Chaos And Kingdoms

Feb. 17

Read: Daniel 7

Chaos and Kingdoms

“I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.” (v.2)

Our visions and dreams at night give way to many “great beasts”. When our heads hit the pillow, we too may find ourselves facing what seems like utter chaos. The thoughts of the day… our concerns about tomorrow… it is no secret that anxiety and fear strike at night. What is crazy here in this passage is that Daniel is seeing a vision from the Lord that is showing him the future. Here is a biblical truth: that the reality of the world around us and what is unfolding will often look chaotic and unnatural to us. The unknown of what lies ahead will always seem a little bit “out of this world” because it IS. The future is not the “now”. The only way we can experience the future is through the sensation of the “now”… thinking about it “now” while we wait for it.

The world around us seems like the “ocean being blown about by the four winds” around us. (v.2) The ocean has always represented chaos and the uncontrollable. The beasts that come out of the water are the same way - wild creatures that are “other worldly”. They too seem “uncontrollable”. God was showing Daniel what was coming. The lion with plucked eagle wings being Nebuchadnezzar - with is humbling and restoration. The bear with “one side larger” being the two sided Media- Persian empire. The Leopard with 4 wings being the swift and rapid attack of Alexander the Great who conquered the known world in 10 years by the age of 32! Finally the beast that is the Roman empire with 10 emperors (12 if you count 2 that lasted only a couple of months a piece) being the last to rise up and destroy / conquer in a way we have not really seen since. The point: the tossing and turning of the world and its rulers will - at first glance - seem chaotic and out of control at first. One human kingdom will devour another in an ongoing cycle of power and conquest. The truth: It is all part of a greater plan God is unfolding. It is not chaos at all, but God’s order… his plan. It seems out of control to us, but God is indeed IN CONTROL.

We cannot make sense of the world without God sending us a guide. (cf. v.16) We like to think that we could “handle” the knowledge of the future… the weight of knowing. We CAN’T. In fact, knowing the future is more likely to make us SICK and ANXIOUS moreso than put us at ease. Look at Daniel: “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me…Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.” (v.15,28) If we get even a glimpse the TRUE bigger picture of what God is doing with certainty from the Lord it will be a WEIGHT upon us. The complexity and goodness of what God is doing is simply so great. God brings us in as his people on bits and pieces of it - sparing us the weight and anxiety of the full picture.

How are we spending our time TODAY? Have we given ourselves to trying to “crack the political code” of the rising and falling empires around us? Have we sought the Lord at all in that journey? Does the world seem “chaotic” around us… like a “stormy sea stirred by the winds of heaven”? Does it keep us awake at night? Are we expecting these “beasts” to somehow do anything besides seek their own “empires” and devour each other? Could you trust that God is indeed in control? The greatest resolution comes in Jesus and we will look at that tomorrow. For today, do not be overwhelmed by the chaos of the sea nor fixated on whatever next “beast” is rising up from the waters… set your eyes on the one that is a LAMB… that is Jesus Christ. The King whose Kingdom shall not pass away. Maybe it is time to give the politics a break. Maybe it is time to stop thinking that these “beasts” are about anything but their own empires. The bear that devours or the monster with iron teeth did not come out of the ocean thinking of you… but Jesus DID come out of the GRAVE thinking of you and your best interest. Why not serve THAT king? Why not give HIM your greatest treasure of attention? Why not trust him with the crumbling manmade empires around us? Love you guys. - JDP