Take your Bibles, or turn in your ESV Daniel journaling books to Daniel chapter 12. This is the last in our series, our January Intensive. We will be returning – I know you are terribly excited about the thought of returning to Leviticus this coming Lord’s Day! Let me just say about Leviticus, Leviticus is the most Gospel saturated book, maybe in the Bible, certainly in the Old Testament. If you love Jesus, you ought to love Leviticus. And if you want to know Jesus better, then you need Leviticus. So there’s my plug for Leviticus this Sunday. Please pray for me as I prepare. That’s tomorrow and Friday’s work.
You will remember this final section of the book began with an introductory encounter between Daniel and the glorious heavenly visitor; we identified Him as the preincarnate Christ in Daniel chapter 10. And Daniel was shown in chapter 10 the supernatural battle that is raging unseen behind the scenes, behind the scenes of world history, as Daniel gave himself to the ministry of prayer. And then chapter 11, as we saw last Lord’s Day evening, chapter 11 showed us the special focus of the future global history that was to unfold ahead of Daniel, centered on the fortunes of the people of God and the purposes of God in Israel. We noticed the rise and fall of Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms in Syria and in Egypt and the arrival of one Seleucid king in particular. He is called in chapter 11 “a contemptible person” – Antiochus Epiphanes, who would arise to persecute the people of God in Jerusalem. He will desecrate the temple. He would impose pagan worship. But Antiochus, we saw, was just the preview of a still more monstrous figure yet to come, with which the last section of Daniel 11 is especially preoccupied. Antiochus is meant to preview and prepare us for antiChrist who will arrive at the very end of the ages.
And now tonight in chapter 12, chapter 12 opens, verses 1 through 4, are really the final section of the vision of chapter 11. The chapter divisions, let’s remember, are not inspired. This was an unhelpfully placed chapter division. The first four verses of chapter 12 really belong with chapter 11. It’s still talking about the same period of time in which antiChrist arises to wreak havoc in the church. But it directs our gaze beyond his malice and evil toward the final victory of Jesus Christ and the glorious resurrection that lies ahead for everyone who trusts in Him. Then verses 5 through the end of the chapter go back over the same ground, the whole period between Christ’s first and final coming, seeking to answer questions about the timing and the implications of everything that Daniel has been shown. And lacing the chapter as a whole are a series of calls to Daniel, wisely to steward the Word of God that he has received and to Daniel and to the whole people of God to persevere in faithfulness no matter what comes in the future. If you are going to make it through hard times – and that’s what Daniel has been shown lies ahead, hard times – it really helps to know the answer to three questions. How is it all going to end? How long will it take? And how can I make it through? We’ll all admit, I think, to having asked a version or another of those questions from time to time in our Christian lives. How is it going to end? How long will it all take? And how can I make it through?
Daniel 12 sets out to answer those questions. We’ll summarize the answers under three headings. First, there is the theme of destiny in 1 through 4. How will it end? Destiny. Then 5 through 7, duration. How long will it take? And then 8 through 13, duty. How will I make it through? Destiny, duration and duty. Before we consider each of those, let’s pray together and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit. Let us all pray.
Lord our God, as Your Word is read and proclaimed, bring it to bear, we pray, on our fearful, weary, sin-embattled souls. Lift our chins to look a little further forward beyond tomorrow, beyond the years ahead, to the great, glorious, final day when death at last will be swallowed up in victory. O Lord, give us eyes, eyes of faith that see the reality of the thing promised, sure, guaranteed, and soon approaching so that we may persevere in all the trials that in Your providence You have ordained for us until that day dawns. For Jesus’ sake, amen.
Daniel chapter 12 at verse 1. This is the Word of God:
“At that time” – that is, at the time being discussed in chapter 11, at the end of chapter 11 – “‘At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.’
Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, ‘How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?’ And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, ‘O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?’ He said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.’”
Amen.
Let’s think first of all about the theme of destiny in verses 1 through 4, which is answering the question, “How will it all end?” How will it all end? These opening verses, as I said a moment ago, are really a continuation of the preceding section at the end of Daniel 11, discussing the rise and the fall of antiChrist. So 11:45 says of him, “He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.” Twelve:1 follows on from that immediately, “At that time.” So this is the bleak, fearful context for these verses – antiChrist’s dominion and domination of the global scene and his oppression and persecution of the people of God and his final end. And if the church is going to endure through this terrible season to that glorious end, it needs to know how it is going to play out, not just for antiChrist, but how it’s going to play out for the church itself. And so verses 1 through 3 tell us four encouraging things about the destiny of the church.
The church is resourced, first of all. Look at verse 1. “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people.” We met Michael in the introductory vision in chapter 10 verses 13 where he is called “one of the chief princes” and in 10:21 where Daniel is told that Michael is “your prince” who fights in the spiritual battle alongside Daniel’s heavenly visitor whom we identified, remember, as the preincarnate Christ. Michael is a prince in the same way that his opponents, his spiritual opponents are the prince of Persia, 10:13, and the prince of Greece, 10:20. These are angelic figures. Michael is an elect angel. Jude 9 calls him an archangel, serving the preincarnate Christ, variously who is himself, variously known in the Old Testament as the angel of the Lord and the commander of the Lord’s armies. And he is at war with demonic powers, these wicked reprobate angels who are principalities and powers in the heavenly realms. The picture verse 1 gives us is of the Lord’s care for His suffering people deploying angelic forces into the theater of combat in our defense. We don’t know much about the work and the ministry of angels, but we ought to take comfort from the assurance the Scriptures give us that though demonic powers are real and Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, although we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places, all of that is true, yet nevertheless, the armies of heaven are marshalled in our support and defense. Our God leaves none of the equipment of His grace unused in the care of His suffering church. The people of God are resourced.
Secondly, they are recorded. Look again at verse 1. “There shall be a time of trouble such as has never been seen since there was a nation until that time.” The days of antiChrist will be terrible indeed. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.” Here is one of the practical implications of the great doctrine of predestination, of election. God has chosen to save a definite number of sinners out of the mass of fallen humanity, and in eternity, He has recorded the names of His elect people in His book. He chose us in Him,” the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1:4-5, “before the foundations of the world, that we should be blameless before Him; in love He predestined us.”
And one vital implication of that vital and important truth is your everlasting security. The antiChrist, Daniel says, will cause terrible suffering. “But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name is written in the book.” Remember Romans 8:29, “Those whom He foreknew He predestined, and whom He predestined He called, and whom He called, these He also glorified.” And Paul says these same ones who are predestined and called and glorified, these are the ones of whom Paul goes on to say, “I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come, nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.” And that is very much the teaching of the opening verses of Daniel 12. There shall be a time of trouble, persecution, famine, nakedness and sword, spiritual evil, rulers and powers, angels, and yet your people shall be delivered because their names are in the book. There is no trouble that can break the grip of the love of God for you in Jesus Christ our Lord. He will keep you. He will keep you. He will deliver you because He has chosen you, dear believer in Jesus, before the foundation of the world. You are His. You’ve always been His.
In Luke 10, in the context of Jesus telling His disciples about the triumph of His own kingdom through their ministries – He sent them out and they’ve come back to Him and He says, “I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven.” In other words, it’s a context of spiritual warfare, not unlike, actually, the context of Daniel chapters 10 through 12. And yet, Jesus says to His disciples, “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you. But rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” That your names are in God’s book is the great ground of your security and your peace; not your own success and strength, but God’s sovereign choice alone.
Now how do you know if your name is in the book? Jesus said, “Everyone that the Father has given to Me, comes to Me.” Everyone whose name is in the book, believes the Gospel, every single one. You want to know if you are elect? I can tell you how to know for sure. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Cling to Christ. He is your refuge and your hiding place from all the predations of the devil, from the dominion of death, from the condemnation of divine judgment.” Your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.” If you trust in Christ, Daniel 12 is telling you, you are utterly, utterly secure.
The church is a resourced people – God deploys the armies of heaven in your defense. The church is a recorded people – Your names are known, you are beloved, and you’ve been beloved from before there were stars. And thirdly, the church will be a resurrected people at the end of the age. Look at verse 2. “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” This is a description of the very last day, isn’t it? This is what will happen when every hand on every clock ticks out its final second. Then the trumpet will sound and there will be the shout of the archangel and the skies will split open and Christ shall descend in the clouds of heaven with an innumerable company of the heavenly host. And at His command, the dead shall be raised. Stuart Olyott says of this verse that, “Resurrection Day will also be division day.” Resurrection Day will also be division day.
You’ll notice if you look at it in verse 5, two new figures appear to Daniel, one standing one each side of the Tigris River, which is where all of this is taking place. And verse 6 says the primary speaker, this man clothed in linen, the preincarnate Christ, He is standing between them above the waters of the river. It’s a curious scene. Most of the commentators sort of note it, they don’t know what to do with it, and they move right along. But it strikes me as a vivid visual depiction of the final separation that is described in verse 2. Here’s a little dramatization in front of Daniel’s face of judgment day with figures on the right hand and on the left, with Christ presiding over all as Judge, separating one from the other. Jesus talks about this moment of final division in Matthew 25:31. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations and He will separate people, one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the king will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”
That’s what Daniel describes in verse 2, isn’t it? “Many of those who shall sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” The Bible is unambiguous in predicting a single, general resurrection of the body for all people upon the final, universally visible return of Jesus Christ at the last day. When He comes, all shall be raised and a great division made between them. Christ, who has been a point of division throughout human history, will be the final dividing line of eternity. The sheep and the goats, the elect and the reprobate, the believer and the unbeliever will be separated. And on that day, all possibility of crossing from the unconverted as Christ’s left hand into the company of the redeemed at His right hand will be gone forever. Destinies will then be fixed irrevocably and eternity will be set.
And friends, it is my duty to call you all with urgency and solemnity to be certain. When the great day of resurrection comes, when the great and terrible day of division comes, be certain you will be among the sheep at Jesus’ right hand, inheriting the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world, not among the goats on his left hand, dispatched into the everlasting fire of God’s just judgment. What will your resurrection be? What will your resurrection be? A resurrection of life or of judgment? Jesus says your destiny will be determined by one factor only. John 5:24, “Whoever hears my words and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but is passed from death to life.” Paul puts it this way. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” John says in John 3:16, “God so loved the world” – remember – “that He gave His only begotten Son, that whomsoever should believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” The question is, “Will you be among them?” The church of Christ shall be a resurrected people, raised up in union with the Lord Jesus to everlasting life. Will you, will you among them?
The people of God are a resourced people, a recorded people, we shall be a resurrected people, and on that day of resurrection, we will also be a radiant people. Look at verse 3. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” The wise here are the same group referred to back in 11:33. “And the wise among the people shall make many understand;” 11:35, “And some of the wise shall stumble so that they may be refined, purified, and made white until the time of the end.” So the wise help other people understand God’s truth. They turn other people to righteousness, and they are themselves refined and purified and made white in this life through their various sufferings. And upon their resurrection, that slow, hard, sanctifying work having now been completed at their death, they shine like the brightness of the sky in bodies made like Christ’s glorious body, “like the stars forever,” Daniel says.
Now who are they, the wise? To whom is this promise of future radiance made? Certainly the verse applies in a particular way to preachers and evangelists and missionaries whose calling it is to make others understand, to turn people to righteousness. Everybody engaged in any kind of Word ministry should find this verse a strong incentive to fulfill their callings. There is a great reward promised to those who turn others to righteousness and make them understand. But you’ll notice that the text refers to all who enjoy. This language of the wise seems to speak of all who enjoy the resurrection’s everlasting life. They’re all made to shine like stars, and so it’s best, I think, to see the wise really as a way to talk about every single believer. As Paul reminds Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15, even from infancy, knowing the holy Scriptures makes Christians “wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” And notice that faithful Christians, Daniel says, make others understand. They turn them to righteousness. I think it’s remarkable in describing believers under the persecution of coming suffering that Daniel would say this is the great identifier, this is their characteristic and defining mark – the evangelistic impact they have on others.
The wise make others understand and turn them to righteousness. They are effective witnesses. Now you may not feel as a believer in Jesus that you are much of an evangelist at all. “I’m not good at apologetics. I get tongue-tied, confused, when I’m trying to tell anybody about the Lord Jesus.” And that all may be true, but remember this, the redeeming wisdom of God in the Gospel has a way of shining out of the lives of every single person who embraces it, even when your tongue gets tied and you struggle to share your faith. It has a way of leaking out, sometimes despite us. People notice there is something different that cannot be hidden about those who know the Lord.
I was talking this morning to some friends about precisely this point and they were describing how in their different work places others have noticed something of the reality of the grace of God changing them and making them stand out from the crowd. One friend said a woman that he works with told him, “You know there is something different about you, about the way that you work. I think it’s the church thing,” she said. “It makes me want to go to church more.” These guys are not, you know, twisting every conversation into an ugly “come to Jesus” moment; they’re just seeking to be faithful. Plodding, men of integrity being gracious, trying to be real Christians all the time, and it shows. It shows. The wise make others understand. They turn them to righteousness. The Gospel of grace changes you so that it cannot be hidden. “It’s that church thing. It makes me want to go to church too.” Christians are resourced with the support of heaven. Your names are recorded in the Lamb’s book of life. You will be raised, given a glorious body like Christ’s on that great final day when the trumpet sounds, and on that day you will shine with a radiance that reflects His own marvelous glory.
Now don’t you find it so very helpful that Daniel would end his book with this forward look, past Antiochus Epiphanes, that contemptible person, past antiChrist with all his malice and evil, even past death, all the way to the resurrection, to everlasting life on the last day? It’s meant to fill our eyes with a promise of a bright hope that will enable us to persevere until the reality itself comes.
I came across a story that this reminds me of, about General Douglass MacArthur at the start of the Second World War. There was a United States military base in the Philippine Islands and at the beginning of the war with the Japanese imperial advance, the US forces were forced to withdraw from the Philippines. And on the eve of their withdrawal, MacArther made a speech to the people of the Philippines and he said, he gave them a promise – “I shall return,” he said. And that promise sustained the Filipino people during the days of the occupation, brutal occupation as they waited for their deliverance, a deliverance which came. He kept that promise.
The preincarnate Christ, who is showing Daniel this vision, is telling him of the day of His own glorious coming, when death itself will be defeated in the wonder of a future resurrection. “This is your destiny, Daniel, and it is the destiny of all My suffering people across the ages. Cling to the promise and press on.” That’s the effect of these opening words. Beloved, when the days are dark and your burdens are heavy, remember Jesus says, “I shall return. I am coming. Hold on and persevere.” Destiny – How will it end?
Secondly, notice what we learn about the duration of all of this – How long will it take? Verse 6, a voice asks the heavenly visitor who is showing all of these things to Daniel, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” The question aims at understanding the duration, the total time frame involved in this sweep of Daniel’s visions. “How long until these dreadful sufferings pass? How long until resurrection comes? How long until justice is done on the earth? How long until you bring about the final fulfillment of all Your promises? How long?” “How long?” is a common cry, actually, throughout the Scriptures. It is the prayer of the suffering saints down through the ages. Psalm 13:1-2 is a good example. “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” “How long?” is a question even the redeemed souls under the altar in heaven ask of the Lord Jesus. In Revelation 6:10, “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true! How long before You will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
So, “How long?” is not a question coming from mere idle curiosity or arising out of irritated impatience. You know, “How long is this going to take? Are we there yet?” That’s not what this question is. It is the urgent cry of those who are invested in the kingdom of God and in the glory of God’s name when they are faced with the wickedness of a world that tramples the honor of Jesus Christ underfoot and afflicts His servants at every turn. They cry, “How long?” Here in Daniel 12 it seems even the angels cry out for the final end of these horrors and the final dawn of these great and precious promises. “How long?” Whenever you hear that prayer, “How long?” in Scripture, you need to know that it always expresses urgency and desperation and deep burden.
And so the response – notice the response of the man clothed in linen, the divine Son, standing above the waters. His response appropriately answers to the gravity and the solemnity of the question, doesn’t it? You’ll notice in verse 7 he raises both hands, “his right and his left toward heaven and swears by him who lives forever.” Now in every other instance of a solemn oath, the oath taker raises his right hand to heaven. But here, both hands are raised as if to underscore how utterly and uniquely committed this speaker is to the answer. In fact in some ways, the significance of this striking posture – both hands raised to heaven – is more important to understand that the precise meaning of the words that he says. He tells Daniel – notice in the text – that it will be for “time, times and half a time.” And that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end, all these things would be finished. And we’ll come back to those word in a moment. But whatever they mean, the utter commitment of the divine speaker to their fulfillment is the big idea that we mustn’t miss. Just as the question, “How long?” does not come from idle curiosity, neither is the answer that is given a casual reporting of a provisional, personal timetable. You know, like we often do – “What will you do today?” “Well I might do this, and then I’ve got to see so-and-so. Here’s my plan; it will probably change.” That’s not how the speaker responds to the question. No, these words, they have the weight of judicial testimony, which might also be part of the function of these two additional figures who appear. Remember, in Scripture, testimony is valid and binding on the basis of two or three witnesses.
And what’s more, it is a sacred oath, sworn on the name of God who lives forever. In fact, the raising of both hands here makes it look, if you could only see this scene and not hear the words, it would look more like a priestly benediction than a solemn swearing of an oath. In Leviticus 9:22, for example, Aaron, the first high priest, lifted up his hands and blessed the people. And now here is another figure that Daniel sees and he’s dressed in priestly robes with both hands raised and he too is invoking the name of God. And his oath really is a sort of holy benediction because it promises and pronounces the fulfillment of the will of God upon His world and especially upon His people. Daniel is meant to be reassured and comforted by the sight, and so are we. It’s not that there is some vague, general series of benchmarks that God wants to reach before He acts in this or that manner as history, you know, naturally unfolds according to its own eternal processes and the unfettered ebb and flow of mere chance. You know, “maybe if this happens, then I’ll do that.” That’s not the picture, is it? No, no, there is a definite plan and a terminal point for the unfolding drama of the ages. Jesus Himself swears to it.
And that fact is meant to afford us sacred surety and an immovable confidence that no matter the prevailing wickedness of human society, no matter how absolute the darkness of it may appear, however total the victory of unbelief and sin might look to us every time we switch on our television screens, nevertheless, Jesus Christ, our Prophet, Priest and King is working out His sovereign purposes and He will bring history to its appointed conclusion and the storyline, precisely as He wrote it, will arrive at its great climax according to the eternal decree of God. The world is not spinning out of control – sometimes we feel like it is, like our lives are. History is not careening wildly from disaster to disaster. It is moving directly toward its ordained end. You have here the oath of the Lord of glory on that point.
But what about his specific answer to the angelic question, “How long?” Look at the text again. Daniel is told “that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.” You might remember we’ve met the expression “a time, times and half a time” already back in chapter 7 at verse 25. There, it refers to an indefinite period of time, not three-and-a-half years precisely but three-and-a-half times. It is an indefinite period in which, chapter 7 says, the antiChrist shall persecute the people of God. They shall be given into his hand for time, times and half a time, Daniel says. Now the expression, “time, times and half a time” gives us the impression of accumulating periods of time suddenly cut short before their expected fullness. So “time” refers to a definite period, “times” to that same period doubled, and so we would logically expect the next in the sequence to be something like, “many times” – “time, times and many times.” The same period now multiplied to its maximum extent. But instead it is “time, times and half a time.” Suddenly, the sequence is abbreviated.
Now I won’t go into all the arguments, but I believe this limited, curtailed, foreshortened time is a symbol for the whole period between the first and final return of Jesus Christ, during which time the antiChrist will arise. But instead of his evil being given scope to vent itself to its maximum extent, the period will be cut short in the mercy of our good God. And as you take that in, don’t miss the additional time marker in verse 7. Look again at verse 7. The question, remember, is, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?” And the other part of the answer is that it will be “when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end” all these things will be finished. The world between Christ’s advent and especially the world under the tyranny of antiChrist will be a place of suffering and shattering for the church of Jesus Christ.
Now, professor E.J. Young suggests that this means “The antiChrist will practically have destroyed God’s people.” Stuart Olyott goes even further and says, “We will come to the point in history where it appears that darkness has really won the day. It will seem as if the antiChrist is going to continue forever. It will seem as if the church has been entirely obliterated, for there will no longer be any sign of it.” Now let me say I have found both of these scholars to be invaluable guides in interpreting Daniel; I commend their commentaries to you. E.J. Young is a bit more technical; Stuart Olyett is a very accessible commentary and they are both extremely helpful. But this is one place where I think they go significantly beyond the scope of the text. All that the passage before us authorizes us to say is that during this time when the antiChrist will arise, at the end of history, the power of the church will be shattered. I don’t think that means there will no longer be any sign of the church left in the world. I don’t think that means that it looks as though all our hopes and all our labors will have come to nothing. I think it means only what it says. All the material clout, all the social capital, all the economic power and every cultural permission for the free exercise of the Christian faith will be destroyed and the church will suffer terrible persecution.
But let’s not forget that it is very often under precisely such circumstances that the witness of the church shines at its brightest. That seems to be the effect of verse 10, isn’t it? Yes, wickedness continues, but godliness grows too. Yes, there is a bleak and solemn aspect to the Scriptural vision of the future, but there is also a dependable hope for everyone who follows Jesus. However dark it may get, however unstoppable the powers of antiGod and antiGospel and antiChrist, they shall be cut short and curtailed and not by political power, not by the Christianization of the state. They shall be cut short by the sovereign intervention of the returning of Jesus Christ who will defeat all His and our enemies at the last.
Now there are some practical implications from that for us even right now today. Yes, we ought to work for the social and political good of our neighbors. Yes, we should give thanks when our secular leaders enact policies that enact God’s moral order. But we ought never to yield to the temptation toward triumphalism when things seem to be going our way for a while on the political landscape, imagining that the church has now found at last a refuge under the wing of this or that politician or earthly power. No, no, Daniel says. The days are going to come when antiChrist and antiChristian politics will dominate the world and the church will suffer terribly because of it before the end. Our only refuge, our only refuge right now as well as then must be in Jesus Christ who comes at the end of the shattering of the power of the holy people. Just when we think we can’t bear it, just when it looks as bad as it can be, worst of all, just then, the times are cut short, just then the Savior shall intervene for our eternal relief.
Destiny – “How will it end?” It will end in glorious resurrection. Duration – “How long will it take?” It will take exactly as long as the Lord has decreed that it must. There’s a lovely scene in The Lord of the Rings where Frodo says to Gandalf as he arrives at Hobbiton, “You’re late.” And Gandalf says, “A lizard is never late, Frodo Baggins, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.” How long will it take? It will take exactly as long as your good and sovereign God has decreed, and you must learn to trust Him until that day comes. And then finally, duty – “How can I make it through?” It’s a bleak picture. The only hope is the brightest day that will dawn at the darkest point of the night of the age that lies ahead of us. So how can I make it through?
And now doubt, at this point you rather sympathize with poor Daniel who hears the explanation of his divine visitor in verse 8, and he still doesn’t understand. And so he asks, “O my Lord, what shall the outcome be of these things?” He’s asking now not just about chronological results; he’s asking about theological and practical implications. He’s asking, “What difference should this make?” He’s asking, “How do we cope in light of all of this? How do we go on since all of this is true?” And the answer essentially is two parts. We are called to purity and we are called to perseverance.
You can see the call to purity in verse 10. “Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.” We said earlier that I can’t agree with those who think that antiChrist will essentially remove all trace of the church from the world before the end. This verse is part of the reason why. Yes, the wicked will act wickedly, but notice the wise will nevertheless grow in purity and make themselves white and be refined. To be sure, the wicked won’t understand, but the wise will understand. The more persecution and marginalization and opposition grows for the people of God, the more the church shall be purified and refined and made to shine brighter and brighter in its testimony to the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. That is, after all, the witness of the suffering church across all of human history, isn’t it? Why should it be any different at the end of the age? The blood of the martyrs will still be seed, as Tertullian put it. You remember what Latimer told Ridley as they were bound to the stake together, about to be burned to death for their faith in Jesus? Do you remember what he told him? “Be of good cheer, master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England that shall never be put out.” Their suffering made their testimony bright and their legacy continues to endure and we stand in the good of it. The testimony of the church never shines brighter than in the darkness of persecution and opposition and suffering.
So how should you respond when people hate you and malign you and mock you because you believe in Jesus? You should study to grow in likeness to Christ. When He was reviled, He reviled not in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten, “but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly,” 1 Peter 2:23. The opposition of the world should be a spur towards sanctification so that as the darkness grows, so too shall the brightness of your testimony and the testimony of the suffering church. “Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly.” Purity. There’s a call here to purity. Holiness. As you see the dark clouds gathering, likeness to Christ is the call of God on your life.
And then perseverance. Look at verse 11. “From the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.” After the first coming of Christ, Rome destroyed Jerusalem. Sacrifices were ended. “The regular burnt offerings were taken away,” as Daniel puts it. And the pagan emblems of Rome, the abomination that makes desolate were erected in the precincts of the temple as it was torn to the ground. One thousand two hundred ninety days is roughly three and a half years. This is the same symbolic period as the time, times and half a times we said earlier describes the whole age between the first and final coming of Jesus Christ that began, the clock began to tick when the temple was thrown down in 70 AD. But notice in the text that the saints who are to receive the blessedness promised here, they are to endure beyond that period to the 1,335 days. Don’t get too hung up on the specific numbers. The point is, 1,335 days is 45 days longer. If you’re going to persevere, you have to have your sights set beyond the trial ahead, beyond even the return of Christ, as glorious and precious as that is, we are to look beyond it even into the age to come where blessedness will be ours. Perseverance has eternity in view. Eternity in view.
When last did you spend any real time thinking about heaven, thinking about the new creation, thinking about the world promised to you so that you might awaken a godly homesickness for the home of righteousness that is promised to you? Look, look beyond the veil of tears. Look past the 1,290 days all the way to the 1,335 days. Look way ahead so that you might persevere. There is blessedness waiting for those who make it that far.
Now maybe that all seems abstract to you. As we close, don’t miss how practical and basic the call to perseverance really gets for Daniel himself. Three times over he is given a direct, personal command. Do you see that in the chapter? In verse 4 and again in verse 9 he’s told to shut up the words and seal the book. Or he is told that the book is sealed. Sealing a book, by the way, isn’t about hiding it so that no one can access it. It’s actually about preserving it so that future generations can have access to it. In other words, this is a call to Daniel to make sure that the precious word entrusted to him will be available for generations. It is a call to steward the Word of God. How are you going to make it, Daniel? You are going to make it by preserving and cherishing the Word of God. That’s how you are going to make it. You will not make it with a closed Bible. You just won’t. You just won’t. The means that God has ordained for your perseverance and your purity is His holy and precious Word. So keep the Word safe. “How shall a young man keep his way pure?” Or a young woman, or an old man or an old woman for that matter! How will you do it? “By taking heed according to Your Word.”
And notice verse 9. Daniel is told to go his way. Verse 13 repeats the point and adds, “and you shall rest and stand in your allotted place at the end of days.” Go your way. Get on with it, Daniel. No room for monastic withdrawal from life here. How do you respond to all these dramatic visions and these challenging truths? You go your way and you do the next right thing. And as you do, you hear the promise of God Himself. When the great day dawns, you will stand in resurrected glory to receive your allotment in the land of promise that is yet to come. That’s the assurance of the Lord Himself. It’s not just for Daniel; it’s for everyone who does what Daniel is told to do. In light of the Word, seal it up, protect it, cherish it and go your way and do your work, fulfill your calling, live your life for the honor of your Redeemer. You will rest in death one day and then, when the trumpet sounds, you will stand in glory when your Savior returns.
Destiny – How will it all end? It will all end in resurrection glory. Resurrection glory. Are you really content with this? Is this as good as it gets? Don’t you long for resurrection glory? Duration – How long will it last? It will last through terrible dark suffering, but Christ will cut those sufferings short in His mercy and in His appointed time. And you can hang on till then. And duty – How will you make it through? Purify yourselves in growing personal holiness and persevere to the end by the Word of the Lord. Cherish it, keep it, and take hold of God’s promise. There is a blessedness and a glory yet to come. May the Lord help us all to do just that. Let’s pray.
Father, thank You that You love us and though You make plain to us that there are not just happy days of ease and comfort ahead of us, our best lives now, there is suffering and trials and difficulties to come, dark days and deep shadows. Yet You tell us all of this to strengthen us and equip us, and You give us the grace we need to persevere through it all and You remind us that when the night seems at its darkest, then the dawn shall come and Christ will descend to take His people home. O God, we long for that day. Our prayer is the prayer of the apostle John, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!” Till the day comes, will You please give us grace to persevere and to purify ourselves, to walk in growing godliness that You might have the honor and the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.