Sunday
Morning Bible Study
July
28, 2013
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved?
The last three chapters of Daniel are a complete group. In Daniel 10, this final section starts with
Daniel fasting and praying when an angelic visitor shows up. The visitor brings to Daniel a detailed
prophetic look at the future of Daniel’s people, the Jews.
Daniel 11 started with the amazing details laid out of the various kingdoms
that would one day fight over Israel, leading up to the wicked king known as Antiochus
Epiphanes around 150 BC.
The last part of Daniel 11 jumped from Antiochus to an individual known as
the antichrist. The antichrist will be considered the “Messiah” of Israel as he
initially comes to rescue Israel from its attackers before he turns to destroy
them.
Chapter 12 started with the battles that Michael the archangel will be
fighting for Israel, and we learned last week of the promised hope of the
rapture and resurrection from the dead.
12:4-13 The End
: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.”
:4 shut … seal the book
Some have suggested that Daniel was
shown much more than has been recorded, but at this command he went back and wrote
down his experience in such a way as to make it more difficult for people to
understand until the time of the end.
The implication is that much of what was written in Daniel 10-12 wouldn’t
be understood until the time of the end, the last days.
:4 many shall run to and fro
Some think this might be referring to scholars running their eyes back and
forth through Scripture, trying to understand what Daniel was writing about.
I can’t help but think of the literal idea of travel has changed through
the centuries, and most radically in the last 100 years.
Play Fullerton to Kirovochepetsk map clip
Early tomorrow morning Drew, Nadia, and myself will begin our two day trip
to Kirovochepetsk.
We will cover the first 5,200 miles in about 20 hours by air, and the
last 800 miles the next day by train. By
Tuesday night your time (Wed. morn. for us) we will be 11 time zones away.
:4 knowledge shall increase
It may be that this is talking about knowledge concerning these prophetic
things.
But just think about how all knowledge itself has
increased in the last 100 years.
In February 2003, Wikipedia’s database
was about 4 GB in size. By April 2004 it
was about 57 GB, and growing at 1.4GB per week.
As of late August 2006 it was up to 1.2 terabytes.
In 1998, the Google index of the internet contained 26 million pages. By 2000, it had reached 1 billion. By 2008 it had reached a trillion pages.
:5 Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two
others, one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank.
:5 there stood two others
Daniel was on the banks of the Tigris river when he was first introduced to
a “man clothed in linen” whose face was shining and whose words were like the
voice of a multitude (Dan. 10:4-6)
(Da 10:4–6 NKJV) —4 Now on
the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great
river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I lifted
my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was
girded with gold of Uphaz! 6
His body was like beryl, his face
like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and
feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice
of a multitude.
Now this individual is joined by two others, presumably angels. These two new angels are standing on opposite
sides of the river bank.
The Tigris is a pretty large river.
We don’t know where Daniel is along
the Tigris River. It’s one of the two
large rivers that flow through Iraq. The
Tigris flows through cities like Mosul and Baghdad. It’s a pretty big river.
:6 And one said to the man clothed in
linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long shall the
fulfillment of these wonders be?”
:6 How long
We think that this angel is asking how long it will be from the events of
Daniel 12:1 which is the time of the “abomination of desolation”, until the
time of difficulty ends.
Which is another way of saying, “How long until Jesus returns?”
:7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was
above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand
to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a
time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has
been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.
:7 a time, times, and half a time
We’ve seen this phrase of words before, used to describe this same exact
period of time when the antichrist will be running wild:
(Da 7:25 NKJV) He shall
speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of
the Most High, And shall intend to change times and
law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For
a time and times and half a time.
We showed back then that this is a way of describing 3 ˝ years – a time
(one year) plus times (2 years) plus a half a time (1/2 year).
The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are geared towards using the
Babylonian calendar, where a year is 360 days.
3 ˝ years comes out to 1260 days.
From the time that the antichrist commits the abomination
of desolation, declaring himself to be “god” in the
temple in Jerusalem, that you can start counting on a calendar 1260 days, and Jesus
will return.
It’s when the strength of the Jews is gone that Jesus will return and
rescue them from the antichrist.
Isaiah records what is going through the Jesus’ mind when He returns to
rescue the Jews:
(Is 63:1–6 NKJV)
—1 Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah,
This One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of
His strength?— “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
Bozrah is about 40 miles north of Petra.
2 Why is
Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who
treads in the winepress?
In Revelation, John records that when Jesus returns…
(Re
19:13 NKJV) He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood…
His robe is red from the blood of Israel’s enemies whom He
is fighting.
3 “I have
trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me.
For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood
is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. 4 For the
day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come. 5 I looked,
but there was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no
one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury,
it sustained Me. 6 I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, Made them drunk in My
fury, And brought down their strength to the earth.”
When Jesus came the first time, it was with grace. When He comes the second time, it will be in
judgment.
:8 Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I
said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?”
:9 And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for
the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
:9 the words are closed up
Daniel won’t understand it all. And that’s okay.
Lesson
Incomplete understanding
Some of us like to be in control of
every aspect of our lives.
We want to understand everything
that is going on around us.
There are some things you’re just
not going to get. You have to learn to
be okay with that.
:10 Many shall be purified, made white, and
refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall
understand, but the wise shall understand.
:10 Many shall be purified
We’ll come back to this later.
:10 the wicked shall do wickedly
Even though there will be an abundance of evidence during the Tribulation
that Jesus is about to return, wicked people will still continue to act
wickedly.
(2 Th 2:9–12 NKJV) —9 The coming
of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power,
signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they
did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for
this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the
lie, 12 that they
all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.
Some people are under the mistaken idea that they will just wait until
after the Rapture happens, and then accept Christ.
The problem with that thinking is this – if you do not love the truth
enough now to believe in Jesus before the Tribulation, what makes you think
that you will change after the Tribulation starts?
Rejecting the truth now is only making it harder for you
to accept the truth later.
Each time you reject the truth, you make your own heart a
little harder against the things of God.
:11 “And from the time that the daily sacrifice
is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be
one thousand two hundred and ninety days.
:12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to
the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.
:11 one thousand two hundred and ninety
days
The Tribulation period is going to be seven years, with the abomination of
desolation coming at the middle, at 3 ˝ years, or specifically after 1260 days. We see a couple of references to 1260 days…
(Re 11:3 NKJV) And I will
give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two
hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
We think the “two witnesses” are at work during the first half of the
Tribulation period and their ministry ends at the time of the abomination of
desolation.
(Re 12:6 NKJV) Then the
woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two
hundred and sixty days.
Israel (the woman) flees into the wilderness at the time of the abomination
of desolation and is there for 3 ˝ years, or 1260 days, the last half of the
Tribulation.
Now we’re given a figure of 1290 days after the abomination of desolation. What’s the extra 30 days for?
:12 one thousand three hundred and
thirty-five days
Now there’s an extra 45 more days tacked on top of the extra 30 days, with
a blessing for the person who makes it to the end of the 1335 days.
What’s with all the extra days?
Let me say first that to be totally honest, I don’t have a clue of what it
definitely means, but I have some suggestions…
The first extra 30: When Jesus
returns at day 1260 after the abomination of desolation, He will return
specifically to the Jews who are hiding in places like Petra and Bozrah in the
country of Jordan.
The Isaiah 63 passage indicates that He will be fighting through the enemy
troops as He rescues Israel (remember the “red” robe?)
Perhaps the first 30 days are the time that it takes to conquer the armies
of the world that have been gathered by the antichrist to fight against Jesus
Christ. It could take him 30 days to make
His way to Jerusalem where His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives (Zech 14:4; Acts 1).
The next extra 45: After Jesus
returns and conquers the kingdoms of this world, He
will set up His kingdom on earth.
He will rule and reign on the earth for a thousand years.
We believe that when the Millennial kingdom
officially starts, it will be populated by two kinds of humans.
Those of us believers who have our resurrected, glorified
new bodies.
Those few believers who were able to make it through the Tribulation
without being killed for their faith will enter the kingdom in their old
bodies.
Eventually those
who have their old bodies will reproduce and there will be generations grow up
who will have to make their choice to trust in the Lord, and many will not.
There will only believers in the kingdom –initially there will be no
unbelievers.
We believe that all unbelievers will be put to death at
the beginning of the kingdom. Who makes
decision of who lives and who dies?
John records that at that time there will be a time of
judgment prior to the thousand years.
(Re
20:4 NKJV) And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed
to them… And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
To start the kingdom with only believers will require
judgment, and that might take time.
There will be a LOT of people dying during the
tribulation, perhaps up to half of the world’s population (Rev. 6:8; 9:18).
(Re 6:8 NKJV) —8 So I
looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death,
and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the
earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the
earth.
(Re 9:18 NKJV) —18 By
these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the
smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.
Yet there could still be 2 billion people alive that will
be facing God’s judgment. Perhaps that
might take the last 45 days?
There are 86,400
seconds in a day. In 45 days, there are
3,888,000 seconds. If two billion people
are being judged, that only give about 2 thousandths (.001944) of a second for
each person (which is possible for God).
Lesson
Are you ready?
The Bible says that God will one day judge the earth.
(Ps 96:13 NKJV) For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge
the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His
truth.
Are you ready to face God’s judgment?
In case you want to know how to survive God’s judgment – here’s the secret
– it’s not about whether you’ve been “good enough”, because you aren’t. I’m not either. It’s all about whether or not you’ve come to
believe in Jesus as your Savior.
Jesus came to this earth to take care of the major issue at judgment
time. He came to pay for your sins. If you will believe in Jesus, then your sins
have been paid for.
(Jn 3:16–18 NKJV) —16 For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who
believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God.
Are you ready? Have
you given your life to Jesus?
:13 “But you, go your way till the end; for
you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.
:13 rest … arise
Just like the Terminator, Daniel will be back.
:10 Many shall be purified, made white,
and refined
Through the difficult times head in the history of Daniel’s people, many
will be purified, made white, and refined.
purified – barar – to purify,
polish, purge, cleanse or make bright, test or prove
made white – laban – (Hithpael)
to become white, be purified (ethical)
refined – tsaraph – to
smelt, refine, test
Lesson
Refiner’s Workshop
As much as we don’t like to go through difficulties, they are the things
that mature us and make us better.
Illustration
A vacationer watched with curiosity as a lumberman occasionally jabbed his
sharp hook into a log, separating it from the others that were floating down a
mountain stream. When asked why he did
this, the worker replied, “These may all look alike to you, but a few of them
are quite different. The ones I let pass
are from trees that grew in a valley where they were always protected from the
storms. Their grain is coarse. The ones
I’ve hooked and kept apart from the rest came from high up on the
mountains. From the time they were
small, they were beaten by strong winds.
This toughens the trees and gives them a fine and beautiful grain. We save them for choice work. They’re too
good to make into plain lumber.”
We all love Paul’s promise in Romans 8:
(Ro 8:28–29 NKJV)
—28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
We love this promise of God, but we need to be careful to
grasp what it means. God isn’t promising
that all your difficulties will magically disappear. God is promising that all your difficulties
are going to work towards a good end, a good result – not necessarily what you
may think is “good” at the moment, but for what is ultimately good for
eternity. He has a reason for doing this
…
29 For whom
He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,
that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
How does He conform us to the
image of His Son? Through the
difficulties we are going through, His refining.
Peter writes,
(1 Pe 1:6–7 NKJV) —6 In this you greatly
rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by
various trials, 7 that the
genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that
perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory
at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
The difficulties
we face are like the fire in a goldsmith’s workshop – it melts the metal and
refines it.
As gold is
liquefied in the fire, the impurities come to the top, and the goldsmith scoops
off the impurities, called “dross”. The
goldsmith keeps refining the liquid metal until it is shiny, until he can see
his own reflection in it.
The difficulties we face in life are part of God’s
“workshop”. It’s how He molds us and
shapes us to be more like Jesus.
Charles Spurgeon looked back upon dark hours in his own
life and said:
I bear willing witness that I owe more to the fire, and
the hammer, and the file, than to anything else in my Lord’s workshop. I sometimes question whether I have ever
learned anything except through the rod.
When my schoolroom is darkened, I see most.