Daniel 12: The Time of Transition

Amen. Please remain standing and turn in your Bibles to the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 12 beginning in verse 1. Hear now the inspired word of God. Now at that time Michael the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people will arise and there will be a time of distress such as never has occurred since there was a nation until that time and at that time your people everyone who is found written in the book will be rescued.

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake these to everlasting life but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven and those who lead the many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

But as for you Daniel, conceal these words, seal up the book until the end of time. Many will go back and forth and knowledge will increase. Then I, Daniel, looked and behold two others were standing, one on this bank of the river, the other on the other bank of the river.

And the one said to the man dressed in linen who was above the waters of the river, how long will it be until the end of these wonders? I heard the man dressed in linen who was above the waters of the river as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time.

And as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. As for me, I heard but could not understand. So I said, my Lord, what will be the outcome of these events?

He said, go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. Many will be purged, purified, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.

From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1 ,290 days. How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1 ,335 days. But as for you, go your way to the end.

Then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age. Let's pray. Father, once again as we read these words of the prophet Daniel, we ask that you would simply give us insight that we would understand what you have to say to your church and that understanding it, Father, that we would act accordingly, that we would accomplish your plan for your church here on earth and that, Father, that we would see the kingdom of God advanced to the four corners of the world.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. Well, this Tuesday is another election day, and while it's considered what they call an off year, in other words, not many national issues, but there are some important local issues on the ballot.

There's two propositions countywide. We'll all be voting for a new county executive, and that will undoubtedly bring some changes to Suffolk County. We've already seen one somewhat of a surprise. The current police commissioner resigned ahead of the elections, figuring the new county exec would want to pick his own man for police commissioner.

The only surprise there is that he resigned ahead of the election. Usually that happens once the election is over and someone from another party is in power instead of the same old party. But it's normal during an administration change that there is what has been called a period of transition.

Anytime there's a major change in political parties, there's this period of transition, transitioning from one ideology to another. But it's not just in politics that we see this. We all experience this period of transition in many areas of our lives.

For example, even the youngest among us, moving from elementary school principals to high school. It's a major change for a young person. Getting a new job or just having a new boss come into where you work.

That's a period of transition. Even moving from one part of the country to another is a big change. Some things will not be the same. And even within the church we see that. I worked with one pastor many years ago now.

He grew up in Detroit but spent time on a mission field in Zambia. Then he came to New York and became a pastor. He confided to him, he said, I'll be honest with you Rich, you people in Long Island are strange.

He said, I found it easier to acclimate to Zambia than to Long Island. I said, yeah, that's the way it is. Kind of prideful. We are a unique people here on Long Island, are we not? But the point is that there's this period of change.

Having children come into a household is a period of change. And with each change comes this period of transition. That's what happened to the church when Jesus Christ came and ushered in the new covenant.

The old covenant system passed away, albeit over a period of time. And the new covenant church was beginning. So the most definitive change for this world in all of history is the cross of Jesus Christ.

That brought in major change. Everything before the cross looked forward to it. And everything since the cross looks back to it. But even that great event of change came with a period of transition. It was what we call the age of the apostles.

It was an age of miracles, signs and wonders. It was an age when Holy Scripture was being written. And for about 40 years the synagogue system and the church of Jesus Christ coexisted. They lived side by side.

And the command of Jesus to his disciples was to be witnesses to the Jew first. And so they went into the synagogues on Saturday and worshipped and gave the gospel. Then they were in the New Testament churches on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath, the Lord's Day.

And even though God had judged the nation of Israel definitively. This is what we've been looking at over the past weeks. Even though he had given Israel a writ of divorce. The scripture's words, not mine.

He had given Israel a writ of divorce since they had committed spiritual adultery by going after other gods. He still gave them 40 years to repent and to come to the new covenant. But the doom of Israel was certain.

All the conventional curses that God had, covenantal curses that God had promised for unfaithfulness. Were being stored up for this apostate nation. And that's what was going to come down on all that generation that was alive.

That's what we've been studying over the last few weeks. Remember in Matthew 23, he says, fill up the measure of guilt of your fathers. All the blood of righteous Abel to Zechariah was going to come upon that nation.

And that's what Jesus is warning his disciples about in this 24th chapter of Matthew. And I hope that this context of transition will help you see exactly what Jesus had in mind when he was warning the church of the first century.

That's the context for the prophecies we've studied in the book of Daniel. Chapter 12 of Daniel addresses the great tribulation. We just read it a few moments ago. And this time of the end of the old covenant change.

And it prepares the way for the new covenant blessings to cover the earth. It's the same period of time that Jesus refers to in Matthew chapter 24. Remember where we left off in our study. Jesus has told his disciples that the temple will be destroyed.

Now one stone will be left upon another. And Jesus, for 26 verses, has told them of the events leading up to the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem. And over the past few weeks, we've seen from the pages of history how the prophecies of Jesus were fulfilled with precise and amazing accuracy.

The language so far, though, has been fairly plain and simple. Jesus warned of wars, earthquakes, famines. We've seen those. Literal earthquakes, literal famines. But now Jesus moves into a second set of warnings.

But it's more symbolic. The language is more figurative. And you might even call it apocalyptic. So we must take great care to properly interpret what he has to say. Look at the text, picking up where we left off.

Verse 27. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. What is Jesus talking about? Let's put it into context. The first context is that Jesus has just finished describing a time of great tribulation.

An unprecedented time of tribulation. And he says, and during this time, many false prophets in Christ will arise. And some of them will even be performing great signs and wonders. And so he cautions the elect in particular, that the elect must be very careful.

Because it's so great, these signs and wonders, it almost is ready to lead them astray. So look at the words of warning of Christ in Matthew 24, verse 23. Then if anyone says to you, behold, here is the Christ, or there he is, don't believe him.

For false Christs and false prophets will arise. And will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. If therefore they say to you, behold, he is in the wilderness, do not go forth.

Or behold, he's in the inner rooms, do not believe them. Jesus tells his disciples that if they hear people say, he's here, he's there, he's in a secret place. Even if they tell you he's in an inner secret chamber of the temple, don't buy into it, don't believe them.

Because that's not how he's going to come. See, many people today interpret these as the secret coming of the Lord. Well, let's examine that. What we see here, what Jesus is talking about in secret, is not his coming, but the coming of false prophets.

So, if somebody says, we've got a secret here, and only we have it, beware. To this day, how many times have we heard that? We alone have the secret. That's how you'll see the false prophets. They will do those very things, and they did back in these days.

So, if that's not the way the coming of Christ will be in judgment. What will it be like? Look at verse 27 one more time. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.

Notice the contrast. His coming concerning the end of the old covenant age will not be a secret. He will not be gathering small groups together in the wilderness. He's not telling people, sell all your possessions and meet me on the hilltop.

Those are false Christs. His coming in judgment will be something like lightning. So much for a secret. He says the lightning, it'll come like it flashes from the east all the way to the west and lights up the whole sky.

In other words, this is no small event, his coming in judgment. This is something of epic proportions. It's something that cannot be hidden. And it's something that will come suddenly. That's the exact word in the Greek, something suddenly.

And he's giving the reasons why the disciples should not follow those who come in the other way. Let me quote Calvin on this. It's a little lengthy comment, but I think it's important. Listen to John Calvin.

He says,. The meaning, therefore, is that everyone who collects his forces into a secret place in order to regain the freedom of the nation by arms falsely pretends to be the Christ. For the Redeemer is sent to diffuse his grace suddenly and unexpectedly through every quarter of this world.

But these two things are quite contrary. Calvin continues to shut up redemption within some corner. And to spread it to the whole world. The disciples were thus reminded that they must no longer seek a Redeemer within the small enclosure of Judea, because he will suddenly extend the limits of his kingdom to the uttermost ends of the world.

And indeed, with astonishing rapidity, with which the gospel flew through every part of the world, was a manifest testimony of divine power. It could not be the result of human industry that the light of the gospel, as soon as it appeared, darted from one side of the world to the opposite side like lightning.

And therefore it is not without reason that Christ introduces this circumstance for demonstrating and magnifying his heavenly glory. Besides, by holding out this vast extent of his kingdom, he intended to show that the desolation of Judea, listen carefully to this, he intended to show that the desolation of Judah would not hinder him from reigning.

Who's on the throne? Who's reigning? Pastor Anthony, whose island is this? So when will this take place? Given the context and the wording of the text, Jesus is still clearly speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem.

Nothing has happened in the test to give us a reason to believe that he's now talking about a future event. There is one phrase that gets people though, so let's examine that. The phrase, the coming of the son of man.

The question we must ask, does the use of this phrase, coming of the son of man, compel us to say that he is now speaking about the second physical coming of Christ? Is that the only legitimate use of that phrase?

Well, we briefly addressed this phrase a number of weeks ago, but it bears further study. First, we find that in the Old Testament, this same terminology was used to describe judgment from God. God speaks to Moses in the burning bush, and when he tells him that he's heard the affliction of the people crying out because of their taskmasters, you know what he tells Moses?

So I have come down to deliver them. Now in Exodus, God didn't make a physical appearance, but he manifested his presence through plagues and judgment in Egypt. But notice the same phrase, God was said to come down to deliver his people.

We also see that lightning is used to represent the presence of God, but not necessarily a physical appearance. In Exodus chapter 19, when Moses goes up onto the mountain, we read, so it came about in the third day when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain.

Then in Exodus 20, and the lightning flashes describing what was happening on the mountain. Notice the prophecy of Ezekiel against the sons of Ammon, similar language is used. In Ezekiel 21, verse 28,.

And you, son of man, prophesy and say,. Thus says the Lord God concerning the sons of Ammon, and concerning their reproach,. And say, A sword, a sword, a sword is drawn, polished for slaughter, that it may be like lightning.

Similar language in Zechariah, Zechariah 9, 14,. And the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning. The point is, you cannot relegate the phrase, the coming of the son of man, or the coming of Christ, or the coming to any one singular event.

It is a frequently used phrase to describe different events, all describing various forms of judgment. It's the context that explains which event is being referred to. When he was with the disciples in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus said this, and this is a crucial text.

He says, truly, remember this is after Peter has made his confession of faith. He says, truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here, who shall not taste death until they see the son of man coming in his kingdom.

Do you get the impact of that? Jesus is talking to the twelve, and he says, some of you, some of you twelve right here, will not taste death, you'll be alive when you see the son of man coming in his kingdom.

So he can't be talking about the second coming of Jesus at the end of world history, because the last I checked, all of the apostles died. None of them have come back. The only people who have said they were coming back were false prophets.

And you know what we can say, you know what we can call them? Corpses. They're still dead. So whatever Jesus is talking about is an event in the lifetime of his disciples. He also used similar language when he sent them out to preach.

Remember he sent them out? He gives them instructions on what they should do when they give the gospel. And he says, but whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next. For truly I say to you, you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel until the son of man comes.

So the context is compelling in the present verses. Jesus is still giving instructions and warnings to his disciples concerning the events of the judgment that was coming upon Jerusalem. And he describes this event in very apocalyptic terms as the coming of the son of man.

Baptist theologian John Gill says this,. So shall the coming of the son of man be, which must be understood not of his last coming to judgment, though that will be sudden, visible, and universal, but of his coming in his wrath and vengeance to destroy that people, their nation, city, temple, so that after this to look for the Messiah in a desert or secret chamber must argue great stupidity and blindness.

When his coming was as sudden, visible, powerful, and general to the destruction of that nation, as the lightning comes from the east and in a moment shines to the west. This is the most important point.

Similar biblical language can be used to describe similar but different events. John Lightfoot said that Christ taking vengeance on the exceeding wicked nation is called Christ's coming in glory and his coming in the clouds.

And he continues,. The meaning therefore of the words before us is this,. While they shall falsely say that the Christ is to be seen here or there, behold, he is in the desert, one shall say another, behold, he is in the secret chambers, he himself shall come like lightning with sudden and altogether unexpected vengeance.

They shall meet him whom they could not find, they shall find him whom they sought, but quite another than what they looked for. And even though the language of Jesus has changed from very clear to symbolic and apocalyptic language, he is still warning his disciples of the same occurrence.

The coming judgment upon the nation of Israel, which includes the destruction of the temple, and Jesus continues to describe what that event is going to be like. Look at verse 28,. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Some versions translate the words corpse as eagles instead of vultures. Either one, they're birds of prey. Will not change the meaning. And Jesus continues to use apocalyptic language. It is language that his disciples would have been familiar with.

It's the language of judgment. We see that in Habakkuk. He talks about in chapter 1 verse 8. The horses are swifter than leopards, keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, their horsemen come from afar.

They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour. This is almost gross language, isn't it? But he's describing an event of epic proportions. Notice that in the text, God is raising up the Chaldeans as his instrument of judgment.

And he likens their actions to eagles swooping down. His prophecy is similar in Isaiah. He says, calling a bird of prey from the east. But even more on target is the prophecy in Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 7, he says,.

And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the field. So what is it that Jesus is talking about? He's talking about utter destruction. That's what was going to come upon Israel.

Utter destruction. And we see it over and over again in Jeremiah and in Hosea. Like an eagle, the enemy comes against the house of the Lord. Now this is an important verse in the exposition of our chapter.

For clearly, Jesus is using biblical imagery from the Old Testament. Language of judgment, destruction, devastation to describe what is about to come upon Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be like a dead corpse.

The old system will be gone forever. No hope of resurrecting it ever again. Incidentally, I don't think it's a coincidence that the Roman army had an insignia on its armor. And you know what that insignia was?

That of an eagle. We've seen how Jerusalem was utterly destroyed and dead bodies laying all over the ground. And in comes the Roman army, just like a flock of eagles, devouring the corpses. And that leads to the next text.

Look at verse 29. But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. And the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

You know, the interpretations of this verse are numerous and incredible. But most commentary expositors approach this verse backwards. They assume it's referring to the end of the world, the cosmos, at the end of time.

They presume that it describes a series of events in the natural world and begin the exposition from there. But that's backwards. Remember, Jesus is using figurative, apocalyptic language. So we look for the clear to interpret the obscure.

And there are some clear statements in this verse which helps us. First, look at the time text. Whatever the event that Jesus is describing, he tells us that it will occur immediately after the tribulation of those days.

What are the days he's speaking about? The days he's described. The days when the great tribulation will come and Rome will come in and destroy Jerusalem. He has spoken of no other days. So the focus to this point has been the warning to his disciples about the coming destruction of Jerusalem.

And his admonition to flee came right on time. Those days are described by him as days of great tribulation. And he says, immediately after those days. The word immediately is emphatic in the Greek. It means straight way, forthwith, immediately.

Whatever is coming, it's coming without delay. There's no interval between the two events. So again, we see that Jesus cannot possibly be describing something 2 ,000 or more years in the future. What he's describing comes right after the tribulation of those days.

So what is he describing? Well, I want to remind you again of the principle of scripture, interpreting scripture. This is where a lot of people insert 20th century thinking into the text. Scripture interprets scripture.

And what we find, the scripture uses the sun, the moon, and the stars as symbols. And we're told that in the very beginning of scripture. This is worth a little looking into. Because we're very concerned here about being as accurate as we can be.

So let's go back to Genesis chapter 1. In the creation story, given by Moses. Then God said, let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs, for seasons, for days, and for years.

And then later on, in verse 16, he says, the greater light to govern the day, the lesser night to govern the night. And in verse 18, once again, the lights in the heavens to govern the day and the night.

So according to the Genesis account of the creation. God not only placed the sun and the moon for lights, but for signs. Symbols of what? What were they to do? Govern the day and the night. So when we see the sun, the moon, and the stars used in scriptures.

We can, taking it from Genesis, we can say that these were symbols of governmental power. Rulers, leaders, kings, princes. And if we go through the biblical record, we find biblical writers did in fact use them for signs.

And we always find them used as symbols of authority. Remember, the first case we really see this is the dream of Joseph. Remember in Genesis 37, Joseph has the dream. Sun, the moon, and the stars are going to bow down to him.

Right? So we read in Genesis 37 verse 9. Now he had still another dream and related it to his brothers. And said, lo, I have still another dream and behold the sun, moon, and eleven stars are bowing down to me.

He related this to his father and his brothers and his father rebuked him. Now this is a crucial part of the scripture. What did Jacob do? He says he rebuked him. He didn't say, what does that mean, Joseph?

You're an interpreter of dreams. What does it mean? What does it mean that the sun, the moon, and the stars are going to bow down to you? Is there any hint that he said that? No. What did he say? What is this dream that you've had?

Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground? He's incredulous. He's upset. He says, are you telling me that I'm going to bow down to my son? He knew immediately what the sun, moon, and stars symbolized in Joseph's dream.

God had given him a vision that he would rule over his authorities. And of course, that's exactly what happened. He became the number two man in Egypt and saved his people. He ruled over the sun, the moon, and the stars.

So we see the imagery of the sun, moon, and stars used as symbols of authority, rulers, and even whole nations. Even dispensational theologians admit this fact. Speaking of the image of the woman in the book of Revelation, we read this, Revelation 12.

And a great sign appeared in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Dispensationalist writer Charles Feinberg says the sun, moon, and stars indicate a complete system of government and remind the reader of Genesis 37 .9.

God had caused royal dignity in Israel to rest in the line of David. So it's very interesting that this symbolism is actually still used today. Think about it. How many nations have their flags and have symbols of sun, moon, and stars?

Think about it. Can we think of one really close? Is there one that we could really think of that has stars on it? Maybe 13 stripes and 50 stars? Hmm. We'll leave that for another time. So what does the imagery of the text mean then?

Look at verse 29 again. But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

The whole system of government of Israel will fall. The powers that be will come crashing down. The Bible frequently uses creation and decreation language to refer to governments and even to the church.

When you come to Christ, you are a new creation in him. You've been recreated for a purpose. And with the coming of this new creation, guess what? The old creation must fall. You are a new creation in Christ.

Behold, the old creation is passed away. All things have become new. And so we see the sun, moon, and stars described in this way. And the proof of this interpretation is also found in the Old Testament.

The imagery of sun, moon, and stars falling and failing to shine are plentiful in Scripture. In Isaiah 13, we read about the destruction of Babylon. And notice how Isaiah describes it. In Isaiah 13, verse 10.

For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light. The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity.

And I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. Ezekiel prophesied concerning the judgment on Egypt. Same, similar thing. He said, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars.

I will cover the sun with a cloud. The moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you. And will set darkness over your land. And the instrument of God's judgment was Babylon.

Ezekiel 32. For thus says the Lord God, the sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. And now Jesus says, the whole structure of Israel is going to come down. And in this case, the instrument of God's destruction was the Roman army.

Milton Terry, one of the foremost authorities on hermeneutics said in his text, titled, Biblical Hermeneutics, that's very clever. We are driven then by every sound principle of hermeneutics to conclude that Matthew 24, 26 to 31 must be included within the time limits of the discourse of which it forms an essential part.

And cannot legitimately be applied to events far separate from the final catastrophe of the Jewish state. So let me remind you once again. What's happening in this discourse? Jesus is warning his disciples about the end of the old covenant age.

As it is destroyed to make way for the new covenant. And that is the essence of the final phrase of this verse. The powers of heavens will be shaken. Listen again as John Gill says it so well. And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.

Meaning all the ordinances of the legal dispensation with shaking and even removing of them were foretold by Haggai chapter 2 verse 6. And explained by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews chapter 12.

Whereby room and way were made for gospel ordinances to take place. And be established which shall not be shaken. So as to be removed but remain till the second coming of Christ. Just pause for a second here and think back to just this one sermon.

How many references to the Old Testament did I make? Too numerous to count on two hands I think. That's important that we understand the Bible is a unified whole. You cannot understand the New Testament if you don't understand the Old Testament.

Here we just had a quote from John Gill talking about the epistle to the Hebrews quoting from Haggai. Let me quote what Hebrews 12 says. And think about what we've said in this entire sermon. And his voice shook the earth then.

Talking obviously about Almighty God. But now he has promised saying yet once more I shall shake not only the earth but the heaven. Now remember this is being written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem.

He says one more time I'm going to shake it. Not only the earth but also the heavens. And this expression yet once more denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken. As of created things in order that those things which cannot be shaken remain.

This was an earth shaking event in 70 A .D. According to the author of Hebrews who is also foretelling the future event. This earth shaking event must take place so that the kingdom of Christ which can never be shaken shall come in.

Hebrews 12, 28. Therefore and this is where we're at. So listen again carefully. Therefore since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken. Let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God our acceptable service with reverence and awe.

For our God is a consuming fire. What do we learn from this? How do these verses apply to us? They're talking about the destruction of Jerusalem. First nations come and nations go. Kingdoms come and kingdoms go.

But the kingdom of God abides forever. It is the stone cut without hands that will fill the whole earth. Don't forget that prophecy. So in light of all this how does it affect you and I personally? First it should give us confidence and a boldness to live in a manner worthy of our calling in him.

We must recognize that we are in fact new creations in Christ Jesus. And we are to become more and more like Christ every day. Second it shows us that the judgments of God are sure. All that was prophesied concerning the apostate nation of Israel came to fruition in striking detail.

The word of the Lord is true and sure. Final judgment on sinners gives us confidence concerning the promises to us. Third it should increase our faith. As we see the word of God fulfilled with amazing accuracy.

It should encourage us to place our unwavering trust and confidence in our awesome God. I would just pause. We've talked a lot about judgment. The judgment specifically upon Jerusalem for being an apostate nation.

That pales in comparison to the end of the age. When God will gather his elect to salvation. To resurrection to life. And all the unregenerate to everlasting judgment. If you've never come to Christ I would urge you to repent.

Repent of your sin. Come to Christ. And then the promises will be for you. Let's pray.