But who is this “one like a son of man”? Just as the angel identifies the four beasts as four kingdoms, the one like a son of man is a kingdom comprising “the holy holes of the Most High” (vv. 18, 22, 27). That is, the nation of Israel. God will make Israel the ruler of the nations.

We cannot object to this interpretation y saying that “one like a son of man” must refer to a person (since it is a singular being) rather than to a nation. Remember: the beasts were also individual creatures that represented entire kingdoms. But in another sense, each one represented both the kingdom and its head, the king. The same is true of the “one like a son of man.” But who will be that kingdom’s ruler? The author doesn’t say, which may suggest it is not one of his concerns. For him, what matters is that Israel will come to rule the nations. If he did think about a ruler, one might suppose he was thinking of the future “anointed one” who would rule Israel—that is, the messiah, a king like David. Alternatively, some scholars have suggested that since the one like a son of man arrives on clouds from heaven, Daniel has in mind a king of heavenly ruler, for example, a great angel like Michael. Whoever it is to be, Daniel expects the transfer of power to happen right away. Antiochus will be killed by God and Israel will inherit the kingdom.