3.2 Eschatology
Messianic Titles
- Son of David – God promised King David that his descendants would be kings forever
- Son of God – Kings were referred to as God because they acted on behalf of God on
Earth
- King of the Jews – replaces “King of Israel”
- Anointed One – anointing with oil was the ceremony for appointing someone king
- Messiah – the Hebrew word for anointed one
- Christ – the Greek word for anointed one
The heavenly one like a son of man
- NOT a messianic title
- The phrase “son of man” originally meant “human” or “mortal”
- One like a human in Daniel 7
- Human-like in appearance, contrasts with previous monsters
- Comes from heaven, contrasts with monsters that arise from the sea
- Original audience: in the near future the empires of the world will be replaced by
a kingdom of God’s people
- Christian interpretation: Christ was sent from heaven and will come again to judge
and bring about the kingdom of God
Apocalypses and Daniel 7
- Apocalypses reveal God’s perspective on the world in a cryptic way
- History is known and planned by God far in advance
- God knew that four bad kingdoms would come before judgment day
- One like a son of man comes from heaven and receives dominion
- Represents God’s holy ones