Deeper Reflection
Daniel 7 highlights a special interest and concern of God: His people – “the saints of the Highest One” (repeated four times in vv.18, 22, 25, 27). The context is these “saints” living in a world of “kings” who are “great beasts” from whom they cannot escape (vv.17-18). Beastly kings consider themselves as the highest ones on earth and so does the world that they rule. So, it is theologically intentional that God’s people are described here as belonging to “the Highest One” – the true and ultimate highest one. We need to capture this theological vision by faith, in order to live rightly, securely and triumphantly in the world of beastly kings.In Daniel 7, there are two divine giving for “the saints of the Highest One”. One is, God in His sovereignty gives His people into the hand of the most evil beastly king, symbolised by the “little horn”: “they will be given (yehab) into his hand” (v.25) and God’s people suffer in his hand. The other divine giving is, “the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given (yehab) to” God’s people (v.27). This means “the right and power to govern throughout the whole earth will be given to the people of God”⁵⁶ . This is part of being in the everlasting Kingdom of God. I cannot imagine what this is going to be like: Me ruling “all the kingdoms under the whole heaven” with God’s people – who are “the poor in spirit” and “theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:3).

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⁵⁶ Christopher J. H. Wright, 161