Lesson 7 — The Son of Man and the Kingdom
- May 28
- 11 min read
Updated: Jun 11
Daniel 2, Daniel 7, Daniel 9, Zechariah 9:9
Simon woke up with a start. For a moment he forgot where he was, and then he realized he was at home. Andrew was snoring away and the rest of the household was quiet. Simon could not stop thinking about what he had learned while he was in Jerusalem for the feast. The story his Ima had told him was going around and around in his mind. He could not wait to speak to the Rabbi about it at school today. Was the account the truth, or simply a tale of gossip told at the temple? If it was true, what could it mean? And, why was he so obsessed with knowing the answer?
Andrew rolled over, opened his eyes slowly, and looked at Simon. He knew what Simon was thinking about. Maybe today the rabbi would explain this mystery. Did the rabbi know this story? Would he know if it was true? The other boys would want to know, too.
In a short time, they were all gathered once again at the synagogue school in their usual places.
“Rabbi, after the lesson today, could I ask you some questions?” Simon asked.
“Certainly,” said the Rabbi, looking pleased and curious. But for now we must begin our lesson. Then he looked at the boys. “Today,” he said, “we go to the end.” No one moved. “You have learned of the Seed of the woman, the King from Judah, the Son of David, the Suffering Servant… the Greater Moses, the Lamb, the coming King, and the Redeemer.
He paused, “Today you will learn about the kingdom that cannot be destroyed.” The rabbi unrolled the scroll of Daniel.
“James, Who was Daniel?”
“Daniel was a prince of Judah, and as a young man was taken from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar into exile to Babylon with a group of his friends. He was a prophet for Yahweh, and also was an interpreter of dreams. He became a high official in the Babylonian government, and even in the Persian government.”
“Philip, what did Daniel prophesy about?”
“The prophet Daniel was shown the course of kingdoms and empires in the future.”
“Yes. His dreams and visions foretold the future with amazing accuracy. In this scripture, Daniel is relaying a dream King Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon had, and then interpreting it.” The rabbi unrolled the scroll and read,
“You, O king… saw a great image… This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.” (Daniel 2:31–33, NKJV)
Philip nodded slowly, “Each part of the statue represented a coming empire.”
“Yes,” said the rabbi. “Kingdom after kingdom. Human power rising, ruling, then falling– the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and now, the Romans.”
Simon said quietly, “Like waves on the sea.”
The rabbi nodded. “Yes. But the kingdoms of men always pass.”
The rabbi looked around the room.“Do you remember the garden?”
Andrew answered softly, “The Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.”
“Yes, ”the rabbi gestured toward the scroll. “Those two lines continue through history.” He spoke slowly. “One line builds kingdoms in pride, violence, and rebellion. The other line carries the promise of the righteous King. Let’s see what else Daniel has to say.”
“You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.” (Daniel 2:34, NKJV)
The boys leaned forward.
“Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together and the wind carried them away.” (Daniel 2:35, NKJV) The rabbi’s voice deepened. “And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:35, NKJV)
Simon whispered,“The crushing of the serpent’s head.”
“Yes,” said the rabbi. “The Messiah is The Stone.” He let the words settle. “The rock in the wilderness that gave water. The stone David used against Goliath. The rejected cornerstone. The stone that was cut without hands.”
Andrew said quietly, “And the stone destroys the kingdoms of men.”
“Yes,” the rabbi looked at them carefully. “And then becomes a mountain.”
John said softly, “ Mountains are kingdoms in the scripture! This new mountain is the kingdom of Messiah!”
The rabbi unrolled another portion of the writings of Daniel.
“Daniel saw four great beasts come up from the sea. In the Holy Scriptures, the sea represents the Gentile peoples on the earth (Daniel 7:3, NKJV) . He read slowly: “The first was like a lion” (Daniel 7:4). “Another, a second, like a bear” (Daniel 7:5). “After this another, like a leopard” (Daniel 7:6). “After this a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong” (Daniel 7:7).
James’ brow furrowed. “The same four kingdoms? Babylon, Persia, the Greeks, and the Romans?”
“Exactly,” nodded the rabbi. He kept reading. “After that, in my vision at night, I looked and there before me was a fourth beast, terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth. It crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.”
“Remember, horns are kings or leaders of the empire,” inserted the Rabbi.
“ How could there be ten of them? Ten regional kings?” Simon asked.
“That is the usual interpretation. Now this terrifying beast will be an empire widespread and powerful. Let me continue in the scripture.” “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.”
“Is this boasting king the final seed of the serpent?”
“Yes,” said the rabbi. “He is the leader of the final evil and powerful kingdom.” The rabbi’s voice lowered. “The last beast is different. It devours. It tramples. It speaks proud words.It makes war.”
Simon’s jaw tightened, “The final enemy.”
The rabbi nodded. “The last generation of the people of Israel will suffer mightily from this evil kingdom. The beast will wage war against them for seven years. The fullest expression of the serpent’s line.” Then the rabbi straightened and his voice became reverent.
“I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated” (Daniel 7:9, NKJV).
The room grew still.
“His garment was white as snow. His throne was a fiery flame” (Daniel 7:9, NKJV).
Andrew whispered, “The Judge!”
The rabbi read slowly, every word weighted:
“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” (Daniel 7:13, NKJV). Then 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 the one which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14, NKJV).
Silence filled the room. The rabbi looked at them. “Who is this?”
John lifted his eyes.” It must be the Messiah! Is the ‘ Son of Man,’ another name for The Promised One?”
“Yes, yes,” the Rabbi nodded. “Daniel uses this term for Messiah many times in his writings.”
James noted, “This name shows his humanity—Son of Man.”
Philip added, “But He comes on the clouds!”
“In the scriptures, the cloud-rider is the Lord Himself, remember? Simon added.
Andrew whispered, “So He is human, yet divine.”
"So is there going to be a big battle? Between the Cloud Rider, and the leader of the Final Beast? Will it be physical? Or Spiritual? Will the angels help?” Simon asked.
The rabbi’s voice lowered. “Yes. Remember, the leader of the last ‘beast,’ or empire, who is called in the scriptures the Son of Perdition, or the Abomination of Desolation, is not yet conquered. When he is, it will be the battle of battles.” He glanced down at the scroll and began to read again from Daniel.
“The enemy will wage war. Israel will suffer. But judgment will be given to the saints, and the time will come for them to possess the kingdom” (Daniel 7:22, NKJV).
James sat straighter. “So the end is not defeat.”
“No,” said the rabbi. “It is victory through trial. When the King comes, He will restore the throne of David. He will judge the nations. He will crush the final rebellion. He will redeem and restore the earth. There are many scriptures written about what this Kingdom will be like. There are scriptures in Isaiah, the Psalms, and in several others of the books of the prophets. Maybe we will take up that study next!”
“Rabbi, could this happen any day? If the final kingdom is Rome, is it the emperor who is the Son of Perdition? Do we have any idea of the timing of these events? ” asked Philip.
“What do you boys think? Could it happen any day now?”
The boys sat quietly, deep in thought. Finally, John said, “ Doesn’t the Messiah have to come first, as a Suffering Servant? And die, and rise again? Don’t we have to have the bruise on the heel first?”
James objected, “ But how do we know that hasn’t happened already?”
John countered, “ Doesn’t Zechariah say, they will look upon him whom they pierced? I think we would know!”
Andrew nodded. “I think this is a picture of his second coming, as a Conquering King! The Promised One has to come the first time. He must be born in Bethlehem. He will be bruised for us. This is the one we should be looking for. This one first. He will not be a king. He will be a sacrifice for us.”
“That is right. However, there are some clues in the book of Daniel about the timing of the event,” admitted the rabbi. The diligent student will be rewarded. Remember what I said about the hidden manna? Every single detail of every part of the scriptures are important, especially when read in the original language. Here is a prophecy about the second coming from Daniel. “Seventy weeks are determined… to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness.” (Daniel 9:24, NKJV).
Philip leaned forward.“This speaks of Messiah.”
“Yes,” The rabbi continued. “Also, in the book of Daniel, he gives us the exact date that Messiah will ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, during his first coming. He says there will be 490 years between the time of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah, until the Anointed One is presented as The King in Jerusalem. Let's read the text."
"Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision… Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. The Ruler who will Come will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” (Daniel 9: 24-27).
“Our rabbis use this scripture to calculate the exact day of Messiah’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is taught that the prophecy predicts the Messiah would present Himself to Jerusalem precisely 173,880 days (69 weeks of years, using a 360-day prophetic calendar) after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem by Artaxerxes Longimanus in 445/444 BC.. The scriptures say the Mashiach Navid, Messiah the King, will present himself as King, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey! (Zechariah 9:9).
“So, Rabbi, what date would that be exactly?” asked Simon.
“April 6, 32 AD.”
The boys sat in silence. If Daniel’s prophecy was true, Messiah was expected soon!
“That is ten years from now!” Simon realized. “I will be 25 years old! I can’t believe this! Why am I just learning about this now?”
The rabbi’s eyes started to twinkle.” Many teachers believe they know the scriptures, but they do not. But here it is clearly stated in the scroll of Daniel. What else could it mean? The date of his birth? No, it says until the anointed King comes! I have always associated this with the scripture from Zechariah 9:9. That day he will be presented in Jerusalem! And note the date! Our month of Nissan. This is very close to Passover. Could he be coming into Jerusalem for Passover?”
“Wow.” said Philip.” It says the anointed one will be put to death. Let’s go back to the Suffering Servant. He will be a sacrifice. Die for our sins. Then rise again! He will do it on Passover!”
The room was still then with a holy silence as all of them pondered this amazing news.
“When the King comes, the first time, he will be the Passover Lamb,” John declared. “When the King comes the second time, He will restore the throne of David. He will judge the nations. He will crush the final rebellion. He will redeem and restore the earth.”
The rabbi rolled the scroll closed slowly.
“Remember this, children. The kingdoms of men rise, and fall. The beast will rage. The saints may suffer.The stone is still coming,” taught the rabbi. He paused. “The Son of Man will appear. His kingdom will never end.”
No one spoke. The room felt larger now, as though its stone walls could no longer contain what they had heard.
Outside, the waters of Bethsaida shimmered beneath the sun. Boats drifted.Voices carried over the water. Life went on.
But inside, the boys had seen beyond their own day. Each one burned in their own spirit considering the possibility that they could possibly know their Messiah some day! It was a possibility they only dreamed of before. But now? The rabbi had brought that dream into the realm of possibility. Slowly, they put on their sandals and headed for the door.
“Simon,” the rabbi called, “ Did you wish to ask me a question?”
“Yes, rabbi,” Simon answered, shaking his head to remember. “My ima shared with us that around four years ago, when I was a small boy, our family went to Jerusalem for the Passover. We had a wonderful time, and then headed home. On the way, The group traveling together from Bethsaida joined a group headed to Nazareth. It was a large crowd! After a few days, a family from Nazareth noticed that their twelve year old son was not with the group! The Abba and Ima were so panicked, they returned to Jerusalem looking for him. When they arrived, they found him at the temple! He was actually talking with the learned men, and explaining the scriptures to them! His parents scolded him, but he was unapologetic. ‘Did you not know I would be about my Father’s business?’ ” he said.
“What a response! What did the boy mean? Who was this boy? How did he become so wise, so smart? Where was the boy now? Is he training to be a rabbi? His father was a carpenter. What did that have to do with talking to the learned men at the temple?” Simon asked.
The boys watched the rabbi’s face closely as he answered. “Now that is a mystery, isn’t it? What do YOU think? When I talk next to the rabbi from the synagogue in Nazareth, I will ask him about the boy.”
“Thank you, Rabbi,” Simon answered, shaking his head. Today, there was a lot to ponder, to think about. An inexplicable peace came over him then. He basked in its glow all the way home.
Discussion Questions: For Lesson Plans for this Lesson CLICK HERE!
Share with the group something new you might have learned from this lesson.
Do you think it is possible that Simon and the rest could have heard about Yeshua (Jesus) before His baptism? Why or why not?
What new name for Messiah was introduced in this lesson? Was there more than one? What names are given for the antichrist, or the final world ruler, the seed of the serpent?
Who is the Ancient of Days?
Why is it important that Jesus arrive in Jerusalem on a donkey on Passover?
In Daniel 9, we have this scripture "The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary." Reread Daniel 9. The ruler who will come, is the antichrist. Was this scripture fulfilled in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the temple? That would mean the antichrist comes from the revived Roman Empire! This is why so many scholars believe the antichrist to be the Pope, a Roman Catholic. However, the scriptures also teach he will be of Assyrian descent. What else do you know about the antichrist?
Watch the video of Chuck Missler explaining the timing of Daniel 9, and the short from Jack Hibbs.
Going Further: 2:37
13:00. Don't miss this!! Chuck Missler
Going Further with Jack Hibbs 32 minutes
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