the "son of man" and "the saints"

But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.
Daniel 7:18
If you want to take on the task of understanding biblical prophecy, you have to start with Daniel chapter seven. There is a lot of important detail to unravel in the visions described here. It is shrouded in symbolism and vibrant imagery. But there are a couple of concepts that I find very intriguing.
The first really breathtaking part I see is found in Daniel 7:13-14. The "son of man" who is given an indestructible, everlasting kingdom that extends globally is a unique figure. When the interpretation of the vision is asked for by Daniel, he is given an explanation of the four beasts described in Daniel 7:1-12 as four kingdoms. He is not given any explanation as to the "son of man" and the everlasting kingdom given by God. We are left to our own interpretive skills to sketch out the identity of this world-reigning king.
The second unique feature is the term translated "the saints" in this passage. it is a term the Daniel picks up here and uses extensively to talk about a unique people who belong to God. Why does he not call them "Jews" or "Israel"? Why are they just generically "the saints"? Is he only wanting to emphasize their holiness, or is there something else at work here? Again, the text reveals only clues and does not give a definitive answer.
The emphasis on the kingdom of the "son of man" (an everlasting dominion) and the identity of "the saints" who receive and possess that eternal kingdom make this chapter a crucial passage to decipher. The fact that this kingdom is eternal carries with it the reality that it is earth's final kingdom. It over rules all others. Once it starts it never ends. There has to be a way to understand these terms. I believe "son of man" (the common First Century AD Jewish title for messiah) is a messianic term. And Jesus claimed it. The citizens of that eternal kingdom appear to be much more than just Israel since they are broadly called "the saints". There is thus a plan being slowly unveiled for us in the book of Daniel, and we see it from this point forward.

an excellent spirit

Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
Daniel 6:3

I have always been intrigued by six words that describe Daniel: "an excellent spirit was in him." This seems to be such a high compliment for a man in such rough circumstances. Technically, Daniel was a prisoner of war. He was taken captive to Babylon while really still a child. He was raised in the Babylonian court to the best training he could receive, but he was a captive. He did not choose his vocation. He was trained to assist Babylon in the administration of captive Israel and Judah.

Daniel rose to prominence among all the court administrators because he had that unmistakeable, hard to fully define, but clearly visible "something" that led to his success with others. The text calls it "an excellent spirit". It is a combination of his love for God, his servant's heart, his winsomeness with people, and his administrative giftedness. People like what they saw in Daniel and it led him to success, even with new kings and differing government administrations.

Darius is the third king under whom Daniel has served. He is the first non-Chaldean king. Generally when a new nation occupies a defeated capital, it replaces all administrators with its own personnel. But the Persians kept the court staff, perhaps out of necessity due to the complex make-up of the empire they had captured. There were many people groups and languages into which any royal edict needed to be translated. The empire stretched from modern day Turkey to Egypt. This need helped Daniel to continue to thrive. Darius had designs on Daniel, noting his excellence and planning to move him into a prime minister position that would administrate all the sub-governors of the empire.

God blesses integrity, faithfulness, and love for Him. That does not mean we get an easy path. Daniel's excellent spirit resulted in trial and a night in the lion's den because unrighteous men could not stand him. But in the end, God kept him safe and the king carried out his plan to promote Daniel so that his gifts could serve the empire in the greatest way. An excellent spirit is hard to find, but in the end, it is used by the Lord. It is a noble goal to desire to have such a testimony for the sake of God's kingdom.

Belshazzar

And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,
Daniel 5:22

Well the Bible tells us about a man
Who ruled Babylon and all it's land
Around the city he built a wall
And declared that Babylon would never fall

He had concubines and wives
He called his Babylon "Paradise"
On his throne he drank and ate
But for Belshazzer it was getting late

Chorus:
For he was weighed in the balance and found wanting
His kingdom was divided, couldn't stand
He was weighed in the balance and found wanting
His houses were built upon the sand

The people feasted and drank their wine
And praised the false gods of his time
All holy things were scorned and mocked
But suddenly all their laughing stopped

For on the wall there appeared a hand
Nothing else, there was no man
And then, the hand began to write
And Belshazzar couldn't hide his fright

For he was weighed in the balance and found wanting
His kingdom was divided, couldn't stand
He was weighed in the balance and found wanting
His houses were built upon the sand

Well no one around could understand
What was written by the mystic hand
Belshazzar tried but couldn't find
A man who could give him peace of mind

But Daniel the prophet, the man of God
He saw the writing on the wall in blood
Belshazzar asked him what it said
And Daniel turned to the wall and read

"My friend your weighed in the balance and found wanting
Your kingdom was divided, it can't stand
Your weighed in the balance and found wanting
Your houses were built on shifting sand."

lyrics by Johnny Cash

I, Nebuchadnezzar

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;
Daniel 4:34

Nebuchadnezzar was so full of himself that God brought him by divine decree to complete insanity and back again in order to show him that God alone is the sovereign controller above all things. The king of Babylon had been warned in a dream that such a humiliation awaited him. Daniel urged the king to repent so that such an experience could be avoided (Daniel 4:27). But the king did not follow the advice of his wisest and most reliable counselor.

His "answer" back to God's call to repent came a year later when in a particularly grandiose display of megalomania, he patted himself on the back for achieving all the greatness of an empire (Daniel 4:30). No sooner had his voiced ended in the self-aggrandizement of prideful speech than God spoke from heaven to inform the arrogant king that his kingdom was taken from him. What followed was seven years of complete insanity. Nebuchadnezzar went from palace to field, from living like an emperor to living like an animal. His reason was gone, and there was no way for him to take pride in his present accomplishments. It is hard to brag about mental illness, especially when you can't speak in human language any longer! Nebuchadnezzar went absolutely stark-raving certifiably nutso! And God made it happen to get the king where He wanted him to be.

After seven long years of living life completely off his rocker, God amazingly restored Nebuchadnezzar, and he found himself again back into his former position at the center of the Babylonian empire. This time the king is humbled. He returned to sanity both mentally and spiritually. He immediately blessed and acknowledged God's sovereign rule over him. No more was he filled with just himself. That was a tough lesson to live and learn.

So what can I learn from a mad king's pride, fall, and humiliation? I know that when left to myself, I too am Nebuchadnezzar. I may not have his palace or his riches. I do have his tendency toward manic self-aggrandization. It is what sin does to me. If I focus just on me, I am well on the road to a kind of Babylonian insanity. But if I focus on what God had done, I can rest in faith that all I am and all that I have are the product of God's grace and care. That is personal sanity that keeps me in balance.

the faith that reaches kings

"If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
Daniel 3:17-18

The account of the courageous faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the face of death by the fiery furnace is a commitment that God honored. They refused to practice public, politically correct idolatry at the threat of death. And their courage was rewarded by God. But their faith was the foundation of their brave answer to Nebuchadnezzar.

There are three words in their answer back to the king that indicate the unswerving conviction that drove them. Those three words are "but if not". They are convinced that God can save them from death in the fiery furnace, but if God chose not to do so and they died in the flames, they would not be bothered one bit. It changed nothing. They still would not bow to worship anything other than the Lord their God and Him only.

Of course as the account plays out, they are sentenced to death, bound, and thrown into the furnace. The king is amazed as he sees them walking alive in the flames, protected by an angel of God. He orders them to walk out from the flames (an order they are happy to obey), and immediately recognizes the greatness of the God of heaven Who guarded them in the blaze.

God used the occasion to spread His knowledge among the Gentiles. Nebuchadnezzar is clearly convinced that the God of the Jews protected them. He promotes Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even greater posts of political influence. It even leads Him to offer an official announcement about the power of God, praising God for His greatness over all the earth (Daniel 4:1-3).

All this came on the heels of a courageous faith that will trust God even if death is the outcome of faith. That is the kind of commitment that attends real faith. And that kind of commitment is blessed by God to spread His fame among the nations!

promoted by God: reversal of fortune

Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel 2:48

It is amazing what God will use to accomplish His work. God used a night of troubled sleep for Nebuchadnezzar to bring Daniel into prominence in the empire of Babylon. It all started with a bad's night sleep and a troubling, half-remembered dream. Nebuchadnezzar summoned his court and demanded that someone tell him the troubling dream and what it all meant. His advisors begged him for any details of the dream, but whether he could tell them anything or not, Nebuchadnezzar refused any details. They had to reveal to him both the dream and its meaning. The fact that he could not remember it was insignificant. If they advisors cannot do this, the cranky king will kill every last one of them!

Daniel is confident that God will reveal this to him. He boldly asks the king for a time to reveal the dream, then asks his friends to pray to God for him. And in that night, God answers their prayer. The next day Daniel is able to explain to the king of Babylon what troubled him so greatly.

And the broad themes of prophecy in the book of Daniel are unfolded. In the first of four visions in the book, God lays out a map of future world history (see the chart from the ESV Study Bible below for a clear way of seeing how these visions interconnect).



This convinces Nebuchadnezzar that God has indeed given unusual insight and answers to Daniel. It is so important to the king that he appoints Daniel to the position of prime minister over the empire. Almost exactly like Joseph in Egypt, Daniel is thrust into the top echelon of leadership overnight. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are made regional governors. Suddenly the captive Jews are placed in positions of high leadership within the empire. God not only saved them, but also exalted them.

God loves to show Himself through stunning reversals of fortune. In this case in one day Daniel and his friends went from being under threat of execution by the empire to leaders at its very highest levels. They were promoted by God for His purposes. And the rest of the book of Daniel will continue to show God's power with His people as they lived by His demands among the pagans.

Faithfulness rewarded

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
Daniel 1:8

This is an intense instance of spiritual bravery. Daniel and his friends had been taken away from Jerusalem in the first wave of captives that Babylon hauled away to Chaldea. And these noblemen's sons were educated in the king's court. The had no other choice in the matter. They could train to be royal courtiers in Babylon, or they could die. One did not simply refuse king Nebuchadnezzar!

But Daniel wanted to keep the dietary restrictions of the Law. He wanted to practice his faith, and without a doubt the food served in the king's court would not be kosher. There would be the issue of forbidden meats. There would be the bigger issue of being served meat that had been offered to idols. It was a messy situation for a young observant Jew. But Daniel had resolve. He did not want to make himself ceremonially unclean, so a brave plan formed within his mind, and he approached his superiors with a helpful suggestion.

Daniel worked politely within the system and asked the chief of the eunuchs to give the Hebrew program participants a chance to prove themselves. Daniel proposed a vegetarian diet for the Hebrew captives. This was a shrewd solution. Daniel knew there would be no worries about violating the Law with a simple vegetarian diet. And a ten day trial period tested his faith and showed the chief of the eunuchs respect. He made it a temporary challenge and not a permanent demand.

God blessed the shrewd, polite, and wise plan of Daniel. At the end of the dietary trial, everyone was impressed with the health and the appearance of the Hebrew program participants. God blessed their resolve and obedience. And in the end they were able to practice their faith and also enter Babylonian culture with full acceptance and respect. This actually was quite an accomplishment when you consider it.

It takes courage to obey God in a pagan culture. It takes wisdom to also find that culture to be respectful of that kind of faith. And that challenge is before us like never before today. In a post-Christian, post-modern environment like we live in today, we could learn a lot from Daniel's story.