God's Great Final Day
Sermon
Renewal of the New
Sermons For Sundays After Pentecost
Those who do weekend sailing on a very wide body of water have a way of charting their course. They keep their eye on a distant, fixed object on the shore. No matter how whimsically the wind blows, no matter how tricky the cross-currents in the water, they can keep their direction by that immovable landmark at the water's edge. Otherwise, they would be swept far off their course by the wind and the waves, although they might think that they were headed in the right direction. That distant landmark keeps them on course.
The book of Daniel in today's lesson held up a distant landmark for readers who were sailing through rough waters. God's people were being harassed and sorely persecuted under the rule of an occupying power headed by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This was about 165 years before Christ was born. An altar to Zeus, the Greek god, was set up in the Jewish temple. Swine were sacrificed on the altar. This gave rise to the Maccabean wars. It was a time of great suffering and sorrow for the Jewish people. In such choppy waters, the prophecy of Daniel pointed to an immovable landmark by which God's people could chart their course with confidence and hope. We still can today. That distant landmark is God's great final day. Daniel's words give three clear components of that final day.
The Final Day of Reckoning
The first aspect of that final day is that it will be a day of reckoning. The scene in Daniel is that of a courtroom. The custodians are arranging the chairs, only in this case they are thrones. The Judge enters the courtroom. He is an arresting sight. He is described as "ancient of days." This does not mean that he is wrinkled and bent over or leaning on a cane. It means that he has lived for a long time. In heaven wrinkles and arthritic joints do not apply, for there is no physical body in heaven. The Judge, of course, is God, and he has lived for a long, long time. The best estimate of science is that our solar system is approximately four and a half billion years old. God existed before that. We have never seen a person who is more than four and a half billion years old, but "ancient of days" would certainly be an appropriate description.
"His raiment was white as snow," Daniel reports concerning his vision. If you have ever seen vast stretches of new-fallen snow in the high mountains, you know that it is blinding in its whiteness when the sun shines on it. Daniel also reports, "And the hair of his head [was] like pure wool." Here is another symbol of dazzling whiteness. The white hair of this Ancient of Days does not indicate his age, but his purity. White is often used in the Bible as a symbol of purity and sinlessness. Judges today wear black robes. This Judge was resplendent in a white robe. He is different from all other judges. He is without sin. The whiteness of his robe and his hair tells us that. In the Bronx a Supreme Court Justice of New York State was charged with perjury, tax evasion and distributing drugs. It stunned the community when William T. Martin was indicted for trial two years ago. Human judges, no matter how high in the judicial system, can be corrupted, but the divine Judge who presides in the court on the final day cannot be corrupted. His integrity, justice and purity are without blemish.
The throne on which this Ancient of Days took his seat in the courtroom was like no throne ever seen before. Searing flames were what it was made of, and it was mounted on wheels, which also were made of fire. Flames even issued from the throne and reached out into the courtroom. Three times Daniel mentions the fire that characterized the throne. Could this triple emphasis on fire have symbolized the burning majesty and power of the Ancient of Days? Here was an enthroned authority that no human could extinguish.
Other thrones were placed in the courtroom, according to Daniel. This is a mystery beyond our understanding. It agrees with what Jesus taught in Matthew 19:28: "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." It also agrees with John's vision of heaven in Revelation 20:4: "Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed." We do not know in what way believers will participate in the final judgment or which believers they will be, but in some fashion God will work it out in his infinite wisdom.
Now the picture of the courtroom becomes even more fantastic. Daniel reports in his vision, "A thousand thousands served him." A thousand thousand would be a million, but Daniel puts this phrase in the plural. Millions were serving the one on the throne of fire. That is more than all the bailiffs of all the courtrooms in all the world put together. But listen to this: "Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him." This arithmetic produces the sum total of one hundred million. There must have been standing room only in that courtroom. However, you can be sure that no census taker took an actual count. Certainly Daniel didn't. The picture he paints is that of a vast assembly gathered for the final judgment on God's great day. You would be in that inspiring gathering, as would I. Now the gavel raps for order, and the court is convened. Daniel says it in these words: "The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened."
What books are these? The vision of heaven in the book of Revelation speaks of "the Lamb's book of life." This would contain the names and deeds of faith of those who were saved by the sacrifice of God's Lamb on Calvary's Cross. But there must be at least another book of those who did not put their total trust in the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, even though they had ample opportunity to do so, because Daniel saw books that were opened. We shall not be judged in God's great final day by our deeds, but by our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior that flowed out into Christ-like deeds.
An example is the case of Grammy-winning guitarist Larry Carlton, who walked out of his California recording studio one day in 1988 right into a gunman's bullet. He believed he was going to die. "I hit the floor, and then I prayed," he said. "I was ready to go to heaven," he added, as a born-again Christian. His faith, and the frantic efforts of doctors who repaired his severed artery, saved his life. After seven months of rigorous therapy, Carlton was able to start playing the guitar again and even achieve fame again. Out of his experience he founded a support group called Helping Innocent People, which gives financial aid or other help to crime victims. He has contributed part of the proceeds of his recent world tour toward the fund. Helping Innocent People was born out of his philosophy of helping the less fortunate, and this grew out of his faith in Jesus Christ. It takes more than church membership to have your name written in the Lamb's book of life. It takes a total trust in Christ that is active in deeds of loving service.
As we sail through life with our eyes glued to the distant landmark of God's final day of reckoning, we shall steer our course not by instant gratification, which is the way many are living, but by eternal values that will pass muster in the final day of reckoning. The use of illegal drugs is a case in point. Such substance abuse may bring instant gratification, but it is purely selfish and will condemn users for that reason in the final judgment. On the other hand, letting the Holy Spirit shape us to be more like Christ and to live by his values of love, forgiveness, service, humility and self-sacrifice will keep us in line with our eternal destination. One thing is certain. There is no second chance of which we know after God's great final day. All the course corrections in our earthly life must take place before that final day.
The Total Destruction of Evil
A second component of God's great final day is that evil will be totally destroyed. Daniel puts it in these words: "And as I looked, the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire." The beast was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the cruel despot, and his corrupt government. He persecuted and slew the people of God. He tried to destroy their religion and replace it with pagan gods. But his whole career and all his achievements were for naught. He was destroyed by God in the end. Note that there was a triple finality to his end. He was slain, then his body was destroyed, and then the destroyed pieces were burned to ashes. It was a total wipe-out of all that he stood for, so that nothing was left. It happened right when Antiochus IV Epiphanes was boasting about his reign, because Daniel reports, "I looked then because of the sound of the great words which the horn was speaking." Antiochus was blowing his own horn. God interrupted him by taking his life. The same will happen in the end to every little tin-horn dictator on earth. God will cut him off. The poet, Shelley, wrote a sonnet about such a boastful ruler, based on fragments of a gigantic statue found lying in the Egyptian desert, bearing the inscription, "I am Ozymandias, king of kings." Despite the great king's achievements, Shelley observes, the statue's broken face and trunkless legs are all that remain of the once-great ruler or his kingdom.
There were three other beasts in the seventh chapter of Daniel. They represent, it is thought, Babylon, Media and Persia. Here is what happened to them, as reported by Daniel in his vision: "As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolongued for a season and a time." Their power to harm was taken away. They were de-fanged by God. Three tigers became three pussycats. Why they were not destroyed along with Antiochus, who can say? The mysteries of God's rule are beyond our understanding. But their fate was certain; it was only delayed.
The point is that evil always loses in the end. It is a born loser. Why would anyone want to put good money into a bank that was sure to fail? Why would anyone want to engage in evil when its final destruction is certain? A spider can spend all night constructing a magnificent web, and in the morning a person walks right through it. On an average day 93,474 crimes are committed in America. This seems to say that 93,474 persons each day put their money in a sock with a big hole in the toe. What they are engaged in cannot win in the end. It is a lost cause. Great Britain has discontinued the number 666 from its license plates because that is the number of the beast, called Satan, in the book of Revelation. People with a license plate carrying that number claim that they have been bedeviled by bad things happening to them. Ronald Reagan had his retirement house number changed from 666 to 668. Whether numbers have anything to do with it or not, the beast is on the losing side. Evil can never ultimately win. This is God's world. Only his way can win in his world. Our delight is to do the will of God in heaven. His way will always win ultimately. Will Rogers once said "Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip." We live to please him whom we love most.
The Kingdom That Endures
The third component in God's great final day is one to put steel into the endurance of God's persecuted people, because it paints a glowing picture of God's everlasting Kingdom. Daniel says, "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him." Here is the central figure in Daniel's vision, next to the Ancient of Days. A person clothed with clouds is a divine person in the Scriptures. As we read the book of Daniel through the lens of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, we recognize this figure as the Son of God, even though Daniel would not have known that. The scene which Daniel describes bears a likeness to the events which must have occurred in heaven when Christ ascended to heaven after this life, death and Resurrection on earth. He was presented to the Father. It was a coronation scene. He had fought the enemy on Calvary and won the victory. This was certified by his Easter Resurrection. Now he had ascended to his Father's throne to receive his eternal Kingdom.
Daniel's vision continues, "And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him." In other words, the ruler of this Kingdom is omnipotent, and his Kingdom is universal, embracing all peoples of earth. This Kingdom does not wait to exist until we get to heaven. The verb "was" is in the past tense in Scripture here. This Kingdom has existed on earth ever since Jesus died and rose again to reconcile a fallen humanity to its holy God. Those who worship this King live to serve him. But there's even more in Daniel's vision, for he says, "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." The eternal quality of this Kingdom is emphasized three times in these words: it is "everlasting;" it "shall not pass away;" and it "shall not be destroyed." This contrasts with the Kingdom of evil represented by the beast, which in three ways was destroyed. The Kingdom of God is the only thing that endures. It is a believer's relationship of peace with God through the forgiveness wrought by Christ and a loving relationship with all others for the sake of Christ. When that Kingdom is in our hearts through faith in Christ, then we, too, are invincible and indestructible. As Martin Luther wrote in his great Reformation hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is our God."
Were they to take our house, Goods, honor, child, or spouse,
Though life be wrenched away, They cannot win the day.
The kingdom's ours forever!
With what rejoicing the victory of Christ's Kingdom can be celebrated by those who belong to it! Its triumph now, and in God's great final day, is the landmark by which we set our course as we sail through the sometimes choppy waters of this life on earth. Otherwise we could be drifting badly, like that woman in southern France who lived for 111 days in a room 275 feet underground as an experiment. She had no clock or calendar, no sunrise or sunset, no radio or television. She slept when she wanted to and stayed awake as she pleased. For almost a third of a year, she just drifted through time, as many are doing in their lives above ground, without any destination.
Or, life can be like that twenty-nine story, skinny tower in Bristol, Connecticut, that has elevators going up and down in it as a testing ground for Otis Elevator Company. The building has no offices, no apartments, no stores. It simply encloses elevator shafts to test new elevator equipment. It houses eleven elevators and an escalator. One of the company's consultants says, "This is basically a building filled with nothing." This may be all right for elevator experimentation, but how sad if a life is full of ups and downs that all add up to nothing! This can't happen when we keep our eyes on God's great final day, which promises triumph for good and destruction of evil.
This last day is radiant with promise for those whose Lord and Redeemer is Christ, but it is heavy with doom for those who have spurned the Son of God. There is both comfort and warning in that great day. Life is moving us relentlessly toward it. Each day brings us one step closer. Sudden death could bring any one of us to it instantly. We must be ready at any time. But hold onto this comfort for dear life: it is God's will that everyone have a place in the eternal bliss of the Kingdom that can never be destroyed. Christ died and rose for this. Let no one fail to celebrate eternally in it for failure to trust Christ as Savior in this life.
The book of Daniel in today's lesson held up a distant landmark for readers who were sailing through rough waters. God's people were being harassed and sorely persecuted under the rule of an occupying power headed by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This was about 165 years before Christ was born. An altar to Zeus, the Greek god, was set up in the Jewish temple. Swine were sacrificed on the altar. This gave rise to the Maccabean wars. It was a time of great suffering and sorrow for the Jewish people. In such choppy waters, the prophecy of Daniel pointed to an immovable landmark by which God's people could chart their course with confidence and hope. We still can today. That distant landmark is God's great final day. Daniel's words give three clear components of that final day.
The Final Day of Reckoning
The first aspect of that final day is that it will be a day of reckoning. The scene in Daniel is that of a courtroom. The custodians are arranging the chairs, only in this case they are thrones. The Judge enters the courtroom. He is an arresting sight. He is described as "ancient of days." This does not mean that he is wrinkled and bent over or leaning on a cane. It means that he has lived for a long time. In heaven wrinkles and arthritic joints do not apply, for there is no physical body in heaven. The Judge, of course, is God, and he has lived for a long, long time. The best estimate of science is that our solar system is approximately four and a half billion years old. God existed before that. We have never seen a person who is more than four and a half billion years old, but "ancient of days" would certainly be an appropriate description.
"His raiment was white as snow," Daniel reports concerning his vision. If you have ever seen vast stretches of new-fallen snow in the high mountains, you know that it is blinding in its whiteness when the sun shines on it. Daniel also reports, "And the hair of his head [was] like pure wool." Here is another symbol of dazzling whiteness. The white hair of this Ancient of Days does not indicate his age, but his purity. White is often used in the Bible as a symbol of purity and sinlessness. Judges today wear black robes. This Judge was resplendent in a white robe. He is different from all other judges. He is without sin. The whiteness of his robe and his hair tells us that. In the Bronx a Supreme Court Justice of New York State was charged with perjury, tax evasion and distributing drugs. It stunned the community when William T. Martin was indicted for trial two years ago. Human judges, no matter how high in the judicial system, can be corrupted, but the divine Judge who presides in the court on the final day cannot be corrupted. His integrity, justice and purity are without blemish.
The throne on which this Ancient of Days took his seat in the courtroom was like no throne ever seen before. Searing flames were what it was made of, and it was mounted on wheels, which also were made of fire. Flames even issued from the throne and reached out into the courtroom. Three times Daniel mentions the fire that characterized the throne. Could this triple emphasis on fire have symbolized the burning majesty and power of the Ancient of Days? Here was an enthroned authority that no human could extinguish.
Other thrones were placed in the courtroom, according to Daniel. This is a mystery beyond our understanding. It agrees with what Jesus taught in Matthew 19:28: "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." It also agrees with John's vision of heaven in Revelation 20:4: "Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed." We do not know in what way believers will participate in the final judgment or which believers they will be, but in some fashion God will work it out in his infinite wisdom.
Now the picture of the courtroom becomes even more fantastic. Daniel reports in his vision, "A thousand thousands served him." A thousand thousand would be a million, but Daniel puts this phrase in the plural. Millions were serving the one on the throne of fire. That is more than all the bailiffs of all the courtrooms in all the world put together. But listen to this: "Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him." This arithmetic produces the sum total of one hundred million. There must have been standing room only in that courtroom. However, you can be sure that no census taker took an actual count. Certainly Daniel didn't. The picture he paints is that of a vast assembly gathered for the final judgment on God's great day. You would be in that inspiring gathering, as would I. Now the gavel raps for order, and the court is convened. Daniel says it in these words: "The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened."
What books are these? The vision of heaven in the book of Revelation speaks of "the Lamb's book of life." This would contain the names and deeds of faith of those who were saved by the sacrifice of God's Lamb on Calvary's Cross. But there must be at least another book of those who did not put their total trust in the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, even though they had ample opportunity to do so, because Daniel saw books that were opened. We shall not be judged in God's great final day by our deeds, but by our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior that flowed out into Christ-like deeds.
An example is the case of Grammy-winning guitarist Larry Carlton, who walked out of his California recording studio one day in 1988 right into a gunman's bullet. He believed he was going to die. "I hit the floor, and then I prayed," he said. "I was ready to go to heaven," he added, as a born-again Christian. His faith, and the frantic efforts of doctors who repaired his severed artery, saved his life. After seven months of rigorous therapy, Carlton was able to start playing the guitar again and even achieve fame again. Out of his experience he founded a support group called Helping Innocent People, which gives financial aid or other help to crime victims. He has contributed part of the proceeds of his recent world tour toward the fund. Helping Innocent People was born out of his philosophy of helping the less fortunate, and this grew out of his faith in Jesus Christ. It takes more than church membership to have your name written in the Lamb's book of life. It takes a total trust in Christ that is active in deeds of loving service.
As we sail through life with our eyes glued to the distant landmark of God's final day of reckoning, we shall steer our course not by instant gratification, which is the way many are living, but by eternal values that will pass muster in the final day of reckoning. The use of illegal drugs is a case in point. Such substance abuse may bring instant gratification, but it is purely selfish and will condemn users for that reason in the final judgment. On the other hand, letting the Holy Spirit shape us to be more like Christ and to live by his values of love, forgiveness, service, humility and self-sacrifice will keep us in line with our eternal destination. One thing is certain. There is no second chance of which we know after God's great final day. All the course corrections in our earthly life must take place before that final day.
The Total Destruction of Evil
A second component of God's great final day is that evil will be totally destroyed. Daniel puts it in these words: "And as I looked, the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire." The beast was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the cruel despot, and his corrupt government. He persecuted and slew the people of God. He tried to destroy their religion and replace it with pagan gods. But his whole career and all his achievements were for naught. He was destroyed by God in the end. Note that there was a triple finality to his end. He was slain, then his body was destroyed, and then the destroyed pieces were burned to ashes. It was a total wipe-out of all that he stood for, so that nothing was left. It happened right when Antiochus IV Epiphanes was boasting about his reign, because Daniel reports, "I looked then because of the sound of the great words which the horn was speaking." Antiochus was blowing his own horn. God interrupted him by taking his life. The same will happen in the end to every little tin-horn dictator on earth. God will cut him off. The poet, Shelley, wrote a sonnet about such a boastful ruler, based on fragments of a gigantic statue found lying in the Egyptian desert, bearing the inscription, "I am Ozymandias, king of kings." Despite the great king's achievements, Shelley observes, the statue's broken face and trunkless legs are all that remain of the once-great ruler or his kingdom.
There were three other beasts in the seventh chapter of Daniel. They represent, it is thought, Babylon, Media and Persia. Here is what happened to them, as reported by Daniel in his vision: "As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolongued for a season and a time." Their power to harm was taken away. They were de-fanged by God. Three tigers became three pussycats. Why they were not destroyed along with Antiochus, who can say? The mysteries of God's rule are beyond our understanding. But their fate was certain; it was only delayed.
The point is that evil always loses in the end. It is a born loser. Why would anyone want to put good money into a bank that was sure to fail? Why would anyone want to engage in evil when its final destruction is certain? A spider can spend all night constructing a magnificent web, and in the morning a person walks right through it. On an average day 93,474 crimes are committed in America. This seems to say that 93,474 persons each day put their money in a sock with a big hole in the toe. What they are engaged in cannot win in the end. It is a lost cause. Great Britain has discontinued the number 666 from its license plates because that is the number of the beast, called Satan, in the book of Revelation. People with a license plate carrying that number claim that they have been bedeviled by bad things happening to them. Ronald Reagan had his retirement house number changed from 666 to 668. Whether numbers have anything to do with it or not, the beast is on the losing side. Evil can never ultimately win. This is God's world. Only his way can win in his world. Our delight is to do the will of God in heaven. His way will always win ultimately. Will Rogers once said "Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip." We live to please him whom we love most.
The Kingdom That Endures
The third component in God's great final day is one to put steel into the endurance of God's persecuted people, because it paints a glowing picture of God's everlasting Kingdom. Daniel says, "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him." Here is the central figure in Daniel's vision, next to the Ancient of Days. A person clothed with clouds is a divine person in the Scriptures. As we read the book of Daniel through the lens of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, we recognize this figure as the Son of God, even though Daniel would not have known that. The scene which Daniel describes bears a likeness to the events which must have occurred in heaven when Christ ascended to heaven after this life, death and Resurrection on earth. He was presented to the Father. It was a coronation scene. He had fought the enemy on Calvary and won the victory. This was certified by his Easter Resurrection. Now he had ascended to his Father's throne to receive his eternal Kingdom.
Daniel's vision continues, "And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him." In other words, the ruler of this Kingdom is omnipotent, and his Kingdom is universal, embracing all peoples of earth. This Kingdom does not wait to exist until we get to heaven. The verb "was" is in the past tense in Scripture here. This Kingdom has existed on earth ever since Jesus died and rose again to reconcile a fallen humanity to its holy God. Those who worship this King live to serve him. But there's even more in Daniel's vision, for he says, "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." The eternal quality of this Kingdom is emphasized three times in these words: it is "everlasting;" it "shall not pass away;" and it "shall not be destroyed." This contrasts with the Kingdom of evil represented by the beast, which in three ways was destroyed. The Kingdom of God is the only thing that endures. It is a believer's relationship of peace with God through the forgiveness wrought by Christ and a loving relationship with all others for the sake of Christ. When that Kingdom is in our hearts through faith in Christ, then we, too, are invincible and indestructible. As Martin Luther wrote in his great Reformation hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is our God."
Were they to take our house, Goods, honor, child, or spouse,
Though life be wrenched away, They cannot win the day.
The kingdom's ours forever!
With what rejoicing the victory of Christ's Kingdom can be celebrated by those who belong to it! Its triumph now, and in God's great final day, is the landmark by which we set our course as we sail through the sometimes choppy waters of this life on earth. Otherwise we could be drifting badly, like that woman in southern France who lived for 111 days in a room 275 feet underground as an experiment. She had no clock or calendar, no sunrise or sunset, no radio or television. She slept when she wanted to and stayed awake as she pleased. For almost a third of a year, she just drifted through time, as many are doing in their lives above ground, without any destination.
Or, life can be like that twenty-nine story, skinny tower in Bristol, Connecticut, that has elevators going up and down in it as a testing ground for Otis Elevator Company. The building has no offices, no apartments, no stores. It simply encloses elevator shafts to test new elevator equipment. It houses eleven elevators and an escalator. One of the company's consultants says, "This is basically a building filled with nothing." This may be all right for elevator experimentation, but how sad if a life is full of ups and downs that all add up to nothing! This can't happen when we keep our eyes on God's great final day, which promises triumph for good and destruction of evil.
This last day is radiant with promise for those whose Lord and Redeemer is Christ, but it is heavy with doom for those who have spurned the Son of God. There is both comfort and warning in that great day. Life is moving us relentlessly toward it. Each day brings us one step closer. Sudden death could bring any one of us to it instantly. We must be ready at any time. But hold onto this comfort for dear life: it is God's will that everyone have a place in the eternal bliss of the Kingdom that can never be destroyed. Christ died and rose for this. Let no one fail to celebrate eternally in it for failure to trust Christ as Savior in this life.
