“My Father Assigned to Me a Kingdom”- An Advent Sermon (From Daniel 7 and Luke 22:24–30)
The Great Christmas Hymns—Why We Love Them
You are no doubt familiar with the well-known hymn, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” which includes the phrase in the first stanza and again in the refrain, “glory to the new born king.” Many of us know these words from memory. We sing about a coming king with great gusto and emotion. But what do these words truly mean? What exactly is implied when we sing of Jesus as this newborn king, yet who is to be received by all the earth? How can we speak of that ruby-cheeked babe in a manger scene as the King of kings and Lord of Lords?
Christmas in America—Tough for Christians to Navigate
Christmas is a surprisingly difficult time to be a Christian in America, because Christmas as traditionally understood–the celebration of the birth of Jesus–has been transformed into a secularized shopping event known simply as “The Holidays.” During the four Sundays before Christmas (Advent) many Christians use each of these Lord’s Days in sequence to focus upon one aspect of the coming of the Savior on that first Christmas. Advent is intended to be an annual reminder of who Jesus is and what he has come to do for us. The very fact that a Savior must come to earth to save us from the guilt of our sins forces us to consider the reality that we are sinners in need of a savior. This is but one reason why the Christmas story is so compelling. The German Reformer Martin Luther’s best sermons were arguably his Christmas sermons. This story stirred many a Christian heart to compose the great music and hymns packed with rich theological content, which we love to sing when Advent comes each year.
Since the transformation of Advent into the secular gift-giving season, the traditional focus upon the birth of Jesus is almost completely lost. Given this continual barrage of a secularized “happy holidays” replete with a now svelte Santa and his tech savvy reindeer, it is easy to reduce Christmas to a sort of “birthday party” for Jesus. The justification for the giving of gifts is tied to the imitation of the wise men from the east who brought Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because these changes to the biblical Christmas story can be so subtle, yet distort the biblical account of Christ’s birth so badly, this is but one of the reasons why the Puritan side of the Reformed tradition views the very idea of Christmas/Advent with an understandable suspicion.
Keeping the distinction in mind between the Christian view of Advent and Christmas, and the secularized “Happy Holidays,” if we choose to devote several Sundays before Christmas to a consideration of Advent, then we ought to be quite intentional about our reasons for doing so. One is to counteract some of the trivialization of what God has actually done in human history to save us from our sins. God sent us a Savior named Jesus. The way this Savior comes to redeem us raises profound theological questions about our sin, the saving work of Christ, as well as the uniqueness of Christianity and the incarnation (God in human flesh); questions which often make people very uncomfortable, which is why there is so much pressure to downplay those doctrines which explain the meaning and purpose of the birth of Jesus.
In order to resist the culture wide trivialization of the Christian gospel during Advent season, we can focus upon several Old Testament passages which speak of Jesus as the coming redeemer/Messiah, who is also eternal God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, who took to himself a true human nature in the womb of the virgin through the power of the Holy Spirit. There is a very rich and profound biblical background which inspired Charles Wesley to compose “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” and Issac Watts to compose “Joy to the World!” based upon Psalm 98. The King of Kings was once a babe.
Advent Should Be Grounded in Messianic Prophecy
Several Old Testament passages speak of the coming Messiah as a biological descendant of David (Israel’s greatest king). Jesus’s ancestral ties to King David are prominently featured in messianic prophecy. This explains the angel’s announcement that in the birth of Jesus the long-expected king foretold throughout the Old Testament has come to save his people. Yet in one of the Old Testament texts foretelling that the Messiah would be born in the same city as David, Bethlehem, we find something quite remarkable. In Micah’s prophecy (5:2) we read, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” The Messiah will come from Bethlehem (like David), he will come from among the clans of Judah, and he will be a biological descendant of David, and a king. But Micah adds that his going forth is “from ancient days,” i.e., he is eternal. How can a human Messiah be eternal, when only YHWH is eternal? Once Jesus is born we realize that he has two natures–one divine, one human, yet is one person, Jesus of Nazareth (the doctrine of the Incarnation).
Or consider the “tale of two Zechariahs.” One is the Old Testament prophet. The other is a priest in the temple in the days of Jesus’s incarnation. In the “song of Zechariah,” found in Luke 1:67-80, Zechariah the priest, expresses great excitement that his own son (John the Baptist) will be the forerunner of the Messiah. About the same time, Jesus was supernaturally conceived in the womb of Mrs. Zechariah’s cousin, Mary. Zechariah exults in the realization that his prayers have been answered–God has remembered his covenant with Abraham. Yet behind God’s covenant with Abraham (which unfolds throughout the course of redemptive history) there is another covenant (the covenant of redemption–the covenant before the covenants), and another Zechariah, Zechariah the prophet. In the eighth of a series of night visions, the Old Testament prophet Zechariah witnessed four chariots going forth in fire and wrath to subdue the earth, and to a time when the Holy Spirit brings rest to the nations (the eternal Sabbath) after all of YHWH’s enemies have been defeated.
In verses 12-13 of Zechariah 6, the prophet sees another remarkable vision.
And the word of the Lord came to me . . . “Thus says the Lord of hosts, `Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’
Zechariah sees a mysterious figure, identified as “the Branch,” who is YHWH’s equal, and who is a ruler and high priest over all the earth, and he also makes a “counsel of peace” with the Lord of Hosts, YHWH.
The Unfolding Covenant Drama
This “Branch,” is the pre-incarnate Jesus, who participates in an eternal inter-Trinitarian covenant (the “counsel of peace”), in which the Lord of Hosts, the Branch, and the Spirit covenant together to redeem God’s elect through a covenant of grace which God will make with his people through Abraham–a covenant God remembers and fulfills by sending the messianic forerunner (John the Baptist) and the Messiah (Jesus). The Father (the Most High) sends “The Branch” (Jesus) to be YHWH’s great high priest and king, who will possess the very glory of God, and through whose death, resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit will bring peace to the nations (the earlier scene in Zechariah’s vision).
The babe in the manger is said to be “from ancient days.” He is an equal party to an eternal covenant with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Taking his human nature from the DNA of his mother, Mary, through a virginal conception sanctified by the Holy Spirit, so that Mary’s own sinfulness is not passed on to Jesus, Jesus’s eternal deity is revealed in both the prophesies of Micah and Zechariah hundreds of years before he is born as David’s descendant in the small town of Bethlehem. Yet, there is another significant element found in the Old Testament regarding the babe born in Bethlehem–the infant Jesus, already possesses an eternal kingdom about which we sing. This is revealed in Daniel’s prophecy (7:9-18).
Daniel’s Vision
Daniel 7 opens with the prophet describing a vision which came to him during the reign of the Babylonian king, Belshazzar, about 560 BCE. In this vision (vv. 1-8) Daniel sees four great beasts come up out of the sea–the sea being a metaphor for the Gentile nations with their constant change and turmoil. The sea is also the realm of the dragon (Satan). Driven by four great winds, which are symbolic of God’s power and judgment, YHWH directs the four beasts to run their course until they reach their divinely appointed ends. The great beasts represent four great kings of the earth and the great kingdoms or empires over which they rule.
The first beast Daniel sees is like a lion with eagles wings–the winged lion was a symbol used by the Babylonians. This tells us that the first kingdom is Nebuchadnezzer’s, the Babylonian king under whom Daniel had served, but refused to worship. The second beast Daniel witnesses is like a bear with three animal ribs in its mouth, poised to spring into action. This beast is the Medo-Persian empire, which devoured several empires. The Medes conquered the Babylonian empire in about in 539 BCE, the Lydian empire in 546 BCE, and the Egyptian empire in 525 BCE,–symbolized by the three ribs in its mouth. The third beast looked like a leopard, Daniel says, but has four wings like a bird, and four heads. This beast is a symbolic vision of Alexander the Great’s Greek empire, and its rapid invasion of Asia Minor (Turkey) in 334 BCE, before Alexander conquered the remains of the Medo-Persian and Babylonia empires to the east within but a few years time.
Daniel’s fourth beast is the most terrifying of all. We read in Daniel 7:7-8,
after this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, 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.
This final and most fearsome beast is the Roman empire which by the middle of the second century BCE, had displaced the Greek empire, which displaced the Medo-Persian empire, which conquered Babylon.
Daniel also sees a “little horn” arise which then uproots three other horns (i.e., the rulers of the preceding empires). This little horn speaks blasphemies against YHWH and is an Antichrist figure who rules over this fourth beast, by claiming divine rights and privileges which belong to God alone. This is one of the well-known historical characteristics of Roman emperors such as Caligula and Nero. They claim to be divine, they mock God, reject the natural order, and put their personal pursuits of sinful pleasure and personal power ahead of all public good. These men are the epitome of a future antichrist.
Daniel’s Vision Moves from an Antichrist Figure to the Throne of Heaven
In verse 9 of Daniel 7, the scene dramatically changes from that of the warfare and chaos of the earth, as one great empire conquers another, only to be conquered in turn, to the heavenly throne–a scene of peace and order (in complete contrast to the chaos going on upon the earth). In this portion of his vision Daniel describes how the heavenly court has been called to order. God’s sentence upon this fourth empire and its blaspheming little horn will now be carried out. The contrast between this portion of Daniel’s vision in verses 7-8 and what follows could not be greater. While the fourth beast conquers all the territory of the previous beasts, and its leader surpasses all the previous kings with his boastful speech and blasphemies, the Lord himself takes his throne in heaven, decreeing a great day of judgment to come upon all those who mock him, reject his commandments, and claim divine rights and privileges for themselves.
Daniel describes the amazing scene as follows. “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.” Daniel sees a divine and heavenly glory which human language struggles to capture. Daniel explains what he sees using analogies because this is the only way we can even begin to understand the scene before the prophet’s eyes. The Ancient of Days (YHWH) takes his place upon the throne–the very symbol of God’s authority to rule over all of creation. The other thrones belong to the angels, or even to the saints, as recounted in an identical image from Revelation 20:4. “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.” God is going to judge all those people and nations who refuse to worship and serve him, the only true and living God.
Flaming Fire—An Image of Judgment and Power
Daniel describes God’s throne as flaming with fire (recall the image of the four fiery chariots from Zechariah’s vision) and YHWH is described as being as white as white can be–symbolic of his perfect holiness and spotless purity. The one who takes his place upon the throne is all-powerful, eternal, and perfectly holy–completely unlike the blaspheming “little horn” in the previous verses. There is an important caution to be issued here: the scene Daniel describes is not in any sense intended to serve as inspiration for artists or film-makers.
To attempt to draw or portray this scene (as many have, i.e., medieval artists) by depicting God with a white robe, hoary white hair and beard, or portray him in film similarly is, ironically, to engage in conduct remarkably similar to that of the little horn. Any attempt to capture this scene visually ends up limiting God’s glory to images conjured up by the sinful human imagination. Portraying or representing God’s glory in images is expressly forbidden in the second commandment. But this vision is as close as we get anywhere in the Bible to a description of heaven, and it is clear that what is seen by Daniel is truly beyond human comprehension. We can read about it, contemplate it, but we cannot capture it in images and should not try.
In the 10th verse of chapter 7, Daniel says that “a stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.” The river of fire (think “lake of fire”) is a graphic picture of God’s holy and righteous judgment, coming upon all those who worship and serve the four beasts of Daniel’s vision, or who embrace the proud and blasphemous boasts of the “little horn.” The scene of books being opened remind us that God’s judgments against the beasts and the little horn are grounded in the facts of their actual conduct. YHWH judges according to the complete and total record of their conduct. The context seems to point to God’s judgment of these four beasts (kings) and the little horn, but in Revelation 20:12, it is clear that such judgment extends to each and every person who has ever lived. “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” There is indeed coming a day of judgment.
In light of the majesty of the Ancient of Days and the heavenly scene he has just witnessed, Daniel is shocked by the arrogance of the little horn. According to verses 11-12,
I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
While the “little horn” is openly and boastfully blaspheming the Ancient of Days, fire from heaven consumes him. The fourth beast (the Roman empire) eventually will be wiped out, as will the other beasts (by the way, these empires are all still future when Daniel is given this prophecy) which will be destroyed after God allows the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires to run their course.
One Like a Son of Man
But Daniel sees yet another figure in his vision. In verse 13, the prophet tells us, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.” Daniel’s vision reaches its climax–the kingdoms of the world, symbolized by the four beasts in contrast with a kingdom possessed by one “like a son of man” who was presented to the Ancient of Days. This “son of man” descends in the glory of the clouds to the very throne of heaven. The language “like a son of man” indicates that his figure has human form, but is not merely human. This is the pre-incarnate Jesus, the Jesus before the first Christmas.
In the next verse, Daniel recounts “and to him was given 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 one that shall not be destroyed.” This is the scene of the coronation of the Son of Man who is given a kingdom much greater than any of the great world empires Daniel has just witnessed. While each of these earthly kingdoms come to an end under the judgment of God, the kingdom given to the Son of Man is everlasting. It cannot be destroyed, and it extends to the ends of the earth, so that all kingdoms, peoples, nations, and languages will serve him.
Having seen things too great to comprehend, in verse 15, Daniel tells us, “as for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me.” The prophet has been given but a glimpse of those mysteries which every Christian longs to see and know more about. Daniel is overwhelmed by it all. Wondering what all of this means, Daniel says,
I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. “These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’”
If we were to reduce the entire course of redemptive history to a single summary sentence, this might be it. The Most High gives to the Son of Man and to his people (those whom he will redeem) a kingdom which will never end.
The Son of Man—The Jesus of the Gospels
But who is this “son of man”? There is only one possible candidate–Jesus. This brings us to Advent. Throughout the gospels, Jesus repeatedly speaks of himself using this title to express that he has a heavenly origin (not merely through natural procreation–as seen in the virginal conception of our Lord), that he possesses an eternal kingdom, and that he will return again in glory and power at the end of the age. Jesus uses this title specifically in regard to his incarnation since his divine glory–which Daniel witnessed in his vision–is veiled in human flesh when he is conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin. In fact, Jesus uses this title of himself 80 times in the gospels–no one addresses him as “Son of Man”–and Jesus does so in such a way that those who hear him think he is speaking of someone else, as in John 12:34, where “the crowd answered him, `We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’”
In most instances when Jesus uses the term (and we can but barely scratch the surface here), it is obvious that he is speaking of himself. In Matthew 16:13–17, we read of this discussion between Jesus and his disciples.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Jesus also uses this identification when speaking of his second advent. In Matthew 24:30, he tells his disciples, “then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Clearly then, Jesus identifies himself as the “Son of Man,” that one Daniel witnessed being led into the presence of the Ancient of Days.
An Everlasting Kingdom
But what about the kingdom he is given? Jesus speaks openly of that as well. In Luke 22:24–30, we read that
a dispute also arose among [the disciples], as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And [Jesus] said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.” But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’”
Jesus speaks the very same words to his disciples–I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom–that the witness to the heavenly scene spoke to Daniel when he asked about what he had seen–but the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever. In speaking to his disciples, Jesus speaks as though he is indeed the one whom Daniel had seen in his vision.
As with the “son of man” language, the New Testament ascribes an everlasting kingdom to Jesus. When informing Mary of her pregnancy by the power of the Holy Spirit, the angel Gabriel tells her that the one in her womb “will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33). In his marching orders to the church (the Great Commission) Jesus declares “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). And in the vision given John in the Book of Revelation, the apostle writes of how “the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, `The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever’” (Revelation 11:15). That vision which Daniel saw in his prophecy is affirmed again and again in the pages of the New Testament as referring to Jesus, God’s eternal son, who repeatedly identifies himself as the “Son of Man” who was given an everlasting kingdom.
Hail the Incarnate Deity
Advent provides us with a great opportunity to consider just who it is who came to earth in the person of Jesus. There is a reason why we sing of a newborn king who possesses an eternal glory now veiled in human flesh. “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity.” This child is from ancient of days (eternal). This child came to earth to fulfill an eternal covenant made with YHWH (the Ancient of Days, the Lord of Hosts) and the Holy Spirit. This child possesses an everlasting kingdom, which will stand after all the kingdoms of the earth (and their kings) are completely and totally crushed.
There is nothing wrong with celebrating a national winter holiday which happens to fall in conjunction with the Christian celebration of Advent. But we do need to be careful not to confuse the two. Most of Christmas in America has very little to do with that Savior of whom we read in Scripture, who is God incarnate, and who came to save us from our sins. As professing Christians, we of all people need to be crystal clear about who this child is and give due consideration to the reason why he came–to reconcile the holy God to sinful men and women ushering in his long expected kingdom.
Christmas is a time of reflection upon the incarnation of that one who was led into the presence of the ancient of days, who was given an everlasting kingdom, over which he and his people will rule for all eternity after he destroys all the kingdoms of this world. For Mary’s child is from ancient days, he participates in an eternal covenant with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, and he possesses an everlasting kingdom. That babe in the manger–the newborn king–grew to manhood. It is he who tells us “the Father assigned to me, a kingdom.” That kingdom is realized on earth when Jesus was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. We enter that kingdom through faith in this newborn who grew up to be the Savior of the world and who will return in great glory to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new.
So we sing with joy and gusto “Hark the herald angels sing! Glory to the new born king.” “Joy to the world! Let earth receive her king!”