Daniel 7:8-14

Pompous words reverberate in America today. We know that arrogance and pride the Father hates! Is this indicative of the spirit of the anti-Christ?

How precious is the knowledge that Jesus Christ conquers all in His return!

Daniel 7:8-14

8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

9 “I watched till thrones were put in place,

And the Ancient of Days was seated;

His garment was white as snow,

And the hair of His head was like pure wool.

His throne was a fiery flame,

Its wheels a burning fire;

10 A fiery stream issued

And came forth from before Him.

A thousand thousands ministered to Him;

Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.

The court was seated,

And the books were opened.

11 “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

13 “I was watching in the night visions,

And behold, One like the Son of Man,

Coming with the clouds of heaven!

He came to the Ancient of Days,

And they brought Him near before Him.

14 Then 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 the one

Which shall not be destroyed.

The descriptor “little” is derogatory. The close recounting of the deeds of Antiochus IV throughout the remaining visions suggests that the little horn likely refers to him. However, if Rome is the fourth beast, this horn may alternatively represent the antichrist. 

The description of the beasts and the little horn prompts the arrival of the Ancient of Days. He passes judgment and makes way for “one like a son of man”. Many of the descriptive elements for the Ancient of Days are echoed in the pseudepigraphical  book First Enoch.

God sitting as judge  over creation is a common biblical motif. They did not merit the same sort of destruction that the conduct of the fourth beast demanded.

Following the judgment by the Ancient of Days, a human messianic figure appears. He is presented before the Ancient One and given a dominion that will never pass away. The Aramaic phrase used here is an idiom that can be translated as “one like a human being.” Jesus adopts this phrase as a title (“Son of Man”).  “One like a son of man” is probably best understood as a messianic reference—which makes the most sense. Messianic expectations of the time anticipated one who would drive out foreign enemies, legitimize the temple religion, and usher in a period of utopia for the people of Israel. The references to kingdom and dominion in this verse are what the Jews were anticipating. They sought an end to the world’s kingdoms by the establishment of God’s kingdom, which also meant an end to their suffering. This kingdom concept is carried into the Gospels. Faithlife Bible.

The horns here represent rulers. Even though the little one begins small, it would become the greatest of all.

Ancient of Days is a reference to God the Father as certified by the submission of “the One like the Son of Man” to Him and His role in judgment. Fiery flame symbolizes judgment. Its wheels refers to the chariot in which God rides to battle to exercise His sovereignty and to appear as Judge. A thousand thousands … Ten thousand times ten thousand, the reference here is to innumerable servants. The books record the names and deeds of those who will be judged.

The idea that the fate of the wicked is fiery destruction is apparent in the OT, but reaches its fullest expression in the NT teaching about hell.

Son of Man is Semitic for “human being.” Daniel saw One like the “Son of Man,” indicating that He is not a man in the strict sense, but rather the perfect representation of humanity. Jewish and Christian expositors have identified this individual as the Messiah. Jesus Himself used this name to emphasize His humanity as the incarnate Son of God. Jesus coming in judgment.

The Son of Man will reign over all things as the regent of Almighty God. In contrast to the vanishing nature of the previous empires, His dominion is … everlasting. NKJ Bible.

Deuteronomy 33:2  And he said:“The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand came a fiery law for them.

1 Kings 22:19 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left.

Psalm 2:6 “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”

Revelation 1:14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;