The 21^st Sunday after Trinity

SERMON

INI

Text: Daniel 12:1-3

“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.

In the name of Christ Jesus, our Savior, who came once to redeem us and will come again to judge and take us home, dear fellow-redeemed:

The act of people-watching can be rather fascinating. “People-watching” meaning that one is in a public place and observing society go by. This can be fascinating because as we watch the people we might imagine why it is that they seem to be in such a great hurry, or why they are walking so slowly and seemingly downcast. In the crowd of people going by we might see others who seem similar to us and are perhaps experiencing the same issues in life, and others whose lives are in great contrast to our own.

The next time you find yourself people-watching consider how many of those people you think believe that Jesus is returning to judge the living and the dead. How many of those people are expecting any kind of Judgment Day? How many of those people ever give a thought to what lies beyond their death’s door. Of those people who do think about Judgment Day and what lies ahead, how many think of these things daily so that they would be ready at any time?

The apostle Peter warns against falling into the temptation of supposing that Jesus is not really coming back. “Look! It’s been 2,000 years and He still hasn’t come,” someone might say. Peter writes, “Scoffers will come in the last days[the days in which we are living], walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers [the ancestors] fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:3-9).

Scoffers have and will continue to say, “Where is Jesus, this Savior you say is returning?” They scoff, but Peter points out that they are forgetting the history leading up to the Flood. At that time people scoffed and took God’s Word lightly. God did delay for 120 years, while Noah built the ark and the people of the earth had time to repent, but those 120 years came to an end. The Flood came and the earth was destroyed—true to God’s Word.

God has said that Jesus will come again and He will judge the earth. Then this present earth will likewise be destroyed. The time WILL come. God is not slack concerning His promises. Jesus WILL come. The reason He delays is that He is giving an extended time for us to be witnesses in the world. He delays to give unbelievers an extended time to hear the Gospel and be brought to faith. Of those people whom you watch as society passes by you, there are those who are scoffing and not believing that Jesus will return.

There are others who may be considering in the far reaches of their minds that “yes, there may be some sort of judgement, and maybe it will be Jesus of Nazareth who judges, but there will always be time. There will be some great signal that will announce His return. Then I’ll know and I’ll worry about it then. Right now I don’t need to be concerned.” Again, these too are misguided, for in Matthew Jesus tells us that when He comes it will be just like those days before the Flood, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:36-41).

Day-by-day life as we know it is going to continue, day by day, week by week, month by month, until that day, that hour, that minute when Jesus returns. Then, suddenly, like a thief in the night, He will be here and so will Judgment Day. Again, as you watch people pass by there will be those who are expecting something, but who feel they will have fair warning and they don’t expect it to happen now.

We ourselves knowing full well that Jesus will return and therefore, we want to be ready when He does return. Yet, we too have the distractions of this life. We know and believe everything God has said, but we too might be carried away in the busyness of life and not take time to daily consider: “Today just might be the day that Jesus returns.”

From the beginning of the Old Testament all the way down to this present day, God has described the course of events to prepare us for Jesus’ return. From Daniel to Revelation to now, God’s Word stands and tells us that there will be TROUBLE FIRST, THEN TRIUMPH I. The time of trouble precedes Judgment Day (the time in which we are living now) and II. An eternity of triumph awaits the wise. As we seek to be among the wise—prepared and ready for Jesus return—we ask the Holy Spirit to be present with us and bless our meditation this morning.

I.

In Daniel’s prophesy, God describes the time of trouble as “…a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time.”[v.1] It doesn’t take long to realize that life in this world fits Daniel’s description very well. We see the effects of sin in this world. God has cursed the earth from the beginning of sin and left the mark of sin in nature so there are damaging earthquakes, famines, pestilence, and all the troubles that life on this earth will bring. These troubles don’t stop. From forest fires that destroy property and lives, from the foolishness of men that leads to destruction and accidents and trouble, to the natural occurrences over which we have no control, God allows disaster and trouble to occur in order to remind us of our status and of the passing nature of this universe. These things have continued and do continue, rising at times and then falling, but continuing nonetheless throughout this time of trouble and turmoil on the earth.

There are events in this life that are directly related to specific sins. The acts of murder of which we hear. Reports of people running with great violence—killing, harming, and destroying lives together with all the other lives that are attached to the lives they take away. And it’s not only killing, but also hurting, stealing property, and causing affliction in any way that may bring trouble and sorrow to peoples’ lives. Think of life on this earth and there is no doubt that the curse of sin remains together with the attendant circumstances of sinners living in that sinful earth all of which produces a trouble that will be with us until Judgment Day.

Before ascending into heaven, Jesus told the disciples that in the days leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and then on to Judgment Day, His people would be especially afflicted. Followers of Jesus would be put on trial and brought before councils to be judged. At times, they would lose their lives (cf. Mark 13:11). You, children of God, can expect to face trouble. When we live in a world that is by nature opposed to God and everything He says, when we live in a world in which the Devil remains active trying to deceive souls daily, we will face opposition. In this world, as we await Judgment Day, these troubles, these sorrows, these afflictions will come.

Jesus does not want us, however, to be afraid. Again in Daniel’s prophesy, God gives comfort, “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people” [v.1]

Michael is one of two angels mentioned by name in Scripture. The angel, Gabriel, the messenger to Zacharias and Mary is the other (cf. Luke 1,2). Jude identifies Michael as an archangel (Jude 9). Daniel describes Michael as a great prince who stands watch over God’s people in this time of trouble. Though God describes one of his angels as standing watch, there should be no doubt that it is God through His angels who is doing this. Even Michael the archangel is still a servant and messenger of God. God promises to protect and watch over your souls during this time of trouble. In Psalm 121, God says, “The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and even forevermore” (Psalm 121:7-8). No matter how vicious this time of trouble may be, no matter how much the believing children of God may long for Judgment Day as they endure this time of trouble, God’s promise stands. He will bring us through. He will preserve our souls and watch over us, leading us through the time of trouble. In Psalm 46, the psalmist describes God as our “refuge and strength…” Even though the earth be removed and mountains be carried into the midst of the sea that refuge stands strong.

We should expect this time of trouble in which we are living. “We must through much tribulation enter the Kingdom of God”(Acts 14:22). We must pass through this time of trouble preceding Judgment Day, leading to eternal life, but don’t be afraid because God is watching over you and using His angel messengers to bring you safely through the time of trouble. Paul wrote to Timothy, “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18).

II.

Once this time of trouble is brought to a close, an eternity of triumph awaits the wise.

At times, skeptics of the Bible, suggest that the Old Testament doesn’t speak about eternal life following this life and doesn’t speak of the resurrection. It does! “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.” [vv.2] Daniel very clearly foretells what will happen. There will come a time when the many who have died will be raised back to life and joined together with those who are still living. Then will come the judgment—the separation. Some will be taken to everlasting life, others will be sent to everlasting contempt and damnation. Those who have been written in “the book” will go to eternal life. It is only through the grace of God and the work of Christ that our names are found written in the Book of Life.

Our names were first written in a different book of God—the ledger of sin. God is offended by every sin we commit so in His ledger we have a debt with Him for every sin of thought, word, and deed. But God pays that debt through the work of Christ and the death He died for us on the cross. The ledger is wiped clean. Jesus won forgiveness for all people and all who receive that forgiveness through faith have their debt paid in full! There is no more ledger entry for them, the sin is washed away, and the name is transferred from the debt ledger to the Book of Life. On Judgment Day, when everyone will be raised, all the names recorded in the Book of Life through the merits of Christ will inherit eternal salvation in heaven.

Those who scoff, those who doubt whether Jesus will return will be sent to eternity in hell. They will condemned to spend eternal life apart from God in the miseries of damnation prepared for the Devil and his angels (cf. Matthew 25). All will be raised. All will be judged. No one will escape the Last Day!

As we prepare ourselves we should understand that the judgment will come, but also that the day of our death is in some ways our own judgment day. The writer to the Hebrews writes, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). On the day we die, our time in this time of trouble will end. We will have no second chance to turn away from sin, no second chance to believe in Christ. The day of our death is our personal judgment day. We wish to be ready at all times whether we die first or Jesus returns first.

Those who are wise, those who have the wisdom of God, those who have put their trust in Christ and the forgiveness He has won, will receive a great inheritance. It is an inheritance that we receive as soon as we die for when we die the Lord takes our souls home to be with Him in heaven. But on Judgment Day, soul and body will once again be rejoined and then the united soul and body will be taken to heaven where “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament…” [v.3]

“Shining like the brightness of the firmament” is God’s way of describing the glories of heaven. The darkness of sin will be taken away from us, the scourge of all the trouble and effects of sin will be removed. There in the glory of the Lord with the inheritance of His family, we will shine like the stars. We will be in His glory living with Him forevermore, face to face in the light of the Son of God. “There shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3-5).

The wise make use of God’s Word and confess His name seeking to bring others to salvation. “…and those who turn many to righteousness [will shine] like the stars forever and ever.” [v.3] As children of God living in this time of trouble we are witnesses of the eternity of triumph that awaits. In heaven, we will see many souls who through the work and testimony of a believer were brought to faith and entered eternal life. The person who shared with a friend the good news about his Savior, Jesus, may through the working of the Holy Spirit, find the friend standing in heaven and shining with the brightness of the firmament. The one who shared the news of his Lord with a stranger while on a business trip may very well see that man, that woman, or that child in the glory of heaven. The wise love the Lord. The wise put their complete trust in Jesus to bring them through the time of trouble and to forgive their sins and give an eternity in heaven. The wise seek to turn many away from darkness and to righteousness and life.

Oh, the glories that await us! They are so great that our minds cannot even comprehend, but imagine a place where “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things (the things during the time of pre-judgment trouble) have passed away” (Revelation 21:4)…and it does not end!

If we consider the glory of an eternity with God, it makes small indeed whatever time of trouble we endure on this earth. Paul wrote, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Imagine even living to be 120 years old, imagine having an indescribably sorrowful life on this earth, but even then what is 120 years of sorrow compared to time that will not end in the glory of eternal life?

Amen.

—Pastor Wayne C. Eichstadt