Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
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Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
Daniel 12:1-13; How long, O Lord?
Jason Sterling December 1, 2024 Faith Presbyterian Church Birmingham, AL
Bulletin
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The following message is from Faith Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Join us on Sundays for our 8, 15 and 11 am worship services. For more information, visit us online at faith-pcaorg or download the Faith PCA app. Thank you for tuning in to Faith's podcast ministry.
Speaker 2:If you have a copy of God's Word, turn with me to Daniel, chapter 12. Daniel 12, it's also printed in your bulletin. It'll be on the screen behind me. This morning we finally made it. We're at the end of our study through the book of Daniel. It's been so good for my soul. I hope it's been something that has enriched you personally and spiritually this fall.
Speaker 2:And we're here in this final chapter. But something I'll come back to a couple of times this morning is really remember that this is the conclusion. But the last three chapters and so think about this 25% of the book is one vision, one great and final vision. And so we come to Daniel 12, and it's fitting that it's the end of the vision. It's the end of Daniel's life, it's the end of the book and we also get a glimpse of the end of human history. So, with that in mind, follow along with me.
Speaker 2:This is God's word. 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 seen 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 of life, and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, and 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 oh my Lord, what shall be the outcome of these things. And 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. Verse 2. There shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. But go your way to the end, and you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days. This is God's holy and inspired word. This is God's holy and inspired word.
Speaker 2:Back in September, my youngest daughter, eva. She was in volleyball practice. She dove for a ball and landed awkwardly on her shoulder. She continued to play, she could basically do all of the skills. There was only one skill that she felt was painful and that was the overhand serve. But other than that, and she could still do that, but it was more painful than the other skills. And so the trainer and we agreed, by the way thought it must be a bruise and put some ice on it every day after practice and at night when you get home, and in a couple of weeks you should be good to go. Two weeks later she played practice, she played games, and two weeks later it still was causing her some trouble and some pain and so we decided that it's time to see a doctor, since there was no improvement. So we went to the orthopedic surgeon and he ran some tests quick tests and determined nothing was torn. But then he said let me get an x-ray. And he comes in and he shows us the x-ray and he says your daughter, eva, has a fractured scapula. There's a fractured shoulder scapula. It was a fractured shoulder, no surgery was required, but rest was required and she was in a sling for the next five weeks.
Speaker 2:And as I thought about that story, I thought that is a really good picture of the way we often think about life Put a little ice on it and that will fix your problem, only to realize that the problem is actually much deeper, actually, only to realize that something is actually broken. You see, we think in our culture and particularly in our world, we think everything is fixable. We think if we just have enough money, if we have enough education, if we have the right politics, if we have the right technology, we can fix anything. And the book of Daniel has told us otherwise, particularly in these last three chapters. They have reminded us and it has been very difficult because the last three chapters particularly, has taught us that we live in a world that cannot be fixed. We live in a world that needs to be renewed and recreated and only Jesus can come and do that. Only Jesus can come and do that.
Speaker 2:The theme of this vision, these last three chapters, again starting in Daniel chapter 10, the theme has been suffering and it still is suffering. In Daniel chapter 12, god's people are returning from exile, starting to return from exile in Babylon, and Daniel is thinking, yes, finally, everything we'd hoped for, finally we're going back home. And then Daniel, remember, sees a vision and it takes him to his knees and devastates him because he sees what's ahead for God's people, and it is a time of suffering and persecution ahead for God's people. And it is a time of suffering and persecution, and we learned that last week. That suffering and persecution was the story of God's people then and it will be and is the story of God's people now.
Speaker 2:And as we journey through this broken world that's full of all sorts of suffering and all sorts of hardship, we must resist the temptation to give up. That's easy to do, isn't it in the world? We must resist the temptation to give up. We must resist the temptation to just simply numb the pain. And we must resist becoming hard-hearted and cynical and instead God calls us to live and walk in this broken world full of suffering and pain, to walk with humility, wisdom and hope in our suffering.
Speaker 2:And the question is and really this has been the question running through this last half or last three chapters of the book of Daniel is how do we do that? Well, we get some more insight in this passage before us. We need to remember our future glory, we need to remember we have full assurance and lastly, we need final instruction. Have full assurance and lastly, we need final instructions. So if you're a note taker, the outline future glory, full assurance, final instructions. Let's take those in turn.
Speaker 2:Future glory Remember again Daniel 11, suffering of God's people, persecution. In the middle of that vision we have verse 1, which fast forwards to the end of human history, where God's people will be delivered and the world will be made new. And we see here that a major component of that renewal program is final resurrection. Verse 2, friends, is one of the most glorious verses for the Christian in all of Scripture, particularly in the Old Testament. Look at verse 2.
Speaker 2:And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. This is the most explicit teaching in the Old Testament on the final resurrection. But please notice here the hope is not simply the fact of resurrection. The hope is not simply the fact of resurrection. Why? Well, because for some, resurrection is terrible news, is terrible news Because the passage says for some, they will be raised to everlasting shame and contempt. And God tells Daniel that all the dead are going to rise, all are going to rise, and they will be divided out, in the end, into two groups. One will receive everlasting life, the other will receive everlasting shame and contempt. Please notice there is no third group, there's no middle ground, there is no holding room for all the people who are waiting to come back to earth and to do it all again and to live life one more time, hopefully this time better. No, that does not exist. You belong to Jesus and you get everlasting life. You don't belong to Jesus. Again, this is the passage. You give everlasting shame and contempt. This is the passage. You give everlasting shame and contempt. The question then is how do you get in the group that receives everlasting life? Well, the text tells us verse 1, those who are delivered are those whose names are written in the book Revelation, in the New Testament and Daniel. Those books go together.
Speaker 2:And when you get to the book of Revelation, revelation, chapter 20 is the final judgment scene, and it's really interesting. In Revelation, chapter 20, it says that the books plural are opened Because you see, there are many books. There is as many books as there are people standing before the throne. At the final judgment there is a book on every person. It's not just the rich and famous that have a biography written about them. You have a biography written about you. You have a biography written about you. I have one written about me. Every human being has a biography and at the final judgment there will be a book that will have your name on it and will have my name on it, and in that book will be everything you have thought, said and done. Nothing will be forgotten. And I don't know about you, but that is one of the most frightening things I've ever heard, because if you're anything like me, there would be enough evidence in the first paragraph to condemn me, and that's true friends of all of us. It would only take the first page. But then there is another book that's opened and it is book singular and it is the book that Daniel refers to here in Daniel, chapter 12.
Speaker 2:And in the book of Revelation it is called the Lamb's Book of Life. Why is it called the Lamb's Book of Life? Because of life. Why is it called the Lamb's book of life? Because of Jesus. Jesus is the Lamb of God who died as the atoning sacrifice to take away the sin of the world. It's called the Lamb's book of life because you get your name in that book through the merits of Jesus Christ alone. When you trust in Jesus by faith, he forgives your sin and he gives you a new life. He gives you his perfect life. He gives you here's the gospel. Jesus, through faith, gives you a new biography. He gives you a new life. You notice we started singing Christmas songs. Why? Because it's the first Sunday of Advent.
Speaker 2:At the core of the Christmas story is that you can't save yourself. At the core of Christmas is that our problem of sin is so bad that the only way it can be fixed is if God comes and does something about it Himself. And that's exactly what he does. He takes on flesh in the person of Jesus. He comes into this world, takes away our sin and gives us a new life. And look at verse 3, what awaits those who have their names written in the Lamb's book of life? Those who are righteous or wise, will shine like the brightness of the sky and the stars, forever and forever. When that day comes, when Jesus comes, the righteous will be vindicated, they will receive their full reward and those who belong with Jesus will be raised and clothed in glory and shine like the stars of the sky. God's people will be made beautiful and they will be full of glory.
Speaker 2:Two applications One if you're a Christian this morning, one for those who are not Christians, if you're a Christian application. It is tempting in this world, I know, in the midst of struggle and hardship and trial and suffering and death, it is easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed by the darkness. It is easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed by the darkness Every day. You are called to live in the reality of your future glory. That awaits you Every day. We are to, by faith, pull what we believe, all the things we've talked about here, your future resurrection, everlasting life. You are to pull that by faith into the present so that it would hold you up and give you courage to put one foot in front of the other and continue to live by faith in this world.
Speaker 2:If you're not a Christian this morning, if you don't know Jesus, first of all, thank you for being here. I'm so glad that you're here. I hope you feel welcomed here and I hope that this is a place where you can figure out what you believe about Jesus, where you have the space to figure out what you believe about Jesus, christianity and the Bible. But I also want you to know that it is no accident that you're here this morning, that God has brought you here and in God's providence, this is the message before us.
Speaker 2:Hebrews 9, verse 27,. Everyone is destined to die once and then face judgment. Friends, your only hope on the day of judgment is Jesus Christ alone. Trust in Him. That's how you get your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life. That's how you find refuge in the final judgment of God. This passage is a gift because it's saying come to Jesus while there's still time and again. I know that might sound hard, but I'm a minister of the gospel and I am called to call the world to repentance and faith in the Lord, jesus Christ. And so will you come to Jesus this morning and believe in Him by faith and have your name written in the Lamb's book of life. That is good news indeed. Secondly, if we're going to walk with wisdom and hope in this world, in the world of suffering, we need full assurance.
Speaker 2:So this section starting in verse 5, it gets a little strange, but the point is it gives us assurance that suffering has an end date. Let's look at it. The vision actually ends in verse 5, and it takes us back to the beginning of the vision. You probably don't remember, but in chapter 10, daniel was standing on the banks of the Tigris River and he's seeing this mysterious heavenly being. This time he's back on the the banks and there are three heavenly figures, one on one bank of the river, one on the other. And then there's this mysterious one clothed in linen we've seen before. He's a constant all the way through the vision.
Speaker 2:Lots of people interpret this to be the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ, and he's hovering above the waters and one of the heavenly beings looks at him and says how long until the end of the suffering. It says here, to the end of these wonders, how long to the end of this distress and this persecution that awaits God's people? Jesus gives the answer verse 7. The usual practice for taking an oath is to do what? Raise one hand, and that would make the matter certain. Notice the man clothed in linen. What he does, he goes both hands, emphasizing certainty. He does it towards heaven. He swears by him who lives forever for a time, times and half a time. What does that mean? We've seen that phrase before in Daniel, chapter 7. And the phrase simply means that suffering will be limited, that the suffering will be restricted. In other words, there is a bottom. Suffering will not win the day, it will not go on forever.
Speaker 2:You can have the full assurance and certainty double-handed, double-hands-raised assurance that the brokenness and suffering in your life will not last forever, that there is an end. Jesus is coming, glory is coming, renewal is coming. Think about rescue stories. There's always a rescue story on TV, on the news Someone who's lost at sea, someone who's trapped, someone who's lost in the woods, or something of that nature. And when they are rescued, they will tell you, almost to a person, knowing that someone was still looking for them, knowing that there was an end in sight to their suffering. That was the thing that gave them hope when they wanted to quit and give up. That was the thing that kept them going. The same is true for us. Having the assurance, again both hands assurance here, having that kind of certainty, that there is an end date, that God is going to rescue us and bring resurrection and glory. That helps you endure today, in the middle of whatever circumstances you find yourself in. Does it make your pain magically clear up and go away? No, but it does strengthen you and help you to endure and persevere in the midst of it. There's also another assurance in this section, and that is the assurance that trials and suffering will reveal the true condition of your heart.
Speaker 2:Verse 8, let's walk through this section. Daniel asked a follow-up question what will be the outcome for God's people? Verse 10, jesus says people will be purified and made white and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly and none of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand. So again, notice two groups. Verse 11, the time of suffering will last 1,290 days. The time of suffering will last 1,290 days. The point of that is that again, there will be a limit. And then it says, verse 12, blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.
Speaker 2:What do we do with these numbers? Well, the temptation is to work out these numbers on charts and graphs, and that almost always ends in more confusion. And so what do we do? Well, think about the context and this is Ralph Davis and many other commentators agree the context here in verse 11,. These days are the time in which believers are going to suffer, and you're going to suffer so much that it is going to cost you to be a Christian.
Speaker 2:And the most obvious characteristics of these numbers is that the second number is bigger than the first, than the first, and the point is that those who arrive at the later number, the 1,335 days, endure to the end. They make it through the suffering, they persevere through the suffering and, they notice, are the ones who are blessed. And so what's the implication? Well, it is that God's people one of the implications will make it through the worst of suffering, because the church of Jesus Christ will stand forever. But the other implication here with these numbers is that there will be some who don't make it to the end because the cost of following Jesus became too much. You see, all of this just simply means that you can be assured of one thing, church, and that is, the stakes are very high when it comes to suffering, because suffering is going to reveal your heart. Very high when it comes to suffering, because suffering is going to reveal your heart. It's going to reveal the true condition of your heart and your relationship with God.
Speaker 2:In times think about it in times of prosperity and health, it's easy to think that you have a really good relationship with God. And then you know what God does. He inserts suffering into your life. Why does he do that? Because he wants to reveal your faith. He wants to reveal whether your faith, whether you're in it for you, or whether you're in it for him. One of the images all the way through the Bible of suffering is the image of fire. And think about fire. Fire can be a good thing, right. It can purify, it can refine. Think about verse 10. It can even beautify. But fire also can be harmful. It can destroy and injure.
Speaker 2:Suffering friends will either leave you a much better person or a much worse person than you were before. It will make you bitter and hard-hearted and hopeless, or it can lead you so deep into your relationship with Jesus it can provide such richness and depth unlike you have ever seen. Either way. This is what I want you to see. You will not remain the same. Suffering will make you or break you. And the question is you hear that and you're like, hey, I want suffering to make me better, I want it to make me more like Jesus. How do I do that? You know how you do it. You keep your eyes and this is what we want to do in our church Firmly fixed on Jesus.
Speaker 2:Hebrews, chapter 12, verses 1 through 3. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Who endured what suffering the cross and shame. Who endured opposition. Why? If you read this, it's amazing. So that we, as the church, will not grow weary and lose heart. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Lastly, final instructions. This is the part that probably amazed me the most this week.
Speaker 2:So let's finish out the book of Daniel. It's pretty amazing because Daniel, here at the end, there's still a lot of things that he doesn't understand. Look at verse eight. He still doesn't understand. He's still asking questions. He doesn't know all the details about how it's all going to end and all the end times questions and how, when God's going to come back. He doesn't know any of that and I think that's very instructive and helpful for us as we seek to live faithfully in this world, because it teaches us that it's okay to have questions, it's okay for us to have things that are undone, so to speak, and that we don't quite know. The answer to Faithfulness does not require you to have all your questions answered. Faithfulness doesn't mean the elimination of all mystery and that we're going to have everything figured out about our theology, and particularly our end times theology. You can faithfully follow God and trust him with your questions. However, we see that Daniel does get some clarity on a few things. Look at verse 13,.
Speaker 2:The man clothed in linen, again pre-incarnate Jesus, says go your way till the end. The end referenced here is not the end of the world. This is the end of Daniel's life. Remember, he's close to 90 and this, this man in linen, says this in a sense, and here's my paraphrase Daniel, I've got you, I've got your life in my hands. Your days are written in my book and until your day comes, I want you to put your head down and carry on. I want you to go your way. I want you to wake up in the morning and I want you to get back to work serving Persia and King Cyrus. I want you to get back to being a good friend and loving your neighbors. I want you to get back to your prayers and to your study of God's Word. I want you to get back to sharing your faith. Daniel, keep walking by faith and doing the things that I have called you to do, whether it's in Babylon, persia or in Birmingham, alabama. Go run the race that I've called you to run, quietly and faithfully, no matter what your circumstances might be. Do what I have called you to do and, as you do, you can be assured of this future promise. This is amazing. This is the new international version.
Speaker 2:It popped off the page, verse 13, you will rest. Here's the promise. You will rest and then, at the end of the days, you will rise and you will receive your allotted inheritance. Do I need to read that again? That is the most unbelievable thing you're going to hear all day. Daniel, you will rest, you will rise, you will receive your inheritance as you go your own way, as you walk faithfully in this world that is marked by so much pain and suffering. This is all you need to know, daniel. Don't worry about figuring all the numbers out. Don't worry about unlocking a secret code and figuring out what all this means. I want you to know there's rest ahead for you. There is rest from all your suffering and all of your pain, and on that day you will rise and you will receive your allotted place at the end of human history. You want to hear something amazing? Check this out. I learned this week. This word allotted is used several times in the book of Joshua to refer to the turf or the towns assigned to a tribe or group. In other words, daniel, you can be assured that in the new heavens and new earth, you will have an allotted place. You will have a place assigned for you. You will have a space that you, daniel, this is not the end. This is only the beginning.
Speaker 2:It's an amazing book. It is an amazing book and running all the way through this book of Daniel has been the hopeful anticipation and longing of the Old Testament people of God for the first advent, for the better and greater Daniel, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. But also, did you see it? Running through this book is the hope and anticipation of the second advent, of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will come and give us rest, who will come and raise us from the dead and will give us our inheritance, our allotted place in the new heavens and new earth. It's an amazing book. We're in Advent, we're going to hear a lot of Christmas sermons over the next couple of weeks and we're going to sing a lot of Christmas hymns, and my hope and prayer is that, as we do, it will fill us with hope, that it will stir up in us longings for the second Advent, for Jesus to come and bring everlasting hope and joy and peace into this world.
Speaker 2:Amen, let's pray. Oh Father, thank you for rescuing us, for giving us hope in this world that's often so hard and marked by so many difficult things. You have not left us alone. Would you forgive us for our doubt, forgive us for our unbelief and for our cynicism? Holy Spirit, I pray that if there's someone here that doesn't know you this morning, I pray that you'd open their eyes, give them faith and would they receive the Lord Jesus and have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Only you can do that. Would you do that this morning? In Jesus' name, amen.