God rewarded their loyalty with the gift of wisdom, and Daniel was also given the gift of interpreting dreams, which gained him an influential position at court and the trust of Nebuchadnezzar.

Once, a king had a troubling dream. He demanded that his wise men interpret the dream for him, but none of them could do so. However, when Daniel and his companions were sought out, Daniel prayed and, with God’s help, was able to recount the dream to the king and reveal its meaning. The dream depicted the rise and fall of vast global empires, paving the way for God’s eternal kingdom.

As Daniel recounted the dream to the king, he said:

“You watched until the stone was cut out without hands and struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, breaking them to pieces. Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken to pieces, becoming like the chaff from a summer threshing floor, which the wind carried away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2:34-35). (Dan. 2:34–35).

The Church Fathers saw a prophecy — a prefiguration of the birth of Christ. The mountain represents the Mother of God, and Christ is a stone, a rock torn from the mountain by divine rather than human hands. This symbolizes Mary’s virginal conception.

This beautiful hymn is sung by Greek Catholics at the morning service. It is called the ‘Uthiran Thu’.s:

Christ, the unhewn cornerstone not worked by human hands, was cut out of you, O Virgin, and united the two natures in Himself. Therefore, O Mother of God, we joyfully sing your praises.

Jesus himself alludes to this prophecy when, in a dispute with the chief priests, scribes, and elders, he argues, identifying himself with that stone: “What then is the message that is written: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.” (Luke 20:17-18)

During this service, the king promoted Daniel, appointing him ruler of the entire province of Babylon and chief of the kingdom’s wise men. However, Daniel asked the king to appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to rule the province instead, while he himself remained in the king’s court.

These friends of Daniel later demonstrated their loyalty to God once more by refusing to worship the golden image erected by Nebuchadnezzar. They were thrown into a fiery furnace as punishment, but the flames did not harm them—a wind and dew seemed to blow from within the furnace—because an angel of the Lord, whom Christian tradition identifies as the Son of God, had descended into the furnace with them. The king was amazed, praised the God of the three young men, and declared that no other god could save in this way.

The Church Fathers saw this event as a prefiguration of the Lord’s conception in Mary’s womb. ‘For our God is an all-consuming fire. He descended into the womb of her who willingly received Him and was not burned, just as the young men walked in a fiery furnace and felt the blessed dew more than the scorching heat.'”

After the fall of the Babylonian Empire, Daniel’s story took a dramatic turn when he was appointed one of the three chief satraps — administrators of the individual provinces of the vast Persian Empire—during the reign of King Darius. Because of envy, the prophet was falsely accused and thrown into a pit with hungry lions. However, the animals did not harm him. King Darius was so amazed by this miracle that he ordered everyone in his kingdom to tremble before Daniel’s God and fear him.

The Book of Daniel contains stories about the prophet’s life, as well as several apocalyptic visions. His prophecies speak of future kingdoms, the coming of the Messiah, and the end times. Daniel mentions the Son of Man receiving eternal power and glory from God; in Christian tradition, the phrase refers to Jesus Christ.

Together with Daniel and the three young men, the faithful sing a hymn of praise: ‘Bless the Lord, all his works! Praise and exalt him forever!’