Luke 12:8-9 to Daniel 7:13-14

NT Text: Luke 12:8-9

OT Source(s):

• Daniel 7:13-14 (the Son of Man before the heavenly court, given authority to judge and to rule)

Source: Beale & Carson, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Baker, 2007)

Reference Type: Allusion

Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment

Anchor Text: Dan 7:13-14 — The Son of Man Receiving Dominion

Significance: "Everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God" (Luke 12:8-9). The scene is the heavenly court of Daniel 7: the Son of Man stands before the assembled angelic host ("thousands upon thousands attended Him," Dan 7:10) and there acts as the decisive witness whose acknowledgment or disavowal settles a person's standing in the final judgment. The authority to determine destinies in the heavenly tribunal belongs, in Daniel, to the Son of Man who has received "dominion, glory, and kingship." The connection is promise-fulfillment: the judicial role granted the Danielic Son of Man is exercised by Jesus, who identifies Himself as that Son of Man and ties every person's eternal verdict to their relationship with Him. The telos is the Son of Man as advocate — the enthroned King who is not ashamed to confess before the angels of God those who confess Him, so that allegiance to Him is no fearful gamble but glad confidence in the One whose acknowledgment is the believer's joy and security.