JUDAH’S SINFUL HEART
Jeremiah 2–6

“They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good” (Jer. 4:22).

Judah’s sins are spelled out, and the judgment due is defined. Jeremiah found his ministry bitter, for his anguished heart knew that the people of Judah would never listen or repent.

Overview
Judah had forsaken God in favor of pagan idols, despite His loving care (2:1–37). Even so, spiritually unfaithful Judah was urged to return (3:1–25), before judgment came from the north (4:1–31). Josiah’s religious reformation had not touched Judah’s heart (5:1–31), and the enemy was commissioned to punish the Holy City (6:1–16). Everyone listening to Jeremiah stood at a crossroads: the way he or she chose would determine his destiny (vv. 17–30).

Understanding the Text
“The devotion of your youth” Jer. 2:1–8. Last week my wife and I walked on the beach in the little Michigan town where we met. It was a very special time, as we remembered how that meeting had grown into love and the discovery that God intended us to wed. This is what looking back to first love is supposed to be like. Yes, our love has changed as we’ve lived together. But the change has been one of growth and maturity. We are closer now. Yet remembering that early love still has the power to make us smile, and look at each other with even deeper affection.
What a contrast we see here. God feels only pain when He looks back on His relationship with the people of Israel and Judah. The love of the bride who followed Him then has not simply faded. Despite all the blessings God poured out on His own (vv. 6–7), the people He loved had strayed far from Him, and “followed worthless idols.”
Only a person who has been betrayed by a husband or wife he or she loved can understand the depth of God’s pain—or the seriousness of Judah’s sin.
We need to look back on those days when we first came to know the Lord, and remember our first love for God. We may not feel exactly the same as we did then, or express our love in just the same way. But if we have grown in our relationship with the Lord, looking back and remembering can bring us that same feeling of renewed intimacy that my wife and I experienced in Michigan. And if remembering brings us no joy, we may take it as a warning from God to check and see if we have strayed.

“My people have committed two sins” Jer. 2:10–37. This passage takes the form of a rib, or an indictment presented in court. God brought two serious charges against Judah.
God’s people had forsaken Him, the “spring of living water.” It was water alone that made the Holy Land produce crops. Thus water was the one necessity Judah required for prosperity. Despite the fact that God was the one utter necessity in the life of His people, they “long ago broke off Your yoke and tore off Your bonds; [they] said, ’I will not serve You’ ” (v. 20).
Judah’s even more serious sin was to dig “their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Cisterns were plastered underground pits where water was stored for use during the dry season. Here they represent the pagan gods to whom Judah turned. The twin choices to reject God and to turn to idolatry are inexplicable. No pagan nation ever changed its gods. Yet Judah abandoned the Lord. The closest thing to an explanation is given in verses 23–24. The people of Judah had behaved like a female camel in heat, in the grip of an uncontrollable urge. There is no rational explanation for anyone to reject God, much less to seek spiritual or other help elsewhere!
Perhaps this is the message of this lament. Human beings are not “rational” in making choices. Rather we often find ourselves in the grip of sin, which expresses itself as an instinctive rejection of the one true God, and in a hunger that leads men to turn anywhere in search of substitutes. Only the grace of God can preserve any of us from the power of indwelling sin. Only the grace of God can help us remember His benefits, and honor the Lord as the one essential source of our well-being.

“You have the brazen look of a prostitute” Jer. 3:1–13. These early messages of Jeremiah were given during the religious revival promoted by godly King Josiah. This reform is described in 2 Chronicles 34–35. Josiah repaired the temple and reinstituted worship there. When the lost book of Old Testament Law was found, Josiah called for national repentance. He held a Passover service that the people joyfully participated in, and did all he could to stamp out idolatry by desecrating places of pagan worship. Yet, as this chapter shows us, all his efforts failed to touch the hearts of the people of Judah.
The failure is portrayed in Jeremiah’s reference to a specific Old Testament law. A person who divorced his wife might remarry, but could never marry the first wife again if either of them had been married to another in the interim. Judah, like a faithless wife, had abandoned her Husband, God, and gone on to join herself not to just one but a series of lovers. Even so God was willing to take faithless Judah back! And Judah seemed to come back. But the people of Judah treated the whole thing lightly. It was as if their spiritual unfaithfulness didn’t matter at all! Judah came back smirking, saying, “My Father, my friend from my youth.” These were words that a young wife often spoke to an older husband. But they were not appropriate for Judah to speak, as if she were still an innocent and had not rejected the Lord and turned to idols! And so God said through Jeremiah, “You have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame.”
God’s grace is overwhelming. Even after we have been unfaithful to Him, He is willing to take us back. But we are to come as a penitent, deeply aware of our sin and bowed with shame. We are not to come brazenly, or lightly, as if our unfaithfulness to God had no significance at all.

“Yes, we will come to you” Jer. 3:14–25. Jeremiah’s generation did not return to God. But the prophet looked ahead, and foresaw a day when God’s people would turn to Him again. In these verses he described what repentance and true return involve. There is a decision to return to God (v. 22b). There is a fresh grasp of the futility of past ways (vv. 23–24). And there is an overwhelming sense of shame, as the greatness of past sins overwhelms (v. 25).
None of these marks of repentance were present in Judah. May they be found in our lives whenever we stray and then turn back again to the Lord.

“The whole land will be ruined” Jer. 4:1–31. Despite God’s call to Judah to wash the evil from her heart, the people refused to heed. Jeremiah had no choice but to announce the judgment that must come because of “your own conduct and actions.”
This is an important concept for us to grasp. God does not punish people without cause. It is our own actions, not God, that bring disaster on us.
And what a disaster awaited Judah. Through His prophet the Lord said, “The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely. Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent.”

“They have lied about the LORD” Jer. 5:1–17. The particular lie that Jeremiah drew attention to challenged God’s justice and His power. Judah had been “utterly unfaithful” to God. Their spiritual adultery had been matched by their moral deterioration. They had abandoned morality, and acted like “well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife” (v. 8). They had abandoned justice: Jeremiah could not find “one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth” (v. 1). Despite this, Judah complacently said, “No harm will come to us” (v. 12).
This is the lie that Jeremiah identified. They had said that God “will do nothing.”
Let’s never forget that God is the moral judge of humanity. He not only can, but will act to judge sin.

“Let us fear the LORD our God” Jer. 5:18–31. To fear God means to hold Him in awe: to take Him seriously. Here God reminded Judah of His greatness. He is the One who set the seas in their beds, and established the boundaries of the land. “Should you not tremble in My presence?”
Today there are many in America who have no real awe of God. This is truly tragic. Yet the greatest tragedy of all is described by Jeremiah. “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and My people love it this way.” There may be little we can do to affect the secular tone of modern life. But what is most important is to retain our own awe of God, and to take His presence and His power seriously. We must constantly say to ourselves what the people of Judah refused to utter: “Let us fear the LORD our God.”

“This city must be punished” Jer. 6:1–15. Judah refused to listen to God’s word. So now Jeremiah, using the authority God gave him over nations, commissioned Babylon to attack the Holy City. Because the word of the Lord was offensive to the people of Judah, the “city must be punished.”

“Stand at the crossroads and look” Jer. 6:16–30. The invitation here is a call to consider. The “ancient paths” represent the ways laid down in God’s Law. These are good ways, for when a person walks in them he or she “will find rest for your souls.”
Jeremiah now outlined the consequence of the only other choice available. One must either walk in the ancient paths, or strike out to find a new path for himself. Yet the new paths offer no one rest. Instead, as we peer with Jeremiah down that alternate highway, we see in the distance clouds of dust raised by marching men. We see the sun glinting on the points of spears, and hear the thunder of hooves as cavalry approach in battle formation. And suddenly we are gripped by fear, for we realize that along that road judgment rushes to meet us.
How thankful we can be that we have chosen the good way, the ancient way, and that we walk in it.

DEVOTIONAL
With Compassion
(Jer. 3–4)
It’s easy to become self-righteous when looking at others’ sins. We can become quite passionate about injustice and wickedness. And in the process we can sound more than a little judgmental.
Reading these two chapters that sum up Jeremiah’s early preaching we do sense righteous indignation. The prophet was brutally frank. Israel and Judah were “faithless.” God’s sinning people were brazen and shameless. The idols they had worshiped were detestable, and the people wickedly harbored evil thoughts.
Yet despite the blunt confrontation which marks this prophet’s style, he shouts out his angry words with a broken heart. Listen, as Jeremiah echoes God’s own bitter pain.

  Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
    I writhe in pain.
  Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds within me,
    I cannot keep silent.
  For I have heard the sound
    of the trumpet;
  I have heard the battle cry (4:19).

What moved the prophet was not only a concern for righteousness. He was moved by compassion for a people whose own wicked choices destined them for disaster. How both God and His prophet yearned for Judah to repent. There was no joy for either in being right. There was no surge of satisfaction at the thought of the judgment that must surely fall on the people of Judah for their sin. Instead there was anguish and pain.
There are times when we Christians must confront others over wicked acts. There are times we must take a firm stand against sin. But at such times we must carefully guard our hearts. There is no room then for even a hint of spiritual pride. There is no room for even a glint of gladness that the wicked will get theirs in God’s time. Instead, we are to feel, as Jeremiah did, the pain that God knows—not only at the sin, but also at the necessity of judging the sinner.
If we have compassion even as we announce the coming judgment, others may sense in our words what God most wants to convey. His greatest desire is not to punish, but to redeem. Not to condemn, but save. Not to reject, but to welcome the sinner home, forgiven, for Jesus’ sake.

Personal Application
Speak boldly to others. But always in love and with compassion, remembering that we too are vulnerable to sin.

Quotable
“As murder storywriters assume, and as most of us learn by experience, we have in us capacities for fury, fear, envy, greed, conceit, callousness, and hate which, given the right provocation, could make killers out of us all-baby-sitters or Bluebeards, professional thugs or amateur hit men. G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown explained his method of detection by saying, ’You see, it was I who killed all these people’-in the sense that he looked within himself to find the mentality that would produce the crime he was investigating, and did in fact discover it there. . . .
“Brown, though fictitious, states fact. When the fathomless wells of rage and hatred in the normal human heart are tapped, the results are fearful. ’There but for the grace of God go I.’ Only restraining and renewing grace enables anyone to keep the commandments.”—J.I. Packer

Jeremiah

INTRODUCTION
Jeremiah ministered in the four turbulent decades preceding the fall of Jerusalem on March 15–16, 597 B.C. These decades were marked by the sudden collapse of Assyria, and a subsequent power struggle between the emerging Babylonian Empire and a resurgent Egypt. Caught in the middle, tiny Judah vacillated, alternately rebelling and submitting to one, then another of the great powers. Near the beginning of Jeremiah’s ministry, Josiah instituted a number of religious reforms. Despite the reformation, Jeremiah warned the nation that soon they would suffer invasion and exile. Boldly Jeremiah confronted Judah with the sins that cried out for divine judgment. But a hardened Judah refused to heed the prophet’s warnings. Jeremiah himself suffered persecution, and was rejected by his fellow countrymen. Yet he lived to see his predictions of disaster fulfilled, and his tormentors silenced.
Despite his ministry of condemnation, Jeremiah also conveyed a message of hope. Judah would fall. But God would make a New Covenant with His faithless people. In a coming, though distant, day, Judah’s sins would be forgiven and her people given a new heart. Jeremiah’s powerful presentation of God’s New Covenant promise makes this book bright with hope, despite its repeated theme of judgment.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
I.
Jeremiah’s Mission
Jer. 1–10
II.
The Broken Covenant
Jer. 11–20
III.
Judgment at Hand
Jer. 21–29
IV.
New Covenant Promises
Jer. 30–38
V.
Jerusalem Fallen
Jer. 39–51
VI.
Historical Appendix
Jer. 52

MAN WITH A MISSION
Jeremiah 1

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5).

Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet. He was called by God to suffer with a people destined for judgment, who persistently rejected the prophet and his message. We may yearn to be commissioned by the Lord for some vital ministry. But Jeremiah reminds us that the spiritually prominent have a price to pay.

Overview
Jeremiah was commissioned to communicate the word of the Lord at a critical time in Judah’s history. This chapter reports his call, and provides the key to understanding both the pressures on God’s servant and the promises that sustained him.

Understanding the Text
“Through the reign” Jer. 1:1–3. The first verses of Jeremiah specify the kings during whose reigns the prophet cried out to God’s people. Jeremiah’s call came during the reign of godly King Josiah, in 627B.C, and the first 10 chapters of this book record messages given during the Josian revival. Chapters 21–39 record messages given during the reigns of evil rulers, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. In 587B.C Jeremiah was imprisoned for treason, and chapters 40–52 report the culminating events of his life—and of Jerusalem’s fall.
Here is a brief chronology of the tumultuous times during which this prophet lived and ministered.

  686      Wicked Manasseh rules
  648      Josiah born
  642      Amon succeeds Manasseh
  640      Josiah succeeds Amnon
  633      Josiah turns to the Lord
  Ashurbanipal of Assyria dies
  628      Josiah begins reforms
  Jeremiah begins ministry
  626      Nabopolassar becomes king of Babylon
  621      Book of Law found in the temple
  612      Nineveh, Assyrian capital, taken by the Babylonians
  609      Josiah killed in battle
  Jehoahaz rules three months
  Jehoiakim placed on throne by Egyptians
  605      Egyptians defeated by Babylonians
  Nebuchadnezzar becomes king of Babylon
  First Jewish captives deported to Babylon. The group includes Daniel
  601      Babylon invades Egypt, is thrown back
  598      Jehoiachin becomes king in Judah, but is taken to Babylon in April of 597
  597      Zedekiah becomes king in Judah
  588      Babylonians begin siege of Jerusalem, on January 15th
  586      Jerusalem falls on August 14th. The final deportation takes place
  The Babylonian governor of Judah is assassinated October 7
  The remaining Jews reject Jeremiah’s counsel and flee to Egypt

During such times, the Word of God is most desperately needed. But that word, delivered by God’s spokesman Jeremiah, was consistently rejected by Jewish people and their rulers, despite the fact that their world was crumbling around them.
We need to be especially sensitive to God’s Word in our own times of stress, even if what we hear condemns our attitudes and challenges our values. Ultimately, God’s Word is intended not to destroy but to heal.

“I formed you in the womb” Jer. 1:5. These words to Jeremiah remind us that God is deeply involved in the formation of every human being from conception. On the one hand this is a great comfort. God knew you and me as individuals before we were born. He knew us, loved us, and participated in every stage of our development. The gifts and talents you have were carefully nurtured, even as you developed in embryo. This means that you and I can be glad in who we are. We are the persons that God intended us to be. The abilities we have are His gifts, and He can use you and me to His glory.
On the other hand, this verse offers us a challenge. Many are confused by the rhetoric of moderns who place no value on the human fetus, dismissing the unborn as some insignificant part of a mother’s body, as easily discarded as hair that is too long or a broken fingernail. God’s words to Jeremiah, “I formed you in the womb,” confront us with the fact that the unborn child is a separate, individual person, precious to God and with full rights as a separate human being. Perhaps Jeremiah’s example of commitment to an unpopular cause, despite ridicule and abuse from his society, may encourage us to stand with God for, rather than against, the unborn.

“I am only a child” Jer. 1:6–8. When God called Jeremiah as a young man in his early 20s, he felt terribly vulnerable and inadequate. He surely had his reasons. Jeremiah grew up in a priestly family during the reign of Manasseh, who had murdered many pious men. He was young and untested, unsure of himself as any young person is likely to be. The thought that God viewed him as special, and had a special mission for him, was overwhelming.
It’s appropriate when we approach any ministry to share Jeremiah’s emotions. In ourselves we are inadequate, mere children. The person who approaches any spiritual service with an arrogant self-confidence is sure to fail. We need to grasp, as did Jeremiah, that no matter what natural gifts God has given us, we can do nothing in or by ourselves.
In this case, however, Jeremiah’s protests indicate more than humility. The future prophet’s objection was rebuked, as if he were using his sense of weakness as an excuse to refuse God’s call. God responded, “You must go.” Yet, even God’s rebuke conveys a promise. Jeremiah was told not to be afraid, “For I am with you and will rescue you.”
When God calls any person to a ministry, He commits Himself to be with that individual. God will be with you as you serve Him, despite your weaknesses, and despite any fears you may have.

“Over nations and kingdoms” Jer. 1:9–16. These verses provide a preview of the message that Jeremiah would deliver to Judah. It was an unpopular message, for it conveyed God’s intention to bring a powerful new kingdom from the north down on His people and their land.
Jeremiah was told that as God’s prophet he was “over” the kingdoms of this world. That is, they would behave as he announced they would.
Most often we think of ourselves as subject to the political powers of the nation in which we live. Jeremiah was reminded that real authority belongs to God—and that a person who proclaims the Word of God is greater than any worldly power. Ultimately the world will submit to God’s authority, and will surely do what He has willed.
You and I too live in tension between the powers of this world and the Word of God. If we commit ourselves to do God’s will and to live by His Word, we, like Jeremiah, will be “over nations and kingdoms.”

“Get yourself ready!” Jer. 1:17–19 Jeremiah was about to set out on a great adventure. He had been called to live not by the values and beliefs of his society, but by God’s Word. And he had been called to proclaim that Word, whatever the cost might be to him personally. Jeremiah now had to prepare himself: he had to make a firm decision, and commit himself to God’s way only.
You and I are challenged to make the same commitment. We are not to drift through life, believing in God but living like men and women of the world. We are to take a stand, as Jeremiah did. We are to make a firm decision to live by, and to witness to, the Word of God.
Again God’s challenge is accompanied by a promise. A promise that you and I as well as Jeremiah can claim. “Today I have made you a fortified city. . . . They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you” (vv. 18–19).

DEVOTIONAL
The Price of Commitment
(Selected passages)
If we glance ahead through the Book of Jeremiah, we learn something of the price that Jeremiah paid because of his complete commitment to God.
His message was so unpopular that some men actually conspired to take his life (cf. 11:18–20). Others attempted to neutralize Jeremiah’s influence by slandering him. They said, “Let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says” (18:18). Still others simply ridiculed God’s faithful prophet. This apparently hurt Jeremiah most of all, for he wrote:

I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. . . . So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long (20:7–8).

Later in his life Jeremiah was imprisoned and his life threatened by Judah’s rulers. He was accused of treason, and considered a national disgrace.
None of this was easy for the sensitive prophet. In one passage that captures the despair he often felt, Jeremiah cried out, “Cursed be the day I was born!” And he concluded his cry with this lament: “Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?” (vv. 14, l8)
But Jeremiah did not end his days in shame. His predictions of doom came true, and it was his enemies who were put to shame in the end.
Even so, what sustained Jeremiah through the difficult years was not the conviction that he was right, but a deep compassion for those to whom he spoke. Jeremiah warned of judgment—in hope that some would hear, repent, and be saved. “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city,” one of his sermons affirmed. But his hope was that his listeners would “now reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster He has pronounced against you” (26:12–13).
Yes, if we fully commit ourselves to the Lord there may very well be a price to pay. Yet because God’s Word is true, we will be proven right in the end. And, until then, we will be sustained by the awareness that our faithfulness may be the means of bringing others with us to the Lord.

Personal Application
The rewards of commitment far exceed any cost.

Quotable
“I go out to preach with two propositions in mind. First, everyone ought to give his life to Christ. Second, whether or not anyone gives Him his life, I will give Him mine.”—Jonathan Edwards

QUESTION

What does it mean that Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44)?

ANSWER

Speaking to a group of Jews, Jesus says, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

Satan is the “father of lies” in that he is the original liar. He is the “father” of lies in the same way that Martin Luther is the “father” of the Reformation and Robert Goddard is the “father” of modern rocketry. Satan told the first lie in recorded history to Eve, in the Garden of Eden. After planting seeds of doubt in Eve’s mind with a question (Genesis 3:1), he directly contradicts God’s Word by telling her, “You will not certainly die” (Genesis 3:4). With that lie, Satan led Eve to her death; Adam followed, and so have we all.

Lying is Satan’s primary weapon against God’s children. He uses the tactic of deceit to separate people from their heavenly Father. Some of his more common lies are “there is no God,” “God doesn’t care about you,” “the Bible cannot be trusted,” and “your good works will get you into heaven.” The apostle Paul tells us that Satan “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), so that what he says and does sounds good and seems reasonable. But it is nothing more than a false appearance.

Many of Satan’s lies tend to perpetuate themselves. This is what happened when Eve convinced Adam to also believe the devil’s lie. Today, Satan still uses people to spread his lies for him. Often, he uses charismatic but foolish people to further his falsehoods, as in the case of false religions and cults.

The Bible has many names for Satan to describe his true nature, including “ruler of this world” (John 12:31), “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4), “tempter” (1 Thessalonians 3:5), “deceiver” (Revelation 12:9), “Beelzebub” (literally, “lord of the flies,” the ruler of demons, in Matthew 10:25), and “Belial,” meaning “wicked” (2 Corinthians 6:15).

Satan has told more lies to more people (and even angels) than any other being ever created. His success depends on people believing his lies. He has used everything from “little white lies” to huge, pants-on-fire whoppers to deceive folks. Adolph Hitler, a man who learned how to lie effectively, once said, “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”

Whether a lie is small or large is not really the issue. Lies are of the devil. The Bible teaches that all liars “will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). Warnings are never pleasant, but they are better than ignorance of danger; the Bible faithfully warns sinners of danger, including the danger of lying.  Proverbs 19:9 also teaches that liars will be punished.

Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6), and He will never deceive you. Thankfully, Jesus is also the Savior, and His death and resurrection provide the basis for your forgiveness of all sin, including the sin of lying. Come to Jesus in faith and humility, and you will find that “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

²³ “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸ For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

World conditions during the Tribulation will be so awful that men will question whererelief will come.

24:23

“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.

False prophets claiming to be the Messiah will rise up in great numbers during the crisis of the latter half of the Tribulation. The crisis will afford an opportunity for fakers to deceive many. Propaganda will be pervasive during this period; many will be suckers for this campaign.

24:24

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Phony prophets will deceive believers with “signs and wonders.” Miracles can have satanic or divine origin (2 Th 2:9,10). Just because people perform miracles is no guarantee that the executor of the miracle is from God. False prophets design “signs and wonders” to deceive the elect, and miracles in themselves are no proof of authenticity. Some people put more trust in miracles than they do the Word of God.

24:25

See, I have told you beforehand.

Jesus spoke a warning prophetically across the future; He’d previouslywarned His disciples about this.

24:26

“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.

It is particularly important during the last half of the Tribulation to beware of all claims about the Messiah. How will believers know whether the Messiah has come? The coming of Christ will not appear in secret rooms. The answer is in the next verse.

24:27

For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The coming of the Lord will be an unmistakable and splendid event. That event will be like lightning—sudden, unmistakable, universal, and visible to all. It will be a striking public event (Re 1:7). Lightening is a public event evident to all. Christ’s Second Coming will have special meaning for Israel because this event will be the launch of the Messianic kingdom. Jesus will finally defeat the Gentiles (Zech 12:9-14).

24:28

For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles [vultures, not eagles] will be gathered together.

The “carcass” is indication of physical corruption. Vultures will eat these decaying bodies. The carcass here is apostate Israel. This passage may allude to the battle of Armageddon.

PRINCIPLE: 

God takes care of His servants in doctrinal distress.

APPLICATION: 

Satan will attempt to deceive the elect in the future, and he is in the business of attempting to deceive presently. The sure defense against doctrinal deception is the Word of God. It is the only sure stability against a world of lies.

A. The time of trouble destined for Israel.

1. (1a) A future time of trouble for Israel.

“At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.

a. At that time: This does not mean that what is described in Daniel 12:1happened immediately after what the events in Daniel 11:36-45. It means that it happened in the same era.

b. Michael shall stand up: The angel Michael is often associated with spiritual battle (Daniel 10:13, Daniel 10:21, Jude 1:9, and Revelation 12:7). Since Michael is called the archangel (Jude 1:9), he is Satan’s true opposite. Satan is not the opposite of Jesus; he is the opposite of Michael, this high-ranking angel.

c. The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people: In addition to his role as a spiritual warrior, Michael has a special job in protecting Israel. God appointed Michael as a spiritual guardian over Israel.

d. There shall be a time of trouble: This refers to the time of persecution for Israel and world calamity known as the Great Tribulation. This period is also called the time of Jacob’s trouble in Jeremiah 30:7.

e. Such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time: The Jewish people have known many a time of trouble through their history. From the horrors at the fall of Samaria and Jerusalem to the terrors wrought by Antiochus Epiphanes, to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, to the persecutions from the church during the Dark Ages, to the pogroms of Europe, to the 20^th Century Holocaust, it often seems that all Israel’s history has been a time of trouble. Yet this time of trouble will be different. This will be a worse time of trouble than Israel has ever seen before.

i. Jesus quoted this passage in Matthew 24:21: For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. With great sadness, we must say that the Bible teaches that the worst has yet to come for Israel and the Jewish people.

ii. This phrase “establishes its connection with the final or ‘great’ tribulation above mentioned, for there can manifestly be only one ‘time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.’ ” (Newell)

iii. Revelation 12:13-17 tells us what makes this time so terrible. It describes the fury of the devil directed against the Jewish people during this time. The trumpets, seals, and bowls of Revelation all described the horrific conditions of the world in general during this time. The Jewish people will be targets of the full fury of the devil and his antichrist during this period, and will live in a world that is in incredible upheaval because of the judgment of God.

iv. “The Jew has always been a target of Satan. He has sought to destroy them because he knew that God has ordained to accomplish His purposes through this nation. And thus Satan has attempted in times past to destroy the nation of Israel in order to thwart the purposes of God.” (Smith)

2. (1b) A promise of deliverance.

And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.

a. And at that time your people shall be delivered: Despite the terrors of that time, deliverance is assured. No matter how great the attack is against the Jewish people, God promises to preserve them. He will never break His promise to Abraham: And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you (Genesis 17:7).

b. Every one who is found written in the book: This promise of deliverance is not for every last person of Jewish heritage, but for these who are found written in the book. Not every person of Jewish heritage will be saved, yet Israel as a whole will be known as a people who trust in Jesus as their Messiah, and truly turn to the Lord (Romans 11:25-27).

B. The resolution of resurrection.

1. (2) The resurrection of the dead.

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting contempt.

a. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake: Some think this refers to the resurrection of Israel as a nation. But the plainest meaning is that it refers to the resurrection of the body in general.

b. Some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt: The Bible clearly teaches two resurrections, one for the saved and one for the damned (John 5:29, Revelation 20:4-6, and Revelation 11-15). If we really believed every one of us would live forever, it would profoundly change our life.

i. Everlasting contempt: The terror of hell never ends. There is not blissful annihilation after some period of punishment. This passage denies a rising doctrine within the church: a modified annihilationism that teaches that unjustified sinners are sent to Hell and they suffer torment for a while, but then their beings perish for eternity.

ii. Revelation 20:10 also certainly describes eternal punishment for the Devil and the Antichrist. “There would be no way possible in the Greek language to state more emphatically the everlasting punishment of the lost than here in mentioning both day and night and the expression ‘forever and ever,’ literally ‘to the ages of ages.’” (Walvoord)

iii. Logically, Hell must be eternal, because it is where imperfect beings must pay a continual penalty for their sins because they cannot ever make a perfect payment. Principles behind Old Testament sacrifice remind us that an imperfect payment for sins must be a continual payment for sins.

c. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake: The Scriptures as a whole teach us that there are not only many resurrected. There is evidence that the Hebrew word for many in Daniel 12:2 can also be used for all. “The emphasis is not upon many as opposed to all, but rather on the numbers involved.” (Baldwin)

i. As well, the Bible states that all are raised but not all at the same time or in the same manner (Revelation 20:5-6).

ii. “The wicked also shall ‘come forth,’ but by another principle, and for another purpose; they shall come out of their graves like filthy toads against this terrible storm.” (Trapp)

2. (3) A promise for the righteous.

Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever.

a. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament: Those who live in God’s wisdom will shine. Despite the entire calamity, all the difficulty coming upon Israel, God has those who are wise, and they shall shine.

b. And those who turn many to righteousness like the stars: Here, the wise among God’s people are those who turn many to righteousness.

i. All God’s people are like stars in the sense that they radiate light and help others to see and find their way. But certainly, those who turn many to righteousness shine even more brightly, helping even more people to see the light and find their way.

ii. This promise applies to all the wise, and all of those who turn many to righteousness through all ages. But it may have its most specific application to the 144,000 evangelists from Israel’s tribes during the Tribulation (Revelation 7).

c. Forever and ever: The brightness of God’s wise ones, and those who turn many to righteousness, will last forever. It isn’t fading. It endures, when so many other things that we put our effort into, even if they succeed, give only a temporary “shine.” It is worth it to invest our lives into the things that last forever and ever.

C. Conclusion of the book.

1. (4) Instructions to seal the book.

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

a. Shut up the words, and seal the book: To shut up the words implied that the words should be kept safely until the time when they were needed. Seal the book has the double sense of authenticating the message and preserving it.

b. Until the time of the end: Daniel’s prophecy certainly was of some value in his own day. But there would come a day, the time of the end, when his prophecy would be of even more importance. Therefore, it was important to shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end.

i. “We must wait ‘till the time of the end;’ and this, it appears from the following calculations, will not arrive before the TWENTIETH CENTURY. We here see the reason why these prophecies are at present so imperfectly understood. God has sealed them.” (Adam Clarke, 1825)

c. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase: Here, Daniel describes a characteristic of the time of the end. Many take this prediction as being fulfilled in the travel (run to and fro) and information explosions (knowledge shall increase) of our modern age.

i. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase: This has more the idea of searching after knowledge rather than rapid forms of transportation.

ii. “The idea is that people would run about trying to find answers to important questions, especially in reference to future events.” (Wood)

iii. “The correct sense is that ‘many shall search it through and through,’ and that as a consequence ‘knowledge of the book itself shall be increased.’ ” (Newell)

d. Shut up the words, and seal the book: Daniel has revealed enough to us so that the book really can be sealed. From Daniel 11:36 to Daniel 12:3, we see:

· A world ruler, utterly opposed to God.

· A world religion, based on the abomination of desolation.

· A world war, which defeats the ruler.

· A time of great tribulation for Israel lasting three and one-half years.

· Deliverance for the people of God after the tribulation.

· Resurrection and judgment.

· The reward of the righteous.

2. (5-7) How long will the time of trouble be?

Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank. And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?” Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

a. Two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank: Daniel is back to the riverbank first mentioned in Daniel 10:4. The visions of Daniel 10-12all took place as Daniel stood at this riverbank.

b. One said to the man clothed in linen… “How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?” Seemingly, these other men on the riverbank were angels. One angel asked the other, not for the benefit of the angel, but for Daniel’s benefit and our benefit.

c. Held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever: In a solemn oath, one angel announced that the time of trouble would last three and one-half years (a time, times, and half a time).

i. The prediction was emphasized by the solemn oath, and by the miracle that accompanied the words: who was above the waters in the river. The angel “walked on water” when he told the other angel and Daniel that these things would happen within a three and one half year period.

d. A time, times, and half a time: This three and one-half year period is well known in other passages of Biblical prophecy.

· Daniel 7:25 described it as the period that saints are given into Antichrist’s hands.

· Daniel 9:27 described it as the period between the breaking of Antichrist’s covenant with Israel, the erection of the abomination of desolation, and the establishment of Jesus’ kingdom.

· Daniel 12:7 described it as the duration of “the time of trouble” for Israel.

· Revelation 11:2 described it as the period that the holy city will be tread underfoot by Gentiles.

· Revelation 11:3 described it as the period of ministry for the two witnesses.

· Revelation 12:6 and 12:14 described it as the period that Israel (perhaps only its remnant) is preserved by God in the wilderness.

· Revelation 13:5 describe it as the duration of Antichrist’s authority to rule, persecute and blaspheme.

i. Taking all these together, we are obviously dealing with the last half of Daniel’s seventieth week (the Great Tribulation); and we know very little about the first half.

e. When the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished: The people of Israel will seem completely crushed as these things end, but at that time, the Messiah – upon whom they will trust before He returns – will return to rescue them.

3. (8) Daniel’s last question: how will it all turn out?

Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?”

a. Although I heard, I did not understand: This comforts us. Daniel didn’t understand it all either, even though he heard it first hand.

b. What shall be the end of these things? Perhaps Daniel asked this question because he was anxious, as he understood just how terrible the time of trouble would be.

4. (9-13) Answer: God will purify and preserve His people, and has set a limit of days to the time of trouble.

And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”

a. Go your way, Daniel: The command to go your way is literally merely “to go” but it is not meant physically. The angel told Daniel to make a mental departure from the questioning. More details would be revealed later; but Daniel must be content with what God has revealed thus far.

b. For the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end: Daniel must make a mental departure from his questioning, because the revealing of these things will not come till the time of the end. Until then, there is a sense in which these prophecies are closed up and sealed.

i. We shouldn’t think there was no instruction, no blessing, or no benefit in these words for any generation until the time of the end. But the meaning of these prophecies would be lessmysterious at the time of the end.

ii. The massive interest in prophecy, and the incredible development in understanding of Biblical prophecy in the last 150 years should make us see that we truly are at the time of the end.

iii. One of the common arguments against some understandings of Biblical prophecy is “Your ideas are new. The early church or Christians through the ages didn’t teach these things. Your ideas are wrong because they are new.” But this word to Daniel, that the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end should make us think differently.

iv. Additionally, when we look at Church history, we see that God has successively had the church focus on specific areas of doctrine at different periods. Our present understanding of many areas of Biblical teaching were only most carefully and precisely defined after God appointed the church to focus on that doctrinal area.

v. For example, in the second through fourth centuries, the church focused on the doctrine of Scripture. In the fourth century, the focus was on the doctrine of God (in the Trinity). In the fifth century, the focus was on the doctrine of Christ. In the fifth through seventh centuries, the focus was on the doctrine of man. In the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, the focus was on the doctrine of salvation. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the focus was on the doctrine of the church. So it should not surprise us that it was not until the nineteenth and twentieth centuries – the time of the end – that the focus would turn upon the doctrine of last things and the return of Jesus.

c. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined: This is another prediction for what was future to Daniel, because this degree of purification is only possible afterthe finished work of Jesus on the cross.

d. But the wicked shall do wickedly: Most specifically, we would say that this prediction has to do with the end times, when wickedness will abound more than ever (as in the Antichrist and his government), but an innumerable multitude will also be saved (as is seen in Revelation 7:9-10).

e. And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days: This was an amazingly specific prophecy. Daniel said that from the time of the abomination of desolation, you can simply start marking off your calendar to the final consummation of all things, 1,290 days later.

i. This is why Jesus pointed to Daniel’s prophecy of the abomination of desolation as the sign that would mark the immediacy of His return (Matthew 24:15).

f. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days: It is difficult to say what the relationship is between the three and one-half years mentioned in many places and the 1,335 days mentioned here. We could say that at the end of the 1,260 days Jesus returns. At the end of the 1,290 days, Jesus’ government is officially installed. At the end of the 1,335 days the nations are judged (Matthew 25:31-46).

i. “It is quite possible that this period of judgment of those that have lived through the tribulation period and have survived somehow during this holocaust when God’s judgment will be poured out upon the earth, when they are brought to stand before Jesus at this judgment, that this judgment of the Lord will take a forty-five day period.” (Smith)

g. But you, go your way till the end: Daniel’s mind was filled with exciting and frightening prophetic thoughts. Perhaps it was easy for those things to become a distraction instead of a blessing to him. So the angel concluded with an important reminder: go your way till the end. God had a course He wanted Daniel to complete, and Daniel needed to remain focused on that.

i. Adam Clarke draws the following points from Daniel 12:13:

· Every man has his way to go.

· Every man has an end.

· There is a rest provided for the people of God.

· There is an inheritance for the people of God.

ii. At the end of the gospel of John, Jesus told Peter about his destiny to die as a martyr for Jesus. Peter wanted to know about John’s destiny, so he asked Jesus, “What about John?” Essentially, Jesus replied, “It’s none of your business. You follow Me” (John 21:22). In the same way, Daniel was not to spend all of his time and energy speculating and worrying about things he couldn’t know. Instead, he should simply obey the word to go your way till the end – something we must all do.