I have known for many years that apocalyptic writing uses deliberately exaggerated natural and cosmic disasters to make the point that, no matter what evil is out there, God has already triumphed over it in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The war is won. There may yet be a few skirmishes here and there, but evil has been definitively defeated. We can count on God to take care of us.
But I would sometimes catch myself wondering why the apocalyptic imagery had to be so terrible and frightening. Yesterday I got to thinking that what this style is saying is that the tragedies and difficulties in our lives and in our world are merely faint echoes of the extreme disasters described in apocalyptic. If God triumphs over such extreme imaginary evil, then he certainly has the power to protect us from whatever real evil threatens to destroy us.
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