For anyone who has travelled around downtown Toronto, the phrase “Daniel 5:5” may feel strangely familiar. You may have noticed it graffitied onto old buildings, plastered across construction sites or scribbled along sidewalks.
I first noticed it walking through St. James Town, and it was smeared on a garbage can. Then again, on campus. And once more on the subway. It wasn’t until I couldn’t walk a block without seeing it that I realized it had taken over the city.
But what does it mean?
“Daniel 5:5” refers to a passage from the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament Bible in which an unknown hand appears and writes a mysterious message on the wall of a royal palace, and “the king watched the hand as it wrote” — from the New International Version (NIV) of the text. The writing is later interpreted as a prediction of the downfall of King Belshazzar and is synonymous with impending doom and judgment.
In a city as established and grand as Toronto, it’s hard to imagine its downfall. This city is about growth and expansion, but when you get a little closer, hard truths begin to appear. High cost of living, food and job insecurity, and social inequities make the idea of a downfall slightly more realistic.
Maybe the phrase is a warning, or a protest for what may be in store. Or possibly, someone is trying to remind us that even the biggest cities can have the hardest struggles. It could just be a cryptic message from someone who wants to make their mark. Either way, it’s hard to ignore.
Walking past it day after day makes me begin to feel like the city is being watched. It forces us to stop in the moment and reflect: what are we missing? What are we waiting for?
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