Daniel on the fourth beast

In about 165 BCE, an anonymous Jew composed the Biblical book of Daniel. Daniel was, in his view, a Jewish prophet who had lived at the Babylonian court and had had visions of the future. Two of these visions are related to Alexander the Great, who is presented as a great conqueror who founded the last of four oriental monarchies. The striking aspect is that the kings of Babylonia-Assyria, of Media, of Persia, and the kings from Macedonia-Greece are presented as a succession - there is no real discontinuity. In the second vision, Alexander is presented as the first and greatest of the rulers of the "fourth kingdom".

The quotes are taken from the 21st Century King James translation; the complete vision can be found here.

Chapter
7
8
Section
2
3
4
5
6
7
17
23
24a

The first vision: the four beasts

[7.2] I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

[7.3] And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

[7.4] The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

[7.5] And behold, another beast, a second, like unto a bear. And it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it; and they said thus unto it, "Arise, devour much flesh."

[7.6] After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl. The beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

[7.7] After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth. It devoured, and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.       

Explanation of the first vision

[7.17] These great beasts, which are four, are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. [...] 

[7.23] The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in pieces. 

[7.24a] And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise.