Daniel 7:13, commentary and pictures

The one like the Son of man is Jesus Christ, who comes with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of days, God the Father in heaven, and is brought near before Him in the holiest where the Father sits. This coming is not His return to earth at the second advent, but His entrance as great High Priest into the most holy place at the close of His mediatorial work to begin the cleansing of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment and to receive dominion, glory and a kingdom, foretold to occur at the end of the 2300 days in 1844. It is the Lord's coming to His temple foretold by Malachi and the bridegroom's coming to the marriage in the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, after which He descends in kingly power to take those who awaited Him to live with Him forever. Coming thus to the Father He receives an everlasting kingdom as lawful heir, redeeming by suffering and death what Satan claimed, until all in heaven and earth submit to Him as King of kings and Satan is destroyed by death to trouble Him and the saints no more. Jesus claimed this scene as His own when answering Caiaphas, declaring He would be seated at God's right hand and come in the clouds with power and glory, so the condemned prisoner before earthly judges will appear escorted by angels as supreme Judge to raise the dead, judge each according to deeds and gather His people.

Persons in the Vision

The one like the Son of man is Jesus Christ, the personal Saviour who ascended to heaven. He now ministers before God's throne in the heavenly courts and intercedes there for humanity. He is brought near before the Ancient of days, coming with the clouds of heaven to God.

The Ancient of days is God the Father in heaven, the Lord God of heaven, the living God. He is monarch of the universe and of an everlasting kingdom, the Most High, great and holy above all things, the omnipotent Ruler. He alone is great, the Source of all wisdom, the Ruler of the present and of destinies, and the Revealer of the future.

He is to be exalted with His law, while the human agent is kept out of sight, hid in Christ. He controls all kingdoms and works through the successive kingdoms with their statesmen, councils and powerful armies. By His might and power He exalts whom He will to carry out His purposes, casting down one mighty ruler and setting up another in his place to abase human pride and lay human glory in the dust. Before Him man is seen as poor, frail, short-lived, erring and guilty in lifting up his soul unto vanity, and all human authority, even monarchs and statesmen, the highest and most learned, are as dust in the balance.

The coming is with the clouds of heaven to the Father, where the Son of man is brought near before Him. His journey is represented as borne in a cloudy chariot with wheels like flaming fire, escorted by angels all around it. He enters into the holiest, the Holy of Holies within the veil, where the Father sits.

Historical Setting and Sealing

The night vision was given when Israel was in captivity, with the temple destroyed and the temple service suspended, leaving the people without any outward representation of God's presence. It belongs to the visions granted to God's prophets while His people were captive in Babylon, when outward forms of worship had been removed and Temple services had ceased.

God permitted the captivity and stopped the ritual service because religion had centered in the ceremonies of the sacrificial system, outward forms had become all-important, and the spirit of true worship was lost. The services had been corrupted with heathen traditions, and in the sacrificial rites the people did not look beyond the shadow to the substance, failing to discern Christ as the true offering for the sins of men. He removed the outward glory to keep outward ceremonies from becoming the sum-total of religion, to purge principles and practices from heathenism, to revive heart service, and to reveal the spiritual.

When the people in the land of captivity turned to the Lord with repentance and called to God in humiliation and distress, He manifested Himself to them though they lacked the outward representation of His presence. The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shone into their minds and hearts, and He gave visions of the future to His prophets. Those visions unfolded the overthrow of the oppressors of God's people, the coming of the Redeemer, and the establishment of the everlasting kingdom.

The verse belongs to the revelations of the mysteries of ages to come given to Daniel as God's ambassador and recorded in chapters seven to twelve of his book. What Daniel was taught to see and record was taught in figures and symbols, covering the history of this world till the close of time for coming generations. God put the spirit of prophetic power upon Daniel and gave him understanding in all visions and dreams, with knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom. This was because Daniel clung to God with unwavering trust, firmness, self-denial, and purity of motive, and the Lord regarded him with approval and blessing, honoring those who honor Him.

The prophecy was not fully understood even by Daniel himself, for it was not given him to understand all that God had revealed of the divine purpose. Like the rest of those prophecies it was to be shut up and sealed even to the time of the end, with the blessed assurance that at the end of the days, in the closing period of this world's history, Daniel would rest and then stand in his lot and place. Daniel's prophecies provide a figurative outline of historical events leading to the close of earth's history, and their fulfillment was recognized as events unfolded in order. The prophecy was opened at the appointed time as part of the warnings that prepared people for the coming of the Son of man and for judgment, helping to explain John's visions in Revelation.

Coming to the Father

The coming is to the Ancient of Days in heaven, not a return to earth at the second advent, for the Son of man comes with the clouds of heaven before the Father in the heavenly temple at the close of His mediatorial work to receive dominion, glory, and a kingdom. This coming marks His entrance as great High Priest into the most holy place in the holy of holies to begin the last acts of His work: the cleansing of the sanctuary, the investigative judgment, and atonement for those entitled to its benefits. It occurs before His later coming to redeem His people, destroy the wicked, execute judgment, and give reward to His servants.

This coming was foretold to occur at the end of the 2300 days in 1844, when Jesus rose from His mediatorial throne and went to the Holiest to receive His kingdom and power to reign. This is distinct from Michael's later standing up to display kingly power in judgment and deliverance. The same event is described as the Lord's coming to His temple foretold by Malachi and as the bridegroom's coming to the marriage in the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. While there Christ is joined in marriage to the New Jerusalem, and His followers on earth follow His work by faith.

In this movement the Father first rises from the throne and goes in a flaming chariot within the veil into the Holy of Holies and sits. Then Jesus rises, bids His waiting people keep their garments spotless and wait until He returns from the wedding to receive them, steps into the cloudy chariot, is borne to the Holiest, and stands before the Father with a bell and a pomegranate on the hem of His garment. His journey is borne in a cloudy chariot with wheels like flaming fire, escorted by angels, into the holiest where the Father sits.

There He receives the prayers of those who keep faith fixed on Him and breathes on them the Holy Spirit, bringing light, power, love, joy and peace. Those who rise with Him by faith keep their eyes on Him and send faith and prayer to Him in the Holiest. After completing this work in the most holy place — cleansing the sanctuary and making special atonement — He descends in kingly power to take the precious ones who patiently awaited His return to live with Him forever.

The vision is also applied as Christ's literal, personal return to earth in glory, majesty and power: He rides upon a cloudy chariot escorted by angels and accompanied by the glory of the Father. The cloud is the sign of the Son of man in heaven, the sleeping saints are raised and the living changed and gathered, He establishes His kingdom on earth, subdues all authority and rules over the nations. The image of the Messiah's arrival in the clouds was associated with believers' expectation that Christ would soon return, and with hope that was disappointed when the anticipated event did not take place at that time.

Kingdom and Prophetic Context

Coming to the Ancient of days, Christ receives dominion and glory and an everlasting kingdom once His work for His people is complete. Its subjects are the heirs of salvation, over whom He reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. That kingdom is established after the overthrow of the oppressors of God's people, with the coming of the Redeemer unfolded as the future hope given to God's prophets when Israel was in captivity.

He becomes the lawful heir to the kingdoms of the earth, and they are given into His hands as an everlasting possession in the way appointed by His Father. He does not gain them by worshiping Satan to save Himself from suffering, but by choosing a life of suffering and a dreadful death to redeem by His own life what Satan claimed. Through His death Satan's own end was made certain and the kingdom secured to Jesus. After a season all in heaven and earth submit to Him, and Satan himself is given into His hands to be destroyed by death, never more to trouble Jesus nor the saints in glory.

The same chapter shows the dominion of the little horn taken away at the close of the 1260 days, an event identified with Berthier's capture of Rome in 1798 and the imprisonment of the Pope. That little-horn prophecy closely parallels the leopard-like beast of Revelation 13, pointing to the papacy, which succeeded to the power and seat and authority of the Roman Empire.

Claimed by Jesus as Judge

When He stood to answer Caiaphas, Jesus claimed Daniel's vision of one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven as His own, declaring that He was the Christ, the Son of God, who would be seated at God's right hand in glory and come in the clouds with power and glory. His answer plainly declared His character and mission, even though He knew it would make His death certain. Though then accused before earthly judges, He presented Himself as the one who would sit at God's right hand and return in power and glory.

The vision thus points to a complete reversal of His trial, in which the then-condemned prisoner, accused and abused, appears as supreme Judge of all the earth. Escorted by angels, He pronounces sentence on His enemies, and His decisions are final. At that final judgment the dead are raised, hidden things are brought to light, and each person receives judgment according to deeds.

The vision is also fulfilled when God's people look up and see the Son of man seated on His throne in heaven. They see the marks of His humiliation and hear Him ask His Father and the holy angels that those given to Him may be with Him.

Present Call and Warning

The coming of one like the Son of man with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of days stands connected with the nearness of God's judgments and the urgent need for warning, spiritual cleansing, and conversion. His coming follows the proclamation of the judgment, and that warning announces that His second coming is near. The announcement of His coming is an essential part of the everlasting gospel. His coming calls for practical godliness and preparation, for the Lord is soon to come in the clouds of heaven.

Belief in this near coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven, the soon appearing of Christ, does not make the true Christian neglectful and careless of ordinary business or idle while waiting. It makes him diligent in business with fidelity, promptness and thoroughness. Veracity, faithfulness and integrity are tested and proved in temporal things. Hold upon future immortal life depends upon conduct in the concerns of this life, because the strictest integrity is indispensable to the formation of a righteous character.

The Son of man coming to the Ancient of days is Jesus rising from His mediatorial throne and going to the Holiest as the Bridegroom to receive His kingdom, rather than coming to earth at that time to deliver His people. He goes to the Ancient of Days in heaven, not to earth, entering the holiest as the Bridegroom to receive His kingdom. This event was connected with the shut door, and the vision settled many who heard it upon that teaching.