12-17-2008
Advent Midweek Daniel's View of the End: Part 3

Daniel 12:1-4, Daniel 07:1-14

Daniel 12:1 "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. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 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. 4 "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 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. 2 Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 "And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it. 5 "And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: 'Arise, devour much flesh!' 6 "After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 "I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words. 9 " I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; 10 A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened. 11 "I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. 12 "As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. 13 " I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.

So Far the text!

In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

As an exile in Babylon, five hundred and thirty some years before the Incarnation, Daniel prayed for his people. He confessed their sins. He acknowledged the rightness of God's anger against them. He appealed to God for mercy and begged for their forgiveness. He closed his prayer with these words from Daniel 9 verses 15 through 19:

        “Now therefore, O Our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name” (Daniel 9:17-19).

The Lord answered his prayer immediately. He sent the angel Gabriel to comfort Daniel, to assure him that God had not forgotten His promise and that He would still be their God. Even in Babylon, even after their betrayal and violence, God loved them. He even loved their captors. He converted King Nebuchadnezzar and King Darius. He left a legacy of faith in Babylon and many unrecorded prophecies that 530 years later sent some wise men in search of the Messiah. The answer to Daniel's prayer came immediately, but the fulfillment was delayed. Daniel had to wait. Seven weeks plus threescore and two until it would come to pass. All things considered, it was about 570 years from the prayer directed West toward Jerusalem until the promised answer was fulfilled by the final and great Sacrifice that ended sin.

Here is how the angel Gabriel comforts Daniel in his sadness, this is what he says in Daniel 9:24 -26:

        “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy” Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.

Daniel will not live to see it. He will die in Babylon, separated from his family, in exile. This isn't the way that fairy tales end. Daniel dies alone with only his faith and confidence in God to comfort him. This isn't the way of Hollywood's epic tales, but it is the way of the saints. And thus Daniel rejoices. The Messiah will be cut off, but only so that Daniel and his ilk, that is, those who also believe, can be brought back in. The Anointed Holy One will end sin, finish transgression, seal up the vision and the prophecy. He hears and He forgives because He is anointed to be a sacrifice and make again a people who were no people His people. He will be cut off and alone and no substitute will be found for Him, no mercy, no lessening of His pain or burden. For He is the Seed of Eve, the Chosen One who reconciles men to His Father and brings in everlasting righteousness. He does not do this because Daniel and his people are righteous. They are not. He does this for His own sake, by His own mercy, in accordance with His own Word.

And thus Daniel is spared and free even though he finishes his days in captivity. For you cannot enslave a soul that God has called as His own. Daniel is free and though he died, he is not dead. He fell asleep in faith. He waits for the time when sin will end and he will rise to the glory that Christ has won for him.

And thus, in the last of Daniel's visions he is told in Daniel 12 verses 1 through 4:

       “ 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, 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. 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. 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. 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” (Daniel 12:1-4).

And now the time has come for us. Daniel has been laid to rest. His vision has come true. But it is still lonely for us. It is, in fact, lonelier than ever in our own little Babylons. Things are not as they should be. Worship is not pure. Men are not brothers. Families are broken. Violence and depravity roam the land and those who should pursue and punish the offenders often look the other way while indulging their own lusts. False preachers fill their stomachs by scratching the ears of men with what they want to hear. Honor is forgotten. Virtue is unknown. Integrity is dead. The forgotten gods of the ancient world are dusted off and brought to use. And yet the true and living God is mocked and His Name is abused. Ancient heresies long dead and discarded find new use in bestsellers and the lives of celebrities. Abominations, desolations, shame and pain on every hand. And all of us have been soiled. All of us have been victimized and have transgressed, in small and in large ways. Repent. And remember: this is not your home. This is not your country. This world is not your people.

The Anointed Holy One was cut off. And therein the devil was defeated for you. Let this knowledge increase. Let Daniel's wisdom and truth be known in this wilderness and barren place. The God of Abraham lives. He hears your prayers. He forgives your sins. He makes you His own and Abraham your father. He loves you. The kingdoms of men come and go, but His Word endures forever. Soon he will call you forth with Daniel and all the saints from the grave to the rich and free everlasting life won by grace.

Jesus was cut off. But He was not overcome. He overcame, but not for Himself, but for us. And when He joins us to His dying, joins us by drowning us in His Baptismal love, by slaying us with the perfect law, by filling us with Himself so that there is no room for the anti-christs who wants to be in us, then we live. We die to live. And He feeds that life He gives with His own Body and His Blood, with His righteous Word and His free grace. Daniel, our dear brother, our fellow exile and forerunner, shows us how to believe and how to pray:

        O God, hear the prayer of thy servants, and our supplications. Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate.  O God, incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and we Thy people, called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our self-righteousness, but for Thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, by for Thine own sake, for Thy mercy, O Our God: for we thy people are called by thy name. We are the heirs of Thy promise.

In +Jesus' Name. Amen.