Sunday School Lesson.

1. Daniel 9 – 12 Praying for Maranatha Revelation 22:20 NIV
He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. August 31, 2014 First Baptist Church Jackson, Mississippi USA
I Corinthians 15:58
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
References
Daniel: God’s Pattern For The Future, A Study Guide by Charles R. Swindoll, 1992
Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy by Beth Moore, 2006
Lessons In Daniel, YouTube Videos, Chuck Missler
Are We Living in the End Times?, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, 1999
Daniel 9 – 12
• This presentation will be like a quick trip to Disney World.
• Just a flyover view.
• Daniel has 2 visions in which he was given events in history that will occur from that day until the end of time and into eternity.
• Events from 539 B.C. thru eternity!
Prophecy in Daniel 9-12
• Dates for Jesus Triumphal Entry
• Length of Tribulation
• Description of Antichrist
• History of events between OT and NT (400 yrs)
• Armageddon scenario
• Destruction and Rebuilding of Temple
• Glimpse into the Dark Side of Spiritual Warfare

2. Daniel 9:20-27
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill — 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:
24 "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. 25 "Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty- two 'sevens. ' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty- two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.
Daniel 9 – 12 Prophecy Timeline
• 539 B.C. – Daniel reads Jeremiah 29
• 435 B.C. – Malachi – End of Old Testament
• 330 B.C. – Persian empire falls to Alexander The Great
• 330 B.C. – 63 B.C. Greek Empire
• 168 B.C. – Antiochus Epiphanes – Abomination that causes desolation
• 63 B.C. – Roman Empire conquers Greeks
• 70 A.D. – Fall of Jerusalem/Temple Destroyed
Church Age
• Time from Pentecost (Acts 2) to the Rapture
• Covers the time period when the Church (believers in Christ) is on the earth
• Scripture makes a distinction between the nation of Israel and the Church
• The Church Age will end with the Rapture
– Not “Replacement Theology” of Church replacing Israel in role in scripture
• In prophecy, it falls between the 69th and 70th weeks in Daniel 9:24-27
• 445/446 B.C Artaxerxes decree to restore Jerusalem → 7 Weeks (49 years) → 396 B.C. Restoration completed → 62 Weeks (434 years) → A.D. 32/33 Christ’s Triumphal Entry → Christ Cut Off (crucified) after 69th Week → Church Age runs until Rapture, then the 70th Week beings.

3. Timeline
Doctrine of Imminence
• Imminent = impending; approaching
– Next expectation of Church is the RAPTURE
– Believers are taught to expect the Savior from heaven at any moment.
• Do not confuse with “immanent” –
– God is transcendent and is always with us and active on our behalf.
• Do not confuse with “eminent” –
– A title of honor for persons of distinction
Scriptures on Imminence
John 14:2-3
2 My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed —
52 in 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.

4. Doctrine of Imminence
• Believers should live a victorious and purified life
1 John 3:2-3
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
• Referring to the RAPTURE/BLESSED HOPE
• Viewpoint of Pre-tribulation
– Rapture occurs before the Great Tribulation
• Different from the 2ND COMING/ GLORIOUS APPEARING
– Comes after the Tribulation
– Tribulation will be 7 years – Daniel 9:27
– Tribulation is the 70th week – Daniel 9:25-26
– Tribulation is time when the Lord deals specifically with the nation of Israel
TWO EVENTS
Rapture 2nd Coming
Translation of believers No translation involved
Translated saints go to heaven Translated saints return to earth
Earth not judged Earth judged
Imminent, sign-less, anytime Follow definite predicted signs
Believers in Christ only Affects all people on earth
Jesus claims His bride Jesus comes with His bride
Only His own see Him Every eye shall see Him
Tribulation begins Millennium begins
Church believers only OT saints raised now?
Revelation 22:7, 12, 20
7 "Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll."
12 "Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.
20 He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

5. Closing Thoughts
• We should live our lives as if Christ could return at any moment.
• An imminent Rapture moves us to greater consecration, to holy living in an unholy age, and to evangelism and missions.
• Include maranatha in our prayer vocabulary.
• We should pray for Jesus to return, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
The Plan of Hope & Salvation
Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a NKJV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
Death in this life (the first death) is 100%. Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life to pay the penalty for our sins. The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second death explained in Revelation 21:8.
Revelation 21:8 NKJV
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Romans 6:23b NKJV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Revelation 21:7 NKJV
7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”
Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to accept Jesus as our Savior.
Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

6. Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
If you have questions or would like to know more.
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at
601-979-1900 or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/