Daniel
Author: Daniel
Date of Writing: 6th century BC
Type of Book: Prophetic
Theme: God's sovereignty
The book of Daniel is one of the most exciting books in the Bible and one of my personal favorites. Daniel was an amazing man of God who lived an exemplary life. Taken into captivity as a young man around 605 BC, he served in Babylon's government during Israel's seventy years of captivity, working closely with Nebuchadnezzar and later with Cyrus the Persian king.
Most scholars believe that Daniel wrote this book around 536 BC, although liberal critics often question the authorship and dating of this book because of the detailed prophecies it contains. They argue that it couldn't possibly have been written hundreds of years before some of its most precise prophecies, suggesting instead it was written at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes around 170 BC. However, the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, was written before the time of Antiochus Epiphanes - and it contains the book of Daniel. The only evidence I need for the authorship is the fact that Jesus quoted from this book and called Daniel "the prophet" in Matt 24:15.
You can't overestimate the importance of the book of Daniel. The book of Revelation would be almost impossible to understand without Daniel's prophecies. Jesus quoted exclusively from Daniel in the Olivet Discourse. This book not only predicted the various kingdoms as they would unfold in history, but predicted the coming of the Messiah to the very day, as well as eschatological events that still lie in the future.
In addition to Daniel's prophetic revelations, we also see in the narrative and biological sections how a young man is able to live in the middle of an evil society, being involved and interacting with the culture, while remaining undefiled. Daniel stands as an example of one who refused to compromise, and as a result, was blessed and promoted by the Lord, earning the respect and appreciation of those around him.
-from Pastor Chuck Smith: The Word for Today Bible