The title Jesus preferred to use for himself more than any other in the New Testament Gospels was “Son of Man.” Although this phrase can be used in scripture as a simple description of anyone, the equivalent of “human” or “man,” it is also occasionally used as a more specialized title similar to how it is used by Jesus in the Gospels. But why would this simple descriptor be chosen as a majestic title of the Lord? The roots for this title as an exceptional figure seem to be found in a prophecy in Daniel 7, where “one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven.” This paper will analyze Daniel 7 and the context of this Son of Man prophecy in order to better understand its original setting and then its subsequent influence on later scripture. Attention will be paid to how Restoration scripture and early Church leaders understood figures and terms associated with Daniel’s prophecy. It will be seen that the Son of Man prophecy was created in an eschatological context used to describe a grand future event involving Jesus Christ, Adam, and saints of the kingdom of God.

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Conclusion

From an apocalyptic section of Daniel, a common biblical term, “son of man,” is elevated in an eschatological prophecy to a lofty title associated with grand events in the last days. Although there is debate about the chronology of its composition, the prophecy seems aimed at strengthening God’s covenant people either in exile among Gentiles or under threat from gentile overlords. Either way, the saints are promised that the predatory earthly kingdoms will eventually come to an end and God’s eternal kingdom will be established. To bring this dramatic event to pass, Adam, as the “Ancient of Days,” and Jesus Christ, as the “Son of Man,” will meet alongside thousands of saints. In this grand council, stewardship and keys will be reviewed, returned to Christ, and then reassigned by him as he begins his millennial rule.

Were we to interpret Daniel 7 in isolation, it would be impossible to see all those details, but all the standard works and modern revelation permit a fuller picture. However, it is important not to remove the prophecy from its original context, which points toward an important eschatological event. Many interpreters of Daniel 7 focus on the proximate future of this prophecy as they attempt to delineate the historical periods up to the Maccabean period (Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and Greeks), yet one should also keep in mind that the Son of Man’s appearance in the clouds will not occur until the last days. Perhaps the main point of alluding to these successive worldly kingdoms in Daniel’s vision is to warn that their unrighteous ideals and philosophies, similar to the concept of the great and abominable church found in other parts of scripture, will have their reign until the return of Christ and must not overtake one’s righteous devotion to God. In this view, the final beast will make all nations “drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” and will persecute and shed the blood of “the saints of God” until the trump sounds at the Bridegroom’s return (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:94).

In the meantime, we are asked to prepare and pray for the building up of the kingdom of God until it has filled the whole earth. “Call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth. Wherefore, may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come, that thou, O God, mayest be glorified in heaven so on earth, that thine enemies may be subdued; for thine is the honor, power and glory, forever and ever” (Doctrine and Covenants 65:5–6). Then the consummation of God’s work and glory can come to pass.