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| Captured as a young boy or teenager during Nebuchadnezzar's first siege of Jerusalem, Daniel and many others were led away captive to the ancient city of Babylon where Daniel lived out his entire life during the "Captivity" of the Jewish people. The first six chapters of the book lay out the history of Daniel's life. Daniel lived one of the most amazing lives in human history, served directly in the court of no less than 4 kings and 2 subsequent empires, served as prime minister of most of the known world (the Babylonian and subsequently the Persian empire), and walked as closely with God as any man, save Jesus Himself, that ever lived. Daniel's amazing personal integrity and devotion to God, even under the worst of circumstances, are a shining example to all ages. The last six chapters of the book record a series of visions that were given to Daniel over the course of his amazing life. These prophetic visions are among the most comprehensive in scope and depth in all the Bible. Also one of the most historically well-documented or authenticated books in the Bible, Daniel's visions lay out the entirety of "Gentile history", predict the exact day that Jesus would present Himself as Israel's Messiah, give amazing insights into the spiritual realm of angels and demons that are unique in all Scripture, and provide, dozens or hundreds of years in advance, such accurate details of the careers of subsequent world rulers such as Alexander The Great, that skeptics have tried to argue that the book must have been written after these events transpired. But Daniel remains, well-documented and archaeologically confirmed, as a cornerstone of Bible Prophecy and a testimony of God's sovereignty, grace, love, majesty, power, and ultimate control over human history. |