Talk

Handbook For The End Of The World

Ben Stuart
December, 15, 2024

Concluding the Believers in Babylon collection, Ben Stuart explains Daniel 12 and shows the connections between it and the Bible concerning the end of the world. Join us in discovering the hope that lies before us in our future.

Key Takeaway

No matter how bad things get, and they are promised to get worse, we hold a greater promise. God has purposed our pain and promises us an allotment with Him in Heaven.

One of the major themes of the Book of Daniel is longing. The original audience longs for the first coming of the Messiah, Jesus, and we long for the second. Daniel 12 takes the prophecies surrounding the end of the world as we know it and the return of Christ.

The end times are troubled. Jesus warns that the days will become so bad that no one will survive if He doesn’t cut them short. However, the end is not just a time of distress; it’s also a time of deliverance. Rescue is coming. Hope sustains us amid hardship. But who does this deliverance belong to? Those whose names are written in the Book of Life. They have a purchase in God’s Kingdom to come. How do you get your name in this book? Luke 10 lets us know that it’s by no means other than the Father revealing the Son to us. The book belongs to the Lamb, Jesus, who was slain. When you come to God like a child when the Son is revealed, your name is written in the Book of Life, and in times of distress, you will have deliverance.

The rescue will come, but for some, it will be after death. Daniel 12:2 is the clearest Old Testament reference to our resurrection. Paul backs this up in the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 15 teaches us that we can be calm in the face of death and have a purpose in our pain because we have a purpose in the Promised Land. Even when you look death in the face, if you are in Christ, it’s not the end for you.

The other group that will be raised will be raised to judgment. There is justice that God will carry out. God does not delight in judging, but you have the choice of what you will do with the truth of Jesus. Does your sin fall on the shoulders of Jesus, who paid your debt, or does it fall on your own shoulders, condemning you to judgment?

So, what do we do knowing the end is coming?

We share the Word of Life. Daniel 12:3 says that the wise are those who turn many to righteousness, and they will shine like stars. Being wise is knowing how the world works and working within it. Some people will know where history is going and what God is up to. The best thing we can do is help people turn toward what is right. We’ve found life, so we want others to have it. God has made a way for us to know Him, so we invite others to do the same. Live consistently with the Bible, and then speak the Word of God to people who desperately need Him.

We study the Word of Life. The angel tells Daniel to seal the scroll to preserve it. He knows there’s a day coming that will cause people to run to and fro looking for the truth, so he’s telling Daniel to give the people something solid to stand on. Be a student of the Word. Make your scripture time greater than your screen time. If you were pricked, would you bleed the Bible? People are running all over looking for knowledge. Do you have it? You’re meant to. We’re meant to be a people who find stability and safety in the storms of life.

We suffer well. Daniel sees an angel on each side of the river and a man above them. They ask him how long all of these wonders will last. There will be a definite time, but it will be devastating. It will end when the people of God are shattered. We can become so proud of our success that God sends pain to give perspective. The outcome will be that some people understand sin's darkness, repent, and purify themselves. But some will still shake their fist toward God.

At the end of the book, God encourages Daniel to stand in an allotted place. We don’t get to know all things, but we get to know Him, who knows all things, and that’s where your joy comes.

“
"We don't know when the end is coming, but we do know that it's coming, so we live like it's coming."
”
Ben Stuart

Discussion Questions

  1. What is one of the major themes of Daniel? How did this affect the original audience? How does it affect us?

  2. What does Matthew 24: 15-31 tell us about the end times?

  3. The end is not just a time of distress; it is also a time of deliverance. Who gets delivered? See Daniel 12:1.

  4. How do we get our name in the Book of Life according to Luke 10:21-22?

  5. Daniel 12:2 is the clearest Old Testament reference we have for the resurrection, which is a form of rescue. How does 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 further explain this?

  6. Those that aren't raised to life are raised to judgment. Does your sin fall on the shoulders of Jesus, who paid your debt, or on your own shoulders, condemning you?

  7. Who are the wise in Daniel 12:3, and what will they be like? How can you do this in your everyday life?

  8. Why did the angel tell Daniel to seal the scroll in Daniel 12:4?

  9. If you were pricked, would you bleed the Bible? How much time are you spending in Scripture and talking about your faith versus other meaningless things?

  10. How has Daniel been an encouragement in suffering well?

Scripture References

The End Times

1“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. 4But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”

5Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. 6One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?”

7The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”

8I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”

9He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end. 10Many 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.

11“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

13“As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”

7Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.
9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God,

and the authority of his Messiah.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,

who accuses them before our God day and night,

has been hurled down.

11They triumphed over him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

as to shrink from death.

12Therefore rejoice, you heavens

and you who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea,

because the devil has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury,

because he knows that his time is short.”

3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
15
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’
spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—
16
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
21
For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
22
“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
29
“Immediately after the distress of those days

“ ‘the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

30
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth
will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
31
And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.
14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
15Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
18He replied,
“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
19
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
20
However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
21At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said,
“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
22
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
24
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
25
Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
26
For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
27
And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice
29
and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.
14
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
15
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
14Do everything without grumbling or arguing,
15so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
16as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Jeremiah Buys a Field

1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the

Lord
in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.

3Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the

Lord
says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 4Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the
Lord
. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’ ”

6Jeremiah said, “The word of the

Lord
came to me: 7Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’

8“Then, just as the

Lord
had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the

Lord
; 9so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. 10I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— 12and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

13“In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14‘This is what the

Lord
Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15For this is what the
Lord
Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

16“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the

Lord
:

17“Ah, Sovereign

Lord
, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the
Lord
Almighty, 19great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. 20You performed signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. 21You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. 22You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them.

24“See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see. 25And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign

Lord
, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’ ”

26Then the word of the

Lord
came to Jeremiah: 27“I am the
Lord
, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? 28Therefore this is what the
Lord
says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. 29The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods.

30“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the

Lord
. 31From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. 32The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. 33They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. 34They set up their vile images in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. 35They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.

36“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the

Lord
, the God of Israel, says: 37I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.

42“This is what the

Lord
says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. 43Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’ 44Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the
Lord
.”

The Two Witnesses

1I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”5If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

7Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

11But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

13At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.

The Seventh Trumpet

15The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

“The kingdom of the world has become

the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,

and he will reign for ever and ever.”

16And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17saying:

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

the One who is and who was,

because you have taken your great power

and have begun to reign.

18The nations were angry,

and your wrath has come.

The time has come for judging the dead,

and for rewarding your servants the prophets

and your people who revere your name,

both great and small—

and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

19Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

13“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
14He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Ben Stuart
Ben Stuart
Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.