“And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14)
Daniel conveys a vision of the exalted Lord one which may at first seem frightening even though it is designed to bring us comfort. It occurs in the midst of visions of ghastly and violent beasts which are certainly frightening and disturbing images. They depict spiritual realities, spiritual truth. They show us the forces of Satan active on the earth driving earthly Kingdoms, nations, and political leaders who do much evil and perpetrate much suffering and violence on billions of human beings. These beastly images portray modern political entities and depict spiritual systems and earthly religions, and not just outright false ones. It depicts even our modern woke culture which is working now to promote selfishness, gross immorality, and idolatry. These beastly images show the real ugliness of sin.
These images indeed should frighten us but they do not. The Lord God almighty stands firm amidst the chaos and the violence of evil. The vision of the Lord stands in stark contrast and is clear and comforting. It is a vision of triumphant glory that reminds us of the power, beauty and splendor of the Lord and His heavenly Kingdom. The forces of evil cannot touch or change Him. Of course, they can and do trouble us while we live on earth. We fall prey to the temptations of the flesh and the devil. We are all victims of unmerciful and violent people, nations, and kingdoms. Yet as members of the heavenly Kingdom we rejoice to know that God is in control. He has set limits on all those who oppose Him and His Kingdom. Therefore amid the chaos of our current tribulations, we can rejoice knowing that He has won the victory over sin and death and has given us eternal life. The end is not in doubt. We who are blessed to be members of the Heavenly Kingdom must share this with those who are enslaved by these beasts and help them to see the mercy and grace Christ provides by faith.