But these beasts are only a small part of the story. If our heads are in the right place even things this massive can be signs that remind s that the Kingdom of God is near. The destructive forces of this world are by their very nature temporary. At such a massive scale they can serve to remind us still more of the permenant and eternal.
Jess himself tells his disciples that even the most terrifying signs in the sky can remind his disciples that the world is passing away (1 Cor. 7:31). but that they have found a kingdom which will not be shaken (cf. Heb. 12:28).
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.
No generation need pass away without experiencing the permanence of the kingdom even amidst the passing chaos of our unique circumstances. Jesus's words are as present to us today as they were at that time. They are alive and powerful. The disciples were able to cling to his presence even as the Romans swept in to destroy the whole Jewish as they knew it. His words can be our stability in our own chaotic times.
How else are we going to give god glory and eternal praise? This world is crazy. There are protests, and terrorists, crime and evil, hunger and sickness and war all around us. Our own lives are difficult. We each face the beasts of our individual struggles. But even in this world, even in these lives, we can find the solace and joy of the presence of Jesus in his words. We can merely read these lines or we can allow him to be present to us in them. Let us quietly and attentively choose his presence. Hear him come:
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.
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