This evening we will be taking a look at a well-known passage but one not often talked about on its own.
Daniel 7 and its visions of beasts and their downfall offer a colourful peek behind the curtain of reality to the hope that lives behind it in the hands of God.
So, my questions for you to ponder about this text:
1. Who are the beasts of our time? Hint: sometimes the Church can be a beast!!
2. What do we do in our day to day lives that either fights the beast OR inadvertently props them up?
3. And finally, in light of Easter having just been celebrated last Sunday, how does Jesus’ resurrection fit into this, and our, story? These are big questions and their answers are ever evolving.
I want to leave you with the words of the writer and theologian Rachel Held Evans from her book 'Inspired',
‘So when the prophets Daniel and John [the writer of Revelation] envision the empires as vicious beasts, what they’re saying is, Beneath all the wealth, power, and excess of these dazzling empires lie grotesque monsters, trampling everyone and everything in their path. And when they depict God as tolerating, then restraining, and finally destroying these monsters, what they’re saying is, The story isn’t over; even the greatest empires are no match for goodness, righteousness, and justice. It might not look like it now, but the Resistance is winning.’
