THE FOURTH IN THE FURNACE

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on April 28, 2024 under 2024 |

Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message from April 28, 2024 from Daniel 3:1-30

Theme: History is leading up to the end of all human kingdoms and to the eternal reign of Jesus Christ our Lord.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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We come this morning to the third chapter of the Book of Daniel. And it begins with these words: “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold …”

It’s important to notice these initial words. In Chapter 2, we’re told the story of how God had given this great king—King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon—a mysterious dream. And in that dream, he saw a great image—a splendorous figure with a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay. God then gave the Jewish man Daniel the interpretation of that dream. Daniel explained to the king that this glorious image was a prophetic picture of the world empires that would rule over earth—from Nebuchadnezzar’s day, all the way to the completion of ’the times of the Gentiles’. And Daniel showed the king that, at the completion of that time, the Son of God would return to this earth and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

It was a stunning and glorious vision from God. And when Nebuchadnezzar heard it explained to him, he bowed to Daniel and professed that Daniel’s God is the God of gods and Lord of kings. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon. And at Daniel’s request, the king set his three Jewish friends—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—over the affairs of the province.

You would have thought that such an experience might have humbled this mighty king. Surely, he would now reject all false gods, and bow the knee to the God of heaven alone. But no. As the beginning words of Chapter 3 show us, instead of bowing to God, the king made an enormous idol of gold. He pridefully exalted himself as ’the head of gold’; and ordered—by threat of death—that all the people of the world bow down and worship him and the image he made.

The story of Daniel 3 therefore gives us a picture of the challenge that God’s faithful people will have to endure while living on earth during ’the times of the Gentiles’. Unbelieving human rulers will repeatedly seek to exalt themselves over the God of the Bible. They will demand that all people bow to them and to the false gods and false philosophies that they make for themselves. And those who worship the one true God will face persecution and threat if they will not bow to the gods of men. This will be the basic pattern of the times upon this earth until the day that Jesus returns.

But this particular story in Chapter 3 also bears a great message of encouragement for those who—in devotion to God—refuse to bow to the false gods of man. It teaches us that our Lord stands faithfully in the midst of the trial with those who stand faithfully for Him.

* * * * * * * * * *

So then; let’s begin by looking first at …

1. THE KING’S COMMAND.

Daniel 3:1 tells us:

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon (Daniel 3:1).

The plain of Dura was believed to be just a few miles away from the capital city of Babylon. And because this image of gold was set up on that plain, it would have been very visible. It would have been most likely plated with solid gold; so the image would have glistened and flashed brightly in the sun. And it was enormous for its day. Sixty cubits would have meant that it was about 90 feet in height, and six cubits would have meant that it was nine feet in width. It would perhaps have been a rather odd-looking image—appearing very long and narrow. But it’s also possible that it was an image of a man with normal proportions resting high on a pedestal. It would have been—in any case—a striking thing to see; and all who saw it would have recognized it as a monument to Nebuchadnezzar and to his reign as ’the head of gold’ over the nations.

Just exactly when this happened in Nebuchadnezzar’s reign isn’t told to us. But it may have occurred several years after God had given him the dream of this image. Perhaps enough time had passed for the king to have forgotten how he had humbled himself before the God of Daniel and his three friends. It may have even taken a decade or more for this impressive image to be built. But when it was finally completed, the king ordered all the people of the world—representatives from all nations, people groups, and languages—to come to its official unveiling. Verses 2-3 go on to tell us;

And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up (vv. 2-3).

When you consider what a vast kingdom Nebuchadnezzar now ruled over, you can imagine that a great multitude of people would have been required to gather upon the plain of Dura around this enormous figure. All of the king’s officials were there—probably arrayed in official uniform. The number of people would have been in the hundreds of thousands. And there—somewhere in the crowd—would have been the three Jewish men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. They too were officials of the king, and their presence would also have been required.

And during the dedication ceremony, things took a very serious turn. We’re told in verses 4-6;

Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (vv. 4-6).

Perhaps off to the side—not too far from this image—was a large furnace that was already prepared. Perhaps all of the people gathered on the plain of Dura could see it; and perhaps even hear the fire within it roaring fiercely. The choice was made plain to them: either bow at the sound of the music, or be cast to death into the blazing furnace. It was a picture of ungodly human totalitarianism in its most raw and arrogant form. And the vast crowd of people complied. Verse 7 says;

So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up (v. 7).

Now dear brothers and sisters in Christ; this is being reported to us as an actual event. It’s something that happened in real history. And it’s the kind of thing that has happened at many other periods in history. I believe that it’s being shown to us as a picture of what will characterize the ’times of the Gentiles’ all the way up to the day when our Lord Jesus returns to reign over the earth.

This event—this command to bow down and worship the image that Nebuchadnezzar made—was really a command to place Nebuchadnezzar’s false gods over all others, and a command for all people to completely yield the kind of allegiance to a human being that only belongs to our Creator. It’s an event that marked the prophetic beginning of ’the times of the Gentiles’. And it will—to some degree—characterize the pressure we will feel in this world all the way to the day of Jesus’ return.

Think of what we’re told about later in Daniel 11:31. We’re told there about a king of the north who would come in the future from Daniel’s time; and whose armies would set up a wicked image in the temple in Jerusalem. It says;

and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation (Daniel 11:31).

Most historians agree that this is something that was fulfilled in the middle of the Second Century B.C. by a wicked Grecian king Antiochus IV. His armies came and defiled the temple of God in Jerusalem, and even set up a false idol within it. Many faithful Jewish people refused to bow, and were killed as a result. But that was itself a picture of something more horrific yet to come. The Lord Jesus spoke, in Matthew 24, of the events of the end times; and He told His followers;

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:15-21).

The exact nature of this promised ’abomination of desolation’ is hard to discern. But it seems to be the thing that’s described to us in Revelation 13. We’re told there about the rise of the Antichrist in the form of a great beast; and also of his false prophet who will deceive the people of this world. Revelation 13:14-15 says;

And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed (Revelation 13:14-15).

The Bible teaches us then that both the beginning of ’the times of the Gentiles’, and the end of those times, are characterized by a command given to the whole world to bow down and worship an image—an image that represents the supremacy of a man over God. At the beginning of those times, Nebuchadnezzar’s image was sixty cubits high by six cubits wide; and at the end, all the world will be required to worship the image of the beast whose number is 666.

So, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; Nebuchadnezzar’s command to the world to bow down and worship his image is a command that has great symbolic significance. It represents a challenge that we, as God’s faithful people, will be facing periodically throughout ’the times of the Gentiles’.

* * * * * * * * * *

And what are we to do with such a challenge? How are we to react to such a command? That leads us back to the story in Daniel 3. Just imagine that massive crowd of people as the music began to play. Imagine a vast sea of human backs—all bent over; and all heads bowed in worship toward this enormous, grotesque idol. That’s how they were all reacting.

All except three men. And they would have stood out in the crowd because of …

2. A FAITHFUL RESOLVE.

Verses 8-12 tell us;

Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up” (Daniel 3:8-12).

Why would these officials of the king do this? Were they being protective of the king’s honor and command? No. When we’re told that they came forward and “accused” these three Jewish men, it’s made clear that it was a malicious act. In the original language, we’re told that the Chaldeans “they ate their pieces”; which was a figure of speech for seeking their destruction. These three Jewish men had been placed by the king over all the other officials; and those other officials hated them, were resentful toward them, and were eager to destroy these Jews to whom God had shown such favor. (Hatred for the Jewish people would also characterize the times of the Gentiles, by the way!)

Now; the specific accusations against these Jewish men were that they didn’t pay due regard to the king, didn’t serve his gods, and wouldn’t worship the golden image. But only the last two of those three accusations were true. They were still very respectful of the king, and were as submissive to his authority as God-reverencing men could be. But they wouldn’t disobey God’s second commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3); and they couldn’t disobey His third commandment against bowing down to or serving any carved image (vv. 4-6). And their devotion to God became the opportunity to bring this accusation against them.

Verses 13-15 go on to tell us;

Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (vv. 13-15a).

And in his irreverent arrogance, he also added this:

“And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” (v. 15b).

He said this because—inwardly—he knew where their true commitments lie. The king may have asked that question of them rhetorically. But God was about to answer it literally.

Now; you’ll notice that the king didn’t ask, “Is it true that you do not pay due regard to me?” He knew these three men; and he knew better than to ask that. They had always been respectful of his legitimate authority. But the accusation that they would not serve the king’s false gods or bow down to his blasphemous image was true. And that was when they gave their courageous response in verses 16-18. These words have been the encouragement of God’s people throughout the centuries—whenever it may have been that they too were commanded to bow to the false gods of men or die:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (vv. 16-18).

When they said, “we have no need to answer you in this matter,” they weren’t being disrespectful to the king. They were simply saying that the charges against them were true; that is, that they wouldn’t serve the king’s gods or worship the image he set up. They would have said what the apostle Peter once said when the ruling authorities commanded the apostles to cease preaching the name of Jesus: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). These three men would obey the king in every way they legitimately could; but they would not do so if it meant disobeying God.

In giving this reply, they recognized that the king could now throw them into the furnace. And they also affirmed that God had the power to rescue them. God may choose to do deliver them, and He may choose not to do so. In either case—whether by a miracle or by death—they would indeed be delivered by God out of the king’s hand. The worst thing that any tyrant can do to God’s faithful people is to kill them; and then, after that, they can’t do anything more. But no matter what, they absolutely would not bow to the king’s gods or worship his image.

What an example of courage these three faithful men of God set for us! It’s truly an example for the ages.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; when we as God’s people take the kind of faithful stand that they took, there’s no guarantee that God will deliver us.¹ If you were to look in the Book of Hebrews, you’d see a list of many great saints that God delivered in their suffering. Hebrews 11:32-35, the writer of Hebrews says;

And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again (Hebrews 11:32-25).

God did indeed rescue many faithful saints from danger. But the writer of Hebrews went on to say;

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth (vv. 36-38).

As my wife often says in reference to the story of the two Ten Boom sisters, “Some Christians end up like Corrie, and some end up like Betsy.” We don’t have any guarantee from this story in Daniel 3 that, if we’re faithful to God in the midst of persecution as we should be, God will deliver us from the wrath of man. God may, in fact, use the occasion to call us home to Himself. That may well be what the three men thought was about to happen. Verses 19-23 go on to tell us;

Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace (Daniel 3:19-23).

The king was truly out of control in his rage. He had just cast three men into the fire whose faith he had formerly admired so much that he had made into the governing rulers over his kingdom. He had even lost some of his choice military officers in the process of casting them in. But the fact is that you and I wouldn’t have been able to learn the lesson of this story if they hadn’t been thrown into that dreadful furnace.

And that’s when we’re taught the greatest lesson of all in this story. Though God may not deliver us from all suffering in times of persecution, the Lord Jesus will nevertheless be with us in the midst of it. He proved Himself to be with these three men. And this leads us to consider …

3. THE FOURTH IN THE MIDST.

It must be that, in his rage, the king had seated himself in such a way as to be able to look into the fire and watch the three men perish. But it was because he had done so that he was then able to see something that he never expected to see. Verses 24-25 go on to tell us;

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (vv. 24-25).

Who was the fourth ’man’ in the furnace? The original language of the king’s words can be translated as saying that He was ’like a son of the gods’; and if that’s the case, the king was affirming that the fourth Person was someone like a deity—as far as King Nebuchadnezzar could understand what such a thing would mean. And it may well be that it was an angel who came to be with the three men in the fire. But personally, I believe it was the Lord Himself in His pre-incarnate state as ’the Angel of the Lord’. I remember what God once said to the people of Israel in Isaiah 43:1-3;

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior …” (Isaiah 43:1-3a).

And do you notice that the king saw that their bonds were burnt away? They were walking around loose in the midst of the fire. This meant they could have walked out. But even though they could have, they didn’t. I wonder if it was because they were enjoying the fellowship they were having—right in the midst of their trial—with the blessed Lord. Perhaps they wouldn’t have left their joyful time in the Lord’s presence if it hadn’t been for the fact that they were called out by the king.

* * * * * * * * * *

But they were called out. And in fact, they actually needed to be called out in order for the whole world to see the final thing we learn from this passage; and that’s …

4. THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD.

Verse 26 tells us;

Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire (v. 26).

I believe that the character of these three men was shown in their obedience. They could have said to the king, “No. We won’t come out. But why don’t you try to come in and get us?” But they didn’t say such a thing. Instead, they still obeyed the king in every way that they legitimately could.

Imagine what it must have been like for this vast crowd—perhaps expressing their shock with one enormous ’gasp’—as these three men walked unharmed out of the fire. And imagine the amazement of the king’s high-ranking officials as they made an empirical investigation of the matter:

And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them (v. 27).

It would have become a matter of official government record. No one could have denied that it happened—not even the king himself. And so, he issued an official response:

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this” (v. 28-29).

As we can clearly see, he was still a brutal tyrant. And he had still not bowed his own heart to the God of Israel; because he referred to God only as ’the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego’. But he now at least acknowledged that their God is the true God.

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon (v. 30).

Not only did those who hated these three men fail to persuade the king to destroy them, but the king himself further expanded their role in his kingdom.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now, dear brothers and sisters; this passage gives us a picture of the character of our challenge—as God’s faithful followers—during this long period in history called ’the times of the Gentiles’. Unbelieving human rulers will perpetually seek to make all people bow to them rather than to the one true God. They will repeatedly seek to force all people—even God’s people—to bow to the false gods they make for themselves. They will make life on this earth a big, gigantic test of faith for the people of God. And we must always be prepared to pay the price for our faithfulness—and never compromise in our devotion to our Lord.

But the even greater lesson to be learned is that when we’re made to suffer for our faithfulness—even to the point of being thrown into the blazing furnace of a tyrant—our Lord is faithfully with us in the midst of our trial. It may even become the richest time of fellowship we can have with Him on earth.

As the apostle Peter once put it—who definitely knew a thing or two about suffering persecution for our Lord;

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now

“If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:12-19).

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¹I’m indebted for this observation to Francis A. Schaeffer, No Little People (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1978), pp. 165-167.

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