Understanding Israel from Scripture, Part Six
Israel and the Apocalyptic Book of Daniel (Continued)
In Part Five of this series, we examined how the four beastly, monstrous kingdoms in the vision from Daniel 7 paralleled the four earthly, idolatrous kingdoms from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2, with a striking and distinct difference; the ten toes of the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream were not ten kings, whereas the ten horns, with the eleventh horn following, are indeed Roman emperors of the first and second centuries.
One of the correlating features we can surmise from the dream and the vision is that when the Stone strikes the feet of the image in Daniel 2, that gives us a time reference for the horns on the head of the beast in Daniel 7. While Jesus Christ was born in 2 BC during the reign of Augustus Caesar, as mentioned in Part Four of this series,[1] the beginning of Jesus’ ministry was 28 AD, in “the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar” (Luke 3:1), also mentioned in Part Four. While Jesus is certainly the Stone who destroys the empires (Dan 2:34), it is Christ’s gospel truth that fills the earth in that dream (Dan 2:35, 44-45). Therefore, the timing of the ten kings of Daniel 7 would be from the reign of Tiberius in 14 AD to the reign of the tenth emperor in succession, which was Domitian, who reigned as the Roman emperor from 81-96 AD.
The portion we will consider today is the most important section of Daniel 7 because it gives us a glimpse of the Messiah, the Son of Man. Let’s look at the verses from the English Standard Version:
9“As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10A stream of fire issued and came out from before Him; a thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. 11I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. 13I 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. 14And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; Him dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
THE MAGNIFICENT VISION OF DANIEL 7
The difficulty in writing today’s article will be restraining myself from becoming repetitive and redundant from the Department of Redundancy Dept., because the whole of this portion will not make as much sense without understanding everything I had written in the previous article, Part Five. If you had not read it, you can read it by clicking here.
While the initial vision of the four world empires is given in chronological order (Dan 7:1-8), the vision continues in a seamless, chronological flow. It is just that some of what we are covering today is seemingly not as clear until we hear the interpretation that had been given by one of those who stood there before the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:16). At the end of his interpretation, with what we left off with in Part Five of this series, he told Daniel,
‘But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’ Daniel 7:25-26
The thrones Daniel sees in his vision, that are set up whereas the Ancient of Days takes His seat before millions who served Him (a thousand thousands), and one hundred million who stood before Him (ten thousand times ten thousand), is a continuation of the initial vision of verses one through eight. By the interpretation given above (Dan 7:25-26), Daniel sees the court sitting in judgment when he sees the Ancient of Days:
“As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.” Daniel 7:9
So, who is the Ancient of Days here? In dispensational eschatology, basic theology is often thrown out of the window when it comes to these passages because its progenitors do not know what to do when it comes to the 13th verse “and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man.” The question then will arise, “Since Jesus is the Son of Man as revealed in the gospel accounts, He isn’t presenting Himself to Himself, is He?” Concerning the Son of Man presented to the Ancient of Days, John MacArthur says this:
Daniel 7:13
Son of Man. The Messiah (cf. Dan 9:26), Christ is meant; He often designated Himself by this phrase (Mat 16:26; Mat 19:28; Mat 26:64). “The clouds of heaven” are seen again in Rev 1:7. Here, He is distinct from the Ancient of Days, or Eternal One, the Father, who will coronate Him for the kingdom (Dan 2:44). The picture of old age is not that of being feeble; rather, it highlights God’s eternality and divine wisdom to judge (cf. Dan 7:9-10).[2]
While his Bible commentary did not address who the Ancient of Days was in verse nine, Dr. MacArthur did address it here. He believed that the Ancient of Days is Father God. If you bear with me through the entire article, Lord Jesus willing and the Holy Spirit helping me, I will be able to explain clearly. The Lord Jesus Himself tells us that the Father does not have a body. He told the Samaritan woman at the well:
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24
Jesus tells us through the Holy Spirit, that He, Jesus, is the exact imprint of God’s nature, and that the Father is invisible:
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. Hebrews 1:3a
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Colossians 1:15
Moreover, Jesus is the one with the body, not the Father or the Holy Spirit:
For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority. Colossians 2:9-10
Dr. Paul Enns writes this concerning the absolute attributes of God in His spirituality:
God is spirit (not a spirit) who does not have corporeity or physical form (John 4:24). A body localizes, but God as spirit is everywhere; He cannot be limited. Although God does not have a body, He is nonetheless a substance but not material. Spirituality goes further than simply identifying God as not having a body, it also means He is the source of all life. The prohibition of Exodus 20:4 was given because God does not have a physical form; hence, it is wrong to make any likeness of Him. The many references to God’s physical features (cf. Gen 3:8; 1 Kings 8:29; Ps 34:15; Isa 65:2) are anthropomorphisms (figurative language giving God human characteristics used to attempt to make Him understandable).[3]
Again, the question remains: “Who is the Ancient of Days?” The Ancient of Days is the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the question arises: “Who then is one like a son of man in verse thirteen?” If you can bear with me until we get to the thirteenth verse, I will be able to explain this seeming contradiction.[4]
The Messiah is the Ancient of Days because the Lord Jesus is the incarnate God, as it is written of Him in the Prophets,
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be Ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Micah 5:2
Note that it does not say Jesus had come from the Ancient of Days, but from eternity, as this English translation may be more easily understood here from the original Hebrew,
…whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2, KJV
Again, it is written,
For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Jesus is called אֲבִיעַד (a-viy-AD), interpreted in English above as “The everlasting Father.” Sadly, many of the reputable commentaries also present the Ancient of Days as being God the Father: Matthew Henry; John Gill; Robert Hawker; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown; Keil & Delitzsch; etc. Many of these point to the scene of the throne room of Revelation to uphold their position:
And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne. Revelation 5:5-7
Again, the theological problem exists of who is sitting upon the throne. In this series, I hope to get to the Book of Revelation, but it would seem I need to address at least this part here and now. I must ask the question, “Does God the Father have a body or not?” If the theologians I pose my question to answer ‘no,’ then they should be prepared for what I will lay out, which will remain consistent with both theology proper and typology. If the theologians and Bible scholars answer ‘yes, the Father does have a body,’ then the burden of proof is upon them to refute existing theology, the Scripture that supports the Father’s absolute spirituality, and the words of the Lord Jesus Himself to the Samaritan woman at the well.
It is worth noting here that while I believe the reference to Revelation 5:5-7 is a correct reference for Daniel 7:9-14, the conclusion that the One seated upon the throne is the Father in both Daniel and Revelation is incorrect. The vision that John receives of heaven, is not unlike what Daniel receives in his writing, which presents the gospel truth in typology. The One seated upon the throne in Revelation chapters four and five is the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord Jesus Christ.[5] The lamb here is a gospel picture in types and figures. Notice what John actually says that he saw:
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Revelation 5:6
First of all, John says that he saw a Lamb “as though it had been slain.” This represents Jesus, yet it is not Jesus. Jesus is seated upon the throne. Therefore, John is shown a figure of Christ in typology. Jesus is figuratively “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), but He isn’t actually a lamb. All the paschal lambs slain before Jesus’ true Sacrifice were actual lambs; yet they were types and figures of Christ and His eternal Sacrifice on Calvary’s tree.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus did not have seven horns, nor did He have seven eyes. Neither does He have them in heaven. These terms are symbolic, and though we will not cover the meanings here (that will come in a future article in this series), we must acquiesce to its symbolism, typology, and its significance as representative of Christ.[6]
Moreover, the Lamb in this vision from Revelation was not slain, it appeared “as though it had been slain” (ESV), or “as it had been slain” (KJV). In other words, it had not really been slain, indicating again that the Lamb in the vision only represents Jesus because Jesus was actually slain. Jesus says of Himself earlier in this Revelation:
“Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17b-18
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.” Revelation 2:8
Jesus didn’t say I appeared to be slain. He tells us that He died, came back to life, and is alive forevermore. For Jesus to die, He must become truly human with a body that can… and did… die. Though He is, was, and evermore shall be eternal God, when the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself a body, He limited that body, though glorified, to be in one place at one time. As infinite and eternal God, He dwells within each one of His believers through the Holy Spirit, never leaving us or forsaking us (John 14:17; Heb 13:5). This is why it was advantageous and expedient that He send the Holy Spirit (John 16:7).
Those words, “as though…” in Revelation 5:6 matter. As we had seen earlier in Part Four concerning the birth of the Lord Jesus, Luke records that Jesus was “about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:23). The word “about” is important. That although Jesus was exactly thirty years old when He began His earthly ministry, fulfilling the Scriptures concerning the ministry of the priesthood (Num 4:3-4; Psa 110:4; Heb 7:11-8:13), He is still eternal God (Micah 5:2; John 17:5), and therefore, about thirty years old because eternity is timeless.
We’ll see this again in Daniel 7:13, whereas one little Chaldean letter makes all the difference in our interpretation of the passage.
Understanding Christ-Centered Typology in the Priesthood
To get a better grasp of this typology, since the ministry of Christ’s priesthood was just mentioned, let’s look at that typology.[7] Jesus, of course, is our Great High Priest. Yet He didn’t perform any of the priestly duties that Aaron and his sons performed. In fact, Jesus brought no sacrifices to the temple. He didn’t need to because He was perfectly sinless, holy, and righteous. It was His disciples who brought the paschal lamb into the temple to be inspected and slaughtered.
Though Jesus is our Great High Priest, he didn’t wear the elaborate clothing of the high priest, nor did he wear the linen garments of the tabernacle or temple priests, the sons of Aaron. Yet Jesus fulfilled them truly and spiritually.
Sometimes, without a Christ-centered understanding of typology, certain doctrinal traditions will arise that confounds the harmony and consistency of the gospel in Scripture. Jesus Himself said that the “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Our understanding of Scripture can only be accomplished through a thoroughly Christ-centered, cross-exalted interpretation of Scripture, else holy writ would seem to us as broken, contradictory, disjointed, and incongruous.
A doctrinal tradition has been held by some, suggesting that the high priest wore a rope around his waist or ankle so that when entered into the Holy of Holies once per year on the Day of Atonement, that if he messed up, and died because he messed up, he could be dragged out of the Holy Place, when those holding the rope didn’t hear the sound of the gold bells. This is taken from a non-Christ-centered understanding of this passage:
31“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment, so that it may not tear. 33On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, 34a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. 35And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.” Exodus 28:31-35
The problem is that the high priest did not wear these elaborate garments into the Holy Place when he ministered on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Aaron, and his sons who were high priests after him, wore the elaborate clothing of Exodus 28 every day of the year except for the Day of Atonement. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest removed his daily, elaborate garments and donned linen garments, just like the garments wore by all the other priests ministering in the tabernacle, or the temple in later years. It was commanded by YHVH God,
“But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.” Leviticus 16:3-4
When he had finished those duties for all of the offerings required for Yom Kippur, he would remove the linen garments, bathe himself, and don the daily garments once again.
“Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there. And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.’ Leviticus 16:23-24
Not only that, even if they did tie a rope around the high priest (which there is no Scriptural evidence for), and even if the high priest did wear the daily garments into the Holy of Holiest places, no one could hear the bells anyway because the high priest was the only one ordained to do the work on that day was the only one allowed in the tent of meeting:
“No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel.” Leviticus 16:17
He was the only one commanded to do the work on the Day of Atonement because Jesus required no help to redeem you and me by His substitutionary atoning Sacrifice.
Someone may object, saying, “But didn’t the passage in Exodus say, ‘…when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he does not die’” (Ex 28:35)? Yes. In fact, it reiterates this in Leviticus,
The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died, and the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.” Leviticus 16:1-2
So, I answer with a rhetorical question: Does the Word of God contradict itself? Since the question was rhetorical, the answer is ‘no.’ I’ve preached for years, if there’s something that appears to be a contradiction in the Scriptures, we are interpreting it wrong and are failing to see the paradox of Christ in its typology. These seeming contradictions are meant to draw our attention to Jesus Christ.
Why did YHVH God have the high priest dress like this in the first place? Was it not for Christ to fulfill spiritually and eternally? Of course it was. Jesus did not wear these elaborate garments because He is “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psa 110:4). Aaron, in his elaborate garb, was a type of Christ in his foreshadow of Christ’s earthly ministry. As Aaron wore the garments daily, it reflected Christ’s earthly ministry. How so? While we don’t have the time here to look at every minute detail and intricate nuance of the priestly garments, let’s just examine a few of them:
“It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. And the skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth.” Exodus 28:7-10
Earlier I had cited the passage that speaks of Jesus being “The Everlasting Father.” In that same verse, it says, “and the government shall be upon His shoulder” (Isa 9:6). Jesus is the fulfillment of Israel, governed by God, and He shouldered the responsibility of the Law that Israel could not keep, neither could the Aaronic high priest shoulder, nor could any descendant of Adam handle because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Jesus walked the righteous life that you and I cannot possibly walk, and His righteousness is imputed unto you and me who believe. The twelve names of the tribes of Israel, representative of God’s people, was upon the shoulders of the high priest because on the Day of Atonement, the high priest represented them before God, standing in their place. This foreshadowed, in a type, exactly what Jesus does for all those He has saved by grace through faith. The names are engraved in pure black onyx stones because of the deep darkness of our sins against God.
For the sake of time, we’ll look at the hem of the high priest’s garment, again fulfilled in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Upon the hem were pomegranates made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarns, which were separated by golden bells, going all around the hem of the robe (Ex 28:33-34). Now, keep in mind, the pomegranates were not real fruit. They merely resembled fruit because the fruit reflected an aspect of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ in a foreshadowing type. What was the fruit, works, or product of Christ’s ministry? It was a tangible expression of the gospel that He preached (foreshadowed in a type by the golden bells between the pomegranates).
Every person Jesus healed and every miracle Jesus performed was a proclamation of the gospel. The first sign Jesus accomplished in His Galilean ministry was changing the water to wine at the wedding feast in Cana (John 2:11). Why was this significant? Because salvation in Christ comes by a miraculous transformation called regeneration, whereas God must give us a new heart and a new spirit and take away from us a heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, writing the law on the tables of our hearts (Ezek 36:26-27), which is the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34; Heb 8:7-12).
When Jesus healed the blind, it was because before He saved us, we could not see God (Matt 5:8; 2 Cor 4:4). When Jesus opened deaf ears, it was because before He saved us, we could not hear the gospel to understand it (John 8:43; 1 Cor 2:14). When Jesus healed the lame, it was because before He saved us, we could not walk righteously before God (2 Cor 5:7). When Jesus healed the withered hand, it was because before He saved us, we could not do the righteous works of God (Matt 7:21-23). When Jesus healed the mute mouth, it was because before He saved us, we could not proclaim the blessed and powerful truths of God (John 8:44). When Jesus raised the dead, it was because before He saved us, we were dead in trespasses and sins with the wrath of God abiding upon us (Eph 2:1-3). I think you get the picture.
The golden bells represent the heavenly truth of Christ’s gospel. He spoke the truth on earth, and it was confirmed by the fruit of His ministry (a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate). Jesus is the only Prophet who ever spoke the truth of heaven without sin, schism, or corruption. His spoken gospel truth, typified in a foreshadow by the golden bells, eternally resounds in the true Holy Place—the third heaven, the throne room of God.
And the reason that the word was given to Aaron, and his sons after him, “so that he may not die,” was because it was a proclamation of the gospel promise to them. By wearing what they wore, and performing what they did, they were proclaiming the gospel themselves in types and foreshadows of what the Lord Jesus would later fulfill by His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection from the dead. And trusting in the promised Messiah to be the fulfillment of wisdom, righteousness, and holiness, they would not die; just as Jesus told Martha at the tomb of Lazarus:
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
Sorry about the little rabbit trail, but it was necessary, as you will see. So let’s examine this part of the vision, verse at a time.
The Thrones
“As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.” Daniel 7:9
The thrones, plural were placed, and then the Ancient of Days took His seat. Yet we are never told who sits in the other thrones. Only the Ancient of Days takes His seat. I suggest that since the thrones were placed but not sat upon by others, this reflects what the Puritans used to refer to as the “already, not yet” reality of Christ’s kingdom. It is written of the saints, including you and me,
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:4-6
While you and I are truly in Christ’s kingdom now, we are not yet glorified, and therefore not actually seated with Christ Jesus in a glorified state. Nevertheless, do we not rule and reign with Christ now? Are we not witnesses of His gospel truth and testimonies of His grace and mercy, His love and goodness, and His wisdom and faithfulness? Indeed we are. We are seated with Christ, spiritually speaking, because the work, all of it, was accomplished by Christ.
The Ancient of Days
The Ancient of Days in this verse is a Christophany, an appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ before His incarnation, no different from the vision seen by Isaiah, which was also a Christophany:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1
Even Mr. Spurgeon understood the verse above to be a Christophany, writing in his exposition of the text:
Whenever you read in the Old Testament that any man saw the Lord, understand it of the Second Person of the Divine Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes himself as we have said, visible to men, and God in him.[8]
Moreover, John writes in his gospel account that Isaiah was a witness of the glory of the Lord Jesus (John 12:44).
In Daniel’s vision, the hair of Christ’s head was like pure wool, which is consistent with what John describes in his vision on the Isle of Patmos (Rev 1:14). Because this part of the vision in Daniel comes after the eleventh horn speaks great things (Dan 7:8), and after Hadrian’s dominion had been taken away (Dan 7:26) and given to Christ’s saints (Dan 7:27a) because Christ’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom (Dan 7:27b), since all kingdoms will serve Him (Dan 7:27c), Christ’s “throne was fiery flames” (Dan 7:9). Why? Because Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matt 3:11; Acts 1:5). As is also seen in the first part of the next verse.
“A stream of fire issued and came out from before Him; a thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:10
The stream of fire issued, again, reminds us of the fiery baptism by which we are purged of sin through faith in Christ’s righteousness and His precious blood. It is also a recognition of the fiery trials that we must endure; that is the tribulation in the world (John 16:33), hatred from the world (John 15:18-19), and persecution by the world (2 Tim 3:12). Although our Christ is a consuming fire (Heb 12:29), the fiery baptism from Christ and the fiery trials allowed by Christ do not consume the millions, plural (a thousand thousands) who serve Him and the one hundred million who stood before Him (ten thousand times ten thousand), because, in Christ and by His imputed righteousness, “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 5:9).
Again, that those saints who serve Christ, as well as those who stood before Him, were not seated on thrones in the vision, testifies to the “already, not yet” reality of our being seated together with Christ in heavenly places with Christ.
The Judgment upon the Empires
But the stream of fire issued and came out from before Him was also a fiery judgment upon the four beastly empires seen by Daniel in his vision. The interpreter of this vision who stood before the throne told Daniel as much:
But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. Daniel 7:26
Because,
…our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29
…these kingdoms will be consumed and destroyed by the Lord Jesus Christ to the end. The books opened are the accounts of the persecutions these kingdoms have brought against Christ. Just as Saul of Tarsus persecuting Christ’s church was a persecution of Christ Himself (Acts 9:1-5), so also the empires and their kings are brought into account, being judged by those things written in the open books (Dan 7:10). Daniel witnesses this as the vision continues and he ponders it:
“I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.” Daniel 7:11-12
The fourth beastly kingdom, which devoured the whole earth and stomped the remnant to pieces (Dan 7:23), was killed by the fire of judgment streaming forth from the throne of Jesus (its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire).
But what about the rest of the beasts, [whose] dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season? This could not have been speaking of the beastly kingdoms that came before the Roman Empire. The fourth kingdom in this vision destroyed the previous one, which destroyed the one before that, which destroyed the one before that. I put to you that this speaks of the beastly kingdoms that existed from the fall of the Roman Empire to all the kingdoms today, for that is also suggested in the interpretation given to Daniel:
‘And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’ Daniel 7:27
The first part of this verse speaks of Christ’s kingdom and our being seated together with Him in heavenly places in Christ (Eph 2:6) as the verse in Daniel 7:27 states, “And the kingdom and the dominion… shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” Christ’s kingdom is our possession because we are in Christ and seated together with Him, spiritually speaking.
But the second, highlighted part states that “the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole earth shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” Standing by itself, some folks may suggest that this implies a Christian’s active involvement in human government. Since Jesus is the King of kings, and all empires, kingdoms, and governments belong to Him, and while the dominion of those nation-governments belong to His saints, whereas we are to be faithful stewards of this dominion, we have to keep in mind what the vision unveiled earlier:
“I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.” Daniel 7:11-12
The fourth beast was killed, its body burned with the fire of the gospel, the stream of which is issued from before the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:10). So, who are “the rest of the beasts” in Daniel’s vision here. They cannot be the previous beasts from the vision, explained earlier. I suggest that these are all the other kingdoms around the world, including those that exist today, And remember, human empires, kingdoms, and governments are still seen as beastly by God.
Christ has won these kingdoms by His death upon the cross. He has delegated that dominion to His redeemed saints. How then is this dominion applied by you and me as saints in Christ? We are to rule over them by the truth of the gospel, by the truth of Christ crucified, risen, and ascended. Therefore, we are to be good, law-abiding citizens of the nation in which we live, as it is written,
1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. 8Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:1-8
And again, Peter writes without contradicting Paul:
13Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 1 Peter 2:13-17
The only exception to this is in cases where we, as individual Christians, are forced by the governing authorities to act contrary to honoring Christ with our lives according to Scripture (Dan 3:12; 6:10; Acts 4:19-20).
We are also to pray for those leaders in empires, kingdoms, and governments:
1First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God, and there is one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6who gave Himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:1-6
But someone may ask,
“What if a nation and its leadership goes rogue and starts murdering Christians?”
We must keep in mind that while Paul’s Epistle to the Romans was most likely written during the reign of Claudius, First Peter and First Timothy were written during the reign of Nero. Nero’s persecutions of Christian believers was infamously cruel; and it was during his reign that all of Christ’s apostles were put to death, with John being the only exception, dying during the reign of Nerva. John Foxe wrote of Nero’s persecution:
This was the occasion of the first persecution; and the barbarities exercised on the Christians were such as even excited the commiseration of the Romans themselves. Nero even refined upon cruelty, and contrived all manner of punishments for the Christians that the most infernal imagination could design. In particular, he had some sewed up in skins of wild beasts, and then worried by dogs until they expired; and others dressed in shirts made stiff with wax, fixed to axletrees, and set on fire in his gardens, in order to illuminate them. This persecution was general throughout the whole Roman Empire; but it rather increased than diminished the spirit of Christianity. In the course of it, St. Paul and St. Peter were martyred.[9]
Remember, that although the redeemed of Christ are not destined by God to receive His wrath (1 Thess 5:9)—Jesus paid that debt—we are promised in God’s Word that we would suffer tribulation in the world (John 16:33) and persecution by the world (2 Tim 3:12) because of hatred from the world (John 15:18-19). The church has suffered and endured the wrath of man, and the wrath of man is ever-present with us today. Moreover, severe persecution can come from those professing to be Christians. Again, John Foxe wrote:
The proceedings of Waldo and the reformed, occasioned the first rise of the inquisitors; for Pope Innocent III authorized certain monks as inquisitors, to inquire for, and deliver over, the reformed to the secular power. The process was short, as an accusation was deemed adequate to guilt, and a candid trial was never granted to the accused.
…The power of the inquisitors was unlimited; they proceeded against whom they pleased, without any consideration of age, sex, or rank. Let the accusers be ever so infamous, the accusation was deemed valid; and even anonymous informations, sent by letter, were thought sufficient evidence. To be rich was a crime equal to heresy; therefore many who had money were accused of heresy, or of being favourers of heretics, that they might be obliged to pay for their opinions. The dearest friends or nearest kindred could not, without danger, serve any one who was imprisoned on account of religion. To convey to those who were confined, a little straw, or give them a cup of water, was called favouring of the heretics, and they were prosecuted accordingly. No lawyer dared to plead for his own brother, and their malice even extended beyond the grave; hence the bones of many were dug up and burnt, as examples to the living. If a man on his deathbed was accused of being a follower of Waldo, his estates were confiscated, and the heir to them defrauded of his inheritance; and some were sent to the Holy Land, while the Dominicans took possession of their houses and properties, and, when the owners returned, would often pretend not to know them. These persecutions were continued for several centuries under different popes and other great dignitaries of the Catholic Church.[10]
Innocent III (c.1160-1216), whose papacy spanned from 1198 until his death, authorized a violent military crusade, which was enforced from 1209 until thirteen years beyond his death in 1229. The campaign was ordered to wipe out the Cathars in southern France. The Cathars promoted a return to simple, biblical messages of piety and poverty. One of the most insidious campaigns of the crusade was the murderous massacre of approximately 20,000 citizens at Béziers in 1209. This twenty-year crusade against the Albigenses also banned Bible reading and interpretation by those not ordained as clergy in the Roman Catholic Church.
Persecution against Peter Waldo and his followers started in 1189, twenty years earlier than the Albigensian Crusade. Waldo preached boldly to the common man, not in Latin, but in their own language. He and his followers believed in the supreme authority of Scripture alone.
If such persecution should be occasioned upon our lives, then we should trust implicitly upon Christ alone, remembering that we are crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20) and that Jesus commanded us to deny self and to take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). Therefore, we can rejoice that, in Christ, we are eternal people, as it is written:
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 56:11
Like a Son of Man
We come, now, to the heart of the chapter, verses thirteen and fourteen, dealing with the Son of Man coming in clouds before the Ancient of Days. Let’s look at these two verses separately, while considering that they are intrinsically bound together.
“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.” Daniel 7:13
It is time to address the difficulty that many of you have seen coming because most Christians who have been redeemed for even a few months have probably heard that the Son of Man was one of the most frequently used titles by the Lord Jesus in referring to Himself as the Messiah. In the four gospel accounts, Jesus used the term “Son of Man” 81 times: thirty times in Matthew; fourteen times in Mark; twenty-five times in Luke; and twelve times in John. Here’s the difficulty:
“If the Ancient of Days is Jesus, as I’ve laid out scripturally earlier, and if Jesus is the Son of Man, then is Jesus appearing before Himself?”
The simple answer to that is “no.” It is slightly akin to the question posed by babes in Christ that inquires: “If Jesus is God, and the Father is God, was Jesus praying to Himself.” The simple answer to that one, again, is “no.” This latter question has to do with Persons of the Trinity. This former question concerning the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man in Daniel 7 has to do with a vision which deals with typology, parables, and similitudes, as it is written,
I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets. Hosea 12:10, KJV[11]
Just like we had seen in John’s vision from Revelation 5:5-7 earlier, whereas the “Lamb” had a symbolic presentation of Jesus Messiah without being Jesus Messiah, one little letter in the Chaldean alef-beyt is significant in understanding the meaning of the text. The verse tells us that the one who approached the Ancient of Days seated upon the throne is “like a Son of Man.” The term in Chaldean is כבר אנשׁ (kh’-VAR en-ASH). The Chaldean term for “son of man” is בר אנשׁ (bar en-ASH), bar meaning “son,” and enash meaning “man.” By placing the letter כ (khaf) in front of the word for “son,” it makes the term mean “like a son…,” not the Son of Man.
What then is going on in this vision? I suggest that, in order to show Daniel this vision, an angel is used as a messenger and ministering spirit to present the gospel for this vision. While Jesus is the One seated upon the throne, He sits in this enthroned position as the Son of God, who is indeed very God, the same in essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and equal in power and glory. Yet because the Lord Jesus is the only One of the Triune God with a body (Col 2:9), it must be Him seated on the throne as a Christophany. At the same time, the angel representing the incarnate God in His humanity, is shown to Daniel as before the Ancient of Days “like a Son of Man.”
The Ministry of Angels
In the Scriptures we are asked rhetorically concerning angels,
Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14
The ministry of angels is significant in the Scriptures, especially as it pertains to the gospel of Christ. The angel Gabriel gave Zechariah the message of the birth of the Elijah-like forerunner to Messiah (Luke 1:11-25). It was Gabriel as well who gave Mary the message of her conception and the birth of Christ (Luke 1:26-38). An angel of the Lord announced the birth of Christ to shepherds in the field (Luke 2:9-12), followed by a host of angels praise God (Luke 2:13-14). An angel of the Lord warned Joseph in a dream, so Jesus could be protected in His infancy (Matt 2:13); and an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph again in a dream to tell him it was safe to return to Israel from Egypt (Matt 2:19-20), thus fulfilling Scripture (Hosea 11:1; Matt 2:15). Angels ministered to the Lord Jesus after His temptations in the wilderness (Matt 4:11), perhaps in the same way angels ministered to Elijah with food and drink under the broom tree (1 Ki 19:5-7). Angels strengthened the Lord Jesus when He prayed in Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed (Luke 22:43). Angels announced Christ’s resurrection (Matt 28:5-7; Mark 16:6-7; Luke 24:4-7; John 20:12-13). Angels attended the Lord’s ascension into heaven (Acts 1:10), and even proclaimed the promise of His return (Acts 1:11). According to the Lord Jesus, angels will attend His glorious and triumphant return (Matt 25:31).
The ministry of angels was not confined to Christ’s ministry. Their ministry is extended unto faithful believers as well. Angels protected David when he was in the land of Philistines, Israel’s enemy (Psa 34:7). Angels have been used to release the apostles from prison (Acts 5:17-20; 12:6-11). An angel directed Philip in his evangelistic ministry (Acts 8:26). An angel directed Cornelius to call upon Peter in Joppa so he could be taught the gospel (Acts 10:3). An angel encouraged Paul so he may encourage others (Acts 27:21-26). Jesus rather indicates that those who die in Christ will be carried home by angels (Luke 16:22; 2 Cor 5:8).
Moreover, the angel Gabriel was sent to answer and explain Daniel’s prayer (Dan 9:20-27).
Angels are created (Psa 148:2-5), spirit beings (Mark 12:25; Heb 1:14), who are higher in prominence than created mankind (Psa 8:5; Heb 2:7). The descriptions of winged cherubim (Ezek 10:19; 11:22, e.g.) with features like animals (Rev 4:6-8, e.g.), or winged seraphim (Isa 6:2, e.g.) notwithstanding, angels are often revealed to mankind as having a masculine, human form (Gen 18:2; Zech 1:8-11; Mark 16:5-6; Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10; 10:30). If everything is about the Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:39), and if by Christ’s exaltation is the Triune God most glorified (Phil 2:9-11), then would it not stand to reason that the appearance of angels, whether in winged form as cherubim or seraphim, or in the form of men, that it is because their appearance exalts some attribute of the Lord Jesus Christ?
The purpose of our salvation, growth in grace, and increasing strength in faith as we continue to shuffle upon this mortal coil is not to merely be witnesses of what Christ has done to save us, but to actually be conformed to the image of Christ—as much as is possible for a sinner saved by grace can be, by God’s grace. It is written,
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-29
All the unfallen angels have been created to honor and exalt Christ.[12] They are a reflection of who Christ is and what He has done. We can therefore logically conclude that an angel appears like a Son of Man, and that this blessed vision gives Daniel a glimpse of the gospel truth, Christ Jesus being the enthroned Son of God as well as being the incarnate Son of Man coming with clouds.
Having presented all this information above about angelology,[13] this may beg the question: “Could the millions (a thousand thousands) serving Christ in Daniel 7:10, and the one hundred thousand (ten thousand times ten thousand) standing before His throne actually be angels instead of saints?”
My answer: Absolutely. More than likely, that is what we are seeing in John’s vision in the Book of Revelation. Notice what it says in the opening of John’s writing:
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Revelation 1:1-2
Jesus gives the vision Himself. He sent it by “His angel,” the Greek words ἀγγέλου αὐτοῦ (ANG-el-oo how-TOO). So, therefore, when John receives the vision of the revelation of Jesus Christ, the unveiling and apocalypse of who He is and what He has done—Christ’s gospel—he is seeing a heavenly vision that is no different from what Moses saw in the presence of the preincarnate Christ (Num 12:8), and no different from what Daniel saw in his vision from Daniel 7.
Again, the question or objection that may arise concerning the words spoken in Revelation 1:17-18 as cited earlier, could be this: “Was that the Lord Jesus Christ speaking, or an angel speaking His words?” My answer is this: The words are Christ’s. This is much in the same way that we refer to our understanding the transmission of God’s holy, inspired, and infallible Word. We use the same rhetoric. Were the books of the Bible written by men or God? The answer: Yes. It is God’s Word, yet He, by the Holy Spirit, breathed out those words through those men (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:19-21).[14]
Coming on the Clouds of Heaven
It was the reference from Daniel 7:13 by which Caiaphas as high priest condemned the Lord Jesus for blasphemy, and death thereby, as it is written,
63But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard His blasphemy. 66What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Matthew 26:63-66
The Jews of Jesus’ day recognized the “Son of Man” from Daniel 7:13 as a reference to the “Christ, the Son of God.” The above reference from Matthew’s gospel account occurred during the Lord Jesus’ second Jewish trial.[15] The high priest tore his elaborate garments (Ex 28:1-43), which was forbidden in the Law of Moses (Lev 21:10). At sunrise, they gathered the Sanhedrin to officially condemn Jesus to death, and then sent Him to Pontius Pilate.
The term Jesus used, “coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt 26:64), also seems to be referring to His second coming, which He mentions to His disciples, as well as by His angels after as He ascended into heaven:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matthew 24:29-30
And when He had said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11
The Dominion and Glory of Christ’s Kingdom
We’ll conclude Part Six of this series with a look at Daniel 7:14, which says,
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.
We have to keep in mind that when Daniel received this vision in the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, 475 years before Christ’s earthly ministry in 28 AD, 445 years before Christ’s birth. In his vision, Daniel receives a glimpse of what Christ’s gospel accomplishes in its destruction of these world empires. So, when it says that the Lord Jesus “was given dominion and glory and a kingdom…,” this is not to suggest that Christ as eternal God didn’t own the heavens and the earth in the first place. He did. It was never not His. The Triune God delegated authority (dominion) of the earth to Adam and Eve, but when Adam sinned in Eden’s Garden, Adam essentially handed that dominion, that charge and responsibility, over to Satan, who became the god of this world thereby (2 Cor 4:4).
Therefore, as the Son of Man, by His holy, sinless, and righteous life lived, by His paying the sin debt through His sufferings, death, and shed blood upon Calvary’s tree, and by His rising from the dead, the Lord Jesus as fully man, received the dominion back for men. So, the authority and dominion that Adam lost was won back by Christ at Calvary; and it is His to delegate as He wills to His redeemed saints.
At the same time, as infinite and eternal God, restored to the glory He once knew with the Father before the world was (John 17:5), when it says that the dominion, glory, and kingdom has been given to Him, it reflects the same thing the Lord Jesus said to His disciples after His resurrection when they were on the mount in Galilee:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
God never lost His authority in heaven and on earth. Although Satan is the god of this world, he needed permission from YHVH God to afflict Job (Job 1-2). When Jesus said this in the verse above, and when it was written by Daniel from the vision he saw, what was given to Jesus was the ordained work of redemption from before the world was. The work of Christ’s gospel was given to the second Person of the Trinity to bring all things to pass by the gospel truth of Jesus’ incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and the promise of His return. This great honor of redeeming the fallen world was given to the second Person of the Trinity and to no other. No precious sacrificial animal, no holy man walking upon the earth, no angel who winged the ether realms could fulfill the work that was accomplished by Jesus of Nazareth. God must become a flesh and bone human being to bring all glory to God alone. Therefore, the Lord Jesus is enthroned gloriously upon high, as it is written:
3He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”? Or again, “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”? 6And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “Let all God’s angels worship Him.” 7Of the angels He says, “He makes His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire.” 8But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness beyond Your companions.” 10And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; 11they will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12like a robe You will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end.” 13And to which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”? Hebrews 1:3-13
Read “Understanding Israel from Scripture, Part One” by clicking here.
Read “Understanding Israel from Scripture, Part Two” by clicking here.
Read “Understanding Israel from Scripture, Part Three” by clicking here.
Read “Understanding Israel from Scripture, Part Four” by clicking here.
Read “Understanding Israel from Scripture, Part Five” by clicking here.
ENDNOTES
[1] I had not mentioned this in Part Four: There have been various dates suggested for the birth of Christ ranging from 7 BC to 2 AD based on historical records for when the provincial census took place. When the worldly or extra-biblical historical records contain contradictions in dates and times, I discard them completely and make my determination upon the authority of God’s Word, cross-checking the scriptural information with undisputed historical data clearly substantiated in historical records. While the exact day when Tiberius Caesar ascended to the throne may be in question, the month and year of the start of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, in September of the year 14 AD. This is undisputed by historians, which is also approximately a month after the death of Augustus Caesar, who died August 19, 14 AD in the town of Nola, Italy.
[2] MacArthur Study Bible; John F. MacArthur, Jr.; Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN; © 2005. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible, © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.
[3] The Moody Handbook of Theology: Revised and Expanded, Paul Enns; Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL; © 1989, 2008, 2014; Ch.19 “Theology Proper: Doctrine of God” pg.194
[4] There are many “seeming” or “apparent” contradictions in the Bible. This is why it is so vitally important to have a Christo-centric, or Christ-centered, view in our interpretation of Scripture.
[5] We may therefore understand that Jesus being seated at the right hand of the Father is a gospel anthropomorphism because God the Father, as Dr. Enns explained, “does not have corporeity or physical form” (cf. Psa 110:1; Matt 22:44; 25:64; Mark 14:63; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:34; Acts 7:55; Eph 1:20; 1 Pet 3:22; Heb 1:3; et al).
[6] Some of this we will cover a little later in this article because a question remains, “How and why did John see a “Lamb” in Revelation 5? And how does that fit with “a son of man” in Daniel 7?”
[7] I’ve already covered a basic definition of typology in Part Four of this series, citing a few examples from Scripture of types of Christ, we won’t cover that here.
[8] The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 60; C. H. Spurgeon; Pilgrim Publications, Pasadena, Texas, 1979; “Exposition by Charles H. Spurgeon”, “Isaiah VI”, pg. 611
[9] Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, John Foxe; ch.2, section i: “The First Persecution, Under Nero, A.D. 67”; para. 2.
[10] Ibid. ch.4, section ii: “Persecution of the Waldenses in France”; para. 6, 7
[11] Those familiar with John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress know that this is the verse Mr. Bunyan used as justification for his allegory.
[12] Even the fallen angels fear Christ (Jas 2:19); some of them even falling before the Lord Jesus and bowing down to Him (Psa 66:3; Mark 5:6-7; Luke 8:28).
[13] Of course, this was not an exhaustive treatment of the topic of angelology.
[14] God forbid that I give the impression I have all the answers. I am merely a wretched sinner saved by God’s grace who points to the Answer—the Lord Jesus Messiah.
[15] Christ Jesus was first taken to Annas’ house, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, according to John 18:12-14. This was Jesus’ first trial among the Jews. According to the historian, Flavius Josephus, Annas was appointed high priest by Quirinius and later deposed by the Roman governor Valerius Gratus. Gratus eventually appointed Joseph Caiaphas as high priest, though not immediately after Annas; several others served between them.