◄ Daniel 7:18 ►
But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever--yes, forever and ever.'
Study Bible
But the saints of the Most High
The term "saints" refers to those who are set apart for God, often understood as the faithful believers who follow God's commandments. In Hebrew, the word is "קְדוֹשִׁים" (qedoshim), which means "holy ones." This designation emphasizes their consecration and dedication to God. The phrase "of the Most High" identifies these saints as belonging to the supreme God, El Elyon, a title that underscores God's sovereignty and ultimate authority over all creation. Historically, this reflects the Jewish understanding of a covenant relationship with God, where His people are chosen to reflect His holiness.

will receive the kingdom
The phrase "will receive the kingdom" indicates a future event where the saints are granted authority and dominion. The verb "receive" suggests a gift or inheritance, not something earned by human effort but bestowed by divine decree. In the context of Daniel, this is a prophetic vision of the end times when God's people will be vindicated and exalted. The "kingdom" here is not merely a political entity but represents the reign of God, characterized by justice, peace, and righteousness. This aligns with the eschatological hope found throughout Scripture, where God's rule is fully realized on earth.

and possess it forever
To "possess" implies ownership and stewardship. The Hebrew root "יָרַשׁ" (yarash) conveys the idea of inheriting or taking possession of something that is rightfully theirs. This possession is not temporary but eternal, as indicated by the word "forever." This eternal aspect is a key theme in biblical prophecy, where the temporal struggles of God's people are contrasted with the everlasting nature of God's promises. The assurance of an eternal kingdom provides hope and encouragement to believers, affirming that their faithfulness will be rewarded with an unending inheritance.

yes, forever and ever
The repetition in "yes, forever and ever" serves to emphasize the certainty and perpetuity of God's promise. In Hebrew, the phrase "עָלַם וָעֶד" (olam va'ed) is used to denote an unending duration, reinforcing the idea that God's kingdom is not subject to the limitations of time. This eternal perspective is crucial for understanding the biblical narrative, which consistently points to a future where God's purposes are fully accomplished. For the original audience, this would have been a powerful assurance amidst persecution and exile, reminding them of the ultimate triumph of God's kingdom.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Daniel
A prophet and a key figure in the Old Testament, known for his faithfulness to God and his ability to interpret dreams and visions.

2. The Saints of the Most High
Refers to the holy people of God, those who are set apart for His purposes. In the context of Daniel, this term is often understood to mean the faithful followers of God.

3. The Most High
A title for God, emphasizing His supreme authority and sovereignty over all creation.

4. The Kingdom
Represents the eternal dominion and reign that God will establish, which will be given to His saints.

5. The Vision of the Four Beasts
The broader context of Daniel 7, where Daniel sees a vision of four beasts representing different kingdoms, culminating in the establishment of God's eternal kingdom.
Teaching Points
Eternal Inheritance
The promise of an everlasting kingdom to the saints highlights the eternal nature of God's promises. Believers can find hope and assurance in the permanence of God's kingdom.

Identity as Saints
Understanding our identity as "saints of the Most High" calls us to live lives that reflect our holy calling and set-apart status.

God's Sovereignty
The passage emphasizes God's ultimate control and authority over all earthly kingdoms, encouraging believers to trust in His plan and timing.

Perseverance in Faith
Knowing that the kingdom will be possessed by the saints forever encourages perseverance and faithfulness amidst trials and challenges.

Participation in God's Kingdom
Believers are invited to actively participate in God's kingdom work now, living out kingdom values and principles in anticipation of the future fulfillment.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding our identity as "saints of the Most High" influence the way we live our daily lives?

2. In what ways can the promise of an eternal kingdom provide comfort and hope in times of uncertainty or difficulty?

3. How does the vision of the four beasts in Daniel 7 help us understand the nature of earthly kingdoms compared to God's kingdom?

4. What practical steps can we take to live as active participants in God's kingdom today, in light of the promise of future possession?

5. How do other scriptures, such as those in Revelation and the teachings of Jesus, reinforce the message of Daniel 7:18 about the saints receiving the kingdom?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Revelation 5:10
This verse speaks of believers being made a kingdom and priests to serve God, and they will reign on the earth, echoing the promise of the saints receiving the kingdom.

Matthew 5:5
Jesus' teaching in the Beatitudes about the meek inheriting the earth aligns with the promise of the saints possessing the kingdom.

1 Corinthians 6:2
Paul speaks of the saints judging the world, which connects to the authority and dominion given to the saints in Daniel 7:18.
Sermons
The Kingdom of the SaintsD. Wright, M.A.Daniel 7:18
The Political Character of the Good Time ComingHomilistDaniel 7:18
Daniel's First VisionE. B. Pusey, D.D.Daniel 7:4-28
The First Two Visions of the Book of DanielT. R. Birks, M.A.Daniel 7:4-28
The Four BeastsOutlines by London MinisterDaniel 7:4-28
The Symbolical BeastsW. White.Daniel 7:4-28
The Vision of the Four BeastsWilliam M. Taylor, D.D.Daniel 7:4-28
Vision, of Four Wild BeastsT.Kirk.Daniel 7:4-28
Godly Obedience the Basis of Permanent DominionJ.D. Davies Daniel 7:15-28
The Great AntagonistH.T. Robjohns Daniel 7:15-28
People
Belshazzar, Daniel
Places
Babylon
Topics
Age, Ages, Forever, Highest, Kingdom, Places, Possess, Receive, Saints, Strengthen, Theirs, Yes
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Daniel 7:18

     2233   Son of Man
     2376   kingdom of God, coming
     7021   church, OT anticipations
     7155   saints
     8271   holiness, purpose

Daniel 7:1-18

     1469   visions

Daniel 7:7-25

     4654   horn

Daniel 7:15-18

     7730   explanation

Daniel 7:17-18

     4029   world, human beings in
     5367   kingdoms

Library
Christ's Own Testimony Concerning Himself.
THERE is but one rational explanation, of this sublime mystery; and this is found in Christ's own testimony concerning his superhuman and divine origin and character.[49]49 This testimony challenges at once our highest regard and belief from the absolute veracity which no one ever denied him, or could deny, without destroying at once the very foundation of his universally conceded moral purity and greatness. Christ strongly asserts his humanity, and calls himself; about eighty times in the Gospels, …
Philip Schaff—The Person of Christ

The Christ of the Gospels. By Rev. Professor Schaff.
THE life and character of Jesus Christ is truly the Holy of Holies in the history of the world. Eighteen hundred years have passed away since he, in the fullness of time, appeared on this earth to redeem a fallen race from sin and death, and to open a never-ceasing fountain of righteousness and life. The ages before him anxiously awaited his coming as "the Desire of all nations;" the ages after him proclaim his glory, and ever extend his dominion. The noblest and best of men under every clime hold …
Philip Schaff—The Romance of M. Renan, and the Christ of the Gospels

The Apocalypse.
1. The word Apocalypse (Greek Apokalupsis) signifies Revelation, the title given to the book in our English version as well from its opening word as from its contents. Of all the writings of the New Testament that are classed by Eusebius among the disputed books (Antilegomena, chap. 5. 6), the apostolic authorship of this is sustained by the greatest amount of external evidence; so much so that Eusebius acknowledges it as doubtful whether it should be classed among the acknowledged or …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Captivity of Judah.
Eze., Dan., Lam. The Ten Tribes Lost. After the fall of Samaria we hear but little of the ten tribes. They were carried off into the regions of Ninevah by the Assyrians. All effort to locate them has failed and no doubt will fail. Sargon, in an inscription found at Ninevah, said that he carried away into captivity 27,290. These were perhaps leaders of Israel whom he thought might lead a revolt. He sent others back to take their place and the Israelites seemed to have mingled with the races about …
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

Communion Again Broken --Restoration
Cant. v. 2-vi.10. The fourth section commences with an address of the bride to the daughters of Jerusalem, in which she narrates her recent sad experience, and entreats their help in her trouble. The presence and comfort of her Bridegroom are again lost to her; not this time by relapse into worldliness, but by slothful self-indulgence. We are not told of the steps that led to her failure; of how self again found place in her heart. Perhaps spiritual pride in the achievements which grace enabled her …
J. Hudson Taylor—Union and Communion

The Ecclesiastical Trial
Over the Kedron, up the slope to the city, through the gates, along the silent streets, the procession passed, with Jesus in the midst; midnight stragglers, perhaps, hurrying forward from point to point to ask what was ado, and peering towards the Prisoner's face, before they diverged again towards their own homes.[1] He was conducted to the residence of the high priest, where His trial ensued. Jesus had to undergo two trials--the one ecclesiastical, the other civil; the one before Caiaphas the …
James Stalker—The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ

Jesus at Capernaum.
Beset by an idea, gradually becoming more and more imperious and exclusive, Jesus proceeds henceforth with a kind of fatal impassibility in the path marked out by his astonishing genius and the extraordinary circumstances in which he lived. Hitherto he had only communicated his thoughts to a few persons secretly attracted to him; henceforward his teaching was sought after by the public. He was about thirty years of age.[1] The little group of hearers who had accompanied him to John the Baptist had, …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Danger of Deviating from Divine Institutions.
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." St. Paul was the apostle of the Gentiles. The care of the churches gathered among them devolved particularly on him. At the writing of this epistle he had no personal acquaintance with the church to which it is addressed.* Epaphras, a bishop of the Colossians, then his fellow prisoner at Rome, had made him acquainted with their state, and the danger …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

Jesus Stills the Storm.
(Sea of Galilee; Same Day as Last Section) ^A Matt. VIII. 18-27; ^B Mark IV. 35-41; ^C Luke VIII. 22-25. ^b 35 And that day, { ^c one of those days,} ^b when the even was come [about sunset], ^a when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. { ^b he saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side.} [Wearied with a day of strenuous toil, Jesus sought rest from the multitude by passing to the thinly settled on the east side of Galilee.] ^a 19 And there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

A vision of the King.
ONE of the most blessed occupations for the believer is the prayerful searching of God's holy Word to discover there new glories and fresh beauties of Him, who is altogether lovely. Shall we ever find out all which the written Word reveals of Himself and His worthiness? This wonderful theme can never be exhausted. The heart which is devoted to Him and longs through the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit to be closer to the Lord, to hear and know more of Himself, will always find something …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Situation after the Council of Nicæa.
The council (a) had testified, by its horrified and spontaneous rejection of it, that Arianism was a novelty subversive of the Christian faith as they had received it from their fathers. They had (b) banished it from the Church by an inexorable test, which even the leading supporters of Arius had been induced to subscribe. In the years immediately following, we find (c) a large majority of the Eastern bishops, especially of Syria and Asia Minor, the very regions whence the numerical strength of the …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

A Treatise of the Fear of God;
SHOWING WHAT IT IS, AND HOW DISTINGUISHED FROM THAT WHICH IS NOT SO. ALSO, WHENCE IT COMES; WHO HAS IT; WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS; AND WHAT THE PRIVILEGES OF THOSE THAT HAVE IT IN THEIR HEARTS. London: Printed for N. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, over against the Stocks market: 1679. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "a fountain of life"--the foundation on which all wisdom rests, as well as the source from whence it emanates. Upon a principle …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Birth and Early Life of John the Baptist.
(Hill Country of Judæa, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke I. 57-80. ^c 57 Now Elisabeth's time was fulfilled that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. 58 And her neighbors and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her [mercy in granting a child; great mercy in granting so illustrious a child] ; and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it came to pass on the eighth day [See Gen. xvii. 12; Lev. xii. 3; Phil. iii. 5. Male children were named at their circumcision, probably …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Second visit to Nazareth - the Mission of the Twelve.
It almost seems, as if the departure of Jesus from Capernaum marked a crisis in the history of that town. From henceforth it ceases to be the center of His activity, and is only occasionally, and in passing, visited. Indeed, the concentration and growing power of Pharisaic opposition, and the proximity of Herod's residence at Tiberias [3013] would have rendered a permanent stay there impossible at this stage in our Lord's history. Henceforth, His Life is, indeed, not purely missionary, but He has …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

History of the Interpretation.
1. AMONG THE JEWS. This History, as to its essential features, might, a priori, be sketched with tolerable certainty. From the nature of the case, we could scarcely expect that the Jews should have adopted views altogether erroneous as to the subject of the prophecy in question; for the Messiah appears in it, not in His humiliation, but in His glory--rich in gifts and blessings, and Pelagian self-delusion will, a priori, return an affirmative answer to the question as to whether one is …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

His Future Work
The Lord Jesus Christ, who finished the work on earth the Father gave Him to do, who is now bodily present in the highest heaven, occupying the Father's throne and exercising His priesthood in behalf of His people, is also King. To Him belongeth a Kingdom and a kingly Glory. He has therefore a kingly work to do. While His past work was foretold by the Spirit of God and His priestly work foreshadowed in the Old Testament, His work as King and His glorious Kingdom to come are likewise the subjects …
A. C. Gaebelein—The Work Of Christ

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