015 God’s Plan to Purify Israel – Part 3

Daniel 12:1-13

August 28, 2016

Tonight we come to the end of our study of the book of Daniel.

And so in order to close it I do want to take just a moment

And remember the reasoning for why we studied it to begin with.

We said from the beginning that the book of Daniel reminds us

Of the sovereignty of God like no other book in Scripture.

We were given a glimpse of Israel in her most vulnerable moment

In order to recognize that God had not lost control.

· We saw systematically as God humbled one world ruler after another.

· It didn’t matter if it was Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, or Darius, each of these men were forced to bow the knee to Israel’s God.

· And we saw that God’s plan for Israel goes even beyond Babylon

God is in control.

And that is always an encouraging reality for us to remember.

I read a blog post this week that I want to share with you

As sort of the “OTHER VIEW”.

There are many in our world who literally strip God’s sovereignty out of the equation for fear that it somehow makes God look bad.

But I want to show you what you end up with when you do that.

This was a blog written by a lady named Christine Suhan

She is a Christian blogger

Have you ever found yourself, in the midst of unimaginable grief, pain, heartache, or despair, wondering how you are going to make it through another day? Wondering where your next breath is going to come from? Your world has crumbled beneath you and you are left feeling shattered, empty, and hopeless.

And then a well meaning friend or family member comes along and drops the infamous “Everything happens for a reason” bomb. You smile kindly and nod- that’s all you can do to keep yourself from punching them in the face.

You can’t possibly imagine a reason for what just happened. The more you stew about a possible reason for your pain, the angrier you become. You try desperately to make sense of a situation that won’t ever make sense. You reach for answers but none come.

I spent years searching for answers, trying to find reasons that would bring an end to my pain. I thought that if I could find the cause, I could treat the condition. But what I found through years of searching, experiencing, and living is that often there is no reason for why tragedy has occurred.

Sometimes bad things happen for no reason other than we are human beings having a human experience. Pain, heartache, grief, loss, disease, and death are inevitable parts of the human experience.

We hear people say “Life dealt me a crappy hand” as if pain and hardships are not the norm. We assume that life is supposed to be easy and when things don’t go our way, we feel like we have been wronged. Human beings seem to have an innate sense of entitlement. We think that we are owed a pain free existence.

But the truth is that human beings are not exempt from the human experience. And struggle is an innate part of the human experience. None of us are exceptions to this rule. We all struggle. We all suffer. We all experience pain, heartache, and loss. And sometimes, there’s just no reason other than we are human and pain is a part of the process.

I recently had a conversation with a friend who was struggling to find peace with “God’s plan” for her life including the recent death of a loved one. “How could this possibly be God’s will?” she asked.

Here’s what I’ve come to know about God’s will: God’s will is not the path we walk, but rather how we walk the path. God’s plan is never for someone to have cancer. God’s will is not for an innocent child to be brutally murdered. God’s will is not for a teenage girl to be raped. God’s will is not chronic pain, illness, disability, or death. God’s will is not an event that happens to us, it’s how we respond to what happens.

God’s will for us is to walk with Him through the cancer. Through the abuse. Through the death. Through the illness. God’s will is for us to draw close to him in the midst of pain. God’s will is for us to use our painful life events to carry his message of hope, grace, forgiveness, and mercy.

God’s plan was never for pain to be part of the human experience. His plan was for us to live in peace and harmony with Him. The human experience became painful when sin entered the world. Our own free will weaved threads of tragedy, loss, heartache, and pain into the human experience

God is not responsible for our pain. We are not responsible for our pain. What happened in the Garden of Eden is responsible for the human condition. And the human condition is hard wired for pain and suffering. God is not causing us to hurt. He is hurting with us. What we do with our hurt is what matters. How we handle tragedy is what brings purpose into our pain.

There’s hardly ever a justifiable reason for the bad things that happen in life. Tragic loss is not laced with inherent specs of good. I used to get so mad when people would say, “you can find good in every situation.” That’s just not true. There was nothing good about being raped. There is no good in murder or abuse. We have to create the good. We have to choose to respond in a way that brings good into an impossible situation. We have to choose to give purpose and meaning to our suffering.

Not everything happens for a reason. But in everything that happens, there can be a reason to bring hope and healing to others. God can use our pain for a greater good if we choose to let Him in.

(http://tosavealife.com/relationships/everything-not-happen-reason/)

And this line of thinking is not fringe, there are a lot of people who cope with life’s tragedies with this same sort of reasoning.

And don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to vilify this lady. (If I read the article correctly she survived being raped, and according to her bio on her blog page she also suffers with depression; possibly as a result)

Furthermore I even understand that her goal is to defend God in the midst of tragedy and I appreciate the fact that even after her own personal suffering her goal is to proclaim that God is good.

The problem is that this line of thinking

Does not bring true comfort, hope, or peace to life.

Listen to what is being said. (by more than just her I assure you)

Over and over we hear that suffering is not God’s will,

It’s just part of being a human and the human experience.

Probably the most emotionally charged paragraph came when she said:

“Here’s what I’ve come to know about God’s will: God’s will is not the path we walk, but rather how we walk the path. God’s plan is never for someone to have cancer. God’s will is not for an innocent child to be brutally murdered. God’s will is not for a teenage girl to be raped. God’s will is not chronic pain, illness, disability, or death. God’s will is not an event that happens to us, it’s how we respond to what happens.”

Later she says:

God is not causing us to hurt. He is hurting with us.

And then:

I used to get so mad when people would say, “you can find good in every situation.” That’s just not true. There was nothing good about being raped. There is no good in murder or abuse. We have to create the good. We have to choose to respond in a way that brings good into an impossible situation. We have to choose to give purpose and meaning to our suffering.

I share that because it is the most accurate description I have found

Of a person living life without a view of God’s sovereignty.

Everything is up to the sufferer.

· They have to choose to make lemonade out of their lemons.

· They have to “create the good” in their situation.

· God isn’t doing anything here,

· In fact God is up in heaven with his hands thrown up in the air hurting with you.

That may make you feel warm and fuzzy toward God,

But it will not help you cope with life’s hardships.

Let me tell you the outcome of this line of thinking.

· It replaces faith with work – after all you are the one who has to create good in your situation because this situation has already gone beyond what God intended.

· It replaces prayer with reason – God doesn’t have the answers any more than you do, in fact He’s up in heaven hurting like you. There’s no need to ask Him for guidance or direction, you’ll have to dig deep and figure that out on your own. (or consign to the hopeless position that it was pointless)

· It replaces God’s glory with man’s glory – Under this mindset there is only one possible victor here, and it isn’t God. On the day you come through your trials you are the one who gets applauded for your strength, not God. He was nothing more than a traveling observer.

· In the end it crushes all hope – If God doesn’t have a plan or a hand in your suffering then there is no hope that any of this will ever get any better or that anyone will ever be blessed by it. You are just walking through wasted pain that won’t ever benefit anyone at all.

BUT FRIENDS THAT IS NOT TRUE.

God is in control and that fact is the assurance we have

To know that this will all end well.

Regardless of the unthinkable atrocities that life may deliver

The believer has every assurance

That God knows exactly what He is doing.

Even in unthinkable tragedies and atrocities.

In those situations you only have two options.

1) God couldn’t stop it

2) God wouldn’t stop it

Now most today opt for the “God couldn’t stop it” approach because they think it makes God look more attractive to people.

But if that is true we are in a world of hurt.

We must answer who it is out there that God can’t stop?

People don’t like the other option of “God wouldn’t stop it” because they think it makes God look cruel.

And that would be true if we knew all the facts, but we don’t.

This is the point where trust comes in.

This is the point where we must realize that

· The God who is in total control

· And who loves me unconditionally as evidenced by the cross

· And who has determined that all things must work for good for me

· And who is totally omniscient

· Obviously knows what He is doing, even if I don’t.

I find hope in the reality that God is in control even in the tragedy.

· Tragedies like a 14 year old kid getting sold into slavery

· Tragedies like a man who lost 8 children in natural disaster

· Tragedies like a torn from his home at age 15 never to return

· Tragedies like a man’s son being brutally murdered while His father looked on

Incidentally, those tragedies were Joseph, Job, Daniel, and Jesus

GOD KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING

And that is such a central message here to the book of Daniel.

We’ve seen it over and over.

And it is a message made extremely clear again tonight.

In fact we are talking about GOD’S PLAN TO PURIFY ISRAEL.

· We know Daniel was reading Jeremiah 29 and learned that the Babylonian captivity was to last 70 years.

· We know that Gabriel came to Daniel to reveal that the entire plan of God for Israel would take 70 sevens, not 70 years

· And we have listened as Gabriel revealed to Daniel what events God was going to sovereignly orchestrate in order to accomplish His purpose.

And I do want to remind you again of God’s purpose for Israel.

I want to remind you of the end game.

Daniel 9:24 "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.”

God’s goal is not the comfort of Israel, God’s goal is the purity of Israel.

We’ve already seen the first two points.

#1 THE PAST HISTORY OF ISRAEL

Daniel 11:1-35

There we saw events that were future to Daniel but history to us.

· We saw a detailed description of the division of the kingdom of Greece and many of the wars that would take place among those kingdoms.

· Everything from invasions to marriages to deaths and defeats

· Ultimately we saw that one of those rulers would come in to Israel and desecrate the place and it all happened to a “T”.

And while that certainly did have an immediate purpose in Israel as it brought about a revolution for purity,

Ultimately those events were merely foreshadows of a future time.

#2 THE FUTURE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

Daniel 11:36-45

There we looked at events that are future for both Daniel and us.

We looked at the rise of a man whom we know as Antichrist.

· We saw his arrogance

· We saw his pride

· We saw his rise and his love of power

· We saw how he blaspheme God

· We saw how he would persecute Israel

· And we saw how he would ultimately come to his end

BUT WE HAVE YET TO SEE IS HOW ANY OF THIS ACTUALLY HELPS GOD ACCOMPLISH HIS ULTIMATE GOAL FOR ISRAEL

If we stopped after Daniel 11

We would be in the same boat as the blogger

Who couldn’t find any purpose in the middle of the pain.

That is what the final chapter of Daniel is for.

In fact if you want a bit of sneak peek look down at verse 8

(8) “As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of all these events?”

DANIEL ASKED, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?

We’ve seen the Past History; The Future History

#3 THE SOVEREIGN DESTINY OF ISRAEL

Daniel 12:1-4

Now we find what the sovereign God is up to

With all of this difficulty and hardship.

To help us grasp it all let me break this down into 3 points here.

And what you will find is that in all 3 points God is making His purpose clear, but it doesn’t appear that those who are seeing the vision are getting it.

So God sort of reveals the purpose

But then has to answer questions regarding His revelation.

But God continually spells out the purpose for all of this suffering.

Let’s look at those 3 points together

1) THE DESCRIPTION (1-4)

This is still part of that initial revelation which started back in chapter 11,

In fact it is the end of it.

· The angelic messenger (whom we believe to be Gabriel) has just given details about the horrific reign and timely fall of the Antichrist.

Now he is going to reveal what that time period will be like for Israel.

He is merely describing what to expect while Antichrist is in control.

(1) “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time;”

I hope you like the words “time of distress such as never occurred”

The world has never seen suffering like the suffering

Which will come during the reign of Antichrist.

Not even the holocaust could compare to this.

However it is during this time of distress that God will send “Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people”

We only have the names of 3 angels in the Bible.

We have Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer

· We know about Lucifer

· Gabriel always seems to be PR man, sort of the message carrier.

· Michael is always the warrior, he’s always in battle.

And here Daniel is promised that during this great time of distress

When Israel is under attack like never before

That Michael will arise on her behalf.

The fear is EXTINCTION, which has always been the plan of the enemy.

It is Satan seeking to destroy God’s elect.

· That was the plan of Pharaoh drowning all those babies

· That was the plan of Babylon deporting Israel

· That was the plan of Haman wanting to kill the Jews

· That was the plan of Antiochus Epiphones

· That was the plan of Hitler

· That was the plan of Stalin

· That is the plan of the Arabs and Islam

It’s not new.

And that will certainly be the plan of Antichrist.

His goal will be to totally annihilate Israel.

But we find here that while the tribulation will be intense

ANTICHRIST WILL NOT SUCCEED.

(1) "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.”

“rescued” doesn’t necessarily indicate deliverance from death as we see many tribulation believers who are martyred.

Revelation 7:13-17 “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. "For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. "They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

Even

Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them."

“rescued” doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t die, but they won’t perish. That is to say Satan can’t get to them and destroy their souls.

And if we know anything of the gospel,

We know that death is not to be feared

For the Lord has promised RESURRECTION.

(2) "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”

So even though some may die,

It’s really not dealing here with physical death,

It is dealing with whether or not Satan can get through to them

And turn them against God.

And Daniel is promised “everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.”

That is to say: THE ELECT WILL ENDURE.

Remember what Jesus taught us?

Matthew 24:22 "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”:

God will lose none through this time period.

It is great tribulation that He will allow,

But it causes absolutely NO THREAT to His chosen elect.

Incidentally if you want to see what he is referring to in the book of the Revelation it can be found in Revelation 12.

Here is just an excerpt:

Revelation 12:7-14 “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. "For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time." And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.”

That is the event Gabriel is referring to here.

THE ELECT WILL SURVIVE.

That is to say they will be off limits from the enemy

And will not deny Christ regardless of the hardships they face.

And in the end all will rise, those who were faithful to “everlasting life”

And those who deny will be given “everlasting contempt”,

But we are promised not a single one of the elect will deny.

But that still doesn’t answer the question: WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?

(3) "Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

What is going to be the result of all this suffering and persecution?

· It’s going to separate the wheat from the tares.

· It’s going to cause the cream to rise to the top.

Jesus in fact used this exact phrase

When explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares.

Matthew 13:41-43 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

It is the suffering and tribulation which will mark those who are genuine.

Suffering has always had a way of revealing those who are genuine.

We are told repeatedly in Scripture

That suffering and persecution is for our testing.

And God reveals to Daniel here that this intense tribulation,

Like the world has never seen,

Will be the tool God uses to reveal those who are truly His.

And then Gabriel says:

(4) "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."

In other words, pack this book away.

It’s not going to be of any use to Israel until the end.

It won’t be until the end times that Israel will be interested in Daniel’s prophecy.

SO IT IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PURIFYING ISRAEL.

But as you will see, that reality wasn’t fully sinking in.

2) THE DURATION (5-7)

This is interesting to me because now we find that

Daniel wasn’t the only one getting this vision.

There were a couple of angels who were also soaking all of this in,

And they didn’t get it either.

Incidentally you should know that while angels certainly do abide in the presence of God and are much more informed of the plan than we are, they don’t know it all either.

Remember what Peter said:

1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.”

· Peter was talking there about God’s revealed plan of salvation and how the

prophets of old searched into it like crazy trying to figure it all out.

· And then Peter reveals that they weren’t the only ones who were interested.

Peter said that these are things “into which angels long to look.”

Even angels want to know the plan.

And apparently here we have a couple of eavesdroppers

Who are listening in to all that God is doing through Israel.

And even though the purpose was revealed in verse 3 they still want to know more, so they speak up with a question of their own.

(5-6) “Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will it be until the end of these wonders?"

Boy there is a familiar question isn’t it?

“How long..?”

· Psalmist after Psalmist raised that question to God.

· Person after person today raises that question to God.

· My favorite is Isaiah who volunteered for God’s mission with that infamous “Here am I, send me!” in Isaiah 6.

· After God revealed that his mission would be one of judgment and condemnation in which people would not be saved but only condemned, Isaiah asked the same.

Isaiah 6:11-13 “Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered, "Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, "The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. "Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump."

God basically told him, UNTIL MY PURPOSE IS FINISHED

Which in Isaiah’s case was the destruction of everyone but the chosen remnant.

And that is the answer here as well, straight from the lips of Jesus.

(6-7) “And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will it be until the end of these wonders?" I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.”

The quick answer is that it would last 3 ½ years

(“for a time, times, and half a time”)

But the real answer is that it will happen UNTIL “they finish shattering the power of the holy people”

The entire objective of this period

Is to finally and totally crush the pride of Israel.

NOW THERE IS SOMETHING FOR YOU TO PONDER IN THE MIDST OF UNTHINKABLE TRAGEDY.

The next time you walk through a trial

You think couldn’t possibly be good,

Maybe you should ask whether the purpose of that trial was simply to crush your pride.

Which do you think God values more in your life humility or comfort?

Israel has been throughout the Bible

The ultimate picture of pride and self-reliance.

And until that pride is crushed Israel isn’t returning to God.

When asked how long this would take;

Jesus said, “It will take just long enough to crust their pride.”

(which incidentally will be 3 ½ years.)

Remember what Jesus said just before his arrest?

Matthew 23:37-39 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! "For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'"

· If you’ll remember, that was the phrase they shouted to Jesus as He entered during the triumphal entry. They cried “Hosannah! Blessed is He who comes”

“Hosannah!” means “Lord save”

· Jesus knew that they were saying it in hypocrisy on that day, but He also knew that salvation wouldn’t come until they finally looked on Him and cried it for real.

This period of tribulation will take just long enough

To get Israel to cry out to Jesus for salvation

And to prove who is real and who is not!

This is what Peter said while preaching in Jerusalem:

Acts 3:17-21 "And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. "But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”

This is what was prophesied of old:

Zechariah 12:10 "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”

And once again the purpose is revealed.

This time of terrible tribulation is for a very distinct purpose.

It is to crush the pride of Israel and to cause them to run to Christ

And to reveal who is real and who is not.

The Description, The Duration But you’ll see that it still isn’t fully understood.

3) THE DESTINY (8-13)

There it is again, Daniel wants to know the purpose.

(8) “As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, "My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?"

· Why are you doing this?

It is the cry of sufferers throughout the ages,

But I assure you that unlike the blog we read earlier,

God does have a purpose, even for this most horrific time of suffering.

(9-13) “He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. "Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand. "From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. "How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days! "But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age."

If it wasn’t clear and specific before, hopefully it is now.

“Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand but those who have insight will understand.”

· I’m going to separate the wheat from the tares.

· I’m going to reveal the elect

· I’m going to make the shine like the sun

· I’m going to make judgment obvious

And then God gives the CHIEF CHARACTERISTIC that separates the two,

And it is ENDURANCE.

“From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. “How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days.”

That is to say that there will 1,290 days of extreme suffering (3 ½ years),

And if you can wait 45 days beyond that

You will enter the millennial kingdom of Christ.

· It is endurance that reveals who is genuine and who is not.

· It is those who endure who don’t take the mark of the beast.

· It is those who endure who don’t bow to that statue he makes.

· It is those who endure, who may lose their life, but will gain it for eternity.

And the entire purpose of this final tribulation

Is to purify God’s elect and redeem them to Himself.

Is it awful? Yes

Is it hard? Yes

But 3 ½ years of extreme suffering on earth

Is better than an eternity of suffering in hell.

If that is what it takes to save His elect, than rest assured God will do it.

“All that My Father has given Me will come to Me,

and I will raise them up on the last day.”

And then we find that Daniel’s role in that purpose is now over.

(13) "But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age."

Daniel, I brought you hear and put you in Babylon so that I could reveal all these truths to you, and your role in the story is finished.

You will now rest (die) and rise again when it is time.

EVEN DANIEL’S SUFFERING HAD A VERY DISTINCT PURPOSE.

God didn’t just put Daniel through this for no reason.

Daniel was placed here for the purpose of receiving this revelation

Which will one day be of the utmost significance to Israel.

BUT THE POINT TO IT ALL IS THAT GOD HAS A PURPOSE IN IT.

· He is sovereign!

· He is in control!

· We may not always know what He is doing (we may not ever know what He is doing)

· But we must not assume that He doesn’t know either.

God is not a God of chaos.

He sees the end from the beginning, He has a plan.

And that means that regardless of what you walk through,

You never have to doubt if somehow God has lost control.

HE NEVER LOSES CONTROL.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”