URC Daily Devotion 4 September 2024
Daniel 7: 15 – 28
As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. I approached one of the attendants to ask him the truth concerning all this. So he said that he would disclose to me the interpretation of the matter: ‘As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth. But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever—for ever and ever.’
Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped what was left with its feet; and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and concerning the other horn that came up, and to make room for which three of them fell out—the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke arrogantly, and that seemed greater than the others. As I looked, this horn made war with the holy ones and was prevailing over them, until the Ancient One came; then judgement was given for the holy ones of the Most High, and the time arrived when the holy ones gained possession of the kingdom.
This is what he said: ‘As for the fourth beast,
there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth
that shall be different from all the other kingdoms;
it shall devour the whole earth,
and trample it down, and break it to pieces.
As for the ten horns,
out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,
and another shall arise after them.
This one shall be different from the former ones,
and shall put down three kings.
He shall speak words against the Most High,
shall wear out the holy ones of the Most High,
and shall attempt to change the sacred seasons and the law;
and they shall be given into his power
for a time, two times,[i] and half a time.
Then the court shall sit in judgement,
and his dominion shall be taken away,
to be consumed and totally destroyed.
The kingship and dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High;
their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey them.’
Here the account ends. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly terrified me, and my face turned pale; but I kept the matter in my mind.
Reflection
I love the imagery in Daniel (though perhaps not reading it on a dark night sitting alone!). The meaning of Daniel’s imagery is no less frightening. His four beasts represent major empires taking over the known world and wreaking havoc – none worse than the Roman Empire, set to destroy everything in its quest for power. The one glimmer of hope is the small horn mentioned that would take over to challenge the holy ones. This according to some early commentators is the Papacy. The Church would rise up to challenge the Empire and would take over. Has the Church allowed itself to be overtaken by the love of power that we have formed a new kind of empire?
What impact do we as the Church have today? We are small, but do we punch above our weight in what we try to do for justice, for truth, for the Gospel today?
Thinking back to scary – I would not recommend listening to War of the Worlds on your own in the dark – but (sorry spoiler alert) for a microbe to cause the end of the invasion shows what is possible by something so tiny faced with something so big.
How can we be that sting in the arm of empire? How can we speak up for the voiceless; stand up to the powers who would choose power over people? How can we use our vote (too late now for the General Election), our influence, our principles to change a corrupt world?
Daniel was affected greatly by his visions – when we look at our world, so should we. May we not be so overwhelmed by what we see that we fail to act to be the change needed.
Prayer
Lord of all vision to you be all praise. May we see in your visions the hope for our future and the work needed to bring your love and peace to your world. Use us to speak out, speak up, or use silence and prayer to bring your kingdom values to all we meet. Shake us in our complacency and comfort us in our shaken-ness that we may be the change that is needed today. Amen.