Daniel is to the Old Testament what Revelation
is to the New Testament. In fact, we cannot understand
one without the other. Prophetically, Daniel deals with
the times of the Gentiles, the period of time that
began in 606 b.c., with the captivity of the Jews. It
will end when Christ returns to earth to judge the
Gentile nations and establish His Kingdom. In the
various visions and dreams in the Book of Daniel we see
the program of Gentile history from the arrival of
Babylon to the conquest of the Medes, Persians, Greeks,
and Romans, until the rule of the Antichrist just
before the return of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. This
book proves there is a God in heaven (chapter 2:28) and
that the Most High ruleth the kingdom of man (chapter
4:25). Daniel makes it clear that God Almighty is
sovereign in the affairs of this world. God can take
the rulers off their thrones; He can defeat the
strongest nations and turn them over to their enemies.

Daniel stands out as one of the greatest men of
Old Testament history. That he was a real man in
history is proven by Ezekiel 14:14; 28:3; Matthew
24:15; and Hebrews 11:33. He was a teenager in the year
605 b.c., when Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and
began his conquest of Judah. There were several
deportations of Jews to Babylon, and Daniel was in the
first group because he was of the princely line. It was
the practice of Babylon to deport “the cream of the
crop” and train them for service in their own palaces.
Daniel held several important positions and was
promoted greatly because of his character and wisdom,
and because of the blessings of God upon him.
Nebuchadnezzar named him chief of the wise men and the
ruler of the land, a position similar to a modern Prime
Minister.

The personal history of Daniel is recorded in
chapter 1. There are three different times of
difficulty recorded in chapters 1–6. The testing of
the four Hebrews when they arrived at Babylon is found
in chapter 1. The fiery furnace is seen in chapter 3;
and the lion’s den in chapter 6. In each of these
experiences, Daniel and his friends won the victory,
but the first victory (chapter 1) was the foundation of
the other two. Because these Jewish boys were faithful
to God while they were yet teenagers, God was faithful
to them in the years that followed.