Commentary - Daniel 7:23-27

Bird's-eye view

In this portion of Daniel, the interpreting angel unpacks the climax of the vision of the four beasts. The focus is squarely on the fourth and most terrible beast, and the arrogant little horn that grows out of it. This section is a prophetic blueprint for the transition of world power from the last great pagan empire to the everlasting kingdom of the Messiah. The passage details the character of this final beastly kingdom, its blasphemous opposition to God, and its persecution of God's people. But the central point is the divine intervention: the heavenly court sits, the persecuting power is judged and stripped of its dominion, and that dominion is then formally and legally transferred to the saints of the Most High. This is not a vision of the church being rescued out of a hostile world, but rather of the church inheriting a conquered world. It is the covenantal lawsuit, verdict, and sentence that undergirds the Great Commission and the historical advance of the gospel.

The interpretation provided to Daniel is not meant to be obscure. It identifies the fourth beast as a world-devouring kingdom, which history shows to be Rome. The little horn is the persecuting intelligence of that empire, culminating in its opposition to Christ and His church. The specified time of persecution, "a time, times, and half a time," points to a definite and limited period of tribulation, which finds its historical anchor in the years leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The judgment that follows is therefore not the end of the space-time universe, but the end of the old covenant age and the decisive overthrow of the pagan powers that stood against the ascended Christ. The result is the inauguration of a kingdom for the saints that is everlasting and destined to fill the whole earth.

Outline

Context In Daniel

This passage, Daniel 7:23-27, is the divine interpretation of the final and most disturbing part of the vision Daniel received in verses 1-14. It parallels and expands upon Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great statue in Daniel 2. There, the fourth kingdom was represented by legs of iron and feet of iron and clay, a kingdom that would crush all others. Here, that same kingdom is envisioned as a terrifying, unnamed beast, "dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong." The vision in chapter 7 provides more detail, particularly concerning the internal dynamics of this fourth kingdom and its specific, blasphemous opposition to God, personified in the "little horn." The judgment scene here, where the beast is destroyed and the Son of Man receives the kingdom (Dan 7:9-14), is the direct precursor to this interpretation. This section explains the practical and historical outworking of that heavenly transaction: how the kingdom given to Christ in heaven is then bestowed upon His people on earth.

Key Issues

From Pagan Rome to Christ's Kingdom

One of the central mistakes modern Christians make when reading prophecy is to detach it from history. We read these visions as though they were coded messages about newspaper headlines from our own time, floating free from the historical context in which they were given and fulfilled. But God's prophetic word is anchored in real history. The sequence of kingdoms, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, is not a matter of debate for anyone who takes history seriously. Daniel's prophecy is about the flow of world power, and how God intended to interrupt that flow decisively.

The fourth beast is Rome. Not just the political entity, but the entire pagan, man-glorifying system that it represented. This was the empire that ruled the world when the Son of God was born, the empire that crucified Him, and the empire that sought to stamp out His church in its infancy. The conflict described here is not symbolic of some vague, future evil; it is a description of the great war between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, as it came to a head in the first century. The judgment against this beast is therefore the historical judgment that fell upon that system, beginning with the destruction of apostate Jerusalem, its collaborator, in A.D. 70. This event was the vindication of the saints and the public demonstration that a new King and a new Kingdom had taken charge of the world.

Verse by Verse Commentary

23 “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.

The angel begins his explanation by confirming that the beast is a kingdom, a real, historical, geopolitical power. This is the Roman Empire. And it is different from all that preceded it. Babylon, Persia, and Greece were brutal, but Rome was a different kind of monster. It was an all-encompassing, bureaucratic, military machine. Its genius for organization, law, and engineering was bent toward one goal: to devour, tread down, and crush. It did not just conquer nations; it assimilated them, grinding down their distinctives into the gravel of the Roman road. This was the empire that would provide the stage for the coming of the Messiah, and its global reach, its pax Romana, would ironically become the very means by which the gospel would spread to the whole world it once devoured.

24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will make low three kings.

The "ten horns" represent the fullness of ruling power within that Roman kingdom, a succession of emperors or rulers. Out of this system of governance arises "another," a little horn. This figure is the central antagonist. He is different. His power is not merely political; it is ideological and religious in its rebellion. This points to the persecuting, blasphemous spirit of the Roman imperial cult, which demanded worship of Caesar as a god. This spirit found its ultimate expression in emperors like Nero, who initiated the first great persecution of the church. The detail about making low "three kings" likely refers to the chaotic period of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors (A.D. 69) after Nero's death, from which Vespasian, the general besieging Jerusalem, emerged as the undisputed ruler. This turmoil was part of the very judgment that was falling on the whole corrupt system.

25 He will speak words against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make changes in seasons and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

Here is the charge sheet against the little horn. First, blasphemy: "words against the Most High." This is Caesar worship, the claim to divinity, the ultimate affront to the one true God. Second, persecution: he will "wear down the saints." This is not a quick battle but a grinding war of attrition against the early church. Third, supreme arrogance: he will "intend to make changes in seasons and in law." This is the creature attempting to usurp the Creator's prerogative. God sets the times and gives the law; this horn thinks he can rewrite the calendar and the moral code of the universe. For a limited and specific period, God permits this. The saints are "given into his hand" for a time, times, and half a time. This period, three and a half years, corresponds to the final, intense period of tribulation preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, a time of horrific persecution for the saints in Judea.

26 But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever.

This "but" is one of the great turning points of history. The arrogance of the beast does not have the last word. The heavenly court, which Daniel saw convene in verse 9, sits for judgment. This is the decisive moment. The verdict is rendered in heaven, and the sentence is executed on earth. The dominion of the beast is taken away. This does not mean the Roman Empire vanished overnight in A.D. 70. It means its spiritual authority was broken, its mandate to rule was revoked, and its eventual demise was sealed. The process of its annihilation and destruction began then and would continue until the old pagan empire was no more. The power that crucified Christ was judged and sentenced at the ascension of Christ, and that sentence was served on the generation that had rejected Him.

27 Then the reign, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’

This is the glorious result of the judgment. A transfer of power occurs. The dominion that belonged to the beast is now given to the people of the saints of the Highest One. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. This is the inauguration of the kingdom that Jesus preached. It is an everlasting kingdom, not because it is located in a disembodied heaven, but because it is established on the unshakable victory of the resurrected Christ. The prophecy concludes with a staggering promise, the very heart of a postmillennial vision of history: "all the dominions will serve and obey Him." This is the goal of the Great Commission. The gospel is not a message of retreat, but a declaration of conquest. The kingdom of Christ, in the hands of His saints, is destined to grow like a mustard seed, to leaven the whole lump, until all the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.

Application

This passage ought to revolutionize our understanding of history and the mission of the church. We are not the ragtag, beaten-down resistance hiding in the hills, hoping for an airborne evacuation. We are the legal heirs of a kingdom that has already been won and awarded to us. The court has sat, the verdict is in, and the enemy's dominion has been revoked.

This means we should reject all forms of eschatological pessimism. The world does not belong to the devil; it belongs to King Jesus, and He has given it to us. Our task is to act like it. The "little horns" of our own day, the arrogant, blasphemous states and ideologies that speak words against the Most High, are operating on borrowed time with a revoked license. They may appear to "wear down the saints" for a season, but their judgment is already written.

Therefore, our mission is one of confident, joyful, and relentless dominion-taking in the name of Christ. We do this not with the sword, but with the gospel of grace, with the faithful preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, and the discipling of the nations. We are to teach the nations to obey all that Christ commanded, because the day is coming when "all the dominions will serve and obey Him." This is not a pious wish; it is a prophetic certainty. Our job is to get on with it.