WHAT IS THE CORRECT INTERPRETATION OF THE VERSES
DANIEL 7:13 -14?
In Daniel 7:13 -14 it is written the following:
13 I saw in
the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven [one] like
a son of man, and he came up even to the Ancient of days, and they brought him
near before him.
14 And there was given him 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
[that] which shall not be destroyed.
The Christians say that the son of man mentioned in
this passage is the Messiah.
However, it is written in Daniel 7:27 that God said
that the son of man who appeared in that vision symbolizes the people of the
saints of the Most High, which is the people of Israel.
In order to correctly interpret the verses Daniel 7:13
-14, it is necessary to read the entire chapter 7 of the book of the Prophet
Daniel, in which is written the following:
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon,
Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the
dream; he told the sum of the matters.
2 Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night,
and behold, the four winds of the heavens broke forth upon the great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea,
different one from another.
4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I
beheld till its wings were plucked; and it was lifted up from the earth, and
made to stand upon two feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
5 And behold, another beast, a second, like unto a
bear, and it raised up itself on one side; and [it had] three ribs in its mouth
between its teeth; and they said thus unto it: Arise, devour much flesh.
6 After this I saw, and behold, another, like a
leopard, and it had four wings of a bird upon its back; and the beast had four
heads; and dominion was given to it.
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a
fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceeding strong; and it had great
iron teeth: it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its
feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had
ten horns.
8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up
among them another, a little horn, before which three of the first horns were
plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a
man, and a mouth speaking great things.
9 I beheld till thrones were set, and the Ancient of
days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure
wool; his throne was flames of fire, [and] its wheels burning fire.
10 A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him;
thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand
stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
11 I beheld therefore, because of the voice of the
great words that the horn spoke; I beheld till the beast was slain, and its
body destroyed, and it was given up to be burned with fire.
12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was
taken away; but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
13 I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came
with the clouds of heaven [one] like a son of man, and he came up even to the
Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him 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
[that] which shall not be destroyed.
15 As for me Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the
midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and
asked him the certainty of all this. And he told me, and made me know the
interpretation of the things:
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings,
[that] shall arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the
kingdom, and they shall possess the kingdom for ever, even to the ages of ages.
19 Then I desired to know the certainty concerning the
fourth beast, which was different from them all, exceeding dreadful, whose
teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces,
and stamped the rest with its feet;
20 and concerning the ten horns that were in its head,
and the other that came up, and before which three fell: even that horn that
had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and whose look was more imposing
than its fellows.
21 I beheld, and that horn made war with the saints,
and prevailed over them;
22 until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was
given to the saints of the Most High; and the appointed time arrived, and the
saints possessed the kingdom.
23 He said thus: The fourth beast shall be a fourth
kingdom upon the earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and
shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And as to the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall
arise ten kings; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be different
from the former, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak words against the Most High, and
shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change seasons and the
law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and a half
time.
26 And the judgment shall sit, and they shall take
away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
27 But the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness
of the kingdoms under the whole heavens, shall be given to the people of the
saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
dominions shall serve and obey him.
28 So far is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel,
my thoughts much troubled me, and my countenance was changed in me; but I kept
the matter in my heart.
In the Chapter 7 of the book of Daniel it is written
that God gave to the Prophet Daniel a vision, in which appeared four animals
and then appeared one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven, which
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him, and he was
given the dominion, and the honor, and the Kingdom, that all people, nations
and languages should serve him, and was told that his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which
shall not be destroyed.
It is written also in Chapter 7 of the book of Daniel,
from verse 16, that Daniel asked one of the angels who were nearby to explain
the meaning of the vision, and he explained that those four beasts are four
kings that would arise out of the earth (Daniel 7:17), and that afterwards the
kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High and his kingdom will
be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him (Daniel
7:18 and 7:27).
Therefore, we see that the son of man (or son of the
man) that appears in the vision in Daniel Chapter 7 is not the Messiah, but the
people of the saints of the Most High, that is the people of Israel.
In the Bible, the phrase "son of man", or
"son of the man", which in Hebrew is BEN ADAM, and in Aramaic is BAR
ENOSH, simply means "man".
In Hebrew the phrase BEN ADAM (son of man, or son of
the man, or son of Adam) is used to mean "man" or "person",
or "human being".
Yahveh bless you.
João Paulo Fernandes Pontes (Hebrew name: Yochanan Ben
Yosef).
Published in May 11, 2015.
Updated in May 19, 2016.
EN
FRANÇAIS EN
ESPAÑOL EM
PORTUGUÊS בעיברית