It's Time! Series

It’s Time

Book of Daniel Series

6/22/2025

Text: Daniel 12 (CSB)

Introduction

How many people like watching professional fighting? Boxing or UFC in particular?

In the beginning of the fight, you always have the ring announcer come out and introduce the fighters. In the UFC, it’s Bruce Buffer. He is iconic with his introductions.

I’m going to have a little fun this morning.

I’m going to introduce this morning’s final installment of the Book of Daniel’s series like Bruce Buffer would-

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, This is THE MAIN EVENT!

This fight will be observed and judged by God the Father HIMSELF

AND NOW, IT’S TIIIIIIIME! 7 Years for the undisputed rulership of the universe.

First, fighting out of this corner, This fighter is a deceiver, murderer, and professional con artist. He miserably lost the last time these two fighters met on Calvary’s, and has been craving this rematch for over 2000 years. Fighting out of hell’s fire, the devil himself, the evil serpent known as satan.

Now in this corner, fighting out of Heaven’s eternity, With a perfect record of absolute victory over sin, death, and the grave, He’s the Lion of Judah, the Savior who never taps out, and the One who’s coming back to finish the fight! The last time these two met, he crushed his opponent with a loss so decisive that no matter what happens now, HE has already won. Presenting the reigning, defending, undisputed, champion of the Universe The Alpha and Omega, Jesus the Christ.

As you can see, I have an active imagination and a very large nerd side.

This morning, we’re ringside for the cosmic showdown revealed in Daniel 12, where God’s Word pulls back the final curtain on the end times.

It needs to be noted right from the outset-

Much of this will happen after the event we know as the Rapture- when God takes Christians out of the world, ending the church age. God then turns 100% of HIS focus on Israel.

Daniel 12 is our fight card, showing the role of Michael, the rise of evil, the wisdom of the faithful, and the champion’s ultimate victory. Let’s dive into this chapter. We are going to go through it section by section, but lets start with a word of prayer.

Prayer- My LORD GOD- the El Shaddai- LORD of Heaven’s Armies, send us the Holy Spirit to prepare us for this fight as the church age comes to an end. Help us be bold in our witness for you, and win as many souls as we can before we meet you in the air.

I. The Time of Distress and Michael’s Stand (Daniel 12:1)

Scripture: “At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress such as never has occurred since nations came into being until that time. But at that time all your people who are found written in the book will escape.”

Daniel 12 opens with a dramatic scene: Michael, the archangel, rises up. This is a pivotal moment in time that we need to see.

Michael, called “the great prince who stands watch over” Israel, is God’s appointed guardian of His covenant people.

His “rising up” signals a divine shift—a declaration that the final end-time battle has begun.

Why does Michael rise? The text points to “a time of distress such as never has occurred.”

Considering the horrors that the Jewish people have had to endure throughout the centuries, that’s a pretty significant statement.

This is referring to the Great Tribulation, a period of unprecedented trouble Jesus referenced in Matthew 24:21. Michael stands to protect God’s people amid rising evil.

Think of a fighter, sitting on his stool, standing because the bell is about to ring. This isn’t just Michael standing at attention; it’s a battle cry, marking the onset of the ultimate conflict.

The distress being experienced by Israel today is driven by the spirit of the Antichrist, who opposes God’s plan and persecutes His people. A key sign of this antichrist spirit is the rise of antisemitism, which we see increasing today.

Hatred toward the Jewish people has long been a gauge of what is happening and the level of the warfare going on in the spiritual realm. Daniel 12:1 tells us that it intensifies as the end nears.

Michael rises as God’s warrior against this evil, ensuring the escape of those “found written in the book”—the book of life, symbolizing all people who are saved by God’s grace.

I believe when Michael rises, this is that ringside bell announcing that the fight is about to begin.

This points us at Rev 12, which says that Michael and God’s angels fight against the devil and his angels.

This is the point at which these evil beings lose any access to God’s throne and are finally cast out of heaven forever.