Daniel 3

Daniel 3  The Boys Who Wouldn't Bend Bow or Burn.

¹ 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.² 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.³ 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.⁴ Then a herald cried aloud: "To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,⁵ 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;⁶ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."

⁷ 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.

⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews.⁹ They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever!¹⁰ 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;¹¹ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.¹² 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."

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king.¹⁴ 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?¹⁵ 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. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?"

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.¹⁷ 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.¹⁸ 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."

¹⁹ 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.²⁰ 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.²¹ 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.²² 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.²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴ 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."

²⁵ "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."

²⁶ 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.²⁷ 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.

²⁸ 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!²⁹ 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."

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

 

1. What are some situations in which you may have to show courage under fire the way Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to in this text?
2. The Hebrew men faced enormous pressure to conform. How does our culture pressure believers to reject God and conform to the status quo?
3. How are you tempted to react when accusers and critics come against you? How does this line up with the reactions of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?
4. What does it mean to view your life as expendable for the sake of God's kingdom? What did these three men care about more than their lives?
5. When God doesn't deliver us from dangers, trials, disease, or even death, does that mean he has abandoned us? Why or why not?
6. How does the presence of Christ affect the way you face temptations to worship and chase after other gods?

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Youtube sermon

David Jeremiah Agents of Babylon

O.S. Hawkins, Culture Shock

Danny Akin  Daniel

 

Sermon https://youtu.be/OYcKFVihtZk

 

 

 

 

This event may be about twenty years after Daniel 2 and Nebuchadnezzar's vision of a statue with a head of gold, arms of silver waste of brass and feet of iron mixed with clay.  The head of that image represented Nebuchadnezzar himself, thus lifting him up as a great king of a great nation. However, that dream also told the king that the duration of his kingdom was limited. Another kingdom, inferior to his, would soon take its place.

The Golden man represented Deification of the King. Maybe Nebuchadnezzar builds this 30 metre by 3 metre monstrous gold statue represented himself. He wanted his kingdom to not fade away.  Maybe in the night he had worried about how his kingdom would pass to another, an inferior kingdom. Maybe the Medes and Persians were already on the horizon and he needed some how to undergird his own government. Maybe he needed to quell any potential rebellion within his kingdom that might lead to his downfall. "It may be that this statue completely plated in gold was created to stand in contrast to the statue in his dream, where only the head of Babylon was made of gold: My physical statue, made entirely of gold, means there will be no kingdoms to come of silver, bronze, or iron." David Jeremiah Babylon had grown rapidly. Maybe bringing them all under one image to worship would cement his empire.

John F. Walvoord writes, "Nebuchadnezzar may have regarded the image as representing himself as the embodiment of divine power, and the worship of the image would then be a recognition of his personal power. In view of his pride as dealt with in chapter 4, this becomes a plausible explanation."

The Golden man represented Unification of the Nations. The Romans tried a similar stunted: they elevated Caesar to God-level, making it a symbol of loyalty to the government to burn incense to Caesar as God.

The Golden man represented Glorification of Man. William Heslop observes that "Nimrod was the first person to attempt to unify the religions of man by self deification. Nebuchadnezzar here attempts exactly the same thing and both were types of the coming 'Beast' the last head of the Gentile world who will insist on being worshipped (Revelation 13:11-15; 19-20)."

The third chapter of Daniel begins with a detailed description of the dedication ceremony for Nebuchadnezzar's golden image.

The Dedication Of the Golden Man

Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. DANIEL 3:2, KJV

To appropriately dedicate his image, Nebuchadnezzar sent out an invitation to the entire Babylonian official family. Someone has estimated that the head count at this assembly may have been as many as three hundred thousand, with people coming from all over the vast Babylonian empire. When the orchestra began to play, all three hundred thousand attendees bowed down.

The Demand

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." DANIEL 3:4-6

When the music played… many were almost persuaded. But when they saw the fiery furnace, they were persuaded by almost cremated! All but three bowed down!

Listen to how OS Hawkins puts it: "There was a tremendous amount of pressure on these young Hebrews to conform. "Go ahead," others told them, "get out there on the plain with them. There are thousands of others out there." And then it happened. The band began to play and everyone bowed down. Everyone out there on the plain of Dura bowed down…except three young men. They stood out like three sore thumbs that day on the plain of Dura. When the music starts and we feel our own peer pressure, we will do one of two things. If we're controlled by the Word we will respond with conviction. If we're controlled by the world we will respond with compromise."

"Must I be carried to the skies on flow'ry beds of ease,

While others fought to win the prize, and sailed thro' bloody seas?

Sure I must fight if I would reign; Increase my courage, Lord!

I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by Thy Word."

 

Romans 13:1 says, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. The Bible tells us that it is "appointed by God." Peter tells us therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors. (I Peter. 2:13-14) However, there are times in Scripture that we have to disobey civil law in order to obey God's law. The Hebrew midwives disobeyed the civil law of destroying all the male Hebrew children by delivering and protecting them. We also see it in Daniel 3 with Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura. In the New Testament we find it in the fourth and fifth chapters of Acts. We hear the early apostles saying, "We ought to obey God rather than men." Note that in all these cases a common thread is apparent. There is a direct specific conflict between man's law and God's law. And, note also, that believers are willing to pay the price for their consequences of civil disobedience. We have a biblical responsibility to submit and support governmental authority. All authority comes from God. The Bible reminds us that governmental authorities are "God's ministers." Observance of the law is a positive public testimony of our faith. It is the right thing to do.

In our covid world, living up to our conscience means doing what is the most loving thing for the most of the people. It is taking the jab to protect others lives.  Living up to conscience is not believing rubbish put out by panic merchants who do not understand either the virus or the practice of vaccinations.

In our world it is about understanding what is a hill to die on and what is not a hill to die on.

If you elevate something above the gospel and the clear commandments of God's Word, anything, your ideas about covid etc, you are going to die on a hill not worth dieing on.

1 John 3: 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.  24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Titus 3: ¹ Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,² to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.³ For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.⁴ But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,⁶ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,⁷ that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Good works is being subject to rulers and authorities on all things except the commandments to love and to believe the gospel. These override the government. But otherwise submission to government is a good things. Be careful to submit to government except where government would oppose the gospel itself and oppose love towards mankind.

 

The Defiance

At that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. "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

The same Chaldean officials who had been spared from death twenty years earlier by Daniel's discernment of the king's dream and its meaning now turned on the Hebrew men. They stood shamelessly before the king and brought three accusations against them. First, they accused them of disrespecting King Nebuchadnezzar: "they have not paid due regard to you." Their second accusation was that "they do not serve your gods." It is their final accusation, however, that infuriated the king: "they do not worship your image."

THE CHANCE

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, . . . "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. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" DANIEL 3:14-15

Before the men could answer the charges, Nebuchadnezzar offered them a second chance to comply with his demand. This unusual and magnaminous offer demonstrated the loyalty King Nebuchadnezzar felt toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Any but these three, who had been in his service for more than twenty years, would have immediately been executed. Nebuchadnezzar was showing his magnanimous spirit in offering these men a second chance.

According to John F. Walvoord, "The repetition of the entire edict no doubt was done with a flourish; and, although he was probably well aware of the jealousy of the Chaldeans and took this into account, he makes it clear that there is no alternative but to worship the image."

The king warned them that if they failed to fall down and worship the image a second time, they would certainly be cast into the fiery furnace. And then, I believe with a sneer on his lips, Nebuchadnezzar asked, "Who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" (verse 15). And that was probably the sentence that made these men resolute.

Nebuchadnezzar was saying that he was greater than God! No one should ever challenge God to a duel. They will always lose.

THE COMMANDMENT

In response to the king's demand, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego uttered one of the greatest statements of faith in the entire Bible. But before we get to that, we need to understand what's behind their conviction. They knew the Old Testament law, and they knew what it says about idolatry: "You shall not make for yourself a carved image —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. You shall not bow down to them" (Exodus 20:4-5).  At the base of Mount Sinai, the newly redeemed Hebrews created an image of a gold calf (Exodus 32:4). On the plain of Dura, Nebuchadnezzar created an image of a golden man. In both cases, the commandment was violated.

Theologian John Calvin writes, "A true image of God is not to be found in all the world; and hence . . . His glory is defiled, and His truth corrupted by the lie, whenever He is set before our eyes in a visible form. . . . . Therefore, to devise any image of God, is in itself impious; because by this corruption His Majesty is adulterated, and He is figured to be other than He is."

These men knew that to worship an idol, an image made by human hands, would be to defy and defile the almighty God. The King opposed the gospel. The King opposed the reign of God. The king proposed worshipping an idol, probably an idol of himself! And these three could not submit to that!

THE COURAGE

Without being disrespectful, these heroic men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, gave the world's most powerful king their answer. There was no need for them to consider Nebuchadnezzar's second-chance offer. They'd already made up their minds. They would never bow down to a false image. Here are their inspiring words: "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" (Daniel 3:16-18).

The great reformer Martin Luther was called before the Diet of Worms in Germany in 1521 to answer for breaking from the doctrine of the Roman church. He closed his testimony by saying, "I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me."

 

In the times of the English Reformation Henry VIII was followed By Edward, who was followed by Queen Mary, Bloody Mary. She killed more than three hundred pastors and particularly a few Bishops.  Two Bishops were offered the chance to recant their writings, or be burnt at the stake. Latimer was burned at the stake along with Nicholas Ridley. He is quoted as having said to Ridley: Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.

 

Did you hear those words of the three young men? "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,"

When they said, "But if not," they were not doubting God's ability to deliver them; they were placing themselves in submission to His will. Theirs' was the same attitude expressed by Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane a few centuries later: "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). If it wasn't His will to deliver them, they would accept that and glorify their God anyway.  Theirs' is the faith that says, 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him' (Job 13:15, KJV).

"A man has to live!" No he doesn't. A man has to live up to his conscience! The great missionary to Burma, Adoniram Judson, wrote,  "How great are my obligations to spend and be spent for Christ! What a privilege to be allowed to serve him . . . and suffer for him. . . . But in myself I am absolute nothingness. . . . Soon we shall be in heaven. Oh, let us live as we shall then wish we had done! (Newell, Expect Great Things, 51)."

THE ANGER OF THE KING

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. DANIEL 3:19

After hearing their refusal to bow down before the statue, Nebuchadnezzar was furious. No one, not even three loyal and trusted aides, could so blatantly defy him, the ruler of the world's greatest empire, and live to tell about it. He ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.

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 3:20-23

Nebuchadnezzar summoned the strongest men in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego with ropes and cast them into the fire. "Normally criminals are stripped before execution; but in view of the form of the execution and the haste of the whole operation, there was no particular point in stripping off their clothes. This later becomes a further testimony to the delivering power of God."

The furnace was so hot that the only way the soldiers could get close enough to carry out their orders was to swing the three men toward the opening at the top of the furnace. But even then, the searing heat of the flames fried the skin from their bodies, and they fell down dead. The three Jews, bound hand and foot, plummeted into the blazing furnace.

The Deliverance

THE AMAZEMENT OF THE KING

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." DANIEL 3:24-25

Although we haven't got a description of how the furnace was constructed, we can safely assume that in addition to being open at the top, it was also open in front, allowing witnesses to view the executions. We do know that Nebuchadnezzar could see inside the furnace —and that what he saw astonished him.

The king called his associates and asked, in essence, "Didn't we cast three men into this fire? Look! I see four men strolling about in the midst of the furnace, making no attempt to escape. The flames have not hurt them, and one of them is like the Son of God."

He wasn't merely like the Son of God; He was the Son of God. He wasn't a god; He was the God. When the fourth figure showed up in the flames, the event was what we call a theophany —a manifestation of the Lord in the Old Testament. Amazing as it may be, some 580 years before the virgin birth, Nebuchadnezzar saw the Lord Jesus Christ in the fiery furnace. The three heroes of this chapter experienced firsthand a promise God had given through Isaiah some 130 years earlier. That promise is one we can hold on to as we face what may come in the future:

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 43:1-3

They found Fellowship with the Lord in that fire.

O.S. Hawkins writes "The Bible says that their bonds were loosed. (Dan. 3:25) The only thing the fire burned away was that which bound them up. So often the flames of our own trials and testing sets us freer than we've ever been before.  Our pride might be destroyed in situations we cannot get ourselves out of. The fiery furnace is for our good.

They found fellowship with the Lord and they found freedom. Nebuchadnezzar says there were four men walking around the furnace and the fourth was like the son of God. The Lord himself left His throne of glory and came down to walk through the fire with these three Hebrew young men who had taken a stand for Him. And, He will do the same for you. Don't quit in the time of testing. If you'll look around you'll find that you're not alone. God never promised to keep us out of the fiery furnace but He did say He would get in with us and when we come out on the other side it would be for our own good."

2 "Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed !

For I am Thy God, I will still give thee aid;

I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

3 ''When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;

For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

4 "The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,

I will not-I will not desert to his foes;

That soul though all hell should endeavuor to shake,

I'll never-no never--no never forsake!"        George Keith.

Charles Spurgeon said it so well: "Beloved, you must go into the furnace if you would have the nearest and dearest dealings with Christ Jesus" (Sermons on the Book of Daniel, 3).

THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE KING

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 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. 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."

DANIEL 3:26-28

 

Why does God allow the fiery furnace experiences of life?

Sometimes they are experiences of isolation. Other times they are experiences of persecution.

Sometimes they fit us for higher service. Perhaps it is to separate the true believers from the pretenders. It's a lot easier to say, "I will not bow" until we're looking into the fiery furnace. Yes, often the fiery furnace is for our own good.

The good news is that the fiery furnace experiences of life are not only for our own good but they ultimately serve for God's glory. Nebuchadnezzar said, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him…there is no other God who can deliver like this. (Dan. 3:28-29) This is the very point that Simon Peter drove home in the New Testament when he says, In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (I Peter 1:6-7)

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;13 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.14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

The Christian is a lot like a tea bag. He isn't worth much unless he is in hotwater! Perhaps you are experiencing the fires so that God can bring glory to His name. God didn't rescue Ridly and Latimer from being burnt at the stake. But their courage encouraged another who had fallen, Bishop Cranmer, who had recanted his belief in salvation by faith in Christ.

He then went willingly to the stake later.

Here are his last words, the last words of the writer of the Anglican Prayer book.

March 25^th 1556.

"Every man desireth, good people, at the time of their deaths, to give some good exhortation that others may remember after their deaths, and be the better thereby. So I beseech God grant me grace, that I may speak something at this my departing, whereby God may be glorified and you edified.

 This shall be my first exhortation: That you set not overmuch by this false glosing world, but upon God and the world to come. And learn to know what this lesson meaneth, which St John teacheth, that the love of this world is hatred against God.

And now forsomuch as I am come to the last end of my life, whereupon hangeth all my life passed, and my life to come, either to live with my Saviour Christ in heaven, in joy, or else to be in pain ever with wicked devils in hell; and I see before mine eyes presently either heaven ready to receive me, or hell ready to swallow me up; I shall therefore declare unto you my very faith, how I believe, without colour or dissimulation. For now is no time to dissemble, whatsoever I have written in times past.

First, I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, &c. and every article of the Catholic faith, every word and sentence taught by our Saviour Christ, his Apostles and Prophets, in the Old and New Testament.

And now I come to the great thing that troubleth my conscience more than any other thing that ever I said or did in my life: and that is, the setting abroad of writings contrary to the truth. Which here now I renounce and refuse, as things written with my hand contrary to the truth which I thought in my heart, and writ for fear of death, and to save my life, if it might be: and that is, all such bills, which I have written or signed with mine own hand, since my degradation; wherein I have written many things untrue. And forasmuch as my hand offended in writing contrary to my heart, therefore my hand shall first be punished. For if I may come to the fire, it shall be first burned. And as for the Pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy and antichrist, with all his false doctrine."

Fire being now put to him, he stretched out his right hand, and thrust it into the flame, and held it there a good space, before the fire came to any other part of his body; where his hand was seen of every man sensibly burning, crying with a loud voice, 'This hand hath offended.'  As soon as the fire got up, he was very soon dead, never stirring or crying all the while.

The Decree

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, ". . . 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." Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon. DANIEL 3:28-30

Remember Nebuchadnezzar's  acknowledgment of Daniel's God at the end of chapter 2? He does the same thing here at the end of chapter 3. In chapter 4 we will find that the king makes yet one more statement of faith. Because of the courage of these three young men, a loud-mouthed, proud, vain king was led to praise the God of heaven. He himself had asked the question, "What god is able to deliver you from my hand?" and at last he answered his own question: the God of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abed-Nego!

David Jeremiah Agents of Babylon

O.S. Hawkins, Culture Shock

Danny Akin  Daniel

 

Hope

Call to Worship             https://youtu.be/vUMrV96ziVI

Sermon and Benediction  https://youtu.be/OYcKFVihtZk

 

CMA    Sermon  https://youtu.be/ac7yTYm80I4