Daniel's name means "God is my judge", he was known for his righteousness
20 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness. Ezekiel 14:20
From the time he was a boy through his old age, Daniel never compromised his faith in God. Even Jesus acknowledged Daniel as a prophet
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— Matthew 24:15
Daniel's prophecies are considered by scholars to be fundamental to understanding the end times. The visions that were given to Daniel were an overview of history from the time of Nebuchadnezzar through the return of Christ to set up His everlasting kingdom. Daniel's vision covers the "time of the gentiles" that we are living in right now. I could just jump to the chapters about Daniel's visions, but I think it is important to go through the book of Daniel chapter by chapter; we will get a better understanding of the man Daniel was and the why and how he received his revelations of the future from God.
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia[a] and put in the treasure house of his god.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility —4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.[b] 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.In the beginning of the chapter, we are given a background on what is happening. Nebuchadnezzar has attacked and defeated Jerusalem and carried off spoils of war to take back to Babylon. The take treasure for their god, but also the best young men of Israel of royal birth and the nobility. These captives were to become servants in the palace.
6 Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your[c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
There were four young men that were truly loyal to God that were taken into captivity; Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The men taken into captivity were to be fed royal food, which at this time would have included food that was not kosher and had been sacrificed to idols. These four men did not want to defile themselves by eating the unclean food and asked the overseer if they could just eat vegetables and water. The overseer felt sympathy for Daniel, but was afraid that if he allowed them to not eat the royal food that they would suffer in health and he would be held responsible and possibly killed. The four men begged the overseer to let them have a ten day trial, and if they began to look unhealthy, they would eat the royal food. The overseer agreed and after ten days the four men looked better and healthier than the other captives. Because these young men were so faithful to God, He blessed them with knowledge, and Daniel was able to interpret visions. After their time of training had ended, they were presented to Nebuchadnezzar. They were found to have more wisdom and knowledge than all of Nebuchadnezzar's magicians and enchanters. Daniel served under Nebuchadnezzar until the reign of King Cyrus of Persia.
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