November 10, 2002 Daniel 7:9-10
“As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
How many of you have ever been on a “blind date?” The pure concept of it is craziness to me. First off, if the person you are set up with is not attractive to you, the whole night is shot. Here you have to spend the night being cordial to a complete stranger who you have no interesting in dating. But let’s take it to the next step, imagine that he or she is a nice looking person. It’s one thing to be attracted to someone. But what are the odds that you will actually be able to carry on a conversation for a whole night? All night your mind would have to race to find things to say, in fear of the five second moment of silence. (Let’s see, I’ve talked about the weather, the food we’re eating - religion? Politics? What next?) No way. Not for me. I’d rather rub a cheese grater up and down my face and stick my head in a piranha bowl. I can only imagine how terrifying it would be to have to do this with marriage! Imagine living in the far east and having your parents say, “Lisa, here is your future husband.” Wow.
The idea of meeting God - face to face - is also a terrifying prospect. We aren’t just talking about spending one night of chit chat with someone. We’re talking about standing before the Judge for an eternal sentence of guilty or not guilty. However, this is not like a completely blind date. In today’s text, for this Last Judgment Sunday, gives you the ability to -
See Yourself Standing Before the Seated One
I. Look at the Seated One
It’s hard to envision standing before God, isn’t it. When I was going through O’Hare Airport with my wife, we walked across an elderly fellow that looked real familiar. We didn’t put it together til months later, but we had walked right by Art Linkletter. I’ve never stood that close to someone on TV. But it’s just a totally different experience when you are face to face with someone that when you see them on TV. That’s about the closest I can come to trying to describe what it will be like to be standing before God on Judgment Day. It will just be so much more vivid than anything we can imagine. Yet God tries to draw a picture of what He is going to look like on that Day - so we know Who we are meeting up with. Obviously, as we read this description, we will see that it is symbolic language. Yet we read this in a literal way- in other words - there is a literal interpretation behind it - this is describing a real thing.
Today’s text starts with Daniel describing, As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. There are basically two pictures that God is trying to draw of Himself in this vision to Daniel. The first one can be found in the name that He gives Himself - the “Ancient of Days.” We will standing before someone who has been around forever - as the white hair also depicts.
What does this mean to us? Or what should it mean to us? God tells us in Leviticus 19 to ‘Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. Yet what’s the first impression that you have when walking into a nursing home? “These poor people. I’ll smile at them, pat them on the back, and throw them a little cookie of youth, then I’ll get out of here as quickly as possible.” Grandma wants to talk to her high school granddaughter, so granddaughter smiles and says, “yes, grandma. I know.”, while all the time looking for the nearest exit. Let’s be honest. We live in an age that gives millions of dollars to a guy who can throw a ball. So if this old guy can’t throw a ball, what good can he do me? Instead of rising in their presence, we rise and leave the room. These are people who have been there, done that. They’ve made the mistakes in life already. They are less likely to be swayed by emotion or to make rash decisions. In God’s eyes, being elderly is an honorable thing. It shows experience. It shows wisdom. So why does it irritate us so when grandma and grandpa have some suggestions on how to raise our children or what decisions to make?
Applying this to our Judge, we know that we will be standing before Someone who has been around forever. He is the Ancient of Days. Like an old veteran, He has heard every excuse in the book. He can’t be sweet talked. He can’t be fooled. He will make a very wise, experienced, and educated decision based on each individual case. He is someone whose decision will be worthy of respect.
There’s some other things about this Judge that we want to note. Daniel says that his robe was as white as snow. Whiteness is also the symbol of holiness and perfection. In the book of Revelation, John went through a very similar experience in the presence of God. He says, His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. . . When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. It is a terrifying experience to stand in front of someone who is Holy. It make John turn into a human possum, as he lay there as still as could be.
What makes it worse is what surrounds the throne! His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. God has often presented Himself throughout the Scriptures as a flaming fire. At the burning bush with Moses, in the desert with the Israelites, on top of Mt. Sinai, at Sodom and Gomorrah, He made His presence known with a burning fire. The message was clear, “I am a powerful force to be reckoned with. If you cross my path, you will be burned!” In this vision, a river of fire flows from before God. Since fire also depicts the eternal judgment, I can’t help but think this fire represents the fact that this holy and experienced and powerful God is going to judge.
II. Look around the Seated One
Let’s take our eyes off of the throne for a minute, as hard as that may be. Notice what Daniel also describes will be there. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. Revelation interprets who these are in 5:11. Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. What were they doing? “Attending him.” These angels - thousands of them - had one soul purpose in life - to serve Jesus. Their whole world revolves around Jesus. He is the center of their attention - the center of this picture.
The angels aren’t the only ones paying attention to Jesus either. Daniel says, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. What intrigued me about this text was the “thrones.” What were the thrones? There are several references to these thrones throughout the Scriptures.
Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. Re 4
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matt 19
If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? 1 Co 6
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. Re 3:21
In Matthew, it appears that Jesus is reserving special judgment seats for the disciples. But then in Revelation God makes mention of 24 thrones, seeming to represent the whole Christian church of the Old and New Testaments. And in Revelation 3 Jesus promises everyone who overcomes the right to sit on the throne with him. The difficulty I had in this picture, is where to place the believer in Christ on the final judgment. If he on a throne or standing in front of God to be judged? Do we see ourselves standing before the seated one, or sitting beside the seated one? Paul answers the question in 2 Corinthians 5:10 we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Co 5:10. Whether we end up next to the king on a throne or not, we all will have to stand before the seated one at some point or another.
III. See the books opened
At first it might sound disheartening that we will have to face a judgment. Yet should the idea of a final judgment be so terrifying to us? How does John describe it? The court was seated, and the books were opened. John describes the final judgment to the opening of a book, YOUR book. It seems like everyone these days is writing a book about themselves and their ideals. Sean Hannity, Chris Matthews, David Lee Roth, there are a ton of “autobiographies,” etc. out there. Sometimes they are interesting, and sometimes they really stink.
There is a saying that goes, “live your life by imagining your obituary and working backwards.” How would your book read? What would you write about? Oh, you might have some interesting stories to write about. You’d probably want to add some entertainment - maybe how you went cow tipping once. Maybe you stole a cow. I bet if we put all of our most interesting stories together, we could raise some eyebrows and be pretty entertaining.
When I was in college we had to write a paper on any topic. As a joke, I wrote one on dating, and used my life as an example. It was real funny until I had to review the paper with my professor. Here I had one of my parents friends - an elderly professor at school - reading about and critiquing my love life. I wanted to crawl under a chair. It wasn’t funny at all. I think that’s what terrifies us most about Judgment Day. We don’t want our books opened, at least not by God. Maybe we wouldn’t mind reading our life stories to a buddy at work, that gets a kick out of sex stories and thinks stupid high school pranks are funny. But we’re talking about a holy and wise old Judge opening our books. This won’t be like sitting at a funeral where everyone sugar coats what a “great guy” you were. I could imagine people sitting before God on Judgment Day and saying, “wait! Skip that page! Look over here, not there!” Imagine how embarrassing this picture has potential for! God will be reading your book in front of the world - for all to hear and to make a judgment on. We won’t be able to revise this history. The Judge is too wise and holy for that.
It terrified John to stand before a holy God, and initially it terrifies us. But what a comfort it must have been to him when John said, he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Who is this heavenly and Almighty figure? It is a picture of Jesus! And the first thing Jesus did was to remind John that He is ALIVE, and HE holds the keys of death and Hades. Since Jesus died for the sins of the world, and God accepted His sacrifice as proven by His resurrection from the dead, He now has the right to accept or reject anyone into heaven as Judge of the world.
Revelation 21:27 says, Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. It all comes down to who Jesus finds written in the book of life. But notice that John calls it the “Lamb’s book of life.” It’s not my book of life. It’s not yours. It’s the Lamb’s - Jesus - the Lamb of God - who takes away the sin of the world. Since it’s HIS book, he has the right to add anything or anyone to it or erase anything from it. Moses recognized this when he prayed to the Lord on behalf of the Israelites in Exodus 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” Peter also said the same when He referred to Jesus as the author of life. (Acts 3:15) Jesus - the Judge of the world - has the power to decide who will be written in the book of life and what will be written in this book.
Jesus, the Judge has set the standard for who will be written in the book of life. Thank God, it is not based on my life or your life, but on HIS life. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jn 14:6 In John 11 He told Mary, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Based on this book of life, then Jesus opens our books. He says to us who are running from His judgment - I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. (Isaiah 44) Imagine what an awesome sight it will be, when God opens our books - and instead of seeing our sinful past - the records will have been tampered with! Jesus has erased our criminal evidence with His own blood! Now, the only thing Jesus will see on Judgment Day - through His forgiveness - is the righteous things we have done. He will turn our boring sleeper of a drama into a thrilling epic of a saga. We will be almost dumbfounded at the things God makes mention of that we were not even aware of. For God’s Word declares -
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Ps. 139:15-16
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:10
Everything that we are and do has been set up and created by God. It is His planning that prepared it. It is His Holy Spirit that works through us. He has done all the work. Yet in his mercy, He gives us credit for it! Amazing grace!
When you meet someone for the first time, it’s often awkward. You look for the right words to say, and struggle to find something in common. It may be hard to see yourself standing before the Seated One - one that is so holy, wise, and powerful - and seeing Him for the first time face to face. Yet this is not someone that we don’t know. We’ve been listening and talking to him for years. He is a part of us - and His Spirit is connected to us. The Person that we are going to stand before on Judgment Day is the same One who DIED for us and made us HOLY in his sight. He doesn’t want us to shy away from this Judgment Day. He doesn’t want us to look at it like a blind date. Jesus actually told his disciples - When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Lk 21:28) Instead of looking at it like a blind date, look at it as a reunion. Through faith look forward to the day you see yourself standing before the Seated One. Amen.
