Daniel 8:1-14 – “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”
The booming voice reverberated around the palace. “Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz!” Dorothy and her friends were petrified as the fire and smoke blasted out from the throne of the terrifying Wizard. Yet, if you’ve seen the movie you’ll know what happens next. Dorothy’s dog scampers off and finds a curtain. As he bites on the edge the curtain falls back and reveals a machine; this machine is covered with buttons and levers and has been controlling the fire, smoke, and booming voice. There, standing behind the curtain pulling the levers is a feeble old man.
The old conman tries desperately to cover up the truth. Using the machine’s big booming voice one more time, he says, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” Yet, it’s too late. There is no “great and powerful Oz”. There’s nothing but a puny old man.
The second half of Daniel is what we call “apocalyptic” literature. You don’t need to be intimidated by that word! “Apocalyptic” comes from the Greek word for “uncover” and that is really what Daniel 7-12 is all about. Like Dorothy’s dog, it pulls back the curtain and shows what lies behind.
The first readers of the book were believers who were going to face intense, agonising persecution. Daniel’s visions do a great job of showing how ghastly and terrifying that will be. Yet, God also reveals the truth about the enemy. Behind all of Satan’s swords, soldiers, tyrants and terror…lies an enemy that is weak, frail, and beaten.
Few of us will face the persecution that Daniel’s first readers faced. Yet we do face opposition, temptation, ridicule, indoctrination, false teaching and many of Satan’s other schemes. That’s why we need these chapters – they show us how the serpent is crushed by God’s chosen king. Satan will do his utmost to distract us from this truth – “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” he cries. Don’t listen to him. Listen to the word of Christ instead.
Questions
- Many Christians tend to stay well clear of these chapters and parts of the Bible like Revelation. Why do you think this is?
- Do you agree that the message in these sections is actually fundamentally a simple one?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for how our great enemy is a defeated foe who has been conquered by Jesus Christ.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.