This is a vision of the four kingdoms where the Jewish people would be exiled (from Babylon to today) -- and the eventual messianic era when the Jews will return from their exile to the land of Israel. The whole world will know there is only one G-d, there will be world peace and all the Jews will be returned to Israel. Needless to say this has not happened yet -- so, no, Jesus did not "do it." "I saw in the visions of the night, and behold with the clouds of the heaven, one like a man was coming, and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was brought before Him. And He (G-d) gave him dominion and glory and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and tongues shall serve him; his dominion is an eternal dominion, which will not be removed, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." Daniel 7:13 - 14. Daniel has a dream. In that dream he saw four beasts -- the beasts were his dream's method of presenting the kingdoms where Jews would be exiled. Each kingdom was weaker than the kingdom before it, until the day arrives when the high holy superior ones have their own kingdom -- one that will usher in an age of peace, of global knowledge of G-d and and the return of all the Jews from exile. This has yet to happen. Daniel is speaking of the Jewish people -- not of one person (certainly not Jesus since he never ruled a kingdom and even to day "all peoples and nations and tongues" are not Christians -- and never will be). The one "like a man" or "like a human" is not one person any more than the lion with wings like an eagle was one lion with wings! The lion with wings represented a kingdom. In the vision the bear, the leopard and the creature with iron teeth are not individual entities -- they represent different kingdoms. And the one "like a man" represents the Jewish people in the messianic age. The angel explains this to Daniel in Daniel 7:27. Read Daniel 7:27 - "And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under all the heavens will be given to the people of the exalted (high) holy ones; its kingdom is a perpetual kingdom, and all dominions will serve and obey [it]." This is the angel explaining the dream to Daniel. The one like a human represents the people of the exalted (superior) holy ones. Let's make this clear: There is a vision in Daniel 7:13 - 14. The vision is explained to Daniel by an angel in Daniel 7:27. Prophecies were always in the form of visions or dreams (with the exception of Moses) -- but the prophet immediately understood their meaning. Daniel did not understand the meaning, it had to be explained to him by the angel, meaning that although the communication came from G-d (via the angel) it was not prophecy. The Guide for the Perplexed the Rambam (Maimonides) discusses eleven levels of prophecy, the first two of which are not actually prophecy but are divine inspiration, men who have a spirit of holiness. These first two levels are holy men and women inspired by G-d, but their words are their own. The visions of Daniel as recorded in the biblical book would fall under the second of the Rambam's eleven levels of prophecy -- the first two of which are divine inspiration and not true prophecy. This second level may contain visions which are to be given to the living generation -- but the person who has them may not readily understand the meaning (prophets always know the meaning -- it is very clear to them). The Rambam: "The second degree is this: A person feels as if something came upon him, and as if he had received a new power that encourages him to speak. He treats of science, or composes hymns, exhorts his fellow-men, discusses political and theological problems; all this he does while awake, and in the full possession of his senses." There is, however, a difference between the visions experienced by prophets in a dream or vision and those connected with the ru'ah hakodesh -- divine inspiration. A prophet immediately knows (upon regaining his or her senses) that what happened was prophecy. A person who has a vision (as did Daniel) inspired by the holy does not have this realization: "My spirit-I, Daniel-became troubled within its sheath, and the visions of my mind terrified me." Daniel 7:15. This is why the Book of Daniel is not considered prophecy and is not found in that section of the Hebrew Bible. Who is the one called "like a son of man" (like a human) in Daniel 7:13 - 14? This entity is identified later in Daniel 7:27 as the Jewish people in Daniel 7:27. Remember, in this vision each creature represents an empire. The last entity is presented in the form of a human -- but it is not a single human, but rather a representative of an empire -- as were the others which preceded it... How can we know the exalted holy ones are the Jews? Take a look at B'reshit / Genesis 49:10 from Targum Onkelos (an ancient translation / interpretation): "He who exercises dominion shall not pass away from the house of Judah, nor the scepter from his children's children for ever, until the messiah comes, whose is the kingdom, and unto whom shall be the obedience of the nations (or, whom the peoples shall obey). Israel shall pass round about in his cities; the people shall build his temple, they will be righteous round about him, and be doers of the mitzvot (Torah) through his doctrine." Even though the Aramaic word קַדִּישֵׁ֣י (mistranslated as "saints") is only found in Daniel 7:the similar word in Hebrew is קְדֹשִׁ֣ים, -- holy ones -- is used to speak of the Jewish people in Vayikra / Leviticus 11:44 - 45, Vayikra / Leviticus 19:2, and Vayikra / Leviticus 20:7 to name just a few of the 14 entries of the Hebrew word appears 14 times in the T'nach relating to the Jewish people. Note that the words are different (different language) -- but they are similar. Thus the one described as "LIKE a son of man (human)" in the vision is interpreted by the angel as the Jewish people --- not one person. Not the messiah. Ergo the claim that this is a prophecy about Jesus falls apart simply by reading the context. There is another issue the list maker does not mention. In some Christian translations have the word "worship" rather than "serve." The King James Version and NETBible correctly have "served," but the NIV incorrectly has "worshiped." NIV: "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." This is a mistranslation. Verse 14 has the word יִפְלְחוּן / yifl'HUN, which means "they will serve [in the sense of work for] him". The word is spelled yod, pé, lammed, ḥet, vav, nun. Remember, this is Aramaic, not Hebrew. Aramaic, as in Hebrew, words are based on "root" words. The root for this word is פלח (péy lamed, ḥet). Three letters. The Book of Daniel is written n the Aramaic language from the middle of line 4 in chapter 2 of Daniel to the end of Daniel 7, returning to Hebrew in Daniel 8 for the rest of the book. Most root words are three letters -- vowels, prefixes and suffixes create new words using the "starting" word and sometimes joining two words together to form a new word -- they all, at the heart, have the meaning of the root word. A prefix may change it to add prepositions For example ו / vav as a prefix to a word can add "and he" or "and" to a word. ל / lamed as a prefix means "to" or "for" -- in Hebrew the word מֶלֶךְ / melech means king. If you add a ל / lamed prefix the word is לְמֶלֶךְ / l'melech (to a king). Why spend so much time to explain root words? Because words created from "roots" are similar -- they all contain the basic meaning of the core word -- just a variation on it. Realizing that consider the root of יִפְלְחוּן / yifl'HUN which is the word פלח / pey, lamed, ḥet). פלח / pey, lamed, ḥet).is a root word in both Hebrew and Aramaic -- but they are DIFFERENT words. These are two different, albeit related, languages. Aramaic and Hebrew are related languages, but they are not identical.
Slightly different. Aramaic is not often found in the T'nach (bible). The Book of Daniel begins in Hebrew, but switches abruptly into Aramaic part-way through verse 2:4 (the line printed in blue is in Hebrew and the line printed in red is in Aramaic): וַֽיְדַבְּר֧וּ הַכַּשְׂדִּ֛ים לַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲרָמִ֑ית מַלְכָּא֙ לְעָֽלְמִ֣ין חֱיִ֔י אֱמַ֥ר חֶלְמָ֛א לְעַבְדָּ֖ךְ וּפִשְׁרָ֥א נְחַוֵּֽא׃ Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, " May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we shall tell the interpretation.".” (Daniel 2:4). From this verse Daniel remains in Aramaic until the end of Daniel 7:, reverting to Hebrew at the beginning of chapter 8. Bottom line? "Worship" is a mistranslation in Daniel 7:
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