When the Son of Man comes, Jesus will return in power and glory, bringing His promised reign and the judgment of evil. In Luke 21:25–27, He describes worldwide distress followed by His appearing in a cloud. The title “Son of Man” points us back to Daniel 7 and the everlasting kingdom God gives His Son.
These prophecies are meant to shape our response to Christ. They expose the limits of earthly power, warn us to repent, and give believers confidence that history is moving toward His victory.
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Table of Contents
- Why Jesus Calls Himself the Son of Man
- Daniel’s Heavenly Court Points to God’s Final Judgment
- The Little Horn’s Power Will End
- Earthly Kingdoms Continue Only as Long as God Allows
- The Son of Man Comes Before the Ancient of Days
- Christ’s Kingdom Will Outlast Every Earthly Kingdom
- Daniel 2 Pictures the Same Triumph
- Cosmic Disturbances Accompany the Son of Man’s Coming
- The Cloud Points to God’s Glorious Presence
- Prepare for His Coming by Repenting
- Evidence Alone Does Not Produce Repentance
- Questions for Reflection
- Watch the Sermon
Why Jesus Calls Himself the Son of Man
Jesus is fully God and fully man. The Gospels show His real humanity in His hunger, weariness, suffering, and death, and His divine authority in His words and works. These truths belong to the same Person; He does not alternate between being divine and being human.
The title Son of Man therefore means more than a reference to weakness or ordinary human experience. In Daniel 7, one like a son of man receives dominion, glory, and an everlasting kingdom. Jesus’ use of the title when speaking of His return carries that royal significance.
“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
Luke 21:27, ESV
Daniel’s Heavenly Court Points to God’s Final Judgment
Daniel 7 begins with four terrifying beasts representing earthly kingdoms. Their violence does not place them beyond God’s authority. The scene shifts from the turmoil of these kingdoms to the heavenly court, where the Ancient of Days takes His seat (Daniel 7:9–10).
His white clothing, fiery throne, and the multitude before Him communicate majesty and holiness. The court sits and books are opened. Human rulers may appear unaccountable, but God’s judgment will expose and answer their evil.
I understand this courtroom scene as anticipating the final judgment described more fully in Revelation 20:11–15. Revelation presents a great white throne, the dead standing before it, and books opened for judgment. The parallels are substantial, but they do not require treating every event in Daniel 7 as occurring at one moment in Revelation’s sequence.
Daniel describes a vast heavenly assembly serving and standing before God. He does not identify that entire multitude as resurrected unbelievers. Revelation 20, by contrast, explicitly describes the dead brought before the throne and judged according to their deeds.
The great and the small stand before the Judge. Status, wealth, influence, and obscurity provide no exemption. Revelation also distinguishes the book of life from the books recording deeds, and it warns of the lake of fire for those whose names are not found in the book of life.
This is why our hope cannot rest on having lived well enough to withstand God’s judgment on our own. We need Christ’s righteousness and the salvation received through repentance and faith. The warning about judgment directs us toward the Savior.
The Little Horn’s Power Will End
Daniel 7:8 describes a little horn with eyes and a boastful mouth. Later in the chapter, this ruler opposes God and persecutes His people, but his dominion is taken away (Daniel 7:21–26). I understand this figure as pointing to the Antichrist.
Daniel 7:11 describes the destruction of the fourth beast. I connect that defeat with Revelation 19:20, where the beast and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire. Their opposition may be frightening, but it is temporary.
The sequence in Revelation deserves attention. The beast and false prophet are judged in chapter 19. Chapter 20 then describes the thousand-year reign, Satan’s final rebellion and judgment, and the great white throne. Keeping these events distinct helps us understand the passages without collapsing their chronology.
Earthly Kingdoms Continue Only as Long as God Allows
Daniel 7:12 says the other beasts lose their dominion, yet their lives are prolonged for a season. The distinction is between losing ruling power and immediately disappearing altogether.
I understand their continuing life as including the influence of earlier kingdoms within the powers that follow them, ultimately reaching the final kingdom opposed to God. Their exact continuance is less important than the limit placed upon it: they last only for the time God permits.
This perspective changes how we view earthly power. An empire can seem permanent to those living within it, but it cannot secure its own future against the Lord. Only the kingdom He establishes will endure forever.
The Son of Man Comes Before the Ancient of Days
In Daniel 7:13–14, one like a son of man comes with the clouds of heaven and is presented to the Ancient of Days. I understand these figures as the Son and the Father. The passage presents both their distinction and the extraordinary authority given to the Son.
Notice the direction of the scene: the Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days. Daniel is showing a heavenly presentation and the giving of a kingdom. Jesus draws on this vision when He describes His public appearing in Luke 21:27.
John 5:22 also connects the Father and Son in the work of judgment: the Father has entrusted judgment to the Son. The Jesus who suffered in humility is the One before whom the world must answer.
Christ’s Kingdom Will Outlast Every Earthly Kingdom
Daniel 7:14 describes dominion extending to every people, nation, and language. Unlike the kingdoms pictured by the beasts, this kingdom will not pass away or be destroyed. The promise reaches far beyond the influence of an unusually successful earthly ruler.
I understand this as anticipating Christ’s return and the establishment of His reign on earth. Psalm 2:8 similarly speaks of the nations and the ends of the earth as the Son’s inheritance. God’s purpose is not endangered by the resistance of the nations.
Revelation 5 provides a related picture of the Lamb receiving the scroll from the One seated on the throne. The chapter celebrates His worthiness because He was slain and ransomed people for God. The authority of the reigning Christ belongs to the same Savior who redeemed His people.
Daniel 2 Pictures the Same Triumph
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2 pictures successive kingdoms as parts of a great statue. Daniel identifies the golden head with Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. In the interpretation followed here, the later sections correspond to Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.
| Kingdom in this interpretation | Daniel 2 image | Daniel 7 image |
|---|---|---|
| Babylon | Head of gold | Lion |
| Medo-Persia | Chest and arms of silver | Bear |
| Greece | Middle and thighs of bronze | Leopard |
| Rome and its final development | Legs of iron; feet of iron and clay | Terrifying fourth beast |
The statue is impressive; the beasts are terrifying. Together, the images help us consider both the grandeur and the destructive power of human kingdoms. Their strength is real, but neither vision allows it to be ultimate.
A stone cut without human hands strikes the statue, destroys it, and becomes a mountain filling the earth (Daniel 2:34–35, 44–45). This points to a kingdom established by God rather than human achievement. I understand it as Christ’s kingdom replacing the kingdoms of this world.
When Christians pray for God’s kingdom to come, we look toward the fulfillment of His promised rule. The study of Solomon as a type and shadow of Christ explores another biblical picture of the greater King and His reign.
Cosmic Disturbances Accompany the Son of Man’s Coming
Luke 21:25–26 describes signs in the sun, moon, and stars, distress among the nations, and fear at the roaring sea and the shaking of the heavens. Jesus presents a world whose apparent stability can no longer be taken for granted.
The language recalls Old Testament warnings such as Isaiah 13:10 and Joel 2:31. I read these passages as pointing toward the extraordinary disturbances associated with the end of the age and Christ’s return.
Commentator Frederic Louis Godet compared this upheaval to a ship breaking apart. The illustration conveys the terror of the scene. The passage itself does not explain the physical mechanism behind every sign, and we should not turn an illustration into a scientific prediction.
The fear is both immediate and anticipatory: people are alarmed by what is happening and dread what is coming. Jesus’ disciples, however, are also told to lift their heads because their redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28). The same coming that exposes rebellion brings hope to those who belong to Him.
The Cloud Points to God’s Glorious Presence
Early in my Christian life, someone encouraged me to use the Bible to interpret the Bible. That advice helps when considering the cloud in Luke 21:27. Throughout Scripture, a cloud is repeatedly associated with the Lord’s presence and glory.
- God led Israel through the wilderness in a pillar of cloud (Exodus 13:21).
- A cloud accompanied His presence at Sinai (Exodus 19:9; 24:15–16).
- His glory filled the tabernacle and later the temple in a cloud (Exodus 40:34; 2 Chronicles 5:13–14).
- At the transfiguration, the Father spoke from the cloud and identified Jesus as His Son (Luke 9:34–35).
The temple background is especially striking: the presence of God is not something human power can manufacture or permanently contain. The cloud draws attention to divine majesty.
Acts 1:9–11 describes a cloud taking Jesus out of the disciples’ sight at His ascension and the promise that He will return in the same way. In light of these passages, I associate His coming in a cloud with the Father’s glorious presence, not merely with an ordinary weather condition.
Prepare for His Coming by Repenting
The connections between the Olivet Discourse and Revelation direct our attention to both judgment and readiness. I understand Revelation 3:10, with its promise of being kept from the worldwide hour of trial, as supporting a pretribulation rapture. The coming trial also exposes the response of those who remain in rebellion.
Revelation describes seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments. These belong to the unfolding distress discussed in the study of the beginning of birth pains. The details call for seriousness, but they do not authorize us to calculate a date for Christ’s return.
Revelation 16:8–11 describes scorching heat and darkness, yet the people respond by cursing God instead of repenting. Later, even devastating hail does not bring a repentant response (Revelation 16:21). The striking point is their continued resistance in the face of judgment.
John 3:19 explains the moral problem of loving darkness rather than coming to the light. Revelation’s scenes expose that resistance on a terrible scale. The answer is not to become fascinated with judgment while ignoring our own sin; it is to turn from the power of darkness to Christ.
Evidence Alone Does Not Produce Repentance
The people described in Revelation 16 recognize God’s power but curse Him. Their problem cannot be explained simply as a lack of evidence that He exists. A person can recognize divine authority and still refuse to submit to it.
This does not mean honest questions should be dismissed. It means repentance involves more than receiving information. We must acknowledge our sin and turn toward the Lord whose truth we have resisted.
Second Peter 3:9 connects the Lord’s patience with repentance. His apparent delay is not a failed promise. It is reason to respond to His mercy now rather than presume upon it.
The warnings about Christ’s return are severe because the consequences of rejecting Him are eternal. Yet the One who will judge is also the Savior who gave His life for sinners. Read the related study of why Jesus came into the world to consider that gracious offer.
For believers, His return means that evil will not have the final word and earthly kingdoms will not rule forever. For those who have not trusted Him, the call is urgent: repent and receive the salvation He offers. Prepare to meet the King with faith, not merely curiosity about the future.
Questions for Reflection
- How does Christ’s everlasting kingdom change the weight you give to earthly power?
- Are you responding to prophecy with faithful obedience or mainly with speculation?
- What does God’s patience call you to do about an area of sin today?
