —
This is not saying that everyone will be resurrected at the same time…the New Testament reveals that by the end of the Tribulation, all righteous dead will have been resurrected to life…but the resurrection of the unrighteous will not occur until a thousand years later, at the end of the Millennium
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.
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.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
,
Old Testament saints are not raised at the rapture…only those who are in Christ…they are not raised until after the tribulation…why? Because after the Tribulation Jesus sets up the Millennial Kingdom in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and David of the eternal King.
So what we have here in is a 1000 year gap in time between the resurrection of the just and the unjust…some to everlasting life…some to disgrace and everlasting contempt.
The point of is that those who are in Christ and who die during the Tribulation period will be raised to life and will enter the Millennial Kingdom
Israel will be rewarded —
Israel will be rewarded —
wise — those having true knowledge, insight into the Word of God.
These individuals will influence others for righteousness and will shine as bright lights in a dark world…during the Tribulation there will be some courageous individuals who will instruct others in God’s Word…and there will be people saved… “lead many to righteousness”…their witness will be a shining light in the darkened condition of the world.
The End of Prophecies —
The End of Prophecies —
Something you’ll notice about this is that Daniel doesn’t understand much of what God says to him…Read
We have a greater advantage today than Daniel did…we have the completed revelation of God. But even with that there are still somethings we struggle to grasp! But don’t get discouraged!
Peter tells us in that the prophets themselves knew they were writing prophesies but they didn’t always understand what the Holy Spirit gave them to write.
The Prophecies Are To Be Guarded Until The End Times —
The Prophecies Are To Be Guarded Until The End Times —
conceal, shut up the words, roll up and seal…Daniel is told that the prophecies here are for the end times and that it must be secured so it would be available when it was needed most… indicates that Daniel couldn’t understand what he was told and the only instruction he receives is to seal it up…protect it…there was going to come a time on earth when what is revealed here will make sense and the people are going to need to read this...
“Many will run to and fro and knowledge will increase”… does not mean that technology will rule the day and international travel will be easier…the Hebrew verb form always refers to the movement of a person searching for something…to diligently peruse the words on a page…during the Tribulation people will look for answers to the devastation and discover increased knowledge from reading Daniel because it has been preserved…no matter how much longer it takes for this to happen, God will preserve His Word to make sure people have Daniel available to read during that time!
The Prophecies Speak of A Specific Time When The Tribulation Will End —
The Prophecies Speak of A Specific Time When The Tribulation Will End —
Raised both hands — in ancient times raising one hand in an oath was a way of showing the seriousness and importance of a promise…; … by raising both hands he conveyed an even greater significance...
Time, times and half a time — answers the question of of how long will it last?
time = 1 unit, times = 2 units, half time = 1/2 unit
this is a reference to the last 3 1/2 years of Daniel’s seventieth week…the time the little horn/willful king persecutes the saints — ; ; … this same time frame is described in ;
“as soon as they finish”… Daniel is told that all these prophecies will be fulfilled as long as it takes for the power of the Jews to be broken.
— many will be purged…salvation will come to many Jews during the Tribulation and the true believers will develop godliness and understanding through the trials, however the lost will still act wickedly.
“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Start counting the days when you see the abomination of desolation —
Start counting the days when you see the abomination of desolation —
Jesus speaks to this in
“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
— Jesus says flee to the mountains..
The Antichrist removes the daily offerings which he allowed in the covenant he makes with Israel…go back to and you see that he breaks this covenant and begins persecuting the Jews…He desecrates the temple and sets himself up as God…
Why are there different amounts of days listed in , ?
1260 days = 3 1/2 years — we are already told that the Tribulation will last for 7 total years, the last half of it being considered the Great Tribulation.
1290 days = 30 more days than the 1,260
1290 days = 1260 days (3 1/2 years by Jewish calendar of 30 day months) + 30 days
1, 335 days = 45 days additional that have already been added
75 total days that have never been spoken of in prophecy…why the addition and bless those who waited until the end?
We don’t know for certain and won’t know until it happens, but here is a thought I think as merit…the 1,260 days marks the end of the rule of the Antichrist, he is defeated and cast into the lake of fire…an additional 30 days could possibly allow for the judgment of the living subsequent to Christ’s return before the millennial kingdom blessings begin…In when Jesus returns, he sends forth His angels to gather his people from one end of the earth to the other…the blessing of is the fulfillment of the Millennial Kingdom and the additional 45 days would allow for the transition between the shattering of Israel and God’s setting up of this kingdom…again we don’t know for certain, only God knows what exactly happens during those days and saw fit to tell Daniel about them…we must wait and see!
The Prophecies Are Certain, So Go Do What You are Supposed to Do — ,
The Prophecies Are Certain, So Go Do What You are Supposed to Do — ,
Proceed with your life —
Proceed with your life —
The angel told Daniel to proceed with your life and don’t waste time trying to find out more…these prophecies will not be fully understood until they happen … there are certain elements of God’s plan that we will not know until they happen… we are not to be concerned with that which God has not revealed...we are to rest in knowing it is not our business to know them…instead, we are take what we do know and act on that...
The angel told Daniel to proceed with your life and don’t waste time trying to find out more…these prophecies will not be fully understood until they happen… … there are certain elements of God’s plan that we will not know until they happen…we are to rest in knowing it is not our business to know them…we take what we do know and act on them...
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.
Deut 29:29
Prepare for the Future —
Prepare for the Future —
Go your way to the end — keep doing what God has called you to do…Daniel was in his eighties and was told to keep going…stay faithful...
You will enter into rest — Daniel, you are going to die…you won’t see this time of trouble...
and rise again — Daniel, you will be resurrected...
for your alloted portion…Daniel you will receive your portion of the inheritance promised to Abraham…and since we know that this happens after the Tribulation…he is promised to reign with Jesus in the millennium along with all those who have been given life in Him.
God was promising Daniel that someday he would receive his part of the land…his inheritance is safe and secure…the best is yet to come...
Lesson for Life — Be Vigilant
Lesson for Life — Be Vigilant
We have Daniel today, because God preserved it…they will have Daniel in the time of Tribulation because God will preserve it…until that time comes we must be vigilant to preserve the word in our church, in our homes, in our lives, and be careful to obey it…the day is coming when what God told Daniel will happen and the time is that much closer than when He revealed it to Daniel…be vigilant to obey...
Be vigilant to redeem the time...
Eph 5:15-1
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
We cannot be content to be idle and simply wait for God to come and get us and then resume his plan for Israel…no we are to “go our way” and serve the Lord...
Be vigilant to make sure your future is secure…unless Jesus comes first, death is inevitable…like Daniel we are promised a glorious future if we put our trust in Christ and persevere…much like those who will teach in the dark time of the Tribulation, we have the potential of shining like stars in the new kingdom of Christ...
Daniel was a teenager who committed to being faithful regardless of his circumstances, environment, or the people around him. Because he was faithful, God honored him and will continue to honor him in the future!
Daniel was a teenager who committed to being faithful regardless of his circumstances, environment, or the people around him. Because he was faithful, God honored him and will continue to honor him in the future!
You too can have that same level of faithfulness…will you be a Daniel of our time?