Daniel’s Long Shadow
“As the book of Daniel progresses, it opens in stages like a flower.”
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Isaiah 53:11
MarkO and I had some discussion on here recently concerning the “abomination of desolation.” Was it the massacre of converted Jews during the Roman siege, or was it simply a delayed judgment for the crucifixion of “the Righteous One”? Mark writes:
I am inclined to think that the abominable act was the slaughter of The Righteous One. I take this idea from the Sanhedrin’s rejection and condemnation of Jesus as both God and Messiah (Mark 14:61-64), Peter’s Pentecost Sermon (Acts 2:22-23), his next sermon in Acts 3 (3:14) and also from Stephen’s defense (sermon) before the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:52).
So, is it the Righteous One or the Righteous Ones?
Israel’s entire history follows the process of her annual feasts, with this era as the Day of Atonement. The High Priest made two approaches in this Day – one for the Head and one for the Body (Adam and Eve, lifting the curse on the Land and the Offspring). So this late 60′s massacre was a “multiplication” of Judah’s sin against Christ (using Roman state power to kill Christians). In this case, it sealed their doom. As Jordan says, Jesus overlooked the sin against Himself, but the sin against His Bride, as Greater Adam, He would not overlook. [1]
Which brings us to my thoughts on the book of Daniel. We see the same Head-and-Body (totus Christus) structure in the book of this prophet. The first six chapters concern the Jewish head, lifted up into the court of the emperor, and the last six concern the Jewish body. Daniel’s courtly life was a microcosm of Israel’s “latter day” future as a courtly prophet. The rule of Babylon over Israel, with Daniel as mediator, is a microcosm of the rule of all four empires over Israel. Daniel is a symbol of the metal man. His ministry to a single empire laid the foundation for Israel’s ministry to all four empires, culminating in a fifth, the rule of Christ.
Looking even closer, Daniel 1 contains the seeds of Daniel 1-7, and Daniel 1-6 lays the foundation for Daniel 7-12. As the book of Daniel progresses it opens in stages like a flower. The book itself is a new Temple. It has a “Most Holy,” a “Holy,” and “Gentile Courts.”
Garden – Daniel 1
Land – Daniel 1-7
World – Daniel 1-12
Here’s the three cycles:
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Garden – Daniel 1
From Bible Matrix: An Introduction to the DNA of the Scriptures
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Land – Daniel 1-7
TRANSCENDENCE
HIERARCHY
ETHICS
(Law given, Law opened, Law received)
SANCTIONS
SUCCESSION
As the final verse of Daniel 1 is opened in Daniel 1-6, so the final chapter in this second section (chapter 7) is opened in chapters 8-12. Israel’s “latter day” future, her “Succession,” is revealed to Daniel.
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World – Daniel 1-12
This “first (corporate) resurrection” brings the Old Covenant to an end.
So, we can see that just as individual sin becomes corporate sin, so individual holiness becomes corporate holiness. God rips holy men open to make a holy place, a shelter for others. As the man becomes a Holy Husbandman, so the barrenness and trouble of Eve is removed (Genesis 3). The entire restoration era rested upon the foundation of Daniel’s faithfulness. The long shadow of Daniel is a robe, a train, of righteousness.
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 9:34
How is your robe looking? What kind of legacy will you leave? Will it be a history of faithful witnesses, a “many” robed in white? That is New Covenant fruit. [2]
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[1] For more, see Half the Blood and One Taken, One Left Behind.
[2] See New Covenant Virility – 1.
