“I saw in the
night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son
of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to
him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and
languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” – Daniel 7:12-14 (ESV).
Many prophecies abound in the Old
Testament of the coming of Messiah. I
counted in one listing of the prophecies a total of 134 different references,
ranging from Genesis to Malachi. I’m
sure if you consulted other scholarly lists, you might find a different
number. Suffice it to say that the Old
Testament is replete with references predicting the coming of the Redeemer
Savior. In this account in Daniel, the
Messiah is referred to as Son of Man.
Jesus, in reference to Himself, used ‘Son of Man’ more than any other
term (in the gospels it is used 82 times!).
This name revealed the true identity of Who He is and the nature of His
ministry. He is the Son of God who
became flesh (the Son of Man) and dwelt among us so that “we might behold His gory, as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This
designation denotes both the humanity and the divinity of the Christ, and to Him is given “dominion and glory and a kingdom.” Moreover, the kingdom is everlasting,
will not pass away, cannot be destroyed.
When Jesus had been arrested and
brought before the Council in Jerusalem and was asked if He was the Christ, He
responded: “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of
Power and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62, ESV). In answering the high priest, Christ was telling
what nature His kingdom would have.
However, the high priest cried out that Jesus was a blasphemer and
demanded the death sentence for Him. The
time of that kingdom has not yet been fulfilled, but the laying of its
foundation has been surely put into place by the Son of Man in His coming to
earth and completing the mission God assigned Him to do.
In prophesying of the coming of the Son
of Man, Daniel saw a great sweep of history that will be fulfilled finally in
Christ’s reign upon earth Believers in
Christ know that He came first to earth to offer Himself a sacrifice for the
sins of mankind. The victorious Savior
will return. We are told in I
Thessalonians 4:13-18 that we who believe and remain alive will be caught up to
meet Him in the air. Revelation 21 and
22 give the further fulfillment of the prophecy: We will return to earth with Him to reign
with Him and serve Him. We do well to
live in expectation of the implementation of that promise, for no person knows
the day nor the hour of His return. But
His word to us is, “Surely I am coming
soon” (Revelation 22:20). And our
proper response is, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Prayer.
Father, Your Word is full of the promise of the Son of Man coming to
us. That first promise of His coming has
been completed, His mission on earth fulfilled.
His second coming is yet to be. Let us live in eager expectation of that glorious day and let us await
it with joyful anticipation. In Jesus’
name. Amen.
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