C., Daniel dropped from public view and evidently occupied an inferior position in the royal court. Although he received visions (Dan 7-8) in the first and third years of the Belshazzar's reign, it was not until approximately 539 B.C. that Daniel made a public appearance. During a banquet hosted by Belshazzar, the king mocked the sacred vessels stolen from the Jerusalem temple. A disembodied hand suddenly appeared and wrote on the temple walls. Daniel was summoned to explain the message. He forcasted the sudden end of the Babylonian kingdom. That same night Belshazzar was killed and the Persians successfully overtook the capital city ( Dan. 5:30). .
Under Darius, Daniel became one of the three "presidents" or administrators of the realm ( Dan. 6:2). Daniel's rank, along with his distinguished management, made his political enemies very angry. They persuaded Darius to pass a law forbidding prayer to any god or man other than the king. If one was to violate this law they would be thrown into a den of lion's. Daniel's religious integrity forced him to violate this law. He was thrown into the lion's den but miraculously came out unhurt. He was vindicated by being restored to office ( Dan. 6:17-28). .
During roughly the same period of time, Daniel prayed an amzing prayer of corporate repentance ( Dan 9:3-20) for the Jewish people. The timing seems to coincide with the proclamation by the Persian ruler Cyrus to allow Jews to return Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple there (Ezra 1:2-4). As a result of this prayer and fasting over the sins of his people ( Dan. 9:3, 20), Daniel received the detailed revelation of the "seventy sevens" decreed by the Lord for Israel's future ( Dan. 9:24-27). Some two years later Daniel mourned, prayed, and fasted again for three weeks ( Dan. 20:2-3). That incident may be related to the events in Jerusalem, where the rebuilding of the temple had been stopped.