15 "My spirit was troubled. The visions that passed through my mind upset me.
16 I approached an angel who was standing there. I asked him what all of those things really meant. "So he explained everything to me. He told me what it meant. He said,
17 'The four large animals stand for four kingdoms. The kingdoms will appear on the earth.
18 But the holy people of the Most High God will receive the kingdom. They will possess it forever. It will belong to them for ever and ever.'
19 "Then I wanted to know what the fourth animal stood for. It was different from the others. It was the most terrifying of all. It had iron teeth and bronze claws. It crushed those it attacked and ate them up. It stomped on anything that was left.
20 "I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head. And I wanted to know about the other horn that grew up later. It caused three of the ten horns to fall out. It appeared to be stronger than the others. It had eyes. And its mouth was always bragging.
21 "I saw that the horn was at war with God's people. It was winning the battle over them.