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Daniel sees one like a son of man approaching with the clouds of the sky. In Matthew, Jesus speaks of the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven, and the Didache, an early church manual, ends with the world watching him arrive on those clouds.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Daniel 7:13
Hebrew Bible
13 “I was watching in the night visions, And with the clouds of the sky, one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. 14 To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed.
Didache 16:8
Early Christian
3 In the last days, false prophets and corruptors will increase, the faithful will be led astray, and love will turn into hate. 4 As lawlessness grows, people will hate, persecute, and betray each other. The world's deceiver will appear as the Son of God, performing miracles, and unprecedented sin will be committed. 5 Humanity will face a fiery trial, and many will fall away. But those who remain steadfast in faith will be saved from under the curse. 6 Then, the signs of truth will appear: the sign in Heaven, the sound of the trumpet, and the resurrection of the dead. 7 However, not all the dead will rise, as it was said, 'The Lord will come, and all His saints with Him.' 8 Then, the world will see the Lord coming on the clouds of Heaven.
Matthew 24:30
New Testament
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Notes and References
“... Potentially one of the most significant parallels in this passage occurs in Did. 16. 8 with the reference to the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven. With its clear allusion to Dan. 7. 13, the Didache is very close here to the wording of Matt. 24. 30, which in turn is (probably) MattR of Mark 13. 26. The Didache shares with Mark and Matthew the use of [...], and the inversion of the order of the ‘coming’ and the ‘clouds’ as compared with Dan. 7. Further, the Didache agrees with Matthew’s redaction in having the person come ‘on’ the clouds [...], and adding [...]. A priori there is a strong case for seeing the Didache here reflecting MattR of Mark, and hence presupposing Matthew’s finished gospel. ...”
Gregory, Andrew F.
The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
(p. 115) Oxford University Press, 2005
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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