The People of the Saints in Daniel's Kingdom Prophecy

Daniel 7:27 stands within an important prophetic context in Daniel 7, where four beasts, representing four kingdoms, rise and fall, and then the rule of heaven is established. The phrase in question is somewhat unusual: "the people of the saints of the most high." The basic question is: who exactly are these people?

To answer this, it is helpful to lay out the plausible interpretive options, examine the language and context of Daniel 7, and compare the usage of "saints of the most high" elsewhere in the chapter.

The text reads:

"And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’’

subsection*Initial interpretive options

Several initial possibilities present themselves:

1. The phrase is simply a collective way of referring to the saints themselves. On this view, "the people of the saints of the most high’’ is essentially equivalent to "the saints of the most high’’—a somewhat expanded, but functionally identical, description of the same group. It would then refer to the saints as a corporate community, with "people of’’ adding little more than stylistic variation. This reading is possible, but it must acknowledge that the wording is somewhat awkward. One would more naturally expect "the saints of the most high’’ or "the people of the most high,’’ not "the people of the saints of the most high.’’
2. The phrase refers to the future offspring or later generations of the saints. Because the passage is clearly eschatological and future-oriented ("shall be given’’), we could theorize that "the people of the saints’’ points to a subsequent generation, the descendants of the saints of the most high. On this proposal, the kingdom is given, not directly to the present saints in Daniel’s time, but to the later people belonging to them. This reading introduces a generational nuance, but again the phrasing is not the most natural way to express "offspring’’ or "seed.’’ Scripture has clearer and more direct ways of speaking about descendants than "people of the saints.’’
3. The "saints’’ are angelic beings, and "the people’’ are those under their care. Another suggestion is that "saints’’ here might be angelic "holy ones,’’ and that "the people of the saints’’ are the humans associated with, guarded by, or represented by those angels. In that case, the phrase could mean something like "the people under the holy angels of the most high.’’ One step further in this line of thought would be the idea of the "offspring of angels’’—but the only such case in Scripture involves the Nephilim, and these are clearly not "of the most high.’’ That option is therefore dismissed quickly as incompatible with the text.

These are the main conceptual options. To move beyond bare possibility, we need to examine the language of "saints’’ in Daniel 7 and the immediate context of the phrase.

subsection*The term "saints’’ in Daniel 7

The term rendered "saints’’ in Daniel 7 is Aramaic rather than Hebrew. It is a form related to the idea of "holy, separate, sacred." It can be used of persons, places, or things that are set apart, and in various contexts can refer either to human saints or to holy angels. The word itself does not decide the question; the context must.

Within Daniel 7, the exact English phrase "saints of the most high’’ appears only in this chapter, and repeatedly. The key is to see how the phrase functions earlier in the chapter, especially in verse 18.

Beginning in Daniel 7:15, Daniel is disturbed by his visions and asks one of those standing by (an angelic being) for the interpretation:

"I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most high shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.’’ Daniel 7:15–18

Here we have the first use of "saints of the most high.’’ These saints "shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.’’ This is clearly not a description of angels occupying the millennial or messianic kingdom in place of Israel. The kingdom in Daniel’s prophecy is consistently presented as the promised kingdom given to the people of Israel.

Reading verse 18 with "saints’’ as angels would produce: "The angels shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever.’’ That does not align with the broader scriptural picture. The kingdom is consistently portrayed as the inheritance of the covenant people, not of their guardian angels.

Moreover, verse 18 must be harmonized with verse 27. In verse 18, "the saints of the most high shall take the kingdom.’’ In verse 27, the kingdom:

"shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high.’’

The two verses are parallel in subject matter and outcome: the same kingdom, the same everlasting possession, the same connection to the most high. The shift in wording ("shall take’’ versus "shall be given’’) reflects active and passive aspects of the same reality, not a shift from one group (angels) to another (humans).

Thus, within Daniel 7, the most coherent reading is that the "saints of the most high’’ are the holy people of Israel who will receive and possess the promised kingdom. "Saints’’ here designates the covenant people in their faithful, eschatological identity, not angelic beings.

This strongly suggests that in verse 27 we are still in the same field: Israel as the holy nation destined to receive the kingdom.

subsection*Re-reading Daniel 7:27 in light of verse 18

Daniel 7:27 states:

"And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’’

If we allow verse 18 to govern our understanding of the phrase "saints of the most high,’’ we can simplify the structure as follows:

"…shall be given to the people of [that entity called] the saints of the most high…’’

In other words, "the saints of the most high’’ functions almost as an official designation for the covenant nation, and "the people of’’ refers to the people belonging to that covenant nation. In modern terms, it could be something like: "the people of the nation called the holy ones of the most high.’’

We often shorten political or geographic names in regular speech. A modern analogy may help. The city now commonly called "Santa Fe’’ actually bears the official historical name La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís de Nuevo México—"The Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi of New Mexico.’’ In practice, it is shortened simply to "Santa Fe,’’ and its inhabitants are "the people of Santa Fe.’’

In a similar way, one can imagine "the saints of the most high’’ functioning as a formal designation for the holy nation, and "the people of the saints of the most high’’ as the people belonging to that holy nation. On this reading, the phrase is a roundabout but emphatic way of saying: the kingdom will be given to the people of Israel—the holy people of the most high God.

subsection*Relation to the names Israel and Judah in Daniel

One might ask whether Daniel avoids the names "Israel’’ or "Judah’’ in this eschatological context, as if he had to resort to a more general phrase like "saints of the most high’’ because the national entity was, in his own day, dispersed and politically collapsed.

However, in Daniel 9 he does use both names explicitly:

"O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them…’’ Daniel 9:7

Here Daniel speaks of "the men of Judah,’’ "the inhabitants of Jerusalem,’’ and "all Israel,’’ recognizing that they have been scattered "through all the countries whither thou hast driven them.’’ He is not averse to using the traditional national names.

Even so, in Daniel 7 the focus is not on their current scattered condition but on their future restored identity as the holy people in the coming kingdom. The designation "saints of the most high’’ fits that eschatological role well. Thus, to speak of "the people of the saints of the most high’’ in 7:27 is to speak of the people belonging to that holy nation in its future, restored condition.

subsection*Are angels involved conceptually?

There is a legitimate question about angelic involvement with Israel, especially in light of other passages in Daniel where angelic princes are associated with nations. For example, in Daniel 10:13 an angelic being says:

"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.’’

Michael appears as a guardian or representative prince for Israel (cf. Daniel 10 and 12). One might ask whether "the saints of the most high’’ could be a collective of such angelic guardians, with "the people of the saints’’ meaning the humans under their care.

This concept does resonate with the idea that Israel has angelic protectors, and Scripture does give support to the notion that Michael has special responsibility for Israel. However, plugging that idea into Daniel 7:18 and 7:27 runs into a serious theological and contextual hurdle: the kingdom is never portrayed as the possession of angels in Scripture, but rather as the inheritance of the redeemed people of God, particularly Israel in its kingdom promises.

To read Daniel 7:18 as "the angels shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever’’ strains both the text and the broader biblical pattern. The simplest and most coherent reading remains that "saints of the most high’’ in Daniel 7 are human saints—Israel in her faithful remnant identity—not angels.

subsection*Prepositional complexity: "of the saints’’

The phrase "of the saints’’ highlights a general interpretive challenge that appears repeatedly in Scripture: prepositional phrases (of, from, with, by, etc.) often do not transfer with one-to-one clarity from the original language into English. The usage can be flexible, and what looks like a strict grammatical relationship in English may function more broadly in Hebrew or Aramaic.

In this case, "the people of the saints of the most high’’ need not imply a sharp distinction between "people’’ and "saints’’ as two separate entities. Rather, it can be understood as "the people belonging to that entity designated as the saints of the most high.’’ In other words, the phrase is expansive, not necessarily differentiating.

subsection*The question of saints versus people in battle and kingdom

A further nuance arises from the narrative of Daniel 7 itself: the saints are depicted as those who suffer under the fourth beast, are oppressed, and then receive the kingdom. One could ask whether "the saints’’ in context are those who engage in the conflict, while "the people’’ are those who simply receive the benefits of their victory.

This distinction is not entirely foreign to biblical thought—sometimes leaders or a faithful remnant secure a blessing or deliverance that is then shared by the broader people. Still, Daniel 7 does not clearly press such a distinction; the text does not clearly divide "saints’’ as a fighting class and "people’’ as a non-fighting group. The simpler reading is that this is a stylistic way of speaking of the people as belonging to the saints’ identity as the holy nation.

subsection*Conclusion: identifying the people of the saints

Bringing the elements together, several points can be affirmed:

• In Daniel 7:18, the "saints of the most high’’ are those who "take the kingdom’’ and "possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.’’ This points strongly to Israel in her eschatological role, not to angels.
• In Daniel 7:27, the same kingdom is in view, now described as being "given to the people of the saints of the most high.’’ The language is parallel to verse 18 and refers to the same reality.
• The phrase "the people of the saints of the most high’’ is best understood as a formal or expanded way of saying "the people belonging to that holy nation called the saints of the most high’’—that is, the people of Israel, particularly in their restored, faithful identity.
• The interpretive options that make "saints’’ into angels or that drive a sharp wedge between "saints’’ and "people’’ as two distinct groups require more strain than the text can comfortably bear and conflict with the broader biblical testimony regarding the ownership of the kingdom.

Thus, the most natural and contextually faithful interpretation is that "the people of the saints of the most high’’ in Daniel 7:27 are the people of Israel—the covenant nation in its holy, restored, kingdom role—to whom the everlasting kingdom will be given under the authority of the most high.