The Son of Man and the Ancient of Days
When Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the giant statue, he told the king that the kingdoms of men, represented by the statue, would be crushed and that the God of Heaven would establish in their place an eternal kingdom under His rule. This kingdom was represented in the dream by the rock not cut my human hands, that shattered the great statue:
And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold--the great God has made known to the king, what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure. Daniel 2:44-45
Furthermore, this eternal kingdom would be established on the Earth by a divine person whom Daniel referred to as a "son of man".
I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. That all people, nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14
This "son of man" came with the "clouds of heaven", which is a reference, not to literal clouds in the sky, but to hosts of angels. The son of man, is led into the presence of the "Ancient of Days", another name for God the Father. Who is this "son of man"? For over 500 years from the days of David to the days of Jesus, the Jews regarded the term "son of man" as a reference to the Messiah, the Anointed One whom God would send to deliver His people. As the four Gospels in the New Testament make clear, Jesus adopted the term for Himself. "Son of Man" was Jesus' preferred self-designation.
It is no wonder that Jesus angered so many of the religious leaders of His day. They knew the prophecies of Daniel. When they heard Jesus call Himself the "Son of Man", they understood that He was identifying Himself with the heavenly figure, Daniel 7:13-14 who appeared before the Ancient of Days to receive the "everlasting dominions". By so identifying Himself, Jesus claiming to be the Messiah, the anointed Son of God.
We know Jesus as the Son of God, which He is. Why did He prefer the title "Son of Man"? A passage in the fifth chapter of John's Gospel gives us a clue. It was the Sabbath, and Jesus had just healed a blind man at the pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. The religious leaders, thus constituted work, a violation of Sabbath law.
For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now and I have been working" Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." John 5:16-19
W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold--the great God has made known to the king, what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure. Daniel 2:44-45
Furthermore, this eternal kingdom would be established on the Earth by a divine person whom Daniel referred to as a "son of man".
I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. That all people, nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14
This "son of man" came with the "clouds of heaven", which is a reference, not to literal clouds in the sky, but to hosts of angels. The son of man, is led into the presence of the "Ancient of Days", another name for God the Father. Who is this "son of man"? For over 500 years from the days of David to the days of Jesus, the Jews regarded the term "son of man" as a reference to the Messiah, the Anointed One whom God would send to deliver His people. As the four Gospels in the New Testament make clear, Jesus adopted the term for Himself. "Son of Man" was Jesus' preferred self-designation.
It is no wonder that Jesus angered so many of the religious leaders of His day. They knew the prophecies of Daniel. When they heard Jesus call Himself the "Son of Man", they understood that He was identifying Himself with the heavenly figure, Daniel 7:13-14 who appeared before the Ancient of Days to receive the "everlasting dominions". By so identifying Himself, Jesus claiming to be the Messiah, the anointed Son of God.
We know Jesus as the Son of God, which He is. Why did He prefer the title "Son of Man"? A passage in the fifth chapter of John's Gospel gives us a clue. It was the Sabbath, and Jesus had just healed a blind man at the pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. The religious leaders, thus constituted work, a violation of Sabbath law.
For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now and I have been working" Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." John 5:16-19
W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
