Monthly Archives: August 2019

Book of Daniel -Chapter 15

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Book of Daniel – Article #15
(continuation of the historical fiery furnace incident in Daniel)

Recall in our previous article (#14) we ended with the well-known story behind the writing of “It Is Well, With My Soul.” Even though Horatio Spafford had lost his family at sea, he clung to the prevailing hope in his and hopefully YOUR Savior. He went to sea and was informed by the skipper of the ship he was on at the latitude and longitude in the Atlantic where he lost his family when their ship sank after colliding with another ship, the Loch Earn. Well, things are not going too well for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. BUT….their confidence in God does not waiver.

Daniel 3:19

Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

FURY

It is only now do we read that Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury and his continence changes. Prior to this point he likely wanted to see these men escape from this. They were high officials within his administration. But now he really is cross and any compassion gives way to rage. He had total authority. None like him on earth. He could afford to lose three of his top administrators better than losing his control over the people and his kingdom.

Furnace heated 7 times greater- interesting!

Daniel 3:20

And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

At this point we know the facts and are expectantly awaiting for the victory. However Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego did not; they must have thought that this is it! Maybe God wasn’t going to deliver them, maybe their lives were to be ended at this point. They may have been aware of the history of Job who said in faith: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:” (Job 13:15) Later in the book of Romans Paul was to say: “For me to die is gain but to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21).

This was a demonstration of total confidence in God. They said that even if their God does not rescue them., they will NOT compromise their faith in the God of Israel. Like David facing Goliath; he did not hesitate and in fact, charged into the face of danger and the threat to his people even though he was but a young lad.

If God needs to knock off of us some rough edges He is doing it out of love and compassion. Yes, these things can be painful at the time. Consider Mary and Martha: Jesus let their brother (Lazarus) die, not just so He could do a miracle (John 11:40), but so that they would believe in Jesus and therefore they themselves would never die (John 11:25) – an infinitely greater gift than seeing their brother raised, but they didn’t understand at that time.

(Daniel 3:20 continued) In Hebrews we read: “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you art rebuked by him: For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and challenges every son whom he receives. If ye endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father refuses to chasten? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby”. (Hebrew 12:5-11).

Even Jesus said: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) so we should expect ‘tribulation’ from the world and chastening from the hand of God. It is the former that is the case with these three men, but like Peter and the apostles in Acts 5: “…and when they (Sanhedrin) had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” (Acts 5:40-41)), Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego counted it an honor to stand for the name of the Most High God, for He alone is the One who rules in the kingdoms and nations of men. Vengeance will be mine says the Lord God (Romans 12:19).

When a metal smith is refining gold in a refining pot, he keeps skimming off the dross (the impurities) that are brought to the surface by the heat. The way of knowing when it is pure is when he can look into the pot and see an unblemished refection. We are the pot of gold. He is the Refiner. The scum on the top is impurity needing to be removed.

Daniel 3:21

Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and are cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Usually victims were stripped to humiliate them, yet here the king is so cross he just wants them thrown in.

Hosen = undergarments, Hats = a turban of some description; other garments = robes of office; coats = usual outer garments. In a WWII sense, and an eerie parallel- Hitler’s final solution to the “Jewish” problem. We could also discuss that the Swastika was originally a Jewish religious symbol, but not in this article. It would be a distraction even though fascinating.

Daniel 3:22

Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire destroyed those “mighty men” men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

This gives us an idea just how hot this furnace may have been and they were not even in the furnace; just next to it. From the furnaces that have been found in this region, it may mean that the opening was at the top with a casting window or windows to the side. The intense heat was just too much for these mighty men who were overcome by the flames. The argument against this thought may be verse 26 when the king “comes near to the mouth of the furnace.” At least close enough to get a better view.

Daniel 3:23

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down (nef-al’) bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

This verse could lend support to the idea that the opening was at the top. Nef-al’ according to Strong’s translation may also mean they “bent the knees” as in realizing the heat did not affect them and the bended knee was in honor and respect for the God who had already saved them.

Daniel 3:24

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spoke saying unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

The word ‘Astonished’ is ‘tevah’ in Aramaic. It conveys the idea of ‘sweeping to ruin’, to ‘take alarm’, utter helplessness. We might say that the rug was pulled from under him, that he was well and truly knocked sideways! The answer from his counselors would suggest that they were looking the other way and were not seeing what the king was. Imagine their surprise when the king then says…

Daniel 3:25

He answered and said, But I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt…..

By going through this furnace the only thing that was missing was their bindings! How precious that is to us, when in our own furnaces to realize that all that gets burnt is what was binding us before we went in. To be “set free” is an excellent parallel. Galatians 5:1. In other words, the droth at the top of the potters gold purification process and that is holding us back from purity has been skimmed off.

…..and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God

The Aramaic actually says ‘the son of the gods’ – Plural. But we need to remember that the Holy Spirit is the real author of scripture. In Genesis 1:1 we read: ‘In the beginning God’ – singular, and we are comfortable with that, except the word in Hebrew is *‘Eloheim’. Whenever a Hebrew word ends with an ‘im’ ending it is plural meaning more than one (eg. Cherub – singular, Cherubim – plural). Thus Genesis 1:1 should read “In the beginning the God Father, Son and Holy Spirit”, this is the same throughout the Old Testament whenever ‘Eloheim’ is used. Yet it is always taken as singular in the Hebrew and hence it is translated so. Thus we have in the first verse of the Bible a subtle hint of the Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit. The same is also true in this verse in Daniel; what we have is what scholars call a ‘theophany’ – an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ. (See also Joshua 5:13-15 and compare with Exodus 3:4-6)

*Note: The Aramaic word used is equivalent of the Hebrew ‘Eloheim’ and is not the same as ‘Bar-Eloheim’ (sons of God) usually translated ‘angels’.

Rev Dr. Jstark

Article #14 of our Daniel Series

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In our previous article, the three friends of Daniel had just defied the order to bow to the golden idol of Nebuchadnezzar. It was a set up from the beginning but King Neb did not know that.

Daniel 3:13

Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.

Now the king had already said that whoever would not bow to the image would be thrown into the furnace, yet he calls these men before him to ask them personally. This would suggest that the king was keen to give these men a second chance. We already know from the end of chapter two that these men were in prominent governmental positions in the province of Babylon (Dan 2:49), and no doubt the king wanted to avoid having high ranking officials perform a public act of defiance against him, particularly on this day when all the people were gathered together on the plain of Dura.

Daniel 3:14

Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

Neb still didn’t “get it.” The fact that the king addresses them by name and the manner in which he does so again suggests that up until this time they had had a good relationship with the king. The idea in the Aramaic is ‘did you intend to do this, was it on purpose?’ The king is hoping that it was just a misunderstanding and was not going to be something that would spoil his special day. But as we will see, these men had purposed in their hearts (also see Dan 1:8).

“Purpose is something that comes through meditation; you have to think about what you’re going to do if you face this circumstance or that circumstance. And when you are prepared and the circumstance happens, you react to that which you have meditated on. So if you meditate on that which will not be helpful, then when you are in that potentially compromising situation you will do that which you have meditated on”. (Ron Matsen)

This is precisely why we are told to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:12), and to ‘think on these things’ (see Philippians 4:8), setting our affection on the things above (Col 3:2). When we think on these things there is no room for other distractions or actions.

Daniel 3:15

Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

So the king reiterates the decree and offers them a way out of this situation… a second chance. How many of us would have had second thoughts at this time? After all, to be given a second chance may be God providing a way of escape. How easy it would have been to rationalize that Idols are not real gods; surely it would have been better to give in to king Neb’s command and ‘live to fight another day’? Would bowing be such a bad thing if we didn’t mean it in our hearts?

What about us? Us being those religious crowds in church. Often we sing our songs in church on Sunday about being completely abandoned, surrendering all, serving God with a whole heart etc. etc. yet on Monday when we are asked questions by the world, how do we answer? Do our lives demonstrate fruit ‘worthy of repentance’ (Luke 3:8)? We have all been there, backed into a corner with no apparent way out. We start to reason to ourselves: “It’s not really lying, the truth would do more harm than good”; “it’s not really theft, just ‘borrowing’”; “It’s not really wrong, it’s just… (fill in the blank)”; it’s not really worshipping an idol to bow down and pretend…is it? Even when quoting the Lord’s Prayer in unison, it includes those who have no forgiveness of heart and those who have not Jesus in thought, but themselves quoting a prayer for unsound religious activity. “Forgive us (me) our sin Lord just like the person sitting next to me does.”

“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusts in them. O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield” (Psalm 115:4-9)


Of course we know that bowing was not an option to these three men, nor could it be. The reputation of the God of Israel was on the line. The king’s statue was a public act of defiance against their God and the Chaldeans [religious Babylonian priests] were just waiting for them to crumble. Yet these men knew the law which clearly stated: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:3-6)

“Every day God will find a way of asking you ‘Do you trust Me?” Chuck Missler

In scripture, those who have made great professions of faith have often had that profession tested to a breaking point. It is the heating up and subsequent hammering of steel that gives it its strength; molded by God’s Spirit. A true example of Christianity.

The king asks: ‘and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?’ Great question O’ king! Hmmmmn? “He who seeks finds”! (Luke 11:10)

Daniel 3:16

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

The Aramaic word that the KJV translates as ‘careful’ is ‘chashach’ (khash-akh’) meaning to ‘have need of’. In other words they were saying to the king ‘we have no need to answer you, we are not accountable to you but to God’. It also implies that they were not anxious about this situation. It also may mean they were not defending their action; they could side-step it all. They ultimately answer to God, not Nebuchadnezzar. Neb did not understand that.

Daniel 3:17

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.This is an incredible statement of faith that comes from a life deeply rooted in God. “Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth forever. I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” (Psalm 118:4-9) Jesus said “fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”(Matt 10:28) Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen….(Hebrews 11)

Daniel 3:18

But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Thus they make it clear, they will not bow down to this image or worship any other foreign god. There is only one God for these men and they will not compromise regardless of the cost. Remember that these men lived before the cross and without knowing all that Jesus suffered and endured to purchase our freedom.

It is amazing the lengths that some people will go to, to worship false gods and follow false religions; all encouraged and offered up by Satan himself and our free will. All the effort that was put into making this statue, all the hours spent in rituals and practices that have no eternal value. How much more should we, who know the Truth, refuse to worship false gods, *whatever form they come in, and seek to serve our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength?

*There are times that a denomination may become the idol. Even to the point of spiritualizing what the Word of God plainly states. Ministers defend their seminary training by arguing their religious point of view through the eyes of seminary instead of the Bible.

In World War II when the British and allied forces had been pushed back to the beaches of Dunkirk, France by the German army, being trapped by the English Channel on one side and the approaching German’s on the other, sent a simple three word message back home: “But if not”. Immediately this was recognized as being a quote from the book of Daniel and was understood to mean that the trapped British troops would wait to be saved, but if not, they would die fighting and standing up for their cause. This then led to the famous Dunkirk evacuations where hundreds of military, merchant and private fishing boats set sail across the Channel and dramatically rescued 350,000 British and allied soldiers.

It has been said that those in power in Britain understood, however if such a message were to be sent today, the soldiers would likely perish. Few know what the Bible says anymore.

In October 1871, tragedy struck Chicago as fire ravaged the city. When it was all over, 300 people were dead and 100,000 were homeless. Horatio Gates Spafford was one of those who tried to help the people of the city get back on their feet. Spafford was a lawyer who had invested much of his money into the downtown Chicago real estate and consequently had lost a great deal to the fire. Also about this time his only son had died leaving him with his wife and his four daughters. For two years Spafford, who was a friend of evangelist Dwight Moody, assisted the homeless, impoverished, and grief-stricken that had been ruined by the fire. Eventually Spafford decided to take a family vacation to Europe with the intention of meeting up with his friends Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey who at that time were on one of their evangelistic crusades.


At the last minute Horatio Spafford was delayed by some business so decided to send his family on ahead; he would catch up with them on the other side of the Atlantic. Their ship, the Ville de Havre, never made it. Off Newfoundland, it collided with another ship, the Loch Earn, and sank in a matter of minutes. Though Horatio’s wife, Anna, was able to cling to a piece of floating wreckage (one of only 47 survivors among hundreds), their four daughters, Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie, died. Horatio received a telegram from his wife in England informing him of this terrible tragedy; all it said were two words: “saved alone.” Spafford boarded the next available ship to be near his grieving wife. As his own ship passed by the area where his daughters had died he was moved to write a song – the now famous ‘It is well with my soul’. He met up with his wife and they went on to meet up with Dwight Moody. “It is well,” Spafford told him quietly. “The will of God be done.”

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live: If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord! Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul, It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Article #13 of our Daniel Series

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CHAPTER 3 (article #13)
Daniel 3:1

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

As we move into chapter 3 some scholars place these events about 15-23 years after the events of Chapter 2. Whereas in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream he saw an image made of different metals descending in value, where the head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, we are now presented with an image made entirely from gold. The obvious conclusion from this is that king Nebuchadnezzar has taken the greeting wherewith he is greeted ‘O king live’ (Dan 2:2:4 / 3:9) a little too far! It would appear that in erecting this image, king Nebuchadnezzar is presumptuously asserting that his kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, seen by the fact that the whole image and not just the head are made from gold, and therefore this is really an act of defiance against the God of Heaven. As in the cartoon movie Finding Nebo it is “Mine; mine; mine!” He is trying to change the outcome of his previous dream made of Gold, silver, brass, iron, and a clay-iron mix (Daniel 2:31-35).

This chapter is very much like the events that we will study in chapter 6 where Daniel’s enemies conspired against him and duped king Darius into signing a decree that would entrap Daniel. These Babylonian-Chaldeans do connive.

It is amazing that people are so insecure and jealous of others’ achievements that they will seemingly stop at nothing to remove the competition. This is compounded when the ‘competition’ is either morally upright or just a sitting President of the United States. Those who stand for truth are seen as an irritant to a society that wants to be free from moral constraints. Jesus Himself confirmed this: “If the world hates you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own but because ye are not of the world…”, (John 15)

Paul reiterated this in 2 Tim 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

A cubit is the measurement from the tip of your finger to your elbow. Although this measurement varies among ancient cultures, it is usually regarded to be about 18 inches. This would make the image approximately 90ft tall, *9ft wide; a 9:1 ratio.

*about 49 square feet at the base.

The dimensions of this statue are more like the Obelisks of Egypt, and it may well have been that on one of his expeditions Nebuchadnezzar would have seen these erected to immortalize Egyptian Pharaohs and deities and thus became part of the inspiration for him wanting to build one himself. However, unlike an Obelisk, this was an image of a man.

JIV NOTE: Archaeologists have unearthed a 45ft square & 20ft high ‘base’ in the plain of Dura which many now believe could have been the base for this image, and would have been clearly visible from the walls of Babylon.

It is not out of the question that this statue was of solid gold. Archaeologists have also discovered a 40’ table in the ruins of ancient Babylon made from solid gold and 15’ high solid gold statues were found in the Temple of Murdoch; billions of dollars in gold.

Daniel 3:2

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Inside info: Sheriff in Chaldean is tiphday meaning lawyers; the legal system.

The king is obviously impressed with his creation. He calls for all the leaders and chief people of the land to come giving their wide eyed appreciation. There were about between 100 and 120 provinces in Babylon at this time meaning that anywhere from 200,000 to 300,000 people could have gathered for this ‘grand unveiling’. From the end of chapter two we know that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego as they may be better known) were promoted to oversee the affairs of the province of Babylon, hence the reason they were invited. Daniel on the other hand we are told was “ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon”. Thus it would appear that Daniel was second only to the king. If this is so and Daniel has so much influence before the king, then why, we may ask, did Daniel not object to this gross act of idolatry? And why does Daniel not appear to attend this event? These are questions that we will return to later in our study.

Daniel 3:3

Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs (judicial system), and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

The fact that we have the same phrase repeated here suggests that Daniel is recording this event, by copying the decree that had been written by the king (or maybe a decree that was written for the king!).

Daniel 3:4

Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, Notice that this is a command from the king and to people, nations and languages – this is a diverse and mixed crowd from the known and Babylonian conquered world.

Daniel 3:5

That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:

Six instruments mentioned – the number of man (6). Hmmmm?

Music and idolatry have long been close companions. Even today in church ‘worship groups’ it is so easy to put the focus on the music rather than the God whom we are supposed to be worshipping. Even some of the music in today’s churches (buildings) has a catchy tune but deliberate lyrics with no mention of God, salvation, Jesus or the Holy Spirit. These are NOT worship songs of God.

Much of the root of this problem is that Satan appears to have been the worship leader in heaven; heading up the praise team (see Ezekiel 28:13-15). It would seem that he has a great understanding of how powerful and manipulative music can be. Music is a gift from God and is intended to accompany our praise to Him (as even a casual reading of the book of Psalms can confirm), yet in the wrong hands, it can be used for evil with devastating results. Consider the lust, violence and immorality that are communicated to young people through music. Satan always distorts what God has made good. Satan also has a fake copy of everything Jesus represents. Even back yard gardens have fake plants mixed in with the good plants.

From what we know of history, the Babylonians had a love for music. This is prophetically seen in Psalm 137:1-4: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land?” Odd that today we do that in churches. But, it is better said that we sing a strange song in God’s land.

Daniel 3:6

And whoso falls not down and worships shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

Two things are out on the plain of Dura; the Image and a fiery furnace. The furnace may have been built for the sole purpose of melting and molding the gold for the statue.

Daniel 3:7

Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

…that is, all except three men who stood out like a sore thumb! Where Daniel was at this moment is unknown. The many nations mentioned are those who were in Babylon perhaps as ambassadors, visitors, or conquered captives.

Daniel 3:8

Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.

Notice that it’s the Chaldeans again who had been humbled in chapter 2. The meaning of accused is literally: ‘chewed them up’ by their words. Oddly, the tens of thousands of captive Jews in Babylon deserted their God for Babylon’s god-king. All but these three stood for and by their faith. Might this be an example of End Time so-called church believers? I suggest YES.

Daniel 3:9

They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. This is the greeting that the king wants to hear. In another sense, may your power exist forever. After all, is this not the intent of the gold statue?

Daniel 3:10-11

10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image:

11 And whoso falleth not down and worships, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

The fact they repeat to the king his decree leads some to conclude that they were the ones who had been responsible for getting the king to write this decree in the first place as a way of trapping these Jews. As we will mention and will again later, Daniel is not present at this time, and it may well be that, knowing Daniel was away on business, they seized this opportunity to entrap his friends. If given the probability that this is some time after chapter two, they may well have been plotting and planning this event for years. It had to take a good deal of time to simply build the image.

PS; Furnace is mentioned 30 times in the Bible (KJV), and always in connection with tribulation and/or judgment.

Daniel 3:12

12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Archaeological discovery. One such example is in regard to Daniel’s three friends. An archaeological dig in the area of ancient Babylon unearthed a five sided clay cylinder now in the Istanbul museum with the names: Hananunu – which is the Aramaic for Hananiah, Mishael-Mardach – obviously a reference to Mishael, and Abou-Nebo, the Aramaic for Abed-nego; these men are mentioned on the cylinder as having a prominent place in the government, thus clearly identifying these men as Daniel’s three friends as recorded in the Bible.

They are accused not just for refusing to bow today, but for not worshipping Nebuchadnezzar’s gods in the past – which the Chaldeans suggest is defying the king himself. This was not an impulse thing for these three men, but a predetermined purposing of heart that was made from the moment they got to Babylon – they will not be defiled! Other Jews of captivity may have also refused but were not the target of these evil men of Babylon.

Again, at the rapture of the church will there still be churches (denominations) with full houses? This is not a possibility but a probability. The church of Jesus according to Ephesians 4:5 and 6 is not a religion or a denomination. Denominations separate. They do not unite as that would demand political-religious compromise and correctness according to man’s law and standard.