Daniel's Son of Man: Vision of the Everlasting Kingdom | Advent Day 15

The sea churned. From the depths rose monsters. A lion with eagle's wings. A bear with ribs in its teeth. A leopard with four heads. And a fourth beast, terrifying and powerful, with iron teeth and bronze claws. Daniel watched from exile in Babylon. The young Hebrew who had survived the lion's den now received visions that would shape how believers understand history and its end. The four beasts represented four kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Rome was the crushing power for which no natural beast sufficed. Gustave Dore illustrated this vision in 1866. The beasts emerge from waters that writhe like primeval chaos. These are not noble predators. These are monsters. Empire wears a monstrous face. Human history, viewed from heaven's perspective, appears as beastly violence. Power devours power. The strong consume the weak. Yet the vision does not end with beasts. Daniel's eyes lifted to a different scene. Thrones were set in place. The Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white as snow. His hair like pure wool. His throne flames of fire. A river of fire flowed from before Him. Thousands upon thousands attended Him. The court sat. The books were opened. The beasts that seemed invincible on earth appear before a court they cannot intimidate. Their dominion ends. Then comes the moment that would echo through every generation of hope: "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." The Aramaic "bar enash" means one like a human being. Where the beasts emerged from chaos, he comes with heaven's clouds. Where they embodied violence, he appears in human form. Where their dominion was temporary, his rule will be eternal. "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." No earthly king ever received such authority. Alexander's empire fragmented at his death. Rome fell. Every dynasty ends. But this kingdom cannot be destroyed. Jesus chose this title for Himself. Over eighty times in the Gospels, He called Himself the Son of Man. At His trial, the high priest demanded, "Are you the Christ?" Jesus answered, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." The high priest tore his robes. He understood the claim. Jesus had identified Himself with Daniel's heavenly figure, the one who approaches the Ancient of Days and receives universal dominion. A Galilean carpenter was claiming to be the ruler before whom all nations would bow. Consider what this meant for Daniel's first readers. They lived in exile. Babylon had crushed them. Their Temple lay in ruins. Yet Daniel saw beyond the immediate catastrophe to a reality hidden from ordinary sight: the beasts that rule the present do not rule the future. The one who appears weak, human, vulnerable will receive what all the beast-kingdoms could never hold. This is apocalyptic literature's function. It pulls back the curtain between visible and invisible. What appears triumphant on earth stands condemned in heaven's court. What seems defeated is ascending to glory. Revelation picks up Daniel's imagery. John sees one like a son of man walking among lampstands. The Ancient of Days and the Son of Man merge into one vision. What Daniel glimpsed separately, John sees unified. The throne is shared. The Lamb receives the scroll. Whatever powers dominate your world, whatever systems seem unstoppable, they are temporary. They roar and rage on borrowed time. The court has sat. The books have opened. The one like a son of man has already come. He was born in Bethlehem. He walked in Galilee. He died on Calvary. He rose on the third day. He ascended on clouds. And He is coming again. The beasts still roar. You feel their teeth. Systems crush. Powers intimidate. The world looks like the beasts are winning. But the court sits in heaven. The verdict has been rendered. The kingdom belongs to the Son of Man. Your allegiance to Christ places you on the winning side of history. The dominion passing to the saints includes you. The everlasting kingdom you will inherit makes current suffering light and momentary. The books are open. Your name is written. This Advent, lift your eyes above the beasts. The Ancient of Days still reigns. The Son of Man still approaches on clouds. The kingdom still increases. Your current circumstances do not define your future. The one who was given dominion has given Himself for you. Tomorrow Micah points to Bethlehem, the little town with an eternal ruler. The son of man who receives an everlasting kingdom will be born in David's village.