A New Testament

Several centuries pass from the writings of Ezra, Nehemiah, Joel, and Malachi.  The Jewish people rebuilt the temple and resume worship on the mount.

The third beast

Empires rise and fall.  As predicted in Daniel, the Persian-Mede empire is eventually replaced by the Greek empire.  Alexander unites the Greek city-states and conquers the entire known world from Macedonia to India and down to Egypt.  He cries because he runs out of places to conquer.  Greek culture, philosophy, writing, and religion spread to all these areas.  Alexander eventually dies and his empire is split into four separate empires run by four of his generals.  

The fourth beast

A fourth beast emerges from the Mediterranean sea.  The armies of the cities of Rome secure the Italian peninsula.  They eventually defeat the other Mediterranean powerhouse, Carthage.  Carthage was once a Phoenician settlement but the Romans burn it to the ground.

The Romans sweep across Europe and the Mediterranean region, including Palestine.  Eventually, Rome officially changes from Republic to Empire.  A favorite method of executing criminals under Roman justice is crucifixion.   For instance, Spartacus' 3,000 fellow rebels were each crucified along the roads in Italy.

In Palestine, the Romans rule over a cauldron of different communities:

Pharisees - followers of the Mosaic code to the letter.  They even create extra rules to prevent breaking of the Mosaic code.  We could see some of the roots of this sentiment under Nehemiah who closed the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath.  Five hundred year after Nehemiah, lots of extra rules have been created.

Sadducees - the wealthier and more politically connected class among the Jews.

Essenes - they lived in isolated communities in the wilderness, particularly the Dead Sea area. They preserved and hid copies the Jewish canon which we know today as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Zealots - they advocated open rebellion against Rome

Samaritans - ethnically and religiously different than the strictly Jewish people.  I think they were descended from the people that the Assyrians brought into the settle the lands of the Northern Kingdom after the Assyrians removed the northerners.  They adopted some, but not all, of the local Jewish customs, but a major religious dispute was which mountain worship on.  The Jews maintained it was the temple mount in Jerusalem while the Samaritans worshipped on their ancestral mountain near Sychar.  (see John 4:19)