The Son of Man
Scripture Reading — Daniel 7:7-14
I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.
Daniel 7:13
Today is the day on which the Christian church remembers the ascension of the Lord Jesus into heaven. Hundreds of years before it happened, the prophet Daniel saw it in a vision. That beautiful vision of Daniel is like bedrock underlying missions and evangelism.
Jesus often called himself the Son of Man. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost,” he said (Luke 19:10). “The Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Jesus also told his accusers, “You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). Jesus knew he was the one in the vision Daniel saw more than 500 years earlier. Jesus was, in fact, the one who revealed himself to Daniel in that vision.
Daniel’s vision reveals “one like a son of man” approaching the fiery throne of the Ancient of Days (God the Father). He is given authority over all peoples and nations, and his kingdom will never end.
That’s the event Jesus was talking about when he said after rising from the grave, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-19).
God has given him all authority! He came to save us, and now he rules over all things!
O God, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Lord Jesus, we wait for your return, when the kingdom will come to earth and remain forever. Amen.
About the author — George Young
George Young, a native New Yorker, worked as a taxi driver in New York City before studying to become a pastor. Then he, his wife Ruth, and their children were missionaries for many years in northeastern Japan. They worked with ministers and believers from the Reformed Church in Japan to spread the good news of salvation in Christ and establish new churches. Now George and Ruth are retired and live in the northeastern United States, nearer to their children and grandchildren.
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