Daniel 12:1-4 Time of the End CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
The time of the end is identified by a number of things: natural and international disasters [Matt 24], perilous times [2 Tim 3:1-7], and many running to and fro and knowledge increasing, as in our text.
The alarming thing about the increase in these areas of travel and communication is this:
We are running further and further from God
As for “running to and fro” we see – interstate travel – high speed trains – air transportation – commutes – parents have become chauffeur services for their children – no time to settle down and relax – yet, to get to know God you have to sit still and be still – Ps 46:10 be still and know that I am God – 2 Chr 20:17 stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with you – Is 30:7 their strength is to sit still – Ps 4:4-5 stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.
In all of this running to and fro we see more doctrinal error than ever before – in Eph 4:14 we are becoming children tossed to and fro – in this passage in Daniel the phrase “to and fro” is significant – when you look it up in the Bible you find some very telling cross references [realizing that the Lord’s eyes run to and fro through the entire earth, notwithstanding] Job 1:7, 2:2; Ps 107:27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end; Is 24:20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again; Jer 5:1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
The more running there is to and fro, the further and further they get from God – the technological advancements that allowed them to run did not draw them closer to the Lord – a protracted meeting today will last a week [around here a weekend] yet in the past they went on until the Spirit of God moved the preacher down the road – weeks and weeks at times
We know less and less about God
As for knowledge increasing we see – internet – television – cell phones – computers – newspapers – magazines – now 4G communication where the person asks about something and his friends are able to show him the answer already uploaded to a phone instantaneously – people have come to expect and demand this speed
David Wilkerson, in The Cross and The Switchblade, said, “So even before the second series of TV shows was over, I started going out on the streets and talking to boys and girls face to face. As soon as I did, I knew that I had touched the live, vital key to effective work with people. Jesus did not have television … His was a face to face ministry.”
And with all this knowledge at our finger tips we are not closer to God and truthfully this generation knows less about him than any generation before it – the knowledge of God is not obtained on computers and touch screens – look at Prov 2:1-5 and cross reference 2 Cor 10:5 – look at Phil 3:10 and consider the result of our generation, Hos 4:1-2 1Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
We are being controlled more and more by the devil
Humans are becoming so dependent on digital technology that they won’t be able to function without it – the concern is that we are losing human interaction, creativity and thinking – so much of the work is done for us by computers – people are becoming addicted to technology
Technology is now essential and vital – point-of-sale – online banking – medicine – automobiles – air travel – knock out the grid and life stops
Colleges and media are absolutely reliant on technology, weather forecasting is all technology, yet animals and plants can predict the weather more accurately than weather men – this dependence on technology is creating a huge impatience and intolerance for human error and an even greater demand for technology
Drones in military – technology in military – surveillance at check points – spying on emails
We have seen a trend toward integrating man and machine – people are becoming inseparably dependent upon their machines to the point of becoming intertwined with them
In a fiction book titled The Machine Stops there is a society so dependent on machines that humans have lost their ability to function without them – a man drops a book and can’t pick it up – the machine has to do it for him – and today we need to ask, can men travel withoutGPS – can they do math functions without a calculator – can they spell without spell check – can they remember numbers and names without a contact list?
Inside Tennis Magazine writer Bill Simmons wrote about, “Steve Jobs a Buddhist that brought together the human and the digital. Jobs’ products were at the core of the information age.”
In Dan 2:43we find iron mixed with clay – “they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men” – iron is connected with the devil [the locusts in Rev 9 had breastplates of iron v.9] [Dan 7:19the 4th beast’s teeth of iron] [Jer 11:4,Egypt the iron furnace] [Job 40:18 behemoth’s bones are like bars of iron]
A being that is part man, part machine is called a “cyborg” [cybernetic organism – a synthesis of organic and synthetic parts] – RoboCop [made from a murdered cop and computers] – Terminator – Six Million Dollar Man – a pacemaker is a synthetic enhancement – C-Leg, iLimb [prosthetics that are integrated into the nervous system for more functionality], cochlear implants [for hearing], or a brain-computer interface BCI – In 2010, the Cyborg Foundation became the world’s first international organization dedicated to help humans become cyborgs
Somewhere in all of this the devil is involved and will use this in his control of the world – surveillance – banking – dissemination and censorship of information – touch screens and webinars – just getting people ready for the mark of the beast – something read electronically – bar codes – self check out at the store – ordering online – live chats – you don’t deal with a person face to face – video conferencing – Skype – in these you deal with the digital IMAGE of the person
A man made Image gets life and speaks in Rev 13:14-15 and the supernatural being behind this image controls the world with it – he controls religion [worship and makes martyrs of those who refuse] and banking, commerce, and food distribution [mark of the beast] and world government [no one is able to make war with him 13:4] – he is truly a world dictator
When God tries to get their attention in the tribulation before this beast and his IMAGE take over, they refuse to listen [Rev 9:20] but worship their man made idols [inventions, Ps 106:39] instead.
Conclusion:
These modern conveniences of technology are conditioning a society that will be absolutely under the control of the devil – there’s not anything you’re going to do to stop it but you can keep from being deceived by it and dependent on it – do this – sit still and stay close to God – search the scriptures and know God – and deal face to face with people about the Lord.