Daniel’s Vision of Future Joy: The Son of Man
Shared on September 22, 2024
When we think of “the end of time” we think of destruction and desolation. Daniel shared a vision of the end which can cause some to be anxious. Watch this week’s lesson as Pastor McCrary breaks down Daniel’s vision of the Ancient of Days, the “little horn”, and the coming of the Son of Man.
Introduction
Our lesson this week takes us into the second unit of lesson for this quarter titled: Daniel’s Faithful Prophetic Ministry. We have seen Daniel go through the trials of the Babylonian assimilation process. We have seen how Daniel and his friends withstood the wicked and the evil. Now we are going to take a look at the Lord working through Daniel.
Vision of Future Joy
The first half of the Book of Daniel covers what Daniel endured because of his faith in Babylon. The endurance of faith is rewarded with the great blessing and joy of the Lord. So, in the second half of this book, we will see that Daniel had visions of the future. These future visions are seen as apocalyptic – they focus on the end.
Now, when we think of the end, we often think of destruction. When the end for the sinner is destruction, the “end” for the righteous is merely the beginning. The vision that we are going to be taking a look at this week are shown to be fulfilled in Revelation 4-5. In fact, we had a wonderful lesson earlier this year – “The Lamb is Worthy” – where we discussed both those chapters. So, we are going to parallel those chapters with what we see here in Daniel’s vision.
The “Ancient of Days”
Our lesson opens with Daniel testifying of what he saw in a vision. In this vision, he tells us that he saw as thrones were being put in place. Then, he tells us that he saw the “Ancient of Days” seated on His throne (Dan. 7:9). This already probably has you wondering, who is the “Ancient of Days”? So, let’s answer that question.
Let’s pay close attention to the description of this being. We are told that His garment was “white as snow”. Daniel tells us that the “Ancient of Days” had a head of hair that was like “pure wool”. He then tells us that His throne was a “fiery flame” and that a “fiery steam” came forth before Him (Dan. 7:10).
The description of what Daniel shared is also said about Christ in the Book of Revelation. In Revelation 1:12-14, the Son of Man (Christ) is shown standing in the midst of seven lampstands. Christ is described wearing a garment that went down to His feet being girded about the chest with a golden band. Then we are told that His head and hair were “white like wool” and His eyes were like a “flame of fire”.
So, this vision of Daniels is one that goes beyond us and beyond the Rapture. To be clear, Daniel’s vision is taking place in the throne room of God. In the throne room, Daniel tells us he saw “a thousand thousands” ministering to Him, the Ancient of Days. Lastly, he said that “ten thousand times ten thousand” stood before Him as the court was seated and “the books” were opened.
In Revelation 4-5, we learned about Christ taking the scroll from Him who was on the throne as the Son was taking His position on the throne. John, in his vision, saw standing in the midst of the throne room a Lamb as though it had been slain (Rev. 5:6).
In John’s vision one was already on the throne as the Lamb moved in the midst of the throne room (Rev. 5:1). The one that was already on the throne was the Father and he was set to give the Lamb the scroll. This setting should not be confused with the judgment at the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15).
The Lamb took the scroll and sat on the throne to great praise and worship in John’s vision. Those praising and worshiping the Lamb included the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders (Rev. 5:8). They were joined in worship and praise by the voice of many angels numbered by “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands (Rev. 5:11).” That is a magnitude that also includes the faithful of Old Testament days and the church (Rev. 5:9-10).
No, John wasn’t copying Daniel’s vision! Both men saw the same thing with John’s vision confirming Daniel’s vision. As I’ve said before, we who are of sincere faith have already been seen in the heavenly choir beholding this awesome sight! All we are doing today is making our way, by faith, to fulfilling the vision.
Judgment of the Ancient of Days
The Ancient of Days, sitting on His throne of fire, was sitting in the position of full power, authority, and judgment. I actually believe this vision gives us insight on our judgment at the judgment seat of Christ. To be clear, I am not saying in any way is this the judgment seat of Christ nor is this the judgment at the Great White Throne.
However, Paul spoke of how our works will be tried and revealed by the fire (1 Cor. 3:13). The fire of our judgment will not destroy the righteous since we have salvation and cannot lose it (1 Cor. 3:14-15). However, the same does not hold true for those of sin when they go before the throne of the Lord. The sinner will be judged and cast from God’s presence into the lake of fire at the Great White Throne.
Who is the Beast
In his vision, Daniel watched because of the sound of the “pompous words” that the “horn” spoke. Who is this horn? We’ll answer that in a second. But Daniel watched as “the beast” was slain and its body destroyed by the burning flame (Dan. 7:11). This is judgment against “the beast”.
So, who is this beast? Who is the horn that spoke “pompous words”? To understand who is being spoken of, we have to take a look at Daniel’s vision of the four beasts (Dan. 7:1-8). The four best are represented by a lion with eagle’s wings, a bear, a leopard with four heads, and a beast with huge iron teeth and ten horns.
These four beasts all represent empires that have been in the world. The lion with eagle’s wings represents Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar). The bear represents the Medo-Persia empire (Cyrus the Great). The leopard with four heads represents Greece (Alexander the Great). The best with the huge iron teeth and then horns represents Rome (Caesar).
Now, in that vision, Daniel saw the destruction of three of the four beasts. If you noticed, their destruction happened before being before the throne of fire. Babylon was conquered by the Persians, the Greeks conquered the Persians, and Rome conquered the Greeks. So, why is this vision so important to us?
Keep in mind that the fourth beast (Rome) is not destroyed until it’s before the throne of fire. This is interesting because the Roman “fell” over 1,500 years ago. So, why is the fourth beast not considered destroyed now? Why is the fourth beast not destroyed until it’s captured and brought before the throne of fire?
The answer is because the fourth beast is actually still alive today. Notice that Daniel had turned his attention to the ten horns that rose from the beast. The ten horns rising from the fourth beast, represent how Rome will come back together. The ten horns are kingdoms in the world— I don’t know which kingdoms make up the ten kingdoms.
The Little Horn
What’s troubling about the ten horns of the fourth beast is the “little horn” that will rise from them. Daniel saw that a little horn will rise and uproot three of the horns to establish its rule. Daniel described the little horn as having the eyes like the eyes of a man, and speaking pompous words. This speaks of the wisdom and the craftiness of the little horn.
There is no doubt that the little horn is the Antichrist – the being. The Antichrist will rise during the time of Great Tribulation and deceive many. The Antichrist will oppose the Lord and exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped (2 Thess. 2:3-4). The Antichrist will come showing power, signs, and lying wonders; he will deceive and lead many to perish (2 Thess. 2:9-10).
While true believers won’t live to see the day of Great Tribulation, this vision still has implications for today. The reason why is because there are many living in the world today with the spirit of antichrist. They move throughout the world using pompous words to lie and to deceive. In other words, there are many living in the world today who are of the same wicked heart as the Antichrist. Should we be afraid?
Paul wrote that the Lord will consume the Antichrist with the breath of HIs mouth (2 Thess. 2:8). This speaks of the Antichrist facing eternal condemnation because of God’s judgment. Along with the Antichrist, the beast, and those with him will also face the same judgment (Rev. 19:19-21; 20:11-15).
Coming of the Son of Man
So, to me, there is somewhat of a reason to be concerned about the day we are living in, but we should remember the promise of sin’s defeat. Daniel’s vision and what we read about taking place at the Great White Throne is why I preach. Today is a day where we should be getting ourselves prepared because the kingdom of God is at hand.
Daniel’s vision closes with him seeing One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven (Dan. 7:13). Again, there is no doubt that this is speaking about Christ and His second coming. Christ said it Himself, one day He will return, coming on the “clouds of heaven” with power and great glory (Matt. 24:30).
When He returns, Jesus said that He will come in His glory, set up His kingdom on earth, and divide the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31-34). Jesus has also said about the day of His second coming that the only one that knows the hour of His return is the Father (Matt. 24:36). As it was with the first coming, the Father has the day and hour set on when Christ will return.
This is just as Daniel has seen in his vision as he saw dominion and glory was given to Him by Him (Dan. 7:14). This speaks to the Father giving all authority to the Son. Daniel was seeing the Millennial Kingdom, again, an event that has yet to take place. In this vision, Daniel saw how all the peoples, nations were before Christ and His dominion is one that is everlasting.
So, this vision should not be taken lightly, especially, since the Lord gave another vision just like this one to John. On top of that, Christ even taught about these things taking place. Do you want to know how serious it is? Consider the Lord gave witness after witness of this same prophecy – He is not hiding this event from anybody.
So, let us take Daniel’s vision very seriously and as truth. Daniel knew the Son of Man, he knew Christ to be true because this vision was given to him by the Lord. In our prior lesson, Nebuchadnezzar said he saw in the fiery furnace one like the Son of God. Nebuchadnezzar had no idea who or what he saw in that furnace, but Daniel had received this wonderful gift by the Lord.