Daniel 12

I want to begin this morning by taking a brief trip down memory lane. We come to the end of our time in Daniel, and this last chapter has layered application; the struggle of the righteous in the midst of persecution during the Great Tribulation, but also a fitting charge to believers today in light of the truth we’ve seen in Daniel overall. 

1 - Daniel and his friends taken into exile in Babylon, and right away we saw the Babylonians trying to change the identity of the young Jewish men. If you remember, they tried to indoctrinate them with the knowledge of their culture, tried to assimilate them by forcing them to eat and drink their food, and tried to confuse their identity by changing their names. Daniel refused to disobey the Lord, and the Lord honored him. 

2 - Nebuchadnezzar had a dream with the statue made of various metals. Those metals represented earthly kingdoms. We learned that God is sovereign over earthly kingdoms. 

3 - Nebuchadnezzar sets up the huge golden image and decrees that it must be worshipped. Daniel’s friends refuse and are thrown into the fiery furnace. In the midst of that fire we saw what was most likely a Christophony, a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. We learned that the Lord is with us in our trials. 

4 - The humbling of Nebuchadnezzar; his pride that led to him acting like a wild animal until he turned his face to the Lord, had his reason return to him, and worshiped the Lord. 

5 - A transition to the final king of Babylon, Belshazzar. The handwriting on the wall in the midst of a wildly sinful party. We learned that, as opposed to Daniel and his friends standing firm in the Lord, if we let our sin take over it will ultimately lead to destruction. 

6 - King Darius was tricked into 30 days of the people worshiping him and no one else. Daniel refused, and much to Darius’ dismay, his hand was forced into throwing Daniel into the lion’s den. The Lord was with Daniel, and saved him out of the den. We learned that when we do stand for the Lord, persecution will come, but deliverance will follow. 

7 - 11 - Difficult prophecies that revealed historical kingdoms and empires, as well as specific leaders that rose up to lead these empires. We saw the sovereignty of God extend into a future kingdom, an eternal kingdom over which Jesus reigns. We even saw last week how the sovereignty of God extends into the spiritual realm, one in which daily warfare is a reality. 

And so we’ve seen 2 main threads running throughout this book. We’ve seen the sovereignty of God over: 

• Earthly kingdoms

• Future eternal kingdom

• Spiritual realm

In other words, over ALL. 

We’ve also seen men who stood on the truth of God, refusing to back down, in the face of persecution, even if it meant death. 

In chapter 12, where we find ourselves this morning, we see both of these threads come to finality. We see the final moments of judgment for the world, at which point the eternal kingdom begins. And we also see the righteous stand for truth, even being a light to the wicked who persecute them. Let’s read Daniel 12 and then walk through each of the tying of those threads. 

Big Idea: God’s sovereignty gives us confidence to stand on truth.

Read Daniel 12:1-4

“At that time.” Remember this is a continuation of chapter 11. We find ourselves in the 3.5 years referred to as the Great Tribulation. The antichrist is ruling, and he is now waging war against nations, and persecuting followers of Jesus. 

The End

1. Deliverance of God’s People (vs. 1)

We need to be careful not to read ourselves directly into this passage. While there are implications for all believers, the context in verse 1 is speaking specifically to the Jewish people. To Daniel the angel says, “Michael, the great prince who has charge over your people.” And again “your people shall be delivered.“ These events have a specific geographical location, that is Israel and the surrounding nations. This means that these events will most directly impact the Jewish people. Even more specific we see that it isn’t all the Jewish people, but those who have professed faith in Jesus and have their names written in “the book.” This is the same book that is mentioned multiple times in the book of Revelation, also referred to as the “Lambs Book of Life.” Because it is mentioned in the New Testament, and in context refers to all believers, from this point on we can assume the totality of all believers in Christ.

After the time of trouble, the Great Tribulation, there will be deliverance. How does this happen?

2. Resurrection (vs. 2)

According to the NET Bible, this is the only place in the Hebrew Bible where a clear, literal, physical resurrection is mentioned. The word sleep here simply means death, and is used this way all throughout Scripture. This is not an evidence of “soul sleep” as some might claim. (Soul sleep being the idea that when we die, we don’t go to heaven, but our souls rest until the future resurrection. This is a tough theology to prove, given the immediacy from Jesus, i.e thief on the cross, and Paul, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”) So what comes after this bodily resurrection?

3. Judgment (vs. 2b)

John 5:28-29 - “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”

It would appear that Daniel was speaking of the same resurrection. We see evidence of this as well in 2 Corinthians 5 and Romans 14 in which believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, which is the Greek word “bema.” We see in Revelation 20 a different type of judgment for the unbelievers called the Great White Throne Judgment, in which they are judged and cast into the lake of fire. In each judgment, Scripture tells us that all must give account of their lives on earth. 

Alright so this is the end before the reign of Christ: Deliverance, Resurrection, and Judgment. But we also see in Daniel 12 what happens in the few years leading up to that, specifically as it relates to the Christian.

Read Daniel 12:5-12

The “man clothed in linen” is the same one we saw last week, who many believe is another Christophany. He raises His hands to the heaven and confirms the time being 3.5 years. And then He mentions that this would be marked by “the shattering of the power of the holy people coming to an end.” All these things would be finished. 

4. Persecution (vs. 7)

There will be a persecution like the world has never seen. The Christian will be hated more than ever. Much like Nebuchadnezzar demanded to be worshiped, the antichrist will demand the same. Much like Daniel and his friends had to make a choice, Christians all over the world will be forced to do the same. We see in Revelation 6:9 that many will be killed for their faith. Satan will attempt his final attack on God’s people, and it will be worse than anything history has ever seen. But even so, even in the midst of great persecution…

5. Evangelism to Salvation (vs. 3 & 10)

We see that during the Great Tribulation, “those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the sky above.” This period of time will be marked by wickedness and spiritual darkness such has never been seen before. Jesus says that the Christian is the “light in the world.” How much more brightly will believers shine as the world grows darker. Not only do they shine the light of the gospel, but it says right here in verse 3 that many will turn to righteousness. We can only assume that this means that people will see the boldness of faith, the fight for truth, the willingness to suffer for the gospel, and it will cause many to turn to Jesus! The spiritual battle intensifies, it is in its last stage, and God continues to gather the harvest. 

Look again at verse 10: “Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined.” In other words, many will be saved: purified, white as snow, refined as in the fire. What an amazing thought this is.

Now, while we could have this conversation for hours over coffee or lunch, and I would actually enjoy that if anyone would be interested…I want to focus in on the very last verse of the book of Daniel. This is where we get the most clear application for us in light of everything that we have talked about up to this point in Daniel. 

Read Daniel 12:13

“Go your way.” In other words, “Daniel, live your life of faithfulness to the end.” Daniel’s life has been marked by faithfulness to the Lord. It has been marked by fervent prayer. It has been marked by trusting in the Lord over human kings. Daniel’s “way” was one of righteousness and committed faith. “To the end,” the angel says. Until you die. 

In other words, “Daniel, keep on fighting until the end!” And then, you will enter your rest, forever. 

Application

In light of everything we have learned in Daniel, this is the perfect verse to close our study. Everything we have read, from 1:1 to 12:12, therefore, fight until the end.

When culture tries to redefine truth, fight until the end. 

When the world tries to change your identity, fight until the end. 

When earthly kingdoms produce fear and uncertainty, hold on to Jesus until the end. 

When we are tempted to pursue idolatry, worship Jesus until the end. 

When pride begins to rise up, and success gets to our head, pray for Christ-like humility until the end. 

When the world is pulling our attention away from the Lord, fix your eyes on Jesus until the end. 

When the threat of persecution or oppression creates fear or doubt in our minds, proclaim Jesus until the end. 

When the brokenness of this world births hopelessness in our minds, hope in the future, eternal kingdom until the end. Brothers and sisters, fight the good fight of faith until the end. And then, when we have run our race, we will enter into our rest.