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. The emphatic title of God in this prophecy, who delegates His power first to Israel; then to the Gentiles, in the person of Nebuchadnezzar, the first "head" of the world-power (Daniel 2:37-38), on Israel failing to realize the idea of the theocracy; lastly, to Messiah, who shall rule truly for God, taking it from the Gentile world-powers, whose history is one of continual degeneracy, culminating in the last of the kings, Antichrist. Here, in the interpretation, "the saints," but in the vision (Daniel 7:13-14), "the Son of man" takes the kingdom; because Christ and His people are one in suffering and one in glory. Tregelles translates, 'the saints of the most high places' (Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6). Though oppressed by the beast and little horn, they belong not to the earth, from which the four beasts arise, but to the most high places.