“And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14 ESV)
Daniel describes his vision of the exalted Lord just as John described in Revelation 1. This vision is designed to comfort as it occurs in the midst of visions of ghastly and violent beasts. These beasts are frightening and troubling images. They should serve to warn us not to trust in any human kingdom for all, ultimately, are beasts, tools of Satan, enemies of God’s kingdom. In addition, these beasts depict spiritual realities, spiritual truth: they show us the forces of Satan active on the earth driving earthly Kingdoms to do evil and earthly religions to promote immorality and idolatry. In addition, these images show the real ugliness of sin.
In contrast the vision of the Lord is clear and uplifting. It is a vision of triumphant glory that reminds us of the beauty and splendor of the Lord and His heavenly Kingdom. The forces of evil cannot touch or change Him. Of course, they can and do trouble us while we live on earth. We fall prey to the temptations of the flesh and the devil. We are victims of unmerciful and violent people and kingdoms. Yet as members of the heavenly Kingdom we rejoice to know that God is in control. He has won the victory over sin and death and has given us eternal life. The end is not in doubt. The Lord will set all things right.