Daniel’s prophecy was very important to the people of Israel. Their problems had come about due to them listening to false prophets. This led to the ultimate collapse of their nation. The people had not listened to the true prophets telling them that they needed to obey God. This led to them exiled to Babylon, there they learned to take the prophetic word very seriously, because it was the only hope they possessed. “Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:19-21) In the day that we live in, we need to pay close attention to these prophecies.
In this chapter we have, Daniel’s prayer for the restoration of the Jews who were in captivity, in which he confesses sin, and acknowledges the justice of God in their calamities, but pleads God’s promises of mercy which he had yet in store for them. An immediate answer sent him by an angel to his prayer, in which, He is assured of the speedy release of the Jews out of their captivity. He is informed concerning the redemption of the world by Jesus Christ, what should be the nature of it and when it should be accomplished. And it is the clearest, brightest, prophecy of the Messiah, in all the Old Testament.
Because of the comprehensive and structural nature of Daniel’s prophecies, both for the Gentiles and for Israel, the study of Daniel, and especially this chapter, is the key to understanding the prophetic Scriptures. Of the four major programs revealed in the Bible— for the angels, the Gentiles, Israel, and the church—Daniel had the privilege of being the channel of revelation for the second and third of these programs in the Old Testament.