LIMITED, SEALED, & TIMED

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 20, 2024 under 2024 |

Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message from October 20, 2024 from Daniel 12:5-13

Theme: The ‘great tribulation’ events that lead to the return of our Lord are limited, sealed, and timed according to God’s redemptive plan.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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For the past six months now, we’ve been studying our way through an amazing and challenging book in the Old Testament—the Book of Daniel. And this morning, we come to its closing section.

As we’ve seen, this has been a book in which God—through a series of detailed prophecies and visions—has given us a glimpse into His plan for the future. He’s let us know what He’s going to do through mighty Gentile nations and world empires. But the focus has been primarily upon the nation of Israel—His chosen people, and upon how He promises to culminate it all with the reign of King Jesus upon this earth from Jerusalem.

There’s been a lot to learn from this prophetic book. But before we look at these closing words from Daniel, I’d like to ask you to turn with me to another prophetic book in the Bible—specifically to Revelation 19:10. It’s there that we find an important principle that we should always remember whenever we study any of the prophetic portions of the Bible … and especially this one.

In Revelation 19, God had revealed to the apostle John the details of His plan for the future—just as He did for Daniel. In it, we find the same sort of prophetic events that God revealed to Daniel—except that they were revealed to John after the Lord Jesus had come into the world, had died, and had been raised in victory. The promised ministry of the Lord Jesus had been concealed as a mystery to Daniel; but it had been made plain to the world later on in the time of John. And after the events that lead all the way up to the promise of the glorious return of Jesus to earth had been revealed to John by an angel, it was all utterly overwhelming to him. In Revelation 19:10, John wrote about the angel and said;

And I fell at his feet to worship him (Revelation 19:10a).

Think of it! This great apostle, who was so close to the heart of our Savior, actually fell down and worshiped an angel—which is something that should never be done. Only God should be worshiped. But it’s hard to blame John too much for this. If an apostle of our Lord would become so overwhelmed, would we have done any better? And yet, notice what the angel told him;

“See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (v. 10b).

And it’s there that we discover an absolutely essential principle about biblical prophecy. The purpose of biblical prophecy is to point us to the beauty and glory and majesty of Jesus Christ—and to highlight to us the promise of His reign upon this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Lord Jesus Himself once said,

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).

And so; we need to remember this when it comes to things we find in the Book of Daniel. If we’ve studied the Book of Daniel together as we should, then the result won’t be that we will have merely filled our heads with prophetic details about the future. It will be that—most of all—we’ll humble ourselves before God and worship His Son Jesus Christ, will grow to trust fully in the cleansing power of His blood shed for us on the cross, will follow Him more faithfully as our Lord and Master, and will keep our hope in the joyful expectation of His promised return. The result of a proper study of prophecy will be that the spotlight of our hearts will be turned upon Jesus!

Dear brothers and sisters; I truly hope and pray that our study of this remarkable book will have made us all more in love with our Savior Jesus Christ; because the testimony of Jesus truly is what this book is all about.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Now; these closing words are words that come to us at the end of the fourth and final vision that God gave to Daniel. While Daniel had been humbling himself before the Lord along the banks of the Tigris River, a glorious being clothed in linen appeared to him—an angel—who then gave Daniel a stunningly detailed vision of future events. Daniel was—a lot like John—in a state of shock when it was all shown to him; but he was enabled to write it all down and record it for the benefit of his fellow-Jewish people.

That vision is what we read about in Daniel 11:2 all the way to 12:4. And look at how it all closes in Daniel 12:4. The angel that revealed all of this to him told him;

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4).

This last great vision—and indeed, the whole book of the collection of all the visions God gave to Daniel—was essentially completed. God—through the agency of this mighty angelic messenger—had told Daniel all that God wanted for him to know at that time; and all with the spotlight turned upon the coming King Jesus.

And so; that now brings us to the closing words of this book. They can be summed up under three main ideas: The events that lead to the return of our Lord are limited as to duration (which is what we see in verses 5-7), sealed from human investigation (which is what we see in verses 8-10), and all timed according to God’s redemptive plan (which is what we seen in verses 11-13).

* * * * * * * * * *

So then, let’s look at this passage one section at a time; and let’s begin with how it teaches us that the events that lead up to the return of our Lord are …

1. LIMITED IN DURATION.

This is a precious and comforting thing to know, dear brothers and sisters; because the events that lead to our Lord’s return will constitute the most horrific period of time in all of human history. It’ll be that time that the Lord Jesus Himself called “great tribulation”—a time so terrible that, unless the Lord had sovereignly limited its duration, no flesh would survive—a time in which the forces of evil in this world, and the devil himself, will think that they had finally destroyed the Jewish people from the face of the earth … if it had not been that the Lord Himself cut those days short and saved them.

Now, it begins with verse 5; where we’re told,

Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank (Daniel 12:5).

The ‘two’ were other angelic beings than the one who had been giving Daniel that great, final vision—the glorious being who was clothed in linen. And the river would most likely have been the Tigris River that Daniel had been standing beside when the vision began. Verse 6 goes on to say;

And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?” (v. 6).

So; get the image of this in your mind. There was a flowing river. On one side was one angelic being, and on the other side was another angelic being, and above the flowing waters was the being clothed in linen who had been speaking to Daniel. There were three beings in all—talking beside and above the flow of this literal river—while Daniel watched and listened. We can assume that the river was real; but it may be that the river itself was meant to be seen as a symbol of the flow of time. And if that’s the case, then we see a picture of God’s sovereignty and power as the One who not only works within the flow of history, but also around and above it all.

Now; the question was, “How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?”—that is, the ‘wonders’ that had been described in verses 1-3. That’s where Daniel had been told about the closing days of the dreadful activities of the Antichrist on Earth. Back then, the angel said;

“At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever (12:1-3).

Maybe that was something that Daniel himself had wanted to ask. “How long?” It’s certainly something we’d like to know too; isn’t it? And in verse 7, the answer was given:

Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished (v. 7).

Think of what a remarkable thing it was that this mighty angelic being did. He solemnly testified to the truthfulness of his answer by swearing an oath in the name of the eternal God of heaven—raising not just his right hand, but also his left. It seems remarkable that an angel would do such a thing! And there, witnessing this oath were what seemed to be two other angelic beings. We’re told in Deuteronomy 19:15 that—in matters of solemn truth—by “the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established”. And here, we have one angelic being swearing by oath and two others witnessing—all three before almighty God. This is a profoundly significant moment!

And what does the testifying angel say? He says that this horrific time of trouble—a time in which the “power” (literally, “the hand”) of God’s holy people will be “completely shattered” (like the smashing of a piece of pottery)—will only last for “a time, times, and half a time”. We’ve already encountered that phrase in Daniel 7. We were told in Daniel 7:21 that the Antichrist would “make war against the saints and prevail against them”; and in verse 25 that

He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time (Daniel 7:25).

This is obviously describing the ‘great tribulation’ that would occur in the latter half of the final ‘seventieth week’ of God’s prophetic plan that we read about in Daniel 9. It’s that three-and-a-half-year period—a time, times, and half a time—in which God’s chosen people will be given over to that satanic world ruler called the Antichrist, so that he can almost completely destroy them.

You know, dear brothers and sisters; you and I long for the day of the Lord’s return. And it’s right that we do so. But we need to remember that the events that led up to that time will be the most horrible period in all of human history—a time of trouble that will nearly destroy all human life and almost completely wipe the Jewish people from the face of the earth. The devil—who utterly hates the Jewish nation, and who utterly hates the prospect of the reign of Jesus Christ on earth from Jerusalem, and who utterly hates all who believe and proclaim the gospel of Jesus in this world—will be permitted to pour out his vicious hatred upon the earth in an almost indescribable way. It will truly be ‘the time of Jacob’s troubles’.

But the point being made to us in this passage is that it’s only for a time. It will only last for as long as our sovereign heavenly Father permits it to last on this earth—that is, for three-and-a-half years, and no longer than that. By God’s grace, it is limited in duration; and will lead immediately to the glorious victory of the return of Jesus Christ to reign on this earth. A mighty angelic being solemnly swore that this would be so, and two other angelic beings bore witness.

Praise to our heavenly Father that He mercifully limits the duration of that dreadful time!

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; another thing that this passage teaches us is that the revelation of all of this was …

2. SEALED FROM HUMAN INVESTIGATION.

Daniel was permitted to overhear this conversation between these three angels, and he wanted to know more. We can’t blame him for that, can we? We’d want to know more too. And so; we can completely appreciate what Daniel said in verse 8;

Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?” (v. 8).

He only knew so much. Now; it’s true that we, who live as Jesus’ followers today, understand much more than Daniel understood. This is because of the greater light given to us through the New Testament. But even still, we wish we could know more than what had been revealed to us. We would like to know the outcome of these things in greater detail.

But our good heavenly Father has wisely chosen—in different periods of time in history—to seal up information in one time period that He will reveal later on in another. Theologians often refer to this as ‘progressive revelation’; that is, the gracious work of God in which He reveals only a portion of His plan in one time period, and then a greater portion of His plan later on in another. As it says in Hebrews 1:1-2;

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son … (Hebrews 1:1-2a).

God wisely chose that only a portion of His plan would be revealed in Daniel’s day. So, in answer to Daniel’s question to the angel, we’re told;

And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand (Daniel 12:9-10).

Notice a couple of things about what was said. First, notice carefully that the words were closed up and sealed “till the time of the end”. The angel didn’t say that they were closed up until “the end of time”, but rather “till the time of the end”. And what time is that? It’s the end of that long period in history that our Lord called “the time of the Gentiles”. It’s that portion of history that the Book of Daniel has told us so much about through the visions of the various kingdoms and world empires that would rise, and fall, and do battle with each other—that portion of history that would then give way to the reign of Jesus Christ on earth over His people from Jerusalem.

As we draw closer to the conclusion of that period of time, God has graciously chosen to reveal much more to us of His plan in the New Testament. Much that was sealed is now no longer sealed to us. Just think of what the apostle John was told near the end of the Book of Revelation:

And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still” (Revelation 22:10-11).

Second, notice how the angel told Daniel that—at the time of the end—“Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly …” This speaks of an amazing thing God will do in the future for His chosen people Israel. He will use the horrible trial of the tribulation to refine them and purify them for Himself in preparation for the return of the Lord Jesus.

The Bible tells us about this in some remarkable Old Testament passages. In Malachi 3:2-3, for example, it says;

“But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness (Malachi 3:2-3).

It describes this remarkable event in very sober words in Zechariah 13:8-9; where it says,

“And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
Says the Lord,
“That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
But one-third shall be left in it:
I will bring the one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God’” (Zechariah 13:8-9).

That horrible time of trouble will be—in the hand of God—a time of refinement and the purification of His people. And how will they be made pure? It will be only by one way—and that is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer! The Jewish nation will finally declare that Jesus is her Messiah; and the people of Israel will be saved by faith in His cross! As the apostle Paul wrote, “And so all Israel will be saved …” (Romans 11:26). Praise God!

Now; you may be wondering, “Where is the church in all of this?” Well; it’s important to remember that the church is not in the picture in the Book of Daniel. The Bible makes it clear that the church is a distinct entity from the nation of Israel on earth; and that God will bring His church to Himself before all these things are completed. At the time that these words were given to Daniel, the church was still a ‘mystery’ held in the secret counsel of God—yet to be revealed in the future.

But that underscores the point of these verses. Certain aspects of God’s sovereign plan for the ages are sealed from human investigation until the time of God’s sovereign choosing. Praise God that we know what we need to know—right now; whether Jew or Gentile—to be ready for the day of the Lord’s return.

* * * * * * * * * *

And that leads us to one more thing that this passage teaches us about the events that lead up to the day of the Lord’s return; and that’s that they are …

3. TIMED FOR GOD’S REDEMPTIVE PURPOSE.

The angel told Daniel in verses 11-12;

“And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days” (Daniel 12:11-12).

The two things that the angel spoke of—that is, “the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away” and the time when “the abomination of desolation is set up”—are really speaking of just one event. They both speak of the act of the Antichrist—as it’s described in Daniel 9—of breaking his covenant with the Jewish people and setting up a horrible idol of himself in the temple. It will mark the beginning of the “time, times, and half a time” that will constitute the great tribulation period.

But as we’ve seen in our study of Daniel 9, that three-and-a-half year period matches the 1,260 days of Revelation 12:6. So; why did the angel say it would be 1,290 says?—that is, an additional thirty days? And why did he then go on to say that those would be especially blessed who waited and came to the fulfillment of 1,335 days?—an additional forty-five days … all for a total of 75 extra days? What exactly are these periods of time that seem to go on past the end of the three-and-a-half years of the tribulation?

It may be that there’s a necessary space of time—a period of adjustment upon the earth—between the end of the Antichrist’s horrible tyranny over the earth at Jesus’ coming, and the beginning of our Lord’s actual reign from Jerusalem. Ezekiel 20 speaks of a time in which, at the Lord’s return, He will gather His people from the various nations of the world and bring them together to Himself. He said;

“As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord God. “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 20:33-38).

Such a regathering and purging of the people will take time. And perhaps that’s what will be completed on the 1,290th day. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus also spoke in Matthew 25 of a time after His return when He will separate the sheep from the goats in His kingdom. After that separation is made, He said of the goats;

“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).

This careful separation will also take time. And perhaps that’s what will be completed on the 1,335th day.

Well; we can’t be absolutely certain about what these additional days mean. But there’s one thing in this passage about which we can be certain. And that’s that all of these events are timed—with absolute precision—down even to the number of days—all in accordance with God’s sovereign calendar; and they all lead up to the glory of redemption through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

What a great God! His plan for the ‘great tribulation’ events that lead up to Jesus’ reign on this earth are limited in duration, sealed from human investigation, and timed with absolute precision in accordance with His redemptive plan for the ages!

* * * * * * * * * * *

Now; the closing words of this book touch on God’s perfect timing with respect to Daniel personally. The angel said;

“But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days” (Daniel 12:13).

It may be that Daniel’s body was laid in the ground shortly after this, and that his spirit went to God as he awaited the day of his resurrection. He was, after all, an old man at this time. But the angel promised that he would not be forgotten by God. He would rise to his inheritance ‘at the end of the days’, and would no doubt hear from the Lord Jesus, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

And that’ ‘personal word’ to Daniel is also a fitting word for you and me. When it comes to these future events—as we draw closer and closer to the day of the Lord’s return—let’s remember that they are limited in duration, sealed from investigation, and timed according to God’s redemptive plan. Let’s make absolutely certain that we’ve made ourselves as ready for them as we can be by having our faith in the cross of Jesus Christ, walking in faithful obedience to His commands; and let’s ‘go our way’ by keeping our hope fixed on the glory of His future reign on this earth—at which time we will be raised to reign with Him.

As the apostle Paul put it;

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).

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