The Time of the End

¶ "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. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 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.
4 "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." (Daniel 12: 1-4)

This morning I am in awe of the Word of God. I am intrigued by the possibilities. Most Bible scholars would agree that Daniel, when he refers to “the time of the end”, is speaking of the second coming of Jesus to this earth in order to gather in believers both alive and dead and escort them to heaven. This will signal the seven year period termed the Great Tribulation. Most scholars, until recently, and indeed some still refuse to change their minds, have maintained that verse four refers to the expected resulting confusion and great desire to study the Word of God prior to and during the Great Tribulation period. I personally see in the light of personal experience, as do others, a completely different meaning to the prophecy. What I am discussing this morning has absolutely nothing to do with the “2012 end of the world” nonsense that has become popular in the media.

In my short lifetime of just over six decades, I have witnessed milk and ice home delivery in horse drawn wagons. The development of car and truck technology has evolved from the basic to the very sophisticated. This has resulted in the building of many roads and freeways to handle the greatly expanded traffic. Air travel has developed from a primitive state to a very common and fast mode of transportation using very sophisticated jet engines and computer technology. In my lifetime space travel has become a reality. Speeds of 20,000 miles per hour are used outside the atmosphere of the earth. High speed trains are common in most parts of the urbanized world. No other generation has travelled long distances as quickly and frequently as my and the following generations. “…many shall run to and fro…” (Daniel 12:4) has taken on a whole new meaning for me.

As a small child, I recall being held up by my mother so that I could speak into a huge telephone mouthpiece protruding from a large wooden box on the wall. She held the heavy wired earpiece to my ear so that I could speak to my father on the telephone. As I grew older, the advent of the dial telephone ended the need to give a number to the human operator in order to place a call. Long distance technology, touch tone and wireless phones were to follow. I now can use a very compact cell phone to place calls, send texts, exchange email or search the internet. I did not see a television until I was six years old. Now I sit in front of a 52 inch color screen and have , not just one channel available to me, but hundreds of channels made possible by satellite technology. The invention and development of the computer led the world to the advent of the internet. I am still in awe of the easy availability of knowledge, both good and bad, that is attainable as I sit at my kitchen table. I was taught as a child and indeed as an adult to read and attain knowledge from a limited number of text and reference books. I was taught to write as a child with the use of straight pen and a bottle of ink. “…and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4) also takes on a whole new meaning for me in the wake of my life experiences.

Jesus made it clear to us that we would not and could not know the time of his return. He did speak of certain signs that would signal the beginning of the end. I must admit that my reading of the Book of Daniel gives me pause of late. Never have the inhabitants of this world experienced advances to transportation, technology and the absolute explosion of knowledge that we currently enjoy.

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