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November 19, 2006
B-Saints Triumphant
Daniel 12:1-3
Pastor Robert Raasch

What's Ahead for God's People?

1. Distress
2. Deliverance

Tell me, how would you like to have the ability to perfectly foretell the future? Wouldn't that be handy? I mean, you could make a killing in the stock market, right? Let's see, Microsoft shares are going up 20% in the next month. Time to buy now, sell later. Oh, the winner of this year's Super bowl will be…time to place a bet on that game. Even knowing exactly what next weekend's weather will be like would be mighty helpful. But of course, we don't have the ability to perfectly foretell the future. That doesn't mean, however, that we don't try to get some hints about what the future might hold. Am I right? We still watch the weather forecast to get a clue about the upcoming weather. We study the latest earnings reports to get an idea of which way the market might move. We look over the latest fashions coming out of Paris to see what we might want to be shopping for in the coming year. We analyze what management is saying about our work performance to determine whether we'll have a job next year. Let's face it, in one way or another we're all looking for some clues about what our future holds. And not only what our future holds in terms of finances or fashions, but also in terms of our spiritual life. What's going to happen to our souls in the future? What's going to happen to the church? What's going to happen to this world?

For the answers to questions like these, it's only natural for us to turn to the only one who knows the answers to these questions. And that's God. And the place where God speaks to us about such matters is right here in his Holy Word. So let's turn to the Bible to get a glimpse of what the future holds.

Now, please don't misunderstand. I'm not saying that the primary purpose of the Bible is to help us foretell the future. The Bible is not some kind of crystal ball you can use to predict the fall of communism, or the rise of Israel as a nation or the imminent Rapture of the elect (as some televangelists would have you believe). The fact is, the majority of Scripture is not prophecy in the sense of "foretelling" the future. The majority of Scripture is history, as in the recording of the events of the past: what God did for his people Israel, what Jesus said to his apostles, what Paul wrote to the early Christian churches.

At the same time, it must be said that there are a number of places in Scripture where the focus very clearly turns to the future. Places where God gives his people a glimpse of what the future holds for them. Our text for today is one of those places. This morning/evening we turn our attention to the Prophet Daniel as we seek the answer to this question, namely:

What's Ahead for God's People?

Daniel's answer is simple:

1. Distress
2. Deliverance

If you've ever read the book of Daniel, you realize that it's a pretty remarkable book. Not only does it contain the historical account of how God preserved Daniel in the den of lions and the three men in the fiery furnace. It also records a number of visions that God allowed Daniel to see-visions which find their fulfillment in the course of world history. For example, God revealed to Daniel the rise and fall of the Babylonian empire, the empire of the Medes and Persians, the empire of the Greeks and finally the Roman Empire.

And yet, God reveals to Daniel more than just a vision of near term geo-political events. He also offers Daniel a view of some longer-term spiritual events. For example, in the verses immediately preceding our text, God speaks of a king "who will exalt and magnify himself above every god and say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place." Exactly who do these words refer to? Many believe this is a reference to the Anti-Christ, the same person that St. Paul describes as the one who "opposes and exalts himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, and even sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God" (2 Thess. 2:4). Daniel adds this thought, "He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. He will set out in a great rage and destroy and annihilate many."

Obviously, when God gives Daniel a glimpse into the future-things look pretty rough. In fact, it is that undefined time somewhere in the future that God goes on to describe here in our text. God tells Daniel and us, "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people will arise." Hmmm. Who is Michael? In the book of Jude, verse 9, we learn that Michael was an archangel. Here in Daniel, God tells us that he is going to use this angelic guardian to protect his people. And why will they need protection? Because, as God says, "there will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then." A time of distress-that's what God says is ahead for his people. But what exactly does God mean by a time of distress? What will our lives be like as we draw ever closer to the end of the age?

Well, certainly Jesus gives us a glimpse of what the end times will be like. Remember what he said to his disciples in Matthew 24? He told them that there would wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines in various places. Jesus went on to tell them, "You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and betray and hate each other and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" (Mt. 24:9ff).

Now the real question is, "Is this period of distress that Jesus and Daniel and for that matter, the Book of Revelation refers to-is this time of distress something that has already occurred, or is it a time that we are currently enduring, or is it something that is still to come? The answer is: yes. The fact is, God's people have undergone a great deal of distress down through the centuries. For example, some of Jesus' prophecies about the end times were already fulfilled in 70 A.D when the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army and the believers were forced to run for their lives. That's what Jesus was referring to when he said, "How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now" (Mt. 24:19ff).

And yet, the calamities that Jesus said were in store for those early believers have not been limited to the first century, have they? Look around you. Read the paper. There are still wars and rumors of wars. Wanton killing in the streets of Baghdad as well as in the neighborhoods of Appleton. There is an increase of wickedness and the love of many has grown cold. Just look at the divorce rate as a testament to that. The prophecies that Jesus made 2000 years ago-and Daniel made 600years before that-are still being fulfilled today.

Even as God's people, we are living in a time of distress. I mean, distress that you personally have experienced: whether it's the death of a loved one, the pain of disease, economic setbacks, relationships torn apart by the lack of love, persecution at the hands of those who ridiculed your faith. Let's face it, we're living in the end times, right now. In many ways, we are going through the distress that Jesus and prophets said was on the horizon.

In fact, Jesus makes it clear that before things get better, they're going to get worse. In Rev. 20, Jesus tells the Apostle John, that although the Devil had been held in check by the gospel for a long period of time, still at the very end, he will be set free for a short time. Jesus says that at that time, "Satan will be released from his prison and go out and deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth-to gather them for battle" (Rev. 20:7). Could that already be happening now? Could Satan already be gathering anti-Christian forces around the globe? Could he be preparing heathen nations for one last assault on all those who confess the name of Jesus? Could these still be one last religious war to end all wars? Absolutely.

The more you study Scripture, the more you realize that God never promised to give his people utopia here on earth. There will never be this period of pure political peace and prosperity, where Christians experience lives that are free from pain and hardship. No, from the time that God told our first parents that they would suffer thorns and thistles until the time that God returns to judge the living and the dead, God's people will always be forced to endure: A time of Distress.

But now, does that promised distress lead us to despair over what the future holds? No way! Why not? Because God promises that our future will bring more than distress. It will also bring: II. Deliverance. How does God put it here in our text? "At that time your people-everyone whose name is written in the book-will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." What is this referring to-other than the final Day of Judgment when God will call before him all people, those who are still living here on earth and those who have already died? After resurrecting the dead, God will divide all people into those whose names are written in the Book of Life and those whose names are not written in the Book of Life. And exactly whose name is written in that all important record? Jesus tells us, "Whoever believes in the Son, has eternal life" (Jn. 3:36). " And I will raise him up at the last day" (Jn. 6:40). God's book of life contains the names of all those who have been led by the Holy Spirit to put their trust in Jesus as their Savior from sin and only hope of heaven. It is faith in Jesus Christ alone that will determine who will rise to live and who will rise to be condemned.

So what does that mean for you and me today? It means a number of things. First, it means that our lives will not end in death. As believers, we can be sure that at the moment of our death, our soul will go immediately to be with God. And our body will wait a glorious resurrection on the Last Day. Because Jesus rose triumphant from the grave, so will we. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we will be delivered from sin, death, and decay forever.

But not only do we look forward to our own deliverance. We also rejoice in the deliverance which the believers who have gone before us have already received. We think of loved ones who have already passed from this valley of tears, believers who are already gathered with the saints triumphant in heaven. We think of Christian fathers and mothers, grandfather and grandmothers, even sons and daughters. In a sense, we envy that they already are experiencing what we are still longing for.

And really, it's that confidence that God has given to us about our future and the future of all those who put their trust in him-it's that confidence that gives us a whole new perspective in life. We are not pessimistic about the future. Rather, we are realistic. We know there are going to be trials and tribulations. We know that it's going to be a war out there. It's going to be a war in here. But we know how this war ends. It ends with Jesus on top. And a s long as we cling to Jesus, we'll come out on top as well. Jesus has already overcome sin and death and the grave. And therefore as we cling to him in faith, so will we.

My friends, let's face it, we don't know exactly what's ahead for the stock market, or our job or our favorite football team. But we do know what's ahead for the children of God. God tells us. There will be distress. And there will be deliverance. There's going to be trouble. But in the end, there will be triumph. Or as Jesus himself put it, "he who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Mt. 24:13). God grant it, for sinners like you and me, still loved by God, for Jesus' sake. Amen.