"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good." Verse 1
Pretty bleak outlook, but an accurate picture of people without God. Actually an accurate picture of all of us without God.
Daniel 7:11-14
Upon first reading, this passage appears to be something out of an H.P. Lovecraft story. It even mentions "The Old One."
Yogsothoth, anyone??
Seriously, though, this is a piece of one of Daniel's dreams. It included four animals. One of the animals, the "little horn" that was "speaking arrogantly," is killed. Then in verse 13, a "son of man" appears. He arrives in a "whirl of clouds." He is given power to rule and everyone serves him. His rule is forever, never ending and will never be replaced.
There is all kinds of speculation about the four beasts and who they represent in history. I don't even want to begin to get into that. I want to focus on the "son of man." The Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ in Daniel's dream.
He has been given kingly rule over this world. That isn't evident at this point in time, but he truly is in charge. There will come a time, according to Philippians 2, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Every knee, every tongue. For many of us, this will be a willing bowing and confessing. But for many, it will be forced. This will be a horrific day for those people.
I'm asked if thinking about God as king over his people makes me feel fear and dread or excitement and hope. That's a tough question. I know that I'm supposed to quickly proclaim that it makes me feel excitement and hope. And it does. But there is an element of fear and dread as well. That isn't all about me, either. I fear for others. There are people I know who don't care about God, don't acknowledge him, don't think they need him. Their ignorance and apathy will one day bring ruin on them.
I realize that I'm sounding a lot like a "gloom and doom" preacher, and I don't mean to. It's just simply the truth. One day, everything will come to a screeching halt and there will be judgment. And it won't be pretty. I don't look forward to it. I look forward to worshiping my God and Christ eternally in heaven. But I don't look forward to what will immediately precede that. I don't really know how it's all going to go down.
On the positive side, if God is in control, that means I don't have to be. That is a very comforting thought. I don't want to be in control. Just look at our world in the last couple weeks. There's a volcano erupting in Chile. A cyclone in Burma has killed thousands upon thousands of people and more are dying daily as the evil government of the country refuses aid from other countries. And then, as if that weren't enough, an earthquake strikes China, killing thousands, and many are still possibly buried as rescuers still are making their way to areas that haven't been tended to yet. And there is talk of serious aftershocks yet to come.
Disasters; catastrophes.
I can certainly understand how someone could not see or think that God is in control of anything. But he is. And many of the things that we are experiencing are spoken of in the Bible. Not, of course, as pertaining to specific areas or countries. Just in a general way.
God is in control, of my life, of the world, of the universe. His reign lasts forever. Accepting that fact means that I have a lot less to worry about.
I thank you that you are reigning and will continue to do so forever. I pray for grace in my life, along with wisdom to share you with others that are important to me. Help me to display your grace in all things that I do every day.
Grace and peace, friends.