Participants:
Series Code: PJU
Program Code: PJU190005A
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00:03 Were the people in the Bible any different to us today?
00:10 Or ordinary people like you and me? 00:22 What can we find out 00:23 from their lives that will help us? 00:29 Find out with Pastor Geoff Youlden 00:31 and Rosemary Malkiewycz, here on People Just Like Us. 00:36 We're glad to have you with us again today, 00:39 as we learn more lessons from the Word of God. 00:43 In this program 00:44 we'll be looking at three friends 00:45 who showed great faith 00:47 and trust in God during a fiery trial. 00:51 We may have to go through tough trials too. 00:54 So let's see what we can learn from their experience. 00:57 Geoff, who are the three friends? 01:01 Better known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 01:05 Although, that wasn't their Hebrew names. 01:07 No, that's right. 01:08 But it's their Babylonian names that we know them best by. 01:12 That's right. We do. 01:13 And on the opposite with Daniel, of course. 01:17 Isn't that strange? It's very strange. 01:18 Daniel kept using his Hebrew name, 01:21 but the other three were referred to 01:22 by their Babylonian. 01:24 Yes. Babylonian, Babylonish names. 01:26 Yeah, well, it's simply because it's recorded 01:29 that way in the Bible, I guess. 01:30 So, there must be some reason. 01:32 I think this chapter, the third chapter of Daniel 01:35 is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. 01:39 I mean, that's like saying, which is your favorite child. 01:43 They're all the same. 01:44 You know, they're all favorites. 01:45 But, however, this is an outstanding chapter. 01:49 And I'd like to read from the 3 Chapter of Daniel 01:54 and verse 1, where it says here, 01:59 "Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, 02:02 whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. 02:07 He set it up on the plain of Dura, 02:09 in the province of Babylon. 02:12 And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather 02:14 together the satraps, the administrators, 02:17 the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, 02:19 the judges, the magistrates, 02:21 and all the officials of the provinces, 02:22 to come to the dedication of the image 02:25 which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 02:28 So the satraps and administrators, 02:30 the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, 02:32 the magistrates, and all the officials 02:35 of the provinces gathered together 02:37 for the dedication of the image 02:38 that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, 02:40 and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 02:44 Then a herald cried aloud: 'To you it is commanded, 02:49 O peoples, nations, and languages, 02:51 that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, 02:55 harp, lyre, and psaltery, 02:57 in symphony with all kinds of music, 03:00 you shall fall down and worship the gold image 03:02 that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up." 03:06 I mean, that was a pretty serious event, 03:09 wasn't it? 03:10 Well, they certainly made sure everybody knew 03:12 what had to happen because they repeated it too. 03:15 Absolutely. 03:16 And then it says whoever does not fall down 03:18 and worship shall be cast immediately 03:21 into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 03:23 Well, I think that wouldn't be enough to make anybody do it. 03:26 Well, to me... 03:28 I would think, Rosemary, 03:29 that if you taught religion like that, 03:30 you would have lots of adherence. 03:32 Yes, but you wouldn't have a lot of converts. 03:36 And that's the way he was teaching religion. 03:38 Actually, it's very interesting 03:40 I find this number of 60 cubits high 03:45 and 6 cubits wide. 03:47 How big is that? 03:49 Well, the most common form of measurement 03:53 is usually they suggest, 03:55 you know, from here to here is a cubit. 03:57 So that would make it around about 30 odd meters tall 04:03 and a couple of meters wide. 04:04 This is a 10-story building... Hmm? 04:06 That's a 10-story building. Yes. 04:08 Well, it's interesting that the number 04:10 that this number six is very interesting 04:15 in the Babylonian power because, 04:18 you know, we've changed over the decimal system, 04:20 most parts of the world 04:21 now operating on the decimal system 04:23 and most of us find 04:24 that the decimal system is a good... 04:27 Very easy. Very easy. Yes. 04:28 I mean, I was brought up on the imperial system, 04:30 you know, 12 times. 04:32 I say to kids these days, 04:33 you only have to learn 10 lots of times table. 04:35 I had to learn 12. 04:38 But we've changed over 04:39 but 10 is divisible by 04:42 5 and by 2. 04:46 But, if you take the 60-system 04:48 is what was invented here by the Babylonians, 04:52 they invented it by... 04:54 You can divide into 04:55 60, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6... 05:00 And 10. 05:01 Which makes it very easy for division, 05:05 multiplication and so forth, 05:07 which is really superior to the decimal system 05:11 that we have. 05:12 And that's where that we get the idea 05:14 of 60 seconds to the minute. 05:16 Well, time can't be decimal. 05:19 No, well, 60 minutes to the hour. 05:23 And the circle is 360 degrees, 05:25 which is simply 60x6 05:28 and all through the system ran the number 6. 05:33 That's right. 05:34 And it's interesting on the other hand 05:36 that God's number is number 7. 05:40 All through the Bible, you know, you got 7 churches, 05:41 7 seals, 7 trumpets... 05:43 Seven is a number of perfection. 05:44 Yes, 7. 05:46 And not only is it in the Bible, 05:47 but 7 is also in nature. 05:49 For example, we have the fact 05:54 that many of the birds and animals 05:56 their gestation periods are all multiples of 7. 05:59 Really? 06:02 And then when it comes to music we'll look at 06:05 and there are 7 notes, and only 7 notes in music. 06:08 That's all there are. 06:10 There are 7 colors in the rainbow. 06:13 And the number 7, there are 7 days in the week. 06:17 And so the number 7 runs all through the Bible 06:21 as God's number 06:23 but when the devil set up his system, 06:25 which was Babel, the Tower of Babel, 06:27 which is where Babylon comes from. 06:29 That system was set up on the very opposite 06:32 in absolute antagonism and opposite to what God does. 06:36 So they chose 6. 06:38 And it's interesting that when you add together, 06:41 number 7 and number 6... 06:44 You get 13. 06:45 You get 13, and everyone knows 06:47 that 13 is considered to be a very, very unlucky, 06:50 especially if it's Friday with 13th. 06:52 Yes. 06:53 And... Because Friday... 06:55 because 6 and 7 making 13. 06:57 It's a counterfeit with the truth 07:00 being added together. 07:02 People today don't realize the origin of these things 07:06 because most of the things that we have 07:08 come from the Bible, 07:10 but because we live in a secular world, generally, 07:13 they have forgotten the fact that 07:17 the numbers in the Bible are very significant 07:19 and 13, from time immemorial, 07:22 it has been regarded as being unlucky. 07:24 Because when you mix together things of God 07:27 and things of the devil, you always have trouble. 07:29 The clean and the unclean. Yeah. 07:31 So just interesting that when you read here 07:34 to start off with the 60x6 cubits, 07:37 I mean, you can just imagine where this thing came from. 07:39 I mean, the question is asked, 07:41 where did Nebuchadnezzar get such an idea from 07:44 erecting this huge image so high and so wide? 07:48 Where did he get that from? 07:49 They all of gold. Hmm? 07:51 All of gold. Yeah, all of gold. 07:53 Well, I think that there's the answer to that 07:56 is simply in the second chapter of Daniel 07:59 because you will remember that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream 08:03 and Daniel interpreted the dream. 08:06 And he said, "You are the head of gold, 08:08 breast and arms of silver, 08:09 belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, 08:11 and feet part of iron, part of clay." 08:13 And Daniel in interpretation said to Nebuchadnezzar, 08:16 you are this head of gold. 08:20 And so, really Chapter 3 08:24 is his defiance of God, 08:28 because he's defying Daniel's interpretation 08:32 and saying there's gonna be another power 08:34 and followed by another power, 08:35 followed by another power... 08:37 Which meant that Nebuchadnezzar's power was 08:38 or his kingdom was not gonna last. 08:40 Well, he made sure, what he was trying to say 08:43 that my kingdom is going to last. 08:45 And I think that he was particularly impressed 08:48 with verse 44 08:51 of Chapter 2, 08:55 where it says, "And in the days of these kings 08:59 the God of heaven will set up a kingdom 09:01 which shall never be destroyed." 09:03 Now, that is what he wanted. 09:06 "And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, 09:08 it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, 09:11 and it shall stand forever." 09:12 That's the type of kingdom that Nebuchadnezzar wanted. 09:15 And I think in Chapter 3, in defiance of Daniel's 09:19 and his interpretation in defiance of God, 09:21 he's setting up a kingdom, 09:24 this image which represents his kingdom, 09:26 which he said it's going to last forever. 09:28 And making it all of gold. He was the head of gold. 09:31 So, this is my kingdom and it's going to be, 09:35 the whole image is my kingdom. 09:37 Yeah, well, I can just imagine these three boys. 09:44 They spent the night then, you know, on the day 09:46 when everything was going to take place, 09:48 when everyone had to bow before this image, 09:51 I can imagine they spent the whole night in prayer 09:53 because this was a serious time. 09:56 Now, sometimes people say, well, where was Daniel? 09:58 Because Daniel's not mentioned in Chapter 3. 10:00 No, he's not. 10:01 Well, we would presume that Daniel wasn't in the kingdom 10:04 at that time that perhaps 10:06 because of his prime ministership, 10:09 and his responsibilities in the kingdom 10:11 that he was probably 10:13 in the far reaches of the kingdom 10:14 because there's no question that if Daniel had been there, 10:17 he would have been faithful too. 10:18 That's right. 10:20 Because he certainly was faithful in the lions' den 10:22 which is, you know, Chapter 6. 10:23 So, but, getting back to Shadrach, 10:26 Meshach and Abednego, 10:28 here they are, being arrayed with everybody else. 10:32 Because Nebuchadnezzar knew 10:34 that his kingdom from without was impossible to overcome 10:39 because the walls, in fact, Herod had said, 10:41 that the walls were over 300 feet 10:44 or about 100 meters in height. 10:46 You could race two chariots or something around there. 10:47 Yeah, two or three chariots around, 10:49 the tops of the walls are impregnable. 10:51 And Nebuchadnezzar realized that, 10:53 but he also understood that the danger 10:57 that was from rebellion from within. 10:59 So, he wanted to unite the kingdom within 11:03 and they wanted to unite it 11:05 with the idea of him being the god. 11:08 And they would worship him and his image, 11:12 that's really the background. 11:13 And I can imagine the day 11:15 when this whole thing took place, 11:18 you know, the camels 11:20 with a rich revenue of coverings. 11:24 There were the Arabian horses prancing around, 11:28 there would be the music, there would be the glamour, 11:32 and just everything would have just been 11:35 absolutely fantastic as far as putting on a show is concerned. 11:39 Yes. 11:40 And here are these three boys are arrayed 11:44 and on the plain of Dura, because it says 11:46 in the plain of Dura that today and I've been there, it's flat. 11:50 It's as flat as the floor in your house. 11:55 And so this image would have stood out 11:57 for miles in every direction. 11:59 Wow. Ten stories high. Yes. 12:01 Yeah, you would see it and, 12:03 and it would have flashed in the sunlight. 12:05 You know, gold flashing. 12:07 It must have been a magnificent scene 12:10 that Nebuchadnezzar had created. 12:13 And suddenly in verse 4, it says, 12:15 "Then a herald cried aloud: "To you it is commanded, 12:19 O peoples, nations, and languages," 12:21 and you can see all the people gather there, 12:23 "that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, 12:26 the flute, the harp, the lyre, and psaltery, 12:28 in symphony with all kinds of music, 12:29 you shall fall down and worship the gold image 12:32 that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up, 12:34 and whoever does not fall down 12:35 and worship shall be cast immediately 12:38 into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." 12:41 And like, 12:45 on, you know, 12:48 on show on that very moment, 12:50 it says, "So at that time, 12:53 when all the people heard the sound of the horn, 12:55 the flute, the harp, the lyre, in symphony 12:58 with all kinds of music, all the people, it says, 13:01 nations, and languages fell down 13:03 and worshiped the gold image 13:05 which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up." 13:07 So like on queue. 13:10 And they would have been hurrying to do it 13:12 so they didn't get thrown into the fiery furnace. 13:13 I tell you, that's the way to as we said 13:15 it was unanimous 13:17 and that's the way to teach religion. 13:19 And Nebuchadnezzar, 13:21 I can see sitting back on his throne 13:23 feeling very, very happy because like on one mesh, 13:27 you can see all the people is bowing down 13:29 as the music sounds. 13:30 Obedience. Yes. 13:31 And Nebuchadnezzar feeling very satisfied. 13:34 My kingdom is secure. 13:36 They're worshiping me. 13:38 And suddenly, is it in verse 12? 13:43 Suddenly, a messenger comes in and says, 13:47 "There are certain Jews..." 13:50 And you can see the bite in this as you read. 13:53 "There are certain Jews whom you have set 13:55 over the affairs of Babylon, 13:57 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, these men, O king, 14:01 have not paid you regard to you. 14:02 They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image 14:05 which you have set up." 14:07 Now, once again, we got to understand 14:08 a little bit of the background here 14:10 to understand the venom in those words. 14:13 There are certain Jews whom you have set up, 14:17 because you see those Jews, 14:19 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 14:21 and Daniel had taken their positions. 14:23 The king preferred them over the Babylonians. 14:26 Now, you know, people don't like that. 14:29 And when foreigners come in and take their positions, 14:33 you know, we sometimes have that 14:34 in politics and in our own countries. 14:36 And this was the issue back here in Babylon, 14:39 these certain Jews that you have appointed, 14:42 they do not regard you. 14:44 Instead of us. Yes, yes. 14:45 And, well, that explains why they hated 14:48 these Jews so much. 14:50 And King Nebuchadnezzar 14:52 was just about to burst a blood vessel 14:54 because it says in verse 13, "Then Nebuchadnezzar, 14:58 in rage and fury, 15:01 gave the command to bring Shadrach, 15:02 Meshach and Abednego. 15:04 So they brought these men before the king." 15:06 And as you say you can almost see 15:09 his jugular veins sticking out in his neck 15:11 and his neck going all red. 15:13 He was so furious 15:15 that these men were going to upset his kingdom. 15:17 Well, see now his kingdom wasn't secure. 15:20 And the unification of it, yes. 15:22 And verse 14, "Nebuchadnezzar spoke, 15:25 saying to them, 'Is it true, 15:27 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods 15:32 or worship the gold image which I have set up?'" 15:35 And once again, in those words, 15:38 you can read the background. 15:40 I could almost feel his voice trembling as he said, 15:43 "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 15:47 of all the people in my kingdom 15:49 that I thought would be loyal to me, 15:51 it's you because after all, 15:53 I lifted you from slavery into the exalted positions 15:57 that you have in my kingdom." 15:59 And I've trusted you. 16:01 "Yeah, and I would have expected that 16:02 you would be loyal to me?" 16:03 That's really the background of this. 16:06 All I've done for you. 16:09 Now, is this what you return to me, you know. 16:13 And I've heard people, you know, 16:14 and I've had people come to me 16:16 and when we've been teaching them the Bible 16:20 and they say, well, it's the boss, 16:22 I've got to be faithful to the boss 16:24 when it comes to being obedient to God's commandments. 16:27 And the particular commandment 16:29 that God has asked us to keep and... 16:32 Well, it's the boss 16:33 and I can't let him down, you know, 16:35 and I like to remind them of Shadrach, 16:36 Meshach and Abednego, 16:38 because no one was more dependent 16:40 upon the king than those three boys. 16:41 If they had been thrown out of the kingdom, 16:43 they would have become beggars on the streets of a pagan city, 16:48 without any welfare or without any future 16:52 to help their wives or children. 16:56 It was a terrible, terrible experience, 16:58 and yet is it true? 17:00 And I can hear Nebuchadnezzar saying, 17:03 look, what we want boys when they suggested, well... 17:07 The only thing that's really stopping 17:08 is one of those commandments of God. 17:10 You know, 17:12 I made so many Christians today feel 17:14 that the commandments have been done away with. 17:16 And Nebuchadnezzar was saying, 17:17 oh, those commandments 17:19 were all right for you back in Jerusalem, 17:20 but now you're out in the big wide world, 17:22 you can't be expected to keep those commandments. 17:25 And we need today a broader religion, 17:29 you know, something that takes in everything, 17:31 broad religion, you know, unification. 17:33 And, so, that means that... 17:36 Don't want' to be particular about it, 17:38 it's something that embraces everybody. 17:41 That's the attitude today 17:43 in so many, many people's minds, 17:46 and that's what Nebuchadnezzar here was saying. 17:49 You know, I'm always interested 17:51 those who've read the Book of Revelation know 17:54 that this scene is going to be reenacted again 17:59 in the last days. 18:00 Please come over to Revelation 13, 18:02 we have a very, very similar experience 18:05 for God's people just before Jesus returns a second time. 18:11 So, this is not just a story 18:15 from the days of Babylon 18:17 and the Book of Daniel, this is more than a story, 18:19 this is an illustration of what's going to happen 18:22 to God's people in the last days. 18:23 This thing is going to be reenacted again. 18:26 That's right. How do I know that? 18:27 Just have a look at Chapter 13... 18:29 It's very similar, isn't it? 18:30 Of Revelation and verse 14, where it says, 18:35 "And he deceives those who dwell on the earth 18:37 by those signs," 18:39 this is talking about the apostate power, 18:41 "by those signs which he was granted to do 18:44 in the sight of the beast, 18:45 telling those who dwell on the earth 18:47 to make an image to the beast 18:49 who was wounded by the sword and lived." 18:51 Now, here's this image again. 18:53 "He was granted power to give breath 18:55 to the image of the beast, 18:57 that the image of the beast 18:58 should speak and cause as many 19:00 as would not worship 19:02 the image of the beast should be killed." 19:03 Exactly, the same as Daniel 3. 19:05 Worshiping the image. Same word. 19:07 You see, if you ignore the Old Testament, 19:10 you will never understand the New Testament 19:12 because the New Testament, 19:13 particularly Revelation is soaked 19:15 in the imagery of the Old Testament. 19:16 That's right. 19:18 And this particular chapter is soaked 19:19 in the imagery of Daniel Chapter 3. 19:22 And it says in 16, verse 16. 19:24 "He causes all, both small and great, 19:26 rich and poor, free and slave, 19:28 to receive a mark on their right hand 19:29 or on their foreheads, 19:31 and that no man might buy or sell 19:33 except one who has the mark 19:35 or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." 19:40 And so, as I said, 19:42 this story is more than just a story, 19:45 and unfortunately, there are many people 19:46 when they read the Book of Daniel 19:48 and Daniel in the lions' den likewise. 19:50 They see it as a story that happened, 19:52 but don't understand the relevance that it has 19:55 for God's people just before the end time. 19:58 And so, if we go back to Nebuchadnezzar again 20:00 and the three boys because that's 20:02 we haven't finished the story yet. 20:03 Daniel Chapter 3, as we read this now, 20:08 we would need to keep in mind that this is an illustration 20:12 of what's going to happen in the last days. 20:15 In Daniel 3 again, this time back in verse 14 20:19 where it says, "Nebuchadnezzar spoke, 20:22 saying to them, 'Is it true, 20:23 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 20:26 that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image 20:30 which I have set up?' 20:32 Now if you are ready at the time 20:35 you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, 20:37 the lyre, the psaltery, in sympathy 20:39 with all kinds of music and you fall down 20:41 and worship the image which I have made, good! 20:45 But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately 20:48 into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 20:51 And who is that God 20:53 who will deliver you from my hand?" 20:55 Well, that's a... that's a very defiant statement, isn't it? 20:59 Absolutely. It's a challenge. 21:01 Yes. Your God can't do this. 21:05 You have to do what I say. Exactly. 21:07 And so King Nebuchadnezzar obviously loved the boys 21:10 because he gave them a second chance, 21:12 otherwise he would have thrown them 21:14 into the fire immediately. 21:15 But he was impressed with them. 21:17 And they had impressed him no doubt over the time 21:20 that they had been captive in Babylon. 21:23 And so he wanted to give them another chance. 21:26 And so he says, 21:28 "You either turn or you burn," 21:33 it's just... it's just simple as that. 21:34 That's a good way of putting it. 21:36 Yes, as simple as that. 21:37 And they said, verse 16, 21:41 "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 21:43 answered and said unto the king, 21:45 'O Nebuchadnezzar, 21:47 we have no need to answer you in this matter.'" 21:49 That simply means, look, we don't have to have time 21:52 to consider our answer. 21:54 We've already thought this through. 21:57 And verse 17 says, "If that is the case, 22:03 our God whom we serve is able to deliver us 22:06 from the burning fiery furnace, 22:08 and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 22:13 But if not let it be known to you, O king, 22:16 that we will not serve your gods, 22:19 nor will we worship the gold image 22:21 which you have set up." 22:23 I tell you that's courage. That's bravery. 22:26 Bravery, absolute courage. 22:27 Talking about valiant and the Bible talks many times 22:30 about valiant people, these guys were valiant. 22:34 Absolutely. Absolutely. 22:36 They're about to be thrown into a fiery furnace 22:38 if they didn't cooperate with the king. 22:40 And they basically said 22:42 we're not gonna cooperate with you, 22:43 throw us in there and let God do 22:45 what God's gonna do. 22:46 Their decision was made and so what happened verse 19, 22:49 "Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury," 22:52 now his jugular really is popping up, 22:54 "and the expression on his face changed towards Shadrach, 22:57 Meshach, and Abednego. 22:58 He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace 23:01 seven times more than it was usually heated." 23:03 There's that seven again. Yes. 23:05 Perfect number. 23:06 Yes, and they used God's number. 23:08 Seven times hotter. 23:09 And so he commanded the men and as you read the story, 23:13 the very men who threw them 23:15 into the burning fiery furnace were destroyed. 23:17 That's how hot it was. 23:19 And they were bound as they are thrown in, 23:24 and the fire the only thing 23:25 the fire did was to burn off their... 23:29 The ropes. The ropes that bound them. 23:32 And Nebuchadnezzar looked in, he said, 23:35 "Didn't we throw three men in?" 23:38 He said, "I can see four." 23:40 And he said, 23:42 "The fourth is like the Son of Man," 23:45 and obviously, for Nebuchadnezzar to know that 23:50 that must mean that 23:55 Daniel and the three men 23:56 must have given him a very clear picture 23:59 of what God was like. 24:00 Yes. 24:02 So he recognized the force as this 24:04 Jesus there in the fire. 24:09 And so I just wonder sometimes, 24:12 Rosemary, if you and I've been there. 24:15 I like to think that we will not like this, 24:17 but maybe some of us will be there. 24:21 And we are standing there 24:22 waiting for that music to sound. 24:24 And then suddenly the music starts up. 24:29 And we say to ourselves, 24:31 "I don't wanna get into that burning fiery furnace, 24:33 I got a family to look after." 24:34 And everybody else is bowing down. 24:35 Yes, and God doesn't expect me to lose my life, 24:38 and I've got a family to look after. 24:41 I tell you what I'm going to do, 24:42 well, I'm going to bow down, 24:44 but I'm not going to be thinking about 24:45 that terrible image. 24:47 I'm going to be worshiping the God of heaven. 24:49 Some of us would have reason that way. 24:50 Yes. That's true. 24:52 I think that some of us 24:53 might have suddenly looked down at our shoes. 24:57 And notice that our shoe laces had come undone. 24:59 Oh. 25:01 And just at the time when the music sounds, 25:03 I have an urge to actually do my shoelaces up. 25:08 Now, the interesting thing is, if that would be the way, 25:11 we would have reasoned and I fear that many of us 25:14 would have come to that sort of conclusion 25:16 instead of being faithful, like, Shadrach, Meshach, 25:19 and Abednego, 25:20 that the message would have gone out 25:23 to the Babylonian Empire 25:24 of the superiority of Nebuchadnezzar 25:27 and his religion. 25:29 But instead of that, I find him saying this, 25:32 28 and 29, 25:33 this is Daniel 3:28, 29, it says, 25:36 "Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, 25:38 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, 25:41 Meshach, and Abednego, 25:43 who sent His Angel and to deliver His servants 25:45 who trusted in Him, 25:47 and they have frustrated the king's word, 25:49 and yielded their bodies that they should not serve 25:51 nor worship any god except their own God!" 25:55 Therefore, I make a decree that any people, 25:59 nations or language 26:00 which speaks anything amiss against the God 26:02 of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 26:04 shall be cut in pieces, 26:05 and their houses shall be made an ash heap, 26:07 because there is no other God who can deliver like this." 26:12 Oh, that sounds worse 26:15 than being thrown into the fiery furnace. 26:17 Well, the fact are that the message of God 26:20 went out to the whole Babylonian Empire 26:23 because they didn't hear any more about that image. 26:24 What happened to it, who knows, melted down, 26:27 but all they heard about 26:29 was the decree of Nebuchadnezzar. 26:31 And remember, he's still a pagan king 26:32 and so he's forcing people and we would think that 26:35 that's not quite the best way to go about it, 26:37 but we got to understand his, where he's coming from. 26:40 And he commands that 26:42 everybody in the Babylonian Empire bow down 26:45 and so within a week, 26:49 we could probably say, the message went out 26:51 to the four corners of the Babylonian Empire, 26:54 that the God of Shadrach, Meshach, 26:56 and Abednego is the true God. 26:58 And so, the faithful stand of these three boys 27:02 is put up in the Bible as an illustration 27:04 of what God wants us in the last days 27:07 to be faithful to Him and to His commandments. 27:10 Because that was the issue in Daniel's day 27:12 over one of the commandments. 27:14 And Revelation tells us it's the same in the last days, 27:18 the issue is going to be over the commandment, 27:20 the fourth commandment... 27:22 The worship. 27:23 And worship, how we worship God 27:25 and the day we worship on God, God, 27:27 because that's what is outlined here. 27:30 And once again, I would appeal 27:31 to all our viewers to be faithful to God. 27:35 And you can only have that type of faith 27:37 if by day by day, 27:38 we have an experience with Jesus. 27:41 That's right. Be faithful to God. 27:43 Don't let Him down and He will not let you down. 27:46 Thank you for joining us today. 27:48 I hope that you have learned a valuable lesson 27:50 that you will apply to your life. 27:52 We'll see you next time. |
Revised 2019-10-24