Yahweh spoke to me when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was at war against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah. He had all his army with him, including soldiers from all the kingdoms of his empire.
My Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar victory over King Jehoiakim and permitted the Babylonian ruler to remove some of the sacred vessels belonging to the temple of the true God. Nebuchadnezzar carried them away to the land of Babylon and placed the sacred vessels into the temple treasury of his own gods.
“And after you are gone, another kingdom will arise, a kingdom not as great as yours. And then a third kingdom will arise to rule the land, a kingdom of bronze.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar concluded, “That was my dream. Now it is for you, Belteshazzar, to interpret its meaning, since not one of the wise men in my kingdom has been able to interpret it for me, but I know that you can, since the spirit of the holy gods resides in you.”
The first one was like a winged lion, with wings like an eagle. As I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth, standing on two feet like a person, and it was given a human heart.