In the Future There Will Be...

Daniel 12:1-3

1 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. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 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.”

In the Future, There Will Be…

What scares you? Getting sick? Losing your job or your house? Losing a loved one? How about something bigger, like the influence that the world has on your children, or the direction that the government and our society are going? There are so many things that can scare us.

Daniel was told some scary things by God. What we read today in Chapter 12 is actually the conclusion of a prophecy that began 2 chapters earlier. In it, God warned Daniel about the rise and fall of great kings and nations. He predicted wars and betrayals, bloodshed and slaughter. He even told Daniel about the antichrist – that great spiritual enemy of Christ and Christians whose power and influence will spread across the globe and get stronger and stronger as time goes on.

It was the stuff of nightmares – a vision, I’m sure, Daniel never forgot.

But then we get to the words of Daniel in Chapter 12, which is God’s last word on the subject. What will the future hold for people like Daniel and people like us? God tells us.

There Will Be Trouble

“There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.”[1]

That’s a strong statement! There have been many distressing moments in the history of this world – plagues, famines, natural disasters that have wiped out entire cities and peoples, wars that spanned the world. But God tells Daniel that the trouble that is yet to come is going to be worse than them all.

Now, Daniel lived almost 3,000 years ago. God was prophesying something that would occur in Daniel’s future. Obviously, we are living in Daniel’s future. Do you think we’re living in this time of distress now?

We’re almost 2 full years into a global pandemic. You read the newspapers and doctors in the province to the West of us are making claims that people are dying of climate change. There are claims that within the next couple decades vast swaths of the planet will be uninhabitable. We hear reports of saber rattling in China and North Korea and the Middle East. We see anti-Christian social movements in our local government and schools. That’s distress on every level of life – from our personal bodies, to our interpersonal relationships, to the health of the planet!

Now, I don’t know that this is as bad as it can get, or that what we’re living through now is worse than even just 100 years ago, but we are seeing – if only partially – the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy. God said that there will be trouble and there is.

There Will Be Deliverance

But God also promised that there would be deliverance:

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people will arise.”[2]

Michael is the archangel of God[3] – the chief of the cherubim, the superior of the seraphim. He is the leader of God’s most powerful creatures, and God says that he’s working for you – protecting you, as he says here to Daniel; guarding you, as he promises in the Psalms:

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.[4]

God promises you that you do not have to face the scary things of this life alone. The devil and his demons are at work in this world stirring up trouble and trying to steal your soul, but God commands his angels to watch over you and to guard you and protect you. God’s most powerful creatures are tasked with your care. God does not leave you alone or helpless. He gives you powerful allies in his guardian angels.

But as comforting as it may be to know that there are angels, like Michael, watching over you right now, God gives you an even greater promise to comfort you in these distressing times:

“But at that time, your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered.”[5]

We talked about this last week. That’s the book of life. That’s God’s family registry, and your name is in that book. You didn’t write it there. God did that for you when he adopted you into his family.

You weren’t born as a child of God. You were born into sin. You were born as a disciple of Satan. If you search your heart even now, you’ll still find that your natural instincts are to lie and deceive, just like the devil, to be proud and greedy and unforgiving, to be self-righteous and self-serving. You weren’t born as a child of God. You were born into sin, deserving God’s wrath and punishment.

But God made you his child by grace through faith, as Paul said 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.[6]

God loved you so much that he sent his Son to save you from your sin, to rescue you from the assaults of Satan, to secure your soul for heaven. God loved you so much that he exposed his Son to the scariest things that we face in this world – rejection, oppression, persecution, execution, even death on a cross – so that you could have everlasting life in his name.

God wrote your name in his book of life – He added a branch to his family tree with your name on it – when you were baptized into his name, i.e. when a pastor made the sign of your Saviour’s cross on your head and on your heart, and spoke these words over you, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

You didn’t do that. God did that for you by grace through faith. And by writing your name into his book of life, God promised that you will be delivered.

There Will Be Resurrection

Not only that, but God also promises you that you will be raised from the dead. There is eternal life to look forward to:

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.[7]

We talked about Judgment last week. I don’t want to get into it again today because I want to focus on that everlasting life that God promises you and everyone who believes in him.

Think about all those people who died in faith, e.g. the patriarchs from the Old Testament, the apostles and prophets, the women who witnessed Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday, your ancestors who emigrated to this country, your wife, your father, your son, your grandfather. They didn’t waste their lives believing in Jesus. Even though they ultimately fell victim to the final distress that we will all face – even though they died – that wasn’t the end for them. They have entered into the everlasting life that God promises to all who believe in Jesus.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, you and I will also rise from the dead. Because you were baptized into his death, you will also be raised with him into eternal life, and into those heavenly mansions that Jesus is preparing for you even now, where you will live in a constant state of victory and triumph.

There Will Be Triumph

God said to Daniel:

“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.”[8]

The Bible is clear on this – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.[9] Do you believe that Jesus is your Saviour from sin? Then you will shine like the brightness of heaven. Have you led many to righteousness? Maybe more than you know. You don’t have to be a pastor who preaches from a pulpit once a week to lead others to righteousness. You just have to be a parent who told their children about Jesus, a friend who invited another friend to church, a fellow Christian who was there for another to encourage and support them. You will shine like the stars for ever and ever.

That’s how much God loves you. He will glorify you forever for the little things that you do to bring others to his glory now. That’s not your ticket into heaven; Jesus is and always will be the only way for you to be saved. But the unbelievable truth about the grace of our God is that his goodness extends beyond salvation. He also promises you glory in heaven based on what you do here on earth, not as an incentive but as a gift of his grace, his undeserved love that looks for ways to give you comfort and peace and encouragement even and especially during the trials and troubles we will face before the end.

God gave Daniel a glimpse into the future. He warned that there will be trouble. We’ve seen it. He promised that there will be deliverance. We’ve received it. He assured us that there will be resurrection. We believe it. And he promised us that there will be triumph. We rejoice in it. Like all the saints who have gone before us and who are living in triumph now, we say, “Come Lord Jesus; come quickly. Amen.”

[1] Daniel 12:1

[2] Ibid

[3] Jude 1:9

[4] Psalm 91:11-13

[5] Daniel 12:1

[6] Galatians 3:26,27

[7] Daniel 12:2

[8] Daniel 12:3

[9] Psalm 11:10; Proverbs 1:7; 9:10

RSS Block

Select a Blog Page to create an RSS feed link. Learn more

RSS

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

St. Pete's on Repeat RSS