Daniel's Last Vision, Part 3

If you have your Bible, Daniel chapter 12, yep, last chapter in the book of Daniel, we spend many, many weeks, months, looking at Daniel's prophecies. Four visions in the book of Daniel, all of them are intertwined as you begin to study all the visions in Daniel's prophecy. Each builds one upon another, and yet they're all intertwined together, and they all tell the same story.

And so we are grateful for that, to be able to study it and look at the theme of the book, which is the magnificence of the Most High God. Our God is a magnificent God. And the book of Daniel reiterates that over and over and over again.

And all throughout these visions, we're able to understand how magnificent God is with the precision of prophecy, to see that what was prophesied happened exactly as God said. So we can go back and look at the prophecies and see how they were fulfilled exactly as Daniel was told by God. And so we marvel at the precision of prophecy and how God puts all those things together.

And yet at the same time, we realize that in Daniel chapter 12, Daniel needs one main thing, and that's hope, and God grants him hope. The hope of a future, the hope of the end. There's so much persecution for the Jewish nation.

It just goes on and on and on. And yet hope comes from God, Romans 15, 13. He is called the God of hope, right? We know that 1 Timothy 1, Jesus Christ is hope.

And we also know for the scriptures that the gospel gives us hope. So everything that is needed in the word of God grants us hope to be able to understand the future. Remember, faith, faith is the conviction of what God has already said.

It's a conviction of God's precepts. But hope is the anticipation of God's promises. Living in anticipation of all that God has said, how it all comes true, because he is the God who gives us his word.

So hope is living in the anticipation of all that God has said when it comes to his promises, and it all coming true. That's why I love what the psalmist said in Psalm 42, verse number five. Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him for the help of his presence.

Says it again, verse 11. Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him the help of my countenance and my God. Then Psalm 43, verse number five.

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him the help of my countenance and my God. So the psalmist asked the question, why are you in despair, O my soul? Need to trust in God, need to hope in God, need to live in anticipation of the things that God's already said, because that's the only assurance that we have that there is a hope for a future. Listen, how do we endure today unless we can envision the coming of Christ tomorrow? How can we even enjoy today unless we envision the coming of Christ tomorrow? Everything about our hope is centered on what's gonna happen in the future.

And hope grants us the belief to understand that what's going to come with the arrival of the Messiah is the answer to all of our dreams, to all of our aspirations, because it's all centered on the arrival of the Messiah. When you come to Daniel chapter 12, it opens up with the opportunity for Daniel to receive hope from the living God. And so I'm gonna give you five points this evening in the first three verses.

Let me read them for you. I'll give you the five points, then we'll discuss them together, okay? Here it goes, Daniel 12, verse number one. 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 is 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 or those who are wise will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of the heaven.

And those who lead the many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. What makes life meaningful is hope. Knowing that there's a future that promises to meet every desire and every dream that I have.

And hope is specifically of necessity for those who suffer. And Israel has gone through great suffering. Remember, Daniel chapter 12 is the conclusion to Daniel chapter 11, which is the revelation of the vision that began in Daniel chapter 10, which was the introduction to the vision.

So the fourth vision encompasses Daniel 10, 11, and 12. And so here is Daniel receiving this vision, this revelation of all the distress that's gonna come upon his people Israel. And when he sees it, he hears it, he realizes that Israel is going to suffer for years and years and years to come.

Remember, in Daniel chapter nine, Daniel was ecstatic because the 70 years of captivity in Babylon was almost up. So he realizes that time is short. And so he began to pray and ask God to fulfill the promise that he gave in the book of Jeremiah because that's what he was reading.

And he realized that, Lord, the 70 years captivity is almost up. Fulfill your word. And so God answers him immediately and gives him the prophecy in Daniel nine, verses 24 to 27.

And that prophecy centers around 70 weeks, 70 years of seven, 490 years that will encompass the suffering of Israel. He says, listen, if you think that 70 years of captivity was hard for your people, just wait to see what's gonna happen in the future. Why? Because remember, it's called the times of indignation.

They began in 734 BC and they continue all the way until Christ comes again. So at the present, it's over 2700 years in which Israel has experienced the times of indignation, the times in which God's wrath is being poured out on his chosen people, his elect people, the nation of Israel. That's a long time in anybody's book, right? But Daniel sees this, he understands it.

And so when he goes through the vision, the revelation of the vision in Daniel 11, and the Lord goes through the history of the kings and the kingdoms, whether it's the Medo-Persian empire, the Grecian empire, or the Roman empire, and all the tragedy that's gonna come upon their people Israel, he begins to realize that this last king of the Roman empire, this anti-Christ that's going to rise, is gonna cause all kinds of problems. But the key to everything is Daniel 11, verse number 35. For there it says these words, "'Some of those who have insight will fall "'in order to refine, purge, and make them pure "'until the end time, because it is still to come "'at the appointed time.'" Everything is about the purging of Israel.

Everything is about the purity of Israel. It's all about that. It will continue until the end.

It's an appointed time. So there's an appointed time, the times of indignation that God has mapped out over the span of history in which he is going to pour out his wrath upon his people Israel. Is it every day? No.

Is it over time? Yes. And you've seen the horrific ways the Jews have been treated all throughout the years. Millions of them have been persecuted and died, been killed, and it happens, and going to continue to happen.

But it's still gonna get worse. If you think that time was bad, and the previous history of Israel was bad, you haven't seen anything yet. And that's where Daniel 12, verse number one, picks up.

And so I'm gonna give you five points this evening. Number one, a substantial distress. Number two, a supernatural defender.

Number three, a specific deliverance. Number four, a special destiny. And then number five, a sublime dividend.

Five points in three verses. Listen to what God says to Daniel. Now at that time, what time? The time in which the Antichrist, go back to chapter 11, sets up his pavilion between the two seas.

What are the two seas? The Red Sea, or the Dead Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, in the beautiful city of Jerusalem. That's where he sets up his kingdom. That's where he begins to rule.

At that time, it says, there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time. So God tells Daniel, listen, from the outset, look, there's gonna come a time. You think it's bad now? You think the 70 years of captivity were bad? You ain't seen nothing yet.

They have a whole span of time in which there will be affliction and persecution upon your people of Israel. And there's coming a time that has never ever been known in your nation's history. There's coming a very specific time in which there will be a time of substantial distress as has never occurred in the history of your nation.

And it's gonna take place in the future. And it comes at that time under the direction of the Antichrist, because he will pour out his wrath against God's people, Israel. Remember, Revelation 6, he comes on a white horse.

He wins Israel's favor. They think he's the Messiah. He's really the anti-Messiah.

They build a temple for the anti-Messiah. Russia, as we saw last week, Ezekiel 38, comes to war against Israel. Africa, Egypt, from the south, come to war against Israel.

But the Antichrist defends Israel. He becomes their king, and yet it's all deceptive. Because at that time in which he sets up his kingdom between the two seas, the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in Jerusalem, there's gonna come a time of distress upon your people, Israel, that you can't even begin to imagine.

Now, Jesus mentions this in Matthew 24. Matthew 24, verse number seven says, "'For a nation will rise against nation "'and kingdom against kingdom, "'and in various places there will be famines, earthquakes, "'but all these things are merely "'the beginning of the birth pangs.'" Verse 15, "'Therefore, when you see "'the abomination of desolation,' which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet," that's Daniel 9, 24 to 27, "'standing in the holy place, let the reader understand, "'then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. "'Whoever is on the housetop must not go down "'to get the things out of that which are in his house.

"'Whoever is in the field must not turn back "'to get his cloak. "'But woe to those who are pregnant "'and to those who are nursing babies in those days. "'But pray that your flight will not be in the winter "'or on a Sabbath, for then there will be "'a great tribulation such as not occurred "'since the beginning of the world "'until now nor ever will be.'" So Jesus is referring to Daniel 12, verse number one.

There's coming a time upon your nation Israel, such as never has ever happened before, and it's coming upon them to persecute them, to try them, because Daniel 11, 35, the goal is to purge them, to purify them, to rescue them eventually. But God is at work in a nation. Remember, everything that happens in the world is only a precursor to what's going on in the nation of Israel.

Everything in the world centers around Israel, the nation, because eventually everything will end up there. It all began there, it will end up there. And so God is doing a great work in your lives.

Jeremiah chapter 30 says this, verse five. For thus says the Lord, I have heard a sound of terror, of dread, and there is no peace. Ask now and see if a male can give birth.

Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale? Alas, for that great day, or for that day is great, and there is none like it. And it is the time of Jacob's distress, but he will be saved from it. Again, there's coming a day, Jeremiah says, a day of great distress, substantial distress.

Never has there ever been a period of time like this in the history of the world, but it's going to come. So God tells him, Daniel, there's coming substantial distress, but there's going to be a supernatural defender, and that's Michael. It says in verse number one of chapter 12, now at that time, Michael the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people will arise.

Michael's the great prince. He's the great warrior, archangel, right? We've already seen him in Daniel chapter 10, where he already went to help the angel fight the king of Persia and defeat him. And so we've seen him in Jude, right? Remember when Satan wanted to have Moses's body and he wrestled Michael for Moses's body? And Michael was the defender of the body of Moses because he's not going to let Satan even desecrate a dead body that's been chosen by God.

So Michael's the great defender. He's the one that stands up for Israel. He's always been the defender of Israel.

So turn back with me if you would, or turn forward with me if you would to Revelation chapter 12. And let me show you how Michael is the great defender of Israel. He's always been this.

And it says in chapter 12, remember Daniel chapter 12 is the history of the world in one chapter. From the very beginning of time to the end of time. And it says this.

A great sign appeared, verse number one, in heaven a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of 12 stars. And she was with child and she cried out being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven and behold a great red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns and on his heads were seven diadems.

And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth so that when she gave birth he might devour the child. It's all about the arrival of the Messiah.

It's all about the coming. The woman is Israel, right? The child is the Messiah. The red dragon is Satan himself.

And so at the time of his birth, the Messiah, Satan wanted to destroy the Messiah. That's why he incited Herod to kill all the children two years and younger because he wanted to slaughter the Messiah. If he can kill the Messiah, Messiah can't live, die on a cross, redeem the sons of men, be buried and rise again the third day and ascend to glory.

If he can kill the Messiah on his timetable. But he couldn't. He was protected by God himself.

So read on, verse five. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who was to rule the nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God and to his throne.

Then the woman fled into the wilderness. Remember, the woman is Israel. Where's the wilderness? It's always referred to as Edom and Moab in the Old Testament.

Where she had a place prepared by God, said there she would be nourished for 1,260 days. Now remember, Daniel doesn't see this. He doesn't understand this.

We have the book of Revelation. We can read it. We can begin to understand it and see what's going on.

So the nation is gonna flee to the wilderness. Why? It happens at the abomination of desolation in the middle of the tribulation, where Satan infuses the beast, the Antichrist, to stand up and to be worshiped as God. And that's the fulfillment of Daniel 9, 24 to 27, which Christ spoke of in Matthew 24.

And they flee. And they flee to the wilderness. And God nourishes them.

God protects them. And they're there for 3 1⁄2 years, or 1,260 days, or 42 months. Those phrases are used over and over again interchangeably all throughout the book of Revelation.

And that's how long they will be there. And then it says this. And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon, who was Satan.

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 accuses them before our God day and night, and they overcome 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.

So in other words, Satan is thrown out of heaven. When is he thrown out of heaven? He's thrown out of heaven as the tribulation begins. He's thrown down to the earth by Michael, see? People always ask, where's Satan? He's in heaven.

He's accusing the brethren day and night, but he's thrown out of heaven because the brethren now are in glory. With the translation of the church into heaven, you can't accuse them anymore because they're already there. There's no need for Satan to be there anymore.

So Michael and his angels throw Satan out of heaven. Say, wait a minute. I thought Satan was thrown out of heaven long, long, long time ago, way before Genesis chapter three.

Ah, he was thrown out morally, but now he's thrown out geographically. There's a difference. Read the book of Job, Job chapter one, when Satan presents himself before the throne of God because he accuses the brethren day and night.

And so this whole battle goes on. And it says in verse number 13, and when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. He goes after Israel and persecutes them and goes to destroy them, but he can't.

And because he can't destroy them, he goes after all those Gentiles who give their life to Christ. And that's what happens in Revelation 12. But Michael is that supernatural defender of Israel.

He always has been and will be even to the end. So this is gonna be Daniel's hope. Listen, there is a substantial distress that's going to come, but don't worry, Daniel.

There is a supernatural defender that will arise. His name is Michael, the great prince. And then he says, there is going to be a specific deliverance.

This is so good. Look what it says. And at that time, your people, everyone who's found written in the book, will be rescued, will be delivered.

In other words, every name of every Jew written in the book of life will be delivered. Very important to realize this. Why? Remember Romans 11, 26? All Israel will be saved.

Now, people question me and say, well, if you're a literalist, which I am, meaning if Romans 11, 26 says all Israel will be saved, do you mean that every Jew that's ever lived will be saved? Well, no. Why? Because the all is interpreted for you. The all is interpreted through Zechariah 13, verses 8 and 9, where these words are spoken.

It says, it will come about in all the land, declares the Lord, that two parts in it will be cut off and perish. But the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third through the fire, refine them as silver as you find and test them as gold as tested.

And they will call on my name and I will answer them. And I will say, they are my people. And they will say, the Lord is my God.

So we know from Zechariah that the all is the third that's left during tribulation. That's all that's left. Because the rest have been persecuted.

The rest have been killed. So when Paul says, all Israel will be saved, the all is the one third of that which is left. So if there's 15 million Jews in the world today, that means 5 million of them will be saved.

Well, how would they get saved? How are they gonna become believers in the tribulation? Well, that's easy. The Bible tells us in Revelation 11, there are two witnesses, right? Two witnesses. Some say one is Elijah, the other is Moses.

I think it's Elijah and Enoch, to be honest with you. Because they're the only two that haven't died yet, right? Moses died. Enoch, Elijah, they were translated right into glory.

And so there are two witnesses. And they will be preachers during the tribulation. And when they speak, fire comes from their mouth.

They cannot be touched until the Antichrist kills them. And when the Antichrist kills them, their bodies will lie in the street of Jerusalem for three days. And the whole world will see it.

How? Television, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, right? It'll all be seen by everybody. In the age of social media, everybody will know that these two witnesses are dead. On the third day, they will rise.

That'll be newsworthy, right? Two dead prophets rising from the dead. In fact, it's such a significant event, the Bible says in the book of Revelation, the 11th chapter, these words. It says this.

It says, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate, and they will send gifts to one another because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Do you know that when they die, everybody's gonna send gifts to everybody else? This will be the, this will be a greater celebration than Christmas. This will be the greatest celebration than your 50th birthday party.

This is the greatest celebration in the history of the world. Two prophets are dead, two prophets that tormented those who dwell upon the earth. Remember that phrase, those who dwell upon the earth, used over 10 times in the book of Revelation, always refers to unbelievers, without exception.

And so if that's the case, they're gonna buy gifts and give them to one another. Happy dead prophet day. It's gonna be a great celebration.

And then they're gonna rise from the dead. But these two witnesses are gonna play a huge part in the salvation in Revelation 7 of 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from every tribe. And they're gonna be sealed by God.

And they're gonna be saved. And they'll be preachers of the gospel. And when you come to Revelation 14, they're standing on Mount Zion.

They've gone all the way through the tribulation. They're now standing on Mount Zion. And they have not died, because God has sealed them and protected them.

Revelation 14 tells us that there's an angel that flies around in mid heaven, proclaiming the gospel, proclaiming the eternal gospel, to fear God and give him glory. So how will Jews get saved? They're gonna hear the gospel all throughout the tribulation by two witnesses, by 144,000 Jewish evangelists, and by an angel that flies in mid heaven. And they're gonna hear that gospel.

And they're gonna flee to the wilderness. And they're gonna realize what they have done. And they will be purged.

And a third of them will survive. And that's the all of Romans 11, 26. And they will be saved.

They will be rescued. This is Daniel's hope. Daniel is coming to hope.

Israel will be saved. They will receive their inheritance. It's all gonna happen exactly as has been prophesied.

But there's going to be substantial distress before that time. But there will be a supernatural defender that will lead them to a specific deliverance where they will be rescued, and they will be saved, and they will experience the joys of eternal salvation. Listen to what it says in the book of Ezekiel.

The Lord says, verse 33, Ezekiel chapter 20, as I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you were scattered with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with a wrath poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples.

And there I will enter into judgment with you face to face as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt. I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. I will make you pass under the rod and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant and I will purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against me.

And I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn and they will not enter into the land, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the Lord. And he goes on to speak about what's going to happen through the tribulation, that God's gonna cause the Jews to pass under the rod.

That means that they will be examined. They'll be purged, which fulfills Zechariah 13, which helps you understand which Jews will be saved. There's gonna be this specific deliverance where Israel will be born again.

And then he says this in Daniel chapter 12, there's going to be a special destiny. Look at this, verse two. It says, many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, those to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

In other words, there's gonna be a resurrection. There's gonna be a resurrection. Now remember, if you're a Jew, you believed in the resurrection.

Abraham did, read Hebrews 11, verse number 19. He believed his son would be raised from the dead. Job did, Job 19, 25 to 27.

Isaiah did, Isaiah 26, verse number 19. Hosea did, Hosea 13, 14. David did, Psalm 16, nine to 10.

So we realize that the Old Testament taught about the resurrection, but that resurrection came into fullness in the New Testament under the ministry of Christ, who said, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall never die. He said, as I live, you too shall live.

So here is Daniel hearing about the resurrection. This is their special destiny. Death does not end the nation.

They'll rise again. Now remember, there are two resurrections. The first resurrection is for the believers.

The second resurrection is for the unbelievers. The first resurrection is in three parts, okay? Christ, who was the first fruits of all those resurrected, and then the church, the body of Christ, first Thessalonians 4, the dead in Christ will rise first. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, and so shall we ever be with the Lord, right? That's very important to understand that.

And then you have what? The Old Testament saints and the tribulation saints. That's Revelation 12, verse number two. If you got your Bible, turn to the book of, I mean, Daniel 12, one and two.

Turn to Revelation chapter 20. Now listen, Revelation 20 is a pivotal chapter, okay? I've been reading this book this past week called All Millennialism and the Age to Come. If you don't have this book, you need to get this book and read it, okay? It gives you all the views of the end times, post-mill, all-mill, pre-mill, okay? Great book.

I haven't put it down since I started reading it yesterday. It's really, really good. Why? Because if I'm an all-millennialist, I believe in a two-age grid, the present age and the age to come.

And I interpret all the Bible through that grid, which is bad. Why? Because I'm using a system to interpret the Bible instead of letting the Bible speak for itself. But if I'm an all-millennialist, I interpret the Bible, that is, there's no literal 1,000-year reign of Christ upon the earth.

I will interpret every passage of Scripture through the grid of the two-age model. And that two-age model is the present age and the age to come. So the present age is distinguished from the age to come with the second coming of the Messiah.

When the second coming of the Messiah comes, that now takes us into the age to come, which is the eternal state, okay? So there is no millennium. There is no 1,000-year reign of Christ upon the earth. But they have a real problem with Revelation chapter 20, because in Revelation 19, Jesus comes back.

In Revelation 21, you have the eternal state. In Revelation chapter 20, right, you have the 1,000-year reign of Christ upon the earth. And so what do they do? Because they interpret everything through the grid, the two-age grid, two-age model, right, what happens then is that they have a hard time deciphering what to do with Revelation chapter 20.

So they use it as something that's figurative or symbolic. So to say the 1,000 years is not literal, although it's mentioned six times. Now, ironically, if John did not mean 1,000 years, he would say what he's already said in Revelation 20, when he said these words in verse number three, it says, he must be released for a short time.

That is Satan, after he's been bound. He must be released for a short time. Now, wait a minute.

John doesn't tell us how long that time is, he just says it's a short time. And then he says, down in verse number eight, the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. The number of those who are unbelievers at the end of the millennium is like the sand of the seashore.

He doesn't give us an exact number, but he does give us an exact number six times. 1,000 years. Do you know that every time there are 254 numerical usages in the book of Revelation, 254, and every one of them are literal numbers.

And whenever that number is used with a qualitative date, like days or months or years, it emphasizes the literalness of it. Never in Scripture is years used other than specific years, ever, never in Scripture. And when it has the number with it, it accentuates the specificity of the time.

That's very important to understand this. Why? Because when you begin in Revelation 20, Satan is bound. Now, if I'm an all nil guy, right, there is no 1,000 years, Satan's already bound.

If I'm an all melillitist, I believe that Satan's already bound. How can that be? They say in Luke 18, when Christ said, I saw Satan falling from the sky like lightning, that was the binding of Satan at the coming of the Messiah at his birth. Really? That's what they believe? Let me tell you something.

If you're all nil, you gotta do so many spiritual gymnastics in the Bible that you must be the most in shape person in the world. It is absolutely unbelievable to me. Why? Because Satan filled Judas after the birth of Christ.

We also know that Satan wanted to dethrone Peter in Luke 21. We know that Ananas and Sapphira were filled, Satan filled their hearts in Acts 5. That's after the ascension of the Messiah into glory, right? We know that Satan goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, 1 Peter 5 verse number eight. We know that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light according to the Corinthians so that he can deceive the church.

We know that Satan blinds the mind, 2 Corinthians 4, of the unbeliever so they cannot believe the gospel. We know that the unbeliever is taken captive by Satan to do his will, 2 Timothy 2.26. Pray tell, how is Satan bound? He's not. That's why I throw this out for you so you understand this, because the premillennial view is not the popular view, but it is the biblical view.

Okay? And I'm gonna reiterate that over and over and over again. Do you know that if you're an all male person, that the judgment of Revelation 20, the great white throne judgment, is the same as Matthew 25, the judgment of the sheep and the goats? They say they're the exact same judgment. That can't happen.

Why? Because the judgment of the sheep and the goats happens on earth. The great white throne judgment in Revelation 20 happens when there is no more heaven and there is no more earth. The great white throne judgment is only a judgment of the unbeliever.

The great white, the sheep, goat judgment of Matthew 25 is a judgment of believer and unbeliever. And the criteria in Matthew 25 is how you treated the least of these. The criteria in Revelation 20 is all about your deeds and the books were opened concerning your deeds and they were measured against the glorious standard of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But if you're an all male guy, you're saying that the sheep, goat judgment of Matthew 25 is Revelation 20, great white throne judgment. I don't know what they're smoking, but they're not smoking truth because that's way out of line. That is so wrong.

It's not even close. But in Revelation 20, you have the two resurrections. Look what it says.

That I saw the thrones and they sat on them and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because the word of God and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received the mark of their forehead or on their hand. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

And the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection, blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection over these. The second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

You see, if you take Revelation chronologically and you have to, Revelation 19, Christ comes again. Revelation 20, Satan is bound. And for a thousand years, there is a kingdom upon the earth to fulfill Abrahamic, Davidic, new covenant promise to Israel who has been delivered.

Okay? And then Satan is released from his bondage. There's a great war and then heaven and earth are destroyed. Then comes the great white throne judgment, verses 11 to 15.

After that, the eternal state. It's just that simple. But you got to take it in chronological order because that's what happens.

But if I'm an all male person, I got problems with Revelation 20. Because I have to now redirect everything that's there into a two age model, the present age and the age to come. There is no room for an intermediate kingdom between the coming of Christ and the eternal state.

But Revelation 20 disproves all that. To tell you that there's a thousand years in which Christ will reign upon the earth and he will be the king of Israel. It's as simple as that.

Listen, here's the phrase I learned way before I ever went to college, okay? Learned it again in college, learned it again in seminary. Here it is. When the plain sense of the language makes sense, seek no other sense or you end up with nonsense.

Okay? When the plain sense of the language makes sense, seek no other sense or you end up with nonsense. And the plain sense of the language tells you exactly what's going to happen and how it's all gonna come to fruition based on Daniel chapter 12 verses one to three and what's gonna take place with the nation of Israel where there's gonna be a specific deliverance where they will be rescued and they will be saved. And there will be a special destiny.

They will be resurrected from the dead and they will enter into the kingdom of God and rule and reign with Him for 1,000 years. But there's a sublime, a sublime dividend. Listen to what it says in verse number three.

Daniel chapter 12. It says these words. 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.

God says, Daniel, listen. You wanna shine bright? You will. Because those who have insight, those who are wise, those who are true believers will shine bright.

But those who will shine even brighter than them are the ones who lead others into righteousness. In other words, this is the ultimate reward. When we see Him, we'll be like Him for we'll see Him as He is.

We are gonna be able to radiate the brightness and beauty and splendor of the Messiah. And Daniel is told there's coming this sublime, sublime dividend that you will be like your Messiah and you will shine brightly for Him. Listen, remember John the Baptist? Luke one, Zacharias was told, you're gonna have the son and this son is gonna lead many, many people to the Lord God of Israel.

In Matthew 11, Christ says that John the Baptist was the greatest man ever born of a woman. Why? Because he was leading people into a deeper walk with the living God, showing them the way to salvation, helping them understand who God is. That's the people who will shine so brightly in glory.

All of us who are saved are gonna shine, but those who lead others into righteousness will shine even all the more for the glory of God's kingdom. Listen to what Paul said in Philippians two. Paul said these words.

He said, we're gonna be blameless and harmless children of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom we shine as lights in the world holding forth the word of life. We are right now shining brightly in the world. That's why the Bible says you are the light of the world.

You are the salt of the earth. Why? Because if Christ is in you, you are already engaged in reflecting the beauty of Christ in his image. That's what it means to give glory to God.

How do you give glory to God, right? Glory speaks of the brightness and beauty and bigness of the Messiah. When you give him glory, you reflect that beauty. You righteously reflect the beauty of the Lord God of Israel.

And we shine bright for the sake of God's kingdom. And when you lead other people to Christ, when you inform them about who the Messiah is and show them who Jesus Christ is and they give their life to Christ, it's called the crown of jubilation, right? The crown of rejoicing, Paul says in the first Thessalonians chapter two. It's the crown of jubilation.

It's that great righteous crown that causes you to shine even all the more in glory. Because you see, when you get to heaven, yeah, you're gonna receive a crown, but what are those crowns? The crown is the degree of shining that comes from those who follow exactly what God's word says. So here is the sublime dividend to those who are wise, to those who have insight.

They are gonna shine bright for God for all eternity. And those who lead others into righteousness will shine even all the brighter in eternity. And that is the sublime dividend that's given to Daniel.

This is his hope. His hope is based on where Israel's going, what God is gonna do in the life of a nation in spite of all the travesty, in spite of all the difficulty, in spite of all the hardship that's gonna take place, he will shine bright in the future because there's coming a resurrection of that body. That's why the Bible says in John's gospel, the fifth chapter, these words, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming.

"'And now is when the dead will hear the voice "'of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. "'For just as the Father has life in Himself, "'even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself. "'And He gave Him authority to execute judgment "'because He is the Son of Man.

"'Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming "'in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice "'and will come forth, those who did the good deeds "'to a resurrection of life, "'and those who committed the evil deeds "'to a resurrection of judgment.'" So he says there's gonna be two resurrections, one to life, one to judgment. And the one to life is called the first resurrection. The one to judgment is called the second resurrection.

And that's why in Revelation 20, John is told you wanna be a part of the first resurrection. Everybody's gonna be raised from the dead, but the first resurrection is for the believer. Second resurrection leads you into the judgment of the living God.

And so the hope for Daniel was the destiny and the deliverance of Israel. This was his hope. And what God does next is shed light in the rest of Daniel 12 of what's going to happen with the kingdom of the Messiah.

Lord is so good to Daniel, to be able to show him these things, explain them to them so we can study them and begin to understand exactly what God is going to do. Listen, it's very important to realize the truth of God's holy word. How can I endure today if I cannot envision Christ tomorrow? How can I even enjoy today if I can't envision Christ tomorrow? Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, 58, "'Be steadfast, immovable, "'always abounding in the work of the Lord, "'knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.'" He said that after the great resurrection passage about how we who sleep will rise and we will, this which is corruptible will become incorruptible.

This which is perishable will become imperishable. And talking about, oh, death, where's your sting? Oh, grave, where's your victory? There is no victory in death. Why? Because we've overcome all that through the believing in the resurrected Messiah.

So what happens? Now you can be steadfast. Now you can be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Why? Because there's coming a day in which your dead body will rise again and be in the presence of the living God forever.

And Daniel tells us, it will shine bright for the glory of the King.