Today's Video Devotion

Today's Church Service

Sunday 9/22/24

Heaven or Hell?

📺️ Daniel 12 🔊

 ¹And 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, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

 ²And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

 ³And 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.

 ⁴But 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.

 ⁵Then 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.

 ⁶And 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?

 ⁷And I heard the man clothed in linen, 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, all these things shall be finished.

 ⁸And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

 ⁹And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

 ¹⁰Many 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.

 ¹¹And 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.

 ¹²Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

 ¹³But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Daniel

Date Penned: BC 536 (Covering Events BC 605-536)

Overview: Daniel's Visions (c 7-12)

Theme: Daniel's Visions testify that God is in Control (c 7-12)

Message: A Prophecy of the Last Days (v 1-13) 

Daniel 12 Commentary    

(12:1) Great suffering is in store for Israel throughout the years ahead. This way of describing the future is also used by Jeremiah in chapter 30 and Jesus by great promise of hope for true believers.

(12:2) THis is a clear reference to the ressurection of both the righteous and the wicked, although the eternal fates of each will be quite different. Up to his point in time, teaching about the resurrection was not common, although every Israelite believed that one day he or she would be included in the restoration of both the saved and the lost was a dramatic idea. We see this in Job chapter 19, Psalm chapter 16, and Isaiah chapter 26 for other Old Testament References to the resurrection.

(12:3) Many people strive to shine as stars in the transient world of entertainment, Only to find theirStardom temporary. God tells us how we can be eternal "stars" by turning many to God's righteousness. If we share our Lord with others we can be true stars, radiantly beautiful in God's sight. 

(12:4) Why was the prophecy sealed and kept secret? It was to be sealed and preserved to give people in the end times the needed hope that God will ultimately conquer all evil. Daniel did not understand the exact meaning of the times and events in his vision. We can see the events as they unfold, for we are in the "end times" . The whole book will not be understood until the climax of earth's history.

(12:7) "Time, times, and a half" can also be translated as 3 1/2 years. "The power of the holy people" seems to be crushed again and again throughout history. God's recurring purpose in this is to break the pride and self sufficiently of his rebellious people to bring them to accept him as their Lord.

(12:10) Trials and persecutions, when we are in the midst of them, make very little sense. But they can purify us if we are willing to learn from them, After you survive a difficult time, seek to learn from it so it can help you in the future as outlined in Romans chapter 5 about trials.

(12:11) "The abomination" set up in the temple refers to the altar of Zeus where Antiochus IV Epiphanes sacrificed pigs. Some think it will have another fulfillment in the Antichrist or one of his horrible acts of evil, More likely, this and prediction at the early part of the chapter refer specifically to Antiochus IV Ephphanes, and then the prophecy shifts to the end times.

(12:12) Either these are further calculations relating to the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, or they refer to the end times. The removal of the daily sacrifices means the removal of Worship of the true God and oppression of believers. There is much speculation about these numbers. Their meanings were closed to Daniel, and they are closed to us to be opened when they need to be understood. The point is that the time of persecution has an end. God is in control of it, and He will be victorious over evil.

(12:13) The promise of resurrection is reaffirmed to Daniel. He would one day see the fulfillment of his words, but he was not to spend the rest of his life wondering what his visions might mean. Instead, He was to rest in the comfort of God's sovereignty and look forward to the time when he would share eternal life with God. God does not reveal all things to us in this life. We must be content with the partial picture until it is in his good time for us to see more, He will tell us all what we need to know. We also see Daniel standing tall in the gallery of God's remarkable servants. Born of royal heritage, yet taken into captivity as a teenager, Daniel determined to remain faithful to God in the land of his captivity. Even at great personal cost, Daniel spent his entire lifetime advising his captors with unusual wisdom. God chose him as his servant to record some of the events of the captivity and some significant events concerning the future. Daniel is assured by God that he will be resurrected from the dead and receive his portion in God's eternal Kingdom, Faithfulness to God has a rich reward., not necessarily in this life, but most certainly in the life to come. 

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue with the Book of Daniel with Chapter 12. In our text today we see more prophecy about the last days including resurrection and the lost and saved facing the Lord. In making application we see the Lord has given us a way to be saved. He has given us fulfilled prophecy and the testimony of the disciples in the Bible and the evidence is clear that we will stand before the Lord and face eternal life or eternal separation. How about you? Are you saved? Is you name written in the Lambs Book of Life? Let us learn from out text today and the prophecy of Daniel to see that we will stand before the Lord one day and face our sin - so are you saved and will you experience eternal life in Heaven or are you lost in which you will experience eternal separation from the Lord in a place that the Bible calls Hell.

Closing Prayer

Father in the Name and through the Blood of Jesus we pray that we would Take Today's Reading of Your Word and Give Us Understanding of Its Text, that You Apply this Word to Our Lives, and that you would help us grow in You. Father, Finally we Pray for Your Kingdom to come, that Your Will to be Done here on Earth as it is in Heaven. That You would Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen

v v Click Here to Add Your Prayer Request v v