Reflecting on Mark 13:24-27
"At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory." (Mark 13:26)Jesus is quoting from the prophecy of Daniel here.
Daniel has a vision of a series of four horrible beasts (empires).
The probably empires are Assyria, Babylon, Greek and then Roman.
These beasts are deviant forms of God’s good creation – monsters.
The last one is the worse:
“Terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.” (Daniel 7:7)
Those horns are rulers (Caesars/Emperors), and one is the worse.
But each one is eventually stripped of its power.
Above and beyond these beasts, Daniel sees God on His throne (Daniel 7:9-10).
The message seems to be: no matter who rules this world, God is still in charge.
And one day each beast and horn will be defeated.
But how are they defeated?
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)
Jesus is saying that He is this promised Son of Man.
He will be given all authority in heaven and on earth.
He will rescue those crushed beneath the beastly power of Satan and sin.
He will overcome them not with force, but with humility and weakness.
He will not be a beast, but a God-like human being, as Adam was made to be.
It is by being fully human, backed by God on the throne, that He will win.
This is the good news of the kingdom of God.
This world set free from the serpent’s servants, under a God-like human.
This is the fulfillment of the promise made to the serpent,
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
As a Jesus follower, I keep my eyes focused upward to Jesus on the throne.
He is ruling the beasts of this world, not by force by by God-like grace.
He does not crush and devour victims, trampling them underfoot.
He goes beneath to lift up the crushed, to restore the trampled and crushed.
This is the ‘horn’ of salvation that God stands behind.
And this is the hope of salvation for all who are the victims.
He will crush those who crush, devour and trample others.
He does this with the glory and power of God’s will, God’s way.
Humility and grace, the goodness of God, will overcome the beasts.
The hateful, the hurtful, the cruel, the uncaring will be stripped of power.
No matter what happens, no matter how bad things get – evil loses.
In the current chaos and confusion, keep focusing on Jesus.
Don’t focus on the beasts on their thrones, don’t believe their lies.
Stay committed to the humble, gracious Son of Man, sitting on the throne.
God’s love wins, and all those who hope in God’s love will see it!
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, You are in charge of this world, and the glory and power of God's gracious love at work in You is crushing evil and stripping the beasts of their power. I choose to focus on and follow You, to reflect the glory and power of Your love in this world filled with beasts - unloving, ungracious, heartless humans. Come quickly, Jesus!
In such an upside down world, knowing God is in charge makes one hopeful. Prayer and faith gives us hope.
This is my Father’s world. I continually pray that His Spirit will also direct the ways of the rulers of the world today, rather than doing their selfish desires to be kings of their own castles. Ultimately, God is in charge and I in my small corner need to show His love at work being an instrument of His peace.