"But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.” (v.18)
Daniel 7 records an unusual vision that he received in the first year of the Babylonian king Belshazzar (555-556 B.C.). The vision predicts major world empires and events from the time of Daniel to the second coming of Christ. The vision ended with Daniel saying, “My thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart” (v.28). So, what did Daniel see?
In our text Daniel records, “And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.” Those great beasts are "four kings, four empires, which arise out of the earth” (v.17).
The first beast: the Chaldean or Babylonian Empire, the second the Medo-Persian Empire, the third the Greco-Macedonian Empire, and the fourth beast was the dreadful and terrible Roman Empire, of which Daniel says, “It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns” (v.7). Meaning a confederation of ten nations.
Daniel then says, “As I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words” (v.8). This little horn (the anti-christ) makes war against the saints, speaks pompous words against God, intends to change times and law, and persecutes the saints for a “time and times and half a time” (literally three and a half years, but using the day-for-a-year principle of Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, 1,260 years). Meaning his power over the saints is limited.
Daniel then records for us that he also saw the conclusion concerning the “little horn” when Jesus Christ returns, for “the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever” (v.26; Revelation 18:2). However, Daniel does not stop there. He goes on to describe what happens next, “Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. That’s us. Hallelujah!
Many things troubled Daniel in this vision – such as the ferocity of the attack to come against his people from the conspicuous horn. But Daniel was convinced that the end promises of the prophecy were true, and that it was the Word of God. He was so convinced of its truth that his countenance changed as he considered what would happen (v.28).
The Truth: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6,7)
