Daniel 7:25 describes a powerful ruler who will speak against God, persecute God’s people, and try to change sacred times and laws, with his power lasting for a set period of time. The verse is part of a vision Daniel received in the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, and it was given to Daniel himself as he recorded the dream and its interpretation. The verse answers a question that many readers bring to it: who is this figure, and does God still rule over him?
He will speak words against the Most High, and will wear out the saints of the Most High. He will plan to change the times and the law; and they will be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.
Daniel 7:25 (WEB)
What Daniel 7:25 Means
The verse begins with a figure who “will speak words against the Most High.” The phrase points to arrogance and blasphemy, a power that sets itself up in place of God and assumes a right to speak for heaven. The next phrase, “will wear out the saints of the Most High,” describes sustained pressure on God’s faithful people. The word “wear out” suggests long, grinding oppression rather than a single violent moment.
The third part of the verse says he “will plan to change the times and the law.” This describes an attempt to alter the calendar of worship and the moral and religious law that God’s people live by. Finally the verse states that the saints “will be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.” That last clause is a time limit. The oppression is real, but it is not unlimited, and the verse does not promise that the saints will escape suffering in the meantime.
The Context of Daniel 7:25
The book of Daniel is traditionally attributed to Daniel, a Jewish exile in Babylon, and it was written to encourage Jewish believers facing foreign domination and religious pressure. Chapter 7 is set in the Babylonian period, though the visions look forward to later empires. Daniel sees four great beasts rising from the sea, and the fourth is a kingdom that devours the earth. Ten horns arise from it, and then a “little horn” comes up among them, the figure described in verse 25.
Verse 22 and verses 26 and 27 frame the verse with hope. Judgment is coming against this power, and the kingdom will be given to the saints of the Most High. Reading verse 25 alone can leave a reader with a sense of dread, but in its surrounding text it is a description of an enemy whose time is already limited and whose end has already been decided by God.
Key Phrases in Daniel 7:25
Daniel 7:27
The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole sky, will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions will serve and obey him.’
(WEB)
Verse 27 comes right after the oppression described in verse 25 and promises that the kingdom will be given to the saints of the Most High. Reading it alongside verse 25 shows that the time of pressure leads toward a restored kingdom and an everlasting reign under God.
Revelation 13:7
It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him.
(WEB)
Revelation 13 describes a beast given authority to make war against the saints, and it echoes the pattern in Daniel 7. Reading the two passages together shows how the theme of persecuted believers under a hostile power runs from the Old Testament prophets into the New Testament, and how it points to God’s final faithfulness.
A Short Prayer From Daniel 7:25
Lord, you see the pressure I feel and the people who oppose what I believe. When I am worn down, remind me that you are the Most High and that no power on earth sits above your throne. Give me patience for the hard seasons and courage to speak truthfully when it costs me something. Hold the times and the laws in your hands, and keep my heart steady on the promise that your kingdom will be given to your people. Amen.
