With the Clouds of Heaven

Description

“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. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom.” (Daniel 7:13-14 ESV).

Perceiving a hole in evangelical biblical theology that should be filled with a robust treatment of the book of Daniel, James Hamilton takes this chance to delve into the book’s rich contribution to the Bible’s unfolding redemptive-historical storyline.

By setting Daniel in the broader context of biblical theology, this canonical study helps move us toward a clearer understanding of how we should live today in response to its message. First, Hamilton shows how the book’s literary structure contributes to its meaning, and then addresses key questions and issues, concluding by examining typological patterns.

This New Studies in Biblical Theology volume argues that the four kingdoms prophesied by Daniel are both historical and symbolic—that the “one like a son of man” seen by Daniel is identified with and distinguished from the Ancient of Days in a way that would be mysterious until Jesus came as both the son of David and God incarnate. He elaborates that the interpretations of Daniel in early Jewish literature attest to strategies similar to those employed by New Testament authors and exposes that those authors provide a Spirit-inspired interpretation of Daniel that was learned from Jesus. He also highlights how the book of Revelation uses Daniel’s language, imitates his structure, points to the fulfilment of his prophecies and clarifies the meaning of his “seventieth week.”

CONTENTS

List of tables
Series preface
Author’s preface
Abbreviations

1. Preliminaries
Biblical theology
The canon of Scripture
An evangelical approach
Chapter by chapter preview

2. From Eden to the end: Daniel in Old Testament salvation history
The history of Israel’s future in the Torah
The fulfilment of Mosaic prophecy in the Prophets
and the Writings
From Daniel to the end of days
Conclusion

3. The literary structure of Daniel
Daniel’s discrete units
Relationships between Daniel’s discrete units
The literary structure of the book of Daniel

4. Four kingdoms; then everlasting dominion: the history of the future
The image in Daniel 2
The beasts in Daniel 7
The ram and the goat in Daniel 8
Kings of south and north in Daniel 10—12
Conclusion

5. Seventy weeks and seventy weeks of years: Daniel’s prayer and Gabriel’s revelation
The prayer
The revelation
Conclusion

6. The one like a son of man and other heavenly beings in Daniel
Heavenly beings in Daniel
The pre-incarnate Christ?
The one like a son of man
Conclusion

7. Interpretations of Daniel in early Jewish literature
Tobit
Qumran
1 Maccabees
4 Ezra
1 Enoch
Conclusion

8. Interpretations of Daniel in the New Testament (except Revelation)
A summary of what we have seen
Stock language, thematic similarity and fulfilment
New Testament quotations of Daniel
Thematic fulfilments of Daniel
Conclusion

9. Interpretations of Daniel in the Apocalypse
John’s reuse of Daniel’s language
John’s imitation of Daniel’s structure
John’s fulfilments of Daniel’s prophecies
John’s clarification of Daniel’s revelations
Conclusion

10. Typological patterns: Daniel in biblical theology
A promise-shaped paradigm
Abraham
Psalms
Joseph and Daniel
Jehoiachin, Esther and Nehemiah
Fulfilment in Christ
Conclusion

Bibliography
Index of authors
Index of Scripture references
Index of ancient sources