The Beast and the Hero in the Clouds

GracePointe Church of Christ in Elizabethtown, PA

Text: Daniel 7

Synopsis: Daniel 7 is a two part vision, in the first part we see 4 beasts emerge from the chaos of this world to destroy, kill, and show their power over the people of the earth. In the second scene, the Son of Man comes as a cosmic hero to save the people from these beasts. With a parallel verse in Revelation 13, we see that human sin has consequences and there is a cosmic struggle between our God and the rebels and authorities in the spiritual world. As Paul says in Ephesians 6, our battle is not against flesh and blood…but the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. Collective human sin, given power and opportunity, can be the most destructive force on the planet. These “Beasts” can be viewed as the result of sinners coming together under a common cause, and we must look to and seek our “rider of the clouds,” Jesus Christ, as the one who frees us from our sin and delivers us from the great beasts that corporate sin creates.