“AND THEN THERE SHALL BE A TIME OF TROUBLE.”
The first two verses of the twelfth chapter of Daniel’s prophecy are as follows:— “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” These prophetic utterances have their application in the very last of the last days. For they fix the attention upon the time when “Michael” shall “stand up.” “Michael” can be none other than Jesus Christ, for the text calls Him “the great Prince, which standeth for the children of thy people.” Jesus is the only “great Prince” who occupies the significant and exclusive position of “standing for the children of thy people.” He who said that “without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5), “standeth for the children of thy people” in the sin-marred places in this world because it is impossible for them to stand without Him. How beautiful, and yet how comforting is this prophetic utterance! This “standing up of Michael” is “at that time” when “thy people shall be delivered,” and when “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.” God’s people are not completely delivered from this earth, corrupted by sin, until the second coming of Christ at the last day. They who “sleep in the dust of the earth” do not “awake” until the second coming of Christ and the resurrection. Thus from every standpoint we see that these verses quoted from Daniel’s prophecy refer to the very last of the last days. For the text brings us face to face with the time when Michael or Christ “stands up;” and it also shows us that the “deliverance” of God’s people is to be at that time; and, further, the matter is made clear beyond all conjecture by the statement that “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.” They who “sleep in the dust” awake at the resurrection, and everybody knows that the resurrection is at the end of the world. Now note. This prophecy of Daniel forcibly and clearly brings us to consider the time of the “standing up” of Michael, the “deliverance” of God’s people, and the resurrection. The same scripture also tells us that in connection with these great events “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” And just as surely as the last days of this world of sin are bound to come, and just as surely as the Lord has told us “that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust,” even so surely will that great event be preceded by “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” God’s Word has foretold it. And our God makes no mistakes. When this “time of trouble” is imminent, the things which cause it will be both seen and felt. And we ask any serious observer of passing events, if there is not a condition of things in the world to-day that is causing the stoutest hearts to quail. You can not meet a man nowadays scarcely but what the conversation will almost insensibly drift into a discussion of the alarming problems that confront the whole world. Criminality, bold, defiant, and high-handed, faces us at every turn. The story of the murderer, the highwayman, the defaulter, and general crime of the most hideous and terrible character, constitutes a large part of the “news” that is given to us in every issue of every daily paper every day in the year. Drunkenness and debauchery are growing worse and worse. Licentiousness does not stop at the brothel, but has invaded the home, and it is no uncommon thing to read of the enraged man or woman who seeks revenge by slaying the unfaithful companion and the seducer who is a party to the sin. Mobs and lynchings are of very frequent occurrence. The general discontent between capital and labor furnishes a problem that is one of the most serious of the age. And in this one question alone every student of history recognizes all the seeds of discontent that preceded the French Revolution, with its reign of terror. It is useless to enumerate further. It is asked on every hand: What do these things portend? Where will they end? And is it possible to escape what seems to be an inevitable and universal smashing up of everything? To these questions it may be stated, on the authority of Scripture, that all of these appalling difficulties in the world to-day are the many voices which proclaim that we are even now in the dark shadows of that “time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” And there is a sure way of escape from the oncoming destruction. The “great Prince” stands for the deliverance of every case committed to His care. And He is not only a strong but sure Deliverer. Is your case in His hands? If not, hasten to commit all to Him, “for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.”