7:26 The angel continued that the heavenly court (v. 10) would pass judgment on the little horn, and God will remove his dominion and destroy it forever (v. 11; 2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 19:20).
7:27 The fifth kingdom, under the Son of Man's leadership (v. 14), will then commence. The angel again stressed the role that the saints will have in this kingdom. The phrase "the people of the saints of the Holy One"(NASB) is unusual. This may indicate that a particular group of the saints (believers), probably the Jews who, according to other Scripture, will be God's focus of blessing during His earthly kingdom. However, the rendering "the saints, [namely,] the people of the Most High"(NIV) is a good translation. In this case it is the saints generally who are in view, not a special group of them.289
The Son of Man's kingdom will be endless and worldwide. Notice that the titles "Highest One"(God the Father) and "His [the Son of Man's]"are interchangeable pointing to the deity of the Son of Man. This verse also clarifies that the saints are not the same as the Son of Man, "saints"being plural and "His"and "Him"singular. The kingdom is not just the rule of the saints; it is fundamentally the rule of the Son of Man in which the saints participate.
"It is not difficult to see that Daniel more than almost any other author is concerned with the kingdom theme."290
7:28 Daniel marked the end of the vision and added that what he had seen and heard alarmed and terrified him. His pale face evidently resulted from his fear as he contemplated the severe trials and persecutions awaiting his people. He originally kept this revelation to himself perhaps because he realized that it might prove explosive if he announced it immediately.
There appear to be two specific sets of prophecies of the future in chapter 7 in addition to what would happen within Daniel's lifetime. First, there are prophecies that deal with coming world empires that would appear as regular nations. Then there are the predictions about the end of the fourth kingdom and the beginning of the fifth kingdom, which are still future from our standpoint in history. The gap between these times was undoubtedly unclear to Daniel (cf. Isa. 61:1-2; 1 Pet. 1:10-11).
