Chapters 7 and 8 actually take place prior to chapter 5. Remember that Belshazzar's father, Nabonidus, was actually king of [[Babylon]], the Empire, and Belshazzar was his coregent in the city of Babylon. To this point [[Daniel]] had been interpreting the dreams of others, but now [[God]] gives him extraordinary [[visions]] of his own. In these visions Daniel sees the course of [[Gentile]] history, and this vision helps us to understand what will happen to the [[Jews]] in the end days.