Wednesday, 20Jan2010. Daniel 7: 13-14, 26,27 NIV
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the ancient of days and was led into his presence. v13
I had almost always been preoccupied with Daniel's dream of the four beasts whenever I read this chapter, particularly with the ten horns of fourth beast, with the emerging little horn that eventually uprooted three of the initial ones. This new horn spoke boastfully!
This time as I skimmed through Daniel chapter 7 again, my attention was drawn to the subsequent "vision at night" in which Daniel saw the Ancient of Days in his majestic white appearance on His throne among other thrones, with a fiery river flowing out from before Him, and with thousands upon thousands of servants in attendance.
Several remarkable events followed:
(1) The fourth beast with his boastful horn was slain. Its body was thrown into the blazing fire. Other beasts were rendered powerless, but were allowed to live for some time.
The meaning of this is given by one of the attending servants to Daniel in verses 23-26: that the boastful horn is a king who will arise in the fourth kingdom, who will subdue three earlier kings. He will also speak against the Most High and oppress His saints. He is so audacious that he will even try to change "times and laws". And the saints will be oppressed by him for three and a half years.
But he won't last very long.
Verse 26 tells us that the Court of the Most High will convene and will remove the power of this boastful king, destroying it completely and permanently.
(2) As Daniel looked, someone appeared, coming with the clouds of heaven. He was like a "son of man", verse 13 says. And this son of man approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and great power. All peoples, nations and race worshipped him. His dominion over all peoples is an everlasting one. It will not pass away. His kingdom will never be destroyed! (verse 14)
The interpretation for this vision is given in verse 27 which explains that the sovereignty and power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the saints - the people of the most high. This prophecy is actually mentioned earlier in verse 18 which says that the saints of the Most High will receive the Kingdom and will possess it forever - yes, for ever and ever!
At this juncture, something began to puzzle me. In the vision, Daniel saw a being, someone who resembled a Son of Man who will receive this everlasting Kingdom from the Ancient of Days. However, the interpretation given to Daniel says that it is not just one person who will receive and possess this Kingdom forever but, instead, it will be all the saints of the Most High. And this interpretation is given twice: initially in verse 18, and again in verse 23.
How can this be? Didn't our Lord Jesus refer to himself on many occasions as the Son of Man? Then shouldn't he alone be the one who should receive the Everlasting Kingdom from God? As it is written in another place in scripture,
The kingdom that God has given you will last for ever and ever. Psalm 45:6TEV
Then how do the saints of the Most High come about? The answer to this question came from the several places in the NT where, the apostle wrote:
If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. 2Tim. 2: 11, 12 NIV
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? 1Cor. 6: 3
Now, if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Romans 8:17
Most succinctly of all,
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. . . .So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Gal. 4: 4 - 7 NIV
Brothers and sisters, I urge you to ponder over the great inheritance we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Kingdom that is receive by the Son of Man in Daniel's vision is also given to us, his saints. We shall rule with our Lord forever.
Like the apostle Paul had written in Ephesians 1, let us pray for one another, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Glorious Father, may enlighten our hearts to know the hope to which He has called us,
and the "riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints"!
