Daniel was a prophet and also the author of the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. The time period in which this book took place was between 560 and 530 BC (Smith). Daniel was the servant of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel to only worship the god Nebuchadnezzar chose and that Daniel could only eat certain foods. Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refused to listen to the king. This choice results in all four of them being thrown into the fiery flames of a furnace. They survived because of their faith in God and God saved them from death in the flames. Daniel also showed his faith in God when he faced the lions in the lion's den. Daniel was told not to worship his God, but he did so anyway and so he was thrown into the lions' den. Daniel knew that God was faithful and he had faith that God would be there for him. Daniel also received visions from God regarding the coming of the Messiah and the end times. This is when Daniel's prophecies began. The major theme of Daniel is that God is sovereign and always triumphant (“Book of Daniel”). God shows that He is triumphant when He saves Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego from the fiery furnace and when He saves Daniel from the lions. Daniel had faith in God and God was faithful to Daniel. The name Daniel means “God is my judge” (Empty). Daniel was born in Jerusalem during the reign of King Josiah. “Daniel appears to have been of royal blood and of the kingdom of Judah” (Freeman 272). Daniel was taken prisoner by the Babylonians when he was just a teenager. The story of Daniel's life really begins when he has to defend his beliefs. He refused to eat the food that the king told him to eat because he knew it was... middle of paper... he had faith and God delivered him from his situation. This taught me that He will help deliver me from my difficulties if I will just have faith in Him. The next thing I learned was that I must defend my faith. Daniel was not ashamed to pray to God even though he knew the consequences. I should not be afraid of the consequences, because persecution comes from being a Christian. I must defend God. The last thing I learned was not to belong to the world. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted Daniel to worship an image of gold. Daniel refused because the only person or thing you should worship is God. I should not worship the things of the world like King Nebuchadnezzar but rather worship God like Daniel did. Daniel is a good person to model in regards to your trust and faith in God and also in standing up for your Savior and not being of the world..