Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: Daniel 12 | Date: November 24, 2019 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

Good to be back with you. I was away last week. I was home in Minnesota visiting my mother and the whole family was there. It was a good visit. She’s 87 now. She lives alone and has Parkinson’s disease, can’t walk really well, and some other physical issues like that. It’s always a little sad leaving her, but it was a great time to be home visiting. But it’s good to be back with all of you.

And we are going to try to finish up our studies from the book of Daniel today, Daniel chapter 12. Daniel chapter 12. I’ll take time to read the entire chapter:

“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, 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. And then I said, “Oh 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.”

Let’s bow for prayer. Our Father, what an honor, what a treasure, and what a pleasure it is to have your Word before us. To have this book that we can open and read and know that every word of it is true and reliable and for our good. We pray that you would give us a mind this morning that is driven by those kinds of considerations with an expectant heart to learn to be encouraged by this portion of your Word today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Well, if you can remember when we were here last, we’ve said that chapters 10 through 12 of Daniel are all of a piece. In chapter 10, we had the introduction to the vision that comes in chapter 11. We had the details about Daniel’s praying and the angels showing up, and then the discussion about the angel, the Prince of Persia, and the Prince of Greece, and the battle going on behind the scenes. And then the vision itself comes in chapter 11 in some detail. In chapter 10, then, there’s the introduction. In chapter 11, verses 1 to 20, as we saw, we have the history—future to Daniel, but history to us—of Persia, and then Greece, and then the breakup of the Grecian kingdom, the kingdom of Alexander the Great, breaking up into the various sections under his generals, and the various events that would happen there. And we saw so many detailed prophecies that came to pass with such precision.

And then we saw in chapter 11, verses 21 to 35, the discussion of Antiochus IV, Antiochus Epiphanes, and that is Israel’s arch-enemy in the second century BC. When Antiochus came against the people of Israel with just untold wrath and vengeance against them, carrying out his opposition to them in terms of trying to exterminate the religion and the people themselves. Well, that in chapter 11, climaxing initially at verse 35 with the opposition of Antiochus in the second century BC, becomes then a paradigm, a model of what will happen in the end of the age. And at chapter 11, verse 36, we saw that there is a transition to where now he’s still speaking of the King of the North, which at this point previously has been Antiochus, but now it becomes a picture of a coming King of the North.

And in verses 36 to 45, we find lots of detail that have no correspondence whatever to Antiochus. It is looking ahead to the end of time and who we call then, according to John’s instruction, Antichrist, the final great opponent of the people of God who is to come. And he is one who has extraordinary authority. We saw it through verses 35 to 46. He has an extraordinary influence and he will come with rage directed against the people of God.

Now we come to chapter 12. And in chapter 12, in the first verses, we have the completion of that prophecy and then we have some final details and some instructions given to Daniel along with some personal assurances to Daniel in light of these prophecies that have come. And I want to work our way through those this morning. Now notice again chapter 11, verse 45, how chapter 11 ended. It looks to the climax of the tribulation, the promise of final relief, and it says, “Yet he shall come to his end with none to help him.” That is this final opponent of the people of God, this Antichrist who is to come; he’ll come to his end. We saw that in earlier chapters in Daniel. Chapter 9, he’ll be destroyed. We saw it in chapter 7 that he’ll be destroyed. And we saw it implicitly in some other places in Daniel as well. But here he says it explicitly: “He shall come to his end with none to help him.” We find the New Testament picking that up in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and also in Revelation, climaxing in Revelation chapter 19 with the return of Christ and the destruction of Antichrist.

Well, now then we come to chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, and he gives us a brief summary of all of that and adds some detail, some detail that’s both frightening and reassuring. Verses 1 and 2: “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 until 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.” Now what do we learn here? We actually learn several things now through this chapter.

Unprecedented Opposition and Persecution

Number one, if you’re taking notes, this period of tribulation at the end of the age will be marked by unprecedented opposition and persecution. This period of tribulation at the end of the age will be marked by unprecedented opposition and persecution. Now that idea of a coming time of tribulation against the people of God and against Israel is not unique to Daniel. In fact, we have it given to us first way back in the book of Deuteronomy where Moses tells of this coming time of tribulation at the time of the end for the nation of Israel. And Moses’ prophecy, at first in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and then Deuteronomy 28 to 30, he expands on it at some length. That becomes a template, if you will, that the prophets pick up time and again and again and again, talking about this time of the end when there’ll be a period of tribulation for the people of God.

Sometimes in the Prophets, it’s difficult to distinguish whether they are speaking of this time of tribulation or if they are speaking of the time of the final judgments to come after that. But here in Daniel, at least, we have the clear and most extensive and definitive statement of what that time will be like: the final climactic tribulation period immediately preceding the end. Notice how he describes it in verse 1. It is a time of trouble such as never has been since there was a nation. I think the idea there is since there was any nation, even until then. That is, it’s going to be the worst ever. This period of opposition and persecution will be the worst ever.

We’ll come back to that in a minute. But notice how he describes it again in verse 7. He describes it as the time of the shattering of the power of the holy people. That’s a frightening statement. It’s in keeping with what we find in chapter 7, where that little horn made war against the saints. And he says the little horn prevailed over them. That’s Daniel 7, verse 21. And then also in Daniel 7, verse 25, it says he shall speak a word—that is, this little horn will speak a word against the Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High. Again, a chilling kind of statement, and here Daniel says it again: “the shattering of the power of the holy people.” We don’t have specific details of what that will be like, but some kind of horrifying widespread opposition against the people of God.

And that time of tribulation, we are told, is marked chiefly by the presence of this fierce opponent of the people of God who will come. He’s called in chapter 7 the little horn. He’s described elsewhere, like in chapter 11, as the one who does what he wills. He speaks against the Most High. He exalts himself as God. He comes against the people of God with a particular kind of vengeance. Now the New Testament writers pick all of that up and they seem to expand the purview so it is not just the nation of Israel that’s in view, but the people of God universally are in view. Paul tells us that in 2 Thessalonians 2. We find that in Revelation 11, Revelation 13.

And by the way, I’ve decided to expand on that the next couple of Sundays to fill in the way the New Testament picks up on these prophecies to finish them out in that way. And as I say, John calls it the Antichrist. In Revelation chapter 11, we find that John picks up on this very language that we saw in Daniel chapter 11, that this one comes and makes war with them and conquers them and kills them. In Revelation chapter 13, he picks up the language of Revelation 11 again and says that the beast—this is the beast out of the sea in John’s vision in Revelation 13—the beast is given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words and it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them, and authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation. So we have one now with widespread influence with his opposition against the people of God. It is a time of tribulation, a time of persecution marked chiefly by a leading opponent who is leading in this persecution of the people of God.

Now one question that comes up in that then is how do we understand this “worst ever” kind of language that we see in verses 1 and 2? It’s worse than—it is a time of trouble such as has never been since there was any nation. This is the worst ever. Now, how do we understand that? It becomes difficult because Christians throughout the church age have experienced some of the most severe persecution imaginable. Think in terms of the early church, and many of the persecutions where they were put to the sword, fed to the lions, and so on. In more modern terms, think of Stalin’s Russia and the Soviet Union. Think of Mao in China. Tens of millions between Stalin and Mao—close to, if not a hundred million people persecuted or put to death, and many of those Christians. Think in terms today of Africa, where the persecution by the Muslims is becoming so rampant against communities of Christians, where, as I said earlier, their houses are being ransacked, their belongings are taken, and they themselves and their families are being put to death. I don’t know how you get any worse persecution than that.

And yet this says it’s going to be the worst ever. And I think what we are intended to understand then is that it’s worse than ever in terms of its breadth of influence. This man is given universal influence and universally now, rather than just localized persecutions here and there for a time, we have this universal influence of this great opponent and universally the people of God are feeling his wrath and coming under persecution, as John calls it, the persecution of the beast.

Now it’s not at all difficult, I think, to see that coming. The whole history of the church is marked by that here and there and there and there. Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, in reference to all of this, that the mystery of iniquity is already at work. We see the beast in his influence already, even if it is isolated and in more and less degrees here and there, but we also see the power of the beast gaining steam. And we can also see that there are no signs of it lessening. And it’s not difficult at all to see that influence of the beast finally becoming universal and coming in this final wickedness unleashed against the people of God.

And so I think—and we’ve seen this elsewhere in the book of Daniel—that the localized persecutions that the people of God have had to endure, such as Antiochus in the second century BC, such as the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, such as the Christians in the early church, such as what Christians have endured here and there throughout the history of the church—all of those localized persecutions are precursors to the big one. And I think that’s what Daniel is leading us to see here. The Old Testament and the New Testament warn us that at the end of the age, there’ll be this great climax of evil and this awful opponent and his opposition and rage against the people of God. An arch-opponent coming against the people of God with universal authority and all of God’s people facing his rage. Again, I’ll pick up more on that in the next couple of weeks to see how the New Testament writers bring us more specificity with all of that. But there’s where we’ll leave that. This age, at the end of this age, this will be a period of tribulation marked by unprecedented opposition and persecution.

Michael Will Arise and Bring Deliverance

The next thing we learn here, number two: at that time Michael will arise and bring deliverance. At that time Michael will arise and bring deliverance. Again, verses 1 and 2: “At or during 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 until that time. But at that time, your people shall be delivered.” So again, we learn that at that time, when it is at its worst, Michael will arise, the angel, and he will bring deliverance.

Now he tells us here in verse 1—it’s an interesting detail that we don’t find a lot about in the Bible—and that is that it’s Michael who comes to bring deliverance to the people of God. You remember we saw in chapter 10 with the background to this prophecy that we have Gabriel showing up, and we have Michael the chief of princes, and we have the Prince of Persia and the Prince of Greece, and we have these warring in this—behind the scenes we see all these international conflicts. Daniel 10 fills us in that behind the scenes there’s this angelic and demonic warfare where the angels of God are battling against the demonic forces over the nations. Again, there’s not a lot of detail. It’s a fascinating insight that we find that behind the scenes there’s this spiritual conflict.

And we have that cropping up again here in verse 1, that when this tribulation comes, it is Michael who will arise to bring deliverance. Michael was described to us in chapter 10 as the defender and the protector of the people of God. It was his job, and it will be his job, to protect and bring deliverance. He tells us here to those whose names are written in the book of life. Now the Bible gives us a couple other mentions of Michael. And it’s interesting how they fit this model that we see here in chapter 10 and in chapter 12.

One of the New Testament references to Michael is in Jude verse 9. And there we read: “The archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses.” You remember Moses went up on the mountain to die. Here in this apocryphal work—this apocryphal work of the Assumption of Moses, which Jude cites here—the devil is wanting rights over the body of Moses. What all is going on in that, I don’t know. But the picture presented in that apocryphal work is that Michael is struggling against Satan for the body of Moses. Whatever else is going on, he is portrayed, as Jude tells us again, as the protector of the people of God. “He doesn’t belong to you. He belongs to us.”

The other reference to Michael that we have in the New Testament is Revelation chapter 12. That’s a fascinating scene. In Revelation chapter 12, we have the devil presented as a dragon coming against the people of God, chasing the people of God into the wilderness. And to protect the people of God, Michael comes and contends against Satan in his advance against the people of God. Again, I think portraying the time of tribulation that actually extends back into this age. But again, in Jude verse 9, Revelation chapter 12, we have Michael presented as the protector of the people of God.

Now all of that makes us wonder if just perhaps Michael is the angel that is referred to in Revelation chapter 20. You remember at the return of Christ the angel comes and takes Satan, makes him captive, binds him with a chain, and throws him into the abyss. Just might be Michael—we’re not told. And in fact, with all of that in place, some have suggested that famous—or infamous—passage in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, where we see this advance of the coming Antichrist; the mystery of iniquity is already at work. But it says he’s being restrained. And when that restraint is lifted, he’ll come in full force. And so the big question that biblical interpreters have always wrestled over is: who is the restrainer? And some have suggested in light of all this, well, maybe, maybe it’s Michael. But at the very least, we learn here from Daniel that in the end, God will send Michael and he will ensure the final deliverance of God’s people. And that will bring an end to this awful period of tribulation. We’ve often been reminded in the book of Daniel that during this time of tribulation to come, the days of the opponent are numbered. Three and a half years, 42 months, “time, times, and a half a time.” The point of all that is to stress that his days are numbered.

All right, so this time at the end will be marked by unprecedented opposition and persecution. Number two: at that time Michael will rise and bring deliverance.

The Resurrection of the Righteous

Number three: the deliverance that is brought climaxes in the resurrection of the righteous of all the ages. The deliverance that he’s speaking of in verses 1 and 2 climaxes in the resurrection of the righteous. Look at verse 1b again and verse 2 as well: “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.”

Now notice here how the righteous are described, and here we’ll go in verses 1, 2, and 3 as well. “At that time your people shall be delivered. Everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.” There’s one: their name is written in the book. “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise”—there’s the second description of the righteous—”those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above.” And then third: “those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.”

First off, “everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.” This is the famous Book of Life that is mentioned several times through the scriptures—not often, but here and there. The book of—with the listing, as it were, of those whom God has chosen to save. The list, the role of God’s elect. We find it cropping up again in Revelation chapter 13, again in the context of the opposition of the beast who is coming against the people of God. And it tells us those who are not written in the Book of Life worship the beast. But this Book of Life is the role of those who belong to God by his electing decree and by the redemptive work of Christ.

We have a reference to this in Luke chapter 10. You might remember a fascinating passage that’s worth dwelling on with some long meditation. Remember the disciples come back to Jesus. They’ve been off on a ministry tour and they’re just tickled to death that there’s been such success and, in particular, “Even the demons are subject to us. We’ve cast out demons even.” They’re just thrilled to death at this authority they have. You remember how Jesus responded? “Oh, don’t let that get you excited. Rejoice rather that your name is written in the book.” There’s something worth rejoicing over. And of course we find the Book of Life again coming up at the end at the time of judgment in Revelation chapter 20. And it says here that everyone’s name—everyone’s name that was written in the book—is delivered. There won’t be any missing seats, no empty seats then. All of us whose names are written in the book, he says, shall awake to everlasting life.

This phrase “everlasting life,” by the way, sets the agenda for what it is. Everlasting life. We read of it in the New Testament. What is it? Everlasting life is the life of the resurrection. The life of the age to come when we’re raised from out of the graves—that’s what everlasting life is. Now the marvelous thing about Jesus—one of the marvelous things about Jesus—is that we have everlasting life now in him because he himself has died for sin and has been raised from the dead and has entered into the life of the age to come. He himself has secured everlasting life and we now, joined to him by faith, by union with him, have everlasting life and have passed out of darkness into light, passed out of death into life in Christ now through his work. But here it is, this time of the end language, and it is something that’s established here as something that happens in resurrection. In the New Testament, it’s something we have now in Christ, and not yet, but fully in the age of resurrection.

And then verse 3 describes, I think with just marvelous imagery, what the resurrected state will be like. What will it be like to be in that resurrected state? He tells us: “Those who are wise, one, shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” So we will shine. That’s what the resurrected state will be like. We’ll shine like the brightness of the sky above, and we’ll shine like the stars forever and ever. What in the world does that mean? Well, I think it’s apocalyptic imagery, yes. But it’s apocalyptic imagery telling us of what it will be like to share in the glory of the glorified Christ. Paul talks about that in Romans chapter 8, that being joint heirs with Jesus through union with him, we’re heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, and we will share in the very glory that he has achieved in his resurrection. And here he’s using that kind of imagery to tell us the same. John says something like this: that when we see him, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And that, he says, we will have—Daniel says—forever and ever. The final enduring vindication of the righteous, the great hope of the people of God fully realized: resurrection and reward.

And notice, by the way, the hope of the righteous is not just heaven. We’ve seen this in our evening studies with regard to the afterlife. There is a doctrine of the intermediate state—that when we die, our souls go bodiless into heaven and we are there in the presence of Christ immediately upon death. And that’s part of the great hope that we have. But that’s not the final hope that we have. The final hope is the hope of resurrection and finally being brought in body and soul redeemed into the presence of God himself. And so Daniel here is highlighting that for us—that now these people of God may suffer persecution, but be assured that then they will shine. And they will shine forever.

And notice again, too, the deliverance is not from martyrdom. It’s not exemption from martyrdom. Many will give their lives for the sake of Christ. Many have. In fact, Revelation 12 speaks of that: “They’ve conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” It’s not a rescue that delivers or exempts from martyrdom, but it is deliverance in resurrection to final glory shared with Christ.

All right, so what Daniel has assured us of here is there will at last be an end to the opposition. With that, there’ll be the destruction of Antichrist, deliverance from the powers of Satan. All of the people of God will enjoy enduring glory, resurrected in the age to come. For all of the Antichrist’s attempt to defeat us, for all the temporal success he may have, Antichrist will not prevent us from reaching our ultimate goal.

The Fate of the Unrighteous

All right, to review then: number one, we’ve learned this period of tribulation will be marked by unprecedented opposition and persecution. Number two, then Michael will arise and bring deliverance. Number three, that deliverance climaxes in the resurrection of the righteous of all the ages. And then number four, an interesting turn looks at the other side, and that is: the fate of the unrighteous will likewise be unending. The fate of the unrighteous will likewise be unending. 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.”

No doctrine of annihilation here. There is that doctrine that is taught. It used to be taught only by the cults. There are left-wing professing evangelicals today that teach the same, but there’s no room for that here. Just as the righteous will shine in glory forever and ever, so also he tells us here the unrighteous will forever be the object of abhorrence and contempt. This, by the way, is the first and only mention of the resurrection of the unrighteous in the Old Testament. The doctrine of resurrection is mentioned in the Old Testament several times. We’ve seen that in our evening series. But all of them have reference to the righteous, except this one. Here we have specified the unrighteous will be raised as well. They will be raised in terms of what John tells us in Revelation 20: raised to the second death, from which those whose names are written in the book are exempt.

So here he’s telling us that the unrighteous—they will have their end too. And it will also be forever and ever. They may feel safe for a time siding with the Antichrist. But he warns us here that will not last and the trade will not be worth it. They will forever be the object of God’s contempt and abhorrence. And that’s always the choice we’re given throughout the scriptures. You choose your sides and you have the consequences accordingly. And whatever pleasures you hope to gain in opposing the Lord Jesus, know that they will be short-lived. I love to think of this every time I hear some evil—I’ll put it that way—some evil commentator or some spokesman on the radical left fringe of our society trying to advance some evil cause, whether it’s abortion or homosexuality or gay marriage or whatever it is. The argument they use is, “You need to get on the right side of history.” And I want to think every time: your view of history is a little short. And it’s passages like this that assure us of that.

Instructions to Daniel

Well, here then is the word of encouragement to Daniel. An awful tribulation is to come, but at last, God will deliver his people. He’ll deliver them in resurrection, and he will deliver them forever. And that, as we’ve seen, is the overall thrust of the book of Daniel. God is King. The kingdom of God will prevail. Those who are his will win. They will win forever. Those who are not on his side will lose, and they will lose big. Therefore—and there’s the bottom line of Daniel—therefore, be faithful. You want to be on the right side of history.

So when we get to verse 4—and we’ll just hurry through this now—when we get to verse 4, we have some specific instructions to Daniel: “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.” Seal up the scroll. That is, preserve the revelation that has been given here, keeping it intact, preserving it for the future people of God, so that when the time comes when they are scampering here and there to find out “What does all this mean?” as it comes down, they will have your prophecy in place to make sense of it all. I mentioned, I think, last time that one of the features of biblical prophecy—and we certainly see this in Daniel several times—one of the features of biblical prophecy is it’s specific enough to be able to see after the fact when it happens, “That’s exactly what was prophesied.” But it lacks enough specifics so that you can’t say ahead of time, “Oh, I see it coming, I see it coming, there it is, this is going to happen, this is going to…” It doesn’t quite give us all that. But when it’s coming down, we’ll see it, and I think that’s the sense given here in verse 4. People, God’s people, will want to know, and Daniel’s prophecy will be there for them to explain it.

Then verses 5 to 7, the angel asks the same question that Daniel has asked earlier, and that’s the question: “How long?” How long will all of this continue? Verse 7: “I heard the man clothed in linen who was above the waters in the stream, and 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.”

“Time, times, and a half a time.” That’s the familiar language we’ve bumped into in Daniel several times, presumably three and a half years, probably ends up at least becoming a symbolic term for a time of suffering. Initially, it was a literal period of the time of the rage of Antiochus against the people of God in the second century. It becomes this picture of this time, and the point of it all is to say his days are numbered. There’s a time period when he will have his rage, but it will only be that long. And then verse 7, he gives an oath, raises his hand to heaven, makes this oath—that is to say, there are no contingencies on this. God states the outcome. That’s the way it will be.

And then we get to verse 8. It sounds so ominous. Daniel’s puzzled and he wants to know more. “I heard, but I did not understand. And then I said, ‘Oh Lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?’ How will this turn out? How will it go?” The answer is given in verses 9 to 13. Verse 9: “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.” That’s similar to what we saw in verse 4. You go your way, you be faithful, you do your thing, you don’t worry about things that you can’t know. But when these things come down, the faithful will understand.

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.” That is to say, this time of tribulation will have a cleansing and a purifying effect. Now some have wondered: does this mean a purifying of the true people of God? Or does this mean that there will be many who come to salvation during this time? I think that fits better with the language that’s used here. Maybe it’s both. But in either case, we see that through this time of tribulation, the people of God—it’ll be plain who they are. We’ll know.

And then verses 11 and 12 give us some chronological detail that I won’t work through. It talks about, “Blessed are those who come to the 1,290 days, then those who come to the 1,335 days.” I suspect that this is speaking of a period of when the Lord comes after his coming, when he’ll judge the nations and finally establish his eternal kingdom. And those who reach that 1,335 days—they are the ones who are blessed and they will see history reach its goal.

And then verse 13, we have this personal note that’s added: “But go your way until the end and you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of days.” Go your way. That’s the answer he’s given. Go your way and you will rest and will stand in your allotted place at the end of days. That is, Daniel, you don’t have to know any more than you already know. You just go on about your life and your responsibilities. Be faithful and God will carry all of this out in his time. As for you, he says, you will rest in the grave. You will rest—he tells him here then explicitly—you’ll not see all of these things come to pass yourself. You’ll die first. You will rest in the grave. Daniel now is a very old man, perhaps in his nineties. “You go your way, you will rest,” but then he says, “you will stand in your allotted place at the end of days.” And that is the resurrection to glory of verse 3.

I think that’s a wonderful end to the prophecy of Daniel. It’s, I think, significant that at the conclusion of the book, the whole prophecy is personalized for Daniel like this. And in fact, not just for Daniel, but being personalized for Daniel, it’s individualized for all of the people of God who are in exile in Babylon. You may suffer for now, but God has given you a glimpse of glory. God will set things right. His promise is sure. Your reward will come. It is not necessary for you to know more of the details now. You know enough. And in fact, you can go on and live faithfully even in persecution. And after you’re done living, you can go to your grave in knowledge of a coming glory. And he tells him here explicitly then that the grave is not the end. You’re among the wise. And being among the wise, he says, you will rise to your allotted inheritance. You won’t see all of these things come to pass that we’ve talked about, but you will see and you will experience the resurrection of life. And in that hope, you can go to your grave content.

I think it’s a very fitting, personalized conclusion to the book. Bottom line of all of Daniel’s prophecies: live faithfully and then go to your grave with an expectant hope. God is King. His kingdom will prevail. His promise is sure and whatever else comes, the future is bright. Amen.

Our Father, we are grateful that you have revealed these things to us. What a privilege it is to know in advance what your plans are for us and for this world. Lord, we look forward with great anticipation the day of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We look forward with great anticipation the experience of the coming glory that you have promised to us. And we look forward with great anticipation to the ending of the wickedness. How we want to see, as Daniel’s prophecy told us, that great stone cut out of the mountain come down and crush that great metallic image. How we long to see the evil powers of this world put to an end, and how we long to see the world bow before the Lord Jesus and acknowledge him as Lord. We pray that you would hasten that day. And then, Lord, as this book instructs us, we pray that you would keep us faithful until then. In Jesus’ name, amen.