Well, good morning church and a happy fall break to all of our palting families. You made it. I know you were envious last week, but this is your time to shine, all right, this week. Hey, listen, and for all of us today, welcome to the last, as you just saw on the bumper, the last installment in this series that we have called Thriving in Babylon, where we've been actually walking through the book of Daniel, where we saw in chapter one, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that they decided in the Babylonian university to stand, and God blessed it. Chapter two, we saw Nebuchadnezzar's dream and how Daniel showed us that that dream is the fact that God's kingdom is the one that will live forever. Chapter three, we saw Shadrach, Meshach, and a inigo stand even in the fiery furnace, and God delivered them. Chapter four, the evil king, Nebuchadnezzar finally meets Jesus, bows, gives us life to Jesus, and the kingdom hears about who the true God is.
Chapter five, we saw the writing on the wall for Babylon and for us, and that is that one day we will be judged. In chapter six, we saw Daniel asleep in the lion's den. God closed their mouth and God's name was proclaimed. Chapter seven and eight, we walked through the idea that kingdoms rise and fall and rise and fall, but God's kingdom stands forever. And then last week, all right, last week, I know a lot of you weren't here, last week we got to see Daniel's secret sauce. We got to see his prayer life. We got to see how Daniel came before the Lord, his prayer equation, his steps that he walked through in prayer. And then on the backside, we got to actually see God answer that prayer. God showed Daniel the exact timing of Jesus' first appearance on the earth after 483 years, right?
After 400, we saw how God rode in Jesus to Jerusalem, right? We saw that all last week. And this week though, here's our goal this week. We're gonna ask ourselves the same question we've asked every week. And that is by seeing Daniel stand in his Babylon, we're gonna ask ourselves how we can stand in our Babylon as we finish the book of Daniel today. All right? If you got a copy of scripture, I want you to go ahead, turn with me to chapter 10, chapter 10 of Daniel. And let me tell you what we're gonna do today. We're gonna actually hit chapter 10 pretty thoroughly. We're gonna do a brief drive by of chapter 11, and then we're gonna land in chapter 12 in a promise that God gave Daniel and God has also given us. I love this because chapter 10 through chapter 12 are one unit.
They're one block where God pulls back the curtain one more time and shows Daniel and shows us what is really happening in the unseen realm, shows us secondly that God is in control of all things at all times. And the last thing Daniel sees is that God shows him that his role is not to understand everything, but to be faithful in following Jesus every step of the way. All right, we're gonna jump into the word pretty quick this morning. So if you got your Bibles, go ahead open them up. Daniel chapter 10, we're gonna start in verse one and I want you to see how all of this unit of scripture opens up. All right, here we go. It says this, in the third year of Cyrus, the King of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel who's called Belshazzar, and its message was true and it concerned a great war.
The understanding of this message came to him at, in a vision. And at that time, I, Daniel, I mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food, no meat or wine touched my lips and I used no lotions until the three weeks were over. Now it seems a little confusing on the front, but let me show you the scene here. Let me give you the context here. Daniel has given us a glimpse into his prayer journal one more time, into his moments where God met him one more time. And at this point, like we've said the last two weeks, Daniel is probably in his mid 80s. Allright, he's in his mid 80s. In fact, if you're in your mid 80s, let's say if you're 85 and above in the room, would you just kind of wave at us real high? Raise your hand real high if you're 85 and above.
Come on, can we give these ladies a hand? Can we give these men a hand in the room? That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm talking about. I almost asked them to stand, but I was like, that might be tough. All right. So I didn't do that, okay? Didn't do that.Just kidding, just kidding, just kidding. All right, Daniel, he's, he's in his mid 80s, right? He's in his mid 80s and at this point, God, or actually at this point, King Cyrus, the Persian King, has already declared for all of the Jews that wanted to, they could all return home. They could return back to Jerusalem. It's what they've been praying for for 70 years and it actually has happened. You can read about it in Ezra chapter one if you want to this week. But the problem was only a small amount of them actually go.
The temple work was stalled because there wasn't many of them that went and things weren't going according to what all of them had dreamed for since the day they were taken to Babylon. So the small group went. I also want you to notice that Daniel didn't go. Daniel didn't return home. We're not really sure why, but I mean, come on, he's in his mid - 80s. It would have been like a 700 mile walk back or possibly he though he could do more good for his Jewish friends being in that high seat of authority that he was in in Babylon. We're not really sure why he didn't go home, but what we do know is that his heart is broken for his people. His heart is broken because from the moment he was taken into captivity, all that he had wanted was this day for them to go home, to reestablish the temple and God's presence to reign again.
But it's not happening. So what does Daniel do? We just read it actually, right? Daniel does what he always does and Daniel hits his knees in prayer. That's what it means in verse two when it said that I, Daniel, I'm mourned for three weeks. That word mourned means that I am lifting up my voice to the king. I'm proclaiming to the king. And what we're seeing here is that for 21 days, Daniel prays, Daniel fasts, Daniel seeks God. I mean, Daniel didn't even use his essential oils. I don't know how he made it through, right? It said there. But in this moment, Daniel is praying to God to deliver his people. And watch what happens because God actually answers the prayer after the three weeks. Look at verse 10. It says this. As he's praying, it says a hand touched me and sent me trembling on my hands and knees.
He said, Daniel, you, circle this, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words that I'm about to speak to you and stand up for I have now been sent to you. And when he said this to me, I stood up, Daniel said, trembling. Look at verse 12. It says he continued. The angel said, Do not be afraid, Daniel, since the first day that you sent your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God. In other words, since the first day you started praying and fasting and seeking God, watch this, your words were heard. "And I, the angel said," I have come to respond to them, but. "Oh, here's where it gets good. "But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me for 21 days. Then Michael," might wanna highlight that. "Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
Now in just a cursory reading, you're thinking," Oh, okay. Well, that's cool. There's like a little battle or whatever. "No, no, no. Stay with me in this because we're actually getting a glimpse, one of the clearest glimpses in all of the Bible of the unseen realm at this point. But before we get to that and before I explain it, I wanna show you the encouragement here though, because the angel, the first thing that he said to Daniel is such a gift to Daniel. Remember Daniel is downtrodden. He has been fasting. He's been so concerned for his people. And the angel shows up and the first thing that comes out of the angel's mouth in verse 11 is the angel looks at Daniel and says," Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, don't worry. You are highly esteemed. "Now the word highly esteemed literally means Daniel. And this is for you and for me too.
Daniel, you are greatly loved by God. And listen, church, I want you to hear this this morning because if you're a believer in Jesus, if you've given your life to Jesus, here's what that means for you and for me. It means that we, no matter what we're walking through in life, we are first loved by God. We're greatly loved by God. In fact, write this principle down. Your identity, your identity. We've seen this in the, in the whole book. Your identity in this battle of life, whatever your battle is, it's not defined by your circumstances. It's defined by the fact that you are greatly loved by God. And I just want you to lean into that this week. You know why? Because some of you are walking through some pretty rough stuff. You're walking through some dark days. You're walking through some question. There are some things that you've been praying for a lot longer than three weeks.
And I just want you to hear from God this morning that if you have given your life to him, you are greatly loved by God. So when you feel isolated and you're Babylon, when you feel like culture is screaming at you, when you feel like everybody is pushing back at you, or even if you feel like you have prayed and God has gone silent, listen to me believer, God knows your name and you are greatly loved by God. Greatly loved by him. It also hit me this week that a delay in an answer to prayer is also not a denial. We're seeing that in text, right? Last week we saw that God showed Daniel himself right as he prayed, right? Here we're seeing Daniel pray and it's 21 days later. But I want you to see something, what we just read in verse 12. It literally says that from the first day that Daniel put this prayer out to God, what did it say about God?
It said that God heard his prayer and that God did what? God sent his messenger angel from the first time that Daniel prayed. But, but here's the question though, remember you gotta ask questions of scripture. If God heard his prayer on day one and now we're at day 21, why did it take 21 days for God to respond to Daniel's answer? It's pretty simple when you read scripture and you know what's going on. Let me tell you what happened. Here's what happens. There was and there still is, listen closely to me. There still is this cosmic battle of the heavenly realms that is going on for your soul. Now look, I'm, I'm not gonna say this to, to scare you, to frighten you or to do whatever, but what I am saying is this. There is a good and there is an evil. There is a demonic and there is an angelic force that is battling for your soul every single day, every single moment of every single day.
And that's what we're seeing here. We're seeing, we're not seeing some little earthly battle go on. What we're seeing here is evidently what we just read, there is this demon that is known as the Prince of Persia, the Prince of Persia, this high ranking demonic figure that evidently was assigned to torment Persia to keep God's message from getting to Persia, to keep God's word and his love from spreading that is now locked up in a battle with the heavenly messenger. Most theologians think it's Gabriel again. We've seen him in a couple other chapters. So God has sent his angel Gabriel to come talk to Daniel. The prince of Persia, this demonic figure has intercepted him before he got there and there's this 21 day battle in the heavenlies over the fact that the evil forces do not want Daniel to hear God's word. I got news for you people.
It's still happening today. It's still happening today. But then what happens? God evidently had enough of it. So God taps Michael. That's the archangel Michael. It's the only other angel in the Bible that is mentioned other than Gabriel by name. He taps Michael on the shoulder, the archangel and says, "Hey, go get our boy and beat the, out of the boy," right? Go take him out. And it's what happened. I love it. Look, I don't say that to scare you. I just say that to say this. There's two battles or there's a battle in your, in, in this world for your soul and it's there. In, in fact, listen to how Paul said it. Ephesians six verse 12, it says, "For our struggle..." Oh, this is gonna come to light now. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood. "Ephesians 6:12. "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil, watch this, in the heavenly realms." Listen, church, your battle in your home, your battle in your family, your battle in your workplace, your battle in your school, your battle with your kids, your battle even inside of you is not primary a battle of your flesh and blood.
There is a real enemy. There are real demons. There's a real spiritual force that has existed since it fell from heaven, since the beginning of mankind that wants to take you out and will do anything to keep you from hearing the word of God. It's real. And we're seeing a picture of it right here. But on the other side of it, let me tell you this, don't freak out about it. You know why? Because believer, listen to me, you don't have to fear because we have a God that cares. We have a God that we just saw that hears. We have a God that has the power to deliver us. We have a God that can send millions upon millions of angels anytime that he chooses to deliver us. And on top of all of that, we have a God that not only sends angels as messengers to come to us, but we have a God that sent his only begotten son, Jesus, to deliver us from sin, sickness and demons.
He did. He said, "Matt, where do you see that in the text?" Well, I'm glad you asked because watch this. Daniel not only gets this messenger from God, this angel that came to him, but also I want you to see who else he sees here. Watch this. Go back to verse five. I want you to see who Daniel saw first. The angel's talking to Daniel, but watch this. In verse five, it says, "I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen with a belt to find gold from Oophus around his waist. His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like burning torches, his arms and legs like gleam of the burnished bronze and his voice was like the sound of a multitude." So we've already seen the angel class. Now who are we seeing here? Jesus. That was so non-committal.
So non-committal. Listen, it's either Jesus or Moses in the New Testament, in the Old Testament, right? Jesus. So not only does God send this messenger angel, he actually sends Jesus another in the book of Daniel, pre-incarnate Christophany of Jesus right here. And actually, here's the cool part about it. If you wanna do some homework this week, you can go over to Revelation chapter one verses 12 through 16, and you can actually see an exact mirror to this text as a description of the Apostle John when he gives of who Jesus and what Jesus will look like when he returns one day. So here, Daniel is looking at it. Jesus is standing in front of him now. Now get this straight in your mind because it's important to see this. Jesus didn't get held up by some angel in the heavenlies. If Jesus wanted to come and blast right through that angel in the demonic force, he could have done that.
But now Jesus meets this angel in front of Daniel. Jesus is now standing in front of Daniel. The bottom line principle here is this, is that Jesus wins. He wins and he gives you life. And what you're about to see is Jesus. Look at Daniel over these next two verses and go, Hey boy, I've got you. I've got you and we're gonna win. I love chapter 10 because at the end of the day, it shows us that yes, there is a battle for our soul, but we know the one that wins. So good. So then we get to chapters 11 and 12. Now chapter 11 is actually one of the most historically correct and historically predictive books in the whole Bible. Chapter 11 has 135 prophecies in it that absolutely have been fulfilled and there's a couple that will be fulfilled even in the front side of our life.
Chapter 11 is so cool. Don't worry, we're not gonna go back to history class today. But ultimately, God in chapter 11 shows that he rules that he is in control, that he establishes kingdoms and he brings kingdoms down. There's 45 verses in chapter 11 that really mimic chapter seven and chapter eight. You can go back and listen to that message. But here, God shows Daniel again in these chapters, in the first 35 verses, he's showing him the foreshadowing of the kingdoms that are gonna come in our rear view mirror. But then he skips over in verses 36 and 45 through 45 and he shows us what is gonna happen at the end of times. The rest of the book of Daniel, from the last part of chapter 11, all the way through chapter 12 is God meeting with Daniel and showing Daniel what is coming in the end.
Now, chapter 11 is so cool because this is the one that peeves off the critics the most about the Bible because it is so true to the letter, everything that has been said in chapter 11, you gotta do a deep dive this week, happened absolutely to the day and to the year, to the moment and to the description that chapter 11 Daniel gives us. Now you say, "Man, why is that a big deal?" It's a huge deal when you don't think that the Bible is from God. It's a huge deal when you don't think that God is the ruler of the universe. And it's a huge deal when everything happens just how God says it happens. So chapter 11 is pointing forward and then we move over into chapter 12. Now I want you to go with chapter 12 with me, okay? Because chapter 12 is the closing of the book.
Chapter 12 is where all Daniel gets the last message from God and he gives us this amazing challenge on this end, but it gives us a promise on this end that we can hold onto forever. So picking up in the future, looking to the future, even for us, Daniel chapter 12 is gonna show us what matters more than anything on this planet. All right, let's read it together. Daniel chapter 12 verse one says this. It says, "At that time, Michael," that's the archangel, Michael, looking into the future, looking at the end of the, end of the tribulation. "At that time, Michael, the great prince who protects your people, evidently Michael has been assigned to the Jews, "is what we're seeing here. Watch what it says about him. "He will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as not happened from the beginning of the nation till then." What's it talking about?
It's talking about the backside of the tribulation. He's saying there's gonna be a time that so much distress, so many problems. "Oh, but watch the promise. But at that time, your people, everyone, don't miss this next line, whose name is found, written in the book will be delivered. "Now, now, at, at just a, look, a, a, a quick reading, that doesn't mean a whole lot, but I want you to see what the angel's telling Daniel here. Daniel's saying," Listen, at the end of the tribulation, at the final, the final, at the final, at the end of the three and a half years, right? We saw it in chapter nine. We saw Jesus reference it in Matthew chapter 24. At the end of that time, those last three and a half years, they're gonna be the hardest, the darkest time that the earth has seen. It's gonna be so much disaster, so much death.
But then the angel leans into Daniel and he leans into us and he says, But listen, everyone whose name is written in the book will be what? Delivered. "So here's the question, right? What book is this? What book is the angel talking about right here? Listen to me closely. It's the Lamb's Book of Life. We, we, we, we see it here. We see it in Revelation chapter 20. We see it in Revelation chapter 21. And, and look, we don't talk about this as much as we should. I get it. We don't. But here's the bottom line. Here's the truth. On the bottom shelf for all of us, listen to me closely, nothing matters more than your name being on that list. Nothing. Students listen to me. Nothing matters more in your life today or in your life in the future more than you being in this book.
Why? Because it's this book. It's the lamb's book of life, and it's your name being here that means that you have given your life to Jesus. It means that Jesus has adopted you into his family. It means that Jesus has forgiven you of your sins. He has set your past straight and he has moved you into his family. It shows that you have turned from your sin and it shows that Jesus has saved you. Write this principle down. Every person whose name is on the list will have eternal life with God. That's the principle. Every person whose name is on the list will have eternal life. Now, this list is not a church member role list. We're gonna talk about that in a couple weeks. That's important. This list is not a country club list. It's not a best of Cobb County. It's not near the most popular.
It's a much more important list. So how do you get on the list, right? You get on the list when Jesus puts your name on the list. You get on the list when you surrender your life to Jesus's Lordship. He takes out the heavenly pen of the heavens and he takes out the book and he writes your name down in his blood. That's how you get on the list. Now, for some of you, that doesn't really excite you a whole lot, and I'm gonna tell you why in just a minute. But for some of you, that should be the point where you're like, "Oh, I'm on the list." And it's that list, listen to me, it's that list that will determine when the day of the church being called home before the tribulation, it's that list that God will call home. It's also that list that's showing us Daniel here, that even in the final days, in the final tribulation, there are gonna be many that come to know Jesus in that time.
There's gonna be many that don't come to know Jesus in that time. And it's also showing us in this text, listen, I know as hard as it sounds, it also shows us in this text that there's gonna be a final judgment and a final day at the end of the tribulation to where you better ensure that you're on the list. In fact, look, look at the, look at the next verses. Now, we just read that everybody on the list is gonna be delivered, but, but watch how it happens in verse two. It says this, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake." He's showing us what's gonna happen. Watch this though. "Some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting content. For, for those of you that grew up in a universal background, that's not the case. That's not what the Bible says.
It says there will be a day of judgment. Some will rise to life. Some will rise to shame and everlasting contempt. Watch this though. But those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heaven and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever. Now let me talk, let me talk to two different groups of people, okay? For those of you that are theologi - theology junkies, I got something for you. For those of you that are skeptics, I got something for you. And it's in the same sentence. Listen, this text right here, Daniel chapter two, ver - Daniel chapter 12, verses two and three is one of the clearest examples of a literal, physical, and eternal resurrection than anywhere in the Bible. And I want you to lean into this for a minute because here's what it's telling us, okay?
Here's what it' telling. Now, we've got away from talking about this a lot in our culture because some of us grew up in churches that it was harsh. Some of us grew in churches. It was like this all fire and brimstone and damnation talk, all right? But listen to what the word says right here. God is clearly telling Daniel and he's clearly telling us that at the end of days, everyone is going to rise. Everyone. It's not like if you reject Jesus that you're just gonna kinda go away one day and go into the darkness and you will be no more. No, it's telling us at the judgment time, everyone will rise. The saved, those that are on the list, they will rise to what? To eternal life with God. Eternal life and eternity, eternal joy with the King of Kings. But to the lost it's saying, they will also rise to shame, everlasting contempt, and everlasting separation from God.
Are you seeing this? In other words, they will get what their heart has always desired and that that is they are the king of their life and they wanted nothing to do with God and God will just give them where their heart is. Everyone will rise. But it's also saying this, the saved though, those of us that do know Jesus, we should live in a way that points to this day. We should live in a way that shines God's love to everyone, to all kingdoms and not get bogged down in just sideline earthly affairs. In fact, write the principle down. Earthly fame and success will fade, but investing in eternity and leading others to Jesus. Watch this. That's what shines forever. You do realize that, right? Nothing else on this planet will last forever except for the word of God and the people of God.
Nothing. Only in Alabama does the hearse have a U-Haul behind it. You can't take it with you, but you can take this with you. Man, I love this. Why? Because out of everything in life that we're chasing after, there is only one thing and it's Christ and Christ alone that will last. Now I want you to go back to the text because in seeing this, we're, we're, we're watching Daniel and one would think that after 70 years that Daniel has got all this under control, right? You would think that this is not his first rodeo. He's had other visions. We've been looking at him over the last couple weeks. We would love to say that Daniel has all this figured out, that he's getting a message from God and he's all over it. He's understanding every word, everything that's pointing, he's getting what all the beasts mean, all the kingdoms mean, all the images mean, all the angels mean, all the Jesus.
We would love to say, "Man, this guy knows everything." But no, this is why I love Daniel the most. Daniel is struggling to understand what he's hearing. You ever been there in your Christian life? You ever been there when you're reading the Bible? Daniel's there right here. In fact, some scholars would say this. Some scholars would say that we today in 2026 can actually understand the visions and understand the prophecy better than Daniel because we have had the time to watch it be proclaimed and fulfilled in a lot of it. We have had the time to watch Jesus live it out and clarify it. And we have the book of Revelation that is the companion to the book of Daniel. And so through all that, we can actually understand the vision even better than Daniel. Now listen to me though, but even though Daniel doesn't understand all of it, what we know about Daniel, and you can believe about Daniel is that no matter what he does not know, he does know who the savior is.
He does know who God is and he does know that he wants his life to walk with God, to know God, to shine for God and everything in his life to live for God. So listen, so for, listen, for some of you that just struggle, when you open the Bible and read it, it's okay. Just keep walking. In fact, write this principle down. You don't have to know, you don't have to understand every detail of the future to trust the God who rules the future. Actually, this is what the whole text is pointing to. You say," Man, I don't get it. "Okay, let's watch it be lived out in Daniel's life. Man, watch this text right here. Daniel chapter 12 verses four through 12 is actually this moment where you've got Daniel on this side, you've got a couple of new angels over here, you've got Jesus right here, and they're all talking together.
It's so cool. Let me read it and walk through it with you. It says this, because after 70 years, you're about to see Daniel struggle, understand something. Verse four, it says," But to you, Daniel, he says, Roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time In other words, put the seal on it, put the official document notice on it that this is from me. It says," Many will go here and there to increase knowledge. And then I, Daniel, I looked and there before me stood two others. "Now there's other angels that are joining the scene. Watch this. One on the bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. In verse six, one of the angels said to the man clothed in linen, that's Jesus, we established that, who is above the waters on the river. Are you getting this in your mind?
Jesus is above the water. I don't know if he's hovering. I don't know if he's sitting on a cloud. I don't know. But we got angels on both sides. We got Jesus in the middle. And watch what the angel said. The angel said," How long before these astonishing things are fulfilled? "Even the angels aren't understanding it. They don't know when all this is gonna happen. They don't know when Jesus is gonna return. They don't know when Jesus is gonna rapture the church. They're asking the question too. Verse seven," The man clothed in linen, "that's Jesus who is above the waters on the river. He lifted his right hand and his left hand. This is a sign of covenant, a sign of promise toward heaven. "And I heard him swear by him who lives forever." He literally swears to God right there because he's God, right?
He's like, "I swear to God." Here it is. He says it will be for time, times and half a time. We've seen that over and over in the book. "When the power of the holy people, that's the Jews, have finally been broken and all these things will be complete. "He's like," Hey, we've said it over and over again. At the last of the time, at the final moment, it's gonna be for three years and finally the Jews are gonna turn to Jesus. And when the Jews finally turn to Jesus, then all this will be complete in the days of tribulation. "And Daniel's like," Oh, I get it. "No, look at verse eight. This is why I love this book so much. Watch what Daniel says. "I heard, but I did not understand." Can I get an amen from all these prophecies? Can I get an amen right there, right?
Even Daniel's like, "Man, I'm hearing you, but I don't know what you're saying." So I asked my Lord, what will the outcome of all this be? He replied, "Cool on your way, Daniel." Because the words were rolled up and sealed until the end of time. In other words, I told you, seal them up, you'll see when you get there. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished till the abomination that causes desecration is set up, there will be 1,290 days. In other words, Daniel, at the end of times, when things get bad, the abomination comes in, he's gonna kick, the antichrist, he's gonna kick all the believers out of the temple, set up the temple for himself, not allow any more sacrifices.
From the moment that happens, three and a half years, put the clock, start the watch, then Jesus will return forever and ever and ever and ever and ever, amen, on the clouds, the ancient day rolls in on the throne. We looked at it in chapter seven, we looked at it in chapter eight, and Jesus will establish his kingdom in 1,335 days after that happening. I mean, in 1,290 days. Okay, Matt, I get it. Now look at verse 12, just so you can be confused a little bit more. Jesus said, Blessed is the one who waits and reaches the end of the 1,335 days. Man, come on again. Yes, there's 45 more days after Jesus returns. Why? I believe personally, now we can disagree on this, I believe that's how long it's gonna take Jesus to judge the nations and set up his millennial kingdom. Now, what is all this saying?
Don't get lost in the Jesus. Literally, this is Jesus looking at Daniel going, Hey, I know you don't understand. I know you're struggling. I know your earthly mind can't comprehend this. I know all of this blows you away, which it does us, but this is Jesus literally hearing and seeing Daniel going, listen, Daniel, just be faithful today. Just know that there's a day coming where you will be blessed, where your people will be blessed, where Jesus literally looks at him and goes, Just know, Daniel, that there's gonna come a day as you live faithfully towards the kingdom that I will establish my kingdom. And there's gonna be a day Jesus says that we will live forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Amen. That's what he's saying. He's saying," Don't get lost in the details. "But watch how he closes the book. I love this in verse 13.
After Daniel's like," I don't get it. "God goes," Okay, let me put it on the bottom shelf for you, Daniel. "He says," As for you, "verse 13, the last verse," Go your way to the end. You will rest and then at the end of the days, you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance. "Now listen, if you, if you haven't paid attention to anything else, listen to this because what a closing challenge for all of us. Look at the phrases, go your way. What is he saying? He said, Daniel, I know you don't get all this stuff. I know you don't, can't picture all the kingdoms. I know all the beasts just really freak you out. And now you got angels standing in front of you, right? I know all that is getting to you. He says," Daniel, listen, just keep living faithfully. "And let me tell all of us, just keep living faithfully.
Just take what we know, take the relationship we have with Jesus. He'll get mixed up in the sideways stuff and just go your way forward facing as your kid. And then what does he say? Just go your way. And if you do that, look at the second phrase," And then you will rest. "In other words, you will rest in death. You will rest because you know the savior. You will rest because you know the king. You will rest into eternity in the presence of God because we have him. And then after we rest, what does it say? It says you will rise. This is for you, for you that know Jesus, for me that knows Jesus. Literally, we will rise because there's a physical resurrection that is guaranteed. And when we do rise, look at the last phrase, what does it say? You will receive your allotted inheritance.
What does that mean? That means as far as we can get away from Jesus is where we are now, because we're going to rise one day into his kingdom, into his presence, and he will hand us the reward that he has gone to prepare for us. That's what he's saying that I love this. I love it because after all the ways that Daniel has heard from God, after all the information, all the theology, all the timelines, all the kings he served, all the insights, all the beasts, all the cryptic apocalyptic language, Jesus puts it on the bottom shelf for Daniel and us and thank God he did because we're all confused. And he looks at them. He looks at this battle warned old servant Daniel and says, Daniel, I've got you. I've got you. Your end is secure. Keep moving because I, Jesus, says, I'm the one that guarantees all of it.
And listen to me, church. It is just as relevant for us as it was for Daniel. Now, as we tie a bow in this series, as we look at how we like Daniel can, can affect our Babylon, if Daniel were to boil everything in these chapters and the whole book down to us, let me give you five quick statements that Daniel would say to us. Number one, he would literally look at you and look at me and say, listen, fight on your knees. Fight on your knees. So Matt, what does that mean? That means that prayer is our primary offense and defense. That means prayer is not a last resort. That means that prayer is the battle that all of us should face. You realize that your battle is not against media, it's not against your boss, it's not against your family members. It's against Satan and his dominion.
And prayer is what offers God's power in our life. So when you see chaos and culture, when you see kids struggling, when you see your marriage is under attack, when you see culture is crumbling, Daniel would say, get off the social media and pray. You don't even know what social media is, but it works. Number one, fight on your knees. Number two, he would say this, rest in your identity in Christ. Rest. Oh, listen, believer, we get caught up so much in the rat race of life. If we can just understand what matters most about you and me believers, it's not that we're greatly talented, not that we're greatly successful, not that we're greatly popular, but what? Chapter 10, we are greatly loved by God. And if that's your identity, if that's your identity, listen to me, listen, there is nothing that can separate you from that.
In fact, Paul says it like this, the rest and the last set of verses in Romans 8:38 and 39, he says, there is nothing that can separate us. Watch this. Nor anything else, the last part of this, in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Listen, when fear whispers, God's forgotten you, you got to remember that you're greatly loved. When culture screams, you don't belong here, you've got to know that you belong to Jesus when the enemy attacks your mind. You've got to remind yourself there's no culture, there's no crisis that can snatch you out of his hand. For 21 days, Daniel has been praying for 70 plus years of his life. He's been living in exile, but God still calls him greatly loved. Your circumstances don't define you. Jesus defines you.
Number one, fine on your knees. Number two, rest in your identity, believer. Number three, believer, listen, invest in what lasts for eternity. Invest in what lasts for eternity. I love the fact that in Daniel chapter 12 and verse three, literally just says, "Hey, Daniel, you need to do this forever and ever and ever and ever." Church, in other words, there's nothing else that crosses the grave other than what we do for the kingdom of God. What does that mean? Man, spend your time discipling your kids. Spend your time reaching others. Spend your time investing in the church because when you stand before King Jesus one day, the only thing that is going to matter is him asking you, what did you do for eternity? Here's number four believer, finish your part of the race well. Finish it well. Now for some of you, you're just starting the race, right?
You're just on the on ramp of the race. I mean, you're like middle school, you're high school, you're just figuring this thing out. Finish the season well, he would say. For some of you, you got some, you got some season on you, right? Finish well. Finish well. Don't fold in the towel. Don't throw it in in the fourth quarter. Don't throw it in when you get tired. Don't give up on day 20 when 21 is coming. Finish well. I love what Paul says in two Timothy four. He says this in verse seven, he says, "I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I've kept the face. Now there's a store for me, a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day. And not only to me, but also this is for you, to all those who've longed for his appearing." Dan would say, "Hey, believers, pray, pray, pray.
Rest in that identity. Seek him and invest in a fu - in the future. Finish well." And here's the last one. Now I'm done with the whole series. For those of you that don't know Jesus, here's what Daniel said to you. Sure. Number five, ensure that you're on the list.
Make sure you're on the list. We just talked about it. How do you get on the list? Jesus puts you on the list. How does Jesus put you on the list? Jesus puts you on the list. When you invite him into your life as your savior and Lord, ask him to forgive you of your sins. Recognize that he has lived and died the life you should have lived. He died the death that you deserve to die. In the moment you pray and ask God to be yours and to forgive you. Listen to me. He puts you on the list. Let me ask you, have you trusted Jesus? What's keeping you from making today the day of your salvation? Here's the bottom line of the whole book of Daniel. The same God who carried Daniel will carry you