When we’re left to our own devices and imagine a deity within the confines of our own creative constructs, we would disincline to give ourselves to a God who “does nothing without first telling His friends.”[1] No fable across anthropology lends itself to a heaven who responds to our humble and heartfelt plea for clarity in confusion with something like, “The moment you opened your mouth and asked for help, the King spoke and sent an archangel to personally deliver it to you.”[2] But this is what Daniel experienced, not because he was “anointed” or “diligent” or “special,” though one may argue he was all of those things. No; the LORD sent “swift” help to Daniel simply because He loved him.[3]
I was born too late to deal with the fallout following 88 Reasons Jesus Will Return in 1988, but I was present for the Left Behind craze. I grew up Catholic and had only recently started schmoozing in Protestant circles, and those books were everywhere. You could almost see the frenzy mounting in eyes darting over the words from page to page. (Spoiler alert/shameless plug: “4 Reasons Why We Don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.”)
For these reasons and more, our generation is no exception to the discouraged scoff that emerged even before the apostles breathed their last: “Everybody keeps saying He’s coming back, but it’s been a while, so obviously He’s not.”[4] Or, more incredibly, “He already came back, and you missed it.”[5]
If I could insert the “Blinking Eye Man” GIF here, I would.
“Hope in this life only” renders us into reluctantly pitiful creatures, beholden to an anemic idea robbing us of what finite pleasures we can experience in this age. If there’s no resurrection from the dead, no soon return of Jesus, then go gorge yourself on Swiss Cake Rolls and pound a pint or two before bedtime. Why not?[6] But He is returning and He is going to pull us all out of the grave, “therefore encourage one another with these words.”[7] And therefore, soldier up.[8]
“The disciple Jesus loved”[9] described the Man from Nazareth in this way: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”[10] Jesus’ light, His life, is bound to His Word to guide our feet through the paths of these darkened days.[11]
Daniel asked for clarity regarding the restoration of all things in the same way the apostles did; we must honor the fact that any prophet who saw the Day of the LORD suffered for it. Abraham trembled in terror. Jeremiah could hardly stomach it. The Hebrew man sentenced to a life in Babylonian exile lost his appetite, yet pleaded for the mercy to understand these horrifying things he saw looming on the horizon, and Gabriel was immediately dispatched to help him—reassuring him that Heaven heard him and fled to help him, because he was “greatly loved.”[12]
We see this with Jesus; “Do not fear, little flock; it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”[13] So when His boys asked Him what it’ll look like when He does, Jesus gave them clear answers—no adrenaline, no sensationalism, no fiction, and no bombast.[14] “See to it that no one deceives you,” He said.[15] “See, I have told you beforehand.”[16] And when He decided to spend His first month-plus out of the tomb teaching them about the Kingdom,[17] they had every reason to wonder if they would see its inauguration in their day. But when they asked Him such, He simply said, “No one knows but Dad. In the meantime, start telling everyone else about it.”[18] We share the beautiful burden of this imperative.[19]
Here is what we do know: Heaven cannot contain the Son of Man forever.[20] Like Gabriel to Daniel, a word will ring through heaven like the shot heard around the world, and the better Messenger will be “swiftly sent” to bring us the better Word: Jesus Himself, the good and greatest King.
It is normal for our Twitter feed to be full of questions right now. It is entirely fair that Instagram is beginning to reveal our anxiety, weeks into COVID-related quarantine and the mounting death toll of the coronavirus pandemic. It is realistic for people unfamiliar with Jesus to not know the best way forward. Politicians will squabble. Households will hoard toilet paper. We’ll all try to cope the best we can.
“But you, beloved, are not in the dark.”[21] You have the lamp lit from the Light of the World in your very hands.[22] You have access to clarity. You have Heaven’s ear, and you can ask for understanding. Give yourself to the humility, prayer, fasting, and study that Daniel did. And then you can take your weary neighbors by the hand and help them breathe through the birth pangs when this age passes away and bows to the next. It is a better age with the better King. That birth is the steady and better hope all creation is aching for.[23]
You have a good Father. He is brilliant, colorful Light; there is no darkness in Him.[24] And you are His child.[25]
Ask Him for help.
He’ll give it to you.[26]
For you are greatly loved.
Stephanie Quick (@quicklikesand) is a writer/producer serving with FAI. She lives in the Golan Heights and cohosts The Better Beautiful podcast with Jeff Henderson. Browse her free music, films, and books in the FAI App and at stephaniequick.org.
[1] Amos 3:7; John 15:15
[2] Daniel 9:21-23
[3] Ibid.
[4] 2 Peter 3:1-13
[5] 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
[6] 1 Corinthians 15:32
[7] 1 Thessalonians 4:18
[8] 2 Timothy 2:3-4
[9] John 13:23
[10] John 1:4
[11] Psalm 119:105; John 1:1-9; 8:12; Galatians 1:4
[12] Daniel 9:23
[13] Luke 12:32
[14] See Matthew 24-25 and Luke 19
[15] Matthew 24:4
[16] Matthew 24:25; Mark 13:11; 13:23
[17] Acts 1:3
[18] Acts 1:6-8
[19] Matthew 28:16-20
[20] Daniel 7:9-14; Acts 1:9-11; 3:21
[21] 1 Thessalonians 5:4
[22] Psalm 119:105; John 1:1-9; 8:12
[23] Romans 8:19; Titus 2:13
[24] James 1:17
[25] Romans 8:12-17; Galatians 4:4-6
[26] Matthew 7:9; James 1:5-8
