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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip. I have 50 books, right around 50 books, 50 commentaries on the book of Daniel alone. And one of the most helpful books is by a guy named Leon Wood, and he gives a paraphrase of this verse I want to share with you.
Okay. Many shall run to and fro in their desire for knowledge of the last things, and finding it in Daniel's book. Because it will have been preserved to this end, their knowledge shall be increased. In the tribulation period, people will be running around looking for answers as to why things are so bad on the earth. They're going to find Daniel.
as well as Revelation. It's going to be like a play-by-play book giving them all the answers they need. Knowledge of the end times. will be increased. But there's a greater principle in verse 4.
And here it is. Daniel was told to preserve The revelations given to him so that people at the end of the age. Could refer to them, could read them, could understand them. And here's the principle: God reveals truth. Are you Responding.
to his authority in your life. When you read the Bible or hear a sermon, are you responding? to God's authority over your life.
Now I ask that question because this is one of the great frustrations. that Bible teachers and pastors have. is that We hear sermons every week. We go to church every week. We're exposed to life-changing principles every week.
But not many lives are changing. every week. Every week in Christian churches around America, husbands are still dumping their wives, women are still leaving their husbands, people are still lying to each other, people are refusing to forgive each other, Christians are still gossiping with each other. And we ask, how can that be? being exposed to God's Life-changing truths every week.
Here's how. Here's how. You can listen two different kinds of ways. There's the active listener, then there's the passive listener. When I watch T V, I watch very passively.
In fact, I go through channels like crazy. I'm going up and down. I've told you that before. I can't really lock in. It's like, okay, I got to listen.
I can't do this for an hour.
So we can listen to sermons. Passively, not actively, not like, man, God is speaking to me. I'm going to apply this. Like, oh. Nice message.
That's it. Yeah. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And he was a president way, way before my time, like in the 40s. Early 40s.
He was wondering when he would give a speech how much people were really. Listening to him.
So he decided he would experiment one night at the White House. There was a little reception dinner, and people were going to meet him, and he was going to shake hands with them.
So he decided to say something to see if people were listening.
So people would come up and shake his hand and they form a line, and to each person in line, he would say something just to see if they were listening. They were all excited to meet the president.
So he would shake their hands, and then he said, I killed my grandmother this morning. He flashed that big smile. I killed my grandmother this morning. And most people said, Great job, Mr. President.
Keep up the good work. Or how lovely. shook his hand and walked away. He goes, nobody's listening to me. DAG!
except for one foreign diplomat. And when he leaned in and said, I killed my grandmother this morning. The diplomat leaned in and said, I'm sure she had it coming to her, Mr. President. You know, Jesus said.
Take heed what you hear. But he also said, take heed. How? You hear. Let me give you a few suggestions.
on how to respond to God's authority. Number one. Expose yourself to the truth. Number two, evaluate yourself. By the truth.
And number three. Engage yourself with the truth. Let me explain those. Expose yourself to the truth. You're doing it right now.
You're here in church, Bible's open.
Now, let me make it a suggestion to take that to another level. Start taking notes in church. Because if you're like every other human being on earth, you will forget most of everything you hear right after you hear it. If you write down what you believe God is speaking to your heart out of the word, you can go back and refer to that later and engage at a different level. You're exposing yourself at a different level.
You want to take it a step further? Get into a small group and discuss those things. That's exposing yourself to the truth. Number two. Evaluate yourself.
Buy the truth. It's possible when we listen to a sermon, a message. to deflect the message. See, we think thoughts like, I know somebody who needs to hear this. Yeah.
You. And me. We all need to hear it. You know, we can become like spiritual Houdinis. Remember who Deanie could get out of like anything?
So, God is trying to wrestle us to the ground with his truth, and we're really good at getting out of it. Evaluate yourself by the truth. We're good at evaluating truth. We're just not that good at evaluating ourselves by the truth. Number three, engage yourself.
with the truth. What do I mean by that? When you're reading your Bible, when you're listening to a sermon, you ask yourself this question. Is this a command that I'm reading that I must obey? Is this a warning that I must heed?
Is this something I must stay away from or a promise that I must Gather. That's engaging yourself with the truth. G. Campbell Morgan wrote, I personally believe the reason why many people have lost their love for the Bible is that they have failed to recognize the necessity for obedience to its moral claims.
So, God reveals the truth. Do I respond to His authority? Here's the second principle and second question. God regulates the future. Do I respond to his sovereignty?
Verse 5. Then I, Daniel, looked. And there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank. And one said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be? Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river.
When he held up his right hand, And his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives forever. That it shall be for a time. Times And half a time. And when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. Although I heard, I did not understand.
I said, my Lord, What shall be the end of these things? Aren't you glad that Daniel said, I didn't get it? I am, because I've studied and taught now the whole book of Daniel. I come to the end going, there's a lot I still. Don't get.
And I know you feel that way, don't you? Daniel felt that way. And he confessed it. And here's an interesting answer. Go your way, Daniel.
For the words are closed up and sealed till the end of time. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined. But the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand. But the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up.
There shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and comes to the 1,300 days. and 35 days. Daniel sees two angels, one on one side of the Tigris River, if you remember. And the other on the other side of the Tigris River.
I've been to the Tigris River, it's a very wide. Waterway.
So these angels were at a considerable distance from each other, and then above and between. was this man clothed in linen? that we already saw in chapter 10. And one of the angels has a question. Which is interesting.
How long Till the fulfillment of these things. In other words, How long will all of these oppressive events that have been described so far, how long are they going to last?
So in verse 7, this being above the waters raises his Right hand. and his left hand. It's sort of interesting. You know, the other day my grandson came to my house. Door opened, he was there.
First thing he did is this. Not, I'm praising you, Grandpa. But pick me up, Grandpa. He raised both hands.
Now In ancient times, when a Jew wanted to make a solemn oath, he would raise his right hand. To raise both hands was like, this is like a super solemn oath. It's sort of like verily, verily. I say unto thee, It's a very important, solemn, truthful thing that is about to be said. The question is, how long is this going to last?
Here's the answer given. Time? Times And a half a time. Remember that phrase back in chapter 11? We discussed it time, time, times, and a half.
Time one. Times plural. 2.
So 1 and 2 is 3 and a half, 3 and 12. It's an ancient way of saying three and a half years, time times and a half a time.
So here's the deal. Here's the answer. The reign of the Antichrist and the worst period of history will last. Three and a half years. That's the timing of it.
Now we're told that also in other places. Revelation chapter 11, verse 3, and Revelation chapter 12, verse 6. But listen to how it's put. This shall last 1,260 days. That's three and a half years based on a 360 Lunar year cycle.
Revelation 13, verse 5: The Antichrist is given a mouth speaking great things. and blasphemies. And he was given authority to continue 42 months. Three and a half years, 1,260 days.
So Here's the picture. From the midpoint of Daniel's 70th week, That seven-year, last seven-year period. From the midpoint of that, which is the abomination of desolation. Until the second coming, the end, the close off of the reign of terror of the Antichrist. will be three and a half years.
or 42 months. or 1000. 360 days, 260 days. This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before Pastor Skip continues, check out this special resource for your family this Christmas.
Here's Nate Heitzig. Teaching my kids about Jesus is one of the greatest privileges of my life. And I wanted to create a book that connects the story of Christmas and Easter in a way that kids, parents, and grandparents will truly cherish. In Christmas Under the Tree, you and your family can experience God's love seen through a unique perspective. And my hope is that this story becomes a treasured family tradition for years to come.
Request your illustrated book and audio experience at connectwithskip.com slash offer with your gift of $25 or more to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Again, that's connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. Let's return now to today's message. We have a little bit of a problem in verse 11. It says that From the time the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be 1,200.
And 90 days, so we have an extra month. added for some reason And just when we're scratching our head going, huh? The very next verse says, Blessed is he who waits. and comes to the 1335 days. All right.
So we have an extra month. And an extra 45 days or a total of 75 days. After the 1260 42 months, 3.5 year time period. Reign of Terror of the Antichrist.
So the question is: what happens during that month? What happens during that month? 45 days beyond that. Answer? I'm not sure.
And I'm not sure because we're not told. Daniel's asking questions, the angel's asking questions, and sort of all he gets is: go away now. Seal this up until the very end of times. I will guarantee you this: when all this comes down during that great tribulation period. They'll get it.
They'll understand it.
Now, I can make a few guesses and I will do that. The very last battle of history, the bloodiest battle of history in the future. is called the Battle of What? Armageddon, where the nations gathered together in the Middle East, and it's a bloodbath. It is probably going to take a period of time to mop up after the Battle of Armageddon.
So to have a month And then 45 more days, 75 extra days would probably be one of the activities that would go on during that time. Here's the second possibility. According to Jesus Christ, Matthew chapter 25, he's going to judge the nations of the earth based on their treatment of the nation of Israel. It's the sheep and the goat's judgment.
So after Jesus comes back at the end of 1,260 days after the abomination of desolation. It could take a period of time for that judgment to take place. Number three, according to Ezekiel 20, the Lord will gather believing Jews from all over the world back to the land of Israel. That travel arrangement could take some time. Number four.
There's going to be the setup of a Governmental machinery, the machinery for the government of the millennial kingdom. That could take place during that time. And number five, according to scripture, God is going to reestablish the ancient borders of Israel from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River. It's gonna broaden out the borders. All of that establishment could take time.
Add to that some other factors. There's gonna be topographical changes that take place on Earth. For instance, the Dead Sea, nothing lives in it except microbes. Will during that time become a living body of water where people will fish, cast their nets in the Dead Sea. It'll be infused with fresh water.
There'll be a temple, a millennial temple that is built. For that thousand-year period. All of that. Could be some of the activities that take place during the 30 plus the 45 or a total of 75 extra days. But we're told this.
Blessed is he who waits and comes to the 1,335 days. Why? Because you'll be really blessed if you make it all the way through to the kingdom age. There's a greater principle here. Have you noticed in the book of Daniel how detailed God is in just about every chapter?
This is going to happen, that's going to happen, that's going to happen, and sometimes it's given to the exact date.
So here is God. Regulating the future. which proves to us that God is sovereign. You know what that means when I say God is sovereign? What does it mean?
What does sovereign mean? You say he's in control. It means more than he's in control. It means he's all-powerful, ultimately supreme. Therefore, he can govern and control the very creation that he made.
We believe God is sovereign.
Now, the deist doesn't believe that. The deist believes that God created the universe, wound it up, and then sort of steps back and learns as he goes along and watches things happen and goes, huh, that's interesting. That's what the Deus believes. The liberal theologian doesn't believe in the sovereignty of God. The liberal theologian says God is a concept invented by weak people who are trying to explain their lives.
He's an impersonal force. He's not real. He's not personal. He's not powerful. We believe According to the Bible, That God is sovereign.
And it's proven to us time and time again because God predicts with precision the future. Question? Am I responding to God's sovereignty? I want you to vote. I want to see a real show of hands.
If you believe God is sovereign, I want you to raise your hand up. If you don't believe that, keep it down. But if you believe it, keep it up.
Now, as you're keeping it up, look up. That's your hand. You just voted and said God is sovereign.
Okay, put your hand down now. If you believe God is sovereign. How do you respond to that? How do you respond, for example, to Romans 8, 28? You know that verse?
It says, For we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Or Ephesians chapter 1, verse 11. We were chosen. Having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. That's sovereignty.
So when we look around the world, it looks like man is ruling. But then we read the Bible and we discover God is over-ruling. God is in charge. God is powerful, personal, involved, in control. But my question to you is What does that actually do for you?
Believing in the sovereignty of God. I'll tell you what it should do. It ought to produce patience. in us. It ought to produce gratitude.
Yeah. It ought to produce stability. Even the Bible says that when sudden terror comes, To the life of a righteous person, he's not shaken. He's not afraid. There's that initial shake-up, but then there's the calming as we realize there is a sovereign God who has this thing wired.
So, if you don't have much patience, you don't have much gratitude, you don't have much stability, it's really because you don't really believe God is sovereign. God regulates the future. How do I respond to his sovereignty? Here's the third, and we'll close out the book. God rewards his own.
Do I respond to him personally? Verse 13, a final word to Daniel, but you go your way. Until the end. For you shall rest, and you will arise to your inheritance at the end of days. Daniel, you're going to rest, you're going to die.
but you're going to be resurrected. And eventually, you're going to participate in the very glorious kingdom that you once predicted.
Now Just think back and piece all the things you know about Daniel up to this point. Daniel was able to see The Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire, a resurrected end-time Roman Empire with a ruler we call the Antichrist, the beast, who's coming to persecute the world and trash it and all that stuff we've read about. He sees all that. But keep in mind that Daniel also saw a future kingdom beyond all the kingdoms of this earth. He said to Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2: the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed.
He said, All of these other kingdoms will shatter. Into nothingness, but God's going to set up an everlasting kingdom.
Now here's the promise, Daniel. And we don't know how long Daniel lived after this. He was like 90 years old. almost in this chapter.
So I would only presume he died not long after this final revelation. But he died with the promise. That after he rests, He will be resurrected and rewarded. personally by God. That's his assurance.
There is a rest. And there is a reward. For all of God's children. who have a personal relationship with him. Do you have a personal relationship with him?
If I were to ask you the question, How long do you have to live? You would have to say to me, I don't know. But if I were to ask you a second question, you should be able to say. That I know. If I were to ask you Do you have the assurance that when you die?
You will be Forever in heaven with him. If your answer is boy, I hope so. Wrong answer. If you're a Bible-believing Christian, your answer would be. I have that assurance.
I know so. That's a personal relationship with him. Daniel had a personal relationship. Daniel was not a religious person.
Well, you know, Daniel was a religious fellow in Babylon. No, he wasn't. He had a personal relationship with a personal God. He spoke to God every day. God spoke to him.
There was a real relationship going on, the greatest human experience. is to know God. Paul the Apostle wrote in Philippians, the heart cry of his life, that I may know him. and the power of his resurrection. Jesus said, this is eternal life.
That you may know. The only true God. and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. That's a personal relationship. Yeah.
Have you responded to him personally in all the studies we've made through Daniel? You've watched people come forward and give their lives to Christ. Have you? personally responded to him. A.W.
Tozer wrote this: Were all human beings suddenly to become blind? Still the sun would shine by day and the stars by night. for these owe nothing to the millions who benefit from their light.
So, were every man on earth to become an atheist, it would not affect God in any way. He is what he is in himself without regard to any other. To believe in him adds nothing to his perfections. To doubt him takes nothing away.
However, I want to be quick to add to what Tozer said. Yeah, it's not going to add anything to God's perfections. But it's going to add a lot to yours. to believe in him, to trust in him personally. It's not going to add anything to God's perfections.
but it will add to his joy and pleasure. For he created us with the intention of knowing him and having a relationship with him. He made you that you might know him. Do you? We're so glad you joined Connect with Skiff Heitzig today.
Don't miss Christmas Under the Tree, a special resource to help your family center on Jesus this season. It's yours when you give $25 or more to help take the gospel to even more listeners through this program and the ministry of Connect with Skip-Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or go to connectwithskip.com/slash offer. And while you're online, Be sure to sign up for Pastor Skip's weekly email devotional and stay encouraged all year long. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig.
Make a connection. Shouldn't Ooh. Of the crossing. Castle burning. And so Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of connection communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
