Daniel chapter 12, we will read the chapter in its entirety and let me give you some context. to set up where we're going to start reading. Daniel chapter 10 through chapter 12 is one long section in which in chapter 10 an angel comes to Daniel who is fasting and praying and he's distraught over the temple in Jerusalem not being built the way that it ought to, being halted in its project, and so this messenger comes to tell Daniel, what will happen to his people in future days. Chapter 11 then goes through this lengthy and detailed prophecy in which we look at multiple different kings representing two nations, really, the Greece of the North and the Greece of the South, and how the people of God get caught in the middle of that war over and over again. and making its way to really, in the final days in some sense, an ultimate antichrist, an ultimate oppressor of the people of God. But God will give his people victory in the end. And that's where we find ourselves in Daniel chapter 12. We see the end of the prophecy, we see the closing of the message, and there are still two questions left. We have considered those questions, but there's enough really here for us to consider, even in the very last verse of the whole book of Daniel, for us to give our attention to and some time to, and that's what we plan to do this morning, in worship to God. So with that, let us hear the words of Daniel chapter 12, beginning at verse one. We'll go to the end. This is God's holy and infallible word. 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's found written in the book, will be rescued. 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. 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. 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. 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? 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. As for me, I heard but could not understand So I said, my Lord, what will be the outcome of these events? 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. This ends the reading of God's holy and infallible Word. May He bless it to our hearing this morning. Well, today we come to the conclusion of God's message to Daniel. We come right up to the very final verse. And it's interesting to think about conclusions, endings. Maybe you can recall your favorite ending to a book or a movie. Often the most memorable endings are those that pull the whole plot together in the end. Or maybe they revealed a really big secret. Or maybe they introduced a cliffhanger, leaving the audience ready for a sequel. Well, Daniel ends with people asking more questions. How long will this persecution last? What will happen at the end of this persecution? The final verse of the book of Daniel is very fitting, and the point is now is not the time to answer these questions. But I have given you sufficient knowledge, Daniel, for you to live well, and for you to die well, and for you to end well. Within one verse, this angel directs Daniel to his own life, death, and resurrection. And really, in terms of bringing it to the people of God, this angel directs you to your own life, death, and resurrection. Do you have unanswered questions, whether from your past or your present or your future, that burden or distract you from the things of daily life? You need to make sure that these questions do not burden you or distract you from the things that God has for you to do now. Nor would they distract you from your end, from the time in which you will rest from this life. We want to take some time for us to consider our present life, our future rest, and our eternal allotment. What we find in this passage is that God has much for us to consider today, really the big picture issues of life and death and resurrection. Well, with that, let's move into our text in verse 13, and notice first these words. But as for you, Go your way to the end. And here we want you to consider your present life, your present life. This is really the response to Daniel's question, my Lord or my master, this is an angel, a created being, what will be the outcome of these events? Now we can appreciate Daniel's zeal to understand God's message. If you have taken any time to read Daniel 7-12, you know that it can be very difficult at times. Pictures of beasts and beasts fighting, and kings of north and kings of south, and then all these interesting numbers, 1,290 and 1,335, and you kind of scratch your head at times. What's going on here? It's encouraging in some sense that Daniel himself was saying, I'm not really sure I understand all of this. Well, the message is to be preserved, but there is no more revelation. At this time, there is nothing else to give to you, Daniel. The words have been closed off. God has not promised to reveal everything to Daniel. Now, in reality, we benefit greatly from the rest of Scripture because more has been opened up and revealed to us. We know much about who Christ is, who the Messiah is, what He's come to do, how we can be saved through His sacrifice. In many ways, we have more of the revelation of God's plan of salvation than even Daniel did. But yet, God has not promised to reveal everything to you either. In fact, you're kept in the dark concerning many things. We get little glimpses and little windows into heaven, but reality is we don't really know much of what happens next, apart from the things that are necessary to be known. And yet we can say even though there are things that are hidden from us, things that are not completely revealed to us, God has sufficiently set down all that he wants you to presently know. so that He would be glorified and so that you would be saved. What are you to believe about God? What are you to believe about yourselves as human beings and being created beings? What are you to believe about sin? What are you to believe about Christ and His church and the things of the end? Has He not revealed all of that to us? It's found in the scriptures, in the very word of God, which is sometimes called the mouth or the voice of God. How are you to live before God? So you know a bunch of things. How are you to live before God? Well, he has revealed all of these things as well. How you are to love, it's found in the commandments. how you are to hope and patiently wait for God to fulfill everything that He has said He would do. They're found in His promises. They're found, interestingly, in the content of our prayers. what you are to, how you are to live your life day by day to His glory and for the good of others. All of these things are spelled out in His word. So that interestingly, Paul tells the Colossians, whatever you do, whether in deed or word, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. And we're not gonna parse all that out, but I want you to see this, that in that one verse, we have all that we are to do before God. We are to serve Him. We are to obey Him. We are to worship Him. All that's found right there in Colossians 3.17. Now, back to Daniel. Regarding this coming persecution, the angel says, Daniel, future generations will persevere in this persecution, because God is not willing that any of His will perish. But, you cannot expect to fully understand all of this until it actually comes to pass. This is given as a marker of remembrance so that when it comes to pass, you can say, ah, yes, God told us the whole time. And that'll be very important, especially for the people who are going through it, because they will need to be comforted and strengthened in their faith for that persecution. The angel is saying here, therefore, Daniel, as you go your own way, Walk by faith in the present until you reach your end. Daniel is an elderly man at this point, probably in his 90s, 80s, 90s. But Daniel still has work to do in this life. He has a king to assist. He is the one who brings testimony of the Most High God to the kings and magistrates. Daniel has a prophetic gospel to record. He has to deliver the hope of God to the people. So he's gonna have to write all of this down and send it to the church. You see the point here is that whether you live in Jerusalem or you live in Babylon, live your life in love for God, in service to God and for the glory of God. Now, I don't know anyone here who serves kings or who pens prophecies, but this is for us as well. You see, you are also to go your way to the end. What practical lessons has the Lord been teaching you from Daniel's book that you can apply to your life now? I went through and I surveyed our sermon series and I looked for these kind of pithy points of things that we've learned, principles and truths. And I want you to consider for a moment some of the things that we've been learning from the book of Daniel. We've learned things about the providence of God over the world. We've learned that the Most High is ruler over the realms of mankind, and He bestows it on whomever He wills. And who has He bestowed it to? The Lord Jesus Christ. That great and merciful and compassionate and just King. This God in His providence ordains the rise and the fall of empires, the plans and the purposes of nations on the stage of world history. And He directs all things to accomplish His chief and greatest end in the world, which is the praise of His glory. I know that the temptation for us to think, well, it's the salvation of man. Well, yeah, but no, actually there's a greater end. the praise of his glory. He saves the people in order to share and recognize and worship him in his glory. Jesus has brought the world events together in order to bring you here today. That's part of the providence of God. World events before you were ever born were all being culminated and worked together so that you would be sitting in this pew today hearing this word from God. And He will continue to bring into being whatsoever comes to pass for your continued reliance upon Him, as He would bring you through all the way into eternal life, where you will meet Him face to face. In regards to the persecution of God's people, it is the Lord who gives you into the hands of your enemies. And He always has your best interest in mind. Therefore, even in the midst of persecution, you can rest in the Lord in the midst of great trials, because God's purpose is not always to save us from trials, but to save us through trials. You must not simply be persecuted, or you will not simply be persecuted for what you stand against. You need to know what you stand for so that you will stand when persecuted. And when the commands of God and men are opposed to each other, it is always better to do what the Lord commands, to trust God rather than to obey men. In regards to the perseverance of the saints, what have we learned how to live our lives before this God? Well, whether favored by authority or threatened by authority, you must not decrease or hide your devotion to God. because your king is in his holy temple. Your God sits on his throne in heaven, and he bends his ear to his subjects. And the repentant shall reap the rewards of grace, however bleak their past. Whereas the rebellious shall reap the consequences of wrath, however secure their present. Are you beginning to connect some stories and some narratives with these points? Fiery furnaces and dens of lions, interpretations of dreams, kings waking you up in the middle of the night, please tell me what's going on. We've learned a lot about prayer unto God in this book. We've learned that to know God is more valuable than to know everything else, even interpretations of dreams. We've learned that the freedom to approach God is greater than all other liberties, even life itself. We've learned that God is pleased to bring us into the carrying out of His will in the world through our prayers. as we pray according to His revealed will. He brings us into His gospel initiative in the world, His great, glorious kingdom enterprise. We get to be included in all of that as we petition God to bring His will to pass. Well, look, there are a lifetime of lessons that we can learn from the book of Daniel, and we're not gonna go through all of them. There's a lifetime of lessons we can learn in the scriptures to apply and to live out our lives. There is a way for us to know how to go our way to the end. And we will die before we apply all the Word of God to our lives. And that brings us really to our second point. Not for you merely to consider your present life, but also, secondly, consider your future rest. Consider your future rest. Daniel 12, 13, then you will enter into rest. Go your own way to the end, then you will enter rest. Daniel saw these immense and lofty visions of unnatural beasts and warring nations. And he longed for a day when Jerusalem would be resurrected, when Jerusalem would, as it were, shine again with the glory of the Lord. He longed for a day when there would be no more mixture of sin and wickedness and corruption and misery and ruin and death with righteousness, but only righteousness would rule and dwell in the world. And Daniel would be called to the end of his service before Messiah the Prince would come to be cut off himself for the sake of his people and to rebuild the ruins of Zion." You see, Daniel's service was for the benefit of future generations. Those who would hear his message and see his message revealed, manifested in the life of Jesus Christ, and come to faith. Not just Jews, but also many Gentiles. to which Daniel himself was actually ministering to and serving in his own day. Daniel would not only be called to the end of his service, but to the end of his time here on earth. And he has been a lifelong servant of the kingdom of God. And as promised by God, all of his servants shall receive rest. Christ Jesus, has purchased His people with His own precious blood, body, and soul. So then those who trust in Him, when they die, they are secured by His purchase. We who die in the Lord merely enter into our rest. The angel doesn't even call it death here, you notice that? Go your way to the end, and then in the end, you will enter into death. No, you'll enter into rest. Christians see death as a door to everlasting life. John Flavel said, most men need patience to die, but a saint who understands what he enters at death should rather need patience to live? Do you live in expectation for your rest? What about those who do not trust in Christ for forgiveness of sins and for reconciliation with God? What is it that they enter into? I did some research looking at not just the end of things like movies and stories and plots. I looked at the end of people's lives. Benjamin Franklin, he lay dying at the age of 84. And his daughter told him to change positions in bed so that he could breathe more easily. And Franklin's last words were, a dying man can do nothing easy. And then he died. Sir Winston Churchill's last words were, I'm bored with it all. Robert Ingersoll almost had a mocking prayer on his deathbed. Oh God, if there be a God, save my soul, if I have a soul, from hell, if there be a hell. And while some people would appear careless and thoughtless regarding what happens next, and others would appear hardened against what happens next. There are some who are full of fear on their deathbed, because it's as if they know the judgment that is coming next. Voltaire, that atheist who was very much against Christianity, said to his physician, I am abandoned by God and man. I will give you half of what I'm worth if you will give me six months life." To which his doctor replied, it's impossible. Thomas Hobbes, that political philosopher, said on his deathbed, I say again, if I had the whole world at my disposal, I would give it to live one day. I'm about to take a leap into the dark. Thomas Paine, the leading atheistic writer in American colonies, said this, Stay with me. I cannot bear to be left alone. O Lord, help me. O God, what have I done to suffer so much? What will become of me hereafter? I would give worlds if I had them. That the Age of Reason had never been published. A book that he wrote. Oh Lord, help me. Christ, help me. No, don't leave. Stay with me. Send even a child to stay with me, for I am on the edge of hell here alone. If ever the devil had an agent, I've been that one." What's interesting there is that it's all confession of sin, but there's no hope. There's no Christ. There's no forgiveness of sin. There's no looking to one who can save. Thomas Watson says, if a wicked man seems to have peace at death, it is not from the knowledge of his happiness. It is from the ignorance of his danger. People don't know how much danger they're in. But I don't want us to stay in this area of despair. I want us to continue to think through the last words of people who go to their end. And I want us to consider the last words of those whose hope is in the Lord even in their deathbeds. Samuel Rutherford said this on his deathbed, I shall live and adore Christ. Glory to my Redeemer forever. Glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land. See, he knew he was going to another place and he longed to be there. John Owen, had a visitor come to him, a friend, William Payne. And William Payne was overseeing the publishing of one of Owen's books called, The Glory of Christ. And he came to him and he wanted to assure him that the plans were proceeding well for the publication of this book, Glory to Christ. And Owen responded in this way, I'm glad to hear it, but oh brother Payne, The long wished for day has come at last, in which I shall see the glory in another manner that I have ever done or was capable of doing in this world." In other words, I've written all kinds of things about the glory of Christ, but I'm about to go and experience it in a way that I could never have written about it. Judas Iscariot. Known for betraying Christ, declared, I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood. And then he went out and hanged himself. Stephen, the first dying witness for the sake of the gospel, used his last breath to pray, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. You see the difference here. We're not just talking about go your way to the end, but how will you end? What is your confidence in terms of what is to happen next? What do you anticipate your future rest to be like, or your future death to be like? Do you reflect on your death? You're going from this world to the next. And when you do reflect on your death, as hopefully you're doing right now, are you hopeful or wishful in that, I hope it all works out in the end, Are you deliberate or are you distracted? Are you prepared or are you scared? We critique the medieval church for some of their doctrine, but appreciate that the medieval church wrote and thought much on the art of dying well. The art of dying well. And one of the practices in terms of how to prepare well to die was to remember that you have a death, to remember that you have to die. And that actual meditation on your death carried into the Puritan era. In 17th century New England, people, they didn't really, you know, They would do these self-portraits because they thought that they were part of a historical record. Many were reluctant to do so, actually. But sometimes, I don't know if you've seen this, in the 17th century New England era, you'll see pictures of maybe Puritans, and there will be a skull in the picture. You're like, oh, what's going on there? Why is that skull there? As if they just had these kind of skulls lying around as decoration. That skull was there and it had a meaning. It meant this, I have accepted death as a reality. I am one who meditates on my death for my good, for my reliance upon God. You can look at the journal records of Puritans and you would see that the reflections of their own mortality would just come to the surface out of mundane events. You know, they're writing and they say, I was walking and I saw the leaves falling from a tree today, okay? And it made me think about my passing on from this world. It's very interesting. They use the common and ordinary things as a way of thinking about their death. They would see a cup falling and shattering onto the floor, and all of a sudden they'd be writing about dying. A couple Puritans, one Henry Scudder, he wrote a book on daily walking with God and its directions on how to do different things. He had a section in there called Directions on How to End the Day with God, and he writes something like this. Now, I'm contemporizing it a little bit, but, as you change into your pajamas, Consider that you die with nothing, that naked you shall return into the ground, and therefore it ought to produce in you a present contentment of the things that you now have. As you lie down, think of lying in your grave. Make peace then with God, recall His mercy, ask for His forgiveness for particular sins, and renew your faith as you lie in your bed. Matthew Henry, who's probably more familiar to many of us, wrote in his book on prayer, here's how you close every day with God. Bedtime offers an opportunity to reflect upon your death and Christian hope. Just as you retire from your labors, you shall retire into eternity. Just as you change into your nightclothes, you shall change into a new body at the resurrection. Just as you lie down to rest, you shall lie in death in Christ's presence where no nightmares can trouble you. Now, I just want you to understand, this is not some kind of unhealthy morbidity, like we're just supposed to be thinking about death all the time. This is the realistic and prepared expectation for the common experience of death that we will have unless the Lord comes again, before it happens. Christ is sufficiently able to lay your body in the grave for a time of rest until He comes to collect His own. The word for cemetery actually means dormitory. It's just a place to sleep. So, that's how we consider our future rest. Thirdly, we want to consider our eternal allotment. Consider your eternal allotment. Again, verse 13 says, you will enter into your rest and rise again for your allotted portion in the end of the age. Rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age. Daniel was reminded of two promises in this one final statement. Rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age. you shall rise again into newness of life. Matthew Henry says, our rest in the grave will be but till the end of days, and then the peaceful rest will be happily disturbed by a joyful resurrection. Now again, let's be clear, these guys don't believe in soul sleep as if your soul is unconscious and resting, but rather your body is laid down and it will be risen. And we've talked about that in other sermons, but that's not the point here. The point is that we will be disturbed by a joyful resurrection. The Old Testament saints then not only believed in their need for the atonement of their sins, the covering of their sins, the removing of their guilt, they not only believed in God being able to forgive them through this work of atonement, they not only believed that they would have eternal life with God, but let us be clear, the Old Testament saints believed in a future bodily resurrection. Job has many testimonies to this. Here are a couple. Job 14.12, "'So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, he will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.'" Implying that when the heavens are no longer, we will arise. In 19, verse 25, probably most famously, Job says, "'As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. And at the last, he will take his stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God, whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see, and not another. My heart faints within me." Now, I quote Job because while it's not a clear and definitive conclusion, many believe that Job was the first Old Testament book to be written. In the very first book, the resurrection is held forth as a hope of the people of God. Psalm 17 verse 15, As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness. I will be satisfied with your likeness when I awake. Not only is there a hope in the resurrection, but also in glorification, a change that we will bear the likeness of God when we awake. Apart from seeing God face to face, the resurrection is the highest hope of the Christian, secured in Christ Jesus. One historian tells a story of Martin Luther. One of the lowest points in Martin Luther's life was when his beloved daughter, Magdalena, barely 14 years old, was stricken with the plague. Brokenhearted, he knelt down beside her bed and he begged God to release her from the pain. And when she had died and the carpenters were nailing down the lid of her coffin, Luther screamed out, Hammer away! On doomsday, she will rise again. You see, it was hope in the resurrection that carried Luther through this pain and suffering of a dying child. at Jonathan Gregory's funeral. Jonathan Gregory is a little two-year-old boy who had passed away recently. He's the son of a minister in our denomination. And he had his funeral this Friday and the funeral director made it known to the family, please make sure that everything you want in this coffin is in here because when we put this lid on, we're gonna seal it and it will not be opened again. It will be sealed for the last time. Pastor James Ferris, in his sermon, made the statement that we know it will be opened again. We know this coffin will be opened again the last day, when Jesus opens all the coffins. The resurrection is a reality, not just merely a wishful thought. And as you have been encouraged to give thought to your own mortality and your death, so you are encouraged to think on your own resurrection at the last great day." I want you to understand, all will come out of their graves. Not just those who belong to Christ, everyone will come out of their graves, to eternal life and to eternal death. Daniel is reminded here that he shall rise again to newness of life. But I want you also to notice the second promise that's held up here. You shall rise to your allotted portion. Allotted portion is a phrase I don't think we use it very often. It is in our Bible translations, it is in our Psalter. But the word allotted portion here is actually used 25 times in the book of Joshua. Now think what the book of Joshua is about. It's about receiving the promised land. And the idea is that the land would be allotted or given to different tribes or groups of people. And the point here is this, as one commentator says, you have an allotted portion, an assigned space designated for you at the resurrection. You will receive an eternal inheritance on judgment day. And the question you're going to have to sort out, as you consider what the Scripture says, is will you inherit a curse, or will you inherit a blessing? If your portion is the Lord in these days under the sun, in these days as you're going to your end, you shall forever remain His portion at the end of days. One pastor says it this way, just as the people of God stood in their lot in the promised land, so the people of God will stand in their heavenly lot on the last day. But you see, if you live for anything else, if you are consumed by the things of this world, then at the end you will find yourself consumed forever by the wrath of God, by the justice of God. What is the inheritance of the saints? Complete liberty from sin. Complete transformation where corruption is purged. There is no misery. It is a place of reunion. It is a place of joy and peace. And we could go on, and we have considered those things already, haven't we? But your greatest possession in heaven, make no mistake, please, is God Himself. God Himself. In Psalm 16, verse 5, the Lord is the portion of my inheritance. and my cup. You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me." That's very interesting. You know, here he's talking about the lot that he's received, the inheritance he's received, the lines that mark out his particular space. And what is that particular allotment? What is that inheritance that he receives? The Lord. The Lord is my portion. And you are the greatest possession of the Lord. Not only do we get to possess Him, but He actually speaks as if He's wonderfully excited and blessed by getting to possess us. Let that just wash over you with faith. Deuteronomy 32.9, for the Lord's portion is His people. Jacob is the allotment of his inheritance. You see, what we find in terms of the resurrection is this, there's only one life and death that really matters. That is the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who seeing his inheritance, was willing then to take the wrath of God upon himself and die your death. that He would get you. Here's the conclusion of the book of Daniel. The mysteries of the kingdom of God have been made known to you, and yet there is much confusion in this book as there is clarity. Don't be anxious about that. Don't be anxious even about the things that you don't know yet. but give yourself to what is clear and what is understood. Live this life by faith, walking with Christ and in His Spirit. Give yourself in diligence, zeal, and patience unto the worship and the service and the obedience of God. Consider your death as a means to preparation, as a means to contentment, and as a means to renewed commitment in this life. Hope in the promises of God, for He is faithful to bring to completion all that He has spoken unto the praise of His glory, and you're good." I want to conclude this book actually with what I think is the main and central piece of this book in Daniel. We find it in Daniel's prayer in chapter 2 of Daniel. Daniel said, Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs. He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and power. Even now you have made known to me what we requested of you, for you have made known to us the King's matter." And He has made known to you the King's matter, not some mere earthly king, but the King of heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, His matter. He has made known to you so that you can go your own way to the end and you can enter rest. And on that last day, you can rise again to your allotted portion in Him. Amen.