Daniel 7:13,14 * November 22, 2009 * Christ the King * Pastor Pagels

In the name of Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, dear friends:

My guess is that it has been a few years since you have seen one of these (show the art from the book). Most people call them Magic Eye puzzles, but technically it’s a holusion, which is short for “holographic illusion.” Holusions were all the rage in the mid 1990s. They were made into posters and calendars. You could find them at mall kiosks and in doctor’s offices.

This particular picture (with the title “Iron Horse”) shows a steam engine winding its way through the mountains. If you look closely there is even a mountain goat perched on a peak at the very top of the page. Can you see it? I have to admit that I can’t (and I’ve been trying all week). I had to cheat and look at the back page because I wasn’t able to get my eyes to see what was there.

The key in the back of the book assures me that a train is right here, on this piece of paper that appears to be nothing more than a repetition of random patterns and shapes. In order to see it you have to let your eyes relax and lose their focus. In order to see you need to somehow focus behind the picture, beyond the scene.

Sort of like life. To understand what is really going on, we need to look behind the scenes. We have to do that because on the surface life is confusing. Things don’t always add up. Things don’t always make sense. There is trouble and disappointment and pain. The big headlines in the newspaper and the small details of life sometimes make it look like God is not in control.

There are days, probably lots of days, when we wish that we could see behind the scenes. We want to know how God is making good on his promise in Romans 8:28. We want to know how God’s master plan for the universe is working out for our good.

Would you like to see? You can. This morning you can see through the eyes of the prophet Daniel. In a dream the Lord caused a series of visions to pass through his mind, and Daniel has written down everything he saw for you.

The vision is a frightening one at first, hurricane force winds and huge waves crashing in the sea. Suddenly a beast emerges from the swirling waters. It looks like a lion, but it has the wings of an eagle. This creature is followed by a flesh-eating bear with bones in its teeth. After that appears something that looks like a leopard with four heads and four wings.

As unsettling as these images are, the fourth beast is even more frightening. It comes up from the sea and destroys everything in its path. Its teeth are iron. Its claws are bronze. On its head there are ten horns, and three of them give way to another horn with eyes and a mouth that ridicules God.

Then God appears. His hair and his clothes are white. His throne is made of fire. A river of flame flows out from before him, and thousands upon thousands are gathered around him. The court is seated, and the books are opened.

When Daniel’s dream finally came to an end he didn’t know what to make of it. His mind was racing. His face was pale. He had just been given a glimpse of the future. He had witnessed the rise and fall of nations. He had heard the voice of one who opposed God and all who loved God. He had seen power and fire and God the eternal judge. And he was troubled.

Why was Daniel troubled? Who wouldn’t want to trade places with him? Who wouldn’t want to see the future? Who wouldn’t want to see the amazing things he saw? Wouldn’t we, unless we conclude that what he saw wasn’t all that amazing?

Because we are living in the age of technology, because we are constantly exposed to special effects and computer generated graphics, maybe we aren’t so easily awed anymore. Daniel saw some strange beasts, but I’ve seen things that were stranger. Daniel saw something bright seated on a throne, but I’ve probably seen things that were brighter. Daniel’s dream is different. I’ll give you that. And I don’t think that he was making it up, but what he describes doesn’t exactly make me shake in my boots.

Why not? What are we missing? Have we forgotten God’s power? Is it possible that we have forgotten about the sheer greatness of God? We sit in his house. We sing some hymns and pray some prayers. We eat some bread and drink some wine. Every Sunday God speaks to us from his Word.

And yet there are no flashing lights. There is no booming voice. There is nothing in our worship that approaches what Daniel saw, nothing that suggests that we are in the presence of jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring greatness. If God doesn’t seem so great, we might begin to wonder if he is…especially when the things we can see seem to suggest the opposite.

And when the awe is gone we are left with questions. “God, if you are so good and gracious, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world? God, if you are as powerful as you say you are, why don’t you use some of that power to help me? God, I am really struggling right now because when I look at all the evil in the world, when I see all the bad things that are happening in my life, I have a hard time seeing you.”

In a miraculous vision God emphatically told Daniel: “Here I am.” Daniel’s dream allowed him to see behind the scenes. He saw kingdoms rising and falling. He saw false prophets rising and attacking. All the time God knew what would happen, and at the very end God revealed that he was always in complete control.

Now ask yourself this: If God predicted the rise and fall of great empires (Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome), if God predicted the rise and fall of a proud horn (the antichrist), if God predicted and directed these world-changing, history-making events with calm certainty, don’t you think that he knows and controls every event in your life too?

How foolish we are when we assume that what our eyes can see is all there is to see. How arrogant we are to question God’s goodness, to doubt God’s greatness, to dare God to show himself to us, to prove himself to us, to prove that he really is real.

What if he did? What if the holy, Almighty God revealed himself to us in blinding white and blazing fire? What will happen when the court is seated and the books are opened? Remember that the One who stands in judgment of great nations and the greatest of spiritual enemies also stands in judgment of you. The One who knows the history of nations also knows the sinful story that is your life. The One who threw his enemies into everlasting fire has every right to pronounce the same eternal death sentence on you.

At that moment you wish that you could take back all the doubts you’ve ever had. You wish that you could swallow all the complaints you’ve ever voiced. You wish you could erase every thought that questioned God’s loving control. But you can’t. You can’t undo what has been done. It’s too late.

“In my vision I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him” (13,14a).

At that moment, as Daniel witnessed the glory of God, judging the nations, destroying his enemies, as Daniel stood in the presence of awesome power and overwhelming majesty, all of the sudden he saw someone who looked like him. This one the nations worshiped wasn’t some mythological creature. This one who was given divine authority wasn’t a grotesque beast. He looked familiar. He looked human.

He was a son of man, a title that jumps off the page and down through the centuries to describe the same person, not revealed in a heavenly vision, but seen in flesh and blood on earth. “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). “The Son of Man is going to suffer” (Matthew 17:12). “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed” (Matthew 17:22). “He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Luke 5:24). The name appears over seventy five times in the gospels, always spoken by the same person, always used for the same person. The Son of Man. Jesus.

The man who appeared in Daniel’s vision looked a lot like you. The man who appeared on this earth looked like you. How beautiful that God the almighty Judge seated on his throne wanted Daniel (and you) to see your Savior first as someone who is not the least bit scary. Don’t let his power frighten you because he came to use it for your good.

The Son of Man came to help everyone who has made the mistake of making judgments based only on what human eyes can see. The Son of Man came to make our doubts and complaints his own. The Son of Man came to make our dismissing of God’s greatness his responsibility. The Son of Man came to be thrown into the fire of your judgment, to sacrifice his life for yours. The Son of Man came to rise again for you, to announce that your case has been dismissed. You sins have been forgiven. You future is secure. You are safe because Jesus rules.

Open your eyes and see Jesus the King. He will come with angels and trumpets on the Last Day, but he is also ruling today. He is ruling with power. He will move mountains, if necessary, for your good. He is ruling with honor. We praise him now, and soon every knee will bow before him. He is ruling with authority. Not with an iron fist, but with a caring touch. You know how much he cares about you. You know what he has done for you, and you know that there is no one better to have in authority when this world comes to an end.

Authority. Honor. Power. A king. Christ is the King. To place one’s confidence in this king is to trust that he will never let you down. There will be moments when your eyes see life as nothing more than a random, repetitive pattern. There may be days when all you can see is trouble and confusion and pain.

Let human eyes see trouble. Let human eyes witness confusion, but let the eyes of faith look beyond the picture. Let your eyes see behind the scenes. See the dying, rising, ruling, reigning, saving Son, Christ the King. Let your eyes join the eyes of Daniel and see sights unseen. Amen.