Appalled

Passage: Daniel 8

The Book of Daniel is a bit of an anomaly. Though Daniel is classified as one of the prophetic books of the Old Testament, his prophecy is unique. Rather than speak directly to the people of Israel and their immediate circumstances, Daniel’s prophecy is focused on world events in the near, distant, and ultimate future. It is therefore more appropriately labeled an “apocalyptic” book, that is, predictive of the end of the world.

Typically people who consider themselves “doomsday prophets” pursue their task with relish. There’s a certain gleam in their eye when they tell you that you and your world are going to burn. There’s a certain self-righteousness in the way they inform you your actions will lead to your undoing. There’s a certain smugness in the way they strap on that sandwich board, or slap those religious bumper stickers on their Econolines. They just seem a bit too happy that the end is near.

Not Daniel. God peels back the curtain, and he catches a glimpse of what’s coming. Then God says, “This is for your eyes only. Seal it up in your heart.” Daniel sees the well-deserved upheaval and cataclysm in store for the unbelieving world. And it makes him sick. The world as he knows it is going to end, and there’s nothing Daniel can do. We don’t know why. Is Daniel sick at heart for the innocent people who are going to get caught in the crossfire? Is he terrified of what will happen to him and his loved ones as the world around them gets theirs? Is he simply awestruck at the magnitude of God’s judgment? Maybe all of the above.

And maybe this should be our reaction when cataclysm hits. Not, “See, the sinners are finally getting theirs” but, “Lord have mercy.” Maybe instead of hoping for judgment to fall we should be appalled that it’s coming at all. Maybe we’re too sickened by other people’s sins and not sickened enough by their suffering. Compassion, “being moved in one’s guts,” is what led Christ to the cross. Thank God he had compassion for us. Our response? Compassion. Being sickened by the plight of those enslaved by sin. Wanting more than anything to see our friends, neighbors, and enemies transformed not by disaster but by the scandalous love of God.