Daniel was a prophet and also the author of the Old Testament book of Daniel. The time period in which this book is set is between 560 and 530 BC (Smith). Daniel was a servant of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel to worship only 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 led to all four being thrown into the blazing flames of a furnace. They survived because of their faith in God and God saved them from dying in the flames. Daniel also demonstrated his faith in God when he faced the lions in the lions' den. Daniel was told not to worship his God but he did so anyway and was thrown into the lions' den. Daniel knew that God was faithful and had faith that God would be there for him. Daniel also received visions from God about the coming of the Messiah and the end times. This is when Daniel's prophecies began. The main theme of Daniel is that God is sovereign and is always triumphant (“Book of Daniel”). God shows himself to be 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. Daniel's name means "God is my judge" (empty). Daniel was born in Jerusalem during the reign of King Josiah. “It appears that Daniel was of royal blood and of the kingdom of Judah” (Freeman 272). Daniel was captured by the Babylonians when he was just a teenager. The story of Daniele's life really begins when he has to defend his beliefs. He refused to eat the food the king told him to eat because he knew it was… middle of paper… and he had faith and God delivered him from that situation. This taught me that He will help me free myself from difficult circumstances if I will only have faith in Him. The next thing I learned was that I needed to defend my faith. Daniel was not ashamed to pray to God even though he knew the consequences. I shouldn't be afraid of the consequences because persecution comes with being a Christian. I need to defend God. The last thing I learned was not to be part of the world. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted Daniel to worship a golden image. 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 as Daniel did. Daniel is a good person to model as far as your trust and faith in God and also standing up for your Savior and not being of the world.