Truth For Life

Bob Lepine: The final prophecy in the book of Daniel paints a bleak picture for believers in the last days. So how do we as Christians faithfully endure to the very end, especially if we don't have the answers to all of our questions? Today on Truth For Life, Alistair Begg examines two very different responses to that question as he wraps up our study in Daniel. We're looking at the closing verses in chapter 12.

Alistair Begg: When you review history and when you focus on periods of history where those who have named the name of Christ have faced fierce persecution, what do you realize? You realize that they have often seen it as the end. They've often said, "This is the end." And they weren't mistaken in the sense that these very things that they experienced will mark the end. It wasn't the end of the end, but it was like the end is going to be. It was, if you like, a microcosm of what will ultimately happen.

On Monday night when we were together at Severance and I was quoting from Frank Houghton’s hymn, "Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor, all for love's sake becamest poor," I was recognizing the fact that that was written by Houghton as a bishop in the Szechwan province of China in 1934. It was subsequent to the horrific death of John and Betty Stam, two young missionaries from Moody Bible Institute who were taken captive and finally beheaded by the Communist Red Army, leaving behind a little girl who wasn't even a year old. John was 27; Betty was 28. If you’d asked those people then, "Is there anything that could get any worse than this?" they would have said, "No." They would have said, "This must be the absolute end."

What we find here is that the danger, I suppose, is that when you focus on that, some people are tempted then to use that kind of thing to calculate when the real end is going to be. Don't worry about when the real end is going to be. Pay attention to today. What's on your diary for the rest of today? Today is dealt with in light of what is in here in Daniel 12. It's not in here in order to give you fun with your calculator in the afternoon or to develop some bizarre program of the end times. That's such a bizarre idea and yet routinely enjoyed. No, there we go. Here's what's going to happen. Here's the solemn pronouncement. And Daniel said, "Super, that's great. Got it. That wraps it up. Let's go for lunch." No, here he goes again. And this is the great encouragement of the book for me. Every time I find these words, "I heard, but I did not understand." That ought to be a signal to some of us who are so convinced that we do understand.

One of the classic things in reading this again is Daniel’s response to revelation. God reveals himself in a dramatic way in a vision, he gives to him a word of prophecy, and he then goes to his bed for a week because he's so overwhelmed. Or he turns completely white and goes into a dead swoon. Or he says, "I was appalled," or whatever else. So I’m never really unduly upset when I hear the reaction of some people to my sermons. I think if that was Daniel’s response to a dramatic vision from God, no wonder people want to take to their bed for a week after listening to some of these studies. But that's just the way that history goes.

I heard, but I didn't understand. What does that tell me? It tells me that being a man of faith does not mean you understand everything. So beware of the people who understand everything, especially when it comes to these things, especially when it comes to 1,290 and 1,335. Run for the hills when they give you an absolute, watertight explanation. Of course, the fact that we don't understand everything doesn't mean that we can't understand anything. But the life of faith in Daniel’s case is lived inevitably in the realm of unanswered questions. Otherwise, it wouldn't be the life of faith, would it? If every question is answered, what do you need faith for? So the life of faith is lived within the realm of unanswered questions—unanswered big questions such as is found here in Daniel 12, but also unanswered questions in our individual lives.

The full significance of this is hidden even from Daniel. I said, "Oh Lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?" And he said, "Go on with you, Daniel. Go on, Daniel. These words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end." What's he saying? He's saying, "This is actually not something that you should be unduly concerned about, Daniel. What you need to know will be clear to you, and the fact that you don’t fully get it is not a matter of great alarm." Only after the event will a prophetic word be seen to have been fulfilled. Only after the event.

The wise men came and stirred up Herod and the whole of Jerusalem because Herod was stirred up. "We have seen this star in the east, and we have come to worship him. Where is he? Where is this king?" So Herod brings in all his scribes and his wise men and he says, "Hey, is there anything in the Bible about this? In the old writings?" And they said, "Oh yeah, in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it was written by the prophets." Well, what did Micah make of that when he was writing it? His wife said to him, "What were you writing about this morning?" He said, "Well, I was writing about how in Bethlehem of Judea the Messiah will come." And she said, "Well, how do you figure that out?" He said, "Well, I haven't fully figured it out, I just wrote it down." "Yeah, but why’d you write it down?" "Well, because God has spoken to me and told me this." His wife said, "You better be really careful with that stuff." Same for Isaiah. "What were you doing this morning?" "Well, I wrote a really good passage this morning. 'He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities.'" And his wife said, "Well, who’s that?" He said, "Well, I’m not entirely sure. It’s about a suffering servant, about one who is to come."

We understand far more than Isaiah did when he wrote it. Why? Because prophetic history is only seen to be what it is looking backwards, not looking forwards. Now when you realize that, it will help you; it will make you more cautious. The mysterious prophecy that is contained in this final section will only be understood as God unravels history in an unseen future. Think about it. If this takes us all the way to the return of Jesus Christ and the appearance of the Antichrist, what could possibly have been written down for Daniel to help him understand? I heard, but I didn't understand. So I said, "Well, what’s the outcome going to be?" Well, you don’t worry about that.

But let me tell you this, verse 10. The separation that we noted last time between the righteous and the unrighteous, between the wise and the foolish, between the wicked and the righteous, will work itself out in that period of time. In other words, during the events that are conveyed here, the people of God will be refined and they will be purified. We’ve seen that again back in chapter 11. "And some of the wise shall stumble so that they may be refined, purified, and made white until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time." That’s 11:35. And while the people of God are being refined, the wicked who will continue to oppose God will not have a clue about what's going on, in contrast to the wise who shall understand. Understand everything? No, understand this: that God is sovereignly in control of what he's doing. In other words, the wise look at the world entirely differently from the wicked.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is where wisdom starts, where we understand that we live under the overarching control of a God who made us. People say, "No we don't. We are here as a result of time plus matter plus chance." Well, it’s not a surprise then that a view of the world evolves from there in every area of life. And I don’t know where you are this morning, but that might be you. But loved ones, as I said to you last time, the distinction that the Bible does between people is not on the basis of height or weight or intelligence or ethnicity. It is in relationship to their response to God’s revelation of himself. God has revealed enough of himself to make every one of us accountable.

Therefore, we are accountable. We know both by creation and we know by conscience that we exist as a result of God’s creative handiwork. Now, what are we going to do with that? We turn our back on that and say, "No, I suppress that, I repress that, I don't want to accept that as a view of the world." Then we go on in our own way and we discover that having failed to worship the Creator, we then worship the creature. So then we're preoccupied with the planet, we're preoccupied with ourselves. We’re preoccupied, and understandably so. It is a view of the world; it is a view that comes from Scripture that the Bible says is wise as opposed to wicked.

The wicked will go on their way unwittingly, actually providing the test, the refining test, without themselves being subject to it. I quoted last Sunday night the dramatic lines from that hymn: "But sinners filled with guilty fear shall see God's wrath prevailing. The grapes of wrath, Revelation. Shall see God's wrath prevailing. For they will rise and find their tears are wholly unavailing. The day of grace is past and gone; they trembling stand before the throne, all unprepared to meet him." Now Jesus takes that picture of wise and foolish, wise and wicked if you like, and he says it is the wise man who has built his house upon the rock. It is the foolish man who has built his house upon the sand. He's picking up what is said in the Old Testament about these very things. The wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, but the wise will flourish like trees planted by a riverbed. And all on account of God’s grace.

The reason for the incarnation is God’s immense love towards those whom he has made who have turned their backs on him. Why would he ever come and deal with any of us, who by nature sinned from the get-go? Rebellious against our parents, poor in our attitudes, sinful in our activities, and so on. We got a whole retinue of stuff. So why would God not just say, "Forget you guys"? Why does he, when he floods the world, provide an ark? Because he’s God. Why does he intervene in this way? In order that we who deserve his just judgment may be the recipients of his amazing grace. The wicked live their lives untroubled, unblessed, and unaware, but those who are wise will understand.

Well, we have to deal with verse 11 and 12, just a word. "And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there will be 1,290 days." Now, some of my best friends take this absolutely literally and they say that what is being described here takes us back now to the immediate time of Antiochus and that it is describing the period of time from the removal of the burnt offerings, which he did—remember setting up his own altar—and the rededication of the temple or between the removal of the burnt offerings and the death of Antiochus himself. And that may well be right. You can go back and read chapter 8 and think it out for yourself. Others of my friends view this symbolically and take it in terms of the seventy-sevens of years. Remember when we went through that? What a memorable evening that was. And we noted the way in which it comes out as a period of seven, a period of 62, and then a half. And if half of seven, I figured out, is three and a half—I worked hard on that this week—and so that would mean that we've got a half sort of hanging out there, right? So that means that 1,290 days is pretty close to three and a half years. So that would kind of fit. Yeah, but it doesn't really, unless you're taking it symbolically. And even if you are, what are you going to do with the fact that it then adds on another six weeks and takes it up to 1,335? You're looking at me going, "Okay, you're the one that we allow to study the Bible, you tell us."

I’m baffled by it. And the only thing I can say is that it is conveying this truth: that the people of God will actually endure to the end. Remember Jesus says in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, he talks about the master going away and coming back and the master being delayed. And he says the really faithful ones are the ones who are faithful even if he’s a little delayed in coming back. Even if he’s another six weeks. Even if he doesn't come back at 1,290 but if he comes back at 1,335, they are still faithful irrespective of when he actually comes. Now isn't that the assurance that is being given here from that time, whether it is the time that comes to an end finitely in Antiochus or whether it is as I’m suggesting to you pushing us all the way to the end of time? Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335. That’s what Jesus says. You’re blessed. He who endures to the end. So that’s the word.

Daniel, let me say a final word to you. Go your way. Go your way till the end. And you will rest and stand in your allotted place at the end of the days. Go your way. Get on with it. You're an old man now and you probably don't have much in front of you. You will rest—a picture of death, sleep—and you will stand in your allotted place. People say, "Well there's no resurrection in the Old Testament." Yes there is. Yes there is. We already saw that in the early part of it, "Many of those who sleep in the dust will awake to everlasting life and some to shame." We know that is true. And so he says, "Daniel, this is what I want you to do. I want you to just keep doing what you're doing right till the end. Eventually you will sleep the sleep of death. You will stand in your allotted place at the end of the days."

That’s kind of all you need to know. That’s about it, isn’t it? What a finish to the book. Daniel, keep doing what you’re doing. You’re going to die, but death won’t be the end. What we want to say to one another? Same thing. Go your way. Go and have your lunch. You will die. In Christ, you will rise. He has a place for you. "Yeah, but what about?" Go your way. You will die. You will rise. He has a place for you.

Now think about it. Those who have made the biggest impact in the world are the people who have gone their way in light of the fact that they knew they were going to die and in the reality of the resurrection. You take, for example, the Stams I mentioned them earlier, 27 and 28 years old. That from a human perspective is an unbelievable waste of a couple of lives, isn't it? And now when you read of these kind of things, the reframing of history says these people went over there, they were doing colonization, introducing these poor Chinese people to this dreadful, American way of life and so on. That wasn't what they were doing. They weren't doing that at all. They went there to tell them about Jesus. Well, why don't you just leave them? They had Confucius. Because Confucius can’t save. No one can save except Jesus. That’s why they went and died.

They went to tell people that in the face of the onslaught that is coming, there is only one secure place of safety, and it's in Jesus. The place that God has set you is your place. I can't go there. I don't have access to your place. I can't come in that factory. I don't live on your street. I can only help you here and do what I’m supposed to do where I live. But you've got to do it there. You've got to go on your way in the awareness that you're going to die, and so are the people to whom you speak going to die, and in the awareness that they will be resurrected and you will be resurrected, and some to everlasting shame and contempt and others to everlasting life. Then that changes everything. That changes the way you sweep up a factory floor. That changes the way in which you give an injection. That changes the way in which you pass out cash at the bank. It changes everything.

Here's the great issue. "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven amongst men whereby they must be saved." That is why world mission is a logical deduction from the reality of who this Jesus is. If he came as a child in the manger to live as a man, to live a perfect life on our behalf and to die the death that we deserve, then we are beyond comprehension unless we are diligent about saying to our friends, "How about Jesus?" And you know what he did? He then led them in the singing of a hymn. And it’s a great hymn. "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun doth his successive journeys run; his kingdom stretch from shore to shore, till moon shall wax and wane no more." And then he goes off on the train and he goes to China and he gets a brain hemorrhage and he dies as a school teacher. "Oh, what another dreadful waste. There's another life gone down. He should have stayed home and played rugby. Why do you go out there and do that? That’s ridiculous. And the Stams as well, getting their heads cut off." Do you know how many Christians were in mainland China in the 1930s? They reckon less than a million. The official figures in mainland China today are 80 million. The unofficial figures are beyond 100 million genuine believers in mainland China. You see, unless the seed falls into the ground and dies, it just remains alone. It's good stuff, isn't it? Go your way. You're going to die. But you will rise. He has a place for you. And you don't have to go to Wilco; he'll be there to welcome you himself.

Bob Lepine: God's people will endure to the end and will be blessed. You're listening to Bible teacher Alistair Begg on Truth For Life. He'll be back in a minute to close today's program. Today's message wraps up our study in the Old Testament book of Daniel. We hope this study has encouraged you to reflect on God and why it's essential for us to understand his Word and live according to his instructions. If you'd like to listen to Alistair teach through the complete book of Daniel, you'll find the full series on our website at TruthForLife.org. All 21 messages can be downloaded, watched, or listened to for free. The full series is also available on a USB that you can purchase at our cost of just five dollars. You'll find the USB in our online store at TruthForLife.org/store. Just search for "A Study in Daniel". Now here's Alistair to close today's program with prayer.

Alistair Begg: Father, thank you for the Bible. Help us, Lord, not to play fast and loose with the scriptures. Help me to make clear my own absolute conviction concerning its absolute trustworthiness, sufficiency, and authority. And help us to go out from here into this week in the awareness of the fact that you have established our way, that all the days of our lives have been written in your book before one of them came to be. We won't die a minute before you've planned for us, and that one day through death, we will actually be ushered directly into your presence. What a wonder, what a message, what a privilege, what a Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Bob Lepine: I'm Bob Lepine. We are glad you've joined us today. Now that we've learned from Daniel's visions about what lies ahead, how are we to live until Christ returns? We'll look for answers to that question as we begin a study in 1 Thessalonians tomorrow. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth For Life, where the learning is for living.