“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's night vision has just shown four beasts rising out of the sea — empires that grab, tear and devour. Then a figure appears who is not a beast at all but a man, and God hands Him everything the beasts fought over.
A Man Where the Beasts Had Been
The earlier scenes end in judgment; this one shows what that judgment made room for.
Hamilton SmithThe judgment of the beast clears the way for the setting up of the Kingdom of Christ. This glorious event is foretold by a third vision, in which Daniel sees one like the Son of Man come with the clouds of heaven. He receives His kingdom as Man from God, the Ancient of Days. His dominion is world-wide, embracing "all people, nations, and languages." His dominion will be everlasting. It will not, like other kingdoms, pass away. It will never be destroyed.
The vision also names the One this Man comes to.
William KellyA new vision follows (verses 13 and 14), in contrast with the powers pictured as savage beasts. The new object that stands out is "one like the Son of man." ... The Ancient of days stands for God Himself, "the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity."
Why "Son of Man" and Not "Messiah"
The title matters. Commentators say it is wider than "Messiah," and that the change of title followed His rejection.
William KellyOn Daniel 7: it is not now the Messiah, owned as King in Zion, but ONE in the form of the Son of man, a title of far greater and much wider meaning. It is the change from Psalm 2 to Psalm 8, brought about by the rejection of the Messiah.
The word "like" has made some readers doubt that this figure is Christ at all.
William KellySome object that John would hardly have said of Christ "one like to the Son of man." The objection has no force. It is exactly what he does say in Revelation 1, where our Lord alone can be meant, beyond dispute. The likeness is to a character, not to a person.
A Kingdom Given, Not Seized
He does not seize the kingdom. God gives it to Him — and the vision shows the Giver and the Receiver as two Persons.
Edward DennettThe Ancient of days is the Son of man; but in this vision they are distinguished. It is often so in the Psalms. The Messiah is Jehovah; and yet in Psalm 110 Jehovah speaks to Adonai: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." It is the mystery of the divine Persons. They are distinguished in Daniel's vision because, as Son of man, our Lord receives everything from God. So, after He is brought to the Ancient of days, it says, "There was given Him a dominion."
Both Son of Man and Ancient of Days
In Revelation 1 John sees Christ and describes Him with the very features Daniel gave the Ancient of Days.
W. W. FeredayHead and hairs white like wool remind us of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9. The Son of Man comes to Him with the clouds of Heaven, and receives all the rights and dignities of the Kingdom. But verse 22 of the same chapter lets us know that the Son of Man is Himself the Ancient of Days! ... So the Son of Man and the Ancient of Days are one!
Daniel is the Jewish prophet here; John, writing Revelation, is the Christian one.
William KellyThe Jewish prophet sees Christ only as man. The Christian prophet sees Him as man, but as God as well.
Jesus' Own Claim
The clearest evidence that this vision is about Christ came from His own lips.
W. TrotterCan there be any doubt that the Saviour had this prophecy in mind? He said to the high priest, "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" (Matthew 26:64).
Who Shares the Reign
The vision does not end with one Man crowned. Others share what He receives.
Hamilton SmithIn the third vision it is the Son of Man that comes with the clouds of heaven, and to Him is given the kingdom that will never pass away. Here we learn a further truth. The people of God of all ages — all those who through the history of the world have been in touch with heaven — will share with the Son of Man in His glorious reign.
Summary
- Beasts judged. God cuts down the four empires first; only then does the Man appear. The kingdom changes hands.
- A Man crowned. He comes as "one like the Son of man" — a wider title than Messiah, reaching to all nations. It is the change from Psalm 2 to Psalm 8, brought about by His rejection.
- A kingdom given. He does not grab it. He comes to the Ancient of Days and receives it, because as Man He takes everything from God.
- God Himself. Later in the chapter the Son of Man turns out to be the Ancient of Days, and John describes Him with the same features — Man and God in one Person.
- Never destroyed. His rule reaches all peoples and never ends — and the people of God of every age share it with Him.