One of the themes of the Bible is the exile of man and God's ability to save them. The book of Daniel also shows this theme and gives the picture of a second Exodus.

In this prophecy, we see God's plan to bring salvation to His people through the Messiah.

Neither exile, nor the law, nor judges, could save the children of IIsraelfrom their sin problem.

Only salvation through Jesus Christ could solve the problem of sin entirely.

The Bible is a divine book but also a literary material. Each genre isn't read the same way. The apocalyptic literature should be read as visions and not necessarily as the real things happening.

The book of Daniel maintains its common theme, that in spite of present troubles, God is in control and He would have us thrive and flourish. Though evil kingdoms will arise, we have hope that the divine kingdom will reign forever

Even in exile, Daniel showed integrity. He stood out as one with an excellent spirit because he honoured God. He stood firm even when others tried to find a charge against him with his God and gave God a chance to be glorified with his life.

In a situation where everyone is in opposition to your faith, do you compromise or do you take a stand? In a culture that pushes you to silence, can you speak up regardless?

When standing for God, it won't always be easy; you might lose your possessions, job, family and even your life but trust in God's ability to save you and even if He doesn't, don't compromise.

We've seen time and time again that the central theme of the book of Daniel is that in spite of present troubles, God is in control and we will have victory. We will not only survive, we will thrive. God can promote you and make you thrive even when you're in exile. Daniel and his friends never protested despite all that happened to them instead they created opportunities for God to work and be glorified.

Babylon is any system that stands in opposition to your God and the flourishing of your faith.

In the book of Daniel, we saw even when Daniel and the Hebrew boys were in situations in opposition to their faith, they didn't protest but they gave God room to be glorified. When in exile, it's not in every system you rebel rather let God make a name for himself through you.

When reading the Bible we must learn to approach it the right way, understanding its culture, content and literary style.

Through the Old Testament, we see man's rebellion, judgement and exile, and God's plan for salvation. In the continued rebellion and exile, we see the origin of the Book of Daniel.

In the good times and the bad, God remains good. Using wisdom literature books of the Bible such as Job, we learn how not to use our bad experiences to make conclusions on the nature of God.

If the Bible says that God is good, then He is good. Choose to trust God regardless of your situation.

There are two steps to Bible interpretation are:

Exegesis and Hermeneutics

Exegesis is the careful systematic study of scripture to discover the original meaning. It is therefore understanding the there and then.

Hermeneutics is knowing how the writer's intentions and words find contemporary relevance to us. It therefore means understanding the here and now

As a good bible student, you must be able to do proper exegesis and one of the approaches while doing exegesis is knowing the historical context. This deals with knowing the time, culture, geography, when it was written, and what necessitated the writing.