The devil’s promise in the second temptation is remarkably similar to the LXX (OG) of Daniel 7:14 (see table 6.1)

Table 6.1 Comparison of Daniel 7;14 and Luke 4:6

Daniel 7:14 (NETS translation of LXX-OG)

“And royal authority [exousia] was given [edothē] to him, and all the nations of the earth according to posterity, and all honor [doxa] was serving him. And his authority [exousia] is an everlasting authority [exousia].”

Luke 4:6

“To you I will give [dо̄sо̄] all this authority [tēn exousian] and their glory [tēn doxan].”

If the allusion is valid, then the devil may be consciously parodying the Ancient of Days in the prophecy of Daniel 7. Commentators neglect the implications of this allusion and the wider context of Daniel 7, so we will attempt to understand the wilderness temptation against the backdrop of Daniel 7.

The Ancient of Days appears to “give” the eternal kingdom to the son of man on account of his successful defeat of the fourth beast (Dan. 7:14; see 7:11). Pushing deeper into Daniel 7, we notice that boastful words spew from the little horn or ruler of the fourth beast (Dan. 7:8, 11). Later, in the interpretative portion of the chapter, the little horn “shall speak words against the Most High . . . and shall think to change the times and the law” (Dan. 7:25). Furthermore, Daniel 11:36 states that he “shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods.” When we compare Daniel 7 and Luke 4, a handful of connections jump out at us in astonishing ways.

First, the Ancient of Days alone possesses the authority to hand over the kingdom to the Son of Man–not the devil (Dan. 7:9-10). As a result of Adam and Eve’s fall, God, in his wisdom and sovereignty, temporarily handed over the earthly domain to the devil (see e.g., Job 1:6-12; 2:17; Rev. 12:7-12). The devil’s statement that his authority “has been given” (paradedotai; NIV) to him is correct. Elsewhere in the Synoptics, the devil is labled the “prince of the demons” (Matt. 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15). According to John 12:31, he is the “ruler of this world” (cf. John 14:30; 16:11; cf. 1 John 5:19). Paul even calls him the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) and the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph.2:2; cf. Mart. Isa. 2:4; CD 5.18; 1Q 17.5). The New Testament affirms that the devil was indeed given the right to rule over the earth for a discrete amount of time, but he was never given the authority to hand it over.

Second, a chief characteristic of the little horn is his boastful and blasphemous speech. Could it be that the devil’s blasphemous promise that he has the authority to hand over the kingdom in Luke 4 unwittingly fulfills the prophecy of the little horn in Daniel 7 and 11? Probably. To tempt Jesus, Satan appears to invoke the prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14 by assuming his role as Ancient of days. But his temptation is also blasphemous–thereby fulfilling Daniel 7:8, 25; 11:36. This line of temptation is not a far cry form the serpent’s promise in the garden where he audaciously manipulates God’s law (Gen. 3:1, 4-5). Recall that the devil even “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2Cor. 11;14), who often imitates God in assaulting the covenant community (see also Rev. 6:2). At that wilderness temptation, then, Satan once again cloaks himself in divine garb and attempts to deceive not just the children of God but the Son of God. Eve since the garden, humanity has succumbed to Satan’s lies and deceit, but here in the wilderness temptation he will not succeed.

Third, the son of man’s success in Daniel 7 earns him the right to possess all dominion. The book of Daniel may have in mind the son of man’s authority not only over physical rulers but also spiritual rulers. According to Daniel 10, the angel Gabriel informs Daniel that the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” fought against the archangel Michael (Dan. 10:13). A few verses later, Gabriel goes on to state that he will “fight against the prince [archontos (LXX-Theo)] of Persia” and that the “prince [ho archōn (LXX-Theo)] of Greece will come” (Dan. 10:20). These spiritual or heavenly “princes” (hai archai) appear to possess some authority over their corresponding earthly kingdoms (Persia and Greece). Daniel 7:14 in the Theodotion recension states, “And to him [the son of man] was given the dominion [hē archē] and the honor and the kingship” (NETS). The point is that perhaps the son of man’s authority extends beyond the earthly kingdom reaching into the spiritual realm. The physical and spiritual kingdoms are inseparable.

While it may appear that I am leaning too hard on Daniel 7 and grasping at intertextual straws, Jesus’s ministry in Luke (and the other three Gospels) makes good sense in light of these connections. While Daniel 7 is certainly one of the most difficult passages in all of Scripture, there’s little doubt that the passage is absolutely formative to the Evangelists’s depiction of Jesus in the Gospels. Daniel 7 must be understood in light of the book of Daniel as a whole. If Daniel 7 informs Luke’s account of the wilderness temptation, then we must grapple with his larger point: Jesus’s success against the wiles of the devil earns him the right to rule over earthly and spiritual realities. Such a suggestion makes wonderful sense as we move forward in Luke’s narrative, as Jesus relentlessly casts out demons and affirms his Daniel’s “authority” over them (Luke 4:31-37, 41; 8:26-39; 9:1).