The Son of Man
The book of Daniel gives a wonderful display of God’s sovereignty over the affairs and kingdoms of men. If one was to determine a theme for the book of Daniel, I believe it would be “Under the Siege of the Divine.” Because Israel was disobedient and did not keep the covenant made at Sinai, the land vomited them out and they were now under Babylonian rule.
Also, we see in the book of Daniel the struggle between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. This is a reminder of the struggle between the “seed of the serpent” and the “seed of the woman.” Despite Babylonian rule over Israel, God proved to be the ultimate ruler and Nebuchadnezzar bore witness to this fact (Daniel 4:34-35). There is only one Lord of the universe and He does not share power. He takes kingdoms from men and He gives them to whomever He wills (Daniel 4:25). He alone builds them up and tears them down, and He gives an account to no one.
In chapter seven we read that Daniel had a frightening vision. Daniel saw several beasts which represented different kings and their kingdoms. Every new beast that rose was more ferocious than the previous one. The kingdom of Satan seems to be winning by constantly conquering and trampling underfoot the kingdom of God. Among his vision of kingdoms conquering kingdoms, Daniel gets to see that the story is not over.
Daniel says, “and I saw one like a son of man” (Daniel 7:13). Many people believe that the title “son of man” proves the humanity of the “seed of the woman” in contrast to His divinity. Actually, the title is Messianic and Daniel’s vision portrays the son of man as being divine. This title is used more times in the gospels by Jesus than any other. It is used to direct His hearers to Daniel’s vision of a triumphant kingdom and to the One who rules it. John the Baptist came preaching, “Repent, because the kingdom has come near” (Matthew 3:2). John could not preach the nearness of such a kingdom unless the King of the kingdom was also near.
By the Holy Spirit, Daniel tells us how this conquering King and His kingdom is in contrast to the kings and kingdoms of the world. It is an everlasting kingdom, whose King will be triumphant, and His kingdom will have no end (Daniel 7:14). This will be the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant in which God promised, “Your house and kingdom will endure before Me forever, and your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16).
Prophecy of this type was to help strengthen the faith of the faithful who are in the midst of turmoil and persecution. Whether we are reading the newspaper or watching the news we constantly are reminding of our fallen nature. We hear of wars and rumors of wars, we see the increase of sickness, crime, and murder. Sometimes these events may cast us into a time of despair. But do not be discouraged, for the King is coming, and His kingdom will be triumphant. RIDE ON KING JESUS.
