◄ Daniel 7:25 ►
He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.
Study Bible
He will speak out against the Most High
This phrase indicates a blasphemous and arrogant attitude towards God. The Hebrew root for "speak out" is "מִלִּין" (millin), which implies speaking great things or words of defiance. Historically, this has been interpreted as a reference to rulers or entities that challenge God's authority, such as Antiochus IV Epiphanes or future antichrist figures. The "Most High" is a title for God, emphasizing His supreme authority and sovereignty over all creation. This phrase serves as a warning against pride and the futility of opposing God.

and oppress the saints of the Most High
The word "oppress" comes from the Hebrew "בְּלָא" (bela), meaning to wear out or harass continually. This suggests a sustained campaign of persecution against God's people. The "saints" are those set apart for God, often understood as the faithful believers who endure trials for their faith. Historically, this has been seen in the persecution of Jews and Christians throughout history. The phrase reassures believers that God is aware of their suffering and will ultimately vindicate them.

intending to change the appointed times and laws
The intention to "change" indicates a deliberate effort to alter divine decrees. "Appointed times" refers to sacred festivals or periods established by God, while "laws" could mean divine commandments or moral laws. This reflects an attempt to undermine God's order and authority. Historically, this could relate to attempts by rulers to impose their own religious practices or calendars, as seen in the actions of Antiochus IV. It serves as a reminder of the importance of adhering to God's established order.

and the saints will be given into his hand
This phrase suggests a period of trial where the saints are allowed to be under the control or influence of this oppressive power. The phrase "given into his hand" implies a temporary allowance by God for His purposes, often seen as a test of faith or a means of purification. It reassures believers that even in persecution, God remains sovereign and in control.

for a time, and times, and half a time
This cryptic phrase is often interpreted as a symbolic period of three and a half years, representing a limited time of tribulation. The use of "time" (Hebrew "עִדָּן" - iddan) suggests a divinely appointed period. This timeframe is echoed in other prophetic scriptures, such as Revelation 12:14, and is seen as a period of intense trial before God's ultimate deliverance. It encourages believers to remain steadfast, knowing that suffering is temporary and God's victory is assured.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Most High
Refers to God, the supreme authority and ruler over all creation. In the context of Daniel, God is the one who ultimately holds power over all earthly kingdoms and rulers.

2. The Oppressor
This figure is often interpreted as a future antichrist or a representation of any ruler or system that opposes God and His people. This oppressor speaks against God and seeks to change divine laws and times.

3. The Saints of the Most High
These are the faithful followers of God who are oppressed by the oppressor. They represent the people of God who endure persecution and trials.

4. Appointed Times and Laws
These refer to God's established order and commandments. The oppressor's intention to change these signifies a rebellion against God's authority.

5. Time, Times, and Half a Time
This phrase is often interpreted as a symbolic period of persecution, representing a limited time during which the saints will face oppression.
Teaching Points
Endurance in Persecution
Believers are called to remain faithful even when facing oppression. The saints' endurance is a testament to their faith in God's ultimate victory.

Recognizing False Authorities
Christians should be discerning of any authority that seeks to change God's established order and laws. This requires a deep understanding of Scripture and God's commandments.

Hope in God's Sovereignty
Despite the oppression, believers can find hope in the knowledge that God is sovereign and that the period of persecution is limited. God's ultimate plan will prevail.

Spiritual Warfare Awareness
Understanding that there is a spiritual battle at play helps believers to stay vigilant and prayerful, relying on God's strength to overcome challenges.

Community Support
The saints are not alone in their trials. The Christian community is vital for support, encouragement, and mutual edification during times of persecution.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the description of the oppressor in Daniel 7:25 challenge us to recognize and resist false teachings in today's world?

2. In what ways can we prepare ourselves spiritually to endure persecution, as the saints did in Daniel 7:25?

3. How does the concept of "time, times, and half a time" encourage us to trust in God's timing and sovereignty?

4. What practical steps can we take to support fellow believers who are facing oppression or persecution?

5. How do the connections between Daniel 7:25 and other scriptures like Revelation 13 and 2 Thessalonians 2 deepen our understanding of spiritual warfare and the end times?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Revelation 13
This chapter describes a beast that blasphemes against God and makes war against the saints, similar to the oppressor in Daniel 7:25. It highlights the ongoing spiritual battle between God's people and forces of evil.

2 Thessalonians 2
Paul speaks of a "man of lawlessness" who opposes God and exalts himself. This passage parallels the description of the oppressor in Daniel 7:25.

Matthew 24
Jesus warns of false prophets and tribulations, echoing the themes of persecution and endurance found in Daniel 7:25.
Sermons
Heavenly SaintsJames Wells.Daniel 7:25
Unchangeable TimesJames Wells.Daniel 7:25
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
Adversary, Alterations, Attempting, Change, Changing, Dividing, Division, Half, Handed, Hands, Highest, Hopeth, Idea, Intend, Law, Laws, Oppress, Places, Saints, Seasons, Speak, Till, Try, Wear
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Daniel 7:25

     1652   numbers, 3-5
     4945   history
     4971   seasons, of life
     5798   betrayal
     5800   blasphemy
     7155   saints
     8401   challenges
     8703   antinomianism

Daniel 7:7-25

     4654   horn

Daniel 7:19-26

     4627   creatures

Daniel 7:23-27

     1469   visions

Daniel 7:24-27

     9115   antichrist, the

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

Links
Daniel 7:25 NIV
Daniel 7:25 NLT
Daniel 7:25 ESV
Daniel 7:25 NASB
Daniel 7:25 KJV

Daniel 7:25 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Daniel 7:24
Top of Page
Top of Page