Setting: The Evil Sea
Heiser, Unseen Realm
In the ancient world the sea was a thing of dread. It was unpredictable and untamable. It was a place upon which humans couldn’t live. Consequently, the sea was often used as a metaphor for chaos, destruction, and death.
The sea storm and its effects were considered an expression of divine wrath and punishment.
As a result in Jewish apocalyptic writings darkness, evil demonic activity was connected to the concept of the sea.
The belief goes gack to the "darkness" over the waters of the primeval deep (Gen 1:2).
NET Bible notes the Hebrew word translated “darkness" in the Bible symbolizes judgment (Exod 10:21), death (Ps 88:13), oppression (Isa 9:1), the wicked (1 Sam 2:9) and in general, sin. In Isa 45:7 it parallels “evil.”
The defeat of the gods of Egypt happens at the Red Sea (Exod 14).
The final conquest of the mythical monster Rahab, Leviathan, the dragon, the primal sea is ascribed to Yahweh, the God of creation.
Similarly, in the NT Jesus controls the storm and walks on water, showing he has power over "the evil sea";
The Demon Legion is sent into the "impure/unclean" herd of swine, destroyed in the water;
In Revelation the sea is viewed as the realm of the devil and of the demons (Rev 12:12), as the abyss from which the beast-the type of the antichrist-arises (11:7; 13:1) as the embodiment of Babylon, i.e., Rome (18:21).
This "evil sea" is annihilated in the judgment (8:8ff.; 20:13; 21:1), when the power of Satan and of death is finally done away with.
The Clouds
In the OT commonly indicate the appearance of YHWH:
God’s presence in the tabernacle and in the temple is signified by the presence
of a cloud (Exod 40, 34-35; 1 Kgs 8,10-11; 2 Chron 5,13-14).
The pillar of cloud also indicates the Lord’s presence (Exod 13, 21-22; 14,19; Deut 5, 22; Jer 4, 13 speaks of God’s chariot as closely related to the clouds.
Worship
The “son of man” and “the saints” "holy ones" both receive “worship” equally in Dan 7! That’s why many translations render v.27 as “serve them” (RSV, NEB, JPST).
Some appeal to the Aramaic pelach and Aquila's translation latreuo, used for Deity alone in the NT.
But in the Targums pelach is used for the nations (Gen 15:14; Ex 14:12) and individuals (Gen 14:4; Deu 28:48).
And in the LXX/OG latreuo is used for the enemies of Israel in Deut. 28:48LXX and for Nebuchadnezzar in Judith 3:8a.
Characters
Animals, aka the Beasts
7:17 These large beasts, which are four in number, represent four kings who will arise from the earth.
Babylon
Mede-Persian
Greece
Future, Middle-Eastern, Arab nation...?
In Daniel 7:19-27, the little horn, aka future Antichrist, comes from the 4th Kingdom. But in Daniel 8:8-11, comes out of the THIRD KINGDOM, from one of its four divisions.
The LITTLE HORN will appear “at the time of the end” (Dan. 8:17) and “He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes,” who is JESUS CHRIST (8:25).
Son of Man
Daniel 7:13b NLT "I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven."
A human title, see Ezekiel.
Jesus' favorite self-designation, 80+ times in the Gospels.
The word "like" = not just any old human person but glorified human.
Godlike: John describes Jesus as the Ancient of Days: Rev 1.12-18
"Besides the allusion to Dan 7.13 in Rev 1.7, there is the reference in 1.13 and the description of his appearance depends on allusions to the Ancient of Days in Dan 7; Rev 1.14 is clearly dependent upon Dan 7.9.”
The Use of the Septuagint in New Testament Research, Tim McLay.
The Ancient of Days
Daniel 7.13b "He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him."
NET Bible: Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”
The Holy Ones
7:18 The holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will take possession of the kingdom forever and ever.
Aka the saints, the people of God, Christians, not angels!
NOTE: For God did not subject to angels the world to come, Heb 2.5
Most used OT texts
Dan 7.13 is the most used OT text by the NT writers!
"Son of man coming on/with the clouds," more than 40 times:
Matt 10.23; 13.41; 16.26-28; 24:27, 30, 37, 39, 44; 19.28; 25.13, 31; 26:64;
Mark 8.38; 13:26; 14:62;
Luke 9.26; 11.30; 12.40; 17.22, 24, 26; 18.8; 21:27, 36; 22:69
John 1.51; 3.13; 5.27; 6.62; 12.34; 19.37
Acts 7:55-56
1Thess 4.16-17
Rev 1.7, 13; 14.14
Dan 7.14 more than 20 times!
Mat 28.18; Luke 1.33; John 3.35; 5.22; 10.29; 12.34; 13.3; 17.2, 24; 1Cor 15.24, 27; Phil 2.9; 2Pet 1.11; Heb. 12.28; Rom 15.12; Rev 1.6; 2.26-27; 11.15; 12.5; 19.15
Moral of the vision
I.A. Anderson, Signs and Wonders:
“Sovereignty has passed from the beast-like forces arrayed against God to the man-like champion of God’s cause. Moreover, the transient order of past regimes will give way to the eternal order of the future. This rule of God through his people will be established when the nations do obeisance to the people who stand not in their own right but in his."
Extras
Lion's den = humans threatened by beasts;
People of God reject pagan worship;
People of God are released from the furnace and den = vindication;
The pagan king repents = widescreen Gospel, nations will be subjugated;
Influence
BC times Books of Enoch; Psalms of Solomon 17
"Lord, and raise up for them their king, the son of David, to rule over Israel, your servant, in the time which you chose, o God. He will have gentile nations serving him under his yoke and he will glorify the Lord in [a place] visible [from] the whole earth. He will be a righteous king over them, taught by God. There will be no unrighteousness among them in his days, for all [will be] holy, and their king [will be] the Lord Messiah."
Esdras (AD, 4th beast Roman eagle);
Jewish-Roman Wars.
According to Josephus what led to the First Jewish-Roman war (66-73AD) “was an ambiguous oracle, likewise found in their sacred scriptures, to the effect that at that time one from their country would become ruler of the world. This they understood to mean someone of their own race, and many of their wise men went astray in their interpretation of it.” (War, Book 6)
Takeaways
N.T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God.
The main task of the Messiah, over and over again, is the liberation of Israel, and her reinstatement as the true people of the creator god. This will often involve military action, which can be seen in terms of judgment as in a lawcourt. It will also involve action in relation to the Jerusalem Temple, which must be cleansed and/or restored and/or rebuilt.
It is clear that whenever the Messiah appears, and whoever he turns out to be, he will be the agent of Israel's god.
Certainly there is no reason to hypothesize any widespread belief that the coming Messiah would be anything other than an ordinary human being called by Israel's god to an extraordinary task.
So how did a Jewish "expectation, the longing for a national restoration, fit in, if it did, with the hope for a non-spatio-temporal life after death? How did personal hope fit in with national hope? How did "spiritual" aspiration cohere with "political"? And, in the middle of all this, what about the idea of resurrection?
It is clear that some first-century Jews at least had already adopted what may be seen as a Hellenized future expectation, that is, a hope for a none physical (or "spiritual") world to which the righteous and blessed would be summoned after death, and a non-physical place of damnation where the wicked would be tormented. Nevertheless, I believe it would be a great mistake to regard a Hellenized expectation as basic, and to place the sociopolitical hope in a secondary position."
No comments:
Post a Comment