T HE CLOSE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT PERIOD WAS A DARK, DESPERATE TIME . By the end, the vestige of Yahweh’s portion, the family he had raised up through Abraham after forsaking the nations at Babel, consisted of only two tribes (Judah and Benjamin), collectively referred to as the kingdom of Judah. But even as the hordes of Babylon, the army of Nebuchadnezzar, descended on Jerusalem for the last time, the prophets offered a glimmer of hope. Yes, Yahweh would punish his children for turning to other gods, but a remnant would survive. Yahweh’s plan had not been overturned. He would send a servant who would ensure its survival. There would be an Edenic kingdom, but in the future, not in the Old Testament era.
I’ve sketched the encrypted signals concerning the coming king and his kingdom in the last two chapters. Daniel 7 , our stopping point in the previous chapter about the divine nature of the deliverer, linked his appearance with this message of hope in the wake of the exile: The kingdom of God had failed in the Old Testament, but it would rise from the ashes when the divine king made his appearance. That messianic king would inaugurate a kingdom that would spread throughout the earth and eventually succeed in restoring Eden.
These ideas are familiar. Less apparent, however, is the way the Old Testament characterizes the launching of God’s kingdom as a war between gods and men. In this chapter I want to briefly overview this vision. The Deuteronomy 32 worldview we’ve looked at many times looms large. The kingdom will come. The divine holy ones loyal to Yahweh and Yahweh’s people are his agents to expand that kingdom. But the nations and the gods who rule them (“princes” in Daniel’s description) will stand opposed. As the kingdom of God grows, the dominions of the dark powers will shrink and their gods will ultimately perish.
In the divine council scene of Daniel 7 , the son of man, a second Yahweh figure, received an everlasting kingdom. But it is crucial to note that this kingdom came only in the wake of the council’s decision to judge the four beasts (four empires) reported in the vision of Daniel with which the chapter began. Daniel reported:
11 I continued watching until the beast was slain and its body was destroyed, and it was given over to burning with fire. 12 And as for the remainder of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but a prolongation of their life was given to them for a season and a time.
13 I continued watching in the visions of the night, and look, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming, and he came to the Ancient of Days, and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and kingship that all the peoples, the nations, and languages would serve him; his dominion is a dominion without end that will not cease, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed (Dan 7:11–14).
A more precise description of this kingdom follows in verses 15–28. We need to look carefully at certain statements in this passage.
As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. 16 So I approached one of the attendants and I asked him about the truth concerning all this; and he told me that he would make known to me the explanation of the matter. 17 “These great beasts which are four in number are four kings who will arise from the earth. 18 But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and they will take possession of the kingdom forever, forever and ever. (Dan 7:15–18).
In his vision, Daniel asks one of the standing divine attendants at the council meeting (Dan 7:16) about the meaning of what he has seen. He learns that the beasts are kings, but “the kingdom” will be given to the “holy ones of the Most High,” who will never lose possession of it.
Two items are noteworthy. First, the interpretation is interesting in that, in verses 13–14, it was the divine son of man who received an everlasting kingdom from the Most High. We therefore have two recipients of this everlasting kingdom: the son of man and the holy ones of the Most High. We have to keep reading to discern who the holy ones are. Second, verses 13–14 didn’t describe any conflict before the son of man received the kingdom, only that the four beasts had been judged before the kingdom was given. We can agree with Daniel that more information is needed. He asks the attendant:
19 Then I desired to make certain concerning the fourth beast that was different from all the others—exceedingly terrifying, with its iron teeth and its claws of bronze; it devoured and crushed and stamped the remainder with its feet—20 and concerning the horns that were on its head, and concerning the other horn that came up and before which three horns fell, and this horn had eyes and a mouth speaking boastfully, and its appearance was larger than its companions. 21 I continued watching, and this horn made war with the holy ones and it prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and gave judgment to the holy ones of the Most High; and the time arrived and the holy ones took possession of the kingdom (Dan 7:19–22).
The chronology of events gets some clarification here. The fourth beast—obviously prior to its death in verse 11—makes war with the holy ones and defeats them. This causes the Most High to act on their behalf, and so they take possession of the kingdom, something that must follow the demise of the fourth beast. The interpretation and the chronology are reiterated in what follows:
23 And he said, “The fourth beast is the fourth kingdom that will be on the earth that will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and it will trample it and it will crush it. 24 And as for the ten horns coming from it, from this kingdom ten kings will arise, and another will arise after them. And he will be different from the earlier ones, and he will subdue three kings. 25 And he will speak words against the Most High, and he will wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and he will attempt to change times and law, and they will be given into his hand for a time and two times and half a time. 26 Then the court will sit, and his dominion will be removed, to be eradicated and to be destroyed totally. 27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the nation [Hebrew: ʿam , “people”] of the holy ones of the Most High; his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey him.”
28 This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel—my thoughts terrified me greatly and my face changed over me, but I kept the matter in my heart (Dan 7:23–28).
The reference to the fourth beast “[wearing] out the holy ones of the Most High” (v. 25) harks back to his victory over the holy ones in verse 21. The enemy (this “little horn”) defeats the holy ones. In response, the divine council (“court”) holds session—the assembly Daniel is witnessing—to deal with (destroy) the fourth beast. The result of that meeting in verse 27 is that the kingdom is given to “the nation of the holy ones of the Most High.” Interestingly, earlier the kingdom had been given to “the holy ones of the Most High” (vv. 18, 22) and before that (v. 14) to the divine son of man.
The passage is clear in one respect—before the everlasting kingdom is received, the fourth beast is destroyed. It is less clear in terms of who inherits the kingdom. There are three candidates: the son of man, the holy ones of the Most High, and the nation of the holy ones of the Most High.
THE HOLY ONES OF THE MOST HIGH
In the previous chapter, I briefly noted the parallel nature of the vision of Daniel 2 to this vision in Daniel 7 . The kingdom received by these three parties is the kingdom from Daniel 2:44–45 “not made by human hands” that will never be destroyed—the kingdom of God.
Bible readers and scholars of course argue about how best to identify the fourth kingdom. Daniel 2:44 makes identification with Rome obvious enough, in that the kingdom of God appears at the time of the fourth kingdom. 1 The New Testament, of course, has the kingdom of God inaugurated at the coming of Jesus during the Roman Empire, and yet still in the process of coming. 2
The description of this kingdom has both divine and earthly aspects. This is just what we would expect, since God’s goal of reviving a global Eden involves people but is a supernatural rule. Considering the identity of the “holy ones” helps us see this anew.
The phrase “holy ones” is a translation of Hebrew qedoshim (or qedoshin in the case of the Aramaic in Dan 7 ). The term can refer to the members of the divine council in heaven (e.g., Psa 89:5–7). 3 However, the term can also refer to people. Several times in Leviticus the people are referred to collectively as qedoshim . This again is not unexpected, since the imagery of the priesthood, tabernacle, and temple creates an analogy to the sacred space of God’s throne room and those who have access to Yahweh in heaven—his divine family, the divine council. 4
The range of usage for qedoshim helps us parse the “holy ones” of Daniel 7 . The phrase refers to both human followers of Yahweh and the members of his divine council. Both families rule together in Yahweh’s everlasting kingdom, along with the Yahweh in human form, the son of man, the risen Christ. We’ll see more of how this works in upcoming chapters, but here’s a preview:
The kingdom of God is reborn at the first coming of Jesus. His arrival marks the beginning of the end of the rule of darkness and the initiation of Yahweh’s reclamation of the nations ruled by the other gods. Jesus is the son of man, and the kingdom is his. Ruling with him will be the holy ones of Yahweh’s (and his) council.
Note in Daniel 7:27 that the kingdom is given to the nation of the holy ones of the Most High but it is still referred to as God’s kingdom (“his kingdom”). This is a subtle reference to joint rulership in God’s kingdom. The nation of the holy ones refers to the human followers of Yahweh aligned with him and his council. As we’ll see in later chapters, in New Testament theology, all believers—Jew or Gentile—are the people of God, having inherited the promises of the covenant with Abraham (Gal 3:7–9, 23–29). The kingdom language of Daniel 7 informs us that all the nations once disinherited and ruled by corrupt gods will be made subject both to God and to his people. 5 This is why the book of Revelation says of believers, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give him authority over the nations .… I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also have conquered and have sat down with my Father on his throne” (Rev 2:26; 3:21).
The triumph of the kingdom of God will not come before the final conflict known in Scripture as the day of the Lord. The words of Zechariah 14 are telling:
1 Look! A day is coming for Yahweh, when your plunder will be divided in your midst. 2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, and they will loot the houses, and the women will be raped; half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then Yahweh will go forth and fight against those nations, like when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half, from east to west, by a very great valley; and half of the mountain will withdraw toward the north, and the other half toward the south. 5 And you will flee by the valley of my mountains, because the valley of the mountains will reach to Azal, and you will flee like you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. And Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy ones with him (Zech 14:1–5).
Yahweh comes with his heavenly army at the day of the Lord to disarm and defeat the hostile supernatural powers. Isaiah said the same thing:
21 And this shall happen on that day:
Yahweh will punish the host of heaven in heaven,
and the kings of the earth on the earth.
22 And they will be gathered in a gathering, like a prisoner in a pit.
And they will be shut in a prison and be punished after many days.
23 And the full moon will be ashamed
and the sun will be ashamed,
for Yahweh of hosts will rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before his elders in glory (Isa 24:21–23).
Yahweh will rule before his council—here called elders—having punished both his human foes (“kings of the earth”) and his supernatural enemies (“the host of heaven in heaven”), 6 in order to re-establish his rule in his earthly abode, Mount Zion.
What does the punishment of the gods entail? For that we return to Psalm 82 , where we got our first exposure to Yahweh’s council in this book. In the first few verses of that psalm, Yahweh was standing in the council to accuse his divine sons of corruption. Instead of governing the nations in righteousness, the gods who had received the disinherited nations after the Babel incident had led the people astray, away from the Most High. Their time comes at the climax of the kingdom when Yahweh reclaims the nations from them. The final verses portend their fate. The God of Israel speaks:
6 I have said, “You are gods,
and sons of the Most High, all of you.
7 However, you will die like men,
and you will fall like one of the princes” (Psa 82:6–7).
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
because you shall inherit all the nations (Psa 82:8).
The rule of the gods will be ended when the Most High reclaims the nations he once disinherited. Daniel 7 makes clear that Yahweh’s loyal divine and human families will share that rule.
THE FUTURE RE-INHERITANCE OF THE NATIONS
The Day of the Lord is a time of judgment, but it is also cast in Scripture as a time of rejoicing for Yahweh’s people. When the rule of the gods begins to crumble, Yahweh will call his own from among the nations. Isaiah 66 , a passage that plays a crucial role in explaining the explosion of the gospel after the resurrection, describes the judgment and hope looming in a time future to the Old Testament period:
16 For Yahweh enters into judgment on all flesh with fire and his sword,
and those slain by Yahweh shall be many.
17 Those who sanctify themselves
and those who cleanse themselves to go into the gardens
after the one in the middle,
eating the flesh of swine
and detestable things and rodents together
shall come to an end!” declares Yahweh.
18 “And I—their works and thoughts!—am about to come to gather all nations and tongues,
and they shall come and see my glory.
19 And I will set a sign among them,
and I will send survivors from them to the nations:
Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow;
Tubal and Javan, the faraway coastlands
that have not heard of my fame,
and have not seen my glory.
And they shall declare my glory among the nations, 20 and bring all your countrymen from all the nations as an offering to Yahweh on horses and chariots and in litters and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain, Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “just as the sons of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of Yahweh. 21 And indeed, I will take some of them as priests and the Levites,” says Yahweh. 22 “For just as the new heavens and earth that I am about to make shall stand before me,” declares Yahweh, “so shall your descendants and your name stand (Isa 66:16–22).
Incredible as it sounds, people from the disinherited nations will return to Yahweh, out from under the dominion of their gods. Where Israel failed in that mission as a kingdom of priests (Exod 19:6) Yahweh himself will succeed. He will be the agent for his own mission. This is the story of how Eden will be reborn—a story told by the New Testament.
I’ll have more to say about the final conflict. There are other startling connections to the divine council worldview in eschatology. But we don’t have to wait until the end times for New Testament connections to the supernatural worldview of the Old Testament. In that regard, the New Testament hits the ground running.