The Ancient of Days Is Coming to Judge the World

Daniel 7:9,10

9 As I looked,  
“thrones were set in place,
    and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
    the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
    and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing,
    coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
    ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
    and the books were opened.”

The Ancient of Days Is Coming to Judge the World

Do you remember when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle? It was a big deal! Royal weddings always are. Everyone wants to see the spectacle, be part of the history.

I didn’t care much about the wedding. But I will admit that my ears perked up when I heard a rumour about their honeymoon. Do you remember that for a hot minute everyone thought they were going to come to Alberta? That would have been so cool to have members of the royal family visit our little neck of the woods. Even I could have gotten excited for that.

There’s just something about a member of royalty coming that has a way of getting us excited.

Our theme for this season of End Times is The King Comes, but the description of our King that we read in Daniel today paints a very different picture than Harry and Meghan honeymooning in the mountains. Instead of this romanticized fairy tale of a prince in love, we’re introduced to a shadowy figure not mentioned by this name in any other book of the Bible; Daniel calls him the Ancient of Days. Like Meghan in her wedding dress, the Ancient of Days is wearing white but that’s about where the comparisons end. He sits on a throne of fire that has wheels that are also on fire, and by the way there’s even more fire flowing out like a river before him. He sits down on his throne, and calls his court into session. The Ancient of Days is coming to judge the world.

Is that a royal visit you’re looking forward to? The picture isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy, but it’s not as scary as it might seem at first either. Let’s walk through some of these details together to get a better picture of what God will look like and do on the day of Judgment.

Daniel calls him the Ancient of Days. He’s been around for a while. He’s seen a thing or two. He’s not some still wet behind the ears, greenhorn, upshot, newbie who can be easily confused or deceived. You can’t pull the wool over his eyes. The Ancient of Days has seen it all. The Ancient of Days knows it all.

Now this is important, especially when we think about what the Ancient of Days is coming to do. He is coming to judge. Having a Judge who is his own eyewitness of everything that has ever happened – who knows all the testimony and has seen all the evidence before it’s presented – that’s a pretty good Judge to have. You know you’re going to get justice from a Judge like that. He’s not going to be fooled because he has all the facts.

Daniel goes on:

“His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.”[1]

More than just a sign of age – which is fitting for the Ancient of Days – this white hair and these white clothes are symbols of purity. Again, that’s the perfect characteristic for a judge. You don’t want a corrupt judge. You don’t want a judge that can be blackmailed or bribed. You want a just judge – one who knows the law and keeps it; a defender of everything that is good, who is the embodiment of good himself.

That’s our Judge. That’s the Ancient of Days.

One last picture:

“His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him.”[2]

Daniel really wants you to know that there’s a lot of fire here. What does fire do? It burns. It destroys. You throw trash into a fire, things that have broken, that don’t serve their purpose anymore or don’t have a purpose.

This triple repetition of the blazing fire surrounding and flowing from the Ancient of Days is easily the most terrifying part of this picture because it reminds us of the severity of condemnation. You don’t want to be on the bad side of an all-knowing, pure Judge who cannot tolerate impurity and who is throned in fire, ready for destruction.

That’s what the Ancient of Days looks like. But what is he coming to do?

Daniel says at the end of this text:

“The court was seated, and the books were opened.”[3]

The Ancient of Days is coming to judge the world, and what’s interesting here is that he has books to read from to help him make his judgments. Daniel doesn’t go into what those books say, but there are other Bible passages that use the same picture.

Like this one from a vision given to John in the book of Revelation:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it… and books were opened. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.[4]

These books in Daniel’s vision could be the same thing – a record of everything that you have ever done or said or even thought. If God had a printout of everything you have ever done, said, or thought, would you want him to read it out loud for everyone to hear? There are things you’ve done that you’re glad only a select few know about, but God knows every detail. There are things you’ve said – muttered under your breath – that even you cringed at after the fact; God could repeat them word for word. There are thoughts – embarrassing, shameful thoughts – thoughts you didn’t invite into your head that God not only knows but will use when he judges you.

Jesus had some pretty scathing remarks in our Gospel Lesson today. To people who didn’t even realize the sinful, shameful things they had done – or not done – Jesus said:

Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels… Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.[5]

The Ancient of Days knows every evil thing you have ever done, said, or thought. He knows about all the good things you’ve left undone. The one clothed in white cannot stand the sight of sin. He sits on a throne of fire and threatens an eternity in the flames of hell for those who sin. He has the complete record of all your sins.

Is this a royal visit you’re looking forward to?

It still can be.

Because as terrifying as God’s judgment is, his grace is greater. Everyone of these fearful features of the Ancient of Days, is also a source of great comfort to Christians. Let’s walk through them again, only this time in reverse order.

He’s reading from a book. Revelation talks about a record of everything you have ever done. Jesus makes it clear that he knows everything you have ever done. But there’s another book that God will use when he judges the world. In that same prophecy from the book of Revelation, God calls it “the book of life.”[6]

God promises that those who have repented of their sin and have turned to God in faith will be “dressed in white,” and he

“will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before [his] Father and his angels.”[7]

The book of life is like the family tree of God. If your name is in that book, you will not burn. Because the fires that surround the throne of God don’t just destroy, they also purify.

Peter talked about that in his first letter. He talked about how faith is like gold. It’s precious, but in order for it to be pure it has to be refined by fire. Fire burns off the dross, the impurities, the imperfections in the metal. It’s a strong and violent process, but the result is pure gold.

Similarly, we will have to face trials and grief of all kinds, including standing before the Ancient of Days and hearing exhibits A through Z of our sin be read for all to hear. But God will not hold those sins against you. He will purify you of them, so that you can be pure just as he is pure – not with a purity of your own, but with a purity that comes from God.

As John records in his Revelation: Those in white robes are they who

“have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”[8]

Or as Paul says to the Galatians:

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”[9]

You can stand spotless before the Ancient of Days in all his purity – not because you are pure, but because of what the pure Son of God has done for you.

The Ancient of Days knows everything. He knows every little thing that you have ever done wrong. But he also knows what he’s done for you through his Son, so that when God opens those books on Judgment Day and reads your ledger, all he sees is red. Not like in an accounting book where all the debts are listed in red ink. No, the red the Ancient of Days sees in that book is the blood of Jesus shed on the cross to cover over all your sins.

When God judges you, he doesn’t judge you on the basis of what you have or have not done. He judges you on the basis of what his Son has done for you. And for us who face an eternity either in everlasting joy in heaven above or undying flame in hell below, there is no greater comfort than to know that the one who will open that book to judge you is the very same one who sent his Son to save you.

If Judgment Day were all about whether you could stack up more good than bad in your life, then this picture of the Ancient of Days would be a terrifying. But because we believe in a God who saves we have no need for fear. Instead we have hope and confidence and comfort – not because of what is written in that book, but because of the one who holds it.

To him be glory and honor and praise forever and ever. Amen.

[1] Daniel 7:9

[2] Daniel 7:9,10

[3] Daniel 7:10

[4] Revelation 20:11,12

[5] Matthew 25:41,45

[6] Revelation 20:12

[7] Revelation 3:5

[8] Revelation 7:14

[9] Galatians 3:26,27

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Fireproof Faith Rests on the Foundation of God's Word

Daniel 3:16-28

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.”

Fireproof Faith Rests on the Foundation of God's Word

500 years ago this year, in fact, i.e. in the year 1521, Martin Luther was summoned to stand before the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, and was ordered to renounce his belief that a person is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Scripture alone.

1,500 years before that, the Apostle Paul stood on trial before Governor Felix and then Festus and ultimately before Caesar in Rome because he preached about Jesus.

500 years before that, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were called to stand before the king and face certain death if they continued to refuse to worship a false god.

Believers of every generation have learned the truth that Jesus spoke in our Gospel Lesson for today:

“You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.”[1]

Now, the last thing I want to do today is to give us a martyr complex. We are not oppressed the way that the Apostle Paul and Martin Luther were. Our feet are not held to literal flames the way that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s were.

Christians in Canada still have very many privileges that would be unheard-of by believers of other generations and in other places of the world. But the point of Reformation Sunday is to recognize how important it is to stand firm on the solid foundation of God’s Holy Word in the face of opposition.

We’re going to examine that in our lives today through the lens of Daniel 3, as Daniel tells us about the 3 men in the fiery furnace.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are already in hot water with Nebuchadnezzar. The King had erected a 90-foot-tall statue and had made a sweeping proclamation across his whole kingdom that insisted that everyone in the land was to bow down to his false god whenever certain music played, and if anyone didn’t, they’d be mercilessly murdered in a fiery furnace whose flames had been pre-lit and were ready to consume anyone who dared disobey.

Poor Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! They were in an impossible situation! Do they disobey God and save their lives but lose their souls? Or, do they obey God but face certain and horrifically painful death at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar?

What these 3 men say is nothing short of a miracle:

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”[2]

How could Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be so bold to say such a thing to the king?

Because they knew the Word of God. And that’s no small thing!

We’re told Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were young men[3] – probably teenagers – when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, invaded and conquered their homeland. In the middle of their most formative years, they were led as exiles across a vast desert to a foreign nation that would be their home for the next 70 years.

But the fact that they knew God’s Word meant two things: First, it means that their parents had been diligent in bringing their sons to the synagogue on the Sabbath to study the Scriptures when they were young.

Their parents couldn’t possibly have known that the Babylonians would one day come and carry their children away. They were just faithful as a matter of principle. And it’s a good thing too because of what did happen, i.e. because the Babylonians did come; the Temple was destroyed; their sons were carted off like cattle across a vast desert to a godless land.

And yet, despite all those adversities, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a solid foundation to stand on in Holy Scripture because of the effort their parents made.

But the other reason they had such a solid foundation for their faith is that these three young men didn’t give up when the going got tough. They didn’t leave their spirituality in Jerusalem. They took it with them. And despite a government that tried to forbid them from worshiping their God, they persisted in their faith, and they continued to grow in the grace and knowledge of God.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were able to be so bold because they knew the Word of God.

And in that Word they learned about a God who can save. They knew the stories of David and Goliath, the walls of Jericho, the 10 plagues of Egypt, the worldwide flood. They knew all those stories from childhood. But those weren’t just stories; they are the true history of God’s power to save.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were able to say, “the God we serve is able to deliver us from [the blazing furnace]”[4] because they had seen that power before in God’s Word.

But here’s where it gets trippy. They knew God the power to save them, but they didn’t have any promise that he would. And so, the biggest miracle in this entire story is not their deliverance from the furnace. It’s these 6 words:

“But even if he does not…”[5]

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were willing to be true to God no matter what, even if they had to burn, because their faith wasn’t based on the prospect of a positive outcome. They weren’t willing to be true to God only when times were good, or only when it was convenient for them. They were willing to be true to God no matter what it cost them – life, limb or liberty. They were willing to give everything for their God and that kind of faith only comes from God.

Like Jesus said in our Gospel Lesson:

Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.[6]

It was God’s Spirit that reminded them of the promise they did have – not that they’d be saved from the flames, but that they’d be saved from sin and from the devil and from the worst that this world could throw at them. They’d be safe in heaven forever after they left this world of pain, even if it meant that they had to burn.

Of course, we know how that turned out. God did save them. Their faith turned out to be not only well-founded but fireproof because of the power and love of God.

What does that mean for you today more than 2,000 years later? It means a lot. It means that you can have that kind of fireproof faith too. And it’s no mystery where that kind of faith comes from. It comes in the same way it did for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

Just as it was important for their parents to take them to the synagogue on the Sabbath to study the Scriptures, it’s important for us to bring our children to church and Sunday School.

There’s a study that came out a couple years ago that shows that 71% of people who go to church today regularly attended church as a child, whereas 78% percent of people who don’t go to church today didn’t attend church as a child. In other words, the habits we form for our children now directly impact their future relationship with God.

So, what are we willing to do for our children to give them a solid foundation to stand on? Are we content to leave it up to them whether they feel like it or not? Do you assume that someone else will step up to teach Sunday School or lead a youth group? God forbid.

Instead, be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s parents. Take the opportunities while you have them. Encourage the other parents of the congregation. Be a friend to their children. Make it clear that we want them here both with your words and by what you’re willing to do for them.

Bringing our children to God is so important to lay a foundation they can stand on for the rest of their lives no matter what the future holds.

But it’s just as important for us to persist in our faith even when the circumstances aren’t favourable.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn’t just exercise their faith when it was convenient or comfortable for them. They continued to worship their God diligently and exclusively even in the face of severe opposition, because their faith meant that much to them.

So, be like them and prioritize your faith. If your parents brought you to church as a child, great! But don’t let your faith stay in Sunday School. Foster it. Grow it through a commitment to God’s Word. Spend time in study with your church family here and in devotion at home. Prioritize your faith and don’t let the world dictate what you bow down to.

But above all, be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in this one way – put your faith in the God who saves.

As I think about all the things we can and should be doing like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, I’m cut to the heart. I’m haunted by the things I could be doing more for the kids of this congregation and our community. If you were in Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s place could you have been so faithful? Do you prioritize your faith the way they do, or have you let it slide to a back burner somewhere?

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego give us so much motivation and inspiration to be better. But if the story of the 3 men in the fiery furnace is just a fable, and the moral of the story is to inspire us to be faithful to God, then we miss the whole point.

This is the true story about our God who delivers. He delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the furnace. He’s delivered you and me from the flames of hell. He’s delivered us from our sins – from our failures, from our guilt and shame. He has delivered us by sending his Son Jesus.

God loved you so much that he was willing to send his Son to certain death at the hands of a godless government so that you could live. God was so committed to you that he was willing to sacrifice his one and only Son for your sins, not in a furnace, but on the cross so that you could be forgiven.

And what makes this story personal, now, more than 2,000 years later, is that God still tells it. We may not be oppressed the way that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were, but there’s opposition, there’s godless government, there are countless false gods we could bow down to.

But still speaks to you. He hasn’t given up on you despite your disobedience to him. He gives you his Word and through it he gives you his Spirit and a faith that is fireproof – a faith that can stand firm on a solid foundation, a faith that can see through the lies and deceits of the world, a faith that isn’t based on the prospect of a positive outcome, but on the power and promises of our God.

So, don’t get distracted. Don’t let the world dictate what you bow down to. Foster your fireproof faith at all costs. Commit yourself to the lifelong study of God’s Holy Word at all times – not just when it’s convenient or comfortable. And finally, in the face of all the spiritual forces of evil trying to get you to abandon God and forget your faith, rejoice in the promise of Jesus:

Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.[7]

That’s God’s promise to you, and he has the power to see it through. Amen.

[1] Mark 13:9

[2] Daniel 3:17,18

[3] Daniel 1:3

[4] Daniel 3:17

[5] Daniel 3:18

[6] Mark 13:11

[7] Mark 13:13

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