The prophet Daniel speaks of both judgment and hope to a people exiled in foreign kingdoms. His prophetic oracles are situated within the exile in Babylon and the following Persian kingdoms.

In chapter 2, Daniel offers an interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a giant statue made of different materials that is eventually struck by a giant rock that destroys it. Daniel tells of how one earthly kingdom will supplant another, tracing events we know from history after Daniel’s time. However, the culmination of Daniel’s interpretation—the stone that destroys this statue of kingdoms—he says represents God’s kingdom. These are his exact words:

“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.” (Daniel 2:44)

The theme of the vision is the humbling of earthly rulers because God is king and only God’s kingdom will endure through time, as it eventually supplants all other kingdoms.

Later in the book, in chapter 7, Daniel has a vision that has many similarities to this vision from Daniel 2. This time, however, the kings and kingdoms of earth are represented as ghoulish beasts that afflict the earth. Amidst this vision of terrifying vision, Daniel has a theophany—a vision of God—which puts perspective on the passing kingdoms of earth. In Daniel’s vision of God, there is a unique element, which connects with the messianic expectations of Isaiah:

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

This Son of Man figure surpasses all the earthly kings and kingdoms, even rising in victory over all the competing kingdoms that bring pain and corruption upon the earth. The Son of Man is the One who brings true hope, healing, and the kingdom of God upon earth. He is our hope, not the passing kings and kingdoms of earth.