The Den of Lions

- Bonnie Penner Witherall

On the early morning of November 21, 2002, 31 year old Bonnie Penner Witherall was walking to the clinic where she worked as a prenatal nurse and a Christian Missionary,

In Sidon, Lebanon.

I first found her story was reading Marvin J. Newell’s book, A Martyr’s Grace.

She was a missionary who despite of all of the realities of hostility in her target area, Lebanon in the Middle East, which is predominately Muslim.

Here are a couple of paragraphs I’ve taken from a 2022 article in the Baptist Press, by Todd Starnes, posted November 22, 2002.

This article was written the day after her death.

I quote:

Bonnie Penner Witherall, 31, was shot three times in the head at close range with a 7-millimeter pistol, the police said, and collapsed in a pool of blood right inside the door of the two-story building that housed both the Unity Center clinic and an evangelical church. Police said they believe she was murdered by a lone gunman.

The New York Times reported that clinic members had been threatened in recent months after a group of religious leaders learned they were handing out literature and talking to groups of young Muslims about Jesus. Some Muslim clerics had denounced the evangelical Christians from the pulpit.

Sidon’s Roman Catholic archbishop had warned Witherall that evangelistic activity might cause her problems.

“We told her she might be vulnerable to insults or even being hit, and she answered that she would consider it an honor,” said Bishop George Kwaiter, in an interview with The New York Times.

“We don’t accept this kind of preaching,” he told The Times of the proselytizing. “We reject it totally.”

(https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/american-missionary-shot-dead-in-retaliation-for-evangelism-efforts/)

and Wrote about in

- Recent Mission Trip

Although this is a contemporary story, written just over twenty years ago,

History has many similar, no less, impactful stories of heroic acts of Martyrdom.

Recently this past July, 2024 Anna First Baptist Church sent 7 Missionaries in the State of Durango Mexico.

For weeks before our departure, I did my best to prepare the team for the possible dangers we might encounter completing our mission.

And there were a couple of times that we found ourselves in precarious situations, and felt that we were either being followed or otherwise monitored by some.

In the ten’s I joined another pastor on a mission assignment to the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Back then, during that time, Mexico was gripped in a brutal wicked, evil cartel war.

Many innocent people were used as pawns, by being brutally murdered, with their naked bodies left dangling under bridges, and over passes, etc.

I have been to that town many times, and my wife Yadi even lived there for a time in her late teens.

It is a bustling city, always busy and active.

During that trip however, it was a ghost town.

Complete middle class and poorer class neighborhoods were completely abandoned.

Houses were stripped bare, down to the concrete forms.

They were eerie neighborhoods of square blocks with square openings where window were at one time.

Where we were ministering, we could see the same cars driving back and fourth reporting to whoever was on the other end of the radios.

People were terrified to talk to us with some even crossing the street to avoid contact with us.

I knew the dangers and the risks involved,

I even told my children, my wife Yadi, and both my parents,

That if I would be martyred, then so be it.

But that they should not resent God, or hate ministry because of it.

That the devil would try his best to convince them it was God’s fault, that I was killed, etc.

That they should focus the blame where it belongs,

To Sin!

In fact, if I were martyred, they should honor my death my picking up the mantle of ministry and continue the work.

Because eternity is too great a gift to withhold.

To keep to ourselves.

This is why Jesus commanded us to take the gospel to the entire world.

Matthew 28:18–20 (CSB)

18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Romans 10:14–17 (CSB)

14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. 16 But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? 17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

We at Anna First are committed to this great commission of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We will be active preaching church, an active praying church, and an active going church. AMEN

We are in the planning stages of next years Mission assignment to Mexico.

For those of you who feel called to join us, we will be gathering details closer to the years end.

But as I said, throughout history, there have been many heroic acts of martyrdom for the cause of Christ.

Our subject of this sermon series is the prophet Daniel to which we currently find him in the service of yet another king.

Only this time, it is the king of Persia that has just conquered the previous empire of Babylon.

- Changing of the Guard

But before we pick up that portion of the story, let’s examine the event leading up to the changing of the guard

So-to-speak.

The transition from Babylonian Rule to the Persian Empire Rule.

On the night under review,

Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, Belshazzar was throwing a drunken orgy with all of his heathen friends.

Then in his arrogance, he called for the artifacts stolen from the Temple in Jerusalem to mock them by including them in their drunken stupor.

To which, God, has had enough.

Daniel 5:1–4 (CSB)

1 King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine in their presence. 2 Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines could drink from them. 3 So they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them. 4 They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Now notice what happens next when God showed up.

Daniel 5:5–6 (CSB)

5 At that moment the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the king’s palace wall next to the lampstand. As the king watched the hand that was writing, 6 his face turned pale, and his thoughts so terrified him that he soiled himself and his knees knocked together.

Do think he was scared?

- Time for Brown Pants

This reminds me of a funny story about an admiral on the high seas.

His assistant took notice that when ever the admiral was warned of the presence of a potential enemy ship.

He would ask for his red pants.

Time and again, the admiral would change into his red pants before engaging the enemy.

The assistant asked him one evening,

Admiral, why is it you always change into your red pants when we fight?

To which he responded,

I wear red to hide my blood incase I go down in battle, the men won’t lose heart and continue fighting

Agh, the assistant said.

The ver next day, the assistant came again running to the Admiral saying,

“Sir, there are about twenty ships in battle formation, heading our way.”

The Admiral this time,

Ok boy, now fetch me my brown pants.

Have you ever been that scared?

I haven’t, but I’ve been close.

Belshazzar was the reigning power in that day, in Babylon.

Now, history books will tell you that In fact, Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law was the actual king, Nabonidus at the time of this event.

For a little background,

- Game of Thrones

It was Nabopolassar that begot the Babylonian Empire, then his son Nebuchadnezzer that took over and deported Daniel and his three friends and eventually the prophet Ezekiel.

When he died, his son Amel-Marduk his son took over but was quickly killed by his own brother in law.

Hence, a game of thrones followed all of this internal chaos, until Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter, Nitrocis’ husband, Nabonidus took over

To which, for what ever reason, allowed his son, Belshazzar rule in his plan as King of Babylon.

This is man who soiled himself in this last verse.

(https://www.onepagebiblesummary.com/pad/pad_01.php)

When this arrogant young ruler mocked the Holiness of the Lord, God caused a supernatural hand to appear out of nowhere and wrote down His ruling.

Of course, they had to call in the services of Daniel once again, to interpret.

Daniel 5:25–28 (CSB)

25 “This is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the message: ‘Mene’ means that God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. 27 ‘Tekel’ means that you have been weighed on the balance and found deficient. 28 ‘Peres’ means that your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

What does this tell us today?

God will not be mocked.

Just recently in Turkey, a Turkish official claimed that Israel would suffer at the hands of the islamic god, finishing his sentence, he keeled over and died of a heart attack.

God will not be mocked,

Galatians 6:7 (CSB)

7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap,

Belshazzar was killed that same night and the kingdom passed to the new conquerors, Persia.

- Thrown to the Lions

We find Daniel facing off against this new Persian ruler, Darius.

The exact person of Darius and who he was, is still being debated.

There are multiple suggestions about the identity of Darius, but whoever he was,

He was mentioned by that name in the books of Haggai, Zechariah, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah.

So regardless of his historical identity, five of the Lord’s prophets mention him by this name.

Now, what happens here is, Darius is actually fond of Daniel.

He also has Daniel in administrative roles,

So trusted and powerful was Daniel in Darius’ court that the rest of the natives, were upset by a Hebrew running things.

So, in natural wicked human form, they hash a plan to convict Daniel

But, they couldn’t find anything on Daniel in which to convict him.

Daniel was an upstanding fellow, and righteous man

So, they turn their focus on the arrogance of the king, Darius.

They convince him to write a law, that couldn't be revoked,

They talk the king into issuing an order that he should be worship as a God, and anyone who didn’t should be thrown into the lion’s den to be torn apart by wild beast

Daniel 6:10–11 (CSB)

10 When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel petitioning and imploring his God.

when Daniel heard the news, he knew that were coming after him. .

He went upstairs to pray.

Remember, it says Daniel prayed three times a day, so he wasn’t running up to pray about this particular issue,

But it was his normal time to pray.

And that is when they were waiting for him.

Daniel 6:13 (CSB)

13 Then they replied to the king, “Daniel, one of the Judean exiles, has ignored you, the king, and the edict you signed, for he prays three times a day.”

Now the king realized he had been duped and went himself to fast all night without sleep hoping that somehow, Daniel would be spared.

In the morning, he rushed over to Daniel and called out to him.

And Daniel answered.

Now free of the trick of the others in his counsel, he freed Daniel and had the accusers and their families tossed into the Lions den themselves.

The Scripture tells us that their bodies didn’t have time to hit the ground before they were ripped apart and eaten by the ravenous Lions.

- Godly Rescue

But, just like his three friends, Daniel stood in the face of sure death, and chose not to trade away his faith in God,

Even if it meant death, he would not bow down to the pressure of the ruling powers of the world.

He stood his ground, anchored in his faith that whether or not God chose to rescue him,

He would not lose his faith in the Lord’s plan for his life.

Just like our missionary friend, Bonnie Penner Witherall.

She, like many other missionaries who are on the front line, doing,

Let’s face it.

Doing what most of us are too scared to do.

Or don’t have enough faith to do

But they are they staring down the face of death every day, all to bring the glory of the gospel to every corner of the world.

Like Daniel and his three friends.

So, brothers and sisters,

Don’t lose heart, no matter how scary things may get,

You keep proclaiming the gospel and God will do the rest,

Who knows, he might even save you from the blistering heat of flames, protect you from boiling oil, keep you from the poison of snakes, or even close the mouths of lions in your time of need.

And if He doesn’t

Then so be it .