But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess it forever, even forever and ever. That kingdom is Christ's own kingdom and world, not a political realm set up by human power, but the heavenly country and the earth redeemed from sin and restored as the eternal home of the obedient in the purified New Earth after the wicked are consumed. Its gift to the saints was secured by Christ's suffering and death, by which He defeated Satan and saved a multitude to share in it forever. Those saints are God's children and joint heirs with Christ, including His commandment-keeping people of all ages, who now endure humiliation and reproach but, because they share His sufferings, will also share His glory. The kingdom is not established on earth until Christ returns in glory after the final judgment to raise the dead and change the living saints, so until then His followers live as strangers and pilgrims and citizens of heaven, honoring the gospel, extending His kingdom by consecrated service, and holding fast faith until they enter the city of God.
Prophetic Setting and Fulfillment
Daniel 7:18 belongs to the mysteries of the future covering the history of this world till the close of time, which Daniel was taught to read and to record for coming generations through figures and symbols. This was given because he clung to God with unwavering trust, in firmness, self-denial, and purity of motive, and God gave him knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, with understanding in all visions and dreams and the spirit of prophetic power, fulfilling the promise that God honors those who honor Him. These prophecies of the mysteries of ages to come were not fully understood by Daniel himself and were to remain sealed until the time of the end.
The apocalyptic beasts arise from the union of church and state, and that union becomes a persecuting power that cruelly oppresses those who oppose it. The little horn in the prophecy is the papacy, linked with the beast of Revelation 13 that makes war on the saints and overcomes them. The prophecy of the little horn includes 1260 days connected with 1798, when Berthier entered Rome and the Pope was taken prisoner, and the little horn's dominion was then taken away.
The saints receiving and possessing God's kingdom forever takes place when Christ returns in glory, after the final judgment and the reward of the righteous; until then Christ's kingdom is not established on earth, and His followers live as strangers and pilgrims while awaiting Him. Just before His second appearing, when He will take and possess the kingdom forever, satanic powers appear to control the world, and humanity is divided between the commandment-keeping people of God and commandment-breakers inspired by the devil and his angels. The verse was connected with the hope that at Christ's coming He would raise the dead, change the living saints, and give them the kingdom to possess forever, and believers were disappointed when the expected deliverance did not occur then.
Kingdom Promise and Heirs
The promise is that the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess it forever, even forever and ever. They are the honored subjects who receive it, take it, and hold it as an everlasting possession.
The kingdom to be taken is Christ's kingdom, and this world is the Lord Jesus Christ's own world, to be purified and brought under His rule. This world belongs to God and was deeded to Abraham and his children, and ere long God's people shall take possession of it, while wicked men are only permitted to live in it till they have filled up the cup of their iniquity. It is the heavenly country, not a political realm established or defended by human power.
That kingdom marks the completion of God's purpose, when the earth redeemed from sin is restored as the eternal home of the obedient. It is the eternal inheritance of the redeemed on the purified New Earth, received after the wicked are consumed and the great controversy is ended. It is the earth made new, purified by fire, freed from sin and every mark of the curse, and given to the saints as their peaceful and joyful home.
The giving of that kingdom to the saints was secured by Christ's suffering and death, of which He was assured. Through His death Satan is defeated and a multitude of the human race is saved eternally to share in that kingdom. The saints who receive the kingdoms of the earth are God's children and joint heirs with Christ, saints in Christ Jesus and citizens of God's household and heaven's kingdom with its rights and privileges. They include the saints of all ages and God's commandment-keeping people, though the world does not recognize their calling or what they shall become while they endure humiliation and reproach.
They shall enter the city of God after Jesus returns, see the gates open, and eat from the tree of life, receiving eternal life. Their inheritance is everlasting riches and glory and everlasting glories, received with boundless joy by those who enter God's kingdom by faith and hold fast their profession. Christ came to instruct the world and save it from ruin, so that through His divine power men might be saved from ruin and become overcomers and partakers of the divine nature, members of the royal family and children of the heavenly King, that they might themselves behold those glories. Those who accept His invitation and share Christ's humiliation and sufferings will also share His glory.
Present Calling and Future Hope
The saints of the Most High who will take and possess the kingdom forever are its present subjects, and the kingdom is the heavenly country, not a political realm established or defended by human power. Those called saints are citizens of heaven with the rights and privileges of heaven's kingdom. That citizenship calls them to live in a way that honors the gospel and does not disgrace it, relying on the power revealed in Christ's love and striving against temptation. They are the honored subjects of heaven's kingdom who heed Christ's invitation and learn from Him by keeping His human character before them and doing as He would in every circumstance.
This kingdom is Christ's kingdom, which Christians are to extend through the gospel as it advances from victory to victory. God's design is for His people to extend it through united, consecrated service, as they reveal Christ and the cross and work together under God's rule. The Word of God advances surely from victory to victory, and the saints will receive the kingdom's glory when Christ appears again to bring salvation.
Those who enter God's kingdom by faith and hold fast their profession of faith will possess it forever with boundless joy. This everlasting home of riches and glory is reason to turn the mind from worldly concerns toward God's paradise and to praise Him now, learning the song of heaven in this life. The kingdom given to the saints is a precious reward in the world to come, a hope that makes their faithful lives worthy of attention.
The promise applies especially to those who now make a covenant with God by sacrifice for Him and for His scattered and torn flock. Nothing should be too dear to sacrifice for their salvation, for the time left to work for God is very short, and those who so sacrifice will soon be gathered home to share a rich reward and possess the new kingdom forever and ever and share Christ's glory. The saints of the Most High are God's commandment-keeping people, and the needs of those people and their widows and orphans are to be cared for first.
The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess it forever, even forever and ever. That kingdom is Christ's own kingdom and world, not a political realm set up by human power, but the heavenly country and the earth redeemed from sin and restored as the eternal home of the obedient in the purified New Earth after the wicked are consumed. Its gift to the saints was secured by Christ's suffering and death, by which He defeated Satan and saved a multitude to share in it forever. Those saints are God's children and joint heirs with Christ, including His commandment-keeping people of all ages, who now endure humiliation and reproach but, because they share His sufferings, will also share His glory. The kingdom is not established on earth until Christ returns in glory after the final judgment to raise the dead and change the living saints, so until then His followers live as strangers and pilgrims and citizens of heaven, honoring the gospel, extending His kingdom by consecrated service, and holding fast faith until they enter the city of God.
Prophetic Setting and Fulfillment
Daniel 7:18 belongs to the mysteries of the future covering the history of this world till the close of time, which Daniel was taught to read and to record for coming generations through figures and symbols. This was given because he clung to God with unwavering trust, in firmness, self-denial, and purity of motive, and God gave him knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, with understanding in all visions and dreams and the spirit of prophetic power, fulfilling the promise that God honors those who honor Him. These prophecies of the mysteries of ages to come were not fully understood by Daniel himself and were to remain sealed until the time of the end.
The apocalyptic beasts arise from the union of church and state, and that union becomes a persecuting power that cruelly oppresses those who oppose it. The little horn in the prophecy is the papacy, linked with the beast of Revelation 13 that makes war on the saints and overcomes them. The prophecy of the little horn includes 1260 days connected with 1798, when Berthier entered Rome and the Pope was taken prisoner, and the little horn's dominion was then taken away.
The saints receiving and possessing God's kingdom forever takes place when Christ returns in glory, after the final judgment and the reward of the righteous; until then Christ's kingdom is not established on earth, and His followers live as strangers and pilgrims while awaiting Him. Just before His second appearing, when He will take and possess the kingdom forever, satanic powers appear to control the world, and humanity is divided between the commandment-keeping people of God and commandment-breakers inspired by the devil and his angels. The verse was connected with the hope that at Christ's coming He would raise the dead, change the living saints, and give them the kingdom to possess forever, and believers were disappointed when the expected deliverance did not occur then.
Kingdom Promise and Heirs
The promise is that the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess it forever, even forever and ever. They are the honored subjects who receive it, take it, and hold it as an everlasting possession.
The kingdom to be taken is Christ's kingdom, and this world is the Lord Jesus Christ's own world, to be purified and brought under His rule. This world belongs to God and was deeded to Abraham and his children, and ere long God's people shall take possession of it, while wicked men are only permitted to live in it till they have filled up the cup of their iniquity. It is the heavenly country, not a political realm established or defended by human power.
That kingdom marks the completion of God's purpose, when the earth redeemed from sin is restored as the eternal home of the obedient. It is the eternal inheritance of the redeemed on the purified New Earth, received after the wicked are consumed and the great controversy is ended. It is the earth made new, purified by fire, freed from sin and every mark of the curse, and given to the saints as their peaceful and joyful home.
The giving of that kingdom to the saints was secured by Christ's suffering and death, of which He was assured. Through His death Satan is defeated and a multitude of the human race is saved eternally to share in that kingdom. The saints who receive the kingdoms of the earth are God's children and joint heirs with Christ, saints in Christ Jesus and citizens of God's household and heaven's kingdom with its rights and privileges. They include the saints of all ages and God's commandment-keeping people, though the world does not recognize their calling or what they shall become while they endure humiliation and reproach.
They shall enter the city of God after Jesus returns, see the gates open, and eat from the tree of life, receiving eternal life. Their inheritance is everlasting riches and glory and everlasting glories, received with boundless joy by those who enter God's kingdom by faith and hold fast their profession. Christ came to instruct the world and save it from ruin, so that through His divine power men might be saved from ruin and become overcomers and partakers of the divine nature, members of the royal family and children of the heavenly King, that they might themselves behold those glories. Those who accept His invitation and share Christ's humiliation and sufferings will also share His glory.
Present Calling and Future Hope
The saints of the Most High who will take and possess the kingdom forever are its present subjects, and the kingdom is the heavenly country, not a political realm established or defended by human power. Those called saints are citizens of heaven with the rights and privileges of heaven's kingdom. That citizenship calls them to live in a way that honors the gospel and does not disgrace it, relying on the power revealed in Christ's love and striving against temptation. They are the honored subjects of heaven's kingdom who heed Christ's invitation and learn from Him by keeping His human character before them and doing as He would in every circumstance.
This kingdom is Christ's kingdom, which Christians are to extend through the gospel as it advances from victory to victory. God's design is for His people to extend it through united, consecrated service, as they reveal Christ and the cross and work together under God's rule. The Word of God advances surely from victory to victory, and the saints will receive the kingdom's glory when Christ appears again to bring salvation.
Those who enter God's kingdom by faith and hold fast their profession of faith will possess it forever with boundless joy. This everlasting home of riches and glory is reason to turn the mind from worldly concerns toward God's paradise and to praise Him now, learning the song of heaven in this life. The kingdom given to the saints is a precious reward in the world to come, a hope that makes their faithful lives worthy of attention.
The promise applies especially to those who now make a covenant with God by sacrifice for Him and for His scattered and torn flock. Nothing should be too dear to sacrifice for their salvation, for the time left to work for God is very short, and those who so sacrifice will soon be gathered home to share a rich reward and possess the new kingdom forever and ever and share Christ's glory. The saints of the Most High are God's commandment-keeping people, and the needs of those people and their widows and orphans are to be cared for first.