Four beasts and a man (Daniel 7)

Belshazar is now king.  

Daniel lay awake late at night.  He had a vision/ dream of four different beasts coming out of the water.  We later find out these beasts represent kingdoms.  The beasts are:

1.  Lion with eagle wings.  

I think this is pretty terrifying.

2.  A bear with ribs in his teeth.  The bear is told to eat more flesh.  

I think this is a downgrade in terms of terrifying from a winged lion.  However, the ribs in the mouth and the command to eat more suggests this creature has an insatiable appetite.

The bear is further interesting because it is the only animal in this list from the natural world, whereas the other three are chimaeras.  It also the only beast given any command at all.  So, perhaps this signifies that it will appear fairly normal, but act with a ferocity that makes it worthy of being on this list with fierce chimaeras.

3.  A four-headed leopard with four wings.

This is definitely an upgrade from the bear.  

4.  A beast with ten horns.  Three of the horns are uprooted by a smaller horn, which has a face and boasts about itself.  

This last beast is slain and thrown into a fire.  The other beasts were allowed to live "for a time".  

5.  A man ascends to God.  He is given power to rule and will have an everlasting kingdom.

Apparently still within the vision, Daniel asks someone else watching all this what this means.  The man explains that these are four kingdoms.  Daniel's interest focuses on the fourth beast and he learns that the horns represent various kings within the kingdom.  This beast will war with the saints.  Eventually, the beast will die and the power will transition to the people of God.

The chapter concludes with Daniel stating that he kept this to himself at first.  He was troubled by this.

So, what does all this mean?  Personally, I think this is the same message from King Nebuchadnezzar's dream of Daniel 1.  Here, Daniel is wrestling with it, just as King Nebuchadnezzar did when he had the dream.  

Similarly, we have a series of four kingdoms and the intervention of God is associated with the last of these kingdoms.  

Daniel was most curious about the fourth beast.  I think a common interpretation of this fourth beast would be the Roman Empire.  It devoured kingdoms, it had a long succession of kings (10 horns), and waged war against the saints.  Likewise, it fits within the Christian perspective as it as during the Roman Empire that Christ came, established a holy kingdom, this holy kingdom outlasted this beast, and Christ ascended to heaven during the reign of the Roman Empire.