message of the chapter. When Daniel “approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this,” the angel gave him an “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 for ever—yes, for ever and ever’ ” (Dan. 7:16–18). The angel is not fixated on the identity of the beasts; rather, the central point is the certainty of the final victory of the