Tribulation Hope

Daniel 12:1-3

Hope is essential to life. Unless there is light at the end of the tunnel, a human will despair unto death. Unless there is some kind of anticipation for a better reality in the future, man finds himself unable to enjoy the present. We cannot live without hope, especially when we suffer. People do not kill themselves because of their current circumstance, they do it because they can’t see any possible future change in that current circumstance. They see no hope that anything will ever be any different. But I have good news: you can have hope in your tribulation. Our hope is in the Lord!

God knows that in order for man to endure the present stress he has to have a future hope. And so all throughout the Bible, God presents to man a great hope that gives us a full, rich meaning to life. For the church…those of us who have been born again…we have hope both present and future. We have God holding our hand day by day and His promise to lift us away from this place before the wrath and doom at the end of the world.

Titus 2:13

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Now as we come to the close of the book of Daniel, we should be reminded that his prophetic visions are regarding the Jews, rather than the church. All of the 490 years of the “70 weeks of years” are about the Jews. The church wasn’t part of the first 483 years that led up to the Messiah, and they won’t be part of the final 7 which we know as the tribulation.

But just as the church needs hope, so do the Jews, especially in the tribulation. God shares hope with them in Daniel 12. For Israel, the book of Daniel has been a bleak series of prophecies regarding their constant judgment for rejecting God. Israel’s story is one long string of oppressions. Daniel was shocked when the captivity in Babylon ended and everybody didn’t go back home to Israel. But when only a small group went back and the rest of the people were entrenched in paganism and it didn’t look like it was going to be the way he thought it should be, Daniel prayed and asked God, “Why?”

God said, “It’s because their chastening isn’t over yet, because their purging isn’t over yet, because their punishment isn’t over yet, because their refining isn’t over yet.” In fact, it’s going to go on until the coming of Christ. It’s going to go on for millennia, for thousands of years of human history the Jews will suffer the consequence of their sin, disobedience and unbelief.

So a very special angel comes to Daniel in chapters 10-12 and gives him the message. Now, the heart of the message is in chapter 11 verse 35. The whole purpose of this chastening period for Israel is to test them and to purge and to make them white. In other words, God never gives up on His people. They will be subjected to a series of Gentile oppressors who will bring them grave suffering. It has happened throughout the ages and will continue into the tribulation. God keeps pressuring them until they finally respond properly.

Well, that’s a pretty bleak message, isn’t it? For God to say, “Daniel, it’s going to be like this for thousands of years” and then just leave it at that, would show no light at the end of the tunnel. So now, in the first three verses of chapter 12 comes the light. This is hope, that even though it’s going to be dark for thousands of years, and even though the Jews will not rightly respond to God, and even though the time is going to come when they will actually reject the Messiah and in His place, will accept Satan’s counterfeit, the Antichrist, even so, in the end, there’s hope.

Look at the beginning of chapter 12, verse 1, just the first few words, “And at that time.” This is the time of the Antichrist, the worst oppressor of Israel, the one who will bring the greatest amount of pain, the one who will slaughter the most Jews –more than Hitler did.

At that very time hope will dawn.

It is during that time, the angel tells Daniel, that “your people can have hope.” In other words, when it gets to the worst, it’s nearly time for the best. The darkest hour comes just before the dawn.

How can Jews in the tribulation have hope? They missed the rapture, as you will if you aren’t born again. So how can they have hope in the tribulation?

Several special things will ensue. There will be a special distress. There will rise a special defender. There will follow a special deliverance, a special destiny and a special dividend. Those are the reasons for hope.

A special distress

v. 1 – “and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” This is the 7 year tribulation.

Israel suffered much from the Egyptians, the Babylonians, incredible slaughter. They suffered much from the Medo-Persians. They suffered much from the Greeks. They suffered much from the Romans. They have suffered much from the Crusaders. They suffered much even in modern Europe. They suffered from the Herods. They suffered from the Hitlers. And they are still suffering today at the hands of their Muslim neighbors. They’ve suffered and suffered.

And all of it has been the rod of God. All of it has been the refining process of God for their rebellion and rejection and all of it has been meant to draw them to Him. But the worst suffering is yet to come.

Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 24. He says when the tribulation events start to take place, you’d better run. “For then shall be great tribulation,” – here it comes – “such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor shall ever be. And except the days were shortened, there should be no flesh saved.” And you get the picture, don’t you?

Deuteronomy 4:30

When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days…

Jeremiah referred to it as the time of Jacob’s trouble. The book of Revelation describes that final time of human history with terms that are beyond our imagination to even grasp. But in addition to all the hell on earth horrors of the tribulation, we see God allowing the Antichrist to oppress Israel in a final act of purging. [multitudes of lost Gentiles will suffer the tribulation too, but the main purpose of this is to correct the Jews.]

Jeremiah 30:4-6

⁴ And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. ⁵ For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. ⁶ Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?

This pictures everyone in the horrible pain of childbirth, holding themselves in agony.

Zechariah 12:2-3

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. ³ And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Zechariah 13:8-9

⁸ And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. ⁹ And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

There will come a slaughter, and two out of every three Jews will die, while the other third will be redeemed. They will be purged. They will believe. If the population of the world has now 16 million Jews, that means over 10 million will die were it to happen today. So, there awaits for Israel a very special distress, a distress without equal in human history. The time of Jacob’s trouble, the seventieth week of Daniel, the time of the tribulation. That doesn’t sound special, but, here comes the hope.

A special defender

In the midst of the special distress comes a special defender.

v. 1          The nation will not be utterly destroyed, for Michael will stand up. And who is he? He is the most powerful of all the angels, and has been given, throughout all of Israel’s history, the singular responsibility of defending the people of God. As the archangel, he’s the premier of the other angels, Michael is given that “generalship” over Israel.

We see that in the New Testament as well as the Old. In Jude verse 9, we find him even fighting Satan for the body of Moses.
Jude 1:9

Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

He has such care and concern for the people that he will not even permit the desecration of their dead bodies. And so he looks out for Israel. We’ve already seen back in chapter 10 that when the demons tried to stop this angel from giving his revelation to Daniel, verse 13 says “Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me.” Michael assisted him. God has assigned Michael the special task of caring for Israel. And so when they get in the heat of this special distress of the tribulation, we’re not surprised to see the special defender, Michael, appear.

When the battle gets the hottest, when the most furious persecution and oppression takes place, Michael comes to the rescue. Now in what way does Michael stand up for the people of God? Well, during the tribulation Satan wants to release all of the forces of hell against Israel. He wants to obliterate that nation. He’s always wanted to do that.

He wanted to wipe out the people of God so there could never be a Messiah. His plan was to ‘rub out’ the line. He wants to destroy them so there can never be any of them for a kingdom. All the demons of hell in the end time are going to go after Israel.

Revelation 12:7

⁷ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Here, folks, you’re getting a glimpse of an incredible scene. The demons want to overrun the Earth and dominate Israel, but Michael and the holy angels start a war against them in the sky.

Revelation 12:8-9

⁸ And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

This is not their original casting down, but rather when they lose access to even approach heaven anymore. I believe there’s a sense in which they lose the potency of their supernatural power at this point. Now, the key to winning this battle seems to be the archangel, Michael. This is when he stands up in our text.

A special deliverance

It says at the end of v. 1, “thy people shall be delivered.” Their name is written in the same Lamb’s book of life that yours can be. Is it already there?

Jeremiah 30:7,11

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. ¹¹ For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

When the persecution is the worst, that’s when their redemption is going to take place.

Now that special deliverance leads to…

A special destiny

Special distress demands a special defender. A special defender provides the opportunity for a special deliverance, and a special deliverance leads to a special destiny.

Verse 2            The angel says to Daniel, “Daniel, the climax to the tribulation is resurrection.” All will be resurrected, but only some to life…the rest to damnation. Now the resurrection has long been the hope of the Jews. It is very clear that Abraham had confidence in the resurrection of the dead and that’s why he offered Isaac. Job believed in the resurrection. He said, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God;” He knew he’d be resurrected.

Isaiah, who lived more than a century before Daniel, predicted that dead men would live again and their bodies would rise.

Isaiah 26:19

¹⁹ Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Hosea, a contemporary of Isaiah, said in…

Hosea 13:14

¹⁴ I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction:

This has been their hope all along. And so the angel says, there is hope. There will be deliverance. And beyond the deliverance there will be an incredible destiny, a resurrection.

Now what a glorious hope this is. Look at what Jesus said early in His ministry…

John 5:28-29

^… the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, ²⁹ And shall come forth…unto the resurrection of life; [or] …unto the resurrection of damnation.

Jesus said everybody’s going to come out of the grave, all bodies will be resurrected; some to life and some to death. That’s the choice, life or death. That’s our choice today. And that’s exactly what the angel says is the hope of Israel in the tribulation. In the midst of a time of terrible distress, in the darkness of suffering under the Antichrist, in the horror of Armageddon, and the overrunning power of demons, shall stand a special defender, Michael. And through that, God shall bring a special deliverance that promises to all who believe a special destiny.

Finally, for those who believe, there is promised…

A special dividend

Verse 3            Now comes the reward, the time of dividends. The wisest people in the world are the saved and the biggest fools are the unsaved. There will be many saved in the tribulation. You will not be one of them. You have heard the gospel before the tribulation and will either believe now and be raptured or enter the tribulation and lose all hope. But many who haven’t heard will be saved during that 7 year period…not only of the Jews, but Revelation 7 says there will be so many Gentiles saved you couldn’t count them. And all who are saved are going to shine like stars.

What does that mean? In eternity we will all manifest the blazing glory of God. But there will be some brighter than others. There are little stars and there are big stars as we look in the sky, right? They’re all stars and they’re all beautiful, but each has a differing level of beauty.

Our capacity to glorify God will be dependent upon our faithfulness. We’ll all shine like the brightness of the firmament. In other words, we will all have the capacity to eternally radiate the glory of God. We’ll all be blazing suns in eternity. But there’s a special glow for those who turn many to righteousness. Our rewards or crowns that we receive in heaven are simply ways to express the glory of God. If we’re saved, we’ll shine like stars, and all the more if we’ve told others the truth. The brightest glories are reserved for those who have influenced others to faith.

Have you always wanted to be a star? Who are the stars of our world? Historically they are great names like Caesar or Napoleon, or presidents of our nation. Who does America consider to be stars? Walk down Hollywood Boulevard, the stars are right there on the sidewalk under your feet. Or you could walk through cemeteries and they’re right there under your feet. Both extremes are walked on by common men. And they don’t shine very brightly.

Who are the greatest lights in God’s sky? They are those that turn many to righteousness. John the Baptist pointed many to Jesus, and then Jesus said he was the greatest human who ever lived. Jesus said let your light so shine before men. When you look at your life, what have you done to make heaven crowded?

Philippians 2:15

¹⁵ That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Well, Daniel is given great hope here. There is coming a special distress, but in the midst of it God’s special defender will arise who will bring about a special deliverance. And out of that deliverance will come a special destiny, a resurrected glorious life. And in the midst of that glorious life there will be a special dividend, the capacity to radiate the glory of God forever. What a hope in tribulation!