“At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people[…] And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book…” Daniel 12: 1, NKJV
Heavenly Father, may the significance of what we are studying, remain with us and inspire us to be faithful, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
This is our fifth study in our Last Days Events promises (these studies were not planned as such). Today we will look at those who Michael “stands watch over:” those who are “found written in the book.” A text that comes to my mind immediately is one found in Luke 10: 20, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” When Jesus sent out the seventy to preach the gospel, He endowed them with “authority… over all the power of the enemy.” Yet He warned them not to rejoice in the power at their command, but rather over the fact that their names were written in heaven. That should be the reason of our most profound joy and rejoicing, the fact that we are being saved!
Why do I equate our being saved to having “[our] names” “written in the book,” or “in heaven?” Because in the final analysis there are only two groups: those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and those whose names are not (Revelation 13: 8; 20: 15; 21: 27). What really warms my heart is the fact that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all eagerly trying to save us (retain our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life)! The Father sent the Son not to condemn the world, but to save the world (John 3: 17). While we were yet sinners Jesus Christ died for us (Romans 5: 8). The Holy Spirit comes to lead us into all truth (John 16: 13). The Holy Scriptures have been given to “instruct [us] for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3: 15, NRSV). All that could be done has been done by the Godhead to save us! Only we, by our decision, can keep ourselves from being saved (Matthew 23: 37).
Yesterday while I was on the treadmill at the gym, I glanced up at one of the televison units, and a news item caught my eye. Scientists have projected an approximate 7.6 billion years for the world to come to an end They are predicting that the earth would eventually be “swallowed up” by the sun as it orbited within the extremely low density outer layers of the sun. However, one scientist gave a “glimpse of hope,” by suggesting that future generations use the “gravitational pull” of an asteroid passing close to earth to “nudge the earth away from the sun.” (This is a really short version of the news item.)
My question would be, do we really want 7.6 billion more years of life on planet earth, as we know life here? Or, should we be making sure that when the time of trouble comes, our names are found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Then Michael, the great prince, who “stands watch” over us and our loved ones, will deliver us.
Jesus, in trying to shift the disciple’s emphasis away from the “power” that they had over demons, to the importance of having their names written in heaven, was teaching us all a lesson in establishing worthwhile priorities. My prayer is that we will take His teachings to heart in the time of peace, that we might be prepared for the time of trouble.