The Future For Israel?

Way back as far as Daniel 10, we saw that we’re looking at the fourth and final vision of Daniel. The vision involved the question of: What is the future for the nation of Israel? What is God going to do with the Jewish people, and that is the title of my message tonight—The Future for Israel? What does the future hold for the nation of Israel?

We saw that the closing prophecy covered three chapters. The introduction was chapter 10, the prophecy is in chapter 11 and the first two verses of chapter 12, and then it picks up with the epilogue or the conclusion and it kind of wraps the whole prophecy up. Beginning in Daniel 12:1 (as you follow with me in your Bibles), “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble,” take note of that. That is a reference to the tribulation period. We are going to come back and talk about that in just a moment. “…such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people,” that is the Jewish people, the people of Israel, “shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

“At that time,” in Daniel 12:1, is a reference to the conclusion of chapter 11 where at the end of the chapter we were looking at the antichrist. The antichrist is going to actually pull his armies together in the last days to fight against the kings of the east, the kings of the north, and the king of the south. We were talking about that as really the third world war. Most often you hear it referred to as Armageddon or the last great battle that will take place before Christ returns and sets up His kingdom for one thousand years.

I asked the guys in the sound room to get ready to throw the image again up on the screen or the chart that we looked at a few weeks ago, so if you can throw that up, Kenny, for me. I want to just make a couple references to it again tonight. In Daniel 12:1 where we have, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble,” that “time of trouble” (as I’ve indicated on this chart) is just after the Church Age. The church has been raptured (1Thessalonians 4) and we have the 70th week of Daniel. At the top you see the 70 x 7 = 490 years. It began in 445 B.C., recorded in Nehemiah 2, that there should be 70 sevens determined upon thy people which is a 490-year period. We studied and looked at this, and it takes us up to the Second Coming, but the last seven years of the 70 sevens is the 70th week. That last seven years is the tribulation period. It is divided into two sections. The first being the first three-and-a-half years, and the second three-and-a-half years are often called the great tribulation. I believe that even though it’s divided into two periods (this is a very important point and I don’t know that I’ve made it over this series in Daniel. I want you to at least hear what I have to say and then hang onto it.) it is a solid period. It is one seven-year period. Just because it’s three-and-a-half years and three-and-a-half years doesn't mean that you can divide it in the sense of some teach what is called a mid-tribulation rapture. They believe that the rapture doesn’t take place before the tribulation as I’ve indicated on that chart but takes place in the middle of the tribulation—that the church will be here for the first three-and-a-half years then will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before God pours out His wrath upon this world. Now, granted the wrath will be the second half but I believe that it is one seven-year period.

In the Old Testament the Bible calls it the time of Jacob’s trouble. The reason why it’s given that title is because one of its primary purposes and designs is to prepare Israel for their Messiah—the Second Coming. The Messiah was rejected and crucified, and the door was open to the Gentiles to come and believe in Jesus Christ. The wild olive branches that Paul talked about in Romans were grafted into the natural olive branches, and they became partaker of the root— Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the covenant promises He made to them—but God still has a plan and a purpose for Israel that when the fullness of the Gentiles be come in then the church will be caught up, I believe, to meet the Lord in the air and that last seven-year period will begin. Remember I described God as having a giant stopwatch and when Messiah was cut off it stopped and then He will start it again? It stopped at the 483 years point with seven years still left to be fulfilled. That seven years is the future for Israel, that last seven years.

In Daniel 12:1, “And at that time,” during that time of the tribulation, “and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” Jesus used almost the very same expression in Matthew 24. In Matthew 24, Jesus talked about, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.” That last three-and-a-half years is limited. God has put the boundaries on it. It’s going to be the most horrible period in human history. I want you to stop and think for just a moment. We live in a day and age and a time when the worst most horrible time on planet earth is still yet future for us. It’s still yet future for humanity. I believe that the church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and will be with Christ in heaven, and we are not appointed unto wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In these first three verses of chapter 12, you basically have God promising that Israel will be saved, Israel will be preserved, Israel will be protected, that God has a purpose and a plan, and God has a design—He’s preparing them for their Messiah. So, Michael stood up, “the great prince,” he’s Michael the Archangel, “which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” Then he says, “and at that time thy people shall be delivered,” the promise that’s given to Daniel that was on his heart. He was concerned about the future of his people. “…every one that shall be found written in the book.”

As far as the Great Tribulation goes, write down just a few verses for me. It is one of the major themes of the Old Testament. All through the Old Testament and into the New you have reference to this time of trouble and tribulation. It’s from Deuteronomy 4:30, Jeremiah 30:7, and Joel 2:2. Did I go too fast for you? Okay. I do repeat myself so don’t freak out, okay? That is just the tip of the iceberg, just the tip of the iceberg. Isaiah spoke about it, and all through the Old Testament you have this as a common theme and a common thread. The prophet Joel talks about the day of the Lord coming with fierce anger. One of the most repeated phrases in the Old Testament (you can look it up in a cross reference) about the tribulation is that it will be a time of darkness, thick darkness. That's not just physical darkness (there will be physical darkness), it will be a time of horrible moral darkness. Have you ever looked at the world around you and said, “This world is getting dark.” I do all the time. This world is getting dark and it’s getting darker every day, but it’s going to heighten. The second thing is that it will be a time of wickedness, which I think is interesting because if the church is raptured before the tribulation as I believe the Bible teaches, (and I do believe the Bible teaches that or I wouldn’t hold that position) I believe that the church is the light of the world. What happens when you take the light out? It gets dark, right? All you have to do for darkness to come on the scene is to turn out the lights. So, the church is caught up to be with the Lord, and the church—the light of the world—is gone. Can you imagine all Christians on planet earth disappearing? Every Christian on the earth disappears. The only people left are unbelievers. What kind of a world is that going to be? It’s going to be very dark, and the church is the salt of the earth.

In the Bible, salt was used as a preservative. They didn't have refrigerators, so they would rub salt into their meat to preserve it. When the church is caught up to be with the Lord, the world is going to get very corrupt, morally corrupt—very dark and very corrupt. What a horrible time this is going to be. This period is recorded in Revelation 6-19. I know that’s no surprise to any of you. You understand that, but if you’re taking notes and you want to put it all together, that’s important to understand. That seven-year period is recorded in detail from Revelation 6-19. If you really want to know what happens during that seven years, read the book of Revelation and all of the plagues, judgments, and the wrath that come upon this Christ-rejecting world. It is frightening! The death, the famines, the war, and the suffering as the people of the earth go to the mountains and ask, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the wrath of the Lamb, for the day of His judgment has come!” All of the judgments that are poured out are described there in the book of Revelation. In Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse I just mentioned records in great detail as well what will happen during this time of tribulation. (On our website I have extensive studies and series that I’ve done on the book of Revelation and on Matthew 24-25.)

Notice the promise in verse 1, “…thy people shall be delivered,” Israel shall be restored. Remember when we studied Romans 9, 10, and 11? Chapter 9 is Israel’s election. Chapter 10 is Israel’s rejection. Chapter 11 is Israel’s restoration. God has a future and a plan. In the tribulation period, this seven-year tribulation, this time of Jacob’s trouble, guess what? I believe that more Jews will be saved than at any time of the Church Age. More Jews will come to Jesus Christ as their Savior and Messiah, and they will be saved by faith by the love and grace of God during this time of tribulation. There will be 144,000 Jews that will be sealed during that time, and I believe they will go out with the gospel. They will preach the gospel, and Jews will come to Christ. I believe that they are going to turn to the book of Daniel during the time of the tribulation and are going to begin to understand. They will understand that Jesus was their Messiah, and they will turn to Christ and will be saved. Many of them, the Bible says in Zechariah, will look on Him when He comes back in His Second Coming…they’ll look on Him whom they have pierced and they’ll say, “What are the meanings of these wounds in thy hands?” Jesus will say, “These are the wounds that I received in the house of my friends.” They will realize—Jesus was our Messiah. Jesus was our Savior. He was our deliverer.

Not all individual Jews will be saved, but Israel, as far as many of them nationally, will turn back to the Lord. Though Israel has become a nation, they are a nation that is not really primarily religious, even as far as Judaism is concerned. They are very secular. They are very, very secular and very, very ungodly—a lot of atheists and worldliness in Israel at this time—only a small sect of religious Jews in Israel today, and they need to return to Christ. Even right now, God has no favorites between Jew or Gentile. God doesn’t save a Jew quicker than He saves a Gentile. We all come the same way—by faith and believing in Jesus Christ—but the time of Jacob’s trouble is that last seven-year period. When God has done what He wants to do with the church it’s caught up (the bride of Christ, and there is the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven), and during that time on earth God is going to prepare Israel for that Second Coming. When He came the first time, they didn’t recognize Him. They rejected Him. When He comes back the second time, they will recognize Him.

There is a story in the Old Testament that we all love so much. It’s the story of Joseph. Do you know that Joseph is one of the most Christ-like characters in all the Bible? When Joseph had the dreams and told his brothers who he was, what did they do? They hated, despised, and sold him as a slave. They rejected him, right? Then he went to Egypt (long story short) and got a job working with Pharaoh taking care of the grain and the fruit, and he took care of everything. Years later his brothers came back and what did they have to do? Bow before him. Guess what Joseph said? Joseph took off his Egyptian stuff and said to them, “I am Joseph, your brother.” They rejected him the first time; but they saw, understood, and embraced him at his second coming. Do you know they have a long history of rejecting even their Promised One, their promised deliverers.

When Moses came on the scene he tried to bury an Egyptian because he believed God had called him to save the people of Israel. They said, “Who made you a judge and a ruler over us? We don’t want you. We don’t need you!" He saw that he was in trouble and what did he do? He split. (That’s not what the Scripture says, I just threw that in there.) He ran from Egypt, and 40 years later God comes to him through the burning bush and says, “I want you to go back to Pharaoh and command my people be delivered.” He says, “Whom am I? Who am I going to say sent me?” He says, “You tell him I Am sent you.” He goes back and shows up. They don’t really believe that he is their deliverer. They don’t recognize him. The second time, when the plagues came upon the Egyptians and finally they are brought out, they realize that Moses is our deliverer. They had a long history of rejecting their deliverer and then later finding out that this is the person that has come to deliver us. It’s going to culminate in the person of Jesus Christ.

You ask, “Well, why did God do that? What’s God’s plan? What’s God’s purpose? What was God thinking?” I don’t know that I have the answer to all those questions, but one of them is that God wanted to save Gentiles and during the interim that’s why the church in that chart is a parenthesis. It’s that pause between the first coming and the second coming, the first advent and the second advent. This is what theologians call dispensationalism—God dealt with people in different time periods in different ways and different dispensations, and this is the dispensation of grace, this Church Age period. You’ll never really understand the Bible or Bible prophecy if you don't make these distinctions and keep the Gentile nations, the church, and the nation of Israel, these three separate categories, as God’s purposes and plan for each one and how they then intercept.

Having said all that, he says in verse 2, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,” only those that will be saved, by the way, in verse 1 (I missed it) are those who are found written in the book. God has a book, and He writes down the names of those who are saved. For us today it’s called the Book of Life—the Lamb’s Book of Life. Think about that. When you accept Christ, and there’s a lot of argument as to how the names in the book work or don’t work, but for those who have accepted or trust in Christ, your name is written in that book. We used to sing a hymn years ago, There’s a new name written down in glory, And it’s mine, oh yes, it’s mine! With my sins forgiven I am bound for heaven. “I believe that I’ve been forgiven and I’ve been saved. I believe that my name is written in that Book of Life,” says John Miller right now. There are a lot of John Millers. Have you ever looked up John Miller in a phonebook? There are about 20,000 of them. I get calls all the time, “Are you the John Miller that owes me money?” “No, no, no. I’m not that John Miller." When He opens that book, my name is going to be there, and He’ll know which John Miller I am. It’s not because I’m a pastor or a good person, it’s because I trusted Jesus Christ as my Lord and my Savior.

He speaks about the resurrection in verse 2, and I’ll try not to get bogged down here. It says, “And many of them that sleep in the dust…,” the word “sleep” is a reference to die. They have died and have been buried. Basically, it’s saying those that have died and have been buried in the earth “shall awake,” that’s talking about resurrection. There are two resurrections—some to everlasting life (verse 2) and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Two resurrections—a resurrection to life and a resurrection to contempt or judgment. What you need to understand; that is, between these two resurrections there is a thousand-year gap between the first resurrection of the saved (those resurrected to life) and the second resurrection (those resurrected to judgment). Let me break it down just a little bit for you, and then we’re going to look at Revelation 20 in just a second. Those that are resurrected to life (this will be in the context here of Daniel) is a reference to Old Testament saints and tribulation saints. Now, believe me, this doctrine of the resurrection gets really challenging. As long as I’ve studied and taught the Bible, I always have to refresh my memory, go over it again, and kind of hash it all out; but it basically comes in two categories—the first resurrection are saved; the second resurrection are all unsaved. This first resurrection is going to be, (here in this case) Old Testament saints and tribulation saints. They will be resurrected and have their new glorified bodies, and they will be in heaven with the Lord. This will happen at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

What I want to tell you, (don’t let me confuse you) that first resurrection also involves, backing up, the rapture because when the rapture takes place those who are dead in Christ shall rise first. That resurrection of salvation involves the resurrection of the dead believers in Christ (the church) and the translation of the living saints at the rapture. It kind of has a little rhyme to it and you can remember it real easy. When the rapture happens there is resurrection and translation. You got that? Resurrection and translation. Resurrection are those who have died in the Lord (no Old Testament saints, no tribulation saints—hasn’t happened) it’s just Christians. If I die tonight or if you die tomorrow, you’re a Christian living in the Church Age—you will be resurrected at the rapture. The dead in Christ shall rise first. If we are alive when the rapture happens, we will be translated which I think would be pretty cool. Right? You don’t have to die, you just get directly translated straight to heaven. That’s what we call part of the first resurrection. The part of that first resurrection then includes when do the Old Testament saints get resurrected? When do the tribulation saints (those people that get saved during the tribulation) get resurrected? This is what he is talking about in verse 2, “...shall awake, some to everlasting life.” Then, at the end of the Millennium (the thousand-years) there is going to be another resurrection. That’s going to be a resurrection of the wicked dead. That’s easy to understand because all the wicked dead for all of history will happen all at the same time.

The first resurrection actually has three phases. I said I wouldn’t confuse you but I’m doing it right now, okay? I’m adding another one. The first phase is Christ’s resurrection—Jesus physically actually rose from the dead. This stuff to me is a “can you dig it” stuff. When Jesus rose from the dead the Bible says He was the firstfruits of them that sleep. That means He’s the prototype of our resurrection. So, first resurrection, stage 1: Jesus rose from the dead never to die again, glorified body. First resurrection, stage 2: The dead in Christ are resurrected to be with the Lord, and then the second stage of the first resurrection, Old Testament and tribulation saints are resurrected at the Second Coming. They come popping out of the ground. Do you know the word “cemetery" means resting place? Resurrection here is a resurrection of the body. There is no such thing as the spiritual resurrection—that we die and God revives us—our bodies are resurrected. The second resurrection is at the end of the Millennium when only the wicked dead are raised.

Now, I said all that to have you turn real quickly to Revelation 20. I’ll show you where it’s mentioned in the book of Revelation. Look at Revelation 20:4. You might want to make a clearer connection cross reference here, Revelation 20:4. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,” by the way, at the end of the 19th chapter of Revelation Jesus Christ returned and destroyed the antichrist. It’s almost identical to Daniel 11 and into chapter 12. At the end of Daniel 11 we had the antichrist destroyed by the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. That’s what we have in Revelation 19. In Revelation 20, satan is bound, cast into the pit, and there is the thousand-year reign of Christ. It’s mentioned in Revelation 20:3, that he shall be there for a thousand years. Verse 4 says, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus,” those are tribulation saints. They were killed during the time of the tribulation. “…and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast,” which is the antichrist. They didn’t worship his image, “neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” That is what we just read in the book of Daniel where those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake to everlasting life. That happens at the Second Coming, and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

I believe that beginning in verse 5, it should start with a parenthesis and should be in brackets as it’s parenthetical and would read (verse 5), "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished,” the end of the parenthesis. That’s where the parenthesis stops. “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished,” parenthetical. Then, what is concluded at the end of verse 4, “and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years,” the first resurrection starts at the end of verse 5, “This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

I said I wouldn’t get you confused but maybe I have. If you understand the resurrections, the pieces fit together. It’s amazing how the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation are saying the same thing. Do you know the book of Daniel was written over 2,500 years ago, yet we’re still studying and seeing how it fits in with the book of Revelation which was written about 90 A.D. It's amazing to me how that all fits together! In Revelation 20, you have the two resurrections. You have them living and reigning with Christ for a thousand years. This is (verse 5) the first resurrection, but in that parenthetical statement of verse 5, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished,” that is the wicked dead. That’s the wicked dead who are resurrected at the end of the Millennium.

In case you don't believe me, jump down in the book of Revelation to verse 11. He says, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.” That’s a reference to Gehenna. “This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” That is a reference to the second resurrection of all the wicked dead at the end of the Millennium, and on the chart we have the Kingdom Age. It’s the end of that thousand-year reign of Christ. Turn back with me to the book of Daniel. Believe it or not we’re going to wrap this up, and I will be available for questions after church tonight.

So, you have the resurrection mentioned. Daniel wanted to know what the future holds and God, He's pulling out all the stops. He’s telling him about everything that’s going on. Beginning in verse 4 he says, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” That doesn’t mean that Daniel is a sealed book. What it means is that the book of Daniel, when it speaks here of the future for Israel, it would be a future time. It wouldn’t be in Daniel’s time. It wouldn’t be in Daniel’s age but would be a future thing. When it says, "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased…,” For many years, we’ve heard people say that one of the signs that we’re living in the last days is travel. People will be able to get on jet airplanes and jet around the world—that man will run to and fro. They use that statement to say that it’s one of the signs we’re in the last days.

One of the biggest travesties, I think, that has happened to Bible prophecy and why many people have grown disheartened and discouraged studying it is because of misinterpretation. They read into the text what isn’t really there. In the Hebrew, this phrase would more likely in its context indicate that in the last days people are going to dig into the book of Daniel. People are going to be able to study the book of Daniel. This "run to and fro,” is actually eagerly digging into the study of God’s Word. It’s not talking about international travel. It’s talking about their pursuit of the knowledge of the end times through the book of Daniel. When it says, “and knowledge shall be increased,” I believe that knowledge that shall increase is talking about the knowledge of the prophetic word—the knowledge of the things that God was showing Daniel, the knowledge of the things of prophecy. If you do a study of church history, you’ll come to understand that in the last 100 years the study of prophecy has blossomed and flourished and just came to fruition.

One of the arguments that people have with the rapture of the church and the pre-tribulation rapture of the church is that they say, “Well, you know, the early church or the early church fathers didn’t teach that.” Let me tell you a couple of things. First, the early church fathers are not the authority, the Bible is. There were other doctrines the early church fathers didn’t teach that weren’t biblical and they were inerrant and wrong, so they are not the authority. The authority is the scriptures not the history. We can learn a lot about doctrine from history, but that’s not our source of authority. Our source of authority is the Word of God, and I think the Bible is very clear that the rapture will happen. It will happen at the end of time before the tribulation, and it’s clearly taught in scripture. We should hold to scriptures and not worry about church tradition. Actually, even prior to the Protestant Reformation, the church was steeped in a lot of dark darkness and ignorance about salvation, about the priesthood of the believer, about the authority of God’s Word. It took the Protestant Reformation to revive people’s knowledge of the Bible and the Word of God, and I believe that we’re living in the last days when in light of that we’re gaining new insight and understanding. It’s not new revelation. It’s new understanding of the old truths that are laid out clearly in the Bible, and this is actually a prophecy, not that knowledge will increase and people will have international travel but that knowledge of God’s Word will increase as to the prophecies given to Daniel.

At the end of the book (verses 5-13) are the questions about the great tribulation as it pertains to the nation of Israel. They were answered by these angels given to Daniel. “Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.” What Daniel sees, I believe, are two angels standing on the Euphrates River, one on one side and the other on the other side of the bank. It could’ve been Michael, and it could’ve been Gabriel. “And one said to the man,” now this man is the third personage. It’s not the two angels that are standing on the river. This man is described as over or upon the waters or over the river. A good guess is that this man could be, again, a pre-incarnate appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we can't be sure or dogmatic. “And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?” He just wanted to know how long is all this going to take?

“And I heard the man clothed in linen,” that man that was upon the waters, that third personage, “which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people,” which is, of course, a reference to Israel, “all these things shall be finished.” Now, a time, times, and a half a time is three-and-a-half years. A time being one year, times being two years, and half a time being three-and-a-half years. All through the book of Daniel and Revelation you have reference to time, times, and a half a time—three-and-a-half years. That’s what he’s talking about. So now we’ve narrowed it down to not the seven years but just the last three-and-a-half years. How long is this going to be? Daniel is actually asking, “When is the Second Coming? When is the Messiah going to come? When will the deliverer promised finally come,” and notice verse 8, “And I heard, but I understood not,” and you say, “Yeah. That’s me. I hear but I understand not.” “...then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” Again, the repetition of, “I want to know when it’s going to happen. When is going to be the end?” “And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”

Here we are over 2500 years later and I believe the Spirit of God is opening up the Word of God to the people of God and beginning to understand, but do you know when they’re really going to understand the book of Daniel? Do you know when people are really going to do Bible study? During the tribulation. That’s when the book of Daniel is going to get worn out and the book of Revelation. After the rapture people are going to be like, “Hmmm…where was that? Where was that? I had a Christian friend who told me about Jesus,” and they’re going to go to their house and find their Bibles and look for notes. You might want to leave kind of a step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4. First of all you can have my car. Secondly, you can have the food in the refrigerator. Thirdly, this is where my Bible is, and read these verses—step 1, step 2, step 3, and make sure you get saved. Don't take the mark of the beast, and this is how it’s all going to go down. Give them the times and everything, and they can figure it all out. It’s like, “Okay, okay, okay.” It’s much better to just get right with God right now and go up in the rapture. Amen? But, he’s giving it all to him right here (and I’ll try not to get bogged down).

“And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” This is the last three-and-a-half years of the tribulation. People are either going to get wise or they're going to get more wicked. They’re either going to get right or they’re going to get more wicked. They’re either going to come to the light or they’re going to go into the darkness. That’s what he’s talking about in verse 10 there, “Many shall be purified,” the Jews that believe in Christ and turn to Him as the Messiah will be made righteous and purified. The others will fall away and become more deceived. Verse 11, "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

Now, we first had the three-and-a-half years back in verse 7—time, times, and a half. By the way, that’s 1,260 days based on the Jewish calendar of 30 days in every month. Now we have another date, “from the time that the daily sacrifice,” is ceased (verse 11), "and the abomination that maketh desolate set up,” this is the abomination of desolation. It happens in the middle of the seven-year tribulation period when the antichrist sets an image of himself in the rebuilt temple. From that, then you can count out 1,290 days, so you have 30 days added to the original 1,260 days. Then notice verse 12, to make it a little more crazy. “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” First he adds a 30-day period, then he adds a 45-day period totaling together 75 days. This is 75 days after the Second Coming. He says, “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days,” and then verse 13. "But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” That reference to resting and then standing is talking about Daniel’s death and resurrection. He’s talking about, “Daniel, you’re going to die. You’re going to kick the bucket. You’re going to die, but you’ll be resurrected.” Daniel wanted to know, “When is it going to happen? How’s it going to happen?” “Well, you know, don’t sweat it. It’s pretty far off there. It’s going to be three-and-a-half years from the abomination of desolation.”

If you’re alive in the tribulation and you see the abomination of desolation, guess what? You know when the Lord is going to return—1,260 days. Well you say, “What’s this extra 30 days mentioned here in verse 11? This 1,290 days? and what’s this another extra 45 days, this 1,335 days in verse 12?” We don’t know. “You mean, you’ve gone through the whole book of Daniel and come to the very last verse and you kept us here all night and you don’t know the dates?” No, I don’t, but I believe the best guess is that after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, that at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ there is going to be a period of judgment. (Can you throw the chart back up on the screen for me right here? I cannot resist!) We’ve been in Daniel for months, I might as well milk it for all I’ve got. This is the grand finale, you know.

At the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, you see it at the top right-hand of the screen, at the end of the tribulation period there when the Lord returns things are going to happen. Do you know what’s going to happen? Judgment. If you want to take a note right there (you can add it in the chart) but write down Matthew 25. It’s called the judgement of the nations where when the Lord returns at that Second Coming, at the end of the Kingdom Age, He will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep will be on His right hand; the goats will be on His left hand. This is what’s called the judgement of the nations, and He says to the sheep, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” They are going to go into the Kingdom Age. They are going to be saved individuals who live through the tribulation and saw the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and they get to go into the Millennium and populate. They will be in mortal bodies.

Remember what He said to them? I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. I was hungry and you fed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes, and they said, “When did that happen? When did we ever see You hungry or sick or naked or in prison? When did we ever do those things?” And the Lord says, “When you did it unto the least of these my brethren, you did it unto Me.” Now, that’s not teaching salvation by works, but what that is teaching is these saved individuals indicate they are saved by their treatment of the Jewish people—sick, and imprisoned, persecuted—because what I didn’t say tonight about the tribulation (and you can write this down) is it will also be the time of greatest antisemitism and persecution and slaughter of Jewish people in the history of mankind. The antichrist will make Hitler look like a choir boy, but those who are saved that take Jews in their homes (like the ten Boom family did, Corrie’s parents) and sheltered, protected, visited, and clothed the Jews did that because they were saved. They get to go into the kingdom and “Come, you blessed into the kingdom.” That’s not a verse to tell us we need to go feed or clothe people, that happens at the end of the tribulation at the Second Coming.

You say, “Well what about the goats on the left hand?” He says, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.” They say, “Why would you judge?” “Because I was sick and in prison. I was hungry and I was naked and you didn’t feed, visit, clothe, or come to me.” So, based on their works (indicating whether they are saved and their treatment of the Jewish people) they either depart in judgment or they go into heaven. Why did I tell you all of this? Because that’s what the 75 days takes up. If that be the case, (and I believe that’s what it is, but I can’t be dogmatic) that will be a time of judgment and establishing His coming kingdom entering into the Millennium, so it goes over into the Kingdom Age when He establishes His kingdom, He judges the wicked (sheep and goats), and they enter into that period known as the Kingdom Age or the Millennial period and reign of Christ.

So, we finished the book of Daniel, and I thought tonight’s study would be a lot shorter than it was. Let's pray.