Daniel 7:13
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Daniel 7:1-28
Daniel 7:13 is a verse that is very clearly describing Jesus Christ. The son of man coming with the clouds of heaven seems pretty clearly a picture of Jesus approaching the Father God and being led into his presence. Now what is not clear is when this happens. Has it already happened or is it yet to happen? We likely won’t arrive at an answer but let’s dive in anyway.
Jesus quoted this verse two times:
“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens” (Mark 13:26-27).
“Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’
‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’” (Mark 14:61-62).
Jesus’s use of Daniel 7:13 to acknowledge that he is the Messiah to the high priest gives us a clear understanding that the “son of man” in this Scripture is Jesus himself. Jesus calls himself the Son of Man many times throughout his ministry as well such as:
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
“Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Matt 9:5-6).
What isn’t clear is whether this prophecy in Daniel 7:13 was fulfilled when Jesus ascended into heaven or if it will occur at his second coming or both. The case for the fulfillment at Jesus’s ascension is largely based on the reading of verse 13. If you look at the second sentence, it says “He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.” That sounds like what would happen when Jesus arrived into the Father’s presence upon ascending into heaven.
There are other reasons to suspect this fulfillment occurred upon Jesus’s ascension. One is Mark 14:62 when Jesus told the high priest that he would see him sitting at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven. If the high priest was to be alive and actually see that event, then the ascension fits. The second reason is Mark 9:1:
“And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.’”
If these people Jesus was speaking to must be alive to see the kingdom of God coming with power, then the ascension fits that as well.
The argument for Daniel 7:13 occurring at Jesus’s second coming largely centers around the timeline that Daniel gives in his vision. The fourth beast with the ten horns represents a fourth and powerful kingdom that rises to power over all the earth. The ten horns represent ten kings who come from this kingdom. An eleventh horn emerges representing a different kind of king who oppresses God’s people and rules over them for “a time, times and half a time” (Dan 7:25).
After this final king is destroyed, God’s people are given all the kingdoms under heaven and all rulers will worship the Most High. This doesn’t fit with anything that has happened in history to date. So many scholars put Daniel 7:13 at the second coming along with other scriptures that describe similar events such as:
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” (Matt 24:30).
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matt 25:31-32).
“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
‘The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will reign for ever and ever’” (Rev 11:15).
Time will tell who is correct. But in the end, regardless if Daniel 7:13 is describing Jesus ascension or his second coming, Jesus will reign over his kingdom. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom where we will find safety and peace.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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