Elders

And the elders fell down and worshiped.

 - From Revelation 5

Why not the youth? In this picture of all living things surrounding the throne, heaping praise and worship upon The Lamb, why are "elders" singled out as the most noteworthy group?

Well, they "fell down," for one thing. They prostrated themselves. They did so, so rapidly, that you might even say they "fell". Is that even an image that our modern generation can handle?

It sounds so affected, so dated. People falling down, bowing down to a greater being. People singing songs of praise. People beside themselves in adoration for some figure from out of folk culture; religion; mythology. Where is the one who stands alone? Did the entire mass of humanity really just join in a chorus of unity, raising accolades to a Man that very recently was held as controversial, even with contempt?

Did a sophisticated and enlightened generation, post-2020, really act out in such a primitive way?

Apparently so. But notice, the Elders "fell down" the most readily. The Elders. The Educated. The Wealthy. The Healthy. The Popular. The Leaders. The Cool.

It takes years of life to gain understanding and wisdom. Only the Elders - - - not too long ago, society's paragons of idealism - - - can access the disappointment of the shattered dreams of life. Only the Elders know from experience what it means to long for "hope and change," only to see how unrealistic such a dream really is. The Elders have lost many loved ones to death. They have experienced loss and illness. They have perspective.

And at the end of a conflagration that precedes The Final Day, the world will be so tired of what humanity has wrought. Humanity will be ready for The End, finally.

Like an octogenarian at the end of a long battle with cancer, the world will be ready, and relieved.

The world's leaders; it's elders, that heretofore had been cynics and skeptics, will say, in one voice: "Here Lord. Take it from us. We have failed utterly."

When all else fails, when Death seems to have had the upper hand from the beginning of time. When sickness and poverty have taunted us since forever. When sadness seems to be perpetually on the positive side of the balance . . .

Then . . . THEN . . . perhaps falling down at the feet of The Victor will make all the sense in the world. I'll bow my feet. I'll even kneel.

And I think you will, too.