Daniel gives hope for the restoration of Israel. The message is that God sustains believers during crisis. It challenges believers to expect God to fulfill His purpose. Daniel reveals the comprehensive program of God culminating in the Second Advent. It is the most important prophetic book of the Old Testament and is an indispensable introduction to New Testament prophecy. Daniel traces the "Times of the Gentiles" (Lu 21:24) from the captivity of Judah under Nebuchadnezzar to the Second Advent. It is a prophetic philosophy of history.