Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Tuesday, May 7, 2013 Read – Daniel 7:9-14 In the story of the ascension of Jesus Luke spoke of Jesus rising up to heaven on a cloud (Acts 1:9). Although Luke had omitted it from Mark’s story, Mark tells of Jesus announcing to the High Priest that he would see him coming on the clouds of heaven (Mark 14:62). Readers of the gospels might wonder where those images come from. In our reading for today we find the most likely source. Years earlier, in one of his visions, Daniel had seen one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven to the very throne of God. The meaning for Daniel was to pronounce judgment upon the evil kingdoms of the world – in particular upon Antiochus Epiphanes who had desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem in 168 BC. Once again we are led to see how the first followers of Jesus read the OT through the lens of the death and resurrection of Jesus. In fact, we can see how Jesus used the OT to talk about himself. Without losing the fact that the writing in Daniel had meaning in its own time we can see how Christians would read Daniel and remember the events of Jesus – interpreting them through these words.