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Outline
1. THE RETURN
OF THE SON OF MAN
a) A Glorious
Return
b) A Grievous
Return
2. THE
RATIFICATION OF THE SON OF MAN
a) His Request
for His Inheritance
b) His
Reception of His Inheritance
3. THE RULE OF
THE SON OF MAN
a)
Universal
Kingdom
b)
Eternal
Kingdom
In our last
study we saw the Ancient of Days. Three times in Daniel chapter
seven, God is referred to as the Ancient of Days. The title is a
description of an elderly person, one venerable in years. Of course,
the title is not implying that God is an old man. But rather, the
title refers to Him as the eternal and ageless One. There has never
been a moment when God has not been and there will never be a moment
when He will not be. The Psalmist declared in Psalm 90:2,
“Before the mountains were
brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” He
is the eternal God.
In this study I
want to draw your attention to the “Son of man” as found in verses
13-14. In Daniel’s vision he sees
“one like the Son of man.”
This is none other than the Lord Jesus. Of all the titles that are
given to the Lord Jesus, this was the title by which Jesus called
Himself. It seems to be the favorite title of Jesus for Himself.
For example, as
He spoke to his disciples about His death he referred to Himself as
the Son of man. We read in Matthew 17: 22,
“And while they abode in
Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be
betrayed into the hands of men.” Also, in John 3:14 Jesus said,
“And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted
up.”
At least 82
times in the four gospels alone, Jesus is referred to as the Son of
man. It is the title of His humanity. Jesus was the God-man. He was
both God and man. As God we see His deity. The Bible says in John
1:1, “In the beginning was
the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus
was co-equal and co-eternal with the Father. As man we see His
humanity. The Bible says in John 1:14,
“And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us.” Jesus took upon himself a body and became
flesh. As man, Jesus became one of us that He might die for us.
I should add
that when Jesus became man, He did not cease to be God. The
incarnation of Christ did not involve the subtraction of deity, but
the addition of humanity. In Mark 2:7 the Bible says that only God
forgive sin. But then in Mark 2:10 the Bible says that
“the Son of man hath power
on earth to forgive sins.” Even as the Son of man He is God. He
was both God and man—the God-man.
In Daniel’s
dream and visions, he sees Jesus the “Son of man.” Let’s look at his
vision of the Son of man. First, notice how in Daniel’s vision that
he sees:
1. THE RETURN
OF THE SON OF MAN
We read in
Daniel 7:13, “I saw in the
night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with
the clouds of heaven…” Daniel saw the return of the Lord Jesus.
There are actually two returns of the Lord Jesus described in the
Scripture. There is the hour when He will come to remove His
children from the earth. This return is often referred to as the
Rapture. The word
“rapture” is not found in the Bible, but the meaning is there. The
word speaks of a “snatching away.”
The Bible says
in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17,
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead
in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” The
Bible says that when the Lord returns those that are saved shall be
“caught up.” The words mean to “catch away, to pluck out.” The Lord
will catch us away; pluck us out of this world. At this return the
Lord will come only for those that are saved. This is the next great
event that is scheduled on God’s prophetic calendar.
The second
return of the Savior the Bible describes is when Christ returns to
this earth to set up His earthly kingdom. This return will occur
approximately seven years after the rapture. This return is
sometimes referred to as the
Revelation. It is called the Revelation because the Lord
Jesus will return in power and glory and be revealed as the King of
kings and Lord of lords.
At the first
return, Jesus will return for His people. At the second return, He
will return with His people. At His first return He will come that
we might live with Him in heaven. At His second return He will come
that we might reign with Him on earth.
When Daniel saw
the Lord Jesus returning, He saw the Lord Jesus returning in power
and glory. He saw the Revelation of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 1:7,
referring to this return, John said,
“Behold, he cometh with
clouds.” In Matthew 24:30 Jesus said
“they shall see the Son of
man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory.” When
Daniel saw Him returning, he saw him as the
“Son of man” who
“came with the clouds of
heaven.”
As we look at
the Scripture we see that this return of Jesus will be:
A) A Glorious
Return
The Bible says
in Matthew 16:27, “For the
Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels.”
Again in Matthew 24:30, the Bible says He will return
“with power and great
glory.” He will come in “power” demonstrating His
ability. He will come in
“glory” demonstrating His
dignity.
Revelation 19
describes this return and says in verses 12-13 that,
“His eyes were as a
flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a
name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The
Word of God.”
Then in verse
16 says, “And he hath on
his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND
LORD OF LORDS.”
As we shall
see, He will return to set up His kingdom upon the earth over which
He will reign for 1,000 glorious years. It will be a glorious return
with the Lord Jesus coming in all His power and glory.
Furthermore, as
you look at this return you find that it will also be:
B) A Grievous
Return
In Matthew
24:30, the Bible says that when the Son of man comes in the clouds
of heaven with power and glory,
“all the tribes of the earth
mourn.” Revelation 1:7 says,
“Behold, He cometh with
clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced
Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.”
Revelation
19:15 says, “And out of His
mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations:
and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
He will come
not only to set up His kingdom, but also to judge the
Christ-rejecting nations of the world. It will be an hour of
judgment upon a world that has rejected Him as Savior and Lord.
Daniel 7:26 says, “But the
judgment shall sit.” As we shall see in future studies, Daniel
saw in his dream that this will be an hour of judgment. It will be a
glorious hour for the Savior, but a grievous hour for the sinner.
Secondly,
Daniel saw in his dream and vision not only the return of the Son of
man, but also:
2. THE
RATIFICATION OF THE SON OF MAN
The Bible says
in John 1:10-11, “He was in
the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him
not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” The
Creator was not recognized or received by His creation. It has been
no different throughout time. The Lord Jesus has been rejected and
refused, mocked and scorned.
But His day is
coming! Men and nations may fail to accept Him as Savior and
acknowledge Him as Lord, but there will come a day when every knee
shall bow and proclaim Him as Lord of lords and King of kings. That
hour will be when He returns in power and glory. It will be an hour
of revelation and ratification. He
will be demonstrated as the Lord of lords and King of kings and
declared to be Lord of lords and King of kings.
Just prior to
the Lord’s actual return, Daniel sees a glorious moment in heaven.
He sees the Son of man and:
A) His
Request for His Inheritance
Daniel sees the
Son of man as He “came to
the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him.” He
sees the Lord Jesus as the Son of man being escorted to stand before
God. “They” no doubt refer to an angelic host whose constant purpose
and mission is to praise and worship the Lord Jesus.
The Son of man
is seen standing before the Ancient of Days. What is He doing? What
is happening at this moment? In Psalm 2 we are given a wonderful
description of what is occurring. We read in Psalm 2:1-2, “1 Why
do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the
rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his
anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away
their cords from us.” Again, the nations of the world for the
most part fail to recognize that Jesus is Lord. In vain they imagine
they are their own authority and even rebel at the very thought of
bowing to the authority of the Lord Jesus and acknowledging Him as
Lord.
However, we
read in verses 4-5, “4 He
that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in
derision.
5 Then shall he speak unto
them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.” God
laughs at their foolish attempts to replace Him as the rightful
ruler of the nations. The Psalmist declares that there will come the
hour when God shall judge them for their rebellion and rejection.
In that hour
God will ratify His Son as the rightful ruler of nations and men.
The Psalmist said in verses 6-7, “6 Yet
have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said
unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
The world refuses to accept and acknowledge Jesus as Lord and King
of all nations, but at that day God will declare that His Son, the
Lord Jesus, the Son of man, is the rightful King.
Then in verse 8
we have God saying to His Son, the Lord Jesus: “8 Ask
of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy
possession.” God says, “The earth is your inheritance. You and
you alone are the rightful owner. You have always been the rightful
owner, although others have claimed it as their own. The time has
come for you to take possession of what is rightfully yours. Just
ask, and I will give it to you.”
Daniel sees the
Lord Jesus stepping forward and asking for His inheritance. He is
claiming what is rightfully his. John saw this moment in heaven in
Revelation 5. In verses 1-3 John describes the scene:
“(1)
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a
book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
(2) And I saw a
strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open
the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
(3) And no man in
heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the
book, neither to look thereon.” The book that John saw is the
title deed of the earth. John wept because there was none found that
was worthy to open the book. There was no man in heaven, nor in
earth, neither under the earth that could step forward and claim
they were the rightful owner.
Verse 4 says
that John wept because no one was found worthy to open the book. But
then John’s tears were dried as one of the elders stepped up and
declared in verse 5-7: “(5)
And one of the elders saith
unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root
of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven
seals thereof. (6)
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four
beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been
slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven
Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
(7) And he came and
took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the
throne.” The Lord Jesus
stepped forward as the worthy one. In that glorious hour, Jesus will
stand before God and request His inheritance.
Daniel see’s
this moment in his dream. As well he sees:
B) His
Reception of His Inheritance
In verse 14 we
read the words “And there
was given Him.” Revelation 5:7 says, “And
he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon
the throne.” At that hour God will give to the Son His
inheritance. It is then that the Lord Jesus will return to this
earth in power and great glory to take what is His.
The truth of
the matter is that even at this very moment Jesus is Lord. It is not
a matter that He will be Lord one day. He is Lord! However, at the
present He is not recognized as Lord by the nations of this world
and the people of those nations. But there will come a day when He
take possession of what is rightfully His and all nations of the
world will proclaim Him Lord.
Lastly, Daniel
sees:
3. THE RULE OF
THE SON OF MAN
Daniel sees in
his dream and visions the kind of kingdom that Jesus will establish.
First, he sees it as an:
A) Universal Kingdom
We read in
Daniel 7:14, “And
there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all
people, nations, and languages, should serve him…” His rule will
not be over a limited number of people scattered around the world or
over a percentage of nations. No, his dominion, glory, and kingdom
will be over ALL people, ALL nations, and ALL languages or races.
Every person and nation will “serve” Him. The word “serve” speaks of
worship. He will be worshipped universally for His kingdom is a
universal kingdom.
Furthermore,
Daniel saw his kingdom as an:
B) Eternal Kingdom
In verse 14 we
see that “his dominion is
an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed.” Once He takes
possession of what is rightfully His, He will always—yea,
eternally—be Lord of all. His kingdom will never pass away and no
one will ever be able to take it from Him. It will be an eternal
kingdom.
Some noblemen
were gathered together in London waiting for the King of Great Britain.
They all knew him personally, yet they all honored him as their
king. When he entered, they stood solemnly to their feet. "Take your
seats, gentlemen," he said, "I count you as my personal friends."
And then joking he added, "I am not the Lord, you know!" Immediately
one of the noblemen, a Christian, said, "No, sir, if you were our
Lord, we would not have stood to our feet; we would have fallen to
our knees."
There is come
the day when Jesus will rightfully rule and reign as King of kings
and Lord of lords. On that day, every knee will bow and proclaim Him
King. All I can say is, “Glory!”
© 2007 by the Living Word |
