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until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.
Daniel 7:22 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
  • KJV Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
  • BSB until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for them to possess the kingdom.
  • NKJV until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
  • NLT until the Ancient One—the Most High—came and judged in favor of his holy people. Then the time arrived for the holy people to take over the kingdom.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The Ancient of Days arrives, judgment is rendered in favor of the saints, and they take possession of the kingdom. God intervenes to vindicate His persecuted people.

Overview

The oppression of verse 21 is decisively reversed when the Ancient of Days holds court and pronounces for the saints. The same judgment that condemns the beast secures the inheritance of God's people. This points to the final judgment when Christ returns, vindicating the faithful and granting them the everlasting kingdom promised throughout the chapter.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Dan 7:18But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.
  • Rev 5:10and made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign on the earth.”
  • Rev 20:4I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
  • Rev 3:21He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father on his throne.
  • Rev 11:11–18After the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them.
  • Luke 22:29–30I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me,
  • Dan 7:9–11I saw until thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days sat: his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire.
  • 1 Cor 6:2–3Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
  • Rev 20:9–15They went up over the width of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. Fire came down out of heaven from God, and devoured them.
  • Rev 14:8–20Another, a second angel, followed, saying, “Babylon the great has fallen, which has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.”
  • 2 Th 2:8Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy by the manifestation of his coming;
  • Rev 19:11–21I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war.
  • Matt 19:28Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
  • Rev 1:6and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
  • Isa 63:4For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Daniel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Daniel 7:22YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DanielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.

How Daniel 7:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.