The Bible, King James Version, Book 27: Daniel

"Intelligent, well-trained, and God-fearing, Daniel was among the first captives taken to Babylon. There he became a powerful statesman in both the Babylonian and Persian empires. His book divides into two parts of six chapters each. The first half tells stories showing the power of God's providence in human affairs. The last half is comprised of visions about the successive kingdoms of earth. Daniel saw the Babylonian kingdom replaced by the Persian, the Persian replaced by the Greek, and the Greek replaced by the Roman -- exactly as it later happened in history.

But he also saw the eventual establishment of a kingdom that would never be destroyed. His predictions provide a framework for all the rest of biblical prophecy and serve as a backdrop for the book of Revelation.

Daniel's overarching message is that the Most High rules over the kingdoms and the affairs of men and God is sovereign over the tides of history."