Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Daniel 5.1-30, Revelation 21.9-27 - Lectionary for 11/25/09

Today's readings are Daniel 5.1-30 and Revelation 21.9-27.

The kingdom of Belshazzar is coming to an end.  His realm has been weighed in the balance and found wanting.  Despite the wealth, the power, the culture, his earthly kingdom is doomed.  This wonderful civilization, the Babylonian empire, rose to world leadership only to decline within a few generations.  Like all earthly kingdoms it has a time limit.  This is the ultimate in planned obsolescence.  The kingdoms of this world come to an end to be replaced by other earthly kingdoms.  It's happened as long as we have tracked history and it will as long as we are here tracking it.  

Do you want power?  Do you want riches?  Do you want glory?  Look to God's kingdom.  Look to the new Jerusalem we see in Revelation 21.  Not only are there dishes of gold, it looks like the whole city is made of gold and precious jewels.  And this is an eternal city, a perfect city.  It's the real kingdom, the genuine article.  This is almost enough to make us think that Plato got some things right, as he said there would be earthly shadows of an eternal reality.  God's city described in Revelation 21 is the reality.  This is a real kingdom.  This is real life. 

May we ever look to the Lord, Jesus Christ, the cornerstone on whom the kingdom of our Lord is built.  May we believe him when he looks to heaven and says, "It is finished."



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