In Daniel 7 the prophet writes of a vision he received at night. The vision was of four great beasts. It was a dream that was vivid and it troubled and grieved Daniel. Think of a confusing and scary nightmare! The revelation of “One like the Son of Man” coming “with the clouds of heaven” to establish His own kingdom “which shall not pass away” (13-14) ended the vision. Attributes of this vision mirror closely the one that John experienced in Revelation 4 and 5 of the throne room of God.
Verse 16 indicates that “one of those who stood by” had the ability to share with Daniel the meaning of the dream. A careful reading suggests he was one of the characters in the vision (similar to what we see in the book of Revelation). Daniel King suggests in his commentary: “This particular interpreter is described as ‘a standing one,’ a technical term for an angelic attendant, one of the many thousands who are perennially depicted as standing to wait upon the Ancient of Days in the various heavenly scenes of the Bible.”
Daniel asked this one what the vision meant, and was told it referenced four great kings that “arise out of the earth” (17).
This is very similar to the vision of the “great image” that appeared to King Nebuchadnezzar in his dream recorded earlier in the book (chapter 2). The four kings referenced the kingdom of Babylon, the Medo-Persian empire, the Grecian empire founded by Alexander the Great, and the Roman Empire.
There are several reasons this vision has significance to us. The first is that it was fulfilled. It was a divine vision of things which actually came to pass. The second major thing to know is the identification of the fourth king as the Roman Empire. There is significance to the fact God determined the last days to begin during the reign of the Roman kings. It was then that God sent Jesus to earth. It was in the shadow of that empire that Jesus lived, ministered and died. It was then that He was resurrected and ascended to Heaven, establishing His own kingdom. We know the characteristics of the kingdom of God by an examination of Jesus’ teaching and the events that transpired in the New Testament. Compare these with the words of Daniel’s vision, “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. 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” (Daniel 7:13-14).
We are citizens of that everlasting dominion established by Jesus, “One like the Son of Man.” Praise God for all of His manifold blessings delivered to man by His begotten Son!
