Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: TGCC
Program Code: TGCC000009A
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00:15 Well, welcome again to this very important series,
00:19 which you can see the title is, The Great Cosmic Controversy. 00:25 And the subtitle is, 00:26 How God Clears His Name From All False Charges. 00:30 This is lecture number nine in this series. 00:34 And today we are going to study about the time of trouble, 00:38 which comes after the close of probation. 00:40 However, before we do, we want to ask for 00:43 the Lord's special blessing. 00:45 And so I invite you to bow your heads reverently as we pray. 00:48 Father in heaven, we come before Your awesome 00:51 and glorious throne, knowing that when we come in faith 00:55 You hear our prayers and You answer them. 00:58 Father, we ask for divine wisdom as we open Your word. 01:03 We realize that human wisdom is insufficient to grasp 01:06 all of the great things from Your holy Word. 01:09 And so we need divine aid. 01:11 So be with us through the ministry of Your Holy Spirit 01:14 and Your angels. 01:15 And I ask, Lord, that You will bless each one, 01:18 not only of those who are present here, 01:20 but those who are watching the live streaming, 01:23 those who will watch this presentation on YouTube, 01:26 on television, on DVD, or any other media. 01:29 We thank You, Father, for hearing our prayer, 01:32 for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus. 01:34 Amen. 01:37 In our last study, we studied about the close of probation 01:43 and the cessation of the ministry of Jesus Christ 01:48 as our High Priest in the Most Holy Place 01:51 of the heavenly Sanctuary. 01:54 We noticed briefly in our last presentation 01:56 that when probation closes, the time of trouble begins. 02:02 Now the time of trouble is mentioned 02:04 many times in Scripture. 02:06 And in our presentation today, we are going to take a look 02:10 at several different presentations in the Bible 02:15 concerning the time of trouble. 02:17 Now some people say, "Well, why talk about the time of trouble? 02:21 Because God's people are going to be raptured away to heaven 02:24 before the time of trouble." 02:26 In fact, there's this theory among Christians that 02:30 the rapture will take place seven years before the 02:32 glorious coming of Jesus. 02:34 Believers will be whisked away to heaven. 02:37 And then the poor Jews, as if they haven't suffered enough, 02:40 along with those who are left behind, 02:42 are going to suffer this terrible time of trouble, 02:45 this time of Jacob's trouble. 02:47 And they use a text like, for example, 1 Thessalonians 5:9 02:51 where it says that God has not appointed us to wrath, 02:55 but to salvation. 02:56 And I agree, God has not appointed us to wrath. 03:00 The wrath that falls during the time of trouble 03:02 falls upon the wicked. 03:04 The righteous will be here, but the wicked will be the ones 03:08 that will suffer as a result of the plagues and the events 03:12 that take place during the time of trouble. 03:15 Now we also studied in a previous lecture 03:19 that when Jesus finishes His work in the Most Holy Place 03:23 of the heavenly Sanctuary, after He has judged all of the 03:27 dead who believed in Jesus and all of those who are alive, 03:32 the kingdom of Jesus will be made up at that point. 03:36 In other words, everyone who belongs to His kingdom 03:41 will be clearly revealed before the universe. 03:44 And then God's people will be ready to go through 03:48 the time of trouble that we're going to discuss this afternoon. 03:53 Now I'd like to mention four common denominators 03:56 in all of the different scenarios that we're 03:58 going to take a look at in our lecture today. 04:01 Number one, we're going to notice that in every context 04:06 God's people go through the tribulation. 04:10 They go through the time of trouble. 04:12 They are not taken out before the time of trouble. 04:15 They go through the time of trouble. 04:18 Secondly, the faith and patience of God's people 04:23 is severely tested during this period. 04:26 They must exercise patience or perseverance. 04:31 In the third place, they will go through a period of anguish. 04:35 They will not despair, but there will be anguish. 04:39 And finally, at the conclusion of the time of trouble, 04:42 God's people will be delivered. 04:46 Now I'd like to begin our discussion of 04:49 the time of trouble, which begins as soon as 04:53 probation closes, by turning to Daniel 12:1. 04:58 I invite you to go there with me. 05:00 Daniel 12:1 05:02 We have looked at this verse before, but I want us to notice 05:06 four details that we find that I consider very important 05:11 when we study this subject in this particular verse. 05:14 Let me give you a little bit of context before I mention those 05:17 four main points of Daniel 12:1. 05:21 Daniel 12:1 has a context, a previous context. 05:25 In verses 44 and 45 of chapter 11, we find 05:31 the king of the north coming against God's people. 05:35 Now you're probably wondering, who is the king of the north? 05:38 Well in Scripture the last power that will oppress God's people 05:42 is referred to in different names. 05:45 For example, it's the clay in the feet of the 05:48 image of Daniel 2. 05:49 It's the little horn of Daniel 7 and 8. 05:53 It's the beast of Revelation 13. 05:55 It's the man of sin of 2 Thessalonians 2. 06:00 It's the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24. 06:05 It is the harlot in Revelation 17. 06:09 It is the Antichrist in 1 John 2. 06:13 In other words, all of these names are names that refer 06:16 to the same power from different perspectives. 06:19 In Daniel 11, the last enemy of God's people, 06:22 which we believe to represent the papacy, 06:25 is referred to as the king of the north. 06:27 And verse 44 of Daniel 11 tells us that the king of the north 06:31 will go out to destroy and annihilate many. 06:35 In other words, he will give a death decree against 06:39 God's faithful people after the close of probation. 06:44 I want you to notice Daniel 12:1, 06:47 the four points that I want to underline. 06:50 It says, "At that time..." 06:51 That is, when the king of the north comes 06:53 with the intention of destroying God's people. 07:00 Now Michael is another name for Jesus. 07:02 It means, who is like God. 07:06 Now what does, "standing up," mean? 07:07 We studied in our last lecture that the standing up of Michael 07:12 refers to the time when Jesus begins to reign. 07:16 Because His kingdom is made up. 07:17 In other words, the standing up of Michael 07:19 is the close of probation. 07:21 We studied that carefully in our last lecture. 07:24 So it says, at that time when the king of the north 07:27 goes out to destroy God's people, Michael shall stand up. 07:31 That means that probation will close. 07:33 And notice what characteristic this great Prince has. 07:44 And now notice what's going to happen after probation closes. 07:48 "...and there shall be a..." What? 07:51 "...a time of trouble..." 07:52 Does the time of trouble come after probation closes? 07:55 Absolutely. 08:05 So I want you to remember that expression, once again, 08:08 "...there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was 08:11 since there was a nation, even to that time..." 08:15 And then notice what's going to happen at the end 08:17 of the time of trouble. 08:18 It says, "...and at that time your people 08:21 shall be..." What? "...shall be delivered..." 08:24 I want you to remember that word. 08:26 It's a key word. 08:34 What is that book? We studied this. 08:36 The book is the Book of Life. 08:37 And what does the book contain? 08:39 Names. 08:41 So let me ask you, if those who are in the book 08:44 are delivered, must God have retained their names 08:48 in the book during the judgment? 08:49 Of course. 08:51 And so the four points I want us to notice is, 08:53 first of all, standing up is the close of probation. 08:57 Secondly, after probation closes, there's going to be 08:59 a severe time of trouble. 09:01 In the third place, God's people are going to be delivered. 09:05 And in the fourth place, those who are delivered 09:08 are the ones whose names are written where? 09:12 In the book. 09:13 Now this language, "time of trouble," 09:17 actually comes from another experience in the Old Testament. 09:21 It comes from Genesis 32. 09:24 Now Genesis 32, we're only going to look at the highlights 09:28 of this chapter. 09:29 Have you ever heard of the time of Jacob's trouble? 09:32 Have you ever wondered why it's called, 09:34 the time of Jacob's trouble? 09:35 Because that's what the time of trouble is called. 09:39 It's because the time of trouble in Daniel 12:1 09:43 from which God's people are delivered from the wrath 09:45 of the king of the north is similar to an experience 09:49 that Jacob went through in Genesis 32. 09:51 Now let me just review the story. 09:54 In Genesis 32, Jacob was returning home after being 09:58 exiled for 20 years. 10:00 On his way home he received news that his brother 10:05 was coming with 400 armed men to attack and to destroy him 10:11 and his family. 10:13 And of course, he and his family were defenseless. 10:15 They had no weapons. 10:17 And so the Bible tells us that Jacob goes by himself 10:22 and he begins pouring out his heart in prayer to God. 10:27 And he says to the Lord, "My brother is coming 10:31 and he has the intention of destroying us. 10:35 I fear him. 10:36 Please, Lord, intervene and deliver me from 10:40 the wrath of my brother." 10:41 Does this sound similar to what we read in Daniel 12:1? 10:45 The king of the north coming against God's people? 10:48 Absolutely. 10:49 Furthermore, Jacob wanted an assurance from God 10:53 that the sin that he had committed 20 years earlier 10:56 by stealing his brother's birthright, and also by lying 11:00 to his father, had been forgiven by God. 11:02 Now God had already told him that He had forgiven it. 11:05 Because God gave him the dream of the ladder. 11:07 At the point God was saying, "Hey, there still is communion 11:10 between heaven and earth. 11:11 You don't have to worry." 11:13 But Jacob could not forgive himself. 11:15 Isn't that true of us many times, that God forgives us 11:18 because He says He forgives us, and many times we're not able 11:21 to forgive ourselves? 11:22 But anyway, he wants the assurance that that sin has 11:26 been forgiven so that he can claim God's promise 11:29 to protect him and his family. 11:32 And as he's there pouring his heart out in prayer to God, 11:36 suddenly an individual comes and he thinks it's an enemy. 11:41 Perhaps he thought that it was his brother. 11:43 And he starts struggling and fighting with this individual. 11:46 And the struggle goes on all night. 11:50 And finally, in the morning when the sun was just beginning 11:53 to rise, Jacob realizes that he's not fighting with a common 11:58 ordinary human being. 12:00 He realizes that he's struggling with the angel of the covenant, 12:06 with the angel of the Lord, that is nonetheless than whom? 12:10 Than Jesus Christ Himself. 12:12 And we're going to see in a moment that that's true. 12:14 Because in the Old Testament, Jesus is called 12:16 the Angel of the Lord. 12:18 He's the Messenger of the Father to planet earth. 12:21 And so Jacob thinks that it's the enemy. 12:23 But then he discovers, when this Being touches his hip 12:27 and it becomes disjointed, he says, "You know, this is not 12:30 a human being that I'm struggling with." 12:32 He realizes that it's the Angel of the covenant. 12:35 And so he grabs onto Him and he says, with agony in his heart, 12:40 "I will not let You go until You bless me, 12:43 and You give me the assurance that my sin is forgiven, 12:45 that You're going to protect me and my family." 12:48 And the Angel, Jesus, says, "Let Me go, 12:51 because the sun is coming up." 12:52 And Jacob says, "I am not going to let You go 12:56 for anything in the world until You bless me." 13:00 And then the Bible tells us that the Angel of the Lord 13:05 blessed Jacob there. 13:07 And not only did He bless him, He delivered him from 13:12 the wrath of his brother. 13:13 Because when his brother came against him, 13:15 his brother did not attack him. 13:17 They actually ended up in peace. 13:21 And the Bible tells us that there God changed his name. 13:26 In the Bible, the name represents the character. 13:29 You see, the character of Jacob had changed. 13:32 His name originally means, supplanter. 13:35 "Jacob," means, someone who steals the position of another. 13:38 But when he struggled with the Angel, and he was blessed, 13:43 the Angel said, "You will no longer be called, 13:45 Jacob; supplanter. 13:47 Your name will now be called, Israel, because you have 13:51 struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed." 13:55 I want to read the verses that describe this glorious event 14:00 in Genesis 32:24-30. 14:04 Let's notice how the Bible describes this wrestling match 14:09 between Jacob and the Angel of the covenant. 14:31 Notice, he must have been in excruciating pain. 14:34 And yet, he still struggles on and he still 14:37 hangs on for dear life. 14:39 Verse 26, this is the Angel of the covenant... 15:01 "Israel," means, prince of God, by the way. 15:12 "You've gained the victory," in other words. 15:18 He wants to know the Angel's name. 15:26 Let me ask you, can human beings really bless? 15:29 Who's the only one who can bless? 15:31 God is the only one who can bless. 15:33 We say, "God bless you," don't we? 15:35 Now notice what it continues saying here in verse, 15:39 once again, let's begin at verse 29... 16:02 Who had he been struggling with? 16:05 With God. 16:07 He called it, Peniel. 16:10 Which means, face of God. 16:12 In other words, the person that he was struggling with, 16:16 that he was asking for the blessing from 16:18 and protection from and deliverance from, 16:21 was none less than Jesus Christ Himself. 16:26 Now Jeremiah 30 picks up on this. 16:30 Jeremiah 30 beginning with verse 5 through verse 9 16:35 picks up on this experience of Jacob. 16:37 But at this point now it's being applied to Israel, 16:41 God's people in the Old Testament. 16:43 You see, Israel was led into Babylonian captivity. 16:46 You remember this, right? 16:47 Did they suffer, did they go through terrible anguish 16:51 when they were captive in Babylon? 16:52 Absolutely. 16:54 Did they want to be delivered from Babylon? 16:56 Of course they did. 16:57 Just like the experience of Jacob. 16:59 They had fallen into the hands of the enemies. 17:01 They cried out to God for deliverance. 17:04 It was a terrible time of trouble just like 17:06 Jacob had experienced. 17:08 Now let's read Jeremiah 30:5. 17:12 This is where the expression, 17:13 "time of Jacob's trouble," comes from. 17:24 This is talking about Jacob's brother coming against him. 17:34 Is this a painful experience that he's going through? 17:37 It's like going through childbirth, 17:39 is what Jeremiah is saying. 17:51 This is describing the terrible time of anguish and trouble 17:54 that God's people will go through at the end of time 17:57 when they are being oppressed by spiritual Babylon 18:01 on a worldwide scale. 18:03 Notice verse 7... 18:10 Do you remember we read in Daniel 12:1, it says that 18:13 this is a time of trouble such as never has been seen before? 18:16 Notice it says here, once again, it says in verse 7... 18:30 Was he going to be delivered? Yes. 18:52 When it says, "David," it's not talking about literal David. 18:54 Because Jeremiah wrote long after David was dead. 18:58 So it's talking about the Son of David. 19:00 It's talking about Jesus Christ reigning over His people. 19:03 Let me ask you, does this describe the time of trouble 19:06 that God's people are going to go through, 19:08 according to Daniel 12:1? 19:11 Is it going to be a time of severe anguish and pain, 19:15 and crying out to God, and prayer to have the assurance 19:19 of the forgiveness of sins, and to have the assurance 19:22 that God is going to keep His covenant 19:24 and He's going to protect His people 19:25 from being annihilated from the earth? 19:27 Absolutely. 19:29 Now there's another place in Scripture that describes 19:31 this time of trouble. 19:33 And similar terminology is used in this passage 19:36 as is used in Daniel 12:1. 19:39 I'm referring to Matthew 24 and we'll read verses 21 and 22 19:45 where you have the time of trouble. 19:47 And then we're going to read verses 29 to 31, 19:50 which is the deliverance from the time of trouble. 19:52 Notice Matthew 24:21-22. 19:55 You're aware of what Matthew 24 contains, right? 19:58 Matthew 24 is Christ's sermon about the signs of the end. 20:03 Now it applies in a limited way to events that led up 20:06 to the destruction in Jerusalem in the year 70. 20:09 But it has a double application. 20:11 It has an application also to end time events 20:14 on a broader scale. 20:15 Notice verses 21 and 22. 20:30 Does that sound similar to Daniel 12:1? 20:33 Absolutely. 20:34 This is the worst time of trouble in the 20:36 history of the world, is what is being described here. 20:39 It is so bad, notice verse 22... 20:50 I want you to remember that expression, "the elect." 20:54 Are the elect going to go through this time of trouble? 20:57 Yes. 21:02 Are God's people going to go through a severe 21:04 time of trouble, according to this? 21:06 The great tribulation? Absolutely. 21:09 Are they going to be delivered? 21:11 Yes they are. 21:13 Notice verse 29. Here we have the deliverance. 21:19 See, this is after the tribulation. 21:32 The powers of the heavens are the sun, the moon, 21:34 and the stars. 21:36 They will be moved out of their places, according to, 21:38 Early Writings, page 41, by the voice of God. 21:42 How powerful is the voice of God that when God 21:44 utters His voice, "It is finished. 21:46 I'm going to deliver My people," the sun, moon, and stars 21:49 are moved out of their places in such a way that during 21:52 the millennium the whole planet will be in darkness 21:54 because there will be no sun or moon here? 21:57 They will go who know where in the universe. 22:00 God, after the millennium, will put them in their proper place. 22:03 We're going to talk about that in our last lecture. 22:06 And so notice it says... 22:37 Here it is again. "His elect..." 22:39 Did they go through the time of trouble? Yes. 22:41 "He will gather together His elect..." 22:48 Is deliverance going to come for God's people 22:51 who go through the time of trouble? 22:53 Is God going to keep His word? 22:55 He most certainly is. 22:56 Is it going to be, however, a difficult time? 22:58 A time of anguish? A time of very much difficulty? 23:02 Absolutely. 23:03 Now I'm going to digress just for a moment. 23:06 And you're going to see where we're going with this. 23:09 The Constitution of the United States has a very 23:14 famous amendment. 23:15 Probably the most famous amendment is the First 23:17 Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 23:21 It has three clauses. 23:23 The first clause clearly states that Congress cannot 23:27 make any law that establishes a religious observance. 23:31 The second clause clearly states that Congress cannot 23:36 make any law forbidding your right to free exercise 23:40 of your religion. 23:41 And the third clause of the First Amendment 23:44 guarantees civil rights. 23:48 The right to assemble peaceably, the right to ask the government 23:52 to redress grievances, the freedom of speech, 23:56 freedom of the press, etc. 23:58 So the first two clauses have to do with freedom of religion. 24:01 The last clause has to do with civil rights. 24:05 Now let me read the First Amendment. 24:06 And you're going to see where we're going with this. 24:08 This might appear like, you know, it's kind of 24:10 digressing from the subject, but it's not really. 24:13 What we're doing is setting the stage for what we're going to 24:16 look at next, which is Daniel 3 and Daniel 6. 24:20 Notice the First Amendment says... 24:33 Would a Sunday law be unconstitutional? 24:37 Would a law mandating Sunday observance be unconstitutional? 24:41 Would that be establishing religion? Yes. 24:43 Would an anti-Sabbath law be also denial of the 24:48 free exercise of religion? Yes. 24:50 So would a Sunday law and an anti-Sabbath law 24:54 be unconstitutional? 24:56 Clearly it would be unconstitutional. 24:58 Now notice how the First Amendment ends. 25:14 Now I brought this to the fore because we're going to continue 25:16 studying about the time of trouble. 25:18 And we need to understand two stories in the book of Daniel 25:22 that illustrate the importance of these three clauses 25:27 of the First Amendment to the Constitution 25:29 of the United States. 25:30 Let's notice, first of all, Daniel 3. 25:34 And we're not going to study the whole chapter. 25:36 It's impossible in the time constraints that we have. 25:38 We'd have to take a couple of hours just to study 25:41 every detail in this chapter. 25:42 But we're talking about the time of trouble 25:45 that God's people will go through. 25:47 Let me ask you, in Daniel 3 is the issue worship? 25:54 Yes. It is, isn't it? 25:56 Is the issue God's holy law? 25:59 Yes. 26:01 The first commandment says, 26:02 "Thou shalt have not other..." What? 26:04 "...gods before Me." 26:05 And the second commandment says, don't bow down before any idol. 26:11 So would it be a violation of God's commandments, 26:14 particularly the first table of the law, 26:16 if the three young men had bowed before the image? 26:19 Yes. 26:20 Now listen carefully, this story of Daniel 3 26:23 is going to be picked up in Revelation 13. 26:26 Only, in the Old Testament this was literal Babylon. 26:29 At the end of time, Babylon is a worldwide system. 26:34 Are you following me? 26:36 In Revelation 13, does it mention a beast? 26:41 Yes. 26:43 Does the beast make an image? 26:46 Yes. 26:48 Does the beast command everyone to worship the image? 26:53 Does the text say that whoever doesn't worship 26:55 the image will be killed? 26:58 Where does that come from? 26:59 It comes from Daniel 3. 27:01 Only, in the book of Revelation it's a global crisis. 27:05 Whereas in the Old Testament it's a local crisis 27:08 that illustrates a much greater crisis at the end of time. 27:12 So the issue is God's law. 27:14 The issue is worship. 27:16 Now let's notice a few verses. 27:18 Incidentally, there are only three chapters 27:20 in the book of Daniel that use the word, "deliver." 27:24 Daniel 12:1 is one of those chapters. 27:28 The only other two chapters in Daniel that use the word, 27:31 "deliver," is Daniel 3 and Daniel 6. 27:36 And in a little while we're going to get to Daniel 6. 27:38 Let's go to Daniel 3:15. 27:40 We'll just look at the text primarily that use 27:42 the word, "deliver." 27:43 Do you remember that word was in Daniel 12:1? 27:46 "At that time, your people shall be..." What? 27:48 "...delivered." Delivered from whom? 27:50 From the wrath of the king of the north, right? 27:52 Notice verse 15. 27:54 Here Nebuchadnezzar is speaking, and he says 27:56 to the three young men... 27:59 Notice it has to do with worship. 28:06 And now notice the question? 28:13 "What god is going to deliver you from my hands?" 28:17 Well, the young men have an answer. 28:19 Daniel 3:16-18 28:35 Were they obedient to God? 28:37 Were they loyal to God? 28:39 Were they willing to give up their life for God? 28:41 Yes. So it says... 28:49 Oh, there's the key word again. 28:50 "...is able to deliver us..." 28:56 Notice again, once again the word, "deliver." 29:02 But they're not presumptuous. 29:04 They're not saying, "God, You've got to do it." 29:06 No. 29:07 They say, "God is going to deliver us. 29:08 But if He doesn't, we're still servants of God, 29:10 and we're still loyal to Him." 29:12 Verse 18... 29:23 And the Bible says that Nebuchadnezzar 29:25 was filled with wrath and he gave a death decree 29:28 to heat the oven seven times hotter than ever before. 29:32 And something spectacular happened. 29:34 Who arose to deliver them? 29:37 Who delivers in Daniel 12:1? 29:41 Michael; who is like God. 29:43 Who is Michael? 29:45 Chapter 3 tells us who He is. 29:47 Notice verse 25. 29:49 The king looks in the furnace and he says... 30:03 Some versions say, "like one of the sons of the gods." 30:06 No, no, no, no. 30:08 Daniel had explained to Nebuchadnezzar 30:11 what the Son of God looks like. 30:12 And so Nebuchadnezzar knew that the Person in the furnace 30:16 was none less than Michael. 30:18 It was none less than the Person who will deliver God's people 30:23 at the end of time. 30:24 And then notice how the king uses the word, "deliver," 30:28 in verses 28 and 29. 30:31 At the conclusion of this story we have these words... 30:43 Notice that the word, "Angel," is capitalized. 30:46 This is not a common angel. 30:48 "...sent His Angel..." And what's the next word? 30:58 Is this a matter of faith? 31:00 Is faith trust? 31:02 Why were they delivered? Because they what? 31:05 Because they trusted. 31:06 Is this righteousness by faith? 31:08 Certainly. 31:38 So is Daniel 3 about deliverance? 31:41 Did these young men go through the tribulation? 31:45 Could God have saved them without having to 31:47 go through the tribulation? 31:48 So you ask, "Why did God allow them to go through this trial?" 31:51 We'll come to that at the end of our presentation. 31:54 There are two reasons why God allows His people to 31:57 go through tribulation. 31:58 Do you think that they experienced anguish, perhaps? 32:01 I think probably they did. 32:04 Did God intervene to deliver them from their enemies? 32:07 Absolutely. Common denominator, once again. 32:10 They were not whisked away in a rapture. 32:12 They went through the tribulation, 32:14 but they delivered from the tribulation. 32:17 Incidentally, they overcame by faith. 32:21 Notice, Hebrews 11:33-34 reminisces about 32:25 this experience. 32:28 Here, I believe the apostle Paul who is writing 32:31 the book of Hebrews... 32:52 "...stopped the mouths of lions..." 32:55 Through faith. Did you notice that? 32:58 "...quenched the violence of..." What? 33:01 "...the violence of fire..." 33:03 So how did these young men overcome? 33:06 They overcame by faith. 33:10 By trust. 33:12 By loyalty to their God. 33:15 Now let me ask you, was the king establishing 33:19 religion in Daniel 3? 33:21 Was he establishing a religious observance? 33:23 Did he have a right to do that? 33:25 Did the civil power have a right to establish 33:28 an observance that required worship? 33:31 No, because worship we owe to whom? 33:33 Not to Caesar, not to the king, but to God. 33:37 Now in other words, Daniel 3 illustrates 33:41 the deplorable thing that happens when the civil power 33:48 establishes religion. 33:51 But now let's look at another chapter in Daniel that shows 33:53 what happens when the civil power forbids the 33:57 free exercise of religion. 33:59 See, that's why I brought the first two clauses 34:02 of the First Amendment. 34:04 When those two clauses are violated, 34:05 do you lose your civil rights? 34:07 See, they're all linked. 34:09 If the first two clauses of the First Amendment 34:13 are violated, the result is you lose your civil rights as well. 34:17 Now notice the story that we find in Daniel 6. 34:21 Is the story in Daniel 6, does that have anything 34:24 to do with worship? 34:25 Yes. It's talking about prayer. 34:28 Is prayer a service that we render to God? 34:31 Yes. Do you know what Daniel was accused of? 34:34 It also has to do with God's law. 34:36 Notice Daniel 6:5. 34:38 We'll read just a few statements here from Daniel 6. 34:41 Daniel 6:5, the enemies of Daniel have this to say... 34:51 Because he was an exemplary citizen. 34:55 In other words, he kept the laws of the nation 34:58 as long as they did not infringe on his religious rights. 35:11 Was this a controversy over worship and the law of God? 35:14 Yes. 35:15 Is that going to be the end time controversy? 35:18 Yes. 35:19 Worship and keeping God's commandments, 35:23 the book of Revelation says, will be the issues 35:25 at the end of time. 35:26 Now I want you to notice how the king's decree 35:30 is actually forbidding the free exercise of religion. 35:34 Notice Daniel 6:7-9. 35:46 They're talking to the king. 35:56 That would be okay to say, "any man." 36:12 And the laws of the Medes and Persians could not be changed. 36:16 So did it appear that Daniel was doomed to die? 36:21 Absolutely. 36:22 Because this law could not be changed. 36:25 The law of Medes and Persians could not be changed. 36:27 So let me ask you, by saying that Daniel could not 36:31 pray to his God for 30 days, is that a violation 36:37 of the free exercise of religion telling him that he can't pray? 36:40 Of course. 36:41 It's the other side of this issue of religious freedom. 36:45 So what I'm saying is that Daniel 3 illustrates 36:48 what happens when the civil power establishes religion, 36:52 and Daniel 6 illustrates what happens when the civil power 36:55 forbids the free exercise of religion. 36:58 Which the right to pray is one of those rights. 37:01 Notice Daniel 6:10. 37:04 Did Daniel still worship God the way that he was accustom to do? 37:07 Did he open his windows? 37:09 Of course he did. 37:10 It says in verse 10... 37:28 His religious habits did not change. 37:30 He said, "The king cannot give a decree forbidding my 37:33 free exercise of religion." 37:35 Are you following me? 37:36 What happened as a result of forbidding 37:38 the free exercise of religion? 37:39 Did persecution come? 37:41 You see, what's going to happen in the United States 37:43 is that these two clauses of the First Amendment 37:47 are going to be violated. 37:48 And the result of that will be what? 37:51 Will be persecution. 37:52 The time of trouble for God's people. 37:55 Now I want to read a rather extensive passage from Daniel 6. 37:59 Because the word, "deliver," is used repeatedly here 38:01 in Daniel 6, beginning with verse 14. 38:08 That is, when the satraps took the report that Daniel 38:12 was praying to his God. 38:23 There's the key word again. 38:29 Could the king deliver him? 38:31 No. 38:32 It continues saying in verse 16... 39:14 See, once again, the word, "deliver." 39:22 Do you suppose it's the same angel of Daniel 3? 39:25 By the way, do you know that in Daniel 3:28, 39:29 it says that it was an angel that delivered the 39:31 three young men from the fiery furnace? 39:34 So the Son of God was the Angel of the Lord. 39:37 Notice once again verse 22. 39:49 In other words, "I've obeyed the civil laws 39:51 and I obeyed God's law." 40:10 He trusted his God. 40:12 Is this righteousness by faith? 40:13 It most certainly is. 40:15 Verse 25... 40:54 Is deliverance the key thought in this passage? 40:58 Is most certainly is. 40:59 Is this an illustration of Daniel 12:1 when God's people 41:03 will be delivered from the time of trouble? 41:06 Did Daniel go through the time of trouble 41:08 or was he raptured away? 41:10 Do you think his faith was tested? 41:13 You say, "Well, the lions weren't hungry." 41:15 They weren't? 41:16 The Bible says that the ones who planned the plot were thrown in. 41:20 And before they hit the ground, 41:21 the lions were having a real banquet 41:25 of the princes that planned this plot. 41:27 So once again, God intervenes to deliver His people 41:32 in the midst of the crisis when they're crying out 41:35 in anguish to God. 41:37 Now let's take another story that we find in the Bible 41:40 that illustrates this period. 41:42 Luke 18:1-8 41:45 This is a parable that Jesus told. 41:47 And we have to really put our foot on the gas, 41:51 because time just goes by so fast and we have so many of 41:54 these passages in Scripture that describe this period. 41:58 This is the story of a widow. 42:03 And I'm going to go through the parable and I'm going to 42:05 add explanations as we go along. 42:07 Luke 18:1 42:14 In other words, "Don't give up." 42:28 So you notice that, first of all, according to this, 42:31 there is a widow. 42:33 What does a woman represent in prophecy? 42:36 A church. 42:37 What kind of woman is this? 42:39 A widow. 42:40 She's destitute of every human support. 42:42 She doesn't have anything to support her in this world. 42:47 Does that represent the church at the end of time 42:50 that has lost basically everything? 42:51 Of course. 42:53 So you have a widow. 42:54 In the second place, you have a judge. 42:57 And in the third place, you have an adversary. 43:01 The adversary has taken away from the widow 43:03 everything she has. 43:05 Probably, those who have studied the parable 43:07 believe that her husband had incurred a large debt 43:10 and the adversary had taken everything that he had 43:13 and had left her basically in the street 43:15 without anywhere to go. 43:16 And so now notice what it says. 43:20 Verse 3... 43:22 "...and she came to him, saying..." 43:23 The word, "came," is not properly translated. 43:27 It means that she kept on coming. 43:28 It's a progressive tense. 43:30 We'll see that in a minute. 43:31 So it says... 43:42 Is there a delay? 43:43 Yeah. 43:44 In all these stories, there's a delay. 43:46 God doesn't answer immediately. 43:48 He allows Daniel to go through 43:50 the experience of the lion's den. 43:51 He allows the three young men to go through the fiery furnace. 43:55 He allows God's people to go through tribulation. 43:57 He does not deliver them immediately. 44:00 So notice once again verse 4... 44:12 Ah, so now we know that it wasn't just that she came once. 44:15 She continued coming. 44:18 And then Jesus gives what the parable represents. 44:21 Do you know what period this parable is talking about? 44:25 It's really talking about 44:26 the time of trouble at the end of time. 44:28 And you say, "How do you know that?" 44:30 Because if you look at what comes immediately before the 44:32 parable at the end of chapter 17, Jesus has been 44:36 saying, "As it was in the days of Noah, 44:39 so also will it be at the coming of the Son of Man." 44:41 "As it was in the days of lot, so also will it be at 44:44 the coming of the Son of Man." 44:46 And the parable ends by saying, "When the Son of Man comes, 44:49 will He find faith in the earth?" 44:50 So between two passages that speak about the second coming, 44:54 you have this parable. 44:55 So it's dealing with the end time, specifically. 44:59 Now what is represented by the judge? 45:02 The judge represents God. 45:04 Who does the widow represent? 45:07 She represents the elect. 45:09 Do you remember that we talked about the elect in Matthew 24? 45:12 Are those the ones who go through the time of trouble 45:14 and are going to cry out? 45:15 Yes. 45:17 We're going to notice that the widow represents the elect. 45:19 Who would the adversary be that takes everything 45:22 away from the church? 45:24 The devil. 45:25 In fact, the word, "adversary," here in Greek is, "antÃdikon." 45:30 It's used in 1 Peter 5:8 where it says, "Your adversary, 45:34 the devil, goes about as a roaring lion 45:36 seeking whom he may devour." 45:38 So the antÃdikon, the adversary here, 45:42 that takes everything away from the church at the end of time 45:45 and leads the church to cry out, "Lord, deliver us," 45:49 represents Satan. 45:53 Is there going to be a delay for God's people? 45:56 Oh yes there is. 45:57 See, this parable is telling us that God isn't going to 46:00 answer the pleas of His people immediately. 46:03 There is going to be a delay. 46:04 So verse 6... 46:12 See, the judge represents God. 46:24 Are God's people going to cry out day and night 46:26 in the time of trouble? 46:27 Yes. 46:32 In other words, though there is a what? 46:35 Though there is a delay. 46:37 And then comes the beautiful answer. 46:47 Is He going to find this kind of faith that the widow had? 46:51 Is He going to find a church that has this kind of faith 46:54 at the end of time? 46:55 We're going to notice in Revelation that there will be 46:58 a group that will have that kind of faith. 47:01 You know, this makes me think of the experience of Jesus. 47:06 The end time will be similar to the experience 47:09 that Jesus went through. 47:11 Did Jesus cry out to His Father if it was possible 47:14 to take away the cup of His wrath three times? 47:18 Did the Father answer Him right away? 47:19 No. 47:21 Did Jesus sweat drops of blood in Gethsemane? 47:24 Did He cry out on the cross, "My God, My God, 47:27 why have You forsaken Me." 47:28 Yes. 47:30 Did Jesus give up His faith? 47:32 No. He trusted in His Father. 47:34 He felt separated, like God's people will feel separated 47:38 during the time of trouble. 47:39 But they will claim the promises of God. 47:41 It's not about feelings, it's about God's promises. 47:44 Notice Ellen White's description of how Jesus was the victor. 47:49 Desire of Ages, page 756. 48:04 Now notice how Jesus remained faithful to His Father. 48:16 In other words, given up to this point. 48:44 Isn't that marvelous? 48:46 By the way, do you know that God's people are going to go 48:48 through a similar experience to the experience of Jesus? 48:52 I want to read this statement from, Review and Herald, 48:55 April 14, 1896. 48:58 And I read this in our last presentation, 49:00 but it's worthwhile reading again. 49:29 Do you know what a fiend is? It's a demon. 49:54 That's what God's people have to look forward to. 49:57 But Jesus did not go by His feelings, by His emotions. 50:00 "Oh, I feel up," or, "I feel down." 50:02 No, Jesus trusted the promises of His Father. 50:06 Just like this widow trusted that the judge would do justice 50:11 to her if she continually kept coming. 50:14 Hebrews 5:7 describes the agony of Jesus. 50:31 Now why did God allow Jesus to go through this? 50:34 Verse 8... 50:43 He learned to depend on His Father by the things 50:46 that He suffered. 50:48 Well, I also wanted to talk a little bit about Esther. 50:52 The book of Esther describes the same type of time of trouble 50:57 and the deliverance of God's people from the death decree 51:01 that was given in the days of Esther. 51:02 We won't dwell on that anymore. 51:04 Now let me ask you, is God going to have at the end of time 51:08 a whole generation that will have the faith 51:13 that all of these past heroes had in the midst 51:15 of the tribulation? 51:17 Do you remember the question that was asked at the end of the 51:19 parable in Luke 18? 51:21 "When the Son of Man comes, will He find..." What? 51:24 "...faith in the earth?" 51:25 The book of Revelation says, yes, there will be a 51:27 group that will have faith. 51:29 Notice Revelation 13:10. 51:31 Both of these verses, we're going to read Revelation 13:10 51:34 and then we're going to read chapter 14:12. 51:39 14:12 is the conclusion of the third angel's message. 51:41 It deals with the end time crisis. 51:43 13:10 is the transition verse between the persecutions 51:48 by the beast during the 1260 years and the future persecution 51:52 by the beast that rises from the earth. 51:54 So both of these statements is in the context 51:58 of the final crisis. 52:00 Notice Revelation 13:10. 52:02 Speaking about the papacy, it says... 52:12 And then right before talking about the beast 52:14 that rises from the earth, that is going to speak like a dragon, 52:17 and is going to enforce the day of the sun, 52:22 and is going to raise an image to the beast, 52:24 it says, "Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." 52:29 That word, "patience," can be better translated, 52:32 "the perseverance." 52:34 It's the word, "hupomone." 52:36 I know Melvin loves it when I say, "hupomone." 52:39 Now Revelation 14:12. 52:41 The conclusion of the third angel's message. 52:46 Once again, the perseverance of the saints. 52:56 The faith that Jesus had. 52:59 Now we have one question that we need to answer 53:01 in the few minutes that we have left. 53:04 Why would God allow His people to go through the tribulation? 53:07 What does it have to do with the great controversy? 53:09 What does it have to do with God's character? 53:13 The answer is found in the book of Job. 53:17 In the book of Job you have the same scenario 53:19 that we've described in all these other context. 53:21 Did Job go through a severe time of trouble? 53:24 Did he lose everything that he had? 53:27 Did he lose his health? 53:29 Did he lose the support of his wife? 53:31 Did his friends turn against him? 53:33 Did he lose all of his possessions? 53:35 Did he lose his children? 53:37 Did he feel like God had forsaken him? 53:39 Yes. He had nothing to lean on. 53:42 And yet he said, "Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him." 53:46 And he said, "I know that my Redeemer lives." 53:49 He did not go by his feelings, by what seemed to be, 53:53 by his emotions. 53:54 He says, "I know God." 53:55 Because he had learned to know God in times of prosperity. 53:59 Now you know the story. 54:02 The Bible tells us that one day the sons of God 54:04 came to present themselves before the Lord. 54:06 The sons of God are the representatives of the 54:08 worlds that never sinned. 54:10 And among them comes Satan. 54:11 Why did Satan come? 54:12 Because Satan had stolen the position of whom? 54:15 Of Adam. 54:17 So Satan comes representing planet earth. 54:18 He comes among the sons of God. 54:20 The other sons of God must also come from other 54:22 planets representing them. 54:24 And so God, you know, says, "Have you seen My servant Job? 54:28 That he's a righteous and blameless man. 54:30 Even though he lives in your territory, he is My servant." 54:33 And the devil says, "Ah, it's because 54:35 You bless him in everything. 54:38 You know, You don't give me access to him. 54:41 If You gave me access to him, You would see that he serves You 54:44 for the loaves and the fishes. 54:46 Not because he loves You. 54:48 He would not be loyal to You. 54:49 He would forsake You in a minute." 54:52 And by the way, the heavenly jury is observing, aren't they? 54:55 So what if God says, "Oh, you're a liar," 54:59 and He hadn't done anything about it? 55:01 The heavenly beings would have wondered, 55:02 "Hmm, what is God scared of?" 55:04 So God says, "Go for it. 55:07 Take anything you want. Don't touch him. 55:09 Do anything you want." 55:10 The devil goes and he wipes him out. 55:13 Another meeting takes place in heaven. 55:14 The sons of God are there again observing what is happening. 55:18 And you know, by the way, Job said, 55:20 "God gave and God took away. 55:22 Blessed be the name of the Lord." 55:24 He did not sin, the Bible says. 55:26 So in the second meeting, God says, 55:28 "Have you seen My servant Job, that he's still faithful 55:31 even though you turned Me against him?" 55:33 And the devil says, "Ah, You didn't let me touch him. 55:36 See, if You let me touch him, You would see that he serves You 55:39 not out of love, but for the loaves and the fishes." 55:43 What if God had said, "Oh, that's a lie," 55:46 and hadn't done anything about it? 55:47 The heavenly beings would have said, 55:48 "Yeah, God didn't allow him to touch him." 55:50 So God says, "Go for it. 55:53 Do what ever you want to him, but you can't kill him." 55:55 Are God's people going to die during the time of trouble? 55:57 No. Will they be afflicted? 56:00 Will they feel like everything is lost? 56:02 Yes. 56:04 Will they let loose of God's hand? 56:06 No they won't. 56:07 They will have the faith of Jesus, 56:10 and they will have the perseverance of the saints. 56:12 Are you with me? 56:14 And so God says, "Go for it." 56:16 So he goes and he afflicts Job with boils from the top of 56:19 his head to the bottom of his feet 56:22 so that he had to scratch himself with a potsherd. 56:24 With a piece of pottery. 56:27 And yet, Job did not apostatize. 56:29 He did not let loose of the hand of God. 56:33 He overcame and conquered by faith. 56:36 And James 5 praises Job for his patience 56:40 in the midst of suffering. 56:42 How do you suppose God looked before the heavenly jury? 56:47 Who was proved right and who was proved wrong? 56:50 The devil was proved wrong because it was seen 56:53 that Job served God simply because he loved Him. 56:58 No matter what might come. 57:00 He did not serve God because of the benefits and blessings. 57:03 He served God simply because he loved God 57:07 and he was going to be loyal to God, even if it meant 57:10 dying to be faithful to God. 57:13 That is what's going to happen with God's people 57:16 at the end of time. 57:17 They will be the witnesses before the whole universe. 57:20 The universe will say, "God is right. 57:23 Satan is wrong. 57:25 Look, these people, this final generation, 57:27 they are faithful to God even unto death. 57:30 They have overcome sin and they're ready for heaven." 57:33 So God has something to prove. 57:35 That's why He allows His people to go 57:37 through the time of trouble. 57:39 In fact, the time of trouble is a blessing for them too, 57:42 because it's like going through the furnace of fire. 57:45 I end by reading one verse. 57:47 Job says in chapter 23:10... 57:50 He knew why he was being tried, he says... 57:59 So do you understand the reason for the time of trouble? 58:03 I hope that we've understood that this time is coming. 58:06 And may God keep us faithful. |
Revised 2016-10-12