Sermon

November 16, 2003
3rd Sunday of End Time - The Saints Triumphant
Daniel 12:1-3
Pastor Robert Raasch

A Preview of Things to Come

1. A Time of Distress
2. A Time of Deliverance

Tell me, when was the last time you caught a preview of an upcoming event? Maybe you were at the movie theatre this weekend and they showed preview after preview of coming attractions. Or maybe your toddler tripped and put a big bruise on his forehead. That was probably the first of many bumps and bruises he'll receive as he grows up. That bruise was a preview of things to come. Or maybe your daughter got her first phone called from a guy-and she liked it; spent 20 minutes on the phone. Let me tell you, that's a preview of things to come, too.

Well, this morning God's Word gives us another preview of things to come. Only in this case, it's not a preview of what will happen in next week's TV episode, or next months movie listing. Rather, God here tells his prophet Daniel and us, what will happen a the end of time. This morning God offers us what we might call:

A Preview of Things to Come

As we study this account, we will see that God reveals that the end of the world will be both:

1. A Time of Distress
2. A Time of Deliverance

First, a little background to this text. In the two chapters immediately preceding our text, God has revealed to Daniel events which would occur in Daniel's near term future, events in the 500 years before the birth of Christi. Events like the fall of the Babylonian empire and the rise of the Roman Empire. But after describing those short-term events, God goes on to describe some events that were to occur further down the road,. In fact, here in our text, God gives Daniel a preview of the events that would occur very near the end of the road, that is, the end of time.

Listen to what God tells Daniel. He says, "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise." Michael? Who's Michael? Actually, Michael is one of only two angels that are specifically identified by name in the pages of Holy Scripture. The other angel was Gabriel. In this case, Michael is given the responsibility of protecting God's people from harm.

And why will God's people need protection, especially in the Last Days? God answers that for us. He says that they will need protection because the Last Days will be: I. A Time of Distress. Listen to what God tells Daniel. He says, "There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then."

What event is God here referring to? Well, I believe he's talking about the same thing that Jesus was talking about in Matthew chapter 24. Remember what Jesus told his disciples would be the signs of the end of the age? He said that there would be "wars and rumors of wars; nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people."

Then, after giving all those signs of the end, Jesus makes one more comment about the time right at the very end of the world. He says in Matthew 24:21, "For then there will be great distress" (there's that same word, distress) "unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive."

Can you tell me, what period in the history of the world is Jesus referring to there? Is he talking about what's going on in the world right now, what with the wars, and earthquakes, and the persecution of Christians, which we see going on around the globe? Or is he referring to a period of distress which still lies in the future? Well, to tell you the truth, that's a tough one to call. On the one hand, we are living in a time of distress. I mean all those signs that Jesus pointed to are going on all around us. For all intents and purposes, we are living in the End Times right now.

But, does that mean that things can't get any worse? No. Things can get worse, and they probably will. But from our perspective here and now, we can't just know how much worse they are going to get. It kind of reminds me of driving down old logging roads in the Upper Peninsula. I used to drive my old Subaru deep into the woods looking for ruffed grouse to hunt. Well, you could be pretty sure that the further away from the highway you got, the worse the road would get. And yet, no matter how far you drove, you could never say, "I know this is as bad as it will ever get." Because it could always get a little worse-and it usually did.

Friends, that's how God describes the road leading up to the end of the world. In many ways, things in this world will just keep getting rougher and rougher, until finally, in an act of divine mercy, God will call a halt to the whole thing. God will say, in effect, "All right, that's rough enough. I don't want to lose everybody along the way." Or, as Jesus put it, "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

Now, why do you think God gives us this dismal preview of the end? Why would he tell us that the end times will be a time of distress? I believe that there are two reasons. First, God wants to keep us from believing that this world is evolving into a better place, or that the human race, if it just tries a little harder can become a kinder, gentler, more peace-loving species. As long as there is sin in the world, that ain't gonna happen.

Secondly, God wants us to know what we're up against as Christians. As the years go by, it's not going to get any easier for us to stand up for what God says is the truth. We live in a world that demands tolerance for every idea, every practice, every lifestyle imaginable. It doesn't matter how much havoc it wreaks in people's lives, it doesn't matter how opposed it is to God's will, or for that matter, how opposed to common sense, still if you or I were to take a stand and say, "Hey, what you're doing is just not right. You're hurting yourself and your relationship to a God who dearly loves you." If we were say that, we would be branded as intolerant, religious extremists. And sad to say, that kind of intolerance for God's truth, will probably only get worse. Be forewarned, dear Christians, the time ahead will be a time of distress.

But, thanks be to God, that isn't all it will be. Here in his revelation to Daniel, God promises that the time ahead will be something much better than that. It will be: II. A Time of Deliverance.

Listen to the words of hope God offers here in our text. God tells Daniel and us, "At that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."

What event is God referring to there? Isn't he referring to Judgment Day? That day when God will resurrect the bodies of all the dead, gather them together with all those human beings who are still alive at the second coming of Christ, and then publicly judge them, raising some to eternal life and sending others to eternal separation from God. And who are the ones who will be raised to eternal life? God tells us right here: "Everyone whose name is found written in the book (that is, the Book of Life)."

So, the question is, "Whose name is written in the book of life?" Does it contain the name of every church-goer in the world? Or everyone who is a spiritual person? Or everyone who believes in God? No, the Bible makes it clear that the only names written in God's book are those who trust that Jesus lived and died in their place. If you can say that you have done absolutely nothing to earn God's favor, yet also know that God loved you enough to pay for your sins, then you can be sure that your name is in the book of life. You can be sure that the promise that Jesus made in John 5:24 still applies to you, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

Friends, on the basis of that promise, you can be sure that in Christ, you have life with God now here on earth and life with God forever in heaven. In fact, God offers a preview of life in heaven when he says in the last verse of our text, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." Can you picture that scene? You and me and every believer in Christ gathered around the throne of God, seeing God in his full glory with our own eyes and then reflecting that undiminished glory in our faces and our lives. We will be like a million little mirrors around the Son reflecting his glory perfectly. Right now, here on earth, we try to reflect the glory of Christ. We try to serve as mirrors of Christ's love. But too often are mirrors that are smudged and tarnished by our own sins and failings. It's like we've got mud on our mirrors.

And yet, once we get to heaven, all that will change. Once we get to heaven, we will no longer will we simply attempt to shine like the Son. We will shine like the Son. Or as Daniel says, "We will shine like the brightness of the heavens." What a glorious picture that is. The saints triumphant gathered in their glorious array around the throne of God. What a breathtaking view that is. Make that, a breathtaking preview. A preview which our gracious God offers us right here in his Word.

My friends, do you see why God has given us a preview of things to come? God wants to do more than show us what's in store for us here in earth. He wants to show us what's in store for us in heaven. And knowing that the end times will be a time of deliverance for us, helps us handle the fact that the end times will also be a time of distress.

The bottom line is this: someone once said, "When it comes to the future, I hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." God's Preview of Things to Come allows us to do just that. It allows us to be prepared for the worst here on earth, while at the same time, having a sure, God-given hope that the best is still to come, with the saints in heaven above. God keep us all to that blessed end. Amen.

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