Daniel 12:1-3 *
Dear Friends in Christ,
Because of a recently aired made-for-TV movie and a new
book, American soldier Jessica Lynch has been getting a lot of press
lately. By now most of us are somewhat
familiar with her story. Deployed in
what was supposed to be a non-combat role in
We mention this real-life story because it provides a contemporary illustration of the higher, great truth conveyed in our text for today. The point of comparison is this: what began with distress ended in deliverance; and trouble eventually gave way to triumph.
On this Saints Triumphant Sunday we are presented with the same message. We are told that despite trouble and hardship and difficulties we contend with now and in the future, there is nevertheless one word that describes what is ours already – and which will become evident to all on the Last Day. That word is
TRIUMPH!
That being said, God’s Word does not sugarcoat what life will be like for us as Christians. With the big picture of the “end times” looming in the background, Daniel specifically tells us to
1. Expect distress
2.
But also expect deliverance
To set the stage for a meaningful look at the words before us, we need to spend a minute or two talking about the Book of Daniel. When we hear the name Daniel in the context of Scripture the first thing that usually comes to many of our minds is the well known Bible story of “Daniel in the Lions’ Den.” If we’re particularly good at remembering Bible references, we might also recall it is in the book of Daniel that we learn of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (better known as the “Three Men in the Fiery Furnace”). Both incidents are stirring examples of believers who would not compromise their faith in and devotion to the One True God, regardless of the consequences.
The last half of this book is sometimes referred to as “apocalyptic,” meaning it is a series of hard to understand visions and images which speak of what is to come. Through these visions and images (some of which were very terrifying to Daniel) God spoke of the rise and fall of different nations and the impact each would have on God’s people during the four-to-five centuries that would precede the first coming of the Messiah as the Babe of Bethlehem. In the final chapter (from which our text is taken) God takes it up a notch and reveals information that pertains to the second coming of Christ.
“At that time Michael,
the great prince who protects your people will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has
not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people – everyone whose
name is found written in the book – will be delivered.”
Previous to these words an angel had spoken to Daniel about the end times. Our text picks up where he tells Daniel that the end will be preceded by a time of great distress. He also tells Daniel that God’s people will be protected and delivered on Judgment Day, but more about that in a minute. The first point to be made is this: we can expect distress before the great and final day of the Lord…
This is not the only place in Scripture where we are told this. A number of other portions of the Bible point out that one of the premier signs marking the beginning of the end will be “tribulation.” Daniel speaks of it here, Jesus speaks of it in the Gospels, Paul mentions it to young Christians in the Book of Acts, and John speaks at length about it in his apocalyptic book of visions from God, Revelation.
Perhaps you know there are some branches of the Christian Church that put a specific time frame on this “tribulation period” and talk in terms of Christians being swept away (“raptured”) into heaven before it begins. Scripture, however, will not allow us to say that. The Bible simply speaks of this distress in general terms and furthermore states that it is something that all people (believers and non-believers) will have to go through.
The Bible also tells us this distress will manifest itself
in two ways: distress of an earthly
nature, and secondly, distress of a spiritual nature as it plays out in our
lives as Christians. For example, it’s
this second kind of distress that Jesus alerts us to and tells us to expect in John 15:18-20: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that
it hated me first. If you belonged to
the world, it would love you as its own.
As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of
the world. That is why the world hates
you. Remember the words I spoke to you:
‘No servant is greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
This leads us to consider an interesting question. Is it stressful being a Christian? How would you respond to that? I’m sure all of us would agree that, yes, there are times when being a Christian is stressful. When our faith puts us at odds with the world around us, it can be stressful. When our Scripturally-based and love-for-Jesus-inspired values make us feel like we’re swimming against the tide of prevailing opinion, it can be stressful. When we watch the world constantly glorify actions and attitudes that are clearly not God-pleasing and we are called upon to take a stand, it can be stressful… and we might feel a certain kind of loneliness and battle-fatigue weariness creeping into our souls.
Even if that is true, the distress we experience is still a far cry from what some are experiencing. There are still plenty of places on the globe where to be a Christian is to invite not just internal stress, but external persecution. When we think of martyrs our thoughts instinctively return to the early years of the church when Christians were being thrown to the lions, etc. But did you know that according to those who keep statistics on these things that more people were martyred for the cause of Christ in the 20th Century than in all the previous 19 combined? Satan, whom Jesus describes as the “Prince of this World,” continues to be active – and seemingly very successful…
Which leads to another interesting question. Are we now experiencing this great outpouring of tribulation that our text and other portions of Scripture predict will usher in the end? And the answer is: Perhaps. After all, what do we see when we look at the world around us? Nations rising up against other nations. Warfare. Bloodshed. Man’s inhumanity to man.
Then we look at our own country. Millions of unborn children sacrificed on the altar of convenience since abortion was legalized in 1973. Self-proclaimed open-minded and enlightened politicians defending an atrocity like partial-birth abortion. National pride taken in the fact that the number of children in America born with physical or developmental disabilities is declining – not because of corrections made through early detection but because early detection of “problems” has made it much easier to quietly and selectively terminate “less than perfect” children. Ours is a country of many blessings; but ours is also a country in which many shameful evils exist.
And then there are the churches. Mainline denominations which have long ago abandoned even the most basic and fundamental Christian doctrines. Mainline denominations which no longer believe or teach that the Bible is God’s Word or that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. Mainline denominations which have replaced the preaching of law and gospel and sin and grace and Christ crucified with watered-down psychology and feel-good religion and social action.
The Bible clearly says that distress will mark the end times. And so once again we ask the rhetorical question: Are we in them now?
Returning to our text, just as we are told to expect distress, we are also told to expect deliverance. “At
that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has
not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people – everyone whose
name is written in the book – will be delivered.”
Michael is the name of a mighty angel mentioned elsewhere in Daniel whom God used to help His people. Here we are given the assurance that when the final great distress overtakes the world, Michael, God’s angelic champion, will again intervene on behalf of God’s people. In other words, we can expect deliverance…
A couple of other Scripture passages come to mind when we talk about God’s deliverance and protection of us even in the midst of distress. We remember how in John 10, the great Good Shepherd chapter of the Bible, Jesus speaks of His devotion for us, His sheep, and the promise that “no one can snatch them [us] out of His hand.” And then there is Romans 8 where the Apostle Paul assures us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
Martin Luther expressed the same assurance in the well known
hymn we sang on Reformation Sunday: “Tho devils all the world shall fill all
eager to devour us – We tremble not, we fear no ill, they shall not overpower
us – This world’s Prince may still scowl fierce as He will – He can harm us
none. He’s judged, the deed is done –
One little word can fell him.”
And what’s the one little word? Jesus! Jesus is our Mighty Fortress. In times of distress we take refuge in our God and we stand untouched behind the solid walls of His Word. In the words of the hymn we sang just minutes ago: “We are the Lord’s.” We are bought and paid for, loved, protected and preserved. What a great God!
And His greatness is proven by the ultimate deliverance that
awaits us: “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 forever.”
These words are self-explanatory. They speak of Judgment Day
and the resurrection. They are words of
hope and encouragement for all who feel the distress of living in the end times
or the stress of living as a Christian in a godless world. They are the promise of better things to
come. And though they were written by
ancient Daniel, they are much needed for us today…
Because there are times when we look around our world and our circumstances and get down. There are times when for whatever reason we just feel like throwing in the towel. There are those times when we feel like anything but Saints Triumphant.
Yet despite our feelings that is precisely what we are. The Apostle Paul analyzed it well when he said our troubles and stressors on this earth – however real or perceived they may be – are but light and momentary, and not worth comparing with the glory that will be ours. Consequently, the Christian’s life – our life – is not a life of defeat and dejection. Ours is a life of triumph – now and eternally.
There is one final point to be made. It has to do with the commendation that “those who lead many to righteousness” will shine “like the stars forever.” This is a call for wise stewardship. This is a call for mission work. We who have been made “wise” for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus can find no higher purpose than in leading others “to righteousness.” Please keep this in mind when you soon receive your yearly stewardship material. Your proper response will allow us a church and a church body to continue the soul-saving work of proclaiming the wisdom of the Gospel…
There is a term that describes who we are, even in what we
may think are the worst of times. As
dearly loved, blood-bought children of God we are now and always will be Saints
Triumphant. Therefore may our
lives – lived out in the consciousness that we are in the end times – ever and
always be our thank offering to God.
Amen.