Daniel sees what John saw, just in less detail. The apocalyptic vision of Daniel is a
condensed version of the Revelation.
This passage begins with one like the Ancient of Days seated on a throne
with myriad attendants on Him, a fearsome image of judgment. The beast is killed in judgment, its body
destroyed and given to flames. The other
beasts' dominion is taken away and they are dealt with, the kingdom is being
fully established. At that time, one
like a son of man came and to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom. That kingdom is all the peoples of the earth
and it is an everlasting dominion, not a temporal one. The revelation Daniel saw was things taking
place all at once whereas in the Revelation of John we see Jesus come before
the throne, the end of the Ascension story, and then the events unfolding over
a long (?) period of time that culminate in the overthrow of the beast and the
establishment of the Kingdom.
The commission is important: baptize, make disciples, teach
them to obey all Jesus commanded. More
important still is the promise of presence.
We aren't alone, Jesus continues to be with us by the power of the Holy
Spirit to accomplish the work of fulfilling the Great Commission. He is with us as individuals as we do the
work but more still He is with us in the church as we do the work
collectively. It is in that particular
context that we see more of the Spirit's power than when we work alone. He is made evident in the members of the body
working together to obey this commission than when we work separately. A few years ago Hillary Clinton wrote a book
entitled, "It Takes a Village".
The work of making disciples requires a village for two reasons, we need
encouragement and correction and we need others to love and serve. We recognize that when in our baptismal
service we ask the congregation to "do all in your power to support these
persons in their life in Christ."
We do the same at weddings by asking all present to " do all in your power to
uphold these two persons in their marriage?" We aren't alone spiritually and we aren't
intended to be alone physically either.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we live in the
in-between times, the times between Jesus' comings and also the times between
the giving of the kingdom and the possession of it, almost like an engagement
period. All things have been given to
Him and subjected to Him but that subjection is not yet fully realized, either
cosmically or even our own lives which still remain in sinfulness. The Son of God became, for a time, like a son
of man as well in order to suffer with us, to redeem this fleshly life, to
bring many sons and daughters to glory.
His kingdom begins in us. We join
our voices with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven who forever
sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of His Name:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and
might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
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