Judgment in Daniel 7

Judgment in Daniel 7God's People as Objects ofInvestigation Elsewhere in the OTIn this section a briefcomparison will be made between the judgmentdepicted in Daniel 7 and those judgments described elsewhere in the 0'[Old Testament judgments in general. It is a fact that in the OTjudgmentpassages more attention is directed toward Israel-the professedpeople of God-than toward the surrounding nations. For example,althoughJeremiah and Ezekiel (Daniel's contemporaries) wrote large sectionsregarding judgments on the nations (six and eight chapters respectively),it is to be noted that the bulk of their messages consisted ofjudgments upon God's people in Judah; that is, upon "the sinners in Zion"(compare Isa 33:14). The same pattern and proportion ofattention is consistentthrough thejudgment passages recorded elsewhere in the0'[ Thusit would be expected that Daniel's scene of final judgment would also involvea separation of the false believer from the people of God as well asa judgment upon their enemies.Old Testament Judgments from the sanctuary. When the judgmentsof God are specifically identified as coming from God's sanctuary (theearthly tabernacle/temple or heavenly temple), two-thirds of these instancesdirectly involve God's own professed people. As noted in thechapteronjudgmentinthe 01;20 ofthe 28passages having to dowithjudgmentfrom God's sanctuary specifically involved a judgment of God's people.Since these passages naturally provide the background for the scene inDaniel 7, and since Daniel 7 represents an even greater example ofwhatthey have described on a smaller scale, it follows that God's people will beinvolved in this ultimate judgment as well.Old Testamentjudgmentand thebooks. Another important point hasto do with the use of "books" or "scrolls" in the judgment of Daniel 7.God's book or books in heaven are mentioned six times in the 0'[The frrst two references come from the account ofMoses' intercessionwith God on behalfofrebellious Israel at Sinai. Moses pleads with God andrequests that his own name be blotted from God's book ifIsrael cannot beforgiven (Exod 32:32). God responds by stating that the impenitent sinnerwould be blotted out of His book (vs. 33). Psalm 69:28 conveys the sameidea: The impenitent will be "blotted out ofthe book ofthe living" (KJV).The reference to God's book in Psalm 139:16 expresses a positiveimage about it, since God's intimate knowledge of His followers-includingeven the physical aspects of their being-are recorded therein. Asimilar idea is carried into the world of the spiritual experience in Psalm147