The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), "Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?"  Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.  He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.  Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:  As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.  As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.  You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue -- an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.  The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.  While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.  It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.  Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer.  The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.  This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.  You, O king, are the king of kings.  The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory;  in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air.  Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.  You are that head of gold.  After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours.  Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.  Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron -- for iron breaks and smashes everything -- and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.  Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom;  yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay.  As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.  In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people.  It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.  This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands -- a rock
that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.  The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy."
(Daniel 2:26-45)

... In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea [Mediterranean Sea].  Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.  The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle.  I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.  And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear.  It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth.  It was told, "Get up and eat your fill of flesh!"  After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard.  And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird.  This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.  After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast -- terrifying and frightening and very powerful.  It had large iron teeth;  it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.  It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.  While I was thinking about the horns, there before
me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them;  and three of the first horns were uprooted before it.  This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.  As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.  His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.  His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.  A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him.  Thousands upon thousands attended him;  ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.  The court was seated, and the books were opened.  Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.  I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.  (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)  In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.  He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.  He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.  I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.  I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this.  So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things:  "The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth.  But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever -- yes, for ever and ever."  Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws -- the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.  I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell -- the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.  As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.  He gave me this explanation:  "The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth.  It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.  The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom.  After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.  He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.  But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.  Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High.  His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him."
(Daniel 7:2-27)