When the book of Daniel opened, we met a young man, no more than a middle-school-aged student. Now, as Daniel closes, we see a man who is advanced in years and probably around his mid-80s. Daniel has dared to stand alone for God in a hostile environment. He has clearly shown us that a powerful spiritual life does not require ideal conditions in which to thrive and flourish.
Daniel worked a high-end government job when the government wrote rules that attempted to outlaw his faith. Daniel had access to the “White House” of his day and the President’s cabinet of Persia and Babylon. And, Daniel stood alone for God in an intimidating environment! After all, they threw him into a den of lions just for praying! Daniel teaches us that we can grow into godliness even in the darkest of places.
Find Daniel 12 and Revelation 7 with me, if you will. Both Daniel 12 and Revelation 7 are prophecies, and they are complicated. The prophetic pieces of your Bible are there to cause you to give hope in Jesus even more.
Daniel teaches us that we are to be faithful to Christ even in the most difficult times of life. Remember, Daniel teaches us that we can grow into godliness even in the darkest of places. Daniel teaches us that God is in control of our world and we find our real, lasting hope by looking to Him. For one more time, let’s climb into God’s “time machine” and see the future with Daniel, the Great!
Today’s Scripture
“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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 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” (Daniel 12:1-4).
“Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ 14 I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 ‘Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (Revelation 7:13-17).
Today, I want to speak to you about a time coming for all of us known as the Great Tribulation. God shows us a hope even in a seemingly hopeless time.
1. Trouble is Coming
“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” (Daniel 12:1).
The Bible repeatedly says that trouble is coming, serious trouble is coming.
1.1 Daniel’s Vision
Daniel’s dreams were given to him by God to tell Him what was about to happen. God controlled Daniel’s dreams in order to communicate to Daniel what was about to happen on the world’s stage. It’s a vision to warn us of difficult days to come and to prepare ourselves for the coming difficult days.
1.2 Michael
“Michael, the great prince” is one who stands watch over God’s people. Earlier in Daniel, we witness Michael standing against demonic forces to fight in places we cannot see (Daniel 10:3). Now, the little New Testament book of Jude tells us that Michael is an archangel (Jude 9). An archangel is a chief angel and Michael is the only archangel mentioned in your Bible. There may be more but Michael is the only archangel named. The Bible says it will be the archangel’s very voice that will cry out from heaven when Jesus Christ comes again and God’s people are resurrected from the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Because he is the first angel, he has the big privilege of announcing the Second Coming. Because he is the first angel, he has big responsibilities, including fighting on your behalf in spiritual warfare. Again, Michael is positioned to stand watch over God’s people in a time of severe trouble.
Today, you a nurse or doctor might ask you, “How much pain are you in?” and they would give you a sedative to relieve the pain. The Book of Daniel is very far from being a sedative given to the suffering in order to dull their pain. On the contrary, it is a wake-up call to all of us to live with wisdom in this broken world.
1.2.1 Through but Not From
Here’s a wake-up call for all of us. Even though the Bible says Michael is great, he doesn’t deliver God’s people FROM trouble. Even though the Bible says Michael is there to stand watch over God’s people, he doesn’t deliver God’s people FROM trouble. Instead, Michael delivers God’s people THROUGH trouble. God chooses to use Michael’s powers to only deliver His people THROUGH trouble and not FROM trouble. You’ll see this all over the Bible.
Again, God chooses to use Michael’s powers to only deliver His people THROUGH trouble and not FROM trouble. God, in His infinite wisdom, has chosen to allow His people to suffer. But the suffering is under His thumb. If suffering and tribulation were water, then God puts a damn in the middle of the river to control it. If suffering and tribulation were an engine, then God puts a governor on the engine to control it. Again, suffering is under God’s thumb.
1.3 The Great Tribulation
The Bible repeatedly tells of distresses, dangers and devastation God’s people will face. To be sure, the Bible says that every believer will go through tribulation. Any and all real believers who seek to be faithful to Christ will be opposed by the world (2 Timothy 3:12). But the Bible speaks of a time when a Great Tribulation is coming.
Now, the words “Great Tribulation” only appear four times in your New Testament. Jesus speaks of this time like this: “For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days” (Mark 13:19-20).
This will be a day like there has never been before. This time of intense trouble will go on longer than we want and it will be more intense than we want. Jesus seems to tell us that this time of mega affliction or Great Tribulation will be just before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
1.3.1 Just before the Second Coming
The Second Coming is when Jesus personally returns to the earth to end history, reward the faithful, condemn the wicked, and destroy God’s enemies. The Bible tells us the Second Coming is the next thing God is going to do in our world. But just before Christ’s arrival, there will be a Great Tribulation. Again, it seems to be closely connected sequentially – Great Tribulation and then the Second Coming.
1.3.2 John Asks, “What Do I See?”
Make no mistake about it, if you are godly in Christ, there is a day coming when it will be a really dark period of time for all of us. Whenever this time is, you can expect many people to be martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ. The “go-to” passage on the Great Tribulation is Revelation 7:13-14: “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ 14 I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’” (Revelation 7:13-14).
John’s eyes survey a remarkable scene in Heaven. He asks his “tour guide,” the elder, “Who are all these people I’m seeing?” The reply is quick and certain, “John, you know who these are. These are the ones who have come through the Great Tribulation. They have been made clean by the cross of Christ.” Let me be crystal clear: God’s people didn’t go around it but through this time of mega affliction. John in Revelation picked up the pen that Daniel laid the pen down in Daniel 12:1! Let me give you a secret to your Bible that took me a long time to understand: Daniel functions as volume 1 and Revelation is volume 2. Though they are separated in your Bible, you should read them closely together. So, the Great Tribulation.
1.3.3 A Time of Intense Pressure
Again, the Bible is not giving us a sedative but a wake-up call. The Bible says God will deliver believers of every nation, tribe, people, and language through a time of great distress that includes a temptation to succumb to false teaching, pressure to compromise and worship other gods, and intense persecution for those remaining faithful. Though faithfulness may cost them their physical lives, God will give them resurrection life! Again, there will be a lot of pressure to abandon your faith in Jesus Christ. There will be an intense pressure on you to abandon your faith. Remember, Daniel had access to the “White House” and the President’s cabinet of Persia and Babylon.
Yet, Daniel stood alone for God in an intimidating environment! Remember, they threw him into a den of lions just for praying! The Bible tells us that there is an invisible war going on around us EVEN NOW. Daniel pictures Michael, the archangel, as stationed here to watch over us and fight a spiritual warfare in unseen places. Even now, the Bible says you are engaged in a spiritual battle “for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 6:12). That’s right now but there’s also a time coming both Daniel and Jesus say that Satan will turn up the volume on persecution.
1.4 God is In Control
Yet, Heaven will continue to control all that is happening on earth: “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” (Daniel 12:1).
Rejoice with me that Heaven will never abdicate authority even for one second! At the very time when our distress is as no one has ever seen, the archangel Michael will stand up to protect the people of God, to take their side and to deliver them. Yes, it will be horrible for God’s people. But mark this: even then, we will be surrounded by God’s angels on all sides! Yes, God’s goodness will surround us with His angels and His love and mercy! Somebody say, “Thank you, Father!”
God never abandons His people. He will walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). I love how Jesus encourages us: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:44). God never abandons His people!
Know that trouble is coming. God will not pull you out of it, but He will pull you through it.
1. Trouble’s Coming
2. What to Do in Times of Trouble
“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. 3 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” (Daniel 12:2-3).
Knowing all this, how should you and I react?
2.1 Prophecy Scares Me
Some people will say, “I don’t read this kind of stuff in the Bible because it scares me. Especially all this talk about enduring terrible days. ” Even Daniel himself struggles with this. Daniel doesn’t simply report his dreams as someone delivering the nightly news. When he contemplates one of the earlier dreams, Daniel says this: “… my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed…” (Daniel 7:28b). One another time, Daniel says a dream impacted him so greatly that he was overcome and lay sick for days. The visions alarmed Daniel and shook him emotionally. Remember, the purpose of the vision is not to give us nightmares but to calm our nightmares.
2.2 Be Like Joseph
So, Daniel repeatedly tells of sufferings, perils, and devastation God’s people will face. Don’t be desensitized to it. Don’t turn a deaf ear to it. Instead, be prepared for it. Be like Joseph, who God told about a coming famine that was seven years away in the future. Joseph prepared an entire country for seven years for the upcoming famine. Because of God’s advance warning, Joseph had the people ready for the severe famine. God tells you the future now, so you’ll be ready then. God is giving you advanced knowledge now, so you’ll be prepared. Again, God chooses to use Michael’s powers to only deliver His people THROUGH trouble and not FROM trouble. God will not pull you out of it but He will pull you through it.
2.3 Be Wise
“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. 3 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” (Daniel 12:2-3).
So what should I do to prepare for this time of great trouble, the Great Tribulation? The Bible says there are two kinds of people: the wise and wicked. The wise build their lives on the words of Jesus – they are prepared. The wicked do whatever they want. You’ll notice the difference here in this life but you’ll also see a bigger difference there, in eternity. If verse 1 points to the Great Tribulation, then verses 2 and 3 point to the Second Coming. Four hundred fifty-plus years before Jesus rises from the dead, Daniel sees a vision of an end-time resurrection. He says in effect, “There will be many who are asleep, but they will awake.” Now it’s obvious this isn’t an afternoon nap because the people are waking up to everlasting life. The Bible says that death is like sleep and you’ll awake in the afterlife. If you are in Christ, you will awake to a resurrection to everlasting joy. The wise are “those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3b).
Again, the Bible says there are two kinds of people: the wise and wicked. The wise build their lives on the words of Jesus. Again, the wicked do whatever they want. It’s really that simple. The pure and wise will awake to everlasting life with Christ, while the wicked will awake to everlasting contempt.
Perhaps the best way is to just show you what will happen. You’re looking at a house off the coast of North Carolina that was just along the beach and valued for just under $400,000. Jesus finished up the greatest sermon in all the world with these infamous words: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
Again, the Bible says there are two kinds of people: the wise and wicked. The wise build their lives on the words of Jesus. The wicked build their lives on what they think is wise. Media: Stop Video Now Please.
Be wise and be pure, my friend, and build your life by the wisdom you see in this book. Don’t be scared of the trouble that is coming. Instead, be prepared.
2.4 Should I Understand Everything?
God has told Daniel so many things that are so difficult to understand. As you read the prophecies of Daniel and the book of the Revelation, the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and other prophecies, sometimes you just simply have to say, “I don’t understand it.” And I don’t think that we have to feel defeated because we don’t understand it all. I don’t think we were meant to understand every detail until the time for the understanding arrives.
Even Daniel says, “I don’t understand all of this?” “I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” 9 He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. 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” (Daniel 12:8-10).
Friend, understanding the end times isn’t just information, it is revelation. The wicked won’t get it but the wise will get it. Understanding your Bible isn’t information, it is revelation! God pulls back the curtains so the wise can see more but He pulls the curtains shut so the wicked see little. He doesn’t pull back the curtains for just the smart but the wise and pure. God reveals the message to those who are wise in Christ! God reveals the message to those who are faithful to Christ! God reveals the message to those who are pure in Christ! Be wise! Be pure! Be faithful to Christ!
Again, the Bible says God’s people will go through the Great Tribulation. Remember, Michael, the archangel is there to stand watch over God’s people, but he doesn’t deliver God’s people FROM trouble. Instead, Michael delivers God’s people THROUGH trouble. Jesus says, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13). Be pure, be wise, and be faithful, my friends.
Heaven has a library: “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” (Daniel 12:1). Daniel sees the very throne of God and sees books opened. God is keeping a record. God has written down every deed, every thought, and every word—every word. God’s Word tells us the importance of the book: “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).
Daniel says God will deliver those whose name was found in the book. Revelation says if your name wasn’t found in the book, you’d be thrown into a lake of fire. If you’re in Christ, you’re in the book. If you’re outside of Christ, you’re not in the book. You need to get in the book and you can get in the book right away by placing your faith in Jesus Christ. Don’t be scared of the trouble that is coming. Instead, be prepared.
