The law
Providing a basis for later prophecy
Most people are aware of the prophecy that states the coming of the prophet, and are aware of a certain type of sacrifice that must comply with the stipulation that states that the victim's bones must not be broken.
This is just scratching the surface. There are certain verses that will actually provide some insight into the last days.
Deuteronomy 7;1 makes a singular claim. It states that there are seven hostile nations within Canaan that must be destroyed. In other descriptions the number is six. Actually, looking at other prophecies the answer to this supposed contradiction is the following:
Daniel and Revelations both speak of a beast with seven heads and ten crowns/diadems/horns. That is six beasts with one crown/diadem/horn, and one with 4...
If you take into account that the last head represents four kingdoms, you have not one king, but one emperor that will be in a position to affect Israel in the last days.
Cult-related details
In order to understand many details that are mentioned in prophecy, you must be familiarized with many cult-related texts. Among other things, one has to be able to identify the priestly imagery within Ezekiel. Another thing one can do is to transpose the calender year on the prophetic process.
What makes the Prophet?
This is one important thing that you need to understand prophecy and the prophet, namely where is he coming from:
I. Isaiah.
Isaiah is thought to be a prince related to the monarch. This is based on his insight on many topics such as commerce and geo-politics, things only a prince would know.
II. Jeremiah.
Jeremiah from Anatoth, a small child who witnessed the last revival and the downward spiral only one generation later. His many public pronouncements were in virtue of being a levite and a well-established reputation as a prophet.
III. Ezekiel.
Ezekiel is part of the first group led captive to Babylon. His story is that of an exile who is still in touch with his homeland. Making it possible for him to declare that Jerusalm would be destroyed, and that his message is related to God's perspective on what is the next step.
IV. Daniel.
Daniel is also part of the first group led captive to Babylon. Daniel is also a good example of how a prophet is created. The first indication of his potential is that of being able to interpret dreams and later of being able to decifer the handwriting on the wall.
You have then have someting that as in the case of Moses and David were shown small-scale models. The idea being that you start from a small scale manifestation to a large scale all-encompassing vision.
As far as what the people see in a prophet, they first believe in a prophet's insight or fulfilled prophecy. This is the basis for future manifestations of the prophet's ministry. Daniel's ministry depended on what happened in the past in order to convince people about what he would then reveal in the future. In case you were windering why he wasn't thrown into the furnace, he was, on the basis of his recent experiences, untouchable. His companions on the other hand were vulnerable. He wasn't accused, they were.
The basis for his prophecies was his knowledge of all things related to the running of an empire. Keeping in mind that Ezekiel had already established that God already what would happen after the exile, Daniel's role would become that of explaining the prophetical mechanism behind the age of the gentiles.
V. Daniel and Josephus.
For those that believe that Daniel was written some two hundred years later, how do you explain the narrative that stated that when Alexander the Great arrived at Jerusalem, he was met with a small commitee that told him that his arrival was ordained in prophecy? You would have to discredit not only Josephus, but the chroniclers of the time. People will ultimately choose what they want to believe...
Another argument would be that following the example of the books of the early church, that is that it didn't take long for manuscripts to be distributed and be accepted. This means that Jeremiah, Ezequiel and Daniel were well established in the public conciousness. The scholars of the time would have examined the topics revealed and subjected them to scrutiny, making sure that there was continuity and no contradictions.