Does Daniel 7 Disprove Oneness Theology?

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

First, the Assumptions: There Is No Eternal Son

• The question posed: in Daniel chapter 7, Daniel sees the Ancient of Days, enthroned in majesty, and one like the Son of Man, who comes before him, and to him was given an everlasting kingdom and dominion — and the passage is used to teach that there are at least two persons in the Godhead. What is going on in this vision, and who are these two figures?
• We need to take a close look at Daniel 7 — but before we do that, let's make sure our assumptions are correct, our theological assumptions. The Bible does not teach a second eternal person in the Godhead called Son. In fact, the Bible nowhere says 'eternal Son'; it says the begotten Son. The Bible nowhere says 'God the Son', as if that were a title of deity — but it's 'the Son of God'. The scriptural definition of the Son of God is found in Luke 1:35, when the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary, the mother of Jesus, about her conceiving: in essence, Luke 1:35 says the Holy Spirit will overshadow you, and cause you to conceive — the power of God will cause you to conceive, and that holy child which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.
• So Jesus is called the Son of God, not because he's the incarnation of an eternal second person whose eternal name is Son, but because God — and not Joseph, or any other human — caused the conception miraculously: a man's son is called his son because the man is the agent of conception; Jesus is called God's Son because the Spirit of God overshadowed his mother, to cause him to be born miraculously of a virgin. And we see other passages of scripture: Hebrews 1:5 — 'You are my son; today, this day, I have begotten you' — not in eternity, but at a point in time. Galatians 4:4: 'When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law.' So the Son is not eternal, but had a mother; and the Son is not eternal, but came during the time of the law.
• Once we dispel those things, and take that off the table: if you go to Daniel 7, the Jewish people to whom that passage was originally given, and Daniel himself, the Jewish prophet who recorded these things, could not have thought of a trinity, or an eternal second person in the Godhead. Those concepts were not even in the Bible, and were not even in culture, or in their thinking — that there could be two or three co-equal persons in the Godhead; that was not in the vocabulary. All they knew was Deuteronomy 6:4: the Lord our God is one.

Scriptures: Luke 1:35; Hebrews 1:5; Galatians 4:4; Deuteronomy 6:4

Daniel 7 in Its Own Terms

• But if you actually go to Daniel 7, and just look at it in its own terms: verse 9 — 'I watched till thrones were put in place; the Ancient of Days was seated; his garment was white as snow; the hair of his head was like pure wool; his throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued, came forth from him; a thousand thousands ministered to him' — so that's obviously representing God; no question.
• And then the second figure: 'I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven; he came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him; then to him was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.' Now, in the light of the New Testament, we inevitably think of Jesus — and I'm not disagreeing with that. But you first have to understand it in its context.
• This is called 'one like the Son of Man' — and actually, the definite article is not required there; it is sometimes translated 'one like a son of man'. So in the Old Testament, 'son of man' is used as a synonym for human — Ezekiel typically used it for himself. So the Son of Man is a human: here is one who looks like a human — that's what Daniel is saying. So who is this one who looks like a human? He comes to the Ancient of Days, so there's some distinction between this human and God — which is not shocking, because humans are distinct from God. And then dominion is given to him, which sounds divine. So what could that be?

Scriptures: Daniel 7; Daniel 7:9-10; Daniel 7:13-14

The Chapter Explains Itself: The Saints Receive the Kingdom

• If you read through the whole chapter to the end, it explains itself. It talks about the beast that will come up — this is end-time prophecy: a fourth beast, which is a kingdom which shall try to subdue the rest of the earth. And then, going back to verse 25, talking about this evil ruler: 'He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, shall intend to change times and law; then the saints shall be given into his hand, for a time and times and half a time.' And that, generally, people think of as what's called in Revelation and 2 Thessalonians the beast, the man of sin — we often call him the antichrist, the evil ruler.
• But notice Daniel 7:26: 'But the court shall be seated; they shall take away his dominion — this evil ruler's — to consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High; his kingdom is an everlasting one' — the Most High here being God — 'and all dominions shall serve and obey him.' So in the actual interpretation, it seems like the one like the Son of Man represents the saints: the kingdom is given to them, and they will reign with the Most High, with the Ancient of Days, with God. So the kingdom is actually God's, but he shares it with his saints.
• So if you just stop there — until you get to the New Testament — you wouldn't necessarily think that it's just the Messiah, or Jesus, or one person; you would think it's probably symbolic of this collective: the saints of God. That's what you would get just from Daniel 7. And that's not wrong, either.

Scriptures: Daniel 7:25; Daniel 7:26-27

Jesus the Son of Man: The One God in a True Human

• But when you come to the New Testament, of course, Jesus used the title Son of Man for himself — and presumably with the connotations of Daniel 7 in mind. So if you put those two things together, Jesus is basically saying: 'I am the supreme representative of the human race, who will inherit the dominion from God; I am the Messiah, the anointed king.' That's what you would get. It would not mean two persons in the Godhead, but it would identify Jesus as the one that we know from the rest of the New Testament, in whom God dwelt: 2 Corinthians 5:19 — 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.'
• So, as we've said in a past episode: is there a distinction between God and the Son of God? Yes, absolutely. Not two eternal persons in the Godhead, but the one true God, and the human identity that God assumed when he came in flesh to be our Savior. And the reason why that term Son is used is to protect the authentic humanity of Jesus Christ. We should not think of the Son as just an appearance of God — just God in a mirage, or God wearing a mask; not God just changing roles, or God changing forms — but a real human being, just like us in every way except for sin, who could represent us, who could actually die for our sins, who could take our place, who actually rose from the dead. And so there's a real distinction — but not two divine persons: a true human, in whom God dwelt, who is really God.
• So putting what Jesus said about himself, and what the New Testament says about Jesus, back to Daniel 7: this is a vision, obviously — not two actual bodies walking around. In the light of the New Testament, there's one God on the throne; there is one human figure, who represents all the saints of God, who is supremely identified in the New Testament as the Messiah, the anointed king, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom the true God dwells. But he's depicted as a distinct figure, because he is representing the human race, and he is representing the sacrificial role: we can't think of the Ancient of Days as dying; we have to think of the Son of Man dying.

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:19

Revelation 1: Jesus as Both Figures

• And then, if we bring this to Revelation chapter 1, it all falls into place. In Revelation 1, John has a vision of someone who's obviously Jesus Christ — everybody agrees. But notice in Revelation 1:16 through 18: 'He had in his right hand seven stars; out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength' — echoes of the consuming fires. 'And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last; I am he who lives, and was dead; behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; I have the keys of Hades and of death."'
• But go back to verse 12: 'Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven gold lampstands; in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man' — so you clearly see that's the second figure of Daniel — 'clothed with a garment down to his feet, girded about the chest with a golden band; his head and hair were white like wool, white as snow; his eyes like a flame of fire; his feet like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace; his voice as the sound of many waters' — and then his countenance like the sun shining in its strength. All that description is like the Ancient of Days: the fire, the white hair, the majesty, the glory. And even many trinitarian commentators have noted that John, in Revelation 1, is describing Jesus as the Ancient of Days, and as the Son of Man.
• So what's going on here? If you think of God as God, that's the Ancient of Days. If you think of Jesus Christ — when you consider him in his divine identity and role, he's the Ancient of Days; but when you consider him as the representative king of the human race, who will win the battle for us and will share dominion with us, he's the Son of Man. So it's not two persons of the Godhead; to the contrary, it's one God, who's revealed in his divine identity, but he's also revealed in Jesus Christ — the Son of Man, who is Jesus, fulfilling his earthly role. Revelation 1 is very clearly dependent on Daniel 7: anybody who reads both will immediately see the connection. But in Revelation 1, Jesus is identified as both the Ancient of Days and as the Son of Man. And that's the essence of the Oneness teaching.

Scriptures: Revelation 1; Revelation 1:16-18; Revelation 1:12

Scripture index: Luke 1:35; Hebrews 1:5; Galatians 4:4; Deuteronomy 6:4; Daniel 7; Daniel 7:9-10; Daniel 7:13-14; Daniel 7:25; Daniel 7:26-27; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Revelation 1; Revelation 1:16-18; Revelation 1:12.