Well, let us turn to this chapter
that we've read. I suppose we might say it's a
very strange chapter, Daniel 7. As I trust with the Lord's
help, we might be able to consider some part of it with some profit.
Turning again then to Daniel chapter 7, and I want to direct
you in particular to the words that we have here at verses 13
and 14. Daniel 7 13 and 14 I saw in the
night visions and behold one like the Son of Man came with
the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days and they
brought him near before him and there was given him dominion
and glory and the kingdom that all people nations and languages
should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which
shall not be destroyed. To say something then with regards
to this One spoken of in verse 13 as the Son of Man, I saw it
in the night visions, and beheld One like the Son of Man. The book of Daniel contains what
we call apocalyptic literature. In many ways, it's the Old Testament version, we might say, of the
book of the Revelation in the New Testament. And the word apocalyptic,
of course, is derived from a word that simply means to uncover
or to reveal. Hence the last book of Scripture
is called the Revelation. It's an uncovering, an unveiling
of the great mysteries of God that we find here in Daniel and
then again to an even greater extent in the Revelation of John
of the divine. And the language in this apocalyptic
literature is highly symbolic. We see that certainly in the
opening words of the Revelation, how these things were signified
onto signs and symbols are being used. And even the numbers that
we have in these books are not to be understood in a literal
sense. These also are symbolic numbers. But here in the opening part
of the seventh chapter of Daniel, we do read of four very literal
beasts. And in the interpretation, of
course, we're told, verse 17, These great beasts, which are
four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth. The book is, or this particular
chapter, belongs to the first juror of Belshazzar, king of
Babylon. And the first beast that he's
spoken of, in verse 4, as reference to the great Babylonian empire. likened here to a lion. The first was like a lion and
had eagle's wings. I beheld to the wings thereof
were plots and it was lifted up from the earth and made stand
upon the feet as a man and the man's heart was given to it.
It's interesting because the language that is used here In
some ways we might say relates to what we are told previously
in chapter 4 concerning the great Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar. The most proud man looking at
his great city of Babylon, admiring it and the hanging gardens of
Babylon of course was one of the seven wonders of the ancient
world. And then God humbles him to the
dust and his reason is taken from him. There in chapter 4
we are told at verse 33, The same hour was the thing fulfilled
upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven from men, and he did grass
as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until
his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like
birds' claws. At the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar,
lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned
unto me. And I blessed the Most High,
and I praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever, whose dominion
is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation
to generation. And then those familiar words
of verse 35 concerning God's doing his will among the armies
of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth, the confession
that Nebuchadnezzar is brought to make. But you see how in verse
4 some of the language is very similar to what we're told concerning
that man This lion had eagle's wings, I beheld, till the wings
thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth,
and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was
given to it. The region of Nebuchadnezzar
was indeed restored to him." So the first beast is that of
the Babylonian, or represents the Babylonian Empire. And then in verse 5 we have the
second beast. Behold another beast, the second
like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it
had three ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth of it,
and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. And here we
have that empire that overthrows the Babylonian, the empire of
the Medes. and of the Persians but we are
told how it raised itself up on one side and it was in fact the Persian
element of that empire that became the predominant and so there
was other great empire that of the Persians that followed the
Babylonian and then we have the third The beast, spoken of in
verse 6, after this, I beheld and lo, another like a leopard,
which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl, and the
beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. Here
we have a leopard, of course, an animal that's very fleet of
foot, but a leopard which has upon the back of it four wings,
so it flies. It moves with great haste and
this represents the Grecian Empire and the speed of the advances
and the great conquest that Alexander the Great made as that empire
so quickly spread from Greece all the way over to the subcontinent
of India. So, we have the Greek Empire
following the Persian. And then we come to the fourth
beast spoken of in verse 7. After this I saw in the night
visions and behold a fourth beast dreadful and terrible and strong
exceedingly and it had great iron teeth He devoured and breaking
pieces and stamped the residue with the feet of it and it was
diverse from all the beasts that were before it and it had ten
horns." Well, what empire is this? It's the great Roman Empire. In many ways the most significant
as we see in the latter part where we come to the interpretation. Verse 19, Daniel says, and I
would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from
all the others, exceedingly dreadful, and so forth. The Roman Empire,
the greatest empire probably that the world has ever known,
diverse from all beasts, it says. And then, Verse 8, Daniel says,
I considered the horns, it had ten horns, I considered the horns
and behold there came up among them another little horn before
whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the
roots and behold this horn, in this horn were eyes like the
eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things. Now The authorized
version, of course, is a version without any notes, but the Genevan
Bible, that that was produced by those who were exiles in Geneva
at the time of the reign of Mary I, bloody Mary persecuting the
Protestants, the days of the martyrs, well, those who fled
for refuge and enjoyed liberty in Geneva produced the Geneva
Bible and that Bible did have notes and in the notes here in
Daniel 7 this little horn that devours three other horns is
clearly identified with the papacy that comes as it were out of
imperial Rome And then papal Rome begins to assume the powers
that belonged in the ancient world to imperial Rome. And we see a couple of things
here which one can see would be the reason why the reformers
and after them the Puritans, almost to a man, were ready to
identify what we're told in verse 8 with the papacy. Here we have
great pride the end of that eighth verse, a mouth speaking great
things. And we come to the interpretation
then, in verse 20. We read at the end of that verse,
even of that horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke very great
things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. Here is the pride and the pride
of the popes of Rome. Look at verse 25. He shall speak
great words against the most high, it says. And you're probably
aware that of course the popes are said to stand in the very
place of God himself. He wears a three-tiered crown,
And he bears various names. He's referred to many times as
the Holy Father. That's how the faithful Roman
Catholics would speak of the Pope. They would call him the
Holy Father. And then he would also be referred
to as the Supreme Pontiff. In other words, the chief priest.
Of course, Rome has a multitude of priests, but he is the supreme
one. And then also he refers to himself as the Vicar of Christ. And vicar, vicarious, means substitute,
Christ's substitute. So what do we see here? He's
a holy father, he claims to be God the Father. Is he supreme
pontiff, supreme priest? Well, Christ is the great high
priest of our profession. He is the Vicar of Christ. But
when Christ leaves this world, He sends another Comforter, the
Holy Ghost. You see how clearly He speaks
great words against the Most High. He claims all the names
that belong to the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. What pride,
what arrogance for a man to put himself in such a place. But
besides pride, we also see something of persecutions. Again, when
we look at the interpretation, verse 21, I beheld, says Daniel,
and the same horn, this little horn, made war with the saints
and prevailed against them. And again, in verse 25, he shall
speak great words against the Most High and shall wear out
the saints of the Most High. Oh, he is that one who is the
great persecutor of the people of God, as he makes war against
those who are the Lord's. But then, after these beasts,
these four beasts and the little horn, now the scene changes,
because verses 9 and 10 we are introduced to God, the throne
of God. I beheld till the thrones were
cast down, and the ancients of days did see it, whose garment
was white as snow, the hair of his head like the pure wool.
His throne was like the fiery flame, his wheels as burning
fire." Think of the opening chapter of the prophecy of Ezekiel, when
he sees those wheels within wheels, he sees the throne of God. And
it's a similar description to that throne that we have here
in Daniel. Verse 10, a fiery stream issued
and came forth from before him. Thousands, thousands ministered
unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The judgment was set, and the books were opened. So we have God's throne, and
then the judgment set. In verses 11 and 12, I beheld them because
of the voice of the great word which the horn spake, I beheld
even till the horn was slain, and his body destroyed and given
to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the
beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were
prolonged for a season and time." And then we come to the words
that I said I really want to concentrate on for a while this
evening. These words here in verses 13
and 14 concerning the Son of Man. I saw in the
night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with
the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they
brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him, that
is, the Son of Man, 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, that which shall not be destroyed. Now, here we have the Son of
Man, but remember previously in chapter 3 we read of those
three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, being
cast into the fiery furnace and the flames the flames do not
touch them they're delivered and there's no smell of fire
upon them and there we're told aren't we chapter 3 verse 25 the words of Nebuchadnezzar
again now he's astonished when he looks into the furnace. Verse 24, Did not we cast three
men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said
unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see
four men, loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have
no herds, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God's. there we have the Son of God
and here in our text tonight at verse 13 in chapter 7 we have
the Son of Man and they are one and the same it's the same person
He is of course the Son of God when John who is the forerunner
of Christ, John the Baptist He's exercising his ministry, and
we have it there in the opening chapter of John's Gospel. What
does the Baptist say? I saw and bear record that this
is the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, the one whom he had baptized
and seen the Spirit descending upon him in the form of a dove.
He says there, John 1.34, I saw and bear record that this
is the Son of God." And then Peter's great confession at Caesarea
Philippi concerning Jesus of Nazareth, he says, what the Christ,
the Son of the Living God, the Son of the Living God, this is
the Christ. And the Lord's answer to Peter,
flesh and blood, hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which
is in heaven. Oh, how blessed was that man,
Simon Peter, to be brought to see such a truth, to have it
revealed to him, to have that unveiled before his eyes, that
this man, Jesus of Nazareth, is the Christ, the Son of God.
And when the Lord speaks to the man, the blind man, that he had
given sight to. The man had been born blind.
Remember chapter 9 of John, they cast that man out of the synagogue,
cut him off as it were from Israel. But the Lord finds him and says,
Thus I believe on the Son of God. And the man believes and
worships. He is the Son of God. But here
we see him under this name of the Son of Man. I saw in the
night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with
the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they
brought Him near before Him." Now, this title, Son of Man,
it's used very often in reference to the Prophet Ezekiel. If you remember, I'm sure at
times you've read through the book and when God addresses him
there in Ezekiel 2.1 he said unto me son of man stand upon
my feet and I will speak unto thee and then the little book is presented
to him the book that's written within and without it's a scroll
And there are lamentations and mourning and woe, we're told,
at the end of chapter 2. And then in chapter 3 of Ezekiel.
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest,
eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. God's put
in his words into the mouth of the prophets. But he addresses
him as the Son of man and several times. Throughout the book he
is addressed as the Son of man. But that is really a name that
ultimately is given to the Lord Jesus when we come to the New
Testament. Son of Man is actually the Lord's own self-designation. That's how he speaks of himself.
In Matthew, 31 times he refers to himself as the Son of Man.
In Mark, 14 times. in Luke 25 times, and in John
11 times. So, clearly, that is the name
that Christ, the Savior of sinners, delights to own and to acknowledge. That's His own self-designation. He is the Son of Man, and it
is, of course, the most significant name, because it reminds us of
His human nature. As the hymn says, a man there
is, a real man. He doesn't take upon him the
nature of angels, he's made a little lower than the angels, we are
told in Hebrews 2. And because the children were
partakers of flesh and blood, he likewise takes part of the
same. And how real that human nature
was, a real person, a real body, a real soul. When John writes
in the opening words of that first general epistle, he bears
testimony to the truth of the human nature of Christ, that
which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands
have handled of the word of life. The life was manifested and we
have seen it and bear witness. John is answering, of course,
those erroneous, heretical sects that were already beginning to
appear, the Gnostics who denied the reality of the human nature
of Christ, that it was just some sort of apparition that men had
seen, but no, says John, this was a real person. And now, even
after his resurrection from the dead, over 40 days the Lord will
appear again and again to his disciples. and they will be able
to testify to the reality of a physical resurrection. He eats
with them, partakes of food with them. Here then we see a name that
the Lord delights in. He is the Son of Man. I saw in the night visions, and
behold, one like the Son of Man. What of this word like? It doesn't
say, I saw one, the son of man, but it says like. Well, Calvin, as he comments
on this particular verse, observes that Christ had not yet taken
human nature. He'd not yet been born of a woman
when the fullness of the time was come. There was a time appointed. Galatians 4.4 when the fullness
of the time has come God sent forth his son made of a woman.
He's the seed of the woman and he's made under the law. He has
no human father. It's a miracle. It's a virgin birth. It's the
great mystery of the incarnation. he must be preserved from all
taint of original sin and so as the angel says to Mary the
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the higher shall
overshadow thee therefore also that holy thing that's the human
nature, the holy thing the body and the soul that he derives
from his virgin mother shall be called the Son of God.
That human nature is joined to the person of the eternal Son
of God." Well, that was to come. Christ had not yet appeared in
human flesh. But here, Daniel sees that that
he describes as being like the Son of Man. We might say, it's
a theophany. It's an appearance of Christ.
We have these, of course, many times in the Old Testament. And one of the most striking
is the experience of Abraham. Remember what we're told there
in chapter 18 of Genesis. The Lord appeared unto him, that
is, unto Abraham, in the plains of Mamre. And he sat in the tempered
all in the heat of the day, and he lifted up his eyes and looked,
and lo, three men stood by him." Three men stood by him. He entertains
these three men. And what do we read later in
the chapter? Verse 16, the men rose up from
thence and looked towards Sodom, and Abraham went with them to
bring them on the way. so he doesn't just entertain
these men but he sees them on their way towards Sodom and then
verse 22 the men turned their faces from thence and went towards
Sodom but Abram stood yet before the Lord it says now in chapter
19 we're told how two angels came to Sodom at even when Lot
sat in the gates so these two of these men who have set their
faces towards Sodom are angels. Angels appearing to men, the
ministry of angels. And angels appearing as men.
But then this third one, who doesn't go to Sodom, we're told,
Abraham stood yet before the Lord. So clearly, Christ was
seen of Abraham. Doesn't the Lord say as much?
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and
was glad. Well there of course he's speaking
more particularly I suppose of what we have in Genesis 22. The
experience here in the Mount Moriah where he is to sacrifice his son but he
doesn't sacrifice his son but he He receives his son, as it
were, Isaac comes back from the dead and the ram is sacrificed
in the stead in the place of Isaac. But these men in the Old
Testament, they do have these remarkable experiences, these
theophanies. In the book of Judges, Manoah
and his wife see the angel of the Lord. There are many accounts that
we have then throughout the Old Testament. So we have one like
unto the Son of Man. In the fullness of the time He
will come as the Son of Man. But then with regards to this
word like, it's interesting E.J. Young, E.J. Young was an Old Testament scholar,
professor at Westminster seminary in the United States in the earlier
part of this century. He wrote a well-known introduction
to the Old Testament as well as various commentaries on Isaiah,
for example. He wrote an extensive commentary,
well-known commentary on Isaiah. E. J. Young makes this observation
with regards to this word like. He says, the particle serves
to indicate not merely a similarity but also a difference. Like indicates
not just a similarity, he's like a man, but also a difference. That's what Professor Young says. In other words, Christ is, in
a sense, more than a man. He is also God. There are, of
course, those two natures in the one person that the angel
says to Mary. that holy thing that shall be
born of thee, that human nature, that body and soul, shall be
called the Son of God. He's the Son of God. He is God's
manifest in the flesh. The great mystery of godliness
that Paul speaks of. 1 Timothy 3.16 God was manifest
in the flesh, those two natures. In the one person. He is one
person. And yet he is, in all things he does he is God, in
all things he does he is man, he's the God-man. What a mystery!
What a mystery! And it's interesting because
the expression, one, like unto the Son of Man, is also used
in the New Testament in Revelation, Revelation 1.13 and 14.14. So
even there, after his After his incarnation, after
his life upon the earth, after his death, after his resurrection,
after his ascension, he is referred to in the Revelation as one like
unto the Son of Man. He is a man, but he's more than
a man, he's also God. And so here it's interesting
to notice the difference between the kingdom that is being spoken
of which is given to this man, the son of man, there was given
him 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 that which
shall not be destroyed." And it is interesting to see the
difference between this kingdom and those worldly empires that
are spoken of previously in the chapter. when we consider the origins? What are we told when we come
to the interpretation? Verse 17 These great beasts,
which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the
earth. These kingdoms, they arise out
of the earth. But then also there are kingdoms
that pass away. In the end of verse 11, I behold,
says Daniel, even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed
and given to the burning flame, as concerning the rest of the
beast, they are dead a million taken away. And of course we
see how one kingdom comes, or one empire comes, and then passes
away and another comes. We have the Babylonian and that's
then overthrown by the Medes and Persians and then the Persian
Empire is overthrown by that of the Greeks. I mean this is
all ancient history we can read in secular history about the
wars between the Greeks and the Persians. And then ultimately
the Roman Empire comes and it lasts many centuries, but then
we have the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. So all of
these, they arise out of the earth,
as it were, but they don't last. They all, in time, pass away. But what do we read of the Son
of Man? Well, here in verse 13, the Son
of Man came with the clouds of heaven. The Son of Man came with
the clouds of heaven. And that insignia of heaven suggests
to us the glory that belongs unto God. Psalm 104 and verse
3, "...who maketh the clouds his chariot." Oh, he comes, this
Son of Man, in the chariot of heaven. Again, Isaiah 19.1, "...behold,
the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud." He has all the insignia
that belongs to deity, that belongs unto God, and His kingdom, of
course, is an everlasting kingdom. We have it here in verse 14,
at the end of the verse, His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall
not be destroyed. Again in verse 18, The saints of the Most High shall
take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever
and ever. You see, all the kingdoms of
the earth must become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. And then also, this word that
we have in verse 14, the verb, to serve. All people, nations, and languages
should serve Him." And as this word, or this verb,
is used throughout Daniel, it is used in association with worship,
with either that worship that erroneously might be given to
idols, or even that worship that is properly given to God in chapter
3 where we read of the reason why those brave young men were cast into the fiery
furnace. It was because they wouldn't
worship the image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And what was required
by Nebuchadnezzar Well, all were to worship the image. And this is the charge that's
brought against these men. Verse 12 of chapter 3, There
are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province
of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king,
have not regarded thee. They serve not thy gods. It's the same word, they serve
not thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast
set up. And several times then in the
following verses we find the word being used repeatedly. Verse 14, is it true O Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego? Do not ye serve my gods and worship
the golden image which I have set up? And then again verse
17, verse 18, verse 28. And then the same word is also
found in chapter 6 concerning Daniel now. Chapter 6 and verse
16. Daniel and the lion's den. The
king commanded and they brought Daniel and cast him into the
den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto
Daniel, Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver
thee. Thy God, whom thou servest continually. All this word then that we have
here in the text really has regards to service to God, worship of
God. And we have it at the end of
this 7th chapter, in verse 27, "...the
kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under
the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of
the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and
all dominions shall serve and obey Him." It's a significant
verb then, that one that we have in verse 14. All people, nations and languages
should serve Him. God is that One who is to be
served, God is that One who is to be worshipped. And here, of course, it's referring
more particularly to the Lord Jesus Christ in His Mediatorial
Kingdom. Christ as the God-Man Remember,
as the Son of God, He is co-equal, co-eternal with the Father and
with the Holy Ghost, and so in the fullness of the Godhead Christ
always reigns, always has reigned, always will reign. But here,
what we have in the text that we're considering tonight, really,
is the glory of that mediatorial kingdom We see in the Lord Jesus as He
reigns as the Son of Man. That means as He is reigning
in human nature, reigning as the
Great Mediator. Remember the text we were looking
at last Lord's Day evening, what God says concerning this one,
Yet have I said, or anointed my King, upon my holy hill of
Zion." Oh, it's the Lord Jesus Christ, that One who is set before
us, and that One that we come to worship. How are we to worship
God? Worship God then in His Son. There He's love, and there alone. And when we come to pray, think
again of the words of another hymn, that Christ is God. I can
avouch, and for His people cares, since I have prayed to him as
such, and he has heard my prayers. Oh, the glory is in that belonged
to this one, and that that Daniel was favored to behold. I saw
in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came
with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days,
and they brought him near before him. And there was given him
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, that which
shall not be destroyed. Well, let us come and pray, Thy
kingdom come, and Thy will be done. The Lord bless to us His
Word.