Whenever we have a business meeting, only those whose names are written in the membership list can vote. At Calvary we have a church directory and a formal membership list. We have address books and books of family genealogy. Only those whose names are written in that book will be admitted into heaven. This is the вЂњbookвЂќ God keeps in heaven of the saved of all the ages. And who will be delivered or saved by the Lord? Answer: Everyone whose name is written in вЂњthe book.вЂќ And what book is that? It can be no other book than the LambвЂ™s Book of Life.

The deliverance in view comes at the end of the tribulation period. The last half of that seven years is commonly called the вЂњGreat Tribulation.вЂќД«ut at that time your people-everyone whose name is found written in the book-will be delivered (Daniel 12:1b). The вЂњtime of distressвЂќ is elsewhere called the вЂњtime of JacobвЂ™s trouble,вЂќ and the вЂњtribulation.вЂќ The вЂњtime of distressвЂќ is the yet-future 70th вЂњweekвЂќ of seven years when God will let the Antichrist briefly rise to power. Since Michael is the appointed guardian of Israel, we may be sure that when he stands up, something is about to happen. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then (Daniel 12:1a). Four Things in IsraelвЂ™s FutureДЄt that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. Daniel 12 brings us to the end of his career as a prophet. He is over 80 years old and perhaps is almost 90. Studying this book ought to increase our confidence in the sovereignty of a God who makes no mistakes.ДЄs we come to the end of this book, Daniel is an old man nearing the end of 70 years of ministry for God. He is in charge when a child is born and he is in charge when death knocks at your door. He is in charge of good times and bad days, of happiness and sorrow, of joy and heartache, of great victories and shocking defeats. He is in charge of the past, the present, and the future. He is in charge of nations, families, and individuals.

This may be the most important lesson of the book. That day may be closer than we think.ДanielвЂ™s God is our God too-and he is still on the throne. I believe the stage is being set for the rise of the Antichrist. While that may show the dangers of attempting to figure out such things in advance, it also demonstrates the genuine interest in Bible prophecy in our day. But the name they gave is not one I mentioned in my long list of potential candidates. After my sermon on the Antichrist last Sunday I received an e-mail message from someone claiming to know who the Antichrist is.

We can gain much insight from the way he handled his challenges.ДanielвЂ™s prophecies may soon be fulfilled. Daniel spent his entire adult life as a believer living in a pagan culture.

Those reasons seem even more relevant today than they did then.ДanielвЂ™s situation parallels our own. I also mentioned three reasons for studying this book. When we began in November, I noted in my first sermon that there were only 55 days until Y2K, which turned out to be a huge non-event.

Sermons on the book of daniel