“The Gospel According to Daniel”
Lesson 14 – Jesus Stands Up
In our last lesson, we learned that the kings of the South and the North were symbolic of atheism and false worship. When you read through chapter 11, you find there is a back-and-forth struggle between atheism and false worship, but eventually false worship gains dominion in the world. So, what happens next?
Let’s read Daniel chapter 12 together.
At the end of time, Satan will use false worship to divert people’s attention from the true worship of God (Revelation 13:11-17). The events of Daniel chapter 2 were a microcosm of the trials that will test God’s people in the last days (1 Peter 4:12). There will be a time of trouble and persecution of God’s people such that the world has never seen before. However, when things seem to be at their darkest, Jesus will finally stand up and save His people! (Daniel 12:1; Isaiah 33:2; Jeremiah 30:7)
Jesus will make a glorious return to earth surrounded by His angels (Matthew 16:27; Revelation 6:14-17). It will be event visible to the entire world (Matthew 24:27; Revelation 1:7). He is coming to resurrect the righteous dead who believed in Him as their Lord and Savior. The righteous living will ascend to meet Jesus and the formerly righteous dead in the air. Jesus will then take them all with Him back to heaven (John 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
It will be a time of rejoicing for God’s people, but it will be a time of mourning for the wicked and for everyone who rejected the salvation offered by Jesus (Matthew 24:30). They will face judgment and ultimately be destroyed (1 Peter 3:7). In the very end, God’s character will be vindicated and there will never be sin again in the universe (Nahum 1:9; Revelation 21:4).
You may be asking yourself, “Why is it taking so long for Jesus to stand up? Why doesn’t He just stand up right now?” Jesus is being patient with humanity, and He wants to give everyone a chance to repent and be saved (1 Peter 3:9).
God has given us several ways to come to know Him. God’s handiwork in nature testifies that He is our Creator (Psalms 19:1; Galatians 1:16-17). God has sent messengers in various ways to proclaim the Gospel to the world (Isaiah 52:7). God gave us prophecies in the Bible so that we can believe in Him and trust in the veracity of the Bible (John 14:29). More importantly, these prophecies all point to Jesus and contain many promises that we can count on being fulfilled (1 Peter 1:4; 2 Peter 1:16-21).
One of the most precious promises is that Jesus will return for us! Jesus even told His disciples plainly that He would return (John 14:1-3; Mark 13:26). Friend, I am not telling you a fable – Jesus is indeed coming again!
The Bible also promises that God puts a limit to how long sin and suffering will be allowed to exist in the world. When Jesus finally stands up, everyone’s eternal destinies will be sealed. The choices they made will be final and irreversible (Daniel 12:10; Revelation 22:11). The wicked will be destroyed forever while the righteous will shine brightly forever in the presence of the Lord.
Friend, the time for salvation is now (2 Corinthians 6:2). Jesus is extending a personal invitation of salvation to you. It is a decision you must make by yourself. Will you repent of your sins and choose Jesus? Or will you stay in your sins and choose death? Jesus asks you to choose life and live forever with Him (Deuteronomy 30:19-20; Ezekiel 33:11). Friend, what is your decision?