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Daniel 7: 13-14,” …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. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.”
Revelation 5:9, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…”
Short Thoughts:
The Son of Man overcomes the chaos of the beasts and receives universal dominion by His blood.
Long Thoughts:
A few things to mention here. First, notice that this final ruler of the earth—analogous to the rock that grew into a cosmic mountain in chapter 2 – this final ruler is “one like a son of man.” That’s significant beacause every world power before him has been presented as a “beast” of some kind. The dismantling of God’s design that happened in Eden (i.e., humanity bowing to an animal / creation) continues throughout human history. The bestial, the animalistic, the monstrous rule over the image-bearers of God. And so long as humanity seeks their ultimate good apart from YHWH’s design (which is the shared theme pictured here as bestial authority), there can be no peace or righteousness or glory of God covering the earth. Like I mentioned my note on this page some years ago—as in Narnia, so in reality, the world will never be right until a “Son of Adam (Man)” sits of the throne. And that is exactly what happens in these verses. The bestial rule of God-opposing powers is overthrown by the dominion of the Son of Man, a dominion attained not through animalistic warring and raging and clawing, but one which is “given” him by the Ancient of Days Himself…..The Son of Man is granted the keys to the universe, as it were.
And how does he receive it? What is it about this son of man that makes him worthy to receive the dominion and glory and kingdom such that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him? How is it that this son of man achieves without a fight what the raging beasts have failed to secure even with all their talons and teeth and horns? The specific answer is not given in Daniel, but it is given by John in Revelation 5:6-10 —
…I saw a Lamb, standing as though it had been slain…And He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne…And they sang a new song, saying, “ Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Why is the Son of Man worthy to receive universal dominion in Daniel 7? As Revelation 5 answers, it is because He was slain and by His blood He ransomed people for God—from the wrath of God—from every language and people and nation. What the beasts could not and can never secure through violence and animalistic power, the Son of Man—the Lamb—secures by laying down His life in the obedience of love. The monsters are overthrown when the Lamb is slaughtered….the beasts are conquered when the Lamb raises his head in sovereign love to receive the blade of wrath in place of His own. Obedience—which is, ultimately, Love—conquers the world…Quiet, patient, humble, faithful obedience—Love of God and love of other—quells the chaos of the monsters.
But it ought also to be added that it is not just a generic “love” that conquers—every liberal theologian and non-religious millennial could agree wholeheartedly with that statement—no, the love that conquers (because, rest assured, it is love that conquers, it love that wins—though not in a Rob Bell-ish way), the love that conquers is the love that manifests the One True God who is love. It conquers not because “love” is some magic equation, but because the One True God for whom the universe exists and whose-self-revelation is the end of all things IS LOVE. Self-outpouring to the end that the beloved might be glad in YHWH (i.e., love, i.e., obedience, i.e., pretty much everything else), is the act by which the Son of Man / Lamb conquers because it is precisely in this act that the purpose of the world is achieved, that is, the communication of the Name of God, the glorification of the Father, the revelation of the beauty of God…..
The warring of the beasts is for the sake of their own power and glory and dominion, but the Lamb lays down His life in order to glorify the One who sent Him, the One True God….and in that climactic act of love and obedience, He becomes—as it were—the perfect image of the invisible God. In so doing, He achieves the end for which the world was created and shows Himself to be worthy of receiving (indeed, shows that from all eternity He has possessed) the Name above every name—and the dominion associated with it (Phil.2:6-11).
Its interesting also to see that the dominion the son of man receives in Daniel 7:14 corresponds precisely with those ransomed by the blood of the Lamb in Revelation 5:9. This is a king whose rule is established not on the blood of His enemies, or His slaves, or His predecessors, but on His own blood. It has been said that no kingdom is established without the shedding of blood….this is true for the eternal kingdom as well, except that the blood shed, the blood that consecrates the everlasting foundations of the true and final kingdom of the earth, is the blood of the one who sits on the throne, the blood of the king Himself. Those over whom Christ rules are those for whom Christ died. His subjects—every one of them—have been ransomed from damnation by His own precious blood, like that of a lamb without spot or blemish. What king is like our King? What lord is like our Lord? What god is like our God? How true are the words of the old hymns:
And when before the throne, I stand in Him complete, Jesus died my soul to save my lips shall still repeat….
And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song (Rev.5:9), ‘twill be the old, old story, that I have loved so long…of Jesus and His love….
For all eternity, every saint in glory, every one of the elect who rejoice in the new heavens and earth, every soul singing the praises of the One True God throughout the ages and the universe, will know—in ever increasing awe and wonder—that the King seated on the throne is the One who loved us and brought us to Himself by His own outpoured blood…..Awesome.
