000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

say that David calls Jesus “Lord” so that Jesus cannot be “David’s son,”
thereby suggesting the superiority of Jesus to earlier Jewish figures. Today’s
preacher can critique such use of this material, while still helping the congregation
realize that Matthew found it instructive to engage the Davidic
tradition, as did the Deuteronomists who were uneasy with the monarchy.
Daniel 7:1–3, 7–9, 13–14, 15–18* (Paired)
Proper 29 [34]/Year B 207
The book of Daniel was written between 168 and 165 BCE. The community
was under a repressive occupation when the Maccabean revolt
broke out in 168 and liberated the nation in 165 (see 1 and 2 Maccabees).
The Jewish community was divided as to whether to participate in military
action. Daniel views history through the worldview of apocalypticism.
Daniel 7:1–12:13 is the most fully developed apocalyptic theology
in the Old Testament. Apocalyptists see history divided into a present evil
age that God will destroy through an apocalypse and a new cosmos in
which all things take place according to God’s purposes (sometimes called
the realm or kingdom of God).
Apocalyptic visions typically make use of vivid imagery in which animals,
people, places, and events stand for historical realities. In today’s
reading, the sea represents the chaotic situation of the world at Daniel’s
time (Dan. 7:1–3), and the four beasts are the four most recent empires—
Babylonia, the Medes, Persia, and Alexander the Great—with the Seleucids
as ten horns, and Antiochus Epiphanes IV, ruling during Daniel’s time
(7:4–8) being the last horn. These beasts are described horrifically to represent
the oppressive quality of life that they visited upon the community.
In Daniel 7:9–10 thrones are set in place in a cosmic judgment hall
where the Ancient One (God) presides. God’s appearance—clothing
white as snow and hair like wool—bespeaks transformed life in the heavenly
world. Fire is a frequent symbol for judgment, and its presence in this
scene certifies that God is passing judgment on all names and deeds in “the
books” (7:11), that is, on all things that have happened in history.
Daniel sees two things. First, the last horn (Antiochus Epiphanes IV)
was put to death, though the other beasts were allowed to live for a time.
Daniel thus foresees the end of the immediate rule of Antiochus but not
the end of the present world with its evil empires. The complete transformation
of the cosmos is yet to come (7:11–12).
Second, Daniel sees “one like a human being” (RSV: “one like a son of
man”) coming from the heavenly court to the Ancient One. This newcomer
looks much like a human being but is of heavenly origin. God