His Dominion is an Everlasting Dominion

In today’s first reading, Daniel 3: 68-74, Daniel shares his vision of four “immense beasts,” one more frightening than the other, each warring against one another until each one of them lost their power and are slain.  It may seem baffling to us as we read Daniel and/or Revelations. “Such gory detail of violent struggles, “we might say to ourselves; “I can’t stand reading about these things. Why, in fact, are such stories in the bible?  Bloodshed? Violence? Killing? Crushing, trampling, and torturing each other? Ugh!”  The vision Daniel sees is nothing less than what has been happening between the nations of his day, against Israel and Israel against other nations, believers against non-believers.  

As in the past, so now.  Nations, countries, states, tribes, municipalities, churches, governing bodies, families, individuals arrogantly speaking out against each other , like “the horn,” in Daniel’s vision, that “had eyes like a man, and a mouth that spoke arrogantly.”  In this vision, Daniel witnesses the “beast” being “slain and its body thrown into the fire to be burnt up. The other beasts, which also lost their dominion, were granted a prolongation of life for a time and a season.  As the visions during the night continued,” Daniel watched:

“Thrones were set up
And the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was snow bright,
and the hair on his head was white as wool;
His throne was flames of fire,
with heels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him….

One like a son of man coming,

on the clouds of heaven;
when he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations and peoples of every language serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
His kingship shall not be destroyed.”

The son of man presented to the Ancient One is Christ. The Kingdom is the Kingdom of Christ; “His kingship shall not be destroyed,” no matter how hard we try to obliterate God living among us and within us. 

I believe that and am unafraid as we witness horrible things happening in our world, as I hear about “beasts” trampling the innocent. Those “kingdoms” of evil will be slain eventually. Only the Kingdom of Christ is eternal. You and I are part of that kingdom, having died and rose with Christ in baptism, having been sealed for Christ in confirmation and delivered from evil by Christ on the cross. Halleluiah! Praise and thanks to our God forever and ever. Amen!