He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
18and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
20The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.
Son of Man (Gk. υἱὸςτοῦἀνθρώπου, huios tou anthropou). (8:20; Num 23:9; Job 25:6; 35:8; Ps 8:4; Isa 51:12; Ezek 2:1, 3, 6, 8; Dan 7:13; 8:17, Matt 9:6; 12:8, 40; 16:27, 28; 17:12; 18:11, 20:28; 24:30; 26:64; Acts 7:56; Rev 1:13; 14:14)
This term is used early in the OT as a way of highlighting the human nature and limitations of a person, then becomes a favorite of the prophets, especially Ezekiel (where it occurs 93 times in 48 chapters) as God’s way of addressing Ezekiel the prophet. The term takes on a unique meaning beginning with the book of Daniel, where it occurs twice (both occurrences in the largest of the four Aramaic portions in the OT, Aramaic שׁנא רבּ bar ’enash; Hebrew םאד ןבּ, ben adam), once where it is addressed to the prophet Daniel and once in a vision of One to whom the Ancient of Days gives “dominion, glory and a kingdom,” clearly a reference to the Messiah, or from the NT perspective, Jesus Christ in the second coming. The term 'Son of Man' is not used by anyone in the New Testament except for Jesus, who refers to himself as the Son of Man time and again, using the term as a divine title (in a similar way to how it is used in Daniel). "Son of Man" is also understood as a divine title in the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran. As Jesus uses the term, He highlights the reality of His human nature, but especially calls attention to His prophetic role and position that anticipates He will be the one who will ultimately conquer all the kingdoms of the world and establish His own eternal kingdom as the divine Son of God.