There are not many verses clearly pointing to a Messiah in the Old Testament. Of those that do, it is unquestionable that all are simply prophecies of a Messiah; they don't directly indicate that these prophecies apply to a first or second coming of this Messiah. However, the chapters containing Messianic prophecies in the book of Daniel, when compared to each other, indirectly support the belief of a Second Coming. The first reference to the Messiah in this book is Daniel 7:13. This verse says:
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him." (RSV)Verse 14 then says:
"And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."Certainly if we don't look at the rest of Daniel these verses would be taken as a prophecy of the first and only coming of the Messiah. If anything, one would think that these verses show that there could be no Second Coming, as verse 14 speaks of Him receiving everlasting dominion. The reasoning would be that it wouldn't make much sense that at the first coming the Messiah would not receive everlasting dominion. He should receive everything that the verse says He will receive the first time He comes. If not, why not? It's difficult to believe that a Messiah could come the first time and not receive everything promised. Personally I think that at the time of the first coming Christ did receive such things, though the kingdom that would not be destroyed didn't come then. To refute the above argument, I need to appeal to other texts. Let's look at the next prophecy of the Messiah.
"Seventy weeks of years are decreed concerning your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war; desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week; and for half of the week he shall cause sacrifice and offering to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."
"You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the sons of men, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air, making you rule over them all -- you are the head of gold." (Daniel 2:37-38)As Daniel 2:39 then says, "After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth," it is clear that the head of gold represents the first kingdom. It is said to Nebuchadnezzar that he is the head of gold, but this means that his kingdom is the head of gold. So the Babylonian kingdom is the first spoken of. Daniel 2:39 says that after this kingdom will arise another kingdom, one which is inferior. What was the next kingdom to arise after Babylon? It was Persia, the kingdom that brought to an end the Babylonian kingdom. Persia was a bit inferior to Babylon. The third kingdom of bronze is the kingdom that conquered the Persian empire, Greece. It didn't rule over the whole earth, but over the whole known earth. One can hardly claim that the third kingdom could be a later kingdom, not only because Greece fits the historical description of the third kingdom, but because Daniel 2:39 is written in such a way that makes it clear that the next two world kingdoms that arise after that of Babylon will be the second and third kingdoms. Daniel 2:40 says, "And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things; and like iron which crushes, it shall break and crush all these." Verse 41 tells us that it will be "a divided kingdom." One might think that the fourth kingdom is that of Rome, but there are flaws with this suggestion. Firstly, we note that verse 44 says, "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever."
"These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, for ever and ever.' Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrible, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze; and which devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet."These verses say the same thing that chapter 2 does. The saints obviously possess the kingdom after the fourth beast loses power. This is supported further by Daniel 7:25-27. The horn is part of the fourth beast, and according to these verses his dominion will be taken away after a certain time, and at that time the saints receive the everlasting kingdom, obviously the one that Daniel 2:44 speaks of. So the fourth kingdom must fit the description given in chapter 7. This chapter says that the fourth beast is very strong, that it is different from all the beasts that were b fore it, that it has ten horns, and that from among the horns came up another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns fell. This horn speaks great things, is greater than the others, and makes war with the saints until they receive the kingdom of God. He will speak great things, and make war against the saints for a period of three and a half times, according to Daniel 7:25. The fourth beast would have dominion over the whole earth, and the beast would eventually be slain, obviously at the end of the three and a half times. Is there a kingdom that has ever fulfilled all these requirements? What about Rome? Rome didn't fulfill all the requirements for the fourth beast. It wasn't different from all the prior beasts; in fact people often speak of the Greco-Roman empire, as the two kingdoms were so similar. Daniel chapter 8 speaks of a beast, represented as a ram, and identifies this beast as "the kings of Media and Persia." The two joined together to form one kingdom. In addition, Rome did not have exactly ten horns, from which another horn came up, and destroyed three of the first horns. Since this chapter is clear that when this horn loses his dominion the everlasting kingdom is established, if one was to claim that this kingdom was Rome, then they would have to believe that the period of three and a half times had not yet ended. Either that or they would have to believe that the coming of the person "like a son of man" was non-visible and had already taken place. The chapter itself indicates that this person will come when the horn loses his dominion, and the kingdom is established. At what other time would He come? Some have claimed that the 1260 years relate to Rome, and relate to the period from 538-1798 AD. But the everlasting kingdom did not come in 1798 AD, and Christ did not return. Not only this, but the year 538 AD clearly had nothing happen in it that would allow it to be counted as the beginning of the 1260 years. The third kingdom in Daniel 2 can certainly be the Greco-Roman empire combined, and so the fourth can be a different kingdom, the same one as the fourth kingdom in chapter 7, which can't be Rome. The one kingdom that fits the description of the fourth beast given in Daniel 2 & 7 is the Umayyad dynasty. The 1260 year period is the cycle of Islam, reckoned in lunar years, beginning from the Hijrah in 622 AD, and ending in 1844 AD, or 1260 AH.