THE STUDY OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL IS THE STUDY OF PROPHECY, AND AS SUCH, DEALS WITH THE FUTURE. IN STUDYING THESE, WE, AS CHRISTIANS, CAN GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIBLE AND OF GOD. THROUGH THIS STUDY AN UNDERSTANDING IS OBTAINED OF THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE FORCES OF GOOD AND EVIL, AND THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF JESUS.
             THE PROPHETIC SYMBOLS OF DANIEL MUST BE INTERPRETED BY THE BIBLE ITSELF. MAN-MADE INTERPRETATIONS HAVE NO VALIDITY AT ALL. THE COMPREHENSION OF THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL GIVE US A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF JESUS.
             DANIEL, ALTHOUGH WRITING IN THE THIRD PERSON, GAVE A PERSONAL HISTORY, AS HE LIVED IT, IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL. JESUS ATTESTED TO DANIEL'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WORDS FOUND IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL, AS HIS THIRD POINT, WHEN HE TOLD HIS FOLLOWERS TO UNDERSTAND THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL, THE FIRST TWO BEING: TO STUDY THE PROPHECIES, AND THEY COULD BE UNDERSTOOD.
             DANIEL IS SET DURING THE REIGN OF KING NEBUCHDREZZAR OF BABYLON, WHICH BEGAN IN 605 B.C., AND EXTENDS INTO THE MEDO-PERSIAN REIGN, WHICH BEGAN IN 538 B.C. WE CAN DETERMINE, THEN, THAT THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN SOMETIME DURING THOSE YEARS.
             BECAUSE OF THEIR DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD, THE NATIONS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH FOUND THEMSELVES CONQUERED BY NEBUCHADREZZAR AND THEIR PEOPLE TAKEN CAPTIVE TO A HEATHEN COUNTRY. ALTHOUGH, THE BOOK OF DANIEL WAS WRITTEN WHILE GOD'S PEOPLE WERE CAPTIVE IN BABYLON BECAUSE OF THEIR SINS, THE FOCUS OF THE BOOK IS NOT ABOUT THE CAPTIVITY, BUT ABOUT THE END TIME. THIS DISCOVERY ABOUT THE BOOK, GIVES DANIEL RELEVANCE FOR US TODAY.
             THERE ARE TWO DISTINCT PERSPECTIVES FOUND IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL: THE HISTORICAL, WHERE WE SEE STORIES ABOUT DANIEL'S TIME; AND THE PROPHETIC, WHERE WE SEE PROPHECIES POINTING TO THE END TIME. THE STORIES OF DANIEL ARE NOT JUST GIVEN AS SIMPLE STORIES, THEY ARE GIVEN TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT THE PROPHECIES PREDICT. REMEMBER, THE POINT OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL IS THE END TIME...TH...