“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)
Daniel shows us a vision of the exalted Lord one which may at first seem frightening but one which actually comforts us as it occurs in the midst of visions of ghastly and violent beasts. These beasts are frightening and troubling images. They 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 comforting. It is a vision of triumphant glory that reminds us of the power, 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 all victims of unmerciful and violent people, nations and kingdoms. Yet as members of the heavenly Kingdom we rejoice to know that God is in control. He has set limits on all those who oppose His people. And we can rejoice knowing that He has won the victory over sin and death and has given us eternal life. The end is not in doubt.