¹⁶ So I approached one of the heavenly beings standing before the flaming throne and asked him to explain exactly what had happened. So he did. And this is what he told me it all meant, the interpretation he gave me to all I had seen and heard:

Heavenly Being: ¹⁷ The four great beasts you saw that rose from the wind-whipped sea are four kings who will rise from the earth and come to rule vast empires. ¹⁸ But the holy ones of the Most High God will receive that kingdom which will last for all the ages to come, forever and ever.